Night Shift by Charlaine Harris Page A

that! Mama’s been looking for that ring for years.”
    “I guess she hasn’t sewed on a button in that long,” Manfred said. “Your aunt showed up and told her that was where the ring was, in the button box. Believe me, I was just as surprised as your mom. She’s a wonderful lady, by the way.”
    Magdalena’s face softened. “Yes, she is,” she said. “My dad died young, and she did a good job raising us.”
    “That neighbor of hers,” Manfred said awkwardly. “Linda.”
    “What about her?”
    “She’s pretty sick.” This was something he didn’t want to talk about, but he felt he had to warn Magdalena. Agnes Orta was going to take Linda’s death hard.
    “She’s young,” Magdalena said, smiling, but without conviction. She knew there was a reason he’d brought up Linda’s health.
    Manfred just shook his head. Her smile vanished. After a tense moment, she nodded, just a jerk of her head.
    Arthur broke the silence by asking Manfred how things had been going in Midnight. “Any more suicides?” he asked, trying to lighten up the conversation. He couldn’t have imagined that just made it worse.
    “That would be pretty stunning, wouldn’t it?” Manfred said.
    Arthur laughed. “Even in Midnight, that seems pretty unlikely,” he said.
    Manfred offered them a drink, pretty sure Magdalena and Arthur would turn it down and see the offer as a signal to depart. Sure enough, Magdalena thanked Manfred but turned down the drink. Soon after, she and Arthur rose to take their leave. They were going to stop by the Cartoon Saloon for a sandwich and a beer, and then catch a movie in Marthasville.
    When their taillights were out of sight, Manfred walked over to the pawnshop. As he’d expected, Lemuel was behind the counter. The old book was open in front of him and a spiral-bound notebook was beside it. Lemuel was busy writing when Manfred came in, but he put down his pen to regard Manfred. “What brings you out this night, neighbor?” Lemuel asked in his rusty voice.
    “I got a warning today,” Manfred said. “A true warning.”
    Lemuel’s cold gaze intensified, which made Manfred shiver. It felt odd and unpleasant to be the object of Lemuel’s interest.
    “Tell me about it.”
    As concisely as possible, Manfred related his grandmother’s warning. “She said it was waking up,” he said.
    Lemuel said, “I think we are very close to catastrophe.”
    “Do you know what lies underneath the crossroad?” Manfred asked.
    “I suspect I do.” Lemuel laid his hand on the book.
    Manfred wanted to tell Lemuel to hurry up, but a strong sense of self-preservation stopped him.
    “Since I have to finish the translation, it’s slow work.” Lemuel’s tone made it clear this was not an apology, but an explanation. “I dare not skip anything. It’s too important. A crossroad is a place where hunting trails cross, a place where criminals are executed, or a place where shrines are set up. This crossroad may be all three, but I have to be sure what we’re dealing with.”
    Manfred could only nod. He turned to go, but Lemuel had more to say.
    “I understand Teacher went to Killeen with you today,” Lemuel observed. “What did you think of him?”
    “Interesting you should bring that up,” Manfred said. “I wasn’t comfortable with him, and I don’t know why. He seems like the easiest person in the world to get along with, in general conversation, but one-on-one . . . I just can’t figure him out.”
    “Did he seem to want to know you?”
    “Yes, he asked several questions. I kept telling myself it was only natural when you don’t know someone, to ask those questions, but you know what? It felt like filling out a form for a job. So I tried to ask him the same questions, see how he liked it. He didn’t.” He told Lemuel about Teacher’s visit to the hardware store.
    “Interesting,” Lemuel said, and dismissed Manfred by becoming engrossed in the pages of the book.
    Manfred shook his head, and left.