Carniepunk by Jennifer Estep

Author:Jennifer Estep [Estep, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BA
Publisher: Pocket
Published: 2013-07-15T22:00:00+00:00

HER SHIRT SMELLED of honeysuckle and wax, and the poorly sewn seams chafed her sides. It did not belong to her. She sat cross-legged on a low bench in a small room. The walls and ceiling were draped in dusty black velvet. The cuff encircling her left ankle was attached by a locked chain to a hook behind the curtain. It wasn’t the lock that bothered her; it was the cuff. She toyed with it, fingertips trac- ing the hinge as she wondered at the energy that sprang off of it, stinging nips that warned of large teeth. She had large teeth, too, but she hadn’t used them in a long time and they were forbidden in this place.

A couple pushed through the curtain and blinked in the dim light. Sweat marks rusted the man’s white shirt beneath his arms, and his dark hair plugs hadn’t yet settled the way the clinic had promised. The woman had a heart-shaped face and soft, ash-blond hair. She crept forward in ballet flats and perched on the edge of the tall baroque chair.

“So you’re the fortune-teller.” The man sneered. “Olivia the All-Seeing?”

Olivia. The name wasn’t quite right, but it didn’t matter. She had a job to do and this was part of it. “Yes,” she said. “Please, sit.” She gestured, the bangles on her wrist chiming, disguising the sound of the chain as she slipped her legs beneath the table. The man flopped back in the other throne and tapped his foot.

“How does this work?” the woman asked.

“Ask your questions.” Olivia smiled. The man’s leg stopped moving and his gaze roved her upper body.

The woman cleared her throat.“Well, our son James—”

“No need to tell her his name.” The man forced a chuckle.“She knows it already.”

“Oh, don’t mind him.” The woman’s smile was acidic. Olivia tilted her head and sifted through memories: action in the periph- ery, overheard telephone conversations, the things the couple saw clearly but chose to decipher in a way that did not threaten the lives they’d built.

“You wonder if he’s using drugs.” The couple shared an uneasy look. Olivia delved further, sampling other memories. “James occa- sionally smokes marijuana with his friends. It’s a matter of fitting in, not of addiction. You should be more concerned with his treat- ment of the two boys who live at the end of the block.” The scenes took shape and a name crystallized on her tongue. “The McGil- roys.”

The man lurched upright. “This is bullshit.” His teeth ground together.“You’ve phished us or something.”

His face grew redder as his voice rose. A vein protruded on the side of his forehead. Spittle flew from his mouth. The woman bowed her head and systematically assembled a mental shopping list for Tuesday’s luncheon. Olivia wondered what day it was, if it was not Tuesday. She was supposed to be somewhere. Nashville on Wednesday, Louisville on Thursday. Back to Phoenix in the morning. Phoenix, such a name for a town.

Damon slipped through the curtains, sleek as a dagger. He had a warm smile for the woman, a concerned furrowing of the brow for the man.

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