Death in a Teacup by Vered Ehsani

Author:Vered Ehsani [Ehsani, Vered]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: Vered Ehsani
Published: 2017-01-10T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

“WHAT A SPLENDID idea,” Lilly said as she changed Grace’s clothes for probably the fifth time that day. “Visiting a giant spider right before entering the afterworld up in the sky: Beatrice, I would expect nothing less from you.”

Satisfied, Lilly stepped back from the pink-veined marble countertop to admire her handiwork. Two dimples appeared on Grace’s round, pale brown cheeks as she gurgled at me, unconcerned about what fashion statement she might be making with her newest attire.

Leaning against the counter and facing the entrance to the Cozy Tea Shoppe, Tiberius fiddled with an unlit cigarette, his features placid apart from a slight tightening around his tea-colored eyes. “Are you sure, Beatrice?” he asked, his soft voice causing me more doubt than the dead man sitting in the opposite corner of the shop.

“Of course I’m not,” I muttered as I inhaled the steam drifting up from my cup. I was sitting at the table closest to the counter so I could watch Mr. Turner. Outside, the dark street was empty of everything but a dead elephant holding a long, ivory tusk.

Cilla swiveled about in the chair opposite me to study the behemoth waiting patiently by the balcony. “What if someone comes by and sees her?” she asked.

Koki snorted as she peered out the front door. “Even if any mortal was foolish enough to walk the street at night, they wouldn’t notice anything amiss. Humans can be so blind that way.”

From behind the counter, Yao popped up, holding a canister of candied ginger. Swinging himself onto the counter, he sat next to Grace, swinging his legs so that his bare heels hit the wooden shelves under the counter with soft thumps. Frowning, his tongue poking out of his mouth as he battled to open the lid, he asked, “They can’t see an elephant?”

“They won’t see it’s dead,” I said.

The thumping stopped as the lid popped off the canister. Yao held up a slice of sugar-coated ginger, his eyes wide and wondering before tossing the candy into his mouth. A second later, he spluttered, gagged and bent over double before spitting out the ginger. “Humans taste horrible.”

“You mean they have horrible taste,” Koki corrected him. “Most of them taste just fine.”

Before I could castigate Yao for wasting the precious treat, the little bell over the front door tinkled, and in walked Dr. Ribeiro followed by Death.

“Hello, hello,” Dr. Ribeiro said, wagging his head back and forth as he lifted his hat up in greeting. “It is being a very fine evening, isn’t it? I am being most impressed with the dead elephant though.”

Yao crossed his arms over his bare chest and thumped his heels against the counter. “He saw. Not all humans are blind.”

“Well, our good doctor has never been accused of being normal,” Lilly pointed out. “Has she, Grace? Who’s a good baby?”

Mr. Turner moaned, causing Dr. Ribeiro to turn to the corner. Stepping closer to Mr. Turner, he studied the large hole in the hunter’s chest. “Oh, and a dead man as well.

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