The Nine Lives of Felicia Miller (28 page)

359

“I’m s-so glad you c-called me,” said Crystal. “I thought you w-were still mad at me.”

“Forget it.” Felicia stepped up her pace, pedaling her bike harder as they reached the sloping path to the old wooden bridge.

Crystal pedaled hard to catch up. They coasted to stop on the bridge and rested against a stout railing.

“I w-wouldn’t blame you if you w-were mad,” said Crystal meekly.

“I said don’t worry about it. I just want to forget that night.”

“I’ll bet it was h-horrible,” Crystal prodded.

“Crystal.”

“S-sorry. It’s a really n-nice day today, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Felicia said, wondering how far she could trust Crystal. She considered for a long moment, then decided to take a gamble. “I need you to do me a favor.”

“Sure. Anything.”

“You can’t ask any questions. I just need you to cover for me.”

“Is this about N-nelson? Are you t-two back together?”

“What did I just say about asking any questions?”

Crystal was taken aback, not by Felicia’s rebuke, but by the sharp tone of her voice. She was obviously not the same easygoing friend that Crystal remembered.

“R-right. S-s-sorry.”

“It’s okay. I just need to know that I can count on you.”

“Of c-course you c-can count on me,” Crystal assured her. “That’s w-w-what friends are f-for.”

Felicia finally smiled. But even the friendly expression seemed somehow tinted with a dark edge.

Even her smile looks different,
Crystal thought.
She looks almost… feral.

359

“I’ll be back Sunday,” Felicia said, setting her overnight bag near the door.

Her father glanced at the bag, which was stuffed to its seams. “You think you have enough stuff for a two-day sleepover? You sure you didn’t forget something? Like maybe the kitchen sink?”

“Wow,” replied Felicia. “How does Carrot Top sleep at night knowing you’re waiting in the wings?”

“Must you two always bicker?” Laurie pleaded.

“Who’s bickering?” asked Felicia. “I’m just in awe of dad’s comic genius. Maybe we should send him to the Catskills. He might get discovered.”

“And maybe you’d rather sit home this weekend, young lady?” Laurie said testily, “I’m getting a little tired of this attitude of yours.”

“Now dear, let’s not overreact.”

“Yes, mother,” quipped Felicia smugly, “Listen to daddy. He knows we’re just teasing.”

“I give up.” Laurie went into the living room.

“So punkin, you need a lift?”

“No. Thanks anyway. I’m meeting Crystal up the street. Her mom’s going to drop us at the mall and pick us up later. After she gets her hair done.”

“Okay. Well. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Not even get my nails done?” Felicia waved her fingers in the air.

“Got me there,” Bill grinned. “No, you can do whatever you want with your nails.”

Felicia smiled.
Oh I will,
she thought. Imagining what she might do with her nails that very night.

“Okay, daddy. You and mom have a good weekend. And don’t you do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“I’m not making any promises on that front. We’re not that old.”

359

The bulldozer rolled to a stop facing Granny’s house. Ben Creedy looked down from the cab, waving a greeting as Tom McElhorne pulled up in his big white pick-up truck, with his eldest son Brian riding shotgun.

Ben held up his hands in the “what’s up?” gesture.

Jumping out the truck, Tom climbed up on the bulldozer’s track and spoke through the window. “Hey, Ben. Sorry we’re late. Hang tight for a minute. I just have to make sure the cabin is clear. Last thing we need is another frivolous lawsuit like we had with the Burrows place.”

“Be careful the witch don’t put a spell on you,” Creedy smirked and sat back, enjoying the throbbing vibrations of the massive diesel engine massaging him through the padded seat.

He made a quick assessment of the old wooden house as Tom approached it, considering whether he should have some fun using the bulldozer’s ripper or just storm through it with the blade for a quick demolition.

As he reached the cabin door Tom was dismayed to find it cracked open. Even more foreboding, the posted eviction notice was hanging in shreds. It looked like someone had taken several swipes at it with a hunting knife. Beneath the tattered paper the door was deeply scratched.

Lord. Don’t tell me we’ve got some psycho squatter camping in here.

Tom turned to his son Brian, who was following on his heels like a dutiful apprentice. “Careful, Bri. Looks like someone might be in there.” He pulled his massive maglite from his tool belt to use as a club if need be, and his boy followed his example. “Let’s hope it’s not some goddamned squatter. That bitch Madisson will have a conniption fit if she has to waste more time and money on another eviction.”

Hefting their metal flashlights like billy clubs they barged through the door, hoping to intimidate anyone who might be inside. If it was just some opportunistic drifter, he could probably be driven off with a stern suggestion and a few bucks to help him on his way. But if they had to crack a skull or two, they wouldn’t hold back. Mandee made it clear she wanted the shack gone by sundown, and her patience was thinner every day.

The place was dark and gloomy inside. A few dusty shafts of light bored in through gaps in the boarded up windows.

McElhorne took a step toward the kitchen and froze. Even before he saw what he saw, his instincts kicked in with a chilling sense of dread that made the hairs stand up on his neck.

A huge Bengal tiger lay stretched across the kitchen floor. It hoisted itself to its feet and fixed its eyes on them.

The men stood frozen in fear, feeling like their limbs had turned to jelly.

The tiger growled. The sound vibrated through the room. Tom was sure he could feel it creeping up his legs from the plank floorboards, pinning him in place so he couldn’t run.

The big cat snarled and snapped its mighty fangs at the air. The men nearly tripped over each other’s feet as they came unglued and bolted for the door.

Ben was perplexed as he saw the contractor and his boy fleeing the place like the devil was on their heels. They were obviously shaken, pale as ghosts as they jumped into the pick-up and quickly slammed the doors.

“Hey!” the bulldozer driver shouted, “What’s going on?”
They look like they’ve seen a dead body in there.

Tom cracked open the pick-up door and leaned out, waving Ben frantically toward the back of the truck.

“Get in! Hurry up! Come on!”

“What?” Creedy hesitated, confused and not one to panic without good cause.

The throaty growl of the tiger drew his attention to the door of the cabin. He saw the big cat emerge and with one leap it was straddling the top of the bulldozer’s giant blade, eyeing him through the glass cage.

“What the fuck…?”

Ben heard the pick-up door slam and looked down to see Tom back in the drivers seat, revving the engine.

The tiger roared.

Ben saw its massive teeth and without another thought he opened the door of the bulldozer’s cab and leaped down into the bed of the pick-up, just as it was pulling away.

As it zoomed away toward the main road Ben pressed himself flat as a pancake on the cold metal bed, trying to make himself invisible. He murmured a desperate prayer. Praying that the tiger wasn’t giving chase.

The pick-up veered onto the road and accelerated.

Cool air whipped over Ben.

Feeling colder still as it breezed through the puddle in his pants.

359

“Get a grip on yourself! All of you!” barked Mandee.

The men were still trembling uncontrollably, an hour after making it safely back to town. Ben Creedy, known as one of the toughest macho brawlers in the county, stood before her with his trousers damp with piss.

“There is no goddamned tiger at that site!” she continued. “Stop talking nonsense! I think you’ve been drinking bad moonshine or smoking crack or you all dropped LSD or something.”

“Believe us or don’t,” Tom said firmly. “We’re not on drugs and we know what the fuck we saw.”

Mandee slammed her office door. Too many people in the nearby suites had already heard too much. It wouldn’t take much to get the whole town back in a panic.

“Great,” she snarled. “This is just what I need right now. Just when I was getting things back on track.” Lowering her voice she confronted Tom head on. “Now you listen to me, McElhorne. I have new investors on their way here right now at this very moment. I can’t have them scared away by more crazy rumors—”

“Goddamn you, Madisson, this is the last time I’m going to say it. This is for real. There’s a goddamn tiger out at that property. And there’s no goddamn way I’ll risk my life or the lives of my people just so you can make a quick buck.”

Mandee shifted gears. Softening her voice she offered her most charming smile. “Tom, please. You can’t do this to me. I’ve been pumping you up to all my investors. Telling them what a great contractor you are. How is it going to look if I have to replace you now? Do I tell them you turned out to be a flake? A drunken superstitious flake who believes in witches and sees tigers in the woods? What does that say about my judgment? Are they going to trust me with a penny of their money? Well?”

“I don’t give a shit how it looks. We’re done. I knew we shouldn’t have gotten involved with that witch’s house in the first place. Come on, boys.”

“Don’t you dare walk out that door, McElhorne. Or you’ll never work in this town again, I assure you. I’ll have you blackballed in the entire state.”

“You can take your threats and shove them, lady. See how successful your little development is when we start telling people what’s really going on out at that property. And how you tried to cover it up by blackmailing me.”

“Stop! Wait! You can’t. You keep your mouth shut, you hear me?!”

The men left, slamming the door behind them.

Mandee grabbed her phone and buzzed her secretary. “Get me Wiley Bohannon on the phone immediately. Yes, I mean now!”

359

Felicia wandered slowly through the forest, taking time to mark her trail at regular intervals. She rolled her big striped body in piles of leaves. Sprayed trees with her musky scent. Clawed ragged strips of bark off trees. Snapped thick branches with her massive tiger paws.

She was doing all she could to leave a clear but circuitous trail through the woods, winding and zigzagging and doubling back; a confusing trail to delay the hounds she knew would be brought in to track her.

Hunting parties would be flooding the woods as soon as word got out about the unusual sighting. She knew they’d start at the last place the tiger was seen.

She had disrupted the plan to demolish Granny’s cabin. Now she needed to confuse and delay the hunters so they wouldn’t catch up to her until after her retransformation. After that, if they did cross paths in the woods, she could only hope that they’d see she was human before they opened fire.

It was late afternoon when she reached the small clearing where she’d stashed her overnight bag. She was relieved to find her mirror set up where she’d left it. She laid down to await the setting sun, calm at first, but growing edgy as the minutes dragged on.

There’s no way they’ll catch up to me before sundown. They have to get back to town. Sound the alarm. Gather their weapons.
But the thought of dozens of excited hunters racing to get a trophy kill made her more anxious than she had anticipated. A cat as big as she was, with brilliant stripes designed for tropical jungles, not evergreen forests, would be an easy target.

She was starting to regret that she hadn’t taken Ruta’s advice more seriously and waited out the big hunt
.

If I’d been better focused, I might have come up with a safer plan to stop the demolition. If I hadn’t let myself be distracted by that bastard Nelson.

Her blood pressure rose as she thought about how he had played her. But her anger gave way to worry about her situation.

I really took a chance this time. I hope it isn’t my last one.

Her confidence faded as the minutes dragged on. As she dwelt on all the possibilities, she realized that turning into a huge exotic cat wasn’t the only big chance she’d taken.