Free Deadly Blessings by Julie Hyzy Page A

understandable, she had no receipt
and Antonio conveniently didn’t remember the incident.
    She left several pictures with me. I knew
they’d make effective close-ups with her retelling the tale in a
voice-over. I hoped this William was a decent scriptwriter. The
blue tufts of hair sticking out all over her bald head were truly
pitiful. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
    Prickles of inspiration started moving
forward in my brain. I could work with this. And I had contestant
number two due here in a few minutes.
    In the meantime I remembered I needed to
call my Uncle Moose. I was moving out of Dan’s on Saturday and
could use some able-bodied help.
    Aunt Lena answered on the second ring and we
exchanged quick pleasantries. Uncle Moose was out, playing cards
with his buddies down at the gym. A former semi-professional
wrestler, Uncle Joe had taken on the name Moose way back in his
heyday, before I was born, when he’d held the title of North
American Wrestling Federation Champion, which was a Very Big Deal
on the South Side of Chicago.
    “ He’ll be there Saturday,
Alex, don’t worry. I’ll make sure.”
    “ Don’t you want to check
with him first? Maybe he has plans.”
    “ Let me worry about that.
He’s usually just wandering around here on Saturdays anyway,
getting into my hair, or into trouble.” Aunt Lena took a breath,
like a wind-up noise, leading me to believe that whatever came next
was going to be important. “Trust me, honey, he’s gonna be thrilled
to help you move back home.”
    I stared at the phone for a few minutes
after we hung up. Nobody in my family had ever liked Dan. Polite
folks, they didn’t slam him too badly behind his back, but I always
sensed an undercurrent of “eeyoo.” Even my sister Lucy didn’t much
care for him, and Lucy liked everybody. That reminded me. I needed
to call her and tell her I wouldn’t be there Saturday after all. I
could almost picture the disappointment on her face when I broke
the news.
    I’d call her later.
    It was almost eleven. This next chick was
late. I drained the rest of my water and decided I’d better hit the
little girls’ room before my next appointment showed.
    I wondered how it was that Gabriela had so
many acquaintances who had hair issues. Was it just a string of
exceptionally bad luck, or what? I hadn’t had a truly terrible hair
experience ever in my life. But then again, I could go months
without stepping foot in a beauty shop. I guess the law of averages
was on my side.
    “ Alex?”
    Jordan met me in the doorway with the second
friend. I’d have to hold off the potty stop till later.
    “ Your appointment is here.
This is Tammy Larken.”
    “ Hi,” I said. She looked
vaguely familiar. But I couldn’t quite place her.
    “ You’re Alex?”
    Surprised both by her question and her tone
I shrugged. “Yeah.”
    She didn’t try to hide her displeasure. “I
thought Alex was a man.”
    Ooh, I could feel myself not liking this
chick already. “Nope. Sorry to disappoint you. I’m Alex St. James.”
I extended my hand. She shook the tips of my fingers and let go, as
though I’d handed her a fish. “Come on in. Would you like anything
to drink? Water, coffee?”
    She laughed at that, a light chuckle. I had
no idea what was funny. “Uh … no.”
    “ Have a seat.” She
did.
    “ When will I be filmed?”
she asked.
    “ Excuse me?”
    “ The filming of the show,”
she said, enunciating her words. In her early thirties, she had to
be the thinnest person I’d ever encountered. Not attractive-thin,
she was emaciated. With short wavy brown hair she wore cropped
close to her head, and sucked-in cheeks that showed off every bone
of her jawline, I felt that nagging feeling again that she reminded
me of someone. I couldn’t believe her bony hands, even as they dug
a cigarette out of her purse. “You mind?”
    “ Sorry,” I said.
“Regulations. This isn’t a designated smoking area.” It was the
truth. But I knew that Bass looked