Page 25 of Stalked By Shadows

“Did you guys drive over?” Micah asked.

“Yep,” Tim said. “Do you have stuff you want us to take to the store too?”

“If you don’t mind. There are half a dozen bags, a couple of shawls, a box of soap, and another box of candles.”

“Sure,” Tim agreed. “I don’t know how you find time to do all that.”

“It’s stress relief,” Micah said.

Tim looked me over, seeming to frown at my lack of attire, but I probably had major bed hair too. He turned to study Micah. “You okay?”

“A little tired,” Micah replied. “I’ll have to call around to the people scheduled for last night’s tour and see if they want to reschedule or if I have to refund people.” He groaned. “It’s going to be a long afternoon.”

“We can handle the shop for a while. So at least that’s off your plate. Are you still doing your normal ghost tour tonight starting in Jackson Square?” Tim asked. “I don’t think I have enough memorized to do that for you. Sky is too flighty to do them. Not sure your new guy is up to the task either.”

New guy sounded like more than purely an employee, but I didn’t correct him. “Can I make more coffee?” I asked Micah, watching him eat. Mornings and food didn’t work much for me, but the coffee was almost gone.

He stepped around me, and added more grounds and water to the pot. This time I took the bag of coffee from him to examine the label. Where was my phone? I needed to take a picture so I’d remember what to get. I scanned the room and couldn’t recall if I’d actually gotten it back from the police last night. Maybe it was in the bag? And on that note, why hadn’t I heard from Lukas?

“I can manage the tour. I have to make sure Sky is still okay closing tonight,” Micah told him. “She was never meant to be full-time, but it seems to be working out that way. Her card reading brings in more, so I feel bad for needing her so much.”

“That’s why you hired Alex, right?” Tim asked. He looked me over. “To take care of some of your burden?” That sounded like a biting comment if I’d ever heard one. Though I must not have been awake enough to understand why.

I stared back at him. “What? Yesterday was my first day, you can’t expect me to know how to give a ghost tour when I haven’t even been on one yet. I can barely work the register. Five hours is not enough time to have the entire shop and city memorized.”

“It’s okay,” Micah said. He put a comforting hand on my arm. “I don’t expect you to be leading tours any time soon. I do eventually want you to be able to open or close without me, which will give Sky and me a more varied schedule. The shop is only open from one p.m. to nine. There’s not enough morning traffic to justify opening earlier and I’m not a morning person.”

“Amen to that,” I said. Mornings and me weren’t friends these days either. “Just give me a few days to learn the ropes and I can handle it.”

“You okay with him?” Tim asked Micah like I wasn’t there.

“I’m fine. Alex made a huge sale yesterday, over $1000 and I wasn’t even there. I think he’s going to work out fine. Let me go grab the stuff for the shop.” He darted back to that mysterious hidden wall closet again, and pulled open a door, and then dragged out a half-dozen boxes. “Sorry there’s so much. I haven’t had a chance to walk any of it over.”

“No worries. We’ve plenty of room in the car. Do you want me to put it in the storeroom so you can decide where it goes?” Tim asked.

“Yes, please. Thank you for helping out.” Micah rubbed at his eyes. Since he’d been up texting people, he must have gotten up earlier and gone back to sleep. Brad and Tim trekked across the room and began stacking up boxes. Tim passed Jet, and Jet hissed at him.

“Back at you, little brat,” Tim said. “Should have left you in the gutter that day I found you.”

“Hush,” Brad said. “He’s a sweetheart. Just picky is all.” He was allowed to pet Jet as he passed. Interesting.

The second pot of coffee finished, and I refilled my cup leaving some for Micah. He retrieved another cup and doctored up his own, leaning beside me at the counter and breathing in the smell before taking a long drag.

“What time do you think you’ll be in to the shop?” Tim asked.

“I’ll try to be there by five. I’ll text you if I’m running late. The tour isn’t until nine, and Sky will be there by three, so I have some time.”

“Okay, see you later,” Tim said, his gaze flicking to me again but he and Brad left without any fanfare.

“That was the ex?” I asked. “Great cock and all?”

Micah laughed lightly into his mug. “He can be a dick for sure, but Brad’s a good kid. Tim is all right. He’s a little bitter that he’s in his mid-thirties and still has a desk job. He answers phones for a car insurance company.”

“But you both made money on the videos, right?”

“Not so much the videos but the subscribers who sent us tips. We made a lot, really. Tim is not good with saving money. He’s got a big house outside the city, a really nice car, and all the latest in electronics any computer geek could want.”

“And a new boy toy to support,” I pointed out.