pages, as our waiter arrived with our coffee. We both ordered the house spinach salads with dressing on the side. I waited until he was out of earshot.
“Give me the short version,” I said. “What do these things mean?”
“The lizard is about dreams and keeping an extra careful eye on the people around you. The cat means you’re in a period of magic and mystery. The toad says you’re going through some personal changes, and right now is a good time for solitude.”
“And?”
“Don’t you get it? It’s perfect. You’re discovering your extrasensory abilities. Wouldn’t you agree that’s magical and mysterious?”
“Okay, I’m with you there. How does this help me get rid of them? I can barely breathe. My food tastes like you-don’t-want-to-know. Every time another one shows up, it scares me half to death. After the fifth one popped up this morning, things are getting kind of crowded in Mattie-land.”
Her eyes opened wide. “Five? Are you kidding? When did this happen?”
“When I woke up this morning, there was a disgusting rat-thing sitting next to the others at the foot of my bed. The snake creature showed up right after I talked to you this morning. They have the same skin and yellow eyes as my other three, but of the five, the toad and the rat are definitely the worst.” Between discreet hits off my dryer sheet and bites of spinach salad, I gave Karen the details about my morning visit from Agent Porter.
“This is getting complicated. I think the mage is our best bet to tell us what’s going on.”
I sighed. “I sure hope he’s as good as you say.”
“Listen to you. Yesterday you thought you had teratosis. Then you thought you were going nuts. Now you’ve gone beyond the explainable. You’re psychic. You have spirit guides. That’s huge progress, if you ask me. A lot of people in this are paranormal.”
“Name one.”
“Mayor Brunson is a registered psychic. It came up during the election last year. It’s perfectly respectable, practically mainstream.”
I sighed. “Okay, you win. I think I need a little time to get used to the idea, but yeah, I think you may be right. The only thing is, I’m not sure Agent Porter is going to understand about these spirit messengers. Would you come with me?”
Garr returned to our table. “May I offer you ladies some dessert? We have a selection of fine seasonal fruit sorbets, or a chocolate lava cake, if you prefer.” He spoke to me this time. I blushed.
“Just the check please, Garr.” Karen gave me an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle. I kicked her again.
I’ll send Dennis right over. A pleasure to meet you, Mattie. Enjoy your afternoon, ladies.” He winked at me as he left the table.
I smothered a gasp. “Did you see that?”
“When’s the last time you actually went on a date?”
My eyes followed him, helplessly. “When I didn’t have to pay? I don’t remember.”
“Speaking of dating, my cousin Ramona ran into your brother with Zoey Nussmeyer at Wegmans a couple of months ago.” She made a face.
I shook my head. “I don’t understand what’s gotten into him lately. He used to tell me everything, but now I get a feeling he’s hiding something from me. I had no idea he was dating Zoey. ”
“Well, not anymore.” She reached out and touched my arm. “Zoey’s dead.”
“What?”
“Don’t you ever listen to the news? She was one of the first Night Shark victims they found. The wounds were so horrific, they had to use DNA to identify her.”
I pushed away my salad. “Oh no.”
“It’s been in all the papers. All the victims have been from Shore Haven.”
“That can’t be. They found a body over in Picston yesterday.”
“Yeah. It was Joanne Reynolds.”
“The Sheriff’s wife? Oh my gosh, they live right down the street from Lance.”
Karen nodded. “Be careful. Make sure you keep
“Give me the short version,” I said. “What do these things mean?”
“The lizard is about dreams and keeping an extra careful eye on the people around you. The cat means you’re in a period of magic and mystery. The toad says you’re going through some personal changes, and right now is a good time for solitude.”
“And?”
“Don’t you get it? It’s perfect. You’re discovering your extrasensory abilities. Wouldn’t you agree that’s magical and mysterious?”
“Okay, I’m with you there. How does this help me get rid of them? I can barely breathe. My food tastes like you-don’t-want-to-know. Every time another one shows up, it scares me half to death. After the fifth one popped up this morning, things are getting kind of crowded in Mattie-land.”
Her eyes opened wide. “Five? Are you kidding? When did this happen?”
“When I woke up this morning, there was a disgusting rat-thing sitting next to the others at the foot of my bed. The snake creature showed up right after I talked to you this morning. They have the same skin and yellow eyes as my other three, but of the five, the toad and the rat are definitely the worst.” Between discreet hits off my dryer sheet and bites of spinach salad, I gave Karen the details about my morning visit from Agent Porter.
“This is getting complicated. I think the mage is our best bet to tell us what’s going on.”
I sighed. “I sure hope he’s as good as you say.”
“Listen to you. Yesterday you thought you had teratosis. Then you thought you were going nuts. Now you’ve gone beyond the explainable. You’re psychic. You have spirit guides. That’s huge progress, if you ask me. A lot of people in this are paranormal.”
“Name one.”
“Mayor Brunson is a registered psychic. It came up during the election last year. It’s perfectly respectable, practically mainstream.”
I sighed. “Okay, you win. I think I need a little time to get used to the idea, but yeah, I think you may be right. The only thing is, I’m not sure Agent Porter is going to understand about these spirit messengers. Would you come with me?”
Garr returned to our table. “May I offer you ladies some dessert? We have a selection of fine seasonal fruit sorbets, or a chocolate lava cake, if you prefer.” He spoke to me this time. I blushed.
“Just the check please, Garr.” Karen gave me an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle. I kicked her again.
I’ll send Dennis right over. A pleasure to meet you, Mattie. Enjoy your afternoon, ladies.” He winked at me as he left the table.
I smothered a gasp. “Did you see that?”
“When’s the last time you actually went on a date?”
My eyes followed him, helplessly. “When I didn’t have to pay? I don’t remember.”
“Speaking of dating, my cousin Ramona ran into your brother with Zoey Nussmeyer at Wegmans a couple of months ago.” She made a face.
I shook my head. “I don’t understand what’s gotten into him lately. He used to tell me everything, but now I get a feeling he’s hiding something from me. I had no idea he was dating Zoey. ”
“Well, not anymore.” She reached out and touched my arm. “Zoey’s dead.”
“What?”
“Don’t you ever listen to the news? She was one of the first Night Shark victims they found. The wounds were so horrific, they had to use DNA to identify her.”
I pushed away my salad. “Oh no.”
“It’s been in all the papers. All the victims have been from Shore Haven.”
“That can’t be. They found a body over in Picston yesterday.”
“Yeah. It was Joanne Reynolds.”
“The Sheriff’s wife? Oh my gosh, they live right down the street from Lance.”
Karen nodded. “Be careful. Make sure you keep
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