late.”
“Close earlier tonight. Please.”
“Klan going to come burn a cross?” She bared her teeth in a smile designed to show the boy, Dillon, that she was joking. Just a little bit. When Joe didn’t smile back, she dropped her own quickly. “Seriously, Joe?” she said.
“Yes. I’ve already talked to Teacher.”
She glanced over at her sleeping son. “Okay.” She nodded. “I’ll close by seven thirty at the latest.”
He was pleased that she didn’t ask more questions. “Seven thirty will be okay,” he said. Sunset wasn’t until eight thirty p.m. or thereabouts, but it would be wise to err on the side of caution. “Dillon, you drove your truck in, right?”
Dillon looked at Joe as though he’d grown another head. Of course, Joe thought. He’s a rural kid. He’s been driving since he was thirteen, probably. Now Joe remembered that Dillon had saved up to buy a secondhand Chevy 4x4, and he kept it as clean and polished as a vehicle in dusty Texas could be. “Of course you did,” Joe said, with an apologetic smile. “When the restaurant closes, please go straight home.” The Braithwaite ranch was ten miles due south of Midnight.
The boy’s face was full of a thousand questions, but Joe knew if he answered one, he’d be there for ten more minutes. He was ready with a credible story. “A customer in the shop told me he’d seen a mountain lion on his property right outside of town. He said it was wounded, might attack people. I think we need to take serious precautions until they track it down.”
That seemed to make sense to Dillon. To forestall any more questions from the boy, Joe nodded at both of them and left. He hesitated once outside, picking up Rasta and scratching the little dog’s head. Rasta was panting but still glad to be outside with his human.
“What now?” Joe said to the dog. He’d just thought of Fiji when he heard her call his name. He looked far past her down the sidewalk and saw Mr. Snuggly sitting on the edge of her yard looking after her. When Fiji came up to him, he saw that her face was tight with anxiety. Though she was wearing a short denim skirt and a tank top, she was flushed and breathing heavily.
“Tonight,” she said. “Something’s happening tonight.”
“Yes. I was just telling Madonna and Teacher to be inside early. I was going to call you.”
“I went over to the chapel with some cookies for the Rev and Diederik. The Rev wouldn’t come to the door, though I know they were in there. There’s only that big ceiling fan in there, no air-conditioning. Silence. And I got a shivery feeling.”
“Good thing you trust your feelings,” Joe said approvingly. Fiji tried to smile back.
“Something’s going to happen to the boy tonight,” she said. “I think so, at least. He’s been growing so much, and he seems so different from other boys, anyway. I don’t know what it is, but I know he won’t be the same after it.”
Joe nodded. “Don’t forget to tell your cat,” he said. He’d put the dog down, and Rasta was prancing around Fiji’s ankles, smelling the cat on her legs and shoes.
“Mr. Snuggly seems to know. Better than I do. He’s already told me to get a litter box ready for tonight. Normally, he just goes outside.”
“We’ll take Rasta out at the last minute and then hope for the best,” Joe said. “Remember, Fiji. I know you are strong, and I know you are powerful. But no running outside to pick some last-minute herbs for supper or to stand in the moonlight to cast a spell.”
“Do I seem that scatterbrained to you?” Fiji shook her head. “Don’t answer that. I promise, I won’t try to rescue anyone. Have you talked to Bobo?”
Joe shook his head. “I’ll leave that to you, if you have time. I need to get Rasta home. The heat’s too much with all his fur.”
“Okay, I’ll stop in,” she said. “I think Manfred and Olivia have been gone today? You’ve texted them?”
“They’ve been told,” Joe assured her.
“Bye then, and thanks. Stay safe, Joe.” She glanced both ways and then ran diagonally across the intersection and up the steps to the old door to the pawnshop.
It was gloomy inside as it almost always was, and she stopped to get her sight back.
“Hey, Feej,” Bobo called from the back of the store, which was much larger than it looked on the outside. She began fumbling her way back.