The Vampire's Apprentice

Sam gave a doggy smile and trotted inside. Inside!
The bookstore was quiet with only a few patrons in at this time of day, and comfortable chairs - but not too comfortable, mind - were strategically located in quiet corners amongst the books. In the far back in its own little section stood music, movies, and tv series.
 
Kitty inhaled deeply. One of her favorite smells was the biblichor that accompanied the collection of read and re-read pages; bookstores carried the musty scent far more vividly than libraries—used bookstores with greater emphasis than newer ones. But books; if there was one thing she would never be willing to let go of, it was they.

The girl found a place somewhere quiet, where people were not as likely to venture, and carefully inspected all items pertaining to a certain camera. There was no rush, save that she wished not to miss the sunset. That was still a ways off, however, and so long as Kitty kept the item handy for when the time came, she would be satisfied.

After a while—and after she had carefully replaced the newly-explored equipment of film—she went to wandering about the library, looking for the note.

It was not tucked someplace with the books.

It was not hiding near the chairs.

It was not located in plain sight, that she could tell.

So, where was it?
 
Sam nosed around the books contentedly, enjoying himself and relaxing. Plus, every now and then a person came near who ventured to ask if they might pet him. He liked them! Others glared or whispered fearfully. Those, he ignored. He only needed the approval of one human to make him happy. Then he caught an interesting smell and pulled lightly to go look in a new section of shelves that did not have books. Someone with a cheese sandwich had walked through here! He wanted to smell it!
 
With nothing better to be doing, and having not yet looked in this particular direction, Kitty followed where the hound led. Perhaps he was on to something, the same as he had found the box of stones.
 
The dog had no idea his mistress was expecting something of him. He just wanted to sniff. So it was by pure happenstance that he happened near a stand of movies feature old horror classics. One of the featured movies was, in fact, Nosferatu, featuring the dreaded Count Orlok. Sam, however, was sniffing underneath the stand featuring such movies as Veggie Tales and Scooby-Doo.
 
Kitty inspected what he was sniffing at first, but her gaze was drawn away at the thought of movies. It would only make sense for her to find.... Ah, yes, there it was!

Quick as a wink, she had slipped the case off the shelf and popped it open. Why hadn't she thought to look here earlier? It almost made her laugh.
 
Inside the case was another note, tucked neatly under the little clamp used to keep the informational pamphlet in place.

Well done! You found it! You have nearly reached the end of your journey today. As you leave, ask for this movie in layaway. I had to make certain there were two copies, one for the display and one for you to own. It was not easy as this is not a common movie.
But more about that later.
There are but two points left on this journey. For the next one, find the answer to this riddle and go there.
800 horses, but they do not eat. Lemons by the plenty, but they do not grow on trees. "Honest" often enters their name, but is it truly in their character? It is not in the first hand, nor is it in the third, but somewhere between.
Think carefully, and I shall see you soon!
 
800 horses?

Kitty thought about it.

Three hands? No, two. In the second-hand....

She thought some more.

Why wouldn't lemons grow? Were they already picked?

Her eyes flicked over the note again.

What could this possibly mean?

Kitty found a seat somewhere and continued to examine his words. The best way to solve a riddle was one sentence at a time, right?

Right.

800 horses, but they do not eat.
Hadn't she heard a riddle once about horses... white horses on a red hill? Agh, that was for teeth. Who would have 800 teeth? It didn't make sense.

Lemons by the plenty, but they do not grow on trees.
Lemons.... Lemons by the plenty.... There were a lot of lemons, but they don't grow. They didn't grow? Maybe they weren't literal lemons. What else was considered a lemon?

She paused and read the riddle again. Was he talking about... a car dealership...? That would certainly fit the riddle. Why would he lead her there, though?

"Hmmmm...."

Suspicions in place, the girl gathered her things again and went to ask as he had instructed for the movie in "layaway" before she left.
 
It took only a few minutes to hand over the movie and for Sam to eagerly lead the way back outside. There were two car dealerships in town, one that dealt only in the brand-spanking new cars that had just rolled off the factory floor, and the other that took whatever cars it could get. Some looked like they were held together with duct tape and prayers and some actual looked almost new.
 
It seemed fairly clear to which of the places she was going, so that is where she went. Though Kitty had a good guess as to why he wanted her there, the notion still did not make full sense to her. It did bring back a memory of their brief conversation on the subject, however, and that is what played through her mind many times as she walked.
 
The ower of the used car lot did not actually have "Honest" in his name, but his name was Eddie White, and he had a gleaming smile. He approached Kitty with said smile preceding before him like a beacon. "Welcome welcome! What car can I put you in today?" he boomed joyfully, holding out both hands to Kitty to shake her hand.
 
"Em... hello," Kitty took his hand gingerly. "I'm on a bit of a scavenger hunt, see, and I believe this was the next place I'm supposed to be?"
 
"Yeah, that's me." She nodded. It still sounded strange, hearing his last name after her first, but it was not an unwelcome quirk. It felt like acceptance.
 
"Good, good, excellent!" he said, regaining his megawatt smile. "Your... uh... father," a quick glance at her to see if that was the right label, "made it very clear what type of vehicle he wanted and narrowed it down to five. I asked if he would rather come look, himself, but he was very insistent that you get to make the final decision, even though you are not yet licensed. A very unusual arrangement, but I promised I would work within his parameters. Come! Let me show you what I've picked out!" He clapped her on the shoulder and started striding toward the back of the lot.
 
The girl made no indication the label was correct or incorrect. She flinched at the pat, and trailed after him, glancing to make sure Sam was still doing alright as she trusted the dog's opinion of people.
 
Sam hugged Kitty's leg and eyed "Eddie" suspiciously, but he wasn't growling or had his hackles raised. Not comfortable, but not barking alarms, either.

Eddie led Kitty to the lot and waved his hand at the five cars parked in a neat row a little away from the others. "And here we are, my dear! Our finest pick! Boy, but your daddy knows how to pick 'em!" He led the way down the row and started babbling their names like an auctioneer and telling her all the details. There was a BMW, an Acura, a Lexus, a Chrystler Pacifica, and a Subaru Crosstreck.
He stopped by the BMW first, a squatty little rectangle of a car primarily black and white. "This here is a 2018 BMW i3, like I said! Only a couple of years old, and a surprisingly few amount of miles on it. New tires..." He continued talking about the car and urged her to get in and feel the seat.
 
Most of what he said meant nothing to her, so after the first couple sentences, she tuned him out and wandered just a little.
 
One by one, Eddie showed the cars to her, urging her to sit in each one and try them out. He did draw the line at Sam getting in, but Sam didn't look particularly interested in the cars, to begin with, and he looked bored by the third car.
 
Diligently, she let him lead, observing each as carefully as her attention span would consider, and by the end, after a brief moment of hesitation, she placed her hands on the hood of the Acura and declared, "This one," for that was the one.
 
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