The Trouble with Evie

Chapter 10

"He'll be so behind in his work. Then there will be a delay in getting better coverage in this area."

"Coverage?"

Audrey's frown deepened.

"Yeah, my uncle works for a company that has a government contract for the communications towers. We move around so that he can do the pre-setup works before they start the digging and building. I guess a few more months without cell phone coverage won't matter much."

Her eyes widened. Like everyone in this town, she had the little rectangle permanently attached to her hand, and like everyone else, she complained that the reception was awful. I know because it's all I have ever heard. Brad will be labeled as a hero, I'm sure of it.

"You know, I think it's fine. There's no such thing as ghosts, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

Her smile seemed less of an effort now. In fact, she seemed to shift with restrained excitement.

"So, we're getting better coverage in this town?"

"Well, this is the beginning. My uncle will scope out a few good places, discuss them with his boss, and approach the necessary people. It's all preliminary at the moment. You'd be surprised at how many people protest at having a tower near them. They want great coverage, but they don't want the towers. Can't have one without the other."

Audrey was nearly frothing at the mouth. I think that if I said that she could apply to have the tower in her yard, she'd believe me and happily skip off home to start the process.

"Yeah, it's a bummer but necessary."

When I looked at Audrey, I could see someone who, despite her best intentions, would reveal the game far too early if left to her own devices. The question I had was if she went home and told her father of this conversation, would he pick up on it, or would he be oblivious as well? It could go either way, so it was best to keep the questions limited and mixed.

"How long have you lived in Hades?"

"All my life," she said, beaming her smile. "I just love the place. It's so pretty."

"That's cool."

It wasn't. Boring was a better choice of word.

"What's the place like? It seems pretty laid back."

"Oh yeah," she said. I noted a distinct hesitation in her tone.

"The builder was acting like there are some freaky people in this town. I'm not allowed to walk to or from school. Crazy, right?"

Audrey stared at me.

"Yeah," she said softly, slowly drawing out the word.

"Do your parents let you walk around with your friends?"

"Only in a group. We leave from one house together."

So, her father is besties with the head honcho vampire, and he still can't trust them not to attack his kid. That was interesting.

Niko was right when he said that I'd see that he was different from the others. We'd been in the same room as each other many times for several hours as well. He'd fed from me, and I wasn't dead. We slept in the same house as each other. Yes, it would seem that Niko was vastly different from the other vampires in this town. It certainly explained a lot.

"Well, I have to go. My uncle will be waiting for me, and if I'm late, then no towers, right?"

Audrey smiled though I could see a lot of hesitation on her face.