But most of these transactions were pretty straightforward. “Amulet to help Hetty W find her mother’s wedding cake recipe. Successful.”
“Spell to help Julio R’s favorite cow calve. Calf lived, cow died.”
The dubious ones tended to be things like, “Provided Linda H with herbs. Early enough.” In other words, Aunt Mildred had provided “Linda H” with a mixture of herbs to cause an abortion.
The gruesome ones? It had taken a while for Fiji to puzzle them out. What “Ult” meant next to someone’s name was that Aunt Mildred killed that person.
If Aunt Mildred had kept accurate and honest records—and Fiji was assuming she had—it had been rare for Mildred to resort to such a drastic measure. She did so when she had reason to worry about her own survival.
You had to do some really careful reading to figure out those entries. “Israel T, threat. Iced tea. Ult.” The unwise Israel T had threatened Mildred with (perhaps) jail or exposure, and she had poisoned his tea.
Maybe even at a church picnic.
Aunt Mildred had been no Christian, but she had gone to church regularly; there had been an ordained Baptist minister in Midnight then, and a larger population. The church had been full on Sundays.
Fiji tried hard not judge Mildred for her actions, since she didn’t know precisely what Israel had done to her great-aunt. Mildred had had a hearty sense of self-protection.
Fiji hoped she never had to kill anyone. But she knew for sure that if she didn’t stand up for herself, she would be walked upon. Kiki’s visit had been a timely reminder.
As Fiji considered all these things, she’d been staring down into the open drawer. She’d been looking at all the little items she’d collected to keep inside it, but not really seeing them. Now that she’d reached a decision, Fiji carefully lifted the index card marked “Teacher Reed” and placed it on the counter. On top of the index card were a quarter and a nickel.
That had been her aunt’s first lesson; keep something of everyone’s, no matter if you love him or hate him.
Fiji had never loved Teacher.
Fiji lifted each coin with tweezers and dropped them in a special bowl. It had never held anything else.
Bobo came over five minutes later. Fiji gently slid the bowl behind a display on the counter before she let him in. “Are you all right?” he asked anxiously. “Did you find out if he’d searched the house?”
“Yes,” Fiji said. And then she stopped speaking.
“Talk to me,” Bobo said.
“Bobo,” she said, and then couldn’t figure out how to continue. Every time she looked at him, she could feel her heart hurting. “Listen, I’m so glad you came over and I thank you for it. But I’m going to handle this myself. I should not have called you. It’s an old habit. It won’t happen again.”
“What does that mean?” he asked, and to Fiji’s chagrin, he looked suspicious and wounded.
She stood and came around the counter, and to her own astonishment, she put her arms around him. After a second, he hugged her back, and it was a moment both of great contentment and great regret.
“I haven’t been living up to my potential,” Fiji said against his chest. “It’s time to become what I was supposed to be.”
There was a long moment of silence.
Finally Bobo said, “I hope whatever you become, you will remember . . .” And then he couldn’t seem to finish the sentence, and Fiji was left to wonder how it would have ended.
“I’ll see you later,” Bobo said quietly. “You know I’m there.”
And with that, he was gone.
17
In the kitchen of the diner, Teacher said to Madonna, “She almost caught me going through her drawers. If I hadn’t taken off my shoes . . .”
Madonna was staring at him, and her expression wasn’t happy. “You took a foolish chance,” she said. “What did you hope to find, searching her house? Fiji is as sweet as candy and harmless as a mouse.”
“You’re wrong,” he said. He didn’t often say that to his wife, but when he did, she listened. “I know you don’t believe in half the stuff that goes on in this town, but that Fiji can do some serious shit. You didn’t see that private eye after Fiji got mad at her.”
“You’re right,” Madonna said, glaring at him. “I don’t believe half you tell me. This is a crazy place, and the sooner we get out of here, the better. I can’t believe we haven’t gotten a million questions. These people aren’t dumb.”
“You like the café. You told me so. You like the work.”