Chapter 12
“I told you she was a menace to the cosmos.” Audrey thumped her mug down hard enough that coffee sloshed over the top and she swore. “I can’t believe she had the balls to show up to the meeting.”
River relaxed at the tarot reading table, her feet up on the other chair. “I’m pretty sure she didn’t think I’d spot her in the crowd. Her energy dropped when she met my eyes.”
“Guilt will do that.” Audrey mopped up the mess with tissues that made more of a mess. She looked at River sharply. “Stop that line of thinking right this instant. You can’t change her, or change her mind, or her underwear, or anything else about her.”
River frowned. “Stop reading my thoughts. You know it gives me the willies.”
“Yeah, well, stop broadcasting. She’s beautiful like a demon sent to drag you to the underworld and torture you for eternity.”
River thought loudly about how she wouldn’t mind a bit of that kind of treatment, and Audrey made a gagging sound.
“Seriously, my intuition is screaming at me that our meeting means something. I don’t know what, but I know I have to pay attention to it.
” River smiled as Mrs. Crabtree walked past the window outside.
“Maybe I’ll just point her out to Mrs. Crabtree and let her go at her. ”
Mrs. Crabtree came in, cane tapping the way. “I have a purpose,” she said, her dark eyes gleaming. She looked at Audrey. “We’re having a meeting. Can I have a cup of that tea that helps my joints, please?”
Audrey grinned and tilted her head. “Coming right up.” She headed to the back room.
Mrs. Crabtree tapped her cane on River’s feet, getting her to move them off the chair. “I’m fully aware your mom taught you not to put your feet on the furniture.”
“She did.” River moved the deck of cards off the table and grabbed some coasters from the desk drawer. “Sometimes I forget how well you knew them.”
Mrs. Crabtree sighed and rested her cane across her lap. “I miss them. Your mom always made people feel like they were the most important thing in the world when they were with her. Like she had no one and nothing else that mattered more.” She looked at River. “You do that too.”
River swallowed the ball of emotion. “I’m glad. It’s a great way to be in the world.”
Audrey came out with a cup of steaming tea that gave off the scent of cinnamon, which she used to cover the smell and taste of valerian root. “So tell us about your new purpose.” She pulled up a chair and brought over her own coffee.
Mrs. Crabtree grinned. “That woman you went running after last night? We had a little talk.”
Audrey laughed, and River winced. “Does she still have all her limbs?” River asked.
“Well, she came close to feeling the tip of my cane right at the center of her forehead.” Mrs. Crabtree tapped the heavy wooden stick to make her point.
“And I’ve decided to dedicate myself to stopping those bastards from moving in.
That’s what Mr. Crabtree would have wanted.
He always said I was as unstoppable as a tornado when I got something in my craw, and this is definitely what I want to sink my teeth into. ”
River nodded, and Mrs. Crabtree sipped at her tea.
No one really knew how old she was. Some people said she was in her seventies, others that she was over a hundred.
She was a force, to be sure. There was no weakness in her energy, no uncertainty or sadness like there was when she came in asking to talk to her deceased husband. Purpose indeed.
“Have you let the community board know you want to be involved?” River asked.
“I will. I wanted to tell you first.” She motioned vaguely to the shop. “In case you had some silly notion that it wasn’t a good idea.”
She wouldn’t take offense at their predictions being silly notions. “Nothing here. You?” she asked Audrey, who shook her head.
“But you should know,” Audrey said, glancing between River and Mrs. Crabtree, “that snake from last night has some connection to River, and we don’t know how that’s attached to all this.”
Mrs. Crabtree actually threw her head back and chortled. “Trust our River to go and fall for the bad girl. You keep it in your pants until this is all over, young lady.” She shook her finger at River.
River wasn’t even sure how to respond to that. “Young lady?”
“Shut up. You know what I mean.” Mrs. Crabtree finished the tea with a contented sigh.
“You’re going to be my right-hand person on this, River.
So you start thinking outside the box about how we’re going to attack.
I’ll do the same, and we’ll take our ideas to the community when we’ve got something solid.
” She stood, and it seemed like the cane was unnecessary now. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
She left, the door chiming softly as it closed behind her.
River and Audrey sat in silence for a moment, and then Audrey laughed.
“What are you going to come up with, young lady?” she asked as she cleared the mugs.
“I don’t think my parents even called me that when I was little.” River shook her head. “But she’s right. We need to think outside the box if we’re going up against a company like that.”
The doorbell chimed and a guy in slacks and a button-down polo came in. He raised an envelope. “River Rigel?”
She glanced at Audrey and then held out her hand. “That’s me.”
He gave a quick smile, handed it over, and was gone.
River saw the Black Pinnacle logo in the corner of the expensive stationery and held it up to Audrey. “My turn.”
Audrey looked over her shoulder as she opened it. It was a carbon copy of the letter she’d seen from Paul last night, except her number was slightly higher. There was a phone number along with a request to discuss the acquisition of her property.
Audrey huffed. “They’re starting low. Who would sell a building like this for that amount?”
“Someone desperate. Someone who hasn’t ever seen that kind of money, or who wants to start again somewhere else and thinks this is enough.” River threw the letter on the counter. “Fortunately, I’m not that someone.”
A couple customers came in, and their day moved along at the normal pace, with a few readings dotted with sales of merch from the shop.
Throughout, River was distracted by thoughts of the issue at hand.
Images of Marina limping along last night, in obvious discomfort, also intruded.
River had wanted to reach out and take care of her, but she wasn’t about to show anything Marina could construe as weakness.
By the time River was home and Shamus was curled up on her lap, she was tired of the looping thoughts. She flipped on the TV for some distraction and smiled when she saw Madison Ford reporting from Washington, DC on the latest political upheaval.
An idea started to form and soon took on a life of its own. She grabbed her phone.
“It’s really great to see you again,” Madison said, kissing River’s cheek. “I’m glad you called.”
“I can’t believe you flew over just to chat.” River pulled out Madison’s chair and sat opposite her at A Cup of Joe. Billy chatted with customers, but River could see him keep looking their way.
“Hey, what’s the point of keeping your exes as friends if you can’t create a little chaos together.” She smiled and sipped her coffee, giving a little murmur of appreciation. “Give me all the details you have.”
River held up her hand. “One sec.” She waved Mrs. Crabtree over and motioned at Billy, who nodded. She pulled out the seat for her, and she settled into it like a queen seating herself in front of her subjects.
“Mrs. Crabtree, this is Madison Ford—”
“You think I don’t watch TV or read the paper?” Mrs. Crabtree held out her hand. “It’s a pleasure.”
Madison’s smile was genuine. River knew full well how much she liked interesting characters, and Mrs. Crabtree was definitely one of those.
“Likewise.” She looked between them. “Tell me everything.”
River started, and Mrs. Crabtree interjected here and there with her own tidbits she’d found online. “So, basically, I was wondering if you might be able to help us make a stink about gentrifying neighborhoods.”
Madison nodded thoughtfully. “It’s a big issue, but it’s not something I’d usually take on. I’m also heading out to do some work in the EU next week. But…” She scrolled through her phone. “Adriana might be around.” She hit call and walked out of the café.
Mrs. Crabtree nodded. “Good. Someone who doesn’t say they’ll make calls once they’ve left. I didn’t know you had friends in circles like that.”
“We dated briefly a million years ago. It was a fling for both of us, and we’ve stayed friends who talk every once in a while.
She’s good people.” Madison’s high-profile marriage had been in all the queer news, and River was happy she’d found someone who could handle her nomadic life.
River had never had any desire to live anywhere else or to do a whole lot of traveling.
Other countries felt like they might as well be other planets.
Madison came back in. “Right. Adriana is available and will meet you here next week. She’s going to do some digging beforehand, and then you’ll film a segment with her.
She’s got a massive following online, and she’s known for taking on local issues.
Her stuff is huge with the twenties and thirties demographic, and it’s those people who are going to feel the most for your cause.
I’ve given her your phone number and email. ”
River took her hand. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how much it means to us.”
Madison smiled, squeezed her hand, and let go. “Thank you for giving me the heads-up on it. I’ll keep my ear to the ground while I’m gone.” She leaned forward. “Do you see anything I need to pay attention to?” she said softly and made a vague gesture to the air around her.
River opened that bit of herself and scanned Madison critically. “You seem to have a lot on your mind, but that’s not surprising.” She narrowed her gaze on the bit of energy that seemed off around Madison’s knee. “Arthritis?”
Madison laughed. “Yup.”
“Come to the shop. Audrey has a great tea to help with the inflammation.”
Together, the three of them walked to Echoes and Insights, and Audrey greeted Madison like an old friend. She gathered up some looseleaf tea and the means to brew it.
Madison got out her wallet, but River stopped her. “Consider it a thank-you gift for helping us out.”
She tipped her head and accepted the package. “I know better than to say no to a gift like that. Good luck with everything.” She kissed River’s cheek, shook Mrs. Crabtree’s hand, and headed out.
“What a whirlwind.” Audrey blew out a breath. “I couldn’t keep up with all the thoughts flying around in that head.”
“Yeah, she’s something.”
“You have a type.” Mrs. Crabtree pointed at her. “You like powerful girlie women who are ambitious and smart.”
“There are worse types to have,” River said, shrugging.
“Sure.” Mrs. Crabtree moved toward the door. “Except those types don’t tend to stick around, do they? Too busy climbing ladders to stay still and love someone.”
“Madison’s happily married.” But River knew what Mrs. Crabtree meant.
“Sure. To someone else who is climbing her own ladder. They match because neither of them has to sit still.” She leaned on her cane as she opened the door.
“Mr. Crabtree and I matched because we were happy in the same place together, and neither of us would ever leave the other behind.” She waved and left.
“You’ve been uncharacteristically quiet,” River said to Audrey, who was busy looking at the calendar.
“Just listening.” Audrey frowned in that way that meant she was trying to work something out.
“And what are you hearing?” River asked.
Audrey hesitated. “I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”
River nodded and went about her day. She knew full well that trying to force understanding when your gift was trying to tell you something didn’t work. You had to wait for it to come clear, like a building in the distant mist.
Her phone buzzed, and she checked the text. It was from Adriana.
Hey! Looking forward to this story. Can you get plenty of B-roll for me before we meet next week? Show viewers the neighborhood. The shops, the people who are going to be affected, that kind of thing. Send over whatever you get so I can start messing with it. x
Wow. River hadn’t expected Adriana to move so quickly, and it was reassuring.
She shouldn’t be surprised that a contact of Madison’s would be on the ball though.
She sent a thumbs-up emoji, which she figured would suffice until she had anything to say.
She also took a picture of the letter from Black Pinnacle and sent it over.
“Are you ready for this?” Audrey asked softly as they started to close up at the end of the day.
“What do you mean?”
Audrey leaned against the closed door, the autumn breeze ruffling her hair.
The streetlight highlighted the creases around her eyes and the serious glint in them.
“If you take this on, if you get in front of a camera, you’re going to bring on some big attention.
Black Pinnacle has resources we can’t imagine, and they’ll come at you.
Are you ready for this fight?” Audrey still had that faraway look in her eyes. “I think it’s going to get messy.”
River stared down the street, trying to see it as Marina did. But all she saw was home. “I’m ready,” she said quietly. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Hopefully it wouldn’t take anything she wasn’t ready to give.