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“BUT YOU AREN’T DOING anything with that gold. It’s just sitting in your laundry closet, piling up.”
Duffy shook his head.
“That gold came from somewhere and someone will be looking for it. When they come knocking on my door, I don’t want to tell them that there are four bars missing. That could end up with pain and disfigurement for me.”
“Listen, mate, it’s the gold or nothing. My source needs it for his charm. We’ll have this problem fixed in no time once you get a bit of that charm into the demon.” I smiled to reassure him. “What’s the point of holding onto all of that gold when the one you love will be long gone? Gold can’t buy you love.”
Duffy still seemed reluctant but he got up and headed for the laundry.
“That’s four bars of gold,” I told him. Timon only needed two but I figured I needed to get some commission out of this. After all, I had to do the hard yards and I’d always wanted some shiny gold bars. Who knew when that would come in handy?
“So, how are things going?” I asked.
“Not good. She’s getting weaker and that man is still hanging around. Are you sure this will work?”
“All we need to do is get him to take the potion and his true form will be revealed. Once she sees that, she’ll know the truth. You might want to be prepared for some post-trauma. I mean, it’s not going to be pretty. She may need some extra pampering and looking after. The main thing is, though, that she sees his true face and realises what he is. Then she’ll willingly set him an impossible task and bingo! No more demon lover.”
Before he could hand me the gold bars, the doorbell rang. He set the gold bars on the kitchen counter while he went to answer it. I couldn’t resist touching them. They were so pretty. I stroked the top one then picked it up. Man, gold is not light. I held in my hand and started doing some bicep curls. Oh yeah, working out with solid gold, that’s the way to do it.
Duffy returned with a parcel. I quickly sat the bar down with the others and tried to not look at its lovely yellow surface.
“I have no idea why that guy keeps coming here. All this stuff we never even ordered then we have to lug it to the post office to return it.”
He sat the box down in the corner.
“Maybe it’s the liderc? He’s discovered the internet and wants to send your wife nice gifts.”
Duffy left before I could find out more about these deliveries. If they were good shit, I’d offer to return them to the post office for him.
Instead, I bundled up the gold and put it in my bag. With all four bars in there, I could barely lift it.
***
I HAD A NEW CLIENT. Just a simple food demon. I could drop the gold off to Timon then dust the demon and go back for the potion. Doubly sweet, since I’d be paid twice for the one trip.
I jumped in the car and took off with the mission in mind. I had to lug the gold through the market in my sports bag. As I tried to push through the crowds, the gold bars clunked against my legs, bashing my ankles. People annoyed me. They annoyed me so much.
Timon’s eyes widened when he saw the gold. He tried to bite the corner of the bars.
“It’s real. It’s real gold. I never thought you’d do it. Where did you get this stuff from?”
I held my finger to my lips and shushed him. I would never tell him.
He stashed the gold away under the counter.
“How long will take?” I asked.
“Four days,” he replied.
“You’re kidding me. I don’t have four days. This is a matter of life and death. I’ll give you two hours then I’ll be back here to collect it.”
Timon shook his head. “You don’t understand the finer points of potion making. I can’t just throw a few things in the blender like I’m making a smoothie. It’s a very complex and meticulous art. It takes finesse. I can’t do it in two hours.”
“I’ll pay you a bonus,” I said. Definitely not my lovely gold though.
We reached an agreement and went off to tackle the food demon. First, I stopped by the bakery stall to get some delicious-looking cakes to tempt him out. I also made sure I got a tasty little cake for myself.
When I got to the house, it only took minutes to banish that food demon. He was so lured by the cakes that he appeared right away. A few words of Latin to get rid of him and I had time to kill before I got back to Timon.
I figured I could go check out Mrs Duffy at work. The more information I had on her, the better. Maybe I’d get the chance to talk to her and find out her feelings.
She worked in an office and the reception wouldn’t let me in to see her but luckily, I caught her on her way out for coffee. She had on a long black coat and makeup but you could see she looked even paler and thinner than the last time. She walked with a lethargic step. I walked beside her, hoping to get her talking.
“You again? What could you possibly want? You got rid of the roaches, didn’t you?”
“I tried but they are harder to shake off than I thought. Have you noticed anything strange around the house? Unusual activity?”
“No, nothing.”
We got to the coffee shop and she gave her order. I gave mine and waited beside her, although she pretended not to see me.
When she went to the counter to pick up her order, the cup slid through her hands as though she barely had the strength to hold it. The coffee splattered all over the floor and splashed up her legs. I rushed forward to help her but she waved me away. I wasn’t sure what to do but I needed to gain her trust. I grabbed some napkins from the counter and handed them to her. Her hand shook as she took them from me.
The woman was a mess. A total mess. Did she have any idea how this enthrallment to the liderc was affecting her?
Before I could say anything, her phone rang and she turned from me. I wasn’t going to find out anything from her.
***
AT THE MARKET, I GOT the creepy feeling someone was following me. I was difficult to tell though with all those old ladies in a cheap meat frenzy. Still, I didn’t want to head straight to Timon in case there was someone. I took a detour through the dried foods section. I pretended to have an interest in a barrel of lentils so I could get a clear picture of my surroundings. As I looked around, I realised half the people at the market had a dodgy edge to them. There were a few swarthy guys lurking in the shadows and a guy in a business suit trying to look casual. Over by the beans, two women with hats obscuring their faces chatted while giving me sideways glances. Just because the old ladies seemed totally focussed on beating each other to bargains, didn’t mean that one of them wasn’t a mole. Jeepers.
I cut down through the rows of polenta and discontinued foods. I couldn’t see anyone behind me but that might’ve meant that they were just really good at tailing people. I then turned down the fashion section, fashion meaning polyester old lady dresses. I’d just hidden behind a rack of them to see if anyone went by when I spotted the business suit man acting as though he was browsing the racks. Totally suspicious. No one would seriously look at those.
I ducked under the rails of old lady dresses.
I’m not sure how this businessman fit into the general scheme of things. Maybe Mrs Duffy had sent him to tail me, maybe the liderc had. But now the tailer would become the tailee and I’d be the one tracking him.
He picked up a mauve frock and held it in front of himself while looking around. He couldn’t see me under the rack of clothes. If he put down his briefcase, then I could nab it and investigate him.
Before I could make a move though, he’d taken the dress into the change room, well if you could call a curtained off area in the corner of the stall a change room. Why would he do that if he was tailing me?
Then it dawned on me that he wasn’t tailing me. He wanted to buy the dress. For himself. That’s why he was acting suspiciously.
I scrambled out of my hiding place and dusted myself off. Well, that was embarrassing.
Since no one else was around, I figured I’d be safe to get to Timon.