Death and Relaxation (Ordinary Magic #1)(15)

“Dynamite?” I asked.

“Thinking it might be.”

“Check in with the quarry?”

“Planning on it.”

“Good.” I snagged a buttermilk donut on my way to the door. “I’ll check in when I get a chance.”

Myra was already on the computer and waved one hand in acknowledgment. Jean walked with me out of the station.

“The contract.” She handed me a yellow envelope.

“Thanks. Get some sleep. No staying up all day gaming.”

“I am not twelve.”

“You weren’t into MMORPGs when you were twelve.”

“Worse, I was into boys.”

“Yeah, but now you’re into massively multi-player online role playing games and boys.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. I won’t stay up all day. Laney?”

“Yes?” I opened the Jeep and tossed my coat and the envelope inside.

She didn’t say anything, so I looked over at her. Jean had that look on her face. The one she’d worn when Mom had died. The one she’d worn when Dad had died. The one that I always wanted to hug away.

“Remember that bad feeling I mentioned this morning?” Her gaze searched my face for understanding. “It’s gotten worse.”

Jean didn’t like talking about her bad feelings, so I knew how much it must be bothering her to bring it up.

“Do you have any clue as to what it might be? Who it might involve?”

She shook her head, purple, blue, and red glowing in the bright of the morning. “It involves you. Or you’re involved with it. Death, maybe?”

“Death certainly,” I said. “Thanatos is my lunch date.”

“I mean dying death, not the god of death.” She looked away and crossed her arms over her chest. “Shit, I don’t know.”

“That’s okay.” I pressed my hand on her arm. “Thanks for the warning. I’ll be cautious and careful.”

“Drive safe, too. And don’t gamble with Death. There’s that whole challenge Death to a game thing in the myths.”

“I promise I won’t play with death. I’m not twelve either.” And because that barely got a smile out of her, I leaned in and gave her a hug. “I’ll be fine. Stay safe yourself, okay, and let me know if that feeling changes at all.”

“I will,” she whispered.

“Good woman. See you in a few hours.” I swung up into the Jeep and started the engine.

Instead of walking to her truck, Jean just stood there, inches away from the Jeep as I backed away, staring at me like it might be the last time she saw me.

With a quick wave and a smile I did not feel, I headed to the highway and a date with Death.





Chapter 5


THE CASINO was impossible to miss. Nestled in a valley and built over what used to be a roadside fruit stand with a wheat field behind it, the local native tribe had installed an inviting collection of buildings. The casino was nicely faced, with deep orange and white brickwork, and each of the connecting buildings spread like a small city just east of twisty Highway 18, which was the main road between the capital city of Oregon and the coast.

Used to be tourists only came in from the Willamette Valley to get to the beach and ocean. Now more people stopped here at the casino than made it over to the coastal towns.

Dad had grouched about it, and didn’t much like it when the casino became the meeting place for the gods. But I liked it. I liked the noise and lights, the excitement of people making those big and little wins.

Everyone deserved a few lucky breaks in their life. Why not here?

The fact that it had also attracted the attention of the gods was fine with me. It was nicer to deal with beings of universal power here, than in the old gas station and bait shop we used to meet up in.

I parked on the far side of the lot and left my jacket and badge in the Jeep. I didn’t like bringing attention to my profession when I was meeting with deities.

Since I’d rolled straight out of bed and hit the ground running, I hadn’t had time to pull together my casual professional look.

What was I wearing anyway?

I glanced down: jeans, boots, and Dad’s Grateful Dead T-shirt.

Great. Of all the T-shirts to be wearing when meeting Death for the first time, it had to be this one.

“Hopefully Death has a sense of humor,” I muttered. “Or an appreciation for classic rock.”

I dragged the rubber band out of my hair and combed fingers through it, trying to smooth a few tangles.

“You got this, Delaney,” I said as I slicked back my hair and tucked the rubber band in my front pocket. “Reed family hasn’t met a deity we can’t handle.” Although we’d never, apparently, met Death.

The casino was cool and well lit, little pockets of shadow strategically placed to let the lights from the machines shine out invitingly like stars twinkling in a dusky sky.

I made my way past the main game room, a gift shop, and to the coffee shop at the far end of the building.

Since it was still early, there were only three people in the café. A gray-haired woman in a bright pink sweater and a younger woman wearing a yellow pantsuit chatted at a table in the front.

There, at the back of the place, sat a man in black.