Page 81 of The Tenant
“I need you to pretend to be interested in a room my boyfriend and I are renting out,” I explain. “Just, like, come see the room, then say a bunch of scary psychic things.”
Quillizabeth’s lips set into a straight line so that they nearly disappear into her mouth. “I cannot just say a bunch of ‘psychic things’ if I don’t feel them. This is not agame.”
“No, of course not,” I say quickly. Boy, this woman is something else. “I just think it would be good for my boyfriend to hear a psychic’s perspective on the room, you know? So we can know in advance if there are any…like, spiritual issues before we rent it out.”
She takes a moment to consider this. “You want me to lie to your boyfriend.”
“Not lie, exactly. But I definitely think it’s important for the house to be spiritually clear, and he won’t go for it unless we say you are looking to rent the room.”
I watch her face, wondering if she’ll buy it. Whatever else I can say about this woman, she takes her trade very seriously.
“I do not approve of deception,” she says. “But I sympathize with your desire to neutralize your house spiritually. I will come. And when I come, I will give you my recommendations.”
“That would be wonderful,” I say. “Thank you so much.”
I had a whole script in my head for this woman to say, but now I think whatever she comes up with on her own will be so much better. I can’t wait.
52
Blake is nowdeep in conversation with Quillizabeth.
Right after I put the cookies on a plate, I sprinkled some flour on my shirt to give myself an excuse to leave the room so Blake could be alone with Quillizabeth. When I return to the living room, his eyes are bulging out, and he seems like he’s counting the seconds before he can get her out of our house.
I sweep into the room to pretend to introduce myself to the woman that I met yesterday. Despite her reluctance to be deceptive, Quillizabeth does an excellent job pretending we just met. She holds out her hand to me, and I shake it.
And then, as our hands make contact, she jerks away. Her eyes go wide as she takes a step back.
“I…” The older woman’s voice is hoarse. “I actually have to go. This place…it’s too small. I won’t be renting it after all.”
Blake looks so relieved, it’s almost hilarious. “Okay, it was nice meeting you,” he says a bit too brightly.
I feign concern. “Is everything okay?”
Quillizabeth shifts her gaze to look at Blake. If I didn’t know this was all an act, I’d say she was absolutely terrified. She then turns to me and says in an urgent voice, “Could I…speak to you outside, Krista dear?”
Outside? I don’t think so. I want Blake to hear every part of this performance. “What is it?” I press her.
Quillizabeth takes another step back. “Outside.Please.”
“Look…Quillizabeth.” Blake sounds utterly exasperated. “We have another prospective tenant coming soon, so…”
“He’s going to kill you,” she blurts out. “Blake is going to kill you, Krista. You have to get away from here.”
Oh my God. This woman deserves an Emmy. She really missed her calling.
“He’s going to stab you with a kitchen knife.” Quillizabeth points to the floor beneath our feet. “It’s going to happen righthere.”
Blake looks a bit panicked. At the very least, he wants her out of here. He places a hand on her back, and she leaps away from him like he just scalded her.
“Please believe me, Krista.” Quillizabeth is reaching out for me now with a gnarled hand. “Be careful. My visions…they are never wrong.”
I’m the one who finally has to walk Quillizabeth outside, because she insists that she has to talk to me. That’s fine. I want to give her a tip anyway. She was amazing. Amanda will be showing up soon, and the contrast will be stunning. She’ll be moved in by the end of the week.
But when we get outside, Quillizabeth clings to my arm and doesn’t want to leave. “You must listen to me, Krista. That man—Blake—he’s dangerous.”
“Blake?” I laugh, pulling a few bills out of my wallet. “No, I don’t think so. And he can’t hear you anymore, so we can stop the performance. You were great though.”
“Performance!” she bursts out. “That was not a performance. Isawit. I saw him crouched over your dead body. I saw the blood all over the floor.”
