The Gates to the Afterlife by Jen Pitts

Author:Jen Pitts [Pitts, Jen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-10-31T04:00:00+00:00

31

A lthough the night ended on such a high note, nightmares still plagued me. Marie Laveau called to me from St. Louis Cemetery No. 2, but I insisted she shouldn’t be there. A shadowy figure chased me around and around the graveyard until I woke up to a cat licking my face.

“Thanks for bringing me back from the afterlife.” I laughed as I pushed Nubi away from me and sat up in bed. Time to return to the land of the living. I expected last night’s program would bring more customers to the store, so I wanted to get a jump on the day.

I threw my robe on and started the coffeemaker when I heard loud voices outside. No one was in the courtyard, so I looked into the entryway.

Standing in front of Andrew’s open door stood Sissy in her bathrobe and Rob dressed as he did for work with his badge on his belt. Andrew leaned against his doorframe wearing a navy blue robe and holding a matching coffee cup.

“Sissy, it’s fine. I’ll go with Rob and we’ll sort this out.”

“It’s ridiculous! You had nothing to do with it.” Sissy’s words were for Andrew, but the glare was all for her boyfriend.

“We just have a few questions for Andrew. See, he understands,” Rob said through gritted teeth. “Let’s step into the courtyard while he gets ready.”

Rob put his arm around Sissy and moved her away from the door. She shook his arm off, but walked toward my apartment.

Andrew caught my eye and said, “It’s OK. Don’t open the shop today. Yes, I’m serious. Now go save Rob and calm Sissy down.”

“Are you sure? I can manage the store or I could go with you…”

“I’ll be fine. I promise I’ll return home soon.”

Andrew shut his door, so I had no choice but to join Rob and Sissy in the middle of our courtyard.

“Yes, they argued, but Andrew wouldn’t murder Thomas. You know that, Rob.”

“Wait, Thomas is dead?” I breathed in deeply as my head became dizzy. Thomas couldn’t be dead.

“Yes, he was killed last night at Armstrong Park.”

“What happened?” The dizziness dissipated, but a shiver when down my spine. Poor Thomas, but now I understood why Rob needed to talk with Andrew. It couldn't be a coincidence that Thomas was killed after fighting publicly with Andrew.

“I’m still waiting for more details, but in the meantime we just have a few questions for Andrew.”

I grabbed Sissy’s hand and gave it a squeeze, hoping she wouldn’t start in on her boyfriend again. He had a job to do, and so did we.

“We understand. You’re not arresting Andrew, are you?” I said.

“No, no, nothing like that,” Rob insisted. “I’ll send him back home as soon as possible.”

“You better.” Sissy sniffed, but she reached up and gave Rob a quick peck on the cheek.

He and Andrew left the building, and I pulled Sissy into my apartment. I poured a cup of coffee for each of us and we sat on my loveseat.

“OK, tell me everything,” I demanded.

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