The Psychic Next Door

Chapter 24: Guest

"Tory isn't supposed to come today..." Luc murmured as he got up from his seat and headed for the door. He approached slowly, cautiously—seemingly fearful that whoever was on the other side might hear his movements and know he was there. The open sign hadn't been on for over a month. There was no reason for anyone to be knocking at Luc's door. Or at least no good reason.

Polly and I held our breath, worried that whoever was out there could hear our breathing.

He peered through the peephole, trying to see who had interrupted our conversation.

As the silence continued, the tension rose. I felt like screaming at whoever was lurking on the other side of the entrance to just go away and leave us in peace. I watched Luc, ready to take my cue from his body language...

His shoulders relaxed and as he turned to face us, I saw that Luc was actually laughing, his hand clamped over his mouth to keep quiet.

"Oh God," Luc said, through his fingers. "It's the last day of the month isn't it?"

I blinked at him, confused, but nodded.

Luc shook his head and exhaled with a whistle. His face darkened for a moment. "All this talk about Lillian... well... just give me a bit." He paused for a moment and laughed again, before turning back to the door and pulling it open.

I sucked in a breath of air in anticipation of the worst.

But there on the doorstep was no sinister being, or even Polly's sister, back from the grave. It was Mrs. Malik, our squat and loveable landlady. She was darling as ever in her sugary pink dress with a fluffy white cardigan, her plump figure making her look somewhat like a cupcake... though a soggy cupcake. Her cardigan was dampened, darkened in splotches over her shoulders and bosom. I could hear the sprinkling of raindrops outside and felt a cool breeze slip through the open door. The weather was bad, but it felt good to feel fresh air on my skin. It was staggering how much I missed the outside world.

"Heylo, Mr. Coo-lee-ard!" Mrs. Malik said, her accent thick as always. "It is the rent time!"

It dawned on me what Luc had found so funny, a smirk drawing across my face. Polly snorted quietly to herself, obviously enjoying the amusement too.

"Right, right, sorry it was late, Mrs. Malik," Luc apologized as he dashed over to the kitchen. He rifled through the drawers, searching for something. "Slipped my mind, and I forgot to send my delivery boy..."

"Is no problem." Mrs. Malik nodded, her face still pleasant, waving her thick hand to simultaneously accept and dismiss his apology. Her eyes found me, and she blinked dramatically as she took me in. "Ah, Ms. Vaughn! Much surprising! You be friend with Mr. Coo-lee-ard?"

"Uh... yes?" I said. "We've been hanging out, like, every day."

Polly sniggered next to me, like a schoolgirl at an inside joke. It was nice to hear her laugh again.

Mrs. Malik just looked at us, and her fluffy grey brows arched up in confusion like she didn't understand. "How good," she said after a moment, then blinked and smiled again.

Thunder rumbled outside behind her, and the sound of rain grew louder.

Luc looked up, shocked, from rifling in his kitchen drawers; he had found his chequebook but he seemed distracted as he scribbled out the details of this month's rent. "Oh, damn, I'm such a—Please, Mrs. Malik, come in out of the rain. I'll have it for you in another moment..."

Polly and I both gasped. I saw on his face that he immediately realized his misstep too.

"Oh, no, wait—" Luc held up his hand to signal for her to stop; his pen slipped from his fingers and clattered to the floor. He moved quickly towards the door, trying to get there before she did, but it was too late.