Page 108 of Evil Bones
“I’m sure she was.”
“It’s probably just as well.” Ryan tried to put a good spin on the situation. “I should do some winterizing.”
“Winterizing.”
“You know, change to snow tires, check my supply of warm socks, hunt down the electric blanket—”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
Katy brought fried chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Baklava cheesecake for dessert. Every dish was excellent. Because the meal came from Barrington’s, one of my favorite restaurants.
God bless takeout.
Meloy was as charming as he’d been the first time we met.
Danielle Hall was… what?
A lot.
While I had no idea what to expect, I certainly wasn’t prepared for the woman who showed up.
For starters, Hall was six foot two with a physique that suggested hours in a gym. Probably years. Her skin was so devoid of pigment it made me think of the troglofauna living deep in caves. Her hair was dyed an unfortunate baboon’s butt red. A gold ring pierced her right brow.
As we spread our blanket, then ate, I kept sneaking glances at the intricate tattoos showing dark against Hall’s pale skin. The most striking featured a black snake with one orange eye. The serpent’s head wrapped Hall’s right thumb and its body spiraled her wrist. When we’d shaken hands following Katy’s introduction, the creature had appeared to lunge for my face.
Despite the startling first impression, Hall turned out to be excellent company. She’d traveled extensively, liked many of my favorite authors, and was passionate about animal rights.
When it came up that Hall was working on an advanced degree in engineering and employed part-time by the city, Ruthie asked her about the passageways underlying Charlotte. Apparently, my niece had been intrigued since our earlier discussion of the subterranean network.
“Would you like to visit sometime?” Hall asked.
“You’ve gone down there?” As before, Ruthie sounded breathy with awe. Maybe trepidation.
“Many times,” Hall said. “I’d be happy to take you on a tour.”
“Pass.”
“It’s dark and dank, but perfectly safe if I’m guiding you,” Hall said.
“Call it a phobia, or whatever. Gloomy, underground tunnels are not my thing.”
“Let me know if you change your mind.”
“Never gonna happen.”
Conversation then shifted to the topic of phobias. At one point, Ruthie insisted we go around the group with each person naming the thing they feared most.
Hall mentioned spiders.
Katy went with heights.
Ruthie stuck with small dark spaces.
I said mine was losing people I love.
Meloy admitted to anxiety when around dogs.
“No way,” Ruthie said, with one of her snorts.
