Free Bad Moon On The Rise by Katy Munger Page A

my
closet-sized office was not big enough for a full-blown strip
tease. Believe me, I’d tried.
    “ Where are you headed in
such a hurry?” he asked, sniffing pointedly in my direction. “I
strongly recommend a shower first.”
    “ No time. I have to go see
my client now,” I said, somewhat grumpily. Damn it. The jeans were
too tight. How long ago had I packed this damn bag? I tugged and
pulled and wiggled until I was able to get the zipper shut, but I
knew if I wore them more than a few hours my current lack of a
decent sex life would become a completely moot point.
    “ And which of our clients,
pray tell, deserves such speedy service and, yet, such poor
hygiene?” Bobby asked as he watched me stuff my old clothes into a
plastic garbage bag and tie the opening securely shut.
    “ Corndog
Sally.” 
    “ So, exactly whose stink
is that on your clothes?” Bobby asked, eyebrows raised.
    “ Her
daughter’s.”
    “ Let me get this
straight—you’re rushing off to tell an old woman her daughter is
dead,” Bobby said. “But you look like you’re going to kick her ass
while you’re at it. Why is that?”
    Okay, Bobby was obese. That didn’t
mean he was stupid. And, god knows, he was often far more sensitive
to other people’s feelings than I was.
    “ She conned me,” I
explained as I sniffed myself thoroughly. Wild dogs would still
follow me around the block, but it would have to do. “I think she
knew all along that her daughter was dead. And there’s a reason she
came to me about it.”
    Bobby looked skeptical. “A
reason?”
    “ Yeah. A big one. And I
don’t like being played like this.”
    Bobby stared at me with a look I’d
never actually seen on him before. It seemed like... genuine
concern.
    “ What is it?” I
mumbled.
    “ If I hear you caused that
old woman one moment of unnecessary pain,” Bobby warned me. “I will
personally kick your ass. I don’t care what she’s done to you. Her
daughter is dead.”
    I was silent.
    “ Do you want me to come
along?” he asked in a voice that was unexpectedly kind.
    “ No,” I said. “I’ll do
it.”
    “ Then do it
kindly.”
    “ Fine.” My stomach hurt.
“But I hate these kinds of visits.”
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    I arrived at Corndog Sally’s house on
the outskirts of South Raleigh within seconds of an ambulance. My
stomach dropped. I had been right about Sally being sick. Was I too
late?
    Worse, Alicia McCoy, Tonya’s snooty
sister, pulled up in a black Mercedes before I’d even climbed out
of my car. She’d been following the ambulance.
    “ What are you doing here?”
she asked rudely, her nose wrinkling in distaste at the smell that
still lingered about me. What would she say if I told her that it
was her sister’s smell she was turning her nose up at? I had half a
mind to, but Bobby’s words of caution stopped me.
    “ That’s between me and
your mother,” I said, brushing past her. “And I could ask the same
thing of you.”
    “ I’m here to take my
mother to a hospice,” she announced angrily. “I don’t need you
interfering.”
    “ That didn’t take you
long,” I observed. “Why don’t you just have them drive her straight
to the cemetery and toss her in a hole? It would save you time
later.”
    I won’t repeat what she said back to
me, but I will say this for her: I didn’t think she had that in
her.
    The ambulance guys were looking warily
from one of us to the other. I had to act quickly or they’d start
backing down the driveway with the stretcher, then make a run for
it down the street.
    “ I think we just got off
on the wrong foot,” I said, beating her up the walkway. I stood
rather foolishly at the front door and wondered what the hell I was
supposed to do now, since I didn’t have a key. “Let’s start over: I
need to talk to your mother alone for a few minutes. I found your
sister and the news isn’t good.” I glanced at the ambulance. “It’s
a good thing you’re