Page 38 of Dark Obsession

“God, you too?”

“Me too? Of course me too!” She raised her arms up. “That was extremely careless. Anything could have happened to you.”

“So I’ve been told, multiple times and at varying volume levels.” He caught himself sticking out his lower lip and stopped.

“And rightly so. Cody has a right to be angry. Olive trees, I’m angry, too.”

“Fine, I get it, okay? I was careless and thoughtless. I won’t do it again.”

Amelia adjusted a few of the sliced olives decorating the dip and patted her hair before meeting his eye again. “You know I can’t stay angry at you for long, you’re too dear. And I understand you don’t believe this is a big deal, but Demetrius…” She clutched his upper arms and locked eyes with him. “Your life means so very much to so many people.”

His eyes stung and he blinked rapidly, nodding and looking everywhere but at her.

“I know,” he said as his throat tightened even more. “I know.”

“I’m not sure I believe you really deep down know it, but I won’t press the issue.” She pulled him against her in a strong hug, then abruptly stepped back. After another moment of fussing over the dip, she said, “Vampires. Just terrible.”

“Well, just the one we know about so far, and he was staked by someone, so we might be in the clear.”

She made a humming sound. “I’ve known something was going on in town. I’ve asked you, remember?”

“I remember. But you didn’t really give me a reason why you think so. Have you seen anything more bizarre than usual?”

“I keep seeing fewer and fewer people at the senior center.” She gave him a pointed look. “And, yes, I know that’s expected at a senior center. But at least two of them haven’t had funeral services that I can recall.”

Demetrius knew Amelia and the rest of the women on the block perused the obituaries every day and made lists of those services they wanted to attend.

“That is strange,” he said. “Anything else? Weird sounds at night?”

“No, nothing like that.” She waved her hands as if dispelling the topic and handed him the dip. “We can discuss all that later. Right now, this is a party. Let’s put all this talk behind us and go out and have a good time. Carry that out to the dips and platters table, please.”

“Dips and platters table?” he mumbled, leading the way back outside.

Cody and his gaggle had moved into the shade of a party tent close to the table where Amelia directed him to set the dip. A man had joined the group, Stan, if Demetrius remembered right. He lived at the end of the block and had had a front row seat this past spring to watch the demon-possessed tree chase the Cadillac Sedan de Ville down the street.

“No,” Stan said. By the tone of his voice, he was clearly getting tired of repeating himself. “She was forty and divorced.” He cocked his head, squinting as he thought. “I can’t think of her name. But she lives with her brother in a small house on the corner of Granite and Quartz out in Stone Hill.”

Demetrius snapped his head up. He looked at Stan, then found Cody staring at him. The house Demetrius had entered the day before was located in Stone Hill. Demetrius ambled up to join the group, standing close but not exactly next to, Cody.

“So, what do you know, Stan?” Cody asked. “Other than her age and marital status?”

Some of the women around them tittered, but Stan ignored them, keeping his eyes on Cody as he spoke.

“I know she was seeing a guy her brother didn’t like. And about a week after she started seeing this guy, she vanished.” Stan snapped his fingers. “Without a trace.”

“The ex-husband,” Vanda said, her thick white hair caught the pink glow of her tracksuit, making her look punk. “It’s always the ex on the shows and podcasts.”

“The bad boy boyfriend,” Patricia stated. “Very sad, really. Myra Clemmons knew her from the market where she worked.”

“Ike’s Market?” Cody asked.

“Yeah, Ike’s.”

“I don’t like that place,” Gladys said as she touched Cody’s forearm for the umpteenth time. “It’s too small.”

“You like the big stores, huh Gladys?” Cody asked.

“Oh my God,” Demetrius muttered, and Cody gently bumped shoulders with him.