“I went back to playing video games, happily ever after. Haven’t you ever felt it? That draw to the deities?”
I shook my head. “I’m immune to it, I guess. I can tell when they’re being god-ish, even when they aren’t carrying power, but it’s not hypnotizing, doesn’t draw me in.”
“Not even now?”
I shook my head again. “That… Okay, I’m not going to lie. It’s weird to have a power stuck in my head. It’s loud and…thrashy. But it doesn’t make me feel any differently. Does the power in me make me look like a god?”
Yeah, it was a weird question. But this was Ordinary, after all. Weird was our second cousin.
“I don’t see it in you at all. If it’s in there, it’s behind a lead blanket.”
“What did you just call me?”
She grinned. “You look normal. Be happy about that. Any idea who you’re going to offload that crazy shit onto?”
“No.”
“Are you worried?”
“Should I be?”
She took a drink of her iced tea and tipped her head a little. “I don’t get…that feeling of imminent doom about it.”
“The one you had yesterday?”
“Gone as soon as I heard Heim’s body had washed ashore.”
I studied her a second. “You think you were picking up on his death?”
“Either that, or the fact that it wasn’t accidental. Like maybe I was picking up on someone wanting him dead?”
Since Jean didn’t usually talk about these things, I wasn’t sure how much experimenting she’d done to see if she could control her talent.
“I don’t suppose you picked up any clue as to who that might be?”
“Would I be driving around with you questioning suspects if I did?”
“Point taken. I don’t think Chris did it. They were friends. He has Lila as an alibi. Plus, he said a couple of his crew saw him in and out of the restaurant last night. We can check with them.”
“Lila mentioned she and Chris talked last night too.”
“What about Margot?”
“She said she was out at the casino.”
“Do we have any corroboration on that?”
“Nope, but we can look into it tomorrow. Do you know why Chris is getting all the mortals out of here?” she asked.
I glanced around the restaurant. A few of the tables that had been full minutes ago were empty, dishes removed. The remaining people in the restaurant besides the wait staff, who Chris was even now sending out the door with a wave, were gods.
Not all of the gods in town, but a good dozen or more filled the booths and a few of the tables. They were all, of course, drinking beer.
“Do you know what’s going on?” I asked.
“Nope.”
I wished Myra was here.
