by Paula Lester
“Yeah, she gave me half of what she won because I get her groceries for her. I picked out the winning scratch-off ticket. She said it was only fair. I tried to turn it down, but she insisted.” He ran a hand through his hair pushing back the floppy piece. “I have no idea what to do with it. Bank it for a rainy day, I guess.”
Tessa leaned an elbow on the lobby’s front counter. “That’s so boring.”
“You know me.” He shrugged and put his hands in his pocket.
He was right. She did know him. They’d become close over the past few months, ever since Tessa’s breakup with Frank and since starting her new job as a grim reaper. But Silas couldn’t know about that.
She considered for a minute, thinking about Silas and his hardworking attitude. He worked on his days off. He maintained Linda for next to nothing but a pat on the back. Tessa had always been a hard worker, but she’d never had Silas’s work ethic. She liked to put her feet up whenever possible. What would she do if a big sum of money fell into her lap? “I know! You should take a vacation.”
He grimaced like vacations were torture. “Why would I do that?”
Yep. She knew Silas, all right. She snorted. “To relax like a normal person for more than a minute and a half? I mean, I’m starting to think you’re a workaholic. If you aren’t fixing something around here are getting groceries for elderly residents, you’re working on Linda for just the cost of parts.”
Silas wasn’t convinced but his wince dissolved into a thoughtful expression.
“You deserve a break more than anybody I know,” she pressed.
He shrugged. “Lots of people work harder than I do.”
A sudden thought leaped into Tessa’s mind and before she’d slowed down to examine it, she blurted out, “You know I’m going to Florida in a couple days. It’s a work conference at the Salt Water Resort in Miami Beach. I don’t think all of the rooms are taken.”
That was weird, right? Why had she said that? Now her landlord was going to think she was imagining him in swim trunks lounging by the pool. Which she totally was, but it was super embarrassing to be caught thinking it.
Silas cocked his head with a come again type expression.
“I mean, you could go anywhere, really. I just mention it in case you want to have somebody you know around. You know, on your vacation. Someone there to have dinner or drinks or something with.” Tessa stammered to a halt and pressed her lips together to stem the tide of awkward rambling.
“You know, that does sound like fun. But I’m not sure what I’d do about this place.” He waved a hand vaguely at the ceiling, then sighed, considering.
“What?” Tessa questioned the sigh.
Silas shook his head. “It’s just my buddy Jason owes me a favor. A few favors. He could probably fill in for a few days or something. I’ll have to think about it.”
Pushing herself away from the desk, Tessa nodded. “Good. Well, do that. And congratulations on the windfall. I’d better run.” She headed toward the door leading to her apartment’s hallway.
“Bye.” Silas seemed distracted.
Maybe he was imagining Tessa in her swimsuit next to the pool in Florida? She groaned and clamped down on the thought. Silas was nice but he’d never really flirted with Tessa. Why would he be thinking that?
He wasn’t. He was probably thinking about the disarray the apartment would go in if he did leave. Or, maybe, he was considering the sun and relaxation—the thought of a cocktail or two. Yeah, that was it, for sure.
Feeling a little better, Tessa let herself into the tiny apartment she kept clean and tidy, mostly because she didn’t have too much stuff. Her new job was rapidly helping her get square on past-due bills and things but there wasn’t much left over to indulge in her desire to buy a dozen brand-name purses yet.
Her small tortie, Pepper, rubbed on Tessa’s leg, purring louder than such a tiny little thing should be able to.
“Hey, cutie. It’s good to see you too. Are you hungry?”
The cat sat on her haunches and yowled mournfully.
“Oh, I see. You’re actually about to starve to death, huh?”
Pepper inclined her chin in a motion that made her look haughty and meowed more softly.
“I did so feed you breakfast this morning. Don’t lie.” Tessa crossed to the kitchen and poured some kibble into the cat’s bowl. “There you go.”
Pepper didn’t move. She narrowed her eyes and coughed.
Tessa mimicked the cat’s expression. “Don’t you threaten me with a hairball, missy. You don’t need canned food right now. Eat the kibble—it’s good for your teeth.”
Pepper raised her nose and stalked away, down the short hall to Tessa’s bedroom.
“You behave!” Tessa hurried after the cat and found her curled at the foot of the bed. “Good girl.”
Later, Tessa pulled a rolling suitcase out of the closet, and the tortie lifted her head. “Yes, I’m going on a trip. You’ll be fine. Abi is going to feed you and clean your box while I’m gone.”
A rumbling purr erupted from the feline’s throat.
“You like Abi, remember? Plus, it’ll give you plenty of alone time. I know how much I annoy you.” Tessa grinned and shook her head. She patted Pepper’s rump and set to work gathering the clothes she’d need for a few days at the conference.
And as she packed her swimsuit, she hardly thought about Silas with his shirt off at all.
Chapter 3
THERE WAS AN UNFAMILIAR car in the lot at work the next morning. Tessa wondered if someone was in there trying to buy life insurance. It wouldn’t be the first time, but it was a rare occurrence. There was a protocol—forms and brochures. Real ones that paid real money upon death. All part of the guise.
But in the lobby, a man and woman stood talking to Cheryl.
Nope. Not random laypeople.
It was clear the two strangers in the lobby were related to the reaper business. For one, they were talking to Cheryl, who would never come out of her office to intercept a wayward insurance buyer. For two, the woman gave off a certain air. It couldn’t really be called an aura. It was more like a vibe. Whatever it was, Tessa had learned to identify other reapers by it since she’d gotten her own powers.
The woman looked to be around Cheryl’s age—late fifties or early sixties. She wore a light gray pantsuit that almost exactly matched the color of her straight, bluntly cut, shoulder-length hair.
“Ah, there she is. Our new reaper.” Cheryl gestured for Tessa to join them. “My daughter, Theresa Randolph. This is April Henderson.”
“Tessa,” she corrected, giving April’s hand a firm shake.
“Pleasure,” April said. “It’s always nice to keep things in the family. I just never had time to start one of those.”
“April’s the district supervisor for the eastern United States and Canada,” Cheryl added.
“Oh.” Tessa was caught off-guard. She knew her mother had bosses, but she never expected to meet them. At least, not here in the shabby office. At the convention, there were sure to be loads of other reapers.
And speaking of, Tessa’s eyes flitted to the man next to and slightly behind the supervisor. Only, now that they were in closer proximity, she noted that he didn’t exude the same vibe, not that of another reaper. Still, she waited for an introduction to him too.
April’s gaze followed Tessa’s, and she appeared a little surprised to find the twenty-something man standing there. Whether she just didn’t understand social cues or was intentionally rude wasn’t clear, but the woman didn’t bother to introduce him. She gave Tessa a curt smile, then turned to address Cheryl. “I have something important to discuss with you. Let’s use your office.” She cast a cool gaze at her male companion. “You, stay put.”
Tessa felt her eyebrows climb at the rudeness.
After the office door clicked shut behind the two women, Tessa smiled at the abandoned man.
He gave her an awkward little wave. “I’m Timothy. April’s assis
tant.”
“Hi, Timothy. Nice to meet you.”
He was tall and lanky, with nondescript features and an ill-fitting blue suit. He wore glasses. And for some reason, Tessa couldn’t help but think of an accountant when she looked at him.
She crossed the room to examine the Danishes on display on the small coffee cart there. It was not a typical day in the office. Cheryl must’ve brought these in for the guests. And she could tell they were from her favorite shop, just down the road from her childhood home—the house Cheryl still occupied alone.
Score!
“What brings you two to Mist River?” Tessa asked as Timothy trailed along behind her.
“Oh, you know, it’s just routine mainly. April likes to visit each of her branch offices once a quarter. She has a standing competition with the western district supervisor, Lee, about who can get to all their branches most often.”
He grabbed a cinnamon roll and took a big bite. A dollop of cream cheese frosting dove onto his jacket lapel like a fighter jet doing a dive maneuver. It crashed into a horrible blob. Timothy frowned and dabbed at the sticky mess with a napkin, making it much worse. “I don’t think we’ll be here for long.”
“No?”
Giving up on the spot, he tossed the napkin in a trash can and then leaned close to Tessa. “Lee’s visited one more office than April, and she wants to catch up before they see each other at the conference.”
Tessa chose a simple glazed donut. Her favorite. And a lot less likely to end up with a mess on her outfit. Then she poured herself a cup of coffee.
Raised voices floated through Cheryl’s door. Tessa jerked her chin that direction. “Getting the most visits in is one thing. But do you know what’s going on in there?”
Timothy, having finished off the cinnamon roll, got himself a cup of coffee too. “I do. But I shouldn’t say anything.”
And for a moment, it seemed as if he was going to stick to that. He eyed Tessa warily, then he glanced toward the office door and lowered his voice. “Okay. But you didn’t hear it from me. There’s a discrepancy in the numbers. Not enough souls have been taken this month, despite the number of allotments sent to each agency.” He squared his shoulders, thin chest puffing like a rooster. “It’s my job to keep the books for the whole eastern district.”
Tessa tried to look appropriately concerned but her mind raced. Did this have something to do with her? She’d had an . . . eventful first week on the job. But, no, the number of souls she’d reaped had been right on. The spirits’ identities were what had been off a bit.
Timothy must have noticed her uneasy expression because he waved a hand. “Oh, there’s nothing to worry about. We think we’ve pinpointed the agency involved, and it’s not Mist River. It’s the place we’re headed to next. The last stop before the conference.”
Tessa opened her mouth to ask him which office that was but shut it again when Cheryl’s office door opened. April emerged, heading straight for the front door. “Come on, Timothy,” she ordered without even sparing a glance for her assistant.
With an apologetic smile, a quick look down at the stain on his lapel, and another awkward wave, Timothy followed his boss outside.
Cheryl stood, arms crossed, gazing out at the parking lot. Tessa went to stand beside her mother. She finished her donut.
“So, your boss is . . . interesting,” Tessa ventured.
A grunt was the only response, along with a deepening frown.
“Did she give you a hard time or something?”
Finally, Cheryl stirred, leveling a calm stare at Tessa. “Are you packed for the conference?”
It took a minute for Tessa to switch gears. Obviously, her mother didn’t want to talk about the interaction with April.
“Uh,” Tessa focused on the question about her readiness for travel. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, a few days at a resort in Florida doesn’t take much in the way of clothes. I packed a couple swimsuits and a few business casual outfits.” She shrugged. “I should be good to go.”
“Didn’t you read the last email?” Cheryl asked.
“I, uh, I think so.”
“Well, are you dressing up for the theme days? I believe I have a Hawaiian shirt you can borrow. For the costume day, make sure it’s an appropriate length. And don’t try to be cute. There’s always one person who thinks it’s funny to go as a grim reaper.”
“Noted,” Tessa said. She had planned to skip the optional theme days.
“One last thing.” Cheryl’s eyes darted toward the parking lot. April and Timothy were gone. “Don’t forget this is a work trip, not a vacation. Keep your wits about you.” She made eye contact again. “Pay attention. You might learn something.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be sure to take notes and come back with extra reaper tricks up my robes.” Tessa laughed. “Get it? Up my robes? Like . . . reaper robes?”
“What did I just say about the costume day?” Cheryl rolled her eyes, went into her office, and shut the door without another word.
Tessa grinned, feeling like she’d won that round of good-natured sparring. But she couldn’t help but think her mom might have it even worse than she did in the mean old boss category. April seemed like a real treat.
Tessa pushed aside the thought and headed to her cramped office, already dreaming of sitting by the pool with her friend Gloria in Florida, skipping as many presentations as possible to sip daiquiris and soak up the sun.
Not a vacation, my backside.
Chapter 4
“I HATE LAYOVERS. DON’T you?” Tessa slumped into the uncomfortable airport chair. “So boring. I wish the agency would have sprung for a direct flight.” Cheryl had claimed it was agency policy to find the cheapest flights. But what kind of supernatural agency pinches pennies, really? Tessa was sure the policy was her mother’s and her mother’s alone.
She checked her watch. “I mean, it would’ve been nice to explore Chicago or something but there’s not enough time. This layover is just long enough to be annoying but not long enough to be any fun.”
Gloria’s perfect mauve-covered lips twitched upward. “I know it’s not technically a vacation. But I don’t care if there’s a layover—I’m just glad to be out of the office.” Her grin got wider. “I’m content sitting here thinking about how Cheryl’s probably going to have to fill in on a job or two while we’re gone. There’s bound to be enough business that Jake and Cathy can’t handle it alone. How long do you think it’s been since your mom reaped someone?”
Tessa shook her head. It was something she hadn’t given much thought to. This used to be her mother’s full-time job. She shuddered at the thought of her mother escorting someone to the other side. Or would ushering be a better word? Cheryl was so uptight and schedule-oriented—she’d probably clap her hands and say, “Chop-chop!”
“I don’t know,” she said. “But I guess you’re right. Any time out of this office is like a vacation, huh?”
“How about we spice it up?” Gloria stood, grabbed her suitcase’s handle, and started walking across the terminal.
“Okay...” Tessa hurried to grab her own luggage—they’d both just brought carry-on-sized bags to avoid the possibility of a lost suitcase putting a serious damper on their trip—and power-walked after her co-worker. “Where are we going?’
Over her shoulder, Gloria said, “The bar, of course. There are Tiki drinks with our names on them.”
Tessa had never been big on drinking on airplanes. She liked to be clear-headed in case something went wrong and she needed to think fast. But she had to admit that having a drink during the layover sounded like more fun than passing the time in a hard, plastic chair staring at the runway.
Gloria paused in the doorway of an Irish pub and waited for Tessa to catch up. “I guess the Tiki will have to wait for Miami. It looks like everybody’s in here.”
“Everybody?”
“The other reapers from Chicago on north. Look.” She nodded toward the dimly lit bar.
Followin
g her friend’s gaze, Tessa realized Gloria was right. Many of the folks sitting at the bar or gathered at round tables gave off reaper vibes.
Gloria made her way to a tall table near a window overlooking the concourse, where people bustled along in both directions, hurrying to make connecting flights. Tessa climbed into the chair and checked the laminated card advertising drink specials. When a waiter wearing a pilot’s hat with a shamrock affixed to the front came by, both reapers ordered cosmos.
Gloria leaned over the tiny table. “See that guy? That’s Art. He’s out of Minneapolis. Has a reputation for giving each of his clients’ last trips a bit of an artistic flare.”
“What does that mean?” Tessa studied the man Gloria had indicated. He stood at the bar holding a glass of Guinness and telling a story to several other reapers, who listened with rapt attention before bursting out into guffaws. Art had hawkish features, but they didn’t give him a predatory air. Instead, Tessa felt drawn to him.
Gloria laid her hands flat on the table. “Okay, so here’s an example. There was a guy Art was scheduled to reap who liked burlesque shows. So, Art dressed up as the guy’s favorite character—I don’t know who—I just know it involved a bright orange cape and a rhinestone-studded mask. Anyway, Ari wore the outfit when he showed up to cross the guy over. He was so over-the-moon he barely noticed he was dying.” Gloria chuckled.
And she laughed even louder at the look on Tessa’s face as she pictured Art in drag.
“Art likes to make a production of things. Oh, and that’s Shirley. I’m surprised she hasn’t retired yet. She’s been reaping since my grandmother was in grade school. She’s from British Columbia.”
The woman Gloria motioned toward was playing darts in the back corner with another reaper. Her black and silver hair was arranged in one heavy braid that reached her waist. She clapped as her dart made it into the bullseye. Then she celebrated with a chug of something in a martini glass.