Page 30 of My Blind Date is a Demon

“Were you just joking?” Beckett asks Damon.

“Not really. Look, I’ve been around a very long time. Humans curse each other all the time for very petty and stupid things. Of course, there are the humans who want revenge for murder or more serious issues. But I knew a man who once cursed his own son for losing a hoe.”

“Really?” I ask.

“Well, they were very poor. And the hoe was necessary for farming to keep the family from starving. But still, you get my point. You never know what a person might curse someone for. Humans don’t always take their words as seriously as they should.”

“Do you think someone could have cursed her without knowing it?” Beckett asks.

“I don’t think so,” Damon says. “In this case, the order came from the Dark Lord himself. That takes some serious intention.”

“Okay, so I will try to track down this Darla and just have a chat with her,” Beckett says. “But usually crimes like this are very personal. I would like to start with your family just to see what they have to say.”

“Okay.” I give him the names and phone numbers of my parents.

“And what about your late husband’s family?”

“I don’t…really talk to them much.”

“It’s my understanding that they blame you for his accident.”

My eyes well up. I only nod to keep from crying.

“I’m sorry to bring this up, Tamzin,” Beckett says. “But that seems like a very good place for me to start.”

“I just… I can’t imagine Mark’s family wanting to hurt me further,” I say, the tears running down my cheeks. Thankfully, Beckett has a tissue box on his desk. “They know how much I already blame myself for what happened.”

“What did happen?” Beckett asks. I look at him, begging him with my eyes to not make me say it out loud. “I need to know, Tamzin.”

“It was just a fight. A stupid fight.” I blow my nose. “He’d been spending a lot of time with his boardgame group. Like, four, five nights a week. I just wanted to spend time together as a family. Not even doing anything, just watching TV together.

“We argued. I threatened to toss out all his games and set them on fire. He stormed out anyway. He drove off. According to the police report, he had the right of way. He didn’t run a red light or anything. But… I don’t know. I think maybe he wasn’t paying attention. The truck… The truck hit him square in the driver’s side. He was dead… He was dead before the emergency vehicles even showed up. We didn’t…didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

“Was the driver of the other car charged?” Beckett asks.

“Umm… I think so. I don’t remember. There was a trial, but I didn’t go.”

“Okay, I’ll look it up later,” Beckett says. “So, why does his family blame you? Seems like they should blame the driver of the other car.”

“I told them what happened,” I say. “I told them about the fight. I told them I blamed myself, and I do. I still do.”

“You know it wasn’t your fault,” Beckett says.

“So my therapist keeps telling me,” I say, trying to make a joke. But it falls flat. I feel warmth on my hand and look over to see Damon holding my hand in his. He has a kind look on his face. A feeling of calm washes over me and I stop crying.

“Okay,” Beckett says. “I think I have enough here to get started. I’m going to look up Mark’s case, see if there is anything else there. Then I’m going to talk to your parents and Mark’s. I’ll let you know if I find out anything.”

I thank Beckett and make sure to dry my tears and blow my nose before seeing Bella.

“What happened to your face?” Bella asks as soon as she sees me. So much for that. “Have you been crying?”

“I’m fine,” I say. “Thanks for watching her,” I say to Lisa.

“No problem, hon,” Lisa says.

As we walk out to the car, my phone rings. It’s Beverly.

“Hello?”

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