Page 49 of Crossroads Magic
It took two hours for the officers to finish their on-site investigation. I sat in one of the wing chairs for most of those hours. Toward the end of the time I watched officers tramping through the sitting room, “Davey” arrived.
Davey, it turned out, was the county coroner. He was a small man in a snow suit, carrying a heavy leather bag. He had no hair, and a pink nose. “G’day,” he told me, as he paused by my chair. “You’re the deceased’s family?” His Strine accent was strong.
“Daughter,” I said and sighed.
“We’ll take care of her. No worries, miss.” He winked and pointed at the bedroom door. “That-a-way?”
I nodded, speechless.
Thirty-five minutes later, my mother’s body was carried out in a pristine white body bag, between four officers, with Davey trailing behind them. He nodded at me as he passed, once more, but there was no merriment on his face now.
Fifteen minutes later, everyone was gone. The apartment was silent, and no heavy boots sounded on the stairs. Distantly, I heard vehicle doors closing. The purr of engines.
Then nothing.
Ghaliya stepped slowly into the apartment, looking around. “She’s gone?”
I nodded.
Ghaliya stood for a moment, as her eyes grew shiny and her chin wobbled.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” I told her and held out my arm.
Ghaliya squeezed onto the chair with me, and cried against my shoulder. I was glad I could give her that comfort. My own mother could not. Not anymore.
?
I needed to move. Walking was an option, but that would give me time to think.
Instead, I stepped into the kitchen, and stood looking at the chaos for a full two minutes.
It was only just gone three-thirty. How much could I get done in an hour or so, before everyone in the building started dropping hints about a meal?
I pushed up my sleeves and got to work. I cleared out, cleaned and cooked. By the time five o’clock came around, soup had been simmering on the range for the last hour, a pasta salad made of the last of the fresh vegetables in the cold room and frozen peas sat in a big glass bowl on the counter.
There was no meat that wasn’t frozen solid or gone over. Everyone would have to eat vegetarian tonight. I made a curry rich with potatoes and plenty of vegetables, most of them canned. And rather than use the last of the sliced bread loaves in the cold room, which were pretty stale, I made a yeast-free flat bread and cooked it on the griddle.
The same brand of dry rice that we’d used in the diner sat in a monster bag on the shelves. I made a large batch of the stuff, and by the time it was ready, so was everything else. Plus the counters were very nearly clear, and everything sitting on them was non-perishable.
After fumbling around in the dining room, for it was fully dark now, I found the light switches and turned every one of them on.
I went through to the bar. Ghaliya was on the stool, talking softly with Hirom, which is where I’d told her to wait. “Dinner,” I told both of them. “Hirom, take a break for thirty minutes. Shut the bar door. Come on.”
Hirom straightened up and stroked his thick beard. “Um, go where?”
“The room where you’re supposed to eat meals.” I beckoned.
There were only three locals at the table by the fire. Benedict, Broch and Wim. They looked at me with interest.
“You’re welcome to join us,” I told them. “But it’ll be twenty dollars each. You can settle with me later if you don’t have the cash.”
Broch got to his feet. “I regret, I cannot. But thank you, Anna. I appreciate the offer.”
Wim lifted a finger. “May I ask what’s on the menu?”
“Soup, curry and rice, and freshly made bread sticks. There’s some ice cream in the freezer if that’s your thing.” I’d given up dessert years ago and these days rarely felt the need to indulge. Sugary things weren’t my addiction. Sweet books were, but I’d been too busy to indulge in those much the last few days, either.
“Can I pop over and bring Olivia here?” Wim asked.
