Page 104 of Death and Do-Overs

“You disappeared when we tried to talk to you before, and you haven’t been here since. So it does seem like you’re avoiding us,” Imogen said. “With all due respect.”

“I’m death. I’m busy, obviously.”

And even if she had been avoiding us before, which it definitely seemed like she was, she’d chosen not to now, which was interesting. Maybe she’d grown weary of hiding and figured it’d be better to get this interaction over with so we’d leave her alone for good.

I needed to ask every single question I could think of.

“Are you the cat?” I asked.

Bernadette turned her sneer in my direction. “What are you talking about?”

“The cat that I saw jumping over your fence and rolling around in your living room,” I said. “Was that your playful way of taunting us when you knew we needed to speak with you?”

“I do not own a cat. I have never pretended to be one. This is ludicrous. I have better things to do than taunt you. And now you’re wasting what precious little off time I have before someone else dies.”

I didn’t get the sense that she was lying.

“Is it true that Halloween’s a big thing here, and lots of people come to celebrate?” Imogen asked. “Because I heard that, but I didn’t see any parades or trick-or-treaters.”

“I don’t engage in festivities. I wouldn’t know.”

“You don’t know if there’s more people in town?” Imogen asked.

Bernadette didn’t respond, but Imogen shivered under the weight of her glare.

“Do you know why the trains are shut down or how long that’s going to last?” I asked, hoping for any glimmer of new information.

“I’m not a conductor,” Bernadette said.

“Death is your realm,” I said, feeling like I might just have the right line of questioning this time.

“Obviously.”

“So you know everything related to the deaths around Nevermore, is that right?” I asked.

“No. I don’t burden myself with unnecessary details.”

“All right, but you know some things, some necessary details that you could pass on to us,” I said, and then, to cinch it, I risked poking the bear. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be doing your job.”

Imogen snapped her attention to me, eyes as wide as the moon.

But I hadn’t made a mistake. If I had, Bernadette would have killed me where I stood. She hadn’t.

Instead, Bernadette dropped her arms. “I could be watching my stories right now.”

“We’ll let you get back to it soon, I promise,” Imogen said.

Bernadette’s scowl lessened until her face returned to an ageless, pale mask once more. “There may be something of interest to you.”

“We’ll take anything,” I said.

“If I show you, this is our final interaction. You will not return to my home or speak to me again. Understand?”

“Yep.” Imogen grinned. “Thank you so much in advance. I knew you were a good person.”

Bernadette sighed and looked at me, clearly waiting for me to agree to her terms.

“I will not return to your home,” I said.

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