A Fatal Glow by Valerie Wilson Wesley

Author:Valerie Wilson Wesley [Wilson Wesley, Valerie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2021-11-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

After Aurelia on Friday, Tanya on Saturday, and Lacey on Sunday, the week that followed was blessedly calm. I showed some houses, made some calls, sent some postcards. Harley, delivering my double latte, and Vinton, toting a bottle of merlot, both dropped into the office on a couple of days to chat, use the fax, and pick up letterhead. Their gifts were tokens of affection, and I appreciated them. Neither one mentioned the catastrophic brunch of two weeks ago. I appreciated that, too. At one point, I asked Harley if he’d heard anything from the cops; he shrugged and seemed reluctant to answer, so I didn’t push it. If he had something to tell me, he would. I hadn’t heard anything either, much to my relief.

We were all worried about Louella, who came in once or twice during the week after dropping Erika off at school. She didn’t say if her daughter had mentioned anything about Lacey’s surprise visit, so I assumed that Erika, wise child that she could often be, had kept the visit to herself. Louella did say she was late paying her bills and her Wi-Fi was going to be cut off, and we all chipped in to help her out with that. I was happy she was getting Erika up and out in time for school each day, but her lingering fear about Red’s fate still hung around her in a grayish shroud. Tanya was working from home, as she put it, and kept in touch with us through group e-mails, one announcing that she was planning to “grow” our workforce and was on the lookout for new agents. “IF RISKO REALTY IS GOING TO SURVIVE, OUR FAMILY NEEDS NEW BLOOD,” she wrote—all in caps. Maybe she was right, although I’d gotten used to the comfort of being a member of our small group. Knowing Tanya’s history of misjudging character, I was wary of welcoming too many new “family” members without one of us vetting them.

But the week was done, and things were quiet as they often are on a Friday morning. After greeting the “beings” who inhabit this place, I leaned back in my chair enjoying the last of the coffee I’d picked up on the way over and savoring the quiet peace of the empty office. I was scheduled to visit the ladies from the Aging Readers Club late this afternoon to plan a menu for their annual luncheon and was looking forward to that, although I did have a certain degree of anxiety, considering the disasters of my last two catering jobs. But as Laura had told me last year when I first met her, one had to keep hope alive, and that was what I was banking on.

I’d just finished jotting down some preliminary luncheon menu ideas when I felt a slight, quick chill, which can on occasion forewarn that something or someone unexpected is heading my way. Not all sudden chills were bad; some were simple alerts cautioning me to be prepared.

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