*****

   Beautiful day, ain’t it?” I say to get her attention.

  “Yassir! One thing never change in this world. A beautiful day is always something special. If I live me a hundred more years, I still believe that.”

  Evie pats the same concrete bench. This time when I sit down, it’s warm in the sun. “Now what’s on your mind?” I say.

  “I want you to go with me. I want you to see I’m right,” she says.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I ain’t going to be round forever, Jimmy Aldridge. Somebody got to tell the new folks. Show ‘em those ropes, eh?”

  I nod. “So you want me to go where exactly?”

  “Next door. Go with me this evening. You see what I’m talking about then.”

  It’s a stupid idea. Such a stupid idea. I would never break into a business. The game is interesting, and the investigation almost fun. The creepy story just adds to it, but I’m not going out and breaking laws because she’s crazy. I’m just not quite ready for the straight jacket.