Free The Clockwork Fairy Kingdom by Leah Cutter

through it. “Y’all
wouldn’t happen to have actual sweet tea, would you?”
    “Yeah, we got that. Anything else?”
    Chris looked at Robert. “The fries are good,” he suggested.
    “An order of fries for us to split.”
    The waiter collected the menu and drifted away.
    “So how are you doing?” Chris asked, looking as if he had
all the time in the world.
    Robert, however, needed to put in his bets before the first
race of the afternoon. “I found them,” he said.
    “All right,” Chris drawled. “I reckon we can get down to
business.”
    Robert stifled his sigh. Chris thought of himself as a Southern
gentleman. He always delayed business for “niceties.” Robert pulled the three
best pictures from the top folder. One of Denise, alone, standing by the side
of her car. Robert had finally been able to follow her into town. The other
pictures were of the three of them, waiting at the bus stop.
    Chris glanced at the first two, then picked up the third. It
had the best shot of the boy. “How is he?” Chris demanded, staring at the
picture.
    “They all seem fine,” Robert told him.
    Chris turned the other pictures over and kept the one close
to his chest when their waiter returned with the sweet tea and fries. “Thank
you, son,” Chris said. He didn’t put the picture down until the waiter had
left.
    “I have to see my boy,” Chris told Robert earnestly.
    “I thought you wanted to be reunited with your whole family,”
Robert said. It was one of the reasons why he’d agreed to take the case: Families
belonged together.
    “Yes, yes,” Chris said breezily. “Of course. But first I
need to see Dale. Make sure he’s okay.”
    Robert picked up another folder, thumbed through the papers
it contained, then handed Chris a computer printout. “Turns out the school’s
main secretary was single. And bored,” Robert added with a grin. Not very
imaginative, either—her password was her birthday.
    Chris read through Dale’s report card eagerly. “Fitting in,
fast learner, gets along well with others—that’s my boy. Look at those A’s!”
Chris concluded proudly.
    “So you see, he’s doing well,” Robert said.
    “Good, good,” Chris said. “I just need their address.”
    “And I just need my money,” Robert said in reply. He checked
his watch. Maybe he could still get in a bet on the second race.
    Chris snorted. “Now, don’t go trying to cheat this old horse
trader. You could have Photoshopped those pictures,
and while you say that’s my boy’s report card, it could be a complete work of
fiction. No. You get your money after I see my boy.”
    Robert checked his watch again. He wasn’t going to be able
to place any bets that day. “Come on,” he said, standing.
    “Where?” Chris asked, taking a deliberate drag on his tea
and not moving.
    “To the school. To see your boy.”

Chapter Five
    When they approached the house, Dale saw their mom’s car sat
in the driveway. “We shouldn’t bring him in,” he hissed to Nora. Their plan
seemed absurd. Kostya looked out of place on the
road, still bleeding and, now, limping. “Maybe we should take him to a doctor
or something.”
    “I’ll distract Mom in the kitchen. You bring him in through
the front door,” Nora whispered in return, ignoring his concerns. She walked
away from them and went into the house through the door in the garage that led
straight to the kitchen.
    “Come on,” Dale said, with poor grace. He unlocked the front
door, pushed open the heavy wood, then stopped and listened. Nora was talking
with Mom in the kitchen. He listened for a moment. She was telling her about
the “painting” they’d done on the beach.
    The dwarf gave an odd shudder as he stepped over the
threshold. “Human houses, eh?” he whispered, shivering again and looking
around.
    That relieved Dale. It meant Kostya wouldn’t stick around, not if the house bothered him so much. Kostya looked around curiously as Dale led him past the
plain, gray couch