The Jackal of Inpu by Robert J. Muller

Author:Robert J. Muller
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781939386083
Publisher: Poesys Associates

CHAPTER 19

MACINTYRE FINDS A SOFT SPOT

MacIntyre’s chin wore out the skin on her palm as she leaned on her elbow at her kitchen table. She stared into space, trying to make sense of it all. Much of the day had gone by, and she had made little progress other than taking care of basic bodily needs. By late afternoon, she was ready to go back to bed.

Her phone buzzed and showed a number she didn’t recognize. On the third ring, she picked up. There was no other entertainment on tap for the evening.

“Cheryl?”

After listening to the nuances of the Remetjy female voice, she smiled.

“Henutsenu. How nice to hear from you.”

“I’m sorry, I should have called before, but I waited until my day off.” That sounded promising. “Shesmu told me about his throwing you out. I’m sorry about that. He made a mistake.”

“Did he tell you about yelling at me to go to hell last night?”

A long pause. “No, I haven’t seen him today. Look, are you all right?”

“No.”

“Let’s meet.”

MacIntyre sat up. Now things were moving. “Sure, where?”

“Nebu’s?”

Nebu’s Place was a popular lesbian bar near the harbor. MacIntyre had gone there twice with R’aia. The bar was great but a bit too high-toned for her late lover, who ran more to tattoos and dancing than to businesswomen and polite drinking. It was exactly the sort of watering hole to find followers of Bastet.

“Sure. When?”

“An hour? We can have dinner after.” Sounded promising.

“I’ll be there.”

A pause. “Have you been before?”

“Oh, yes. Don’t worry, I have good clothes.”

“I never worry, Cheryl. Except about Shesmu.”

“Well, join the club. OK, see you there.”

MacIntyre spent some time on her choice of clothes. She wore full Remetjy style rather than her usual mixed Remetjy-American melange. It wasn’t up to Henutsenu’s fashion level, but the white dress with gold edges and red highlights was her best. She put on the bead necklace R’aia had made for her, the turquoise picking up the blue of her eyes, but she wore no makeup.

Nebu’s calm, warm atmosphere greeted MacIntyre like an old friend. She spotted her new friend Henutsenu right away at a little table in the back. A glass of white wine stood before her, untouched. Her smile told MacIntyre she hadn’t been waiting long. She got up to greet MacIntyre with a sinuous, cat-like motion ending in a cheek kiss. MacIntyre saw she was wearing another gold dress that put her own to shame. A subtle onyx cat with ruby eyes curled around one wrist as a bracelet, showing her devotion to the goddess Bastet. MacIntyre pretended all this style didn’t intimidate her. She sat and asked the server to get her a glass of the wine her friend had in front of her.

Henutsenu said, taking a sip of wine, “I thought Nebu’s would be good because you can hear yourself talk in here, and we need to talk, Cheryl.”

“What about, Henutsenu?” She loved the way the name sounded; it translated to “package of kisses,” which summed up her feelings about the woman.

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