Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune
pulled her back into the kitchen.Desdemona turned and eyed everyone in the shop who was staring at her.Her lip curled in a close approximation of a sneer. “Continue on,” she said.“These are matters far beyond your earthly understanding. Tut-tut.”Everyone turned away almost immediately, the whispers reaching a feverpitch.Nelson grabbed Wallace by the hand, jerking him toward the kitchen. Helooked back before they passed through the doors to see the woman and thetwo men heading toward a table near the far wall under the framed poster ofthe pyramids. She rubbed her finger along the tabletop before shaking herhead.“—and if you’ll let me, I’ll just put a little poison in her tea,” Mei wassaying to Hugo as they entered the kitchen. Apollo sat next to her, ear floppedover as he looked between the two of them. “Not enough to kill her, but stillenough for it to be considered a felony for which I’ll absolutely accept jailtime. It’s a win-win situation.”Hugo looked horrified. “You can’t ruin tea like that. Every cup is specialand putting poison in it would ruin the flavor.”“Not if it’s tasteless,” Mei countered. “I’m pretty sure I read that arsenicdoesn’t have a taste.” She paused. “Not that I know where to get arsenic rightthis second. Dammit. I should’ve looked into that after last time.”“We don’t murder people,” Hugo said, and it didn’t appear that this wasthe first time he’d said it to her.“Maim, then.”“We don’t do that either,” Hugo said.She crossed her arms and pouted. “Nothing’s stopping us. You told me thatwe should always try to achieve our dreams.”“I didn’t have murder in mind when I told you that,” Hugo said dryly.“That’s because you think too small. Go big or go home.” She glanced atWallace. “Tell him. You’re on my side, right? And you know the law betterthan any of us here. What does it say about killing someone who deservesit?”“It’s illegal,” Wallace said.“But not, like, completely illegal, right? Justifiable homicide is a thing. Ithink.”
“I mean, there’s always a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, but that’sdifficult to pull off—”Mei nodded furiously. “That’s it. That’ll be my defense. I’m so insane thatI didn’t know what I was doing when I put arsenic in her tea.”Wallace shrugged. “It’s not like I can testify against you showingpremeditation.”“Not helping,” Hugo said.Probably not, but it wasn’t like he thought Mei would actually murdersomeone. Or so he hoped. “What’s wrong with that woman? Who is she?What did she do besides have a terrible name?”“She calls herself a medium,” Mei spat. “A psychic. And she has a crushon Hugo.”Hugo sighed. “She does not.”“Right,” Nelson said. “Because most people put their boobs up on thecounter like she does. Perfectly natural.”“She’s harmless,” Hugo said, like he was trying to convince Wallace.“She comes in here every few months and tries to run a séance. But nothingever happens and so she leaves. It’s never for very long, and it doesn’t hurtanyone.”“Are you hearing yourself?” Mei exclaimed.Wallace was still stuck on the word crush. It made him bristle more thanhe expected. “I thought you were gay.”Hugo blinked. “I … am?”“Then why does she flirt with you?”“I … don’t know?”“Because she’s awful,” Mei said. “Literally the worst person inexistence.” She began to pace. “She gives people like me a bad name. Shecons others out of money, telling them she’ll help them communicate withtheir loved ones. It’s messed up. All she does is give them false hope, tellingthem what they think they want to hear. She has no idea what I had to gothrough, and even if she did, I doubt it would stop her. She waltzes in herelike she owns the place and makes a mockery of everything we do.”Hugo sighed. “We can’t just kick her out, Mei.”“We can,” Mei retorted. “It’s very easy. Watch, I’ll do it right now.”He stopped her before she could storm through the doors.
- Page 97 and 98: And strangely, he thought he could
- Page 99 and 100: moved around from table to table, t
- Page 101 and 102: him.” And then, under her breath,
- Page 103 and 104: woke up. He went to work. He stayed
- Page 105 and 106: CHAPTER9Charon’s Crossing stayed
- Page 107 and 108: Mei gasped. “They do? Oh my god,
- Page 109 and 110: “Obviously,” he said faintly.
- Page 111 and 112: that’s taboo.” She looked away.
- Page 113 and 114: “It’s like you, in a way,” sh
- Page 115 and 116: “Nope.”Wallace groaned. “Then
- Page 117 and 118: things. He had expensive clothes, a
- Page 119 and 120: Nelson grinned. “Fair.” He rubb
- Page 121 and 122: “It’s like that here,” Hugo s
- Page 123 and 124: “It was fast,” Hugo said, stari
- Page 125 and 126: Hugo seemed to let it go. “The Ma
- Page 127 and 128: “You can’t ever go to them,”
- Page 129 and 130: finding the truth within himself. W
- Page 131 and 132: And now here they were in the fifth
- Page 133 and 134: Her fault, he told himself as he sa
- Page 135 and 136: They all fell into a schedule of so
- Page 137 and 138: One of the other women said, “My
- Page 139 and 140: “Because he doesn’t want to,”
- Page 141 and 142: Wallace bit back a sharp retort whe
- Page 143 and 144: stumbled around, making promises to
- Page 145 and 146: Nelson laughed. “Refreshing. Frus
- Page 147: Hugo, for his part, didn’t look a
- Page 151 and 152: came here looking more alive than s
- Page 153 and 154: Nothing.“All the time you—would
- Page 155 and 156: Desdemona gasped, pulling her hands
- Page 157 and 158: “A,” Desdemona said as the plan
- Page 159 and 160: followers, and I command you to—
- Page 161 and 162: CHAPTER12That night, Wallace follow
- Page 163 and 164: “Then why didn’t you put a stop
- Page 165 and 166: “It’s not always like this,”
- Page 167 and 168: Wallace closed his eyes. Nancy was
- Page 169 and 170: “A guardian of the doors,” Hugo
- Page 171 and 172: “What does that mean?”“I can
- Page 173 and 174: green door at the end. He walked th
- Page 175 and 176: window looked out into a familiar k
- Page 177 and 178: CHAPTER13At the beginning of his tw
- Page 179 and 180: Hugo shrugged. It was infuriating.
- Page 181 and 182: everything I’m saying right now?
- Page 183 and 184: The tea shop was busy all day. Sinc
- Page 185 and 186: “What will it take?” Wallace as
- Page 187 and 188: Watch.”Wallace stood next to him
- Page 189 and 190: some … some let it become all the
- Page 191 and 192: “Obviously,” Nelson said. He re
- Page 193 and 194: Wallace bit back a retort. They wer
- Page 195 and 196: but my legs didn’t work. My arms
- Page 197 and 198: “Yes,” Hugo said.“I was murde
“I mean, there’s always a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, but that’s
difficult to pull off—”
Mei nodded furiously. “That’s it. That’ll be my defense. I’m so insane that
I didn’t know what I was doing when I put arsenic in her tea.”
Wallace shrugged. “It’s not like I can testify against you showing
premeditation.”
“Not helping,” Hugo said.
Probably not, but it wasn’t like he thought Mei would actually murder
someone. Or so he hoped. “What’s wrong with that woman? Who is she?
What did she do besides have a terrible name?”
“She calls herself a medium,” Mei spat. “A psychic. And she has a crush
on Hugo.”
Hugo sighed. “She does not.”
“Right,” Nelson said. “Because most people put their boobs up on the
counter like she does. Perfectly natural.”
“She’s harmless,” Hugo said, like he was trying to convince Wallace.
“She comes in here every few months and tries to run a séance. But nothing
ever happens and so she leaves. It’s never for very long, and it doesn’t hurt
anyone.”
“Are you hearing yourself?” Mei exclaimed.
Wallace was still stuck on the word crush. It made him bristle more than
he expected. “I thought you were gay.”
Hugo blinked. “I … am?”
“Then why does she flirt with you?”
“I … don’t know?”
“Because she’s awful,” Mei said. “Literally the worst person in
existence.” She began to pace. “She gives people like me a bad name. She
cons others out of money, telling them she’ll help them communicate with
their loved ones. It’s messed up. All she does is give them false hope, telling
them what they think they want to hear. She has no idea what I had to go
through, and even if she did, I doubt it would stop her. She waltzes in here
like she owns the place and makes a mockery of everything we do.”
Hugo sighed. “We can’t just kick her out, Mei.”
“We can,” Mei retorted. “It’s very easy. Watch, I’ll do it right now.”
He stopped her before she could storm through the doors.
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