Lucky, p.3
Lucky,
p.3
No, I pretty much go home to the wife and kids in the evening, he agreed. They've got a lot of activities.
Do you ever go over to Greg Aubert's office? I asked, trying to sound gentle.
He stared at me for a long moment. No, why would I do that?
And I could tell, hear from his head directly, that he absolutely didn't know what I was talking about. But there came Sally Lundy, steam practically coming out of her ears at the sight of me talking to her boss when she'd done her best to shield him.
Sally, John Robert said, relieved to see his right-hand woman, this young woman wants to know if I've been to Greg's office lately.
I'll just bet she does, Sally said, and even John Robert blinked at the venom in her voice.
And I got it then, the name I'd been waiting for.
It's you, I said. You're the one, Ms. Lundy. What are you doing that for? If I hadn't known I had backup, I would've been scared. Speaking of backup
What am I doing it for? she screeched. You have the gall, the nerve, the, the, balls to ask me that?
John Robert couldn't have looked more horrified if she'd sprouted horns.
Sally, he said, very anxiously. Sally, maybe you need to sit down.
You can't see it! she shrieked. You can't see it. That Greg Aubert, he's dealing with the devil! Diane and Bailey are in the same boat we are, and it's sinking! Do you know how many claims he had to handle last week? Three! Do you know how many new policies he wrote? Thirty!
John Robert literally staggered when he heard the numbers. He recovered enough to say, Sally, we can't make wild accusations against Greg. He's a fine man. He'd never
But Greg had, however blindly.
Sally decided it would be a good time to kick me in the shins, and I was really glad I was wearing jeans instead of shorts that day. Okay, anytime now, Amelia, I thought. John Robert was windmilling his arms and yelling at Sally u though not moving to restrain her, I noticed u and Sally was yelling back at the top of her lungs and venting her feelings about Greg Aubert and that bitch Marge who worked for him. She had a lot to say about Marge. No love lost there.
By that time I was holding Sally off at arm's length, and I was sure my legs would be black-and-blue the next day.
Finally, finally, Amelia appeared, breathless and disarranged. Sorry, she panted, you're not going to believe this, but my foot got stuck between the car seat and the doorsill, then I fell, and my keys went under the car anyway, Congelo!
Sally's foot stopped in midswing, so she was balancing on one skinny leg. John Robert had both hands in the air in a gesture of despair. I touched his arm, and he felt as hard as the frozen vampire had the other night. At least he wasn't holding me.
Now what? I asked.
I thought you knew! she said. We've got to get them off thinking about Greg and his luck!
The problem is, I think Greg's used up all the luck going around, I said. Look at the problems you had just getting out of the car here.
She looked intensely thoughtful. Yeah, we have to have a chat with Greg, she said. But first, we got to get out of this situation. Holding out her right hand toward the to frozen people, she said, Ah u amicus cum Greg Aubert.
They didn't look any more amiable, but maybe the change was taking place in their hearts. Regelo, Amelia said, and Sally's foot came down to the ground hard. The older woman lurched a bit, and I caught her. Watch out, Miss Sally, I said, hoping she wouldn't kick me again. You were a little off balance there.
She looked at me in surprise. What are you doing back here?
Good question. Amelia and I were just cutting through the parking lot on our way to McDonald's, I said, gesturing toward the golden arches that stuck up one street over. We didn't realize that you had so many high bushes around the back, here. We'll just return to the front parking lot and get our car and drive around.
That would be better, John Robert said. That way we wouldn't have to worry about something happening to your car while it was parked in our parking lot. He looked gloomy again. Something's sure to hit it, or fall on top of it. Maybe I'll just call that nice Greg Aubert and ask him if he's got any ideas about breaking my streak of bad luck.
You do that, I said. Greg would be glad to talk to you. He'll give you lots of his lucky rabbits' feet, I bet.
Yep, that Greg sure is nice, Sally Lundy agreed. She turned to back into the office, a little dazed but none the worse for wear.
Amelia and I went over to the Pelican State office. We were both feeling pretty thoughtful about the whole thing.
Greg was in, and we plopped down on the client side of his desk.
Greg, you've got to stop using the spells so much, I said, and I explained why.
Greg looked frightened and angry. But I'm the best agent in Louisiana. I have an incredible record.
I can't make you change anything, but you're sucking up all the luck in Renard Parish, I said. You've gotta let loose of some of it for the other guys. Diane and Bailey are hurting so much they're thinking about changing professions. John Robert Briscoe is almost suicidal. To do Greg credit, once we explained the situation, he was horrified.
I'll modify my spells, he said. I'll accept some of the bad luck. I just can't believe I was using up everyone else's share. He still didn't look happy, but he was resigned. And the people in the office at night? Greg asked meekly.
Don't worry about it, I said. Taken care of. At least, I hoped so. Just because Bill had taken the young vampire to Shreveport to see Eric didn't mean that he wouldn't come back again. But maybe the couple would find somewhere else to conduct their mutual exploration.
Thank you, Greg said, shaking our hands. In fact, Greg cut us a check, which was also nice, though we assured him it wasn't necessary. Amelia looked proud and happy. I felt pretty cheerful myself. We'd cleaned up a couple of the world's problems, and things were better because of us.
We were fine investigators, I said, as we drove home.
Of course, said Amelia. We weren't just good. We were lucky.
Charlaine Harris, Lucky
