Page 30 of Lion's Share
…such a waste of time. The electromagnetic anomalies don’t appear to have manifested in anything other than annoying but manageable outages, and it’s clear that none of the people here know a damn thing. We need to go into the forest and start looking around there. If Rosenthal really thinks that’s the source of the anomalies….
And then it was gone again, almost as if someone had just changed the channel or maybe shut it off entirely.
For a second, I stood there frozen, not wanting to acknowledge what had just happened.
Had I actually heard Rebecca Morse’s thoughts in my head?
No, that must have been my imagination playing tricks on me.
“Well, Ms. Lowell,” she said as she extracted a card from a different inner pocket of her jacket, “here’s my card. Please reach out and let me know if you think of anything you might want to report. The more information we have, the sooner we can get to the bottom of what’s happening with your electricity and phone service.”
“Sure,” I said, and took the card from her. Like me, she didn’t seem to spend much time on manicures, since her nails were neatly kept but short and without even clear polish on them. “Nothing comes to mind, but since I’m as tired of all these interruptions as everyone else, I’ll be sure to reach out and let you know if I think of something.”
“I appreciate that.”
She offered me a thin smile and went outside, letting the door bang shut behind her with a discordant jangle of the bell hanging from the handle.
I released a breath and closed my eyes.
What the hell was going on with me?
Unfortunately, I didn’t get much of a chance to get my bearings after that unsettling visit, because Eliza came in only about fifteen minutes after Agent Morse left. She was looking less than thrilled with life, although I had to hope that wasn’t because she’d suddenly developed mind-reading abilities like I had.
“Frigging Linda Fields,” she said without preamble, and I blinked.
“What?”
Eliza planted her hands on her slim hips. On Saturdays, she only served breakfast, so she was out of the café by usually around eleven or eleven-thirty. “I just found out through the grapevine that Linda Fields plans to run against me.”
“But….” I let the word trail off because I wasn’t actually sure what I’d intended to say. Trying to recover, I said, “I thought you were running unopposed.”
Her mouth pursed. “So did I. But I guess Linda doesn’t like the idea of someone running Silver Hollow who’s as anti-business as I am.”
“You’re not anti-business,” I protested. “You’re a business owner, for God’s sake. And you’re always in the thick of it when it comes to arranging bake sales or raffles or whatever to help with raising money to beautify downtown.”
Although Eliza didn’t exactly roll her eyes, I got the feeling she wanted to. “Yes, but that’s all local, small business stuff. Linda’s still convinced that all we need is to get one good chain hotel next to the highway and we’ll be knee-deep in tourists.”
I could only imagine what Mabel Whitaker might have to say about that. “We’re not exactly a Days Inn kind of place.”
“Well, you know that and I know that, but….” Eliza released a disgusted breath. “I probably shouldn’t let this get to me. Linda’s only lived here for five years, so I doubt she’s going to garner too much support.”
“No, probably not,” I replied, doing my best to sound reassuring. “I mean, all those people who signed the petition to get rid of Jim Tillman wouldn’t have done that if they just wanted more of the same.”
My comment must have cheered Eliza somewhat, because her expression visibly brightened. “You’re right,” she said. “And I’ll do my best to emphasize that point. It’s just annoying because I thought I was going to run unopposed, and now I’m going to have to put some time and money into actually campaigning.”
“I’ll help wherever I can,” I told her. “And Ben’s really pretty good at the graphic design stuff, so if you need someone to put together some posters or whatever, just let me know. I’m sure he’d be glad to pitch in.”
At least, I hoped he would be. So far, he’d done whatever he could to fit in…and dating me had helped a lot in terms of ingratiating him with the old guard…but still, I didn’t want to think I was overstepping by volunteering him for something he hadn’t personally signed up for.
Eliza didn’t seem to have any worries on that count, though, because she flashed me a bright smile. “That would be awesome. But now I need to head over to Bethany’s cheer practice, so I’ll be in touch when I know more about what I need.”
“Sounds great,” I said.
She lifted one hand in a quick wave and headed outside.
After she was gone, I looked at the clock. A whole five minutes had passed where I hadn’t been worrying about these new powers of mine that had surfaced.
I figured I’d take it.
