I was totally confused. Who was this cop, and how did he know Constantine? I was sure I was missing something. What did he mean, he would see him tomorrow? My life was getting more and more complicated. There were too many people involved in this supernatural stuff to keep up. I still had no idea where these witches were hiding or who they were. We were running out of time and places to look. On top of that, now I had an angry cop after me. This was not a good day.
I needed cheering up, so I decided to stop by Taste and See on my way home. The owners were locals and very nice people. They had the best gelato in town. Actually, they had the only gelato store in town. I also wanted to say thank you to Bartholomew for lunch. I wasn’t sure what his favorite flavor was, so I got him salted caramel. It was one of their classics, and you could never go wrong with that. I got an espresso flavor for Constantine. He looked like the caffeine type. For me, I got a double scoop of tiramisu and cookies and cream. Hey, I didn’t have gluten intolerance. I could indulge. Happy with my delicious surprises, I headed back to Reapers. Who said I didn’t know how to bribe people?
Chapter 20
By the time I pulled into Reapers, I was exhausted. I was slowly making myself more upset over that crazy cop. Did he know I was an intern? If he did, didn’t he know the rules? What did he mean, we were all the same? I had more questions than answers. I parked Bumblebee in its designated spot by the Deathmobile. It was such an odd combination of cars. I shook my head.
I struggled to balance all the desserts. I had taken mine out earlier instead of leaving everything inside the nice packing job the girls at the store had done. Some things were hard to resist. Doors were a bit more challenging. I managed to make it to the kitchen table in the loft without spilling anything. Bartholomew was at his command center, and Constantine was napping on the top of the sofa. From my angle, it looked as if Bartholomew was actually playing a game.
“Hi, Isis. Welcome back,” Bartholomew said, barely looking up at me.
“Hi, Bart. I got you some gelato, if you can take a break.” I was expecting complaints or grumbling. Instead I got both Bartholomew and Constantine at the table in less than two seconds flat. I swore Bartholomew dropped his controller and ran over. Constantine snapped his eyes open at the word “gelato,” and he was across the room before I could finish.
“Did I get one, too?” For a five-thousand-year-old cat, Constantine was looking like a kitten right now.
“Of course you did. Espresso for you, and salted caramel for Bart.” I placed bowls in front of them.
Bartholomew pulled two chairs out, and they took their respective places. Constantine licked his without much preamble. “This is delicious. Thank you. I could sing, because I’m happy.”
I laughed. Constantine was amazing at impersonations. Pharrell was in trouble.
“Yes, thank you, Isis. What made you decide to get us gelato?” Bartholomew barely stopped eating as he spoke.
“Bad day. I figured we all needed a break.”
“Emotional eating. Bad sign. We might need to add more run time to help you burn some emotions and calories.” I couldn’t tell if Constantine was serious or not.
“He’s just messing with you,” Bartholomew said, reading the worried looked on my face.
Constantine winked at me with a devious grin. Yeah, he was good.
“What did you get?” Like most cats, he was also extremely curious and nosy.
“I got tiramisu and cookies and cream.”
“Wow, you are having a bad day. What happened?” Constantine actually looked concerned for me.
“Nothing. That’s the problem. I found out nothing. Father Francis hasn’t seen any strangers around his church, but the spirits are anxious. Did you know I can see dead people?”
“Uh, don’t say that phrase around Death. She’s still mad about the intern who helped with that weird film. But technically, you see souls. Remember, we are in the soul business. Comes with Death’s gifts.” Constantine was back in his teacher mode.
“Great. I’m not happy. Souls talked to me and even touched me. How is that possible?”
“Because Death can talk to and touch the souls. In case of a horrible major disaster, interns can function as Death’s representative in ushering the souls. You need the gift.” I was pretty sure Constantine enjoyed lecturing me.
“Do I want to know what kind of major disasters?”
Constantine and Bartholomew shook their heads in unison. When the boys were synchronized, the answer was not a good one. I decided to drop it.
“Did you go anywhere else? You were gone a really long time.” Constantine was back to business.
“Did you like your lunch?” Oh, wow, I had totally forgotten to thank Bartholomew when I came in.
“Yes. Thank you so much. That was so sweet of you. I was going to tell you it wasn’t necessary, but I was starving. Thank you.”
“Any time. You’re always running late, so I figured I could help.” Bartholomew was smiling in between mouthfuls. All I could do was smile back.
Constantine cleared his throat.
“Oh, sorry. I went to Randy Sam’s and made a little volunteer girl paranoid. People are staying inside during the day. At least nobody will try to kidnap them while they’re in groups.” I stopped to eat my last spoonful of gelato. I should have bought more. “On my way, I stopped by the Salvation Army and met another creepy volunteer. The volunteers in this town are a bit weird.”
“You were busy.” Bartholomew was trying to be supportive.
“Oh, it gets better. I was followed by a car leaving the Salvation Army and then got pulled over by the same cop, Officer Smith. I think that man hates me. By the way, why is he coming over tomorrow?”
“To be your partner for
