Free Night Magic by Lynn Emery

as he walked
off with a new bounce in his step.
    "Bye." Watching him move away, Savannah stood
on the sidewalk for several minutes enjoying the view. She sighed
deeply at the sight. As she turned to go back into the shop,
something made her look to her left. A block away, standing at the
end of the street that lead to the museum was LaShaun. Even at that
distance, Savannah could feel her malice curling out like a water
moccasin. LaShaun traced something in the air. The smile on her
face was anything but friendly. Unable to look away, Savannah's
feeling of calm drained away with each movement of her hands to be
replaced by a sense of chilly dread. Savannah wanted to back away,
to run, but something held her rooted to that spot. LaShaun nodded
as if to acknowledge her effect on Savannah, then left. Savannah
stood at the door gazing after her, rubbing the raised flesh on her
arms. Breathing shakily, she went inside.
     
     

Chapter 4
     
     
    For the next three weeks, Paul was so
cheerful his partner Sam was getting really annoyed. Sam hated
small towns having grown up in one on the wrong side of the tracks
so to speak. He only visited a few times preferring to attend to
the contracts in the larger cities.
    "Man, if you start whistling some corny song
I swear I'm going to throw up. There can only be one reason for
this kind of irrational behavior, a woman." Sam cocked one bushy
eyebrow at Paul's knowing laugh. "Just what I thought."
    "What are you so grumpy about anyway?
Business is great, we've been having sunny weather, and you don't
have to stay here overnight if you don't want to because most of my
testing is done." Paul stretched gracefully and sunk a perfect shot
with a ball of paper in the wasted basket next to Sam's chair.
    "That last part is truly cause for rejoicing.
How you stood it for six weeks is beyond me. But don't change the
subject, who is she?" Sam hooked one long denim covered leg over
the arm chair.Since they had been reviewing test result figures for
over three hours, he was more than ready for a break. The spacious
living room of the mobile home Paul had rented doubled as his
office.
    "Savannah St. Julien." Paul drew the name,
savoring each syllable.
    "That name sounds familiar. Hey, wait a
minute. I heard that on television. Some reporter was interviewing
a St. Julien about the plant. No, you wouldn't be that dumb."
    "What are you talking about?" Paul handed him
a soft drink before taking a seat on the sofa across from him.
    "You’re the opposition, buddy boy, working
for the enemy. These little numbers are going to get us in good
with a major industry and your name is going to be mud." Sam picked
up some of the reports and shook them to emphasize his point.
    "We did an independent assessment that showed
the aggregate would not harm the soil if it's processed correctly,"
Paul insisted. "The soil mixture around the plant would not easily
allow contamination of ground water if a large spill should
accidentally occur..."
    "Save it for your honey, man. When this baby
hits the fan, you better be wearing a flak jacket, is all I can
say." Sam waved part of the partially finished report.
    "I'm not working for the enemy either." Paul
scowled into his glass. "Singleton is taking all necessary
precautions. What's more, Claude Trosclair even got him to follow
some of my suggestions to change some of their operations."
    "Does she know about your relationship to the
Trosclair family?" Sam squinted at him.
    "Of course not. There's no need for her to
know." Paul shifted uneasily, his voice defensive."Oh-oh." Sam
pursed his lips.
    "Don't give me that look." Paul's irritation
came from knowing what Sam was thinking. Exactly the nagging worry
he tried to suppress.
    "Let's hope it doesn't come out." Sam leaned
back.
    "Nobody knows who I am, and this happened
years ago. There's no way it could."
    "Not tempted to tell cousin Quentin who you
are and rock his little privileged world?"
    "It would almost be worth it to see the