Page 2 of Bargain with Fate
My phone trilled again, this time with a call from Edith Evans, resident harpy. “What does one wear to an ancient-Egypt-themed cat party?”
Why ask me? It wasn’t my party. I’d never in my life hosted a party, and I had no desire to start now. As far as I knew, it was generally frowned upon to employ an Irish goodbye if you were the hostess.
“The internet is your friend,” I responded. But I wasn’t. I was her closest neighbor and the current head of security. That was the extent of our “relationship.” The only reason any of these people had my number was for emergencies, which seemed to be popping up with alarming frequency these days.
I missed Judd.
My boss had been the closest thing to a friend I’d had on the island. He didn’t pester me with annoying personal questions. We worked together and occasionally had a drink together. He never asked about my past and was a little cagey about his own. I knew he’d wanted to be a police officer earlier in his career, but that hadn’t panned out, which was when he upped sticks and took the job on Evermore. It had wounded his pride to be found wanting by people he respected. Judd had been a rule follower to the nth degree. He’d been the perfect choice for director of security. The Neighbors had followed his orders, for the most part. There were the occasional shenanigans, but everyone recognized that an island full of powerful people had to be kept on a relatively tight leash.
Now the burden rested squarely on my shoulders.
“I don’t think I’m up to the task,” I told Jinx, once I managed to end the call with Edith. The harpy would expel all the oxygen in her lungs if you didn’t cut her off. I was just grateful she chose to call this morning, instead of showing up at my door unannounced.
The cat brushed against my leg and meowed.
“I’m serious, Jinx. I was only good at my job because Judd was so good at his. Without him, I don’t know what will happen.” Judd had a way with people. I had a way with pummeling them into a coma. I had to be careful. I’d put limitations on myself, of course, but without Judd as a buffer, would they be enough?
The cat’s tail swished from side to side, as though arguing with my self-assessment. Jinx was the ultimate lady of a certain age—she went where she wanted, when she wanted. Her litter box of fucks was barren. I envied her.
A series of impatient knocks on the front door derailed my train of thought. Well, the train hadn’t quite made it out of the station yet, but still.
I hurried to open the door. Margie Ashford stood on the porch wrapped in a blue-striped towel, with soaking wet hair and a trembling body. I’d never seen Meemaw’s daughter look this rattled before.
“Everything okay?”
The witch burst inside and shut the door behind her. “I need to see if it’s still there.” She darted to the front window and peered outside. “I don’t see anything.”
I joined her at the window. “See what?”
“I don’t know. It was huge and blue with horns.”
“A minotaur?”
“No, this thing had one of those hideous stringy beards that millennials think look cool but actually look like mobile homes for pests.” She shuddered.
“You’re seeking refuge in my cottage because you disliked someone’s beard?”
“No, no.” Margie’s face grew flushed. “It was chasing me. You know how old I am. I can’t run these days without the risk of breaking a hip.”
I looked out the window. No sign of the monstrous Smurf. “Are you sure he wasn’t a new Neighbor who wanted to get acquainted?”
Margie hugged the towel tighter around her torso. “Definitely not. It seemed to come out of nowhere. One minute I was alone, and the next, it was there. I didn’t know what else to do, so I ran straight here.”
I guided Margie to the sofa. “Have a seat and walk me through it.”
She glanced uncertainly at the cushion. “I’m still damp.”
“Don’t worry. I think this sofa is older than I am.”
Reluctantly, she sat.
“You look chilled to the bone. Can I get you a cup of tea or anything?”
She pulled the throw off the back of the sofa and wrapped it around her shoulders. “I’ll take a bourbon and Coke. Two ice cubes.”
“Best I can do is black coffee.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Those aren’t remotely similar.”
