Page 35 of In the Monster's Wake
Chapter Ten
They were in an areathat wasn’t great, but then, the areas of the city where monsters lived seldom were.Jasper hated it, but there was nothing he could do about it.Besides, it wasn’t like the area wherehelived was much better.
A thick layer of grime coated the windows of the few shops lining the street, making it obvious that they’d closed a while ago.Old flyers and other trash fluttered in the wind, and graffiti covered every visible wall—and probably most of the walls Jasper couldn’t see, too.Their colors were faded and peeling, though, so they didn’t do anything to help the grimness of the area.There were lights on in most of the apartments, but it didn’t help much.
“You should stay in the car,” Archie said as he looked at Jasper.
Jasper didn’t even glare at him.There was no need.“As if I’m going to do that.”
Archie huffed.“I knew that would be your answer, but I figured I’d suggest it anyway.”
“Where you go, I go.We’re a team.”
Archie’s gaze got heated.“We are, aren’t we?”
“No flirting on the job.”
“You’re no fun.”
“You know what would be no fun?If Kester found us before we noticed him.We can’t afford to be distracted.”
Archie rolled his eyes, but he nodded, and his expression turned serious again.“All right.Let’s get started, then.”
They were getting used to working together.Jasper knew to allow Archie to go ahead and talk to the monsters himself because they wouldn’t talk to Jasper.Most didn’t seem to have a problem with him standing there, thankfully.He did his best impression of a statue and allowed Archie to ask questions, but unfortunately, the results were the same tonight as what they’d been every other time they’d done this.
Every monster in the city seemed to know about Kester, but no one knew for sure where he was or why he was here.They wanted him gone, but they couldn’t give Archie any details to help him achieve that.
Jasper kept glancing around since he didn’t have anything else to do.Some of the apartment buildings in the area were occupied, but several seemed empty, including the shops on street level.There were no lights in the dirty and broken windows.
“Do you think Kester might be staying in an abandoned building?”Jasper asked Archie when the monster joined him again after talking to a couple who’d kept glancing at Jasper as if he was about to attack them.He’d kept his focus on the cracked pavement so he wouldn’t spook them, but he didn’t like the way their reaction made him feel.
Archie frowned.“I assumed he was.I doubt anyone would want him staying in their building, and word would get around if people saw him come and go.”
“You think they’d say something if they noticed him?”
“Mmm, probably not.I wouldn’t be surprised if Kester was on the move constantly, though.I doubt he’s staying in the same place for more than a few nights, which is one of the reasons we’re having such a hard time finding him.”
It made sense.Staying in one place would allow people to find Kester, and he was smarter than that.Besides, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill monsters or humans to take over their apartments if he felt like it.That would get people’s attention, though.As far as Jasper knew, there hadn’t been any kind of attack that would lead him to believe that was what Kester was doing.
“We could poke around these empty buildings,” he suggested.
“I don’t see why not.I doubt we’re going to get any answers, anyway.People are afraid of him, and they don’t know where he is.Even if they do, they’d rather keep their mouth shut because it means they’ll survive.”
That was their main problem.No one wanted Kester here, but they also didn’t want to attract his attention.They might if they told anyone they’d seen him around.
