Laurie’s Wolves(69)
The week before she’d gone to meet her sister and entered into the unimaginable chain reaction that was her new life, she’d packed up her belongings from the apartment and put everything except the essentials in storage. Another friend had taken over her half of the lease. It worked out perfectly.
In her gut, she’d known she would not return from Cambridge. She hadn’t really discussed it with anyone in particular, but she’d known. She’d given notice at work and left town free and clear with no intention of coming home.
How wrong she’d been.
She pulled back the covers on the bed and slid between the sheets without bothering to do more than remove her shoes. She was too exhausted to bother worrying about her clothes.
In moments, she was asleep.
»»•««
It was dinner before Mary had another chance to call Jazmine.
“Jesus. What have you been doing? I’m freaking out here,” Jaz answered.
“Trust me, I’m twice as freaked out on my end.”
“What’s happening there?”
“Well, after two nights with no sleep, I’m a walking zombie, for starters. And for some reason, I’ve been elected to spy on the Masters. Me? Why the hell me? So, Ada called me a few minutes ago and brought me up to speed. Several members of the church are boycotting the Masters. They’ve been showing up one at a time all day to get a refund from the ski resort.
“Seems stupid to me. It’s not like there’s another place to ski nearby, and if they think a dozen people withdrawing from the resort are going to have a giant impact on the annual income of that empire, they’re crazy.”
“Shit. What are you supposed to do?”
“Go to the resort and check out the scene. Saturday. All day. Like I have nothing better to do with my weekend.”
“Why you?”
“Because they think someone my age wouldn’t stand out as much as an older person. I think they’re sending Hazel too. She’s at least closer to fifty than seventy.” Mary tried to laugh, but it came out strained. “And get this—they’re also sending a guy named Brock. He’s like twenty-five. Easy because he already works at the resort. They want him to lure Laurie into his web. Seduce her.”
“What? Why would she fall for that?”
Mary chuckled. “Because she’s a witch.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? They think that?”
“Oh, yeah. And since Satan sent her to turn us all against the ways of God, it will be easy for Brock to seduce her and prove she’s a whore and a minion of the devil.”
Jaz laughed out loud. “That’s the craziest shit I’ve ever heard. I can’t believe you’ve been a member of that church for all this time.”
“You and me both. Wanna come to the resort this weekend and hang with me while I gather information on Laurie the witch?”
“Not a chance in hell.”
Mary could hear the smile in Jazmine’s voice. It lightened her spirits.
“If it makes you feel any better, things aren’t pleasant here either.”
“What happened there?” Could this get any worse? Mary hadn’t stopped shaking for hours. Of course, that could be from the caffeine she was drinking by the gallon in order to stay awake.
What she needed was to go to bed and sleep twelve hours before she was supposed to start her next double-agent mission.
“I ran into an old friend today. Totally out of the blue. Veronica. We went to grade school together.”
“And?”
“She was all up in arms ranting, and I was too exhausted to pay much attention until I realized what she was talking about. She was always a drama queen, so I didn’t think anything of it. But apparently she was dating Corbin Archers before he met Laurie Hamilton. Like dating seriously. Like she saw him just two days before, and he fucking ghosted her the night he met Laurie. Just didn’t show up for their date.”
“Are you kidding? He didn’t even call?”
“Well, let’s be reasonable here. On his behalf, he couldn’t very well call. He was on the top of the mountain in a snowstorm with no service. He did call her the next day. Anyway, she’s majorly pissed and out for revenge. So guess who she called to exact this revenge?”
“Pete Sandhouse.”
“Bingo.” Jaz chuckled. “You’re amazingly sharp for a woman living on empty.”
“Yep. That’s me. I’m so in tune with things. That’s how I managed to make it to the age of twenty-eight without realizing I was a freaking lesbian.” Mary’s voice rose as she spoke.
Jaz chuckled again. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Mary. You aren’t the only person alive who’s been in those shoes. It happens. You were raised by fundamentalists in a small town. What do you expect?”