Page 33 of Home Is Where the Witch Is
“And he had practically no reaction to Tya at all, which is puzzling. Maybe he just didn’t feel like he was in direct competition with her? Maybe he really did just want what was best for his country’s future, same as her. That’s the kind of foundation mutual respect can be built on, even if there are political differences there.”
“So your professional, ghost-whispering opinion is?”
Ivy considered the question. “If I had to pick one, I’d go with Alain. I would have expected a bigger reaction to Medea if she was his murderer.”
“Ugh,” Hella groaned. “I was really hoping you wouldn’t say that.”
“Because you think he’s hot?” Rosie smirked.
“That, and I personally don’t want to have to deal with Medea for Council matters,” Hella added. “Do any of you?”
“Good point,” Declan sighed.
CHAPTER NINE
Havinga whole day off from dealing with Council issues was actually wonderful. While Rosie felt a little guilty about resenting the work when a man was dead, she was still very pregnant, very tired, and very over pretty much everything. She was happy enough to forget about their ongoing murder investigation for one day while Ivy went with Chaoxiang, Emperia and Hella to check up on alibis. Plus, she had somewhere more fun to be.
She drove over to Tammy’s with the Dixie Chicks playing on the radio, and sunshine in her rearview. With Myles out of town for one of his seminaries, she was glad to be able to take her friend for her latest scan. By the time she pulled up out front, Tammy was already waiting for her with a bright smile and cheerful wave.
“Mornin’,” Rosie greeted Tammy through the open passenger-side window as the other pregnant woman joined her in the car.
“Howdy, little lady,” Tammy joked, gingerly buckling her seatbelt around her huge pregnant belly. “How’re you doin’?”
“Same.”
“Same,” Tammy replied, picking up on the tune that was playing. “If I have to be poked and prodded in my nether regions while feeling as bloated as a darned hippo, I'm glad I get to do it with you, Natalie, Martie, and Emily.”
“Hear, hear!” Rosie agreed wholeheartedly before pulling slowly away from the kerb.
Rome was a little over forty minutes away from Mosswood. The drive was characterized by nothing more exciting than passing through farmland and the occasional smaller town, but the company of a good friend made all the difference. The two women chatted and laughed the whole way along the highway, but by the time they reached the outer skirts of the city they were starting to feel slightly uncomfortable.
“I’ll be making a beeline for the bathroom when we get there,” Tammy declared, grimacing when Rosie had to turn off at a set of traffic lights. “So I’m sorry in advance if I can’t bring myself to wait for you!”
“Every woman for herself,” Rosie chuckled, “At least they have more than one cubicle! And we’re nearly there.”
The parking lot looked like a car sale yard. Every space seemed occupied for as far as the eye could see, and Rosie’s bladder gave a vengeful twinge as she shifted the car down to its first gear so they could start cruising the aisles looking for a spot to pull up.
“There’s one!” Tammy said excitedly, pointing to a gap in the fenders a little way ahead. Rosie sped up to avoid the space being stolen out from under them. She started to turn into it but then had to brake when she noticed a much smaller hatchback was already parked there.
“Damnit!” she hissed, pulling the steering wheel in the other direction so they could keep looking.
It was evident they weren’t the only ones trying to find somewhere to park. At least three other cars were slowly creeping around other parts of the lot, like sharks looking to beat out their competitors for their next meal. Tammy straightened in her seat.
“Over there—ugh!” she groaned, as one of the other cars speedily nabbed the space. Deflated, Rosie narrowed her gaze behind her sunglasses and perused the parts of the lot she could see over the sea of car roofs.
“I see one!” she said, her grip on the wheel tightening with determination. “Hold on!”
“Girl, I’m already holdin’ on with everything I have!” Tammy yelped, trying not to giggle in case it ended badly for both of them. Before they could get to it, though, yet another car had zipped in there ahead of them.
“Are youserious?” Rosie whined, her head falling back against the headrest.
“Come on!” Tammy’s patience appeared to be wearing thinner by the second. “Can’t you see how pregnant we are!?”
They kept circling for another couple of minutes, without managing to find a single car space. Rosie was seriously considering pulling up into the ambulance bay—two pregnant women needing a bathroom seemed like a big enough emergency to her—when a miracle happened. A car at the end of the row they were passing down pulled out of their space. Rosie couldn’t have been more relieved if the heavens had opened up to shine a light down while angels sang a chorus of ‘Hallelujah’.
“Dig deep,” she warned Tammy, putting as much pedal to the metal as she dared in a completely full carpark with their two unborn babies on board. “We’re goin’ in!”
“That’s what she said,” Tammy sassed, but her joke fell on temporarily deaf ears. Rosie focused on being the first one in that car space come hell or high water, and she made it while Tammy let a whoop of victory, before frowning at her smartwatch.
