"Syche," he whispered.

            Kael had Joshua by the wrist and dragged him towards the nearest group of bodies before Joshua could process that information.

            "You felt another Syche?" Joshua spluttered.

            "You already know the answer. I felt their energy, probing about the crowd. They felt me, for sure." Kael gestured down to his shabby short sleeves and jeans.

"Staying warm," Joshua said.

            "It was a small output of energy," Kael said, letting go of Joshua as they moved into the heart of the crowd. "For all they know it was subconscious, just a local who doesn't know they have powers."

            "And we're on the move because?"

            "They'll know where we were. Hopefully we can turn it around. They won't have seen me and only know there was a Syche in the food court. We might even catch them coming to investigate."

            Joshua waved at the Farmer and Emilie as they swung by the crowd on their wagon, a full group on the hay stacks behind. "Kael." Joshua paused and bit his thumb. "Look how you are dressed."

            Kael slowly looked himself over and nodded. "I'm dressed like someone who can't get cold."

            "And you've been rubbing that in the town's face for two weeks. If there's another Syche in town, they already know. Even if they aren't from here and just arrived, they will shortly. They just have to ask about anything weird going on and everyone will point in your direction. You made sure of that."

            Joshua pulled off his coat and threw it at Kael's face. "Put this on, you dope."

In his rush, Kael's arms stuck in the folds, losing the sleeves. He struggled and whipped his torso around creating even more of a hassle.

            Joshua ignored the panic and calmly continued. "We have two mysteries to solve before midnight now, so let's split up. You find the Syche, and I'll handle the Bartholomew business. If you're willing to commit to my theory that there are no coincidences, then the Man in Black might be as supernatural as people say."

            Kael frowned. "I'm still with the rest of humanity in believing any number of coincidences can have any number of explanations."

            "I know the Dictum." Joshua said exasperatedly.

            They briskly strolled through the music venue which was nothing more than a portable aluminum stage attached to a trailer hitch. The band on stage jamboreed with a redneck twain which clashed with the soundtrack in Joshua's head of action and suspense. Out of beat with the rhythm, Joshua marched forwards too fast to be called casual as perspiration pooled on his forehead.

            "You find the Syche," Kael said, zipping up his new disguise and rustling his hands through his short, dark hair as if that was the problem. "I know just about every kid around here and they've been helping me look for Bartholomew. I'm sure Ollie is here. He'll know about any new kids in town."

            "Absolutely not." Joshua threw his arms up in nervous showmanship. Hiding had been Joshua's go-to since leaving home at thirteen and he had figured some things out: act like you were at a party if you were at a party. Joshua was normally animated, especially at a shindig, so he spun with the music as he finished his answer. "Kids have been on winter break since we got here. They wouldn't have met anyone new. Otherwise I'd have just asked Emilie."

            "There's no winter break here! School breaks are during harvest, not planting. Also, even if that wasn't true, you don't kidnap a child and then enroll them in school," Kael said. "Friggen' idiot."

            "School is still in session?" Joshua murmured.

            "Not today, but yeah."

            Joshua gave a pained grunt. "I am such an idiot. That's– wait." Joshua brought their forced march to a stop and folded his arms. "If– but then no."
            "J? We're in the middle of something here."

            "I know, I know. Just go find the Syche. I know who Bartholomew's child is. Just remember," Joshua paused and waited for Kael to lean in, "whoever takes down the Man in Black wins."

            "Unless he is the Syche, then I get to."
            "Goes without saying. Keep the Syche away from me." Joshua grinned. "Unless you're in danger, then I'll swoop in to save you." With the words still in the air, Joshua sprinted back the other way, leaving Kael momentarily rooted in place.

            Joshua weaved through crowds and headed for the very center of the town square before stopping and looking around. Deep breath. He needed a plan. Some clever way to ensure everything came together. In a way that was both elegant and satisfying. In other words, in a way where he could look Kael dead in the eye and tell his brother to suck it.

            Joshua grinned as a devilish thought came to his mind. Pure pandemonium.

            He pulled his cell phone from his jeans and flipped it open. There was one other player in town outside of the Man in Black that would be interested in the missing child. Joshua entered the phone number. The phone gave its iconic clanging noise as it routed through the local HOILA.

            "Hey County Man! You'll never guess who this is!" Joshua could hear the slow waltz being played live on the other end, but looking up, didn't see the County in the crowds.

            "I don't have a guess. I'm off right now. If it's an emergency, please call the straight line, otherwise–"

            "It's Joshua. Yeah, that kid from the inn this morning. You remember me, right?"

            A response on the other end: "The prick. Yes. Did I even hand you my card?"

            "I found the girl. That missing child you were looking for? I know where she is." Joshua was shouting now. He had walked closer to the music looking for the County but they had switched to something more upbeat, less conducive to hearing.

            "Okay. I'm going to take you seriously for now. Where is she?"
            "Do you have your gun?"

            The County didn't respond right away. "I'm off duty this second. Do I need my gun? Is the girl in danger?"

            "Get your gun. I'm expecting everyone to arrive together. I'd hate to see the party interrupted so I'm going to find a place a bit out of town. I'll call you back once I know where you need to be. Stand by." Joshua flipped his phone shut knowing full well that he sounded like a loon, but he expected that the next time he called, the County would have his gun and be willing to show up to whatever address Joshua fed him.

            Gun vs. Syche, Joshua typically bet on Syche. However, the thing about Syches was that their powers required a lot of focus. If you had the County waving his piece around, threatening to pop off, it was entirely possible that the Syche would be too distracted to notice someone coming up to drop him from behind.
            One third of Joshua's plan was underway. Next, he needed the bait. You didn't need to know who a person was if you knew what they wanted, so Joshua had a plan. A simple plan. Yet another plan where he did very little of the actual work.

            Earlier atop the water wheel, he had spied Doree and company enter the diner, he headed there now. The eatery bustled with fifty bodies packed in tight. Joshua prepared himself for the delightful smells of bacon and syrup but received a pleasant surprise as wafts of sweet cakes, pastries, and wimberberry pies met his nostrils. This would have been a lovely night if he didn't have to work. Joshua sighed and strolled along the booths before sighting Doree, Maury, and Katlyn. He knew better than to guess which was which after this morning’s kerfuffle.

            "Top of the evening, ladies," Joshua proclaimed, lazily leaning against Doree's seat and shooting them the phoniest smile.

            "Please don't tell us you need anything right now," either Maury or Katlin groaned. "That number we left on the desk was for emergencies.

            "That's a good point," Doree said, glaring down Joshua. "It was an emergency number, to be called. Why are you running us down?"

            "Not for work." Joshua brought his hand up to his heart, overly taken aback. "I just heard the craziest story and thought I'd share it. I saw you over here and you three are the closest thing to acquaintances, right?" He beamed another grin, enough self-awareness setting in to feel slimy.

            "Out with it then."

            "Okay, so you know that kidnapped child the County was talking to you about today? You'll never believe it."

 

            Five minutes later, Joshua exited the diner with satisfaction and a side of chocolate cheesecake.

            Small town, people talk. Some might say that was a fairly loose plan, but for a town this size, it seemed foolproof. Everyone would have heard of the missing child from the exchange in the morning, give those same people an hour now and they would know the missing child's name.

            The preliminaries done and feeling content that he at least sampled the treats, Joshua readied himself for the final phase: getting everyone together. He pierced through the body of the crowd, heading for its heart like an arrow. In the middle of the town square, the Farmer still redundantly circled like the old blaspheme of purgatory. The church says when you die you die, but that didn't sit right with some people who wanted more, even if that more kinda sucked. Which is all to say, Joshua was sure that the poor horse longed for the sweet embrace of death.

            More pointedly, Emilie sat up front with the farmer-- good.

            As the wagon haggarded by, Joshua grabbed the side and swung himself onto the cart. His feet slipped on the snow-melt wet planks and he fell on his back, knocking the air from his lungs. Amidst the giggles of small children and the grownups, and fighting against his own spluttering and coughing, he refused the one or two helping hands that stuck out; Joshua pulled himself to his feet and inched forward towards the driver.
            "Oy, Farmer-man."

            The Farmer craned his neck to look at Joshua, one eye still on the road.

            With his attention achieved, Joshua instead looked to the closest man on a hay bale. "You from Einhurst?" The man nodded. "How long has Emilie lived here?" Joshua motioned to the little girl next to the Farmer.

            "About a month. Her mother died. Everyone knows that."

            Joshua was taken back for a second because he could be wrong. Too late now. "Because you know the mother, or because this guy said his sister died?" Joshua thumbed to the Farmer.

            The man looked confused and skeptical. He also refused to answer, but that telltale look of calculation said it all. This man didn't know for sure. Emilie could be anyone's child. With a wave of the hand shooing him forward, the man gave his seat to Joshua, putting him squarely behind the Farmer.
            "I think we're all on the same page here," Joshua said leaning back. He moved to stretch but in reality he had a tight grip on the Farmer's shirt now. "Time to head home. Give the horse a rest, eh?"

            The Farmer sat tall as a tent-pole and Joshua could have sworn he heard his muscles twitch. With the slightest of nudges, the horse pulled off to the side of the circle where a sign read 'Free hayrides' and some makeshift stairs sat.

            The dead silence in the cart ended as everyone lowered themselves on to the mushy concrete. There was some hesitation there, some looks of confusion and evaluation, but Joshua just smiled and waved them off.

            The Farmer grunted, "Let's go to the diner."

            "We're a bit past that," Joshua answered, jumping up and shoving himself between the Farmer and Emilie. "Situationally, not physically. I've already laid the bait and the Man in Black will know soon. Look."

            As the general milieu of the crowd went about their business, one out of every ten slowly turned and looked at the Farmer panged. Like the Farmer was headed towards an execution. Or prison. To be fair, prison was where executions happened in any civilized society.

            "What have you done?" the Farmer asked. Joshua heard the quickened pace of his breathing, the slight glint of sweat on the man's hands as they clamped on the reigns like a drowning man to literally anything, including others that were drowning.

            "Easy does it," Joshua soothed. He didn't know how much get up and go the horse could muster, but if the plan was going to derail, it'd be by this man doing something impulsive. "Just turn around and get us back to your house. Real gently like." Joshua kept his voice low and sweet. "I know you didn't kidnap her. Isn't that right Ms. Bartholomew?"

            Little Emilie looked scared now, wide saucer eyes reflecting the Farmer's own worry.

            "It's alright. Calm. I'm actually going to help your dad and–" Joshua looked left to the Farmer, "who I presume to be a very good friend of yours. Must be, he left the girl with you."

            The horse beat its hooves heavy on the road now, pulling them out of town as fast as its weary legs allowed. Three, maybe four miles an hour was the fastest it could go.

            "He was–" The farmer gulped down something hard in his throat. "The man you are looking for is my brother-in-law."

            "So when they say your sister died, that's you lying without lying is it? I know it's not the time for congratulations but I expected no cleverness and yet here we are. And you," Joshua pasted on his phony grin again and looked at Emilie. "Is your name actually Emilie Bartholomew?"

            She nodded solemnly, desperately looking to the Farmer for queues that never came.

            The Farmer spoke instead, "We tried to come up with a different name than Emilie but she kept messing it up. Seemed safer for her to be consistent."

            "And that day on the hill? You weren't meeting with a lady, yeah? Bartholomew dropped his kid off to the only person left alive in the world he could trust."

            "I thought I saw a man in the distance all in black. My brother was scared to death. Someone was following him. Someone wanted him dead."
            "And you don't know who?"

            They stopped at the four-way intersection, bathed in heavy winter fog. It was the wagon equivalent of a rolling stop, though, and they were off again.

            "I don't. My sister, she married an archeologist. He's that kind of doctor. I don't know what happened but. . .." The Farmer looked from Joshua to Emilie, a faint outline in the foggy night. "Cover her ears." Joshua obliged. "He told me I would never see them again, that I needed to keep Emilie hidden.”

            Joshua removed his hands from Emilie's ears and placed them under his chin. There was no going back now, and the weight of that put a pit in his stomach. Joshua didn't even want to find Bartholomew; that was Kael's thing. Too busy proving how smart he was to think about putting a target on someone's head. He was responsible if they lived or died. He didn't want that. Never again.

            What did he want? Joshua wanted his brother to be happy. Ever since their mom died that's all he ever wanted. Happy and safe. So Joshua went along with delusions of treasure and the impossible.

            It was decided; he would throw up soon. But in the meantime, he gave a strong sniff and perked up. "Okay, I got this. All hands on deck." He took out his phone as the clomped into the dark mists on the outside of town.

            He pressed redial first to the County. "It's Joshua again. The missing child will be at the Farmer's house, grid seventeen in the durlops. The Farmer is her uncle. . . I guess? Someone is coming to kill us. If you didn't listen to me before, bring your gun."

            Joshua hung up without giving the man a chance to say a word.

            And then he called his brother.