Page 8 of Love in Mission City: The Shorts

My cat could probably care less about what her beloved vet’s pronouncements were.With more care than she deserved, I picked her up and set her down on the floor.I meandered through the store to ensure everything was straight.Of course Sunshine had likely just done the same thing, so everything was perfect.

I flipped the sign on the door, flicked the lock, and lowered the blinds.Mission City wasn’t a high-crime area, but having the cash register visible from the street wasn’t a great idea.I put the cash away in the floor safe in the back room, then encouraged Ari to head up the stairs.I set the alarm for the store, then closed that door and headed upstairs.

My cat made a beeline for her food bowl and glared up at me.

“I know Sun fed you this morning, so don’t try to tell me you’re hard done by.I won’t believe you.”

Still, I located some of her favorite expensive kibble and scooped out the appropriate portion.I opened my fridge and surveyed the contents.I’d been a responsible adult and had stopped at the grocery store on my way back into town last night, even though I’d been tired.

Was I up to cooking or—

All logical thought fled as the most horrendous racket thundered through my apartment.Only the steady bass assured me that I wasn’t enduring an earthquake.Nothing shook, but Ari looked up from her bowl and gave me awhat the fucklook.This was bad.Anything that separated my cat from her food was a pretty dire thing.

Locating the source of the noise wasn’t a challenge.My kitchen shared a wall with Spike’s new place.

The McKinneys had used the loft as a storage space.

Apparently Spike was either using it as an office or—God forbid—an apartment.Oh shit.Bad enough I had to deal with his noise shit during the day.But at night?I was accustomed to quiet.

Aside from the occasional train whistle, downtown Mission City was tranquil.Even Tim Horton’s and the Greek restaurant—Stavros’s—closed up before eleven.Occasionally a truck rumbled through, but those were few and far between.

My peace was shattered, and I was pissed.

Ari still gazed up at me.

Appease her.

I snagged a tin of wet food and apportioned a slice on a plate for her.

She eyed it greedily as I placed the plate on the floor, but she waited for me to give her permission before she dug in.

Satisfied she’d be okay, I tromped down the stairs.I exited through the back door and stomped over to the next building.The back of our stores faced a back alley, and I had two parking spaces.I kept my Prius in one, and Sunshine used the other when she drove to work.

Spike’s parking space was filled with a beat-up pickup truck that’d seen better days.The windows facing the alley were all shut.

I, on the other hand, had all mine open.I had a/c but used it infrequently, preferring the breeze off the river.On the days when the wind didn’t blow, and the temperatures climbed to over one hundred, I broke down and cranked her up.Naturally we used a/c in the store.Wouldn’t do to have our guests sweating to death.

The closed windows and the still-thumping bass assured me I’d never be heard.I circled around to the front of the store.The noise wasn’t so insane out here, but I could still hear it.

Most of the stores didn’t have apartments over top, and many of the shops were shuttered for the night.

Still, this was rude.

I pounded on the door.

Unsurprisingly, nothing happened.I glanced around.

The main street was, surprisingly, empty.

“Hey, asshole.”

“I hope you’re not referring to me.”

I spun and my stomach sank.

Corporal Colton Pritchard from the RCMP stood across the road from me in the shadow of the storefront for the cell phone repair shop.

Damn.

---