When the light turned green, she drove her demon the rest of the way home.
5
Erin turned offthe carand reached for her purse in the back seat. “How will you get out of the car without opening the door? Won’t the neighbors notice the door opening by itself?”
Andy tugged at the wrinkles that had developed in his suit jacket. “What kind of demon would I be if I couldn’t indulge in a little sleight of hand?”
When Erin turned around, Andy was standing in front of the car with his arms folded and a smug expression on his face.
The car door on the passenger side had never opened.
She got out of the car and tried not to look at him as she walked past him and up to the front door.
Once inside, she put down her purse and let Nancy Drew out into the backyard.
Andy stuck his head in the fridge. “Shall I rustle up something for lunch?”
Before Erin could answer, there was a knock at the door.
Andy straightened up and whispered, “Who in the Nine Hells knocks in the pattern of the ‘Ride of the Valkyries’?”
“My mother!” whispered Erin. “Make yourself scarce!”
Andy closed the refrigerator door and retreated to a corner of the kitchen, where he leaned against the wall with the look of someone who expects to be thoroughly entertained.
“Mom,” said Erin as she opened the door. “What are you doing here?”
“That’s a nice way to greet your mother,” said Joyce as she crossed the threshold. “You took off like a bat out of hell. Of course I would come check on you after that!”
Andy snorted, inaudible to Joyce but perfectly noticeable by Erin.
Joyce dropped her oversized, blindingly colored cloth purse on the table and went to the refrigerator. She gazed into the interior as if it were the opening of Tut’s tomb. “What is this? Some kind of science experiment?” She pulled out wilting lettuce, half-empty Tupperware, dried-up take-out, and expired milk and put it on the counter next to the fridge.
Erin rolled her eyes behind her mother’s back. “Yes, Mom, that’s exactly what it is.”
“Don’t sass me,” said Joyce, without even turning around. “I can hear your eyes roll all the way over here.” She closed the refrigerator door. “Keep this up, and the next thing you know, you’ll be eating Nancy’s dog biscuits.”
Erin pressed her lips together. How did her mother know these things?
Nancy Drew doddered into the kitchen from the backyard. She raised her nose in the air and sniffed, then walked daintily over to the demon hidden in the corner and looked up expectantly.
Andy frantically shooed her away, to no avail.
To all appearances, the dog appeared to be staring raptly into a corner.
“Even your dog is acting weird,” said Joyce.
Erin lunged for the dog treats. “Here, girl.”
Nancy looked from Erin to Andy and back again, then turned and trotted dutifully over to Erin’s general vicinity.
Erin gave her the treat and suppressed a sigh of relief.
“You feed that dog but you’re not feeding yourself. When was the last time you went grocery shopping?”
“I don’t know.”
Andy looked back and forth between mother and daughter like a cat at a tennis match.
