hand of hate 01 - destiny blues Read Free Page B

compelled my attention. I struggled to breathe without gagging. Thank goodness, Mike was unaware of the smell. It’s not real, Mattie.      
    “Mike, you know what a nuisance those feral cats are. The darn thing ran right in front of me.” I didn’t like lying, but more than anything, I wanted to keep my job. City employees are specifically prohibited from fraternizing with teratozoids, heteroclites, demons, ghosts, or spirits of any kind. Especially during business hours.    
    “You’re a lousy liar. The mayor called me to give me the blow-by-blow. I’ll tell you, he’s pretty shaken up. He is demanding that you be tested for drugs. I received emails from two other witnesses who will swear you jumped the curb and rammed that hydrant for no reason.”  
    “I guess I got distracted for a second. It could have happened to anybody.”    
    The turd-colored toad sat right next to Blix. I’d never heard of anyone with two. Absolutely not possible.  Yet there they squatted, a few steps away from where Mike and I sat at the cramped conference table. Neither one would be much of a threat to a decent-sized guinea pig, yet both gave me the creeps in a gut-sickening way. I dragged my eyes back to Mike.    
    “How the hell did you manage to wreck a three-wheeled scooter? My maintenance budget for the whole year is out the window, thanks to you. Our budget was already stretched to the max. The parking division is supposed to be profitable. We can’t do our jobs without scooters now, can we?” Beads of sweat glistened between the sparse dark hairs on his scalp. He looked like he was about to cry.    
    “I’m sorry, Mike. You know I didn’t plan this, I can ride rings around anybody.”  
    All the air went out of him. He shriveled into a balding little man before my eyes.    
    “Mattie, are you going to tell me the truth here or not? Why the hell did you try to run down the mayor?”  
    He was breaking my heart. I wanted to tell him, but there was no way. I only needed to hold things together for a few more hours.    
    “It was an accident. I give you my word, it won’t happen again.”      
    “Parking Control is a plum job. The list of people waiting for the next opening here is longer than my arm. You guys may all think I’m part of the gang, but I take my responsibilities seriously. In case you forgot, we owe our jobs to the taxpayers of Picston.”  
    “I know; I love this job. Parking Control is my life. I’ll do anything to fix this. I’ll pay for the damages.”  Of course, I’d just hocked my bike to come up with the rest of the green I needed for Merle Shine. My employee badge lay on the Formica surface between us. I chewed my lower lip. I was going to need a second job.    
    “This isn’t just about you. This reflects badly on the entire department and me personally. Come on Mattie, you’ve got to give me something to tell the mayor. Anything.”  
    I couldn’t tell him the truth. Two months ago, my landlady had been arrested for harboring an unregistered demon. Neighbors said her ex-husband tipped off the FBI. The SWAT team showed up at dawn with dogs and conducted the search while the local news station covered all the lurid details. Weeks later, a steady stream of gawkers still cruised by the house every day. Everyone in Shore Haven knew Patty. She’d worked the breakfast shift at Dave’s Killer Burgers for more than a decade. After the arrest, the guys on the force turned on her with a vengeance that appalled me. I couldn’t let that happen to me. Not when I was so close to getting rid of Blix. And now, with the toad guy showing up, there’s no way I could tell him. It would be all over City Hall by lunchtime. I’d make it up to him. Starting tomorrow.    
    “Okay, have it your way.” He tapped my badge. “This is a policy violation. I can’t let it go.”    
    The blood drained from my face and I froze. Oh man, he wasn’t kidding. He was going to fire me.