Steampunk Jack

A half hour later they were standing outside of her shop, with him probing the crack with a pen knife he carried in his pocket. “Are you sure it’s here?”

“It should be!” Anne insisted, stomping her foot in frustration. “Could someone have found it?”

James stood, frowning, then turned towards the apothecary’s shop and tested the knob. The door swung open easily.

“Oi, the shops closed. Can’t you read the sign?” A man’s voice called out, followed by the appearance of a stocky man in fine dress but with dirty knees coming out of the back area of the shop.

“Elbert!” Anne cried out, staring at the man.

James, in turn, turned and looked at Anne. “Elbert?” He asked. “Who’s Elbert?”

“I’m Elbert, and why the bloody hell are you talking to a stuffed owl?”

“I wasn’t! I was just startled. I didn’t expect anyone to be here.” James said, pulling away from the animal in question. “Why are you here?”

“The Bobbies came by Uncle Richards, told him that my cousin, his Anne, was killed by the Ripper. Turns out my cousin left the shop to me.” The shorter man said eyeing James up and down. “Pissed Uncle Dick off right royal, it did.” He muttered, though with a slight twitch of a grin. “What are you doing here?”

“I am- was a friend of Anne’s. I was stopping by to make sure everything was alright and to fetch her cat before it starved.”

“I haven’t seen the cat. I figured the Bobbies probably chased it off.” Elbert’s eyes went to the open window with a bowl of fresh chicken in it. “I’ll let you know if Prince Albert comes back.”

“Thank you.” said James.

“That was actually rather sweet of you cousin.” commented Anne, momentarily forgetting her cousin couldn’t hear her. Elbert peered around the shop for a moment, before returning his gaze to James.

“Far as I can tell, everything’s here.” Elbert commented. “For whatever good that does me.”

“So, what are you going to do with the shop?”

“Sell it, if I can. I was separatin’ the stuff that might sell from the useless brick-a-brack.” He nodded his head towards a mostly full rubbish bin.

Anne, following the motion, made an angry squawk and rushed to the bag. She couldn’t touch it to sort through it, but just the sight of what was on the top caused her pain.

“My rowan staff is not trash, you loon! It took me forever to find rowan wood dropped by moonlight! I bet you threw away my solstice oak too, you bastard!” She snarled, leaning this way and that to peer around the pile. “And that’s the hound’s-tooth, and chamomile I was drying. You know what chamomile is, you bloody wanker!”

“My cousin was an odd duck, but she was a good woman.” Elbert said shaking his head, cleaning his ear out with a finger “She didn’t mention having any fine gentlemen callers.”

“Anne and I…” James shook his head. “It’s a bit complicated. How much would you want for the shop? As it is, I mean, with everything in it?”

“I-I don’t know, I haven’t gone through everything. And there are a few things of hers that should stay in the family, don’t you know. I was trying to find it… them I mean, when you came in. Maybe she mentioned it, a book of sorts. It’s a…family history…”

“No, she never mentioned it, or if she did it was in passing.” James replied. He knew Anne had said there were only a few things that she wanted from her house, but seeing her things pawed through and thrown away… He could see the pain of it written on her face.

“You! You….You donkey’s end! You are here for mother’s book!” Anne yelled, stepping away from the bin of “rubbish”. “You came here so you could get the Campbell family spell book!” Ann slapped at him her invisible hand passing through his cheek. “Did setting yourself on fire teach you nothing?”

Elbert shivered as a sudden chill went through him, and he peered around, once more using a dirty finger to clean his other ear. “Give me a week to sort things out, then I’ll know how much to ask for. Also that dang cat of hers may come back if I leave food out. Don’t want the blighter to be left on the streets, after all.”

James looked around the shop. There were crystals dangling from silver wire in the windows, and glass jars full of various herbs, flowers and barks. Hanging above the door was a broom, and one wall was covered in tiny pendants and bangles which were more akin to well made, delicate works of art than mere jewelry. The other walls had cloth draped over them, or small paintings of the trees and lakes. The rich, earthy scent of herbs and sandalwood filled the air. All in all it was a very female place. James admitted to himself, it reflected Anne and her personality perfectly.

The inventor’s eyes found spots in the dust where Elbert had moved things, creating holes in the setting. There were paintings that had been taken down, resting under the outlines of where they had been, and James could see where he had moved curtains to look behind them.’

“Five hundred pounds, for the whole shop and everything in it right now.” James paused as he saw the almost matching look of shock on Anne and Elbert’s faces. He grinned “Including the cat, if it returns.”

Anne raced across the room and tried to hug him, her cool intangible arms passing through his body. Elbert now looked nervous.

“Five…hundred.” He glanced around the store, he was certain that the tof was offering far more than his cousin’s shop was really worth, product on the shelf included. He had already emptied the tiny safe of the coins she had. Other than the property itself the only valuable thing here was Aunt Maddie’s book. Questions echoed though his head, and most of the answers terrified the small man. “I am of the mind that it is all a bit to dear to just let it go… for five hundred.”

“Seven, then?” James replied, arching his eyebrows. “Some of her stock is most likely past use, this long after her death, and the shop won’t have any other’s coming to buy it as whole cloth, so to speak, after a murder happened on its doorstep. I suggest you take it.”

“That… is most reasonable governor.” Elbert smiled, apparently willing to abandon the search for the book. “Though… that would need to be… cash.”

“Excellent,” James said. He reached into his coat pocket to claim one of his myriad notebooks and wrote, in his crisp and clear handwriting, the address of his shop. “I will have to stop and collect the funds from my bankers. I will expect you to have the deed with you and be ready to sign it over appropriately.”

“Anne kept it in her safe. I’ll fetch it now.” Elbert darted towards the back room.

“How big is this place, Anne?” James asked.

“There is the store front, a back office and a small two room apartment above.”

The scientist nodded. “I’m going to have to find someone to look over the property, for the short term. I think I recall one of my students mentioning he was looking for work.”

Elbert walked back in holding a small box. “Here is the deed.”

“You said your uncle was upset; do give him my sympathies on his daughter’s death.” said James. “I am sorry for both of your losses.”

“Uncle Dick wasn’t that mad about Anne, he was angry about the shop. Aunt Madeline got the money to pay this place off from him. He felt that since she and Anne are gone it should of come back to him, not me.” The small man shook his head. “He forgot that he abandoned Anne when he divorced Aunt Madeline.” The other man shrugged and gave James a wry grin. “Me and Anne didn’t always see eye to eye. Truth be told if she was here, I suspect she’d be yellin' at me now about pitchin' her stuff, telling me how important her stick is, and calling me a wanker, but we were family.” He picked up his top hat from one of the counters and brushed the dust off.

“If’n you were truly a friend of hers, I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to know you took it up for her. If’n you aren’t…” He shrugged. “Hope for your sake that ghosts are really just old wives tales.”

James blinked. “Um… yes, well… I don’t think I have to worry about her haunting me for taking control of her shop.”

Elbert nodded “If the cat comes back and you and Albert don’t get alone contact me and I’ll take him. Anne would haunt me if her cat ended up in someone’s meat pie. Her funeral is they day after tomorrow at St. Elizabeth’s.” Elbert handed him a card. “Here is the hostel I’m staying at.” The dapper little man walked to the door of the shop, strong box and deed in hand. “When should I stop by your flat?”

“I’ll return home in, say, three hours?”

Elbert nodded, and tossed a brass key to James, who caught it clumsily. “I’ll see you in three hours, then. Afternoon Gov.”

“He didn’t seem like that bad a guy.” James said, once Anne’s cousin was gone.

“He is a toad.” Anne replied, though could hear the affection in her voice. She looked around her shop, sighing “Thank you James. I thought I’d be okay with just grabbing mother’s book and a few things that might be useful, but....”

“It’s nothing Anne. Seven hundred pounds is a small price to keep you from any more distress.” James chuckled “Besides, I’m fairly certain your shop is worth a bit more than that.”

Anne began carefully measuring out steps until she came to a specific spot on the floor. “I still truly appreciate it. I am also glad Elbert didn’t find the book. When I was five, he somehow managed to get a hold of it, and though he couldn’t read the book he decided to imitate the actions in several of the pictures. It was for a light spell, but he used copper instead of gold and his cantrip… and he set shoes on fire.” She giggled. “He still has scars on his feet, as a matter of fact.”

She looked around, making sure she was in the right place, and pointed down at the floor “Here… There is the false stone, and the key should be in that drawer, it looks like nothing more than a bulky pair of tweezers.”

“These?” James said, crossing the room and pulling them out of the drawer.

“Yes, pinch them closed then slide them in right here.” she instructed, gesturing at a small hole in the stone floor. “Then let them open and you will be able to lift the stone out.”

“That’s very clever.” James said as obeyed her directions and lifted the stone out of the floor. “The stone matches the rest of the floor perfectly.” He reached in and pulled out a large cloth wrapped bundle. The inventor unwrapped the package to find a large, leather-bound book. The front was covered in runes, tooled into the hide.

“Those are the names of all the Campbell’s who have owned and added to the book.” Anne said, her ghostly hand reaching down as if to caress the cover. “Seven hundred years of alchemy and witchcraft are documented here.”

“Doesn’t seem big enough.” James commented, before he looked down and pulled out a second bundle, a roll of red velvet

He opened it to find small pouches of precious and semiprecious gemstones, most of which had been polished into cabochons or other shapes.

“Crystals and gemstones can be used to empower spells.” Anne said answering, his question before he could ask it. “These stones have been collected by my family and attuned to spell craft. There should be one more box in there. Pull it out but do not open it. I had forgotten about it, to be totally honest.” There was a reverence in Anne’s voice that was almost religious.

The last box was a tiny thing that didn’t fill the palm of his hand which was carved of alabaster; the edges of the box had been sealed with a golden colored wax. “What is it?” asked James as he looked at the little box.

“I don’t know.” Anne said in an almost sheepish voice. “It’s been in my family for centuries; Campbell lore says that it will only be opened when all hope is dead. Under the wax there is a runic seal to ensure that it cannot simply be forced. When I was little, I thought it might be unicorn horn or some other rare alchemical substance. My mother thought it was a spell, too powerful to be kept in the book. Elbert, the little brat, thought it was a genie. He heard me and mom talking about it, and we caught him rubbing the box hard enough to set it aflame!”

“What is with you and Elbert, if you don’t mind my asking?” James asked. “You’re strangely antagonistic of him, though I can tell you are fonder of him then you care to admit.”

“His father died when he was a baby, and his mum never re-married. Elbert is her precious little man.” She rolled her eyes as she spoke.

“She spoiled him.”

“Hopelessly, and the only male role model available was my father, who is a cad.” Anne glided over to a window, hugging herself as she thought about the past.

“Aunt Sophie did a lot of volunteering, so my own mum ended up watching Elbert frequently. In a lot of ways, he’s more like an obnoxious older brother than my cousin…As he got older he decided he was going to be a wealthy man so Elbert started looking for get rich quick scams, and lost most of his inheritance. He plays cards for money and dates the daughters of wealthy men, and hunts widows to woo love gifts from. He tries not to get anyone hurt, in his defense, but I’ve had to pay leg breakers off more than once when one of his sure-fire, get rich schemes failed to pay out.”

Anne grinned as she noticed a plate of chicken in the small, open window. “I wonder if Prince Albert will come back. I hope so.” she turned to James. “I guess we should pack up what I’m keeping, and hurry to your bank. Elbert will be at your place before us, I have no doubt.”