Ihung up with Shelley and ran back into the house. Jack took one look at my face and was on his feet.
"What? Is Shelley okay?"
"She's fine. She saw the high school's dress rehearsal of Macbeth today and fell into a big crush on a boy—but that's not the point. Thepointis that they used anactual swordin the play. A sword with jewels. And when I pinned her down, she described the 'sword' as the size that I could tell would be dagger-sized to an adult."
Jack and Jed traded a skeptical glance.
"Ah, Tess, dear," Jed began tentatively. "If the school children are playacting, the chance that they're using an invaluable, magical Fae dagger is—"
"Less than one percent probably," I said impatiently, scrolling through the contacts on my phone. "Yes, I get that. But she also said that Mr. Washington yelled really loudly at the boy when he dropped the sword. Would a grown man yell at a child over a toy prop?"
Jack's eyes narrowed. "Mr. Washington, snake shifter or no, was never an excitable man. He was so even-keeled he was boring. I don't know, Tess, you may have something here. And it won't hurt to investigate."
"I have the number for the school, but nobody will be here this late. I don't have Mr. Washington's number, but it will be in the Dead End Purple Pages."
"The purple pages?" Jed looked confused. "What is this thing?"
"It's like the Yellow Pages. A directory of everybody in town's names and phone numbers, but when Lorraine was mayor and started it, she didn't like yellow, so she made it purple. It's all online now, but the name stuck." I logged on, clicked to the Ws, and found the number.
"Okay, dialing now," I told the Shepherds in my kitchen, but after six rings the voice mail told me to leave a message.
"Mr. Washington, this is Tess Callahan. I really need to talk to you about the sword you've been using in your play. There's an outside chance it has something to do with this dagger we're looking for. To save the town. Please call me back the second you get this, even in the middle of the night. Thanks. Tess Callahan." I finished by giving him my number, even though he'd have it on his phone from the call, just in case he wasn't all that tech-savvy.
"No answer, but I'm not willing to wait for him. Let's go drive by his house. Maybe he's out in the backyard or something," I said.
Jack was already cleaning up the table from the meal. It was astonishing how a man with a tiger's strength could fold an extra-large pizza box into a five-square-inch crushed piece of cardboard.
Jed stood, but he wobbled on his feet and had to grasp the back of the chair for balance. The food hadn't helped that much, either. He was aging right before our eyes.
"Maybe I should stay here and rest," he muttered. "I don't want to get in the way."
"I have a better idea," I said. "Let's go to my shop and get the dagger's case. It has an almost-miraculous effect on you. Why not keep it with you until we figure this out?"
Jack's gaze flew to mine, and I swear I was sure that the same thought had just slammed into both of us: what would happen to Jed when this was over? The queen would want her case back. Would he age all three hundred years in a matter of days?
I swallowed hard and shook my head, trying psychically to tell Jack that we had to put it aside for now. Find the dagger, save the town.
Save the town, save Jed.
We'd do it. That's all there was to it.
We took Jack's truck, in case my headache roared back. I fidgeted all the way to my shop, watching my phone and willing it to ring. Jed leaned against the window and said nothing, and Jack was pretty quiet too. None of us were in the mood for small talk.
At my shop, Jack retrieved the box. "I didn't think this through. The thing gave me a miserable headache earlier. I should have driven separately."
"We can always put Jed in the back of the truck with the box," Jack suggested.
I laughed a little, but shook my head. "No, we can't."
He sighed. "No, we probably can't. Are you okay?"
So far I was, shockingly. Maybe ithadn'tbeen the box that had caused the head pain earlier? The music box was a Fae artifact, and it had never given me headaches. Or maybe I was just becoming immune to it? And what about the well runes?
Trying to figure out the headache was almost enough to give me another headache.
"I'm fine. Let's get moving. Mr. Washington lives on the other side of town, nearer the school."
Jack pulled off his flannel shirt and wrapped the box in it, leaving him in just a short-sleeved T-shirt. Luckily, tigers didn't get cold as easily as I did, even in their human shapes, but I still shivered at the sight and pulled my jacket tighter.
