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Tamara is beginning to be concerned.
There's a pattern here. She knows there is. But it's subtle, it's so subtle she thinks she might be imagining it. A flyer appears on the wall of the coffee shop, announcing that his band has a show there that week. There's so few details that she thinks she must be mistaken, someone else here must have decided to use that same band name, it wasn't that creative- but she goes back to look again the next day, just to see, and it's gone.
She finds a jelly doughnut left on the hood of her car while she's out shopping. They're Kevin's favorite, and she has to talk him out of eating it- they don't know where it came from, it can't be safe, just throw it out, see how someone's already cut it open? It's oozing red jelly out over the roof of the car.
Little things, one at a time. Spaced apart enough that she's never quite sure they're related to each other. A week before something new happens? Two? Once there's two incidents in three days, then nothing for almost a month. She could be imagining it.
...maybe.
She finds a stuffed dog in their front yard. It's very generic, one of those silly plush dogs you can get at any store for a few bucks, and it's arguably, plausibly, a dog toy. But the tag on the dog's collar says 'Tammy'. And it's been torn almost to shreds, viciously. And none of her neighbors have dogs.
Tamara calls the Watcher's Council. And then she calls Bella.
older_and_wiser
older_and_wiser
"Bella?" Tamara tries very hard to keep her voice steady. It manages to quaver nonetheless. "I seem to have a bit of a stalker problem."
cross_and_bow
"Uh, okay, do you want to talk to my dad? I told you he's the chief of police, right?"
cross_and_bow
"Oh! Okay. I can tell you where I got my ultraviolet porch lights? I can sleep over at your house, maybe?"
older_and_wiser
"Yes and thank you to the first. Maybe to the second. I don't worry about the house, it's a vampire, but- maybe an eye on Kevin?"
cross_and_bow
"I mean - keep him indoors at night, obviously. What's the vampire doing that tips you off?"
older_and_wiser
"It's... hard to pin down, exactly. Some of them could be coincidences, that's what made it so hard. But first there was this phone call. Then irises, my favorite flower, left dying on my table in the library. Then..." Tamara recounts all the recent events in order, as close as she can get them.
She ends with the puppy. "It was just the last straw. It's- we had a dog that looked like that, back in England. And Tammy's what he used to call me, and... and..." her voice breaks. "I thought I was imagining it. He was dead!"
She ends with the puppy. "It was just the last straw. It's- we had a dog that looked like that, back in England. And Tammy's what he used to call me, and... and..." her voice breaks. "I thought I was imagining it. He was dead!"
cross_and_bow
"But nobody staked the contents of the morgue," says Bella. "Right. Does he know you're a Watcher or was this relationship before you got into Watching, will he know that a teenage girl you hang out with is likely to be the Slayer...?"
older_and_wiser
"They told me he was cremated," Tamara hisses. "Vampires had killed him, it was a preventative measure, they said. But no, they were covering their own arses, they never even found him!"
She regains control of herself after a struggle. "He didn't know. It was just a side job, I did almost nothing for the Council , until he- didn't die, those bloody liars."
She regains control of herself after a struggle. "He didn't know. It was just a side job, I did almost nothing for the Council , until he- didn't die, those bloody liars."
cross_and_bow
"What does he look like? Do the pranks indicate that he's managing to move around during the day in some way? They haven't been strictly centered around your house..." Bella shakes her head and relays where she got the ultraviolet porch lights. "Oh, also, you can borrow Prom Ghost if you want, but you have to look after her anchor."
older_and_wiser
"Once or twice they were during the day. Mostly at night or in the evening. I don't think we're looking at the Gem of Amara or some such. Prom Ghost- would that help? If she saw him, what could she do except yell? She's still insubstantial, yes?"
cross_and_bow
"She can also be invisible, so she could warn you without him knowing he'd been spotted," says Bella. "Substantiality is connected to her emotional state - she doesn't normally get angry enough to turn solid, but it's possible she could get pissed off at a vampire who was after you, especially if you get along. You do have to leave the TV on for her, though, she doesn't sleep - mute with closed captions is fine. She'll watch anything with shirtless actors, American Idol, Saturday Night Live, and cooking shows."
older_and_wiser
Tamara snorts at this description of viewing preferences. "Well, I won't say no to the extra alarm system. Wouldn't say no to much, right now. Not with Kevin to worry about."
cross_and_bow
"Minnie's a sweetie," says Bella. "I'll bring her over now if you want."
older_and_wiser
"Just... tell her I apologize in advance if I seem... short. I'm rather unsettled at the moment."
older_and_wiser
Tamara opens the door and waves. She doesn't invite them in. She doesn't say anything at all, in fact. She's being extra careful.
cross_and_bow
Bella understands. In she goes. She pulls the rhinestone out of her pocket. It's about an inch across.
"This is not a real gemstone. It's not extra-durable, either. Soph gave Minnie enough moving-around room that you don't need to keep it somewhere obvious; do you mind if I hide it for you, so in the worst case Minnie's still retrievable?"
"This is not a real gemstone. It's not extra-durable, either. Soph gave Minnie enough moving-around room that you don't need to keep it somewhere obvious; do you mind if I hide it for you, so in the worst case Minnie's still retrievable?"
older_and_wiser
Tamara has to take a second to think through what Bella means by 'worst case', but nods once she's parsed it. "I can't think of a reason I would need the stone myself. Might as well be safe."
cross_and_bow
"Okay. Go - stand in a bathroom or something and I'll find a place to stash it."
older_and_wiser
"I'll be in Kevin's room," she says instead. She's too polite to say that she'd rather not have a stranger in Kevin's room, ghost or no. Tamara takes the opportunity to put Kevin to bed.
cross_and_bow
And Bella looks around, and eventually pastes Minnie's rhinestone in place with sticky-tack behind the back wall of the silverware drawer.
"Done," she calls when this has been accomplished.
"Done," she calls when this has been accomplished.
older_and_wiser
Tamara is a few more minutes in convincing Kevin to go to bed, but eventually emerges.
"So... what now?" she asks. "I'm not in... a good place, for decisions, right now."
"So... what now?" she asks. "I'm not in... a good place, for decisions, right now."
cross_and_bow
"Minnie will keep an eye on the area around your place and be able to warn you to call me if something happens. Get the porchlights, get a motion detector for them. Make sure your smoke detectors and fire extinguishers are working; if I were a vampire intent on getting you where you could be attacked I'd commit arson. I'll make evening patrols around here at irregular evening hours. Can I get a picture of him?"
Minnie pops into visibility. "I didn't see anybody just now," she reports. "But it's the daytime."
Minnie pops into visibility. "I didn't see anybody just now," she reports. "But it's the daytime."