Chapter Five
Libra
“You goingto the city council meeting tomorrow night?”Bella asks as she sips a glass of white wine and I do the same with my bottle of beer.It’s Tuesday night and we’re at her kitchen table, nibbling on cheesy puff pastries she whipped up.They’re delicious.
“Thinking about it.You?”
“I wouldn’t miss that shit show for the world.”
“I suppose.”Snickering, I bite into another pastry and let the flavor of the sharp cheddar cheese melt in my mouth.“My god, woman.You can sure bake.”I smirk.“With your skills, you should totally open a bakery.”
“Yeah?”She smiles.“Maybe I will.”
We both laugh at that because that’s exactly how Bella’s Bakery was conceived.The two of us were drinking, beer at the time, but we were eating something yummy from her oven.She’d inherited a little money from her grandmother—enough to lease the old bakery in town.It had closed the year before, but the owner hadn’t sold the building yet.The rumor was they wouldn’t sell it because Mona wanted it.
But they’d lease it—to the right person.
And Bella’s Bakery was born.
“What do you think Mona’s going to complain about this time?”
I shrug.“No idea.She called the cops on me.Did I tell you that?”
Bella sets her glass down.“No.When?”
“Monday night.Finn stopped by.”
“He did?”Bella’s voice sounds more like a croak.
“Yeah.I was painting the sitting room after dark.He said Mona claimed my lights were too bright.”
And that’s all it takes to make Bella throw her head back and laugh.Hard.She places her hand on her flat stomach and laughs until tears roll down her cheek.When she stops, she’s still smiling.“That bitch.One of these days, someone’s going to run her over with their car.”
It could happen.We’re not the only ones Mona annoys with her antics.“Maybe one of the incoming Zodiac fanatics?We could call them the Zodiac Killer.”
“The Zodiac Killer is already a thing.”
I look up at her ceiling and scratch my chin contemplating.“The Zodiac Killer Junior?”
Bella practically spits out her wine.“Jesus, Lou Lou.You’ve got a weird sense of humor.”
“What?You started it with running Mona over with a car.”
Stink eye.That’s what she gives me.Then, a smile.“Let’s face it.We’ve both got a dark side.”
“Speak for yourself.I’m a delight.Everyone says so.”
“Ha.”Bella reaches for the last pastry, and I’m tempted to slap her hand away, when she does the sweetest thing.She tears it in two and gives me half.
Tapping mine against hers, I say, “To best friends.”
“To best friends.”
And we eat the final little treat at the same time as we finish off our drinks.
“Hear ye,hear ye, let the special session of the Zodiac Hills city council come to order.”
When the hammer sounds, the room gets quiet.There’s a buzz in the air.It’s what I’d label as excitement if this weren’t so damn bizarre.
