Death and the Shifter by Venter Jason

Author:Venter, Jason
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-05-31T00:00:00+00:00

XIV.

T he restaurant where Deborah works stands on one end of a large parking lot it shares with a strip mall. It has a shingled roof with steep eaves and fading siding, along with a banner promising classic burgers, shakes, and more. A sign hangs in the window depicting a slice of cheesecake with the words “We have pie!!!!” in bold red letters.

“Do you think they have pie?” I asked Fuzzy when I saw it.

“She told us they did,” Fuzzy said with alarm, apparently not having noticed the same sign.

“Remember,” I told him. “We’re here for information and to observe. Don’t cause any trouble.”

“How could I possibly cause trouble? I’m a cat people can’t see.”

He had a point, but I knew he could use his psychic abilities to move objects when the situation required it. Trouble wasn’t entirely outside of the realm of possibility.

When we stepped inside, a cool rush of air greeted us before a server emerged from behind a divider. She wore the same uniform I’d seen Deborah don that morning. Frizzy hair extended in all directions from a sloppy ponytail.

“Just one?” she asked as she grabbed a laminated menu and looked my way.

“Two—no, one. Yeah.” I smiled quickly. “If anyone joins me, we can share menus.”

“This way, please.”

She turned and led me past several tables with scuffed wooden chairs pushed around them, to a booth against the back wall. A flickering light crackled overhead. Dust motes danced beneath it.

“The special today is a burger and a small drink for $9.99,” she told me. “No substitutions. Did you want something to drink?”

“Maybe just water for now.” I slid into the booth and the edge of some torn material caught at my jeans pocket.

She shrugged and wandered off while I scanned the menu, which included the sort of dishes you might expect, along with a promise that breakfast is served all day and baked potatoes make an appearance in the early afternoon.

“She didn’t mention pie,” Fuzzy said as he sat across from me.

There’s pie, I assured him. There’s always pie at a place like this.

Not much later, I looked up to see Deborah approaching. She moved with more energy than her coworker and wore a bright smile that probably earned her more tips. She deposited a glass of water on my table and looked at me uncertainly.

“Did you plan to order something?” she asked. “My break is in another fifteen minutes. I’m not off for hours yet.”

“Yeah, I thought I might get something. Are you our server, or the lady that seated us?”

“You’re at one of my tables. Denise just seats people and gets their drink orders. It’s slow right now, so I probably could’ve gotten it myself. But we had a spill at one of my other tables.”

“Pie,” Fuzzy hissed. “Ask about the pie.”

I glared at him, then offered a smile to Deborah. “Well, I hadn’t decided what I wanted yet, anyway. But how about some nachos? Do they make those with actual nacho cheese or is it cheddar?”

“It’s cheddar.

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