“I would think you’d welcome that,” Clara said. “You’re the one who wanted to get away from it by moving across the country.”
Clara was right. Maybe welcoming Sassy into my inner circle would be a good thing for me. She can keep me grounded in regular human life.
“Hey, girls.” Sassy bounded toward the table, her high blond ponytail swinging back and forth. She scooted in the booth next to Clara.
“Did you book the ad?” Clara asked.
Sassy beamed. “Full page, just like I said.”
They high-fived each other.
“How’s the ad sales business?” I asked, my lame attempt at making conversation with Sassy.
“Great,” Sassy said. “I just passed this month’s goal. Wait until I tell Tanner. He’ll be so proud of me.”
At the mention of my ex, my insides curdled. Maybe I should’ve wished for him to disappear.
“That’s nice,” I offered weakly.
“I’m still trying to get a real story out from under Gasper,” Clara said. “He’s like a dog with a bone. He refuses to let anything go.”
“Talk to Cal,” I said. “Tell him you want a chance to prove yourself.” Cal was a decent boss and I knew he had a soft spot for Clara.
“Eden’s right,” Sassy said. “You’re way more talented than Gasper. He’s only there because of family connections.”
“Wow. We actually agree on something.”
“We’re not so different, you know,” Sassy said.
“How so?” I asked. I was dying to hear her hot take on this topic.
“Clara has talked about you a lot over the years, and it seems like you and I have a lot in common.” She took a sip of Clara’s iced tea. “Even our taste in men.”
“Bad taste,” I murmured.
Sassy didn’t miss the comment. “Maybe so. To be honest, I didn’t really like Tanner that much in high school. I only wanted him because you had him.”
I balked. “Excuse me?”
Clara’s gaze darted to her friend. “Sassy, maybe now isn’t the best time for an honest conversation.”
I folded my arms. “No, Clara. I think this is the ideal time for an honest conversation.”
Sassy settled back in her seat. “The truth is that I was jealous of you.” She paused. “Well, not all of you. I mean, I preferred my body and my face.” She ran her hand down the length of her ponytail. “Okay, I preferred everything about the way I looked, but you seemed to attract good people to you. Clara was your best friend. Tanner was your boyfriend.”
“Tanner wasn’t good people,” I said.
“He’s not a bad person,” Sassy said. “He’s just flawed. Anyway, I’d never had a real friend. My mom is one of those competitive women, so she didn’t have any friends either. She’d make a friend and then lose her within a month because she didn’t know how to behave.”
“So you had no role models,” I said.
Sassy shook her head. “I was following the same pattern, but I wanted friends. I just didn’t know how to make it happen.”
“You could try not sleeping with their boyfriends for starters,” I said.
Sassy heaved a sigh. “I deserve that.”
I pitied the pretty blonde. Maybe Clara was right about her. Maybe she’d been misunderstood.
“I was so thrilled when I got the job at the newspaper,” Sassy said. “I knew Clara worked there and I was hoping this would be my chance to make a real friend.”
Clara bumped her playfully. “And I think it worked out for both of us. Turns out I needed a friend, too.”
My stomach knotted at the hint of my absence. I’d never forgive myself for abandoning Clara the way I did. “You know how sorry I am about that.”
“She doesn’t blame you, Eden,” Sassy said. “She understood that you wanted to put distance between you and your family. I don’t blame you. If my family were as dysfunctional as yours, I would’ve done the same.”
“Your mom doesn’t sound like a healthy relationship,” I said.
“She’s much better now,” Sassy said. “She’s been in therapy for a couple years. I’ve even gone with her on occasion.”
Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected to return to Chipping Cheddar to an enlightened Sassafras Persimmons.
“You should put toothpaste on that zit, by the way,” Sassy said.
My fingers flew instinctively to touch my face. “Where?”
“The side of your nose. It looks like an insect has burrowed under your skin.”
Lovely. “Thanks for the tip.”
Sassy beamed. “That’s what friends do.”
With a friend like Sassy, who needed a mirror?
“Watch your elbow!” someone shouted.
I craned my neck to see that a crowd had gathered in the entryway of the diner. “Isn’t it past rush hour?”
Our waitress stopped at the table to refill Clara’s iced tea. “Didn’t you hear? Mitsy Malone is coming. She posted it online.”
I surveyed the crowd. They were all here to catch a glimpse of a teenaged girl getting diner food? People were strange.
“I guess I’ll go to the restroom before it gets too busy,” I said.
I threaded my way through the crowd and entered the restroom. One of the stalls was out of order so I went to the next one. Although it was locked, I didn’t see any feet when I peeked below the door.
“Is someone in there?” I asked, knocking. There was no answer, but I felt a presence on the other side of the door. “Listen, if you need help, let me know. I can call someone. I’m sure I have a tampon in my bag if you need one.” She wouldn’t be the first woman caught by surprise.
“Will you really help me?” a small voice asked.
“Of course.”
The door opened a crack and a hand grabbed me and pulled me into the stall. The tips of the young woman’s hair were dyed purple and she wore oversized sunglasses with a baseball hat.
I gaped at her. “Mitsy?”
She shushed me emphatically. “I don’t want anyone to know I’m here.”
I laughed. “Have you seen the crowd out there? I think they know.”
“I only wanted to meet a friend here for coffee, but she shared my message on social media. I’ve been hiding in here.”
“Why? I thought you liked the attention.” I couldn’t imagine why, but that wasn’t really the point.
“I did at first, but it’s gotten out of hand.” She adjusted her hat. “Plus, I have stalkers now. They wait to find out where I’m going on social media so they can follow me and take pictures.” She shivered. “It’s gross. I don’t want to think about what happens to those photos.”
“Well, you’ve got this disguise going on,” I said. “Maybe that will be enough?”
“It isn’t,” Mitsy said. “I colored my hair and started wearing a baseball hat—and I don’t even like baseball. No matter what I do, I get noticed.” She started to cry. “And my boyfriend broke up with me.”
“Because of the attention?”
She nodded, sniffing. “David said he can’t live under a microscope anymore. We were going to get married.”
“Oh wow. You were? When?”
“In ten years.” Her cries turned into anguished moans.
“Ten years?”
“That’s been our plan. Enough time for me to get my YouTube career off the ground.”
I put an arm around her. “It’s going to be okay, Mitsy.” As soon as I took care of this demon, it would all be okay.
“How do I stop the ride?” she choked out. “I want to get off.”
I grabbed toilet paper off the roll and handed it to her to blow her nose. “I think it will all be over soon.”
She peered at me from beneath the brim of her hat. “You think so?”
“Consider it your fifteen minutes of fame.” No need to tell her about the supernatural world. The girl was freaked out enough. “This might seem like a weird question, but do you happen to remember
where you were when you wished to be famous?”
She wiped her eyes with the toilet paper, leaving streaks of mascara on her face. “I’ve wanted to be famous since I was a little girl. I used to make videos of myself with my dolls.”
“Any recent wishes?” I asked. “Out loud?”
Mitsy looked thoughtful. “My boyfriend and I celebrated my birthday a couple weeks ago.”
“And you made a wish?”
“Sort of,” she replied. “He took me to Davenport Park for a picnic. I was annoyed at first because I hate sitting on the ground.” She scrunched her nose. “It’s always hard and lumpy. But he was so sweet. He brought me one of those huge cupcakes from the bakery with a candle on it and sang to me.”
“He sounds pretty great. I can understand why you’d want to hold on to him.”
She smiled at me through her tears. “My birthday wish was to be famous. That was what I told him.”
Davenport Park. No surprise there.
“Can you tell me where exactly you had your picnic?” I asked. “I’m always looking for a good spot for a picnic.”
“I’m not sure,” Mitsy said.
“Were you near the river?”
“No, it was further into the park. David blindfolded me until we got there because he wanted it to be a surprise. I tripped like ten times on the way there.” She sighed. “But he caught me every time. That’s how you know it’s love—he catches you when you fall.”
“That’s a nice sentiment,” I said. “I’ll tell you what. I’m going to help you get out of here sight unseen.”
“How do you expect to do that? It’s mobbed out there.”
“You’ll have to trust me.” I unclasped the locket from around my neck and handed it to her. “Wear this until you get outside. No one will recognize you.”
She scrutinized the necklace. “Because I would never wear such an ugly necklace?”
“Exactly.”
She hung it around her neck and I closed the locket. “I don’t know which is worse,” she said, “this necklace or the baseball hat.”
I opened the stall door. “Come on. I’ll walk you out and make sure no one notices you. Then I’ll take my necklace back.” I’d have to text Clara from outside. She would understand.
“Are you sure you want it back? We can just throw it away.”
“It has sentimental value,” I lied.
We vacated the stall and maneuvered our way through the bodies. It seemed more crowded than when I entered the restroom.
“This is great,” Mitsy whispered. “No one’s noticed me.”
We made it to the door and walked down the sidewalk until we could turn safely into an alley. Mitsy pulled the jewelry over her head and handed it to me.
“Thanks,” she said. “That ugly necklace worked like a charm.”
I smiled and placed the locket back around my neck. “It sure did.”
Chapter Fifteen
I returned to the hospital to check on Maxwell and discovered that he’d been discharged. I wasted no time in heading over to Swiss Street. Maxwell was my last hope to find the wish demon.
I knocked on the door and waited patiently. Maxwell had been pretty roughed up. He was unlikely to move quickly.
The door opened a crack and Maxwell peered outside. His skin was still streaked with scratches, but they appeared to be healing quickly. He frowned at the sight of me.
“You again? This is getting to be a habit.”
I flashed my badge. To a human like Maxwell, it looked like an official FBI badge.
“Maxwell, my name is Agent Eden Fury. We spoke a bit in the hospital, but you obviously weren’t feeling well. Would you be able to answer a few questions now?”
Maxwell hesitated. “The FBI is interested in a wolf attack?”
“I’d explain, but our reasons are classified,” I said.
Maxwell pulled the door open and stepped aside. “Please come in, Agent Fury.”
I crossed the threshold and surveyed the tidy interior. “How are you feeling? You look much better.”
“I feel much better, thank you,” Maxwell said. “Can I offer you anything? I have lots of herbal tea.”
“Please don’t wait on me,” I said. “Let’s go sit down so you can rest. I’m sure you’re still tired.”
Maxwell offered a weak smile and shuffled into the living room. The room was sparsely decorated with white paint on the walls and no personal effects. A brown leather sofa was positioned directly in front of the television with a recliner on an angle close to the fireplace. A single end table to the right of the sofa featured a box of tissues, a mug on a coaster, and Maxwell’s phone.
“How long have you lived here?” I asked. I sat on the edge of the recliner, not wanting to tip back in an undignified manner.
“Five years,” he replied. He took his spot on the sofa next to the end table and checked his phone.
Five years? I would’ve guessed five months. “No one can accuse you of being materialistic,” I said.
He glanced around the room and chuckled. “Suzanne says it’s like I moved in yesterday. I told her it’s been waiting for a woman’s touch.” His cheeks colored. “Her touch, specifically.”
Something in his expression told me he wasn’t simply making romantic noises. He meant it.
“How long have you been in love with Suzanne?”
“Since the moment we met three years ago.” He sighed at the memory. “It was her first day at the office and we were assigned to work on a project together. It was like fate intervened and put us together. We got along like we’d known each other forever. I knew I wanted to marry her.”
“Except she’s already married. To Kyle.”
“I had faith she’d come around eventually,” Maxwell said. “A love like ours can’t be contained indefinitely.”
“How did you know she’d change her mind?” I asked. “Did she ever say anything to let you know she was interested?”
“Not until recently,” Maxwell said. “To be honest, I’d nearly lost hope. I’d even joined one of those online dating sites. A friend convinced me to try and focus my energy on meeting other women.”
“Which friend is that?”
“His name is Dom,” Maxwell said. “He works with us. Poor man has watched me pine after her all this time. He and I had gone for a walk during lunch a couple of weeks ago. He was trying to convince me to move on.”
“He viewed Suzanne as a lost cause?”
“Oh, for sure.” Maxwell checked his phone again and smiled. “That was a text from her. She’s coming by later to check on me. She’s the sweetest woman in the world.” He put the phone back on the end table. “Anyway, I told Dom that I would consider it, but that I wished she would finally admit she had feelings for me.”
“Obviously, she did.”
He beamed at me. “Happiest moment of my life. We stayed late at the office and ordered food. It was just the two of us. She’d seemed off all day and I thought she was going to tell me something horrible, but then…”
“Then what?”
“She kissed me and told me she was in love with me.” His gaze swept the room. “I’ve pictured our photos on these walls for three years now. The idea of putting anything else up there.” He shook his head. “I want this to be our home. I want evidence of our life together everywhere I look.”
Wow. I couldn’t imagine being in Maxwell’s shoes. He’d put his life on hold for a married woman without even knowing whether she felt the same. It was either incredibly brave or incredibly foolish.
“Did she tell you what made her decide to start a romantic relationship with you after all this time?”
“She said she couldn’t deny them anymore,” Maxwell explained. “She’d felt nervous that whole day because she felt like something was going to happen between us and she knew it was wrong.”
“But she did it anyway,” I said.
He nodded, still smiling. “I cried. I actually cried from pure joy.”
“I guess Dom is eating his words now,” I said.
“He was definitely surprised, but he’s happy for us.”
“You mentioned that you and Dom went for a walk during your lunch break. Where was that?”
“Where we always go,” he said. “Davenport Park. It’s right near the office.”
“Is there a particular spot in the park you like to go?” I asked.
“We tend to stay close to the office. It’s a better view at the top end of the park anyway.”
“Not near the river?”
“Sometimes we take the footpath, but we didn’t that day. We stayed at the top end.” He paused, appearing thoughtful. “You haven’t actually asked me any questions about the attack.”
“Sorry, I was just getting to that,” I said quickly. “I got too caught up in your incredible love story.”
He smiled. “It is incredible, isn’t it? I’ve been pinching myself every morning since it happened.”
I’d never seen anyone as lovestruck as Maxwell. Part of me regretted having to work against his interests, but his wish wasn’t fair to Suzanne or Kyle.
“You said you saw someone in your yard and went outside to check it out, but ran into the wolf instead. What did the wolf do once you were outside? Did it growl or foam at the mouth?”
“I don’t think so. I just remember trying to fight it off.”
“And the man you saw? Do you recall what he looked like?”
Maxwell sipped his tea. “I didn’t see him clearly. It was more of a silhouette. The sun was barely up at the time.”
Good. That meant he didn’t recognize it was Kyle. One problem dodged.
“Thanks for your help,” I said. “Do you need anything before I go?”
Maxwell glanced at his phone again and smiled. “No, thank you. I have everything I need.”
I returned from Maxwell’s and went up to the attic for a quick rest before I headed back to Davenport Park. At least Maxwell’s information helped me narrow down the area to the top end of the park.
I kicked off the vintage Adidas. My feet and legs were sore—I suspected from walking around with the wrong size feet.
Alice’s head emerged from a hatbox and I screamed.
“Can you please make a noise before you pop out like a weasel?” I asked.
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