The Madness of Mercury by Connie Di Marco

Author:Connie Di Marco [Connie Di Marco]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780738749129
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Published: 2016-06-08T04:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-TWO

I COULDN’T DECIDE IF I should shut the door or wait to see if Dorothy booted the new arrival out to the street.

“Sure thing.” Reggie smiled and pulled out his wallet. A car had pulled up in front of the house. I saw Richard climb out and breathed a sigh of relief. If nothing else, he’d calm the situation. I decided this was a good moment to beat a hasty retreat. I didn’t want to wait around to follow the rest of the exchange. I needed to sort out my feelings about Don’s news about the column, and, given the recent arrival, decide if it was still a good idea to stay on Telegraph Hill. I could fill Dorothy in later about Detective Rinetti’s visit. What could he possibly have been looking for in the gardener’s shed? I grabbed my coat and purse and headed out the door with a wave to Dorothy, who barely acknowledged my leaving.

The Zodia column was to have appeared in the paper that morning, following its regular schedule. And Sam would have included my response to Desperate in San Leandro, the one that had started my troubles with the Prophet. If Les was under pressure to cancel my column, I had no doubt it was because of that.

I drove down the hill and through the tunnel heading for the Avenues. The thought of losing my column was more than depressing. I felt like a small boat with no anchor drifting through the city, unwilling to settle anywhere but afraid to go home. When I turned down 30th Avenue and reached my duplex, I parked across the street. I was leery of calling attention to my visit by pulling into the driveway, just in case someone was watching. As I crossed the street to climb the stairs, I spotted a piece of paper attached to the beveled glass of the doorway. I hesitated. Something told me this wasn’t a party invitation. I trudged up the remaining stairs and ripped it off the glass, convinced the Army of the Prophet had left me another nasty message.

At the top of the page, in large capital letters, were the words THREE DAY NOTICE TO PERFORM OR QUIT. A different sort of fear shot through me. The letter went on for two pages, citing various county codes, but the gist of it was that if my presence caused any more disturbances in the neighborhood, the owner would regretfully file an unlawful detainer complaint against me and I would be evicted and lose my lease.

I felt as if I had been punched in the stomach. It was all I could do not to break down sobbing. I felt as if the earth had been yanked out from under my feet. I collapsed on the stairs and re-read the notice a second time to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. The bottom line was that the owner had the right to evict me if she so chose because I’d broken the terms of my lease by creating a disturbance and by operating a business in a residential apartment.

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