Murder and mahjong, p.19
Murder and Mahjong,
p.19
“We all have our flaws, Miss Worthington.”
It occurred to me that now might be a good time to negotiate my contract. From what I’d heard, Hera’s mood probably didn’t get much better than this. “What about my salary?”
“I gave Barney a DP card for you. Did he not give it to you?”
“He did. It’s just that the amount on it was shockingly low given the danger I face in the role of marshal.” I watched her calculating expression, fully prepared to go home and put on the hot dog suit.
“I suppose a raise is in order, now that you’ve demonstrated surprising competence.”
“I’ll take it.”
She frowned. “But I haven’t told you the amount.”
“Double it and I’ll take it.”
Hera considered me for a moment. “You’re not at all what I would have expected of a human.”
“Better or worse?”
“I haven’t yet decided.” She swiveled her chair around to face away from me, which was my cue to skedaddle. As I fled the office, I narrowly avoided a collision with the witch from True Brew.
“Mitzi?”
She broke into a smile. “Hello again. Congratulations on your first successful case.”
“You heard already?”
“It’s why I’m here. Hera asked me to find the paperwork for Donna’s purchase of the plant stimulant potion.” She patted her purse. “I found it straight away.”
“Good job.”
“Same to you.” Mitzi glanced down at the ground between us. “You said we could hang out sometime. Maybe we could do a craft class together or something.”
I wagged a finger at her. “Riiight. I did say that, didn’t I?” When I didn’t intend to stay. I felt a pang of guilt. “How about sewing? I’ve always wanted to learn.”
Mitzi beamed. “I can help with that. I’m really good with a needle. I’m sort of an introvert, so I prefer hobbies I can do at home.”
“Hey, sometimes I like nothing better than to put on my jammies after dinner and binge several seasons of Real Housewives while I eat my way through a bag of salt and vinegar chips.”
“What’s a Real Housewife?”
My brow lifted in a way that no Botox-injected Real Housewife could replicate. “You’ve never seen an episode?”
Mitzi shook her head. “I didn’t watch much TV before I died, so it wasn’t a habit I picked up here.”
I grabbed her wrist. “Hang on. Are you saying I can watch Bravo here?”
“Didn’t they cover your entertainment options during orientation?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. I was hungover and then there was an emergency.” I really did miss out on pertinent information.
“I’m pretty sure you can watch whatever you want in Divine Place. Television is neutral,” Mitzi said.
“What does that mean?”
“It means it’s neither inherently good nor bad,” she explained. “Like alcohol and other perceived vices. They can go either way, depending on the user.”
I flicked a glance over my shoulder. “But I don’t have a television.”
“You can if you want one,” Mitzi said.
I threw my arms around her and squeezed. “Mitzi, you’ve made me the happiest human in the whole village.”
“You’re the only human.”
I released her. “The only happy human. That’s what I said.”
No sooner had I made plans with Mitzi than Cole intercepted me.
“I have a bone to pick with you,” he said.
I flashed a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
“Why would you put yourself in such a dangerous position?” he asked. “The whole point of making me deputy was to watch out for you.”
“And you didn’t want to babysit me, so problem solved.”
Cole looped an arm through mine and steered me away from my golf cart and toward the village square.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking you to lunch so we can discuss the events of the past twenty-four hours and make sure nothing like this ever happens again. If we’re going to be working together, it has to be as a team.”
Mr. Lone Wolf wanted to work as a team? How about them apples?
“Are you paying?” I asked.
Cole’s mouth twitched. “I’ll do even better than that.” He pointed at the sky. “That one there. I officially declare that star to be called Eloise forevermore.”
I pulled a face. “Nice try.”
Cole’s arm dropped to his side. “What’s wrong with that? You said you wanted a star named after you.”
“Firstly, it’s daylight and you can’t see any stars. Secondly, you can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re not in love with me. It only counts when you’re in love.”
Amusement twinkled in his blue eyes. “Duly noted.” Cole reached into his back pocket and handed me a small box wrapped in glittering gold paper. “How about something you can see?”
My heart stuttered. “A present for me?”
“You’ve earned it,” he said.
I tore off the paper and opened the lid. Nestled inside the box was a shining star with the name Eloise emblazoned it. My official marshal badge.
Cole watched me with interest. “It’s not a star in the sky, but it’s better than nothing.”
My hand trembled slightly as I removed the badge from the box. “What made you decide to do this?”
“Those shopping bags of yours,” he said. “Even if you leave tomorrow, I figure you’ll have a memento to take with you, to remember your time here.”
I ran a thumb over the shiny metal. “I think this is the nicest gift I’ve ever received, and that includes the jumbo bottle of margarita mix my brother gave me for Christmas.”
Cole chuckled. “I’m glad to hear it. I hope you don’t mind that I have a matching one.”
“Yours says Eloise too? That’s just weird.”
Cole laughed again. “You’re a strange woman, Eloise.” He slung an arm across my shoulders. “But I’m glad you’re here.”
I thought of my life in Chipping Cheddar and all that I’d miss. The Cheese Wheel. The promenade. The Daily Grind. “I wish I could say the same.”
He gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Maybe someday you will.”
“Maybe,” I said.
Someday.
Keep up with Eloise and Mischief and their new afterlives in Divine Place. You can preorder Homicide and Hot Tubs now!
Also by Annabel Chase
Thank you for reading Murder and Mahjong—I hope you enjoyed it! Be sure to sign up for my newsletter and receive a FREE Starry Hollow Witches short story— http://eepurl.com/ctYNzf. You can also like me on Facebook so you can find out about the next book before it's even available.
Annabel Chase, Murder and Mahjong
