“Will you share with me exactly what you saw to make you move here in the house behind mine?” I asked.
“Honestly, Josh, it was a vision of a piece of mail with my name and the Blissville address on it. Nothing else. It was the oddest thing to ever occur to me. I ignored it for a few weeks until I started to see the vision daily. I knew it was time to pack up and move here to find out what was waiting for me.”
“Do your visions ever help you prevent crimes or do you only help solve them after they’re committed?” I asked him.
“That’s two questions,” Emory said, reminding me that I asked for just one.
“You’re right. I apologize.”
“Don’t apologize, Josh. I was only teasing you.” He blew out a long breath then said, “I’ve worked in both situations, but the majority have been the latter scenario you described.” His answer didn’t make me feel better, but I couldn’t continue to live in an anxious state of mind.
“Well,” I said, ready to end the conversation and move on with my day, “you know where I live if you feel like having company.”
“Will there be an Easter egg hunt?”
“No,” I said with a laugh. “Deal breaker?”
“Nah,” he said good-naturedly. “I’ll see you around. Perhaps on Sunday.”
“See you, Emory.”
We continued in opposite directions even though we were heading the same place. It seemed that we jogged at the same pace too since we turned down opposite ends of the alley that bisected our back yards at the same time. I gave a friendly wave as I hit the end of my driveway and headed inside to get ready for work.
Chaz showed up on time that day but looked like he’d had little sleep again. Meredith and I exchanged a look that said we were both keeping an eye on him. He must’ve caught our little exchange because he rolled his eyes and went to make a cup of coffee.
“Did you talk to any interesting people last night while playing games?” I asked him. “Did he sound like he was about six-two with black hair and bright blue eyes? Could you tell he had a way with pets?”
He stopped in the middle of the room then turned and faced me. “I know where you’re going with this, Josh. I’m telling you the likelihood that I’m playing games with Dr. Dimples into the wee hours of the night are slim to none,” Chaz said.
“You wish you were,” Meredith said sassily. Both of them were completely unaware of who walked in the salon door in time to catch the brief exchange between them.
“Okay, maybe I do. Are you happy now? If I admit to jerking off while thinking about the good doctor will you shut up about it?” Chaz asked.
“Uh…” I said. I wasn’t sure how to get him to stop talking without giving the reasons away, but I hoped my stammering and bug-eyed appearance would get it across, but it seemed like Chaz was just getting started. Kyle stood behind Chaz with his mouth hanging open and his eyes doing a rapid blinking thing that reminded me of an owl.
“So what if I want to take in every stray cat I find so that I can look at him and smell his body wash. You think I’m the only one? Please,” he said exaggeratingly. “If that man knew how many people fantasized about his hunky body then he’d never leave his house.”
Meredith turned to look at Chaz just then and let out a high-pitched squeak when she saw Kyle had overheard every single word that our friend had said. Me staring speechlessly at him wasn’t enough to get his attention, but apparently, both of us doing it got the point across. Chaz’s eyes widened in alarm when he realized what was going on.
“That Dr. Rogers is sex on a stick,” Chaz said. It might’ve been a good recovery had his words not croaked out of him like a bullfrog and the man he mentioned not been almost a hundred years old and lived in a nursing home. The man hadn’t practiced veterinary medicine for decades. I just shook my head, uncertain what to say or do. Chaz cleared his throat and swallowed hard to choke down the frog then said, “If you’ll excuse me, I just remembered that I have some, um, inventory to order before the day gets away from me.” As he approached Meredith and me, he whispered, “I’m just going to go dig a hole in the back yard. Call Gabe and tell him to come home and shoot me.”
A slow smile spread over Kyle’s face as the reality of the situation sank in. “Good morning,” he said to Meredith and me. “I just stopped by to grab some hair wax. I’m almost out.” Kyle walked dazedly over to the display and grabbed a bottle off the shelf.
“Honey, that’s the wrong kind of wax,” Meredith said, then walked over to save him from himself. “The ladies use that for other things.”
“Some men too,” I reminded her. Women didn’t own the market on waxing.
“True,” Meredith said.
“Ouch,” Kyle said with a shiver. “I’ll stick with hair wax, thank you.”
I walked over to the register and began ringing up Kyle’s purchase. I figured the quicker we got him out of the salon, the quicker we could talk Chaz down off the ledge. Poor guy. Chaz was probably going crazy while hiding in the kitchenette or my mixing room.
Knowing that, I still opened my mouth and asked, “What are you doing on Sunday?” I heard Meredith gasp but kept on trucking right along. “I’m having the dinner of the century at five, and you’re welcome to join us.”
Kyle tipped his head to the side a bit and leaned forward. “Us?” Kyle inquired.
“You know, the usual suspects. Meredith, Gabe, Chaz, and me. Oh,” I exclaimed loud, “I also invited the new guy next door.”
