Evidently Noelle's appearance was misleading. In the time it took for me to have the brief exchange with Paen, she finished looking at the apports, recited a couple of words, clapped her hands, and whammo! The poltergeist suddenly appeared in front of her. He looked even creepier in the light, his body movements fast and jerky, like he was on videotape being run at twice the normal speed.
"This is a minor poltergeist," Noelle told us when Clare gave a little scream and ran to hide behind Finn. "An apprentice, by the looks of him. He hasn't mastered the skills of appearing human or controlling apports yet. What's your name, poltergeist?"
Several loud raps answered her question. Noelle nodded, as if she understood the odd answer. "Very well, Reuben. How were you made?"
Two raps sounded.
"Is it talking?" I whispered to Paen, moving until I was right next to him.
"Evidently. I've never seen a poltergeist before. This is fascinating."
"Yeah, fascinating," I muttered, wishing for a moment that the poltergeist and Guardian were gone so we could go back to our previous activities. Maybe if I meditated first, I'd be able to ground myself enough to stay in my body?
"I see." Noelle glanced at Clare, then over to Paen and me. "As you know, there are two breeds of poltergeists, orthodox and mundane."
"Ah," I said, trying to look savvy with the whole poltergeist thing.
Evidently Noelle saw right through my attempt. "Orthodox poltergeists are born, while mundanes are made poltergeists, generally by the cursing of a demon lord. It seems Reuben here was cursed by Oriens. He was, in fact, a faery before he was cursed."
"Don't you say it!" Clare said, pointing a finger at me.
I grinned, but said nothing.
Noelle calmly examined the poltergeist. "Do you know what I am?"
He rapped out an answer.
"Then you know that I am perfectly capable of conducting an exorcism if necessary," Noelle said calmly, sketching a couple of wards on him.
A barrage of agitated rapping met that statement. The poltergeist himself blinked in and out as if unable to contain his emotions.
"Just so," Noelle said, nodding again. "I hope it won't come to that. It really would be best if you would cooperate with us by answering our questions."
The poltergeist knocked twice.
"Excellent." Noelle turned to where I was clumped up against Paen's side. "I think we're ready to proceed."
"Er… forgive me for asking, but do all poltergeists talk by making rapping noises?" I asked.
"Oh, heavens, no. Only the inexperienced ones. A truly old poltergeist could pass for human if he wanted. Reuben here is a very young one; I'd say about twelve or so."
There were three raps.
"I stand corrected—he's fifteen. What questions would you like me to put to him?"
"Samantha?" Paen deferred to me. I flashed him a grateful smile that he hadn't tried to usurp my authority, straightened up, and gave the poltergeist a firm look.
"I'd like to know why he was here searching the flat."
Reuben rapped out an answer. I looked at Noelle for a translation.
"He says he was sent here to find something."
"What?" I asked the poltergeist. "Who sent you? And why were you going into Clare's room?"
More rapping. Noelle listened for a moment, her eyes narrowing as she concentrated. When Reuben's knocking came to an end she blushed a bit, answering us without meeting our eyes. "He says he was sent by Pilar to find a statue of a bird. I won't go into why he was going into Clare's room other than to say apparently Reuben has some voyeuristic tendencies."
"Ew," I said at the same time Clare gasped in outrage. "Who is Pilar?"
Noelle listened again to the raps. "All he's saying is Pilar is the one who hired him. I don't think he can answer the question, Sam. I doubt if he knows more than that." She lowered her voice. "I don't think he's particularly bright."
Reuben rapped once.
"This is the second mention of that statue," Paen said thoughtfully, giving me a curious look. "I'd like to see it."
"It's locked up at Mila's sex shop," I reminded him. "We can see it tomorrow if you think it has some bearing on things, although I don't see how it's anything but a coincidence. An odd one, to be sure, but still a coincidence."
"Possibly. It's difficult to tell," Paen said.
"Is there anything else you can tell us about Pilar or why you were sent here?" I asked Reuben. The poltergeist shimmered a second or two before answering.
"He says no. He was summoned by Pilar, given instructions to search your flat, and sent on his way."
"What does Pilar look like?" Paen asked.
Noelle translated the answer. "Medium height, dark hair and eyes. He had a monkey with him, a small monkey."
"A monkey?" I gawked for a moment.
"How very odd," Clare said, peering around Finn's shoulder to look at Reuben. "The man who shot me had a monkey. And you said you saw a monkey before, didn't you, Sam?"
"Yeah. What sort of a monkey was it?" I asked the poltergeist.
"Small monkey," came the answer.
"Was its name Beppo, by any chance?" I asked, aware that Paen had moved away from me and was looking out the window to the street below.
"Yes."
"Oooh," Clare said, coming out from behind Finn. "How eerie is that?"
"Not terribly eerie," I answered, nibbling my lip for a moment. "But I'm willing to bet my entire savings that this Pilar guy is one and the same as our two monkey men."
Noelle looked surprised. "You were shot?" she asked Clare.
"Yes. My Versace is completely ruined," Clare answered, her chin rising in a militant manner. "I'd like to meet this Mr. Pilar again. In a closed room. Just him and me and a garden hose."
Noelle squinted for a moment at Clare, and then nodded. "Oh. Faery. That explains it."
"I am not!" Clare protested.
We all ignored her. A few more questions determined that Reuben had no more information for us, so Noelle dismissed him with the warning not to come back. She warded the doors and windows as an additional line of defense.
"It won't keep out a really powerful being, but it should help keep out any statue-seeking poltergeists," she told us as she was leaving. She paused for a minute at the door, tipping her head to the side as she considered the four of us standing in the living room. "Does this remind anyone of a movie?"
"Eh?" I asked, confused, my attention divided between making plans and watching Paen look out the window.
"A bird statue that everyone seems to want, a private investigator named Sam, a partner who was shot—doesn't that ring any bells with you?" Noelle asked.
"No," Clare answered, frowning.
I smiled at Noelle, having watched more of a classic movie channel than my cousin. "Just call me Bogey."
She laughed and wished us all luck, leaving with a little wave.
"Now what do we do?" Clare asked, looking from Paen to Finn to me.
I stifled a yawn. "I'll check the databases for any information on a man named Pilar, especially in relation to objets d'art. You can—"
"Go to bed," Paen interrupted, finally turning away from the window. He picked up his coat, giving me a long look as he did so. "It's late. You're tired."
"I'm not," I started to protest, but stopped when Paen tipped my chin up so he could look deep in my eyes.
His thumb stroked over my cheek briefly. "Now there are dark circles under your eyes. You need to sleep before you try to do any more investigating."
"Bed! What a wonderful idea. I wholeheartedly endorse it," Clare said, pulling Finn backward into her room. "We can work in the morning. Or later in the morning, since it's morning now."