Caitlin Archives

June 9, 2010

Caitlin: You Can't Pick Your Family

She took a deep breath and opened the door. A bell at the top gave a cheery jingle, at odds with the dim interior of the shop. She walked past tanks full of fish, turtles, and frogs: big, small, saltwater, freshwater. They each had hood lights that provided nearly all the illumination in the place. He sat at a desk near the back wall, his head in a book. Is this what we’ve become?

His head snapped up before she was halfway there. They shared a long look.

“Artemis,” he sighed. “How nice to see you.” He sounded anything but.

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June 21, 2010

Caitlin: That Cloud, It Looks Like Ireland

As she stared up at the sky with its little puffy clouds, she wondered about the others. Didn’t they miss it? Didn’t they feel somehow less? Didn’t they miss her?

Ah, Gods, listen to me, she thought disgustedly. Pining for family after all this time? How uncharacteristic.

But she was tired of being on her own among people who could never understand her.
However: this little matter of The Cult. She might be the best PI in the business, but Artemis couldn’t do this one on her own. There would be a family reunion whether they liked it or not.

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August 19, 2010

Caitlin: Ooops

He said it was just like the old days, so I didn’t think there was anything to worry about.

“The old days” conjured up images of revelry. Parties. Wine flowing. Music and dancing and sex, oh sure, there was sex, but consenting adults, all that. Besides, in the old days, those lines were… different. Sure things got out of hand, but not in a scary way. More in an orgy way. Which was fine with everyone, in the old days.

So I thought, maybe a little trouble with Blue Laws, but nothing to worry about.

I’d forgotten about the Maenads.

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August 20, 2010

Caitlin: Family Portrait

I sat in the car, unwrapped my sandwich from Fat Tony’s, and settled down to wait. Surveillance is boring, but it’s the bread and butter for the PI. It requires patience. Well, after a couple thousand years of wandering, you develop patience.

As I watched the apartment for Mr. I’m-Having-An-Affair, something else caught my eye. There – in the alley. I dropped the sandwich, grabbed the camera, and shot randomly. The alley was so shadowed, I wasn’t sure the photos would confirm anything.

Hours later, at home with the laptop, I stared at the almost-clear image of her. My heart sank.

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August 23, 2010

Caitlin: Playing God

“I take no joy in this!” I shouted to the heavens. “How many times have you meddled? And NOW you’re gonna take the high road?” I waited, but didn’t actually expect a response. And I got none.

With a sigh, I got the bow and arrow out of the basement. Yeah, I know. You’d think I keep it in some shrine or something. But I haven’t needed in eons, and anyway, humans don’t need any more sacred items.

For the past 30 years, my hunting’s been a shadow of itself. It was about to take on a brand new meaning.

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