Chapter Text
The sounds of the motorcycle could be heard as she drove along the small road towards her destination. Driving was liberating for her, and she enjoyed every trip wherever she went. For her, riding her bike isn't just a means of transportation but a passion that allows her to embrace the joy of the journey itself. She enjoyed the freedom of the open road.
She had a holder for her phone on her motorcycle with a navigator on it. She had driven for about an hour before reaching her destination.
She finally arrived at the sign welcoming her to Fort Salem. She stopped on the side of the road, engaged the kickstand and killed the engine. She looked at the scenery around her. The small town of Fort Salem could be seen from here already.
She had never been there before, but now she had a reason to, and she was going to spend a some time there because of her work.
Scylla Ramshorn was a professional private investigator who specialized in tracking down missing or fugitive individuals. She had been hired by the owner of a rich family business to find a person who had deliberately hidden herself five years ago and no one knows what happened. That's what she had been told and due to her skillful work, she had located the person's whereabouts and they led her to Fort Salem.
The sun was blazing hot in the cloudless sky. Scylla took off her helmet and fanned her hair, which had been sweating inside it. She placed the helmet hanging on the handle of the motorcycle and took her large backpack from her back in front of her and dug out a water bottle and took a big gulp of water. She poured some water on her hand and splashed it on her face.
"It's so hot here." She said quietly out loud and heard someone whistle from a slowly passing car and called out to her, "Looking hot, sexy babe! Would you like to get to know me better?"
Scylla turned to look and grinned at the driver. "Enticing offer! But the motorcycle and I are so close that adding a third wheel would be too much drama."
"Bitch." The driver left to continue his journey and Scylla shook her head in amusement.
She closed the cap on her water bottle and put it back in her backpack. She swung it back onto her shoulder and grabbed her helmet by the handle and placed it back on her head. Then she started her motorcycle, lifted the kickstand with her leg and gassed a bit in place before driving towards Fort Salem.
After a short drive, she arrived at Fort Salem town center. It wasn't a big city, but it seemed to have everything you needed. While driving there, she looked around at the shops, cafes, bars, parks, library, city hall, police station, hospital, bank, etc. It looked like a cozy place because of its greenery and nearby lake view.
People were walking around looking happy and Scylla got a smile on her face inside the helmet that no one else could see.
She raised her visor and spotted a nice-looking cafe some distance away. As she approached the cafe, she realized that finding a parking spot for her bike would be quite a challenge. The streets were lined with cars, and the few available spaces were too small for her bike.
Looking around, she noticed an open area near the bike rack. She expertly maneuvered her bike into the designated spot, ensuring it was secure and out of the way of pedestrians.
Once again, she engaged the kickstand and killed the engine and hopped off from her bike. She took her helmet off her head and put it on the bike saddle for a moment. She dropped the backpack from her shoulder to the ground for a moment and opened her leather jacket to reveal a sleeveless top underneath.
She looked around with a smile until she noticed an old car in the alley next to the cafe and a woman who was in its engine compartment. She didn't know why, but she had to walk a little closer with interest, so she grabbed her backpack from the ground onto her shoulder and took her helmet with her from the saddle. As she approached the corner and peered into the alley, she heard the female person cursing and getting excited when she found what was wrong with the car.
"Yes! Haha! I know what's wrong with you old lady!" Satisfied, the blonde closed the hood of the car and Scylla couldn't take her eyes off of her.
Scylla's thoughts were in slow motion as she stared at this blonde woman with one side of her hair braided, only wearing a sports bra and a shirt tied around her waist that revealed her trained body. And that sweet smile she had on her face with satisfaction. Scylla felt butterflies in her stomach as she stared at the blonde and suddenly felt the heat rise even more. She couldn't tell if it was because of this heat or that blonde.
She quickly went to hide behind the corner when the blond was just about to turn in her direction. She leaned against the wall, evened out her breathing and cleared her mind of the thoughts this blonde caused her. Scylla, you're here on a mission, so focus on it. She shook her head and decided to go inside the cafe.
The cafe was an atmospheric and cozy place. It was decorated with warm, earthy colors which created a peaceful atmosphere. There were soft couches and chairs, and plenty of natural light from the large windows. There were books and green plants on the shelves to add coziness. Calm music plays in the background. The smell that came from the pastries was heavenly. The place brought a really good feeling for Scylla.
She chose a spot in the corner of the cafe and placed her backpack, helmet and jacket on the bench and sat down. A comfortable older woman approached her with a smile.
"Good day darling, what would you like to eat and drink?" The woman asked with a kind voice.
"Good day to you also. I'd have a large coffee and a cream cheese bagel, thank you." Scylla smiled back at the woman.
"Good choice. Sorry if I'm asking, but I don't think you're from around here?" The woman looked curiously at Scylla's belongings.
"It's okay. I'm a traveling journalist or rather a freelancer and I got lost in this cozy little town and this cafe piqued my interest. I love its atmosphere."
"I'm glad to hear you like my cafe." The woman was smiling really warmly.
"You own this place? You've got great interior design taste."
"Thank you, sweetheart." The woman looked out the window. "Is that beautiful red Ducati behind the window yours?"
"Yes. Do you know motorcycles?" Scylla was slightly surprised by the woman's question.
"Oh yes, when I was younger, I was a tough chick who rode motorbikes. Now I have an old car as my trusted friend that I can fix all the time. Or I have a repair woman for it." The woman laughs.
"Sounds like a great time. I've named my bike Birdie because it makes me look like a badass chick too." Scylla started laughing. "And because I feel free as a bird when I'm riding it. You know?"
"I know exactly what you mean." The woman admired the bike once more with a sigh as her youth came to mind. "And sorry to bother you with these, I'll go pick up your order and I'll bring it to you in a moment."
"There's no need to apologize, everything's fine." A smiling Scylla said to the woman who went to the cafe counter to prepare her order.
The cafe's door opened, and its bell rang. Intrigued, Scylla looked towards the door and the slow-motion film started to roll when she noticed the same blonde coming in that she saw outside in the alley fixing the car. Luckily for her, this blonde didn't notice her staring because she was sitting at the corner table.
In Scylla's mind, the blonde walked sexy slowly, which didn't actually happen. She woke up from her thought coma and shook her head again.
The blonde went to lean on the counter and grabbed a cookie from the jar that was intended for customers.
"Quinn, I found what's wrong with your old lady." The blond said happily while eating the cookie she took.
Scylla didn't hear what the blonde said because she was so far away and there were other people in the cafe, so the murmur of conversations could be heard all around.
The older woman who had just been serving her turned around and approached the leaning blonde. "That's great to hear my sweet fixer, but have I told you many times that the cookies are for customers?"
"Relax Quinn, this is my reward for looking at your car once again."
"Let's agree that it is then. So, what's the next step?" Quinn turned to put Scylla's order on the tray.
"Bring your car to the inn yard tomorrow and I'll fix it. I don't have the necessary tools with me right now."
"Okay. Raelle, can you wait a moment while I take this tray to the customer?"
"Alrighty." Raelle turned around to lean on the counter and watched as Quinn took the tray to the table in the corner. Her head tilted slightly when she saw the brunette sitting there. She started to smile to herself as she watched the brunette thank Quinn.
Quinn returned to the counter. "So, tomorrow I'll bring my car to the inn at noon. Oh, and your order for the inn is ready." Quinn noticed that she wasn't being listened to because Raelle's eyes and thoughts were somewhere else, namely on the brunette sitting in the corner.
Quinn rolled her eyes and poked Raelle's neck with her finger to wake her up from her daydreaming.
"Ouch. Why did you do that for?" Raelle turned to ask.
"Raelle, I know she's beautiful and your type, but could you please focus?"
"Yes Yes." Raelle started to lean against the counter again.
"I'm going to pick up your order. Just a moment." Quinn left for the back room.
Raelle got another look at the brunette in the corner and bit her bottom lip as she scanned her.
Quinn came back a moment later with a basket. "Here are the pastries you ordered for the inn." And again, Raelle paid no attention to her. Quinn sighed and walked with the basket into Raelle's line of sight.
"Your order young lady?"
"What? Right." Raelle accepted the basket. "Thanks Quinn, you're the best!"
"I know." Quinn winked at Raelle.
"Okay it's time for me to go back to the inn before the high and mighty comes to hunt me down. I'll see you tomorrow!" Raelle took one more look at the brunette in the corner before going out the door.
Quinn noticed this. "Oh Raelle."
Scylla enjoyed her coffee and pretended that she hadn't noticed the blonde's staring, nor when the blonde had left the cafe. She had discreetly looked in the direction of the blonde and the older woman herself and half-smiled at the attention she received. Quinn approached her questioningly. "Is everything okay here my dear?"
"Yes ma'am. The bagel was very tasty." Scylla wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"Good to hear and please, call me Quinn."
"Okay Quinn, nice to meet you. My name is Scylla."
"Nice to meet you Scylla." Quinn smiled and was about to leave until Scylla stopped her with a question. "Excuse me, but is there or do you have any accommodation to recommend where I can stay?"
"Of course, my dear. I recommend you an inn called the Duck Lake Inn. It's not far from here. It's on the edge of town in a quiet place by the lake."
"Duck Lake Inn?" To Scylla's ears, this sounded like an amusing name for an inn.
"Yes. It's a cozy place and its owner is a nice person." Quinn could tell. "Do you need anything else?"
"No thanks. You already gave me too much of your time." Scylla arranged her trash and dishes on the tray.
"It's okay, I'm happy to serve and help people."
"Thank you."
Quinn smiled warmly before went back to the counter.
Scylla sucked her lower lip as she thought about her next move and decided to go visit the inn. She got up from the bench, put on her leather jacket and swung her backpack on her shoulder. She picked up the tray from the table and with her other hand took the helmet and headed for the counter. She placed the tray on the counter and paid for her order.
"Thanks Quinn for the tip. I'm going to visit that inn."
"My pleasure. Maybe we'll meet again." Quinn took the tray in her hand.
"I hope so. See you." Scylla turned and headed out the door and walked over to her bike.
She flicked her hair back and put her helmet on. Then she zipped up her leather jacket, grabbed the bike's handles, then swung one leg over the bike. She dug her phone out of her pocket and placed it in the holder. She opened the navigation and wrote "Duck Lake Inn." The navigator said that the drive would be 5 minutes from the cafe.
She started the engine and lifted the kickstand. She gassed a couple of times again and packed her bike a little. Then she looked around to see if it would be a good time to go for a drive. She waited for a few cars to drive by and then she gassed after them and started driving towards the inn.
----
"Shitbird! It's about time you came to save our guest." Abigail said loudly to Raelle who just arrived in the inn's kitchen.
Raelle placed the basket on the table and looked at Abigail with a proud grin.
"It's no use looking at me like that. You forgot to place the orders yourself and I didn't get to bake my treats." Abigail was a little annoyed because Raelle had forgotten to order groceries for them, and some had already run out.
"Yeah, and I'm sorry for the hundredth time!" Raelle defended herself.
Abigail pointed her index finger at her friend, looking grumpy. "If you hadn't been flirting with our female guest, you would have remembered."
"I wasn't flirting! I was being friendly."
"Hi, I'm Raelle. A cute girl like you shouldn't..." Abigail's mimicked her voice which annoyed her.
"Yeah, Yeah I got your point. Maybe I flirted a little while helping her get her luggage into the car."
"That little bit of help caused you to forget to place the order." Abigail shook her head and walked over to grab the basket. "Thank you for picking these up." She tore open the cloth over the basket. "These smell heavenly."
"It was a pleasure to visit Quinn's cafe. My eyes are grateful." Raelle held her hands behind her back and had a big smile on her face as she recalled her visit to the cafe.
"I don't know what you mean by that eye thing." Abigail turned her gaze slightly on her. "Don't you have better things to do than swing around with an idiot grin on your face? Like work?"
Raelle approached Abigail and cupped her cheeks and started teasing her. "You're so cute when you're grumpy. I just want to hold your cheeks like…" Raelle's sentence was cut off when Abigail grabbed her hands and pulled them away from her cheeks while laughing at her friend. "You're an idiot, you know that?"
"You guys still like me."
"Maybe a little." Abigail turned her head back to the basket and scooped it up in her hand and was about to take it into the dining room. "Shoo, go away! Go do something sensible." She said to Raelle on the way.
"Yes, high and mighty, I will leave you to prepare your princely dishes." Raelle said jokingly and walked away, leaving Abigail to shake her head.
----
Scylla arrived at an inn on the edge of town. She parked her motorcycle and got up. Her eyes were captured by a beautiful landscapes that invitingly called her to walk a little closer to the shore of the lake that was next to the inn. Sunlight glistened on the calm surface of the lake, tempting her to swim. Green hills and forest could be seen on the opposite shore, which made the landscapes even more spectacular. Birds were flying and diving from the air into the lake trying to catch fish. The landscapes were really beautiful to look at.
A short distance away, you could see a pier where happy people were standing and jumping into the lake. Guests of the inn, I guess? She thought in her mind and dreamed herself of jumping into the lake to cool off.
"Aren't the scenery wonderful?" Scylla heard a female voice ask and turned her head in the direction of the voice.
A red-haired, smiling woman wearing dirty overalls and holding a shovel had come up next to her. Scylla turned to look from her back to the lake. "Yes, very beautiful." She said and then realized she was still wearing the helmet as her thoughts had been taken away by the beautiful lake. She took the helmet off her head and flicked her hair which felt a little sweaty.
A red-haired woman with dimples looked at her with a smile. "I haven't seen you before stranger. Is this your first time here?"
"A stranger?" Scylla was amused by this.
"I mean a beautiful stranger in a leather jacket with a motorcycle and... Oh no, maybe I should shut up. I'm letting all the stupid stuff out of my mouth."
Scylla was now laughing out loud at the woman's embarrassment. "Yes, I'm here for the first time and it's really beautiful here. And I don't mind what you just said. Don't worry about it. I thought it was cute."
"That's why I'm comfortable here. I love nature and this peace here. And thank you for what you said." The woman tilted her head slightly and took off her gloves and extended her hand to Scylla. "My name is Tally Craven, nice to meet you."
Scylla reached out her own hand and shook Tally's. "Scylla Ramshorn. Nice to meet you too Tally. Do you work here?"
"Yes! I take care of the garden and grounds of this inn. I grow vegetables and take care of flowers here. I love my job!" Tally smiled broadly as she was proud of her work.
"I'm glad to hear that." Scylla turned her gaze back to admire the lake.
Tally looked at Scylla with interest and asked, "Are you coming to stay here?"
Scylla turned her gaze slightly towards Tally. "Yes. I was told that this place is cozy and has a nice owner."
"Whoever told you that is right. The owner is the best. I can take you to reception." Tally suggested.
"That would be nice. Thanks."
"Alrighty! Follow me." Tally started walking and Scylla followed her.
Scylla hadn't paid attention to the inn itself yet because the lake was distracting her. The inn was pastel yellow and had two floors. As they stepped onto the porch, Scylla's attention was drawn to a duck-shaped sign next to the door that read "Welcome to the Duck Lake Inn." Scylla thought it was really cute.
"Are you coming?" Tally asked Scylla, who was left to admire the sign.
"Hmm? Oh yeah. Sorry." And she followed Tally inside.
The lobby area was large with a comfortable looking couch and chairs for guests. There were pictures of different landscapes on the walls, which brought some kind of calmness to the space. Scylla looked around admiringly and became completely enamored with the place.
There was a reception desk with a phone, computer and other stuff on it.
"Hmm where is she…" Tally thought out loud. "RAEEELLE! Where are you!?"
There was a commotion from behind the desk and a woman got up from behind it. "Tal, don't scream. I was fixing wires." And she started typing on the computer.
And when Scylla saw who this person was, the slow-motion thoughts kicked into motion again. It's you.
"We have a new guest!" Tally said and turned to look at Scylla who was frozen in place. "Scylla?"
"Hmm? Oh yes." She stood behind Tally and walked past to the desk.
Raelle stared at the computer screen and did not turn her gaze to Scylla yet.
"Hi, I would like to book a room." Scylla crouched a little closer to Raelle.
"Yeah... okay done." She looked up and noticed the woman in front of her whose captivating blue eyes were too close to her. She flinched and stood up too quickly, losing her balance and falling backwards onto the floor. "Ouch. My ass."
Scylla put her free hand in front of her mouth in amusement and couldn't help but let out a little giggle.
"And this clumsy case here is the so-called boss and owner of the place.” Tally said from the background.
Raelle quickly got up and turned back to face Scylla with a red face. "Hi, my name is the boss. No! I mean Raelle Collar and yes, I own this place. So, you want to… book a room?" A stuttering voice asked.
Scylla lowered her hand. "Yes please."
"Alrighty... how long are you staying?"
"I don't know yet."
Raelle tapped on the computer. "Okay, we have single rooms available. The room has a breathtaking view of the lake. The sunset is really beautiful to watch."
"Sounds very good.” Scylla's voice had a hint of relish in it.
"And under what name?"
"Ramshorn, Scylla."
"Scylla... a beautiful name. I haven't come across one with the same name before." Raelle had a cute smile on her face.
Tally was shaking her head in the background, knowing where this was going.
Scylla smirked. "Thank you."
"Okay. Could you please fill out this form?"
“Sure.” Scylla placed her helmet on the desk and grabbed a pen and began to fill it.
"You have a motorcycle."
A small grin came to Scylla's face. "Yup."
"That's hot." Raelle mumbled.
Scylla stopped writing and looked up slightly. "What did you say?"
"Oh, I said that's nice." Raelle turned her gaze to the computer screen. She started to feel hot from the face.
"Right." Still a small grin on her face, Scylla turned her gaze back to the form. I heard what you said.
Tally had fun in the background watching Raelle stutter and embarrass herself. She plans to tell Abigail about this at their gossip club, which means casually sitting in the terrace and drinking beer.
"Done." Scylla put the pen on the desk and turned over the form.
"Good. This is your room key. it's on the second floor. I'll show you where it is." Raelle kept the keys with her when she came out from behind the desk and noticed the look on Tally's face but tried to ignore it. “I can help you carry your stuff.”
"No need. I only have this one big backpack and my helmet. Thanks for asking though."
"If you say so, but I'd be happy to help."
"I know. Thank you for it." Scylla smiled sweetly at Raelle who was having trouble saying something to that blue-eyed hot biker. "Um… Okay, yeah. Follow me."
"See you Scylla!" Tally said louder after them.
"See you." Scylla smiled at her and grabbed her helmet and went after Raelle.
"You'll find a bathroom at the end of that hallway, but there are toilets on both floors." She gestured towards the location of the bathroom and then led Scylla upstairs.
"And here is your room." There was also a picture of a duck on the door like the sign that hung on the front porch.
They entered a room with a single bed, a television, a small refrigerator, a chair, a wardrobe and a chest of drawers. The room was cozily decorated, and the lake could be seen from the window. Just as Raelle promised.
"So, here's your key. Don't hesitate to come ask for help with anything. You can usually find me downstairs behind the desk or in the office." Raelle handed the keys to Scylla who looked at her with captivating blue eyes. Frozen by her gaze, she struggled to get the words out of her mouth. "Um... So... Do you need anything else?"
"No thanks. I think I'll take it easy and go to bed early." Scylla smiled.
"Yup okay. I'll leave you alone now." Raelle grabbed the door handle and was about to close the door.
"Raelle?"
Raelle turned quickly. "Yes?"
"Thank you."
"No problem. See you in the morning." A smiling Raelle closed the door behind her.
Scylla waited a moment and sat down on the bed, putting her backpack on the ground. She dug her phone out of her pocket and called someone. It took a while for the call to be connected and answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's me."
“Do you have any news?”
"Yes. I found her."