Pied Piper (Modern Wicked Fairy Tales Book 14) Read online

  Unfortunately, every time he tried to call, he received a recorded message saying that the number was “temporarily unavailable”. He wasn’t sure what that meant, exactly. But it was both annoying and worrisome.

  Will took his iPhone from his pocket and clicked his “recent” calls. Haley’s number was there repeatedly. He pressed the number and waited while the phone rang, once, twice, then there was that message again. “Temporarily unavailable.”

  He hung up and frowned at his phone, brow knitted in thought. He knew what he wanted to do. But did he dare?

  The hell with it, he thought, opening his browser and typing in Haley Gaibler 11367. That was the zip code for Haley’s area code. The Google Gods were being kind today, delivering him her phone number, which he already had, and her address, which he did not.

  But he had it now.

  The question was... would he use it?

  Will didn’t want to seem like a stalker or anything. Would it be too strange, to show up at her door? Under normal circumstances, probably. But he couldn’t reach her by phone. And it wasn’t as if he had the wrong number or it had been disconnected. It was just “temporarily unavailable.”

  Just get back to work. There’s plenty of it to do.

  The voice in his head sounded suspiciously like Ratte. Will stood, gulping the rest of his coffee. On his way out of the cafeteria, he tossed the wad of plastic wrap that had encased his egg salad sandwich in the trash. When he reached the elevator, instead of hitting the top floor, where his office resided, he pushed “B” for basement, where his BMW was parked.

  11367 was an interesting zip code. Queens, New York. Part of it was very affluent, with huge houses behind locked gates. Another part of it was full of tenements where people lived in little boxes stacked one upon the other. It was this latter part where he found Haley’s address. He pulled his BMW up in front of the apartment building, more than shocked to find Haley and Piper sitting on the front stoop. Beside them were three boxes and two bags, a sad little pile of stuff.

  Will wondered if he should just drive past and abandon this idea altogether. But the forlorn sight of Haley and her daughter huddled together on the stoop—and the fact that it had just begun to drizzle—made up his mind. He parallel parked his car and got out.

  Piper saw him first, tugging at her mother’s sleeve before jumping up and clapping her hands, as if his arrival was some amazing feat. Then Haley looked up, and the shame apparent on her face at the sight of him broke Will’s heart.

  He was a smart man and it wasn’t too hard to connect the dots. He assumed Haley’s phone was temporarily unavailable because she hadn’t paid the bill. And she was sitting on the stoop with her daughter and their few belongings because they hadn’t paid their rent.

  [Hi] Will signed as he approached, smiling at Piper, who was practically vibrating with excitement.

  [We’re going on an adventure] Piper signed, her blue eyes bright. [Mommy says there will be kids to play with where we’re going]

  [Sounds fun] Will signed, while looking at Haley and asking, “Where are you going, exactly?”

  Haley looked down at the pavement. Her hair was down today, and it fell like a yellow curtain to hide her face as she replied, “The women’s shelter.”

  “Are you all right?” Will asked Haley, nodding at Piper and smiling when she showed him the action figure she’d been playing with on the porch—it was Wolverine from X-Men.

  “I got fired. We got evicted. I had to use a neighbor’s phone to call an Uber to take us to the shelter. Do I look all right?” Haley gave a little laugh, shaking her head.

  “I’m sorry.” Clearly, Will’s deduction had been spot-on. Although he hadn’t anticipated that she’d been fired. After what he’d said to Ian at the picnic, he’d decided to fire her anyway? Will fumed but didn’t say anything about it.

  “No, I’m sorry. None of this is your fault. I’m fine. We’ll be fine.” Haley put an arm around Piper, who had sat down beside her again, running Wolverine over the pavement. Will made the decision in an instant. He’d come there to ask her on a date, but Haley need something much more than that.

  “I came here to ask you a question.” He sat down on the stoop beside her. He’d left his lab coat in the car, leaving him wearing a three-piece suit. Haley looked up at him, brows raised, seeing a doctor sitting on a stoop beside her in the middle of Queens. “Dr. Pfeiffer, I’m sure you’re a nice man, and you’re certainly an attractive one, but honestly, my life is so upside down right now, I couldn’t even think about—”

  Will interrupted. “I’d like to hire you.”

  “...dating...what?” Haley interrupted herself to blink at him in shock. “You what?”

  “You see, my assistant left for greener pastures. I need a new one. Would you be interested?”

  “You came all the way out here to ask me that?”

  Will deflected. “Well your phone isn’t working.”

  “Oh... right.” Haley frowned at the cement, thoughtful. “I don’t know that I’m qualified to work in a lab. I’ve been a secretary before, in an insurance office, but I was terrible in science and math in school. I don’t think I could do any science.”

  Will chuckled. “You don’t have to do science. I promise. It’s a lot of answering phones, coordinating teams in my lab, filing paperwork, that sort of thing.”

  Haley looked more hopeful. “You’re really offering me a job?”

  Will nodded. “I felt bad about the way that idiot treated you at the picnic. I thought you could use a different job. So... how about it?”

  Haley looked at Piper, who was now crouched over a weed growing up through a crack in the sidewalk.

  “There are full benefits,” Will said, hoping to tempt her further. “Stock options. I think there’s a 401K?”

  Haley turned her head slowly to meet his eyes, her face a mask of shock. “A... what?”

  “401K,” Will replied. “You know, a retirement plan?”

  “Retirement...” Haley swallowed, blinking fast. “You know, I haven’t spent one minute of my life considering retirement. Not one minute. I’ve been too busy working and taking care of Piper, trying to afford everything we need to live, let alone thinking about what I’m going to do when she goes to school. Daycare is expensive, but at least the state helps with that.”

  “We have a fully licensed daycare on site,” he said, still focused on the job he wanted her to take. “And they all sign. We have many deaf children... wait, Piper hasn’t been in school? Even preschool?”

  “She’s deaf. What preschool would take her?”

  “There are schools...”

  “Not unless you have a gazillion dollars.”

  “You mean you’ve taught her to sign yourself?”

  “I taught myself to sign. When she was a baby and they told me she was deaf. I took classes at the community college. I checked out every signing book the library had. Then I taught her, yes.”

  Will found himself increasingly impressed by her as they talked. As if she’d somehow sensed they were talking about her, Piper looked up and gave Will a gap-toothed smile, showing him how Wolverine could climb the tall, spiky weed. Even in the middle of all this concrete, nature found a way to thrive. The weed was a hardy sort, reaching up toward the sun, growing strong in spite of the obstacles. It was a little miracle, really.

  Piper abandoned her play and came over to them, signing to her mother, [I’m hungry] Haley reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a crumpled packet of fruit snacks, handing it to her daughter.

  Piper scowled at it. [I want french fries] she signed. [And a hamburger]

  Haley shook her head. [Not today]

  Will watched the little girl’s face fall.

  “I know a little diner around the corner,” Will said to Haley. “How about I take you guys for burgers and fries?”

  Haley shook her head. “No, I couldn’t ask you to do that. Besides, I’m waiting on an Uber...”

  “I’ll
give you a ride,” Will told her. He couldn’t bear to add to the shelter. “Come on. Piper’s hungry. She needs a good meal.”

  Haley hesitated. She turned to Piper, signing. [Do you want to go get a burger and fries with the doctor?]

  Piper’s eyes lit up and she leaped at Will, throwing her arms around him. He caught her, laughing. “I guess that’s a yes?” He cocked his head at Haley in question.

  “Yes.” She smiled. “To everything. To dinner. To the job. And thank you.”

  She signed this last. [Thank you]

  Will smiled back, unable to sign with the little girl still in his arms.

  “You’re very welcome.”

  Chapter 4

  He didn’t know why he was so nervous. He told himself he was just hiring a new employee. Nothing more. He had done what he could to put the idea of dating Haley out of his mind. Yes, he found himself attracted to her, but he wanted to help her more. And she clearly needed this job.

  So when they were face to face over his desk—he had a corner office on the top floor of Hamlen Laboratories—he told himself this was business. Nothing more.

  “You have an amazing view from up here.” Haley looked out the window, wonder on her face. “You must love coming to work every day.”

  “You’ll have a similar view.” Will nodded to the open door. “Your desk is right out there.”

  “I feel like I’m dreaming.” Haley shook her head, as if to clear it. “You’ve been so kind to me. Really. I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “Actually, there is one thing I’d like to ask of you. A sort of contingency.”

  Haley stiffened at his words, her spine straightening. She was a tiny woman, but she drew herself up as tall as she could in the chair.

  “Contingency?” she echoed doubtfully. “What contingency?”

  “Well... it’s not a requirement. It’s just something I’d really like to do. Would you mind if Piper participated in my study?”

  Haley gaped at him, but she didn’t say a word.

  “You see, I’ve developed a device that we’re just beginning to test on subjects. It may allow the participants to be able to hear again.”

  Haley stared, flabbergasted.

  “Listen, I’m not some mad scientist who wants to experiment on your child. I just really want to help.”

  Haley held up her hand to stop him talking. He saw her swallow and then she took a deep, shaky breath before telling him, “I have a confession to make.”

  Will waited, curious.

  “You see... I actually had a really good waitressing job at a posh restaurant in the city. But I quit it to take that catering job. I knew they catered for Hamlen. The truth is... I was hoping I could get in touch with you.”

  Will’s eyebrows went up, but he stayed silent.

  “I read an article about the M-TiME device. I thought, if I could talk to you, maybe she could become part of your study...”

  Will remembered Piper at the picnic, her cryptic comment, you’re the doctor my mommy wants to meet. He’d meant to ask Haley about it but then came the confrontation with her boss and Piper throwing up all over. Now it made sense.

  “Then, you were so nice to us. At the picnic. And then offering me this job. I thought... I just didn’t think it would be right to ask...”

  “Well, you don’t have to ask,” Will replied. “I’m offering. As far as I’m concerned, Piper’s already in.”

  Haley’s eyes welled up with tears and she blinked them back. Will reached over and pulled several tissues from a box, handing them to her across the desk. She took them with a sniff.

  “My only concern is that Piper doesn’t speak. We’d have to put her into some pretty intensive speech therapy—”

  “Oh, Piper can speak,” Haley told him, dabbing at her wet eyes. “As well as any deaf person, anyway. She was talking up a storm just a year ago...”

  Will’s brow knitted. “What happened?”

  “She just stopped talking. The doctors call it elective mutism.”

  “Was there any precipitating event? Elective mutism is usually related to some sort of trauma...” The thought of little Piper experiencing something traumatic enough for her to have stopped talking altogether made him angry.

  “Well... her father took off about a year ago,” Haley confessed. “He was only in and out of our lives before that. But then he moved to Mongolia. We haven’t heard from him since.”

  “Mongolia?”

  “He met a girl online. That’s what he said. And then he took off. Piper took it pretty hard. She loved her dad. He could have kept in contact, at least Skyped with her, but I guess his new life just took priority. And I think he really didn’t want to pay child support. Hard to track someone down when they live in Mongolia.”

  “I imagine...”

  “Anyway, that’s when she stopped talking. They say she’ll probably talk again, when she wants to. She’s very stubborn. I don’t know where she gets it.”

  Will smiled. I know full well where she gets it, he thought. She gets it from a mother who just won’t give up.

  “So is that a yes?”

  Haley nodded, sniffing and dabbing at her eyes again as Will continued to tell her about the job. Her eyes grew wide when he told her the salary. Hamlen paid well, even the non-professional positions. He imagined it was far more money than she’d made waitressing or catering. Then he gave her the handout about the medical and dental benefits.

  “And the daycare is free?” she asked, sounding incredulous.

  “It’s included, yes.” Will smiled. “In fact, we have a sort of Montessori for the deaf for school-aged children, up to grade eight. That would be included as well, when Piper starts kindergarten.”

  “Really?” She blinked, shaking her head. “Someone needs to pinch me. I swear I’m dreaming.”

  “There’s just one more thing...” He’d come up with the idea last night. It had gone off like a light bulb in his head. Haley looked at him over the new employee packet of information he’d given her from Hamlen.

  “I don’t want you to have to live in the women’s shelter,” he said.

  He was familiar with the shelter—Hamlen donated quite a bit of money to them and the staff had volunteered there at events several times. It was clean enough, but it wasn’t like a home. He didn’t like the thought of Haley and Piper sleeping on cots at night.

  “So I’d like to offer you another place to stay until you can find something more permanent.”

  Haley’s face fell. The tears that had dried up threatened again. He blinked at her, confused, his stomach dropping to his knees when he saw the shocked look on her face.

  “I knew it,” she whispered under her breath. “I should have known.”

  “Should have known... what?”

  “Just what kind of woman do you think I am?”

  “I... what?”

  “Dr. Pfeiffer, I don’t care what you’re offering—even if it’s a great paying job with amazing benefits and a school for Piper and putting her in the study—I don’t care. I am not that kind of woman. I am not moving in with you.”

  Will sat back, stunned. Haley was crying, wiping away mascara with her tissue. Then, he laughed. He couldn’t help it. He’d been worried all along at how things might look to her and had tried his best to keep his intentions honorable, but now she’d truly misunderstood him.

  “I’m sorry, Haley... I don’t mean to laugh. But that’s not what I meant. I don’t want you to move in with me.”

  She sniffed and looked at him askance. “You... don’t?”

  “No.” He shook his head, still smiling. “You see, my parents’ place is empty. They died years ago in a car accident and it’s part of a trust, so it can’t be sold. Not that I’d want to—it’s where I grew up. It’s special to me.”

  “And... wait... you want me and Piper to live there?”

  “Why not?” Will shrugged. “I’ve had tenants, but right now it’s just sitting there going to waste. I
t’s fully furnished. You’re welcome to stay there with Piper until you can find a place of your own.”

  “I’m so stupid.” Haley bit her lip, a gesture that made his heart skip a beat. “I thought... I’m so sorry, Dr. Pfeiffer. I assumed... oh my God, I’m so sorry...”

  She buried her red face in her hands.

  “Don’t worry about it.” Will waved her apology away. “I don’t blame you for being careful.” “

  But I just accused you of...” Haley looked up, her lower lip trembling. “How awful. I am so, so sorry, Dr. Pfeiffer. Please forgive me.”

  “I forgive you.” Will agreed. “As long as you call me Will from now on.”

  There. There was the hint of a smile on her lips.

  “Okay. Thank you, Dr. Pf—er, Will...”

  The phone rang and Will reached for it. Then, he stopped. “I’ll let my assistant get that.”

  Haley perked up, quickly grabbing the receiver. “Hamlen Laboratories, Dr. William Pfeiffer’s office.”

  Will watched her field the call, smiling.

  He had a feeling that this was going to work out fine.

  Chapter 5

  “Here?” Haley looked around in disbelief as Will ushered her and Piper into his parents’ old apartment. The door was thick, solid oak, and the key stuck in the deadbolt. He had to wiggle it to get it out. “You’re kidding me, right? You want us to live in the Dakota? The place they filmed Rosemary’s Baby? Where John Lennon was shot?”

  “Why?” Will asked, shutting the door behind him. “Are you superstitious?”

  “Well... no, but...” Haley turned in a circle, trying to take it all in. It was a large, open space, the décor Germanic, the woodwork restored from the 1920s. “It’s so big! And... beautiful!”

  Will looked around, trying to see the place with her new eyes. To him, it was just his childhood home. On the head-high fireplace mantle were the familiar busts of several composers—Wagner, Liszt, Schubert. His parents had both been music people.