Page 5 of Death

Chapter 2

Well, that was weird.

And that’s putting it mildly.

I tap my heels on the concrete to spur a little warmth through my ankles while I wait for Dina to finish up inside. After that reading, I didn’t want to be in there anymore — even if it meant freezing outside in the cold.

Time’s up.

The hell does that mean?

Finally, the door opens and Riley steps out. “There you are,” he says.

I nod. “Where’s Dina?”

“She’s buying some… tea leaves or something.” He shrugs and looks me up and down. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Sorry about before,” he says. “That joke was inappropriate.”

I wave a hand. “Don’t worry about it. That’s just Dina being Dina.”

“Still, I told her that she should apologize. So, she will. In her own way. Eventually.”

I chuckle. “Looking forward to it.”

“How’d the rest of your reading go?” he asks. “You looked a little shell-shocked when you walked out.”

“It was… interesting,” I answer.

“If she said anything weird, I wouldn’t worry about it. She was probably just trying to scare you.”

I nod. “Happy Halloween.”

“Exactly.”

“She didn’t scare me,” I say. “Just gave me a few things to think about, that’s all.”

Riley nods and doesn’t pry further.

The door opens again and Dina steps out with a paper bag folded up in her hand.

“That was awesome!” she says, her breath fogging in the cold. “Told you Cassandra was amazing.”

“She sure was,” I say.

She bounces excitedly. “What’d she tell you? Is there a Riley in your future?”

I hesitate. “Not really…”

“Well, not with that attitude, hermit.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being a hermit. She said so herself.”

“You’re gonna end up like one of those weirdos, aren’t you?” she jokes. “Bundled up in a cabin out in the middle of nowhere with books and no TV.”

I smile. “Add in a few cats and I’d move in tomorrow.”

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