Page 52 of Booked for Murder

The next few weeks would test me.

“You were checking our blood?” Jezabella asked with wide eyes.

“Twice a day,” I admitted.

Bradley ran his hand through his hair and scratched his scalp, sighing. “She was why the doctor would sometimes swing by the house for a surprise checkup. She’d discovered something amiss and would call him in to deal with it—and since the doctors we usually employ also work at the hospitals she volunteered at, they’d take her seriously. It would prevent a lot of small problems from becoming big problems. I knew about it, but that was because Dad told me.”

“Where is Mr. Hampton, anyway?”

“Covering for us. Dad’s aware, but he’s claiming Mom dragged me into the city for errands and meeting up with old friends.”

It amazed me how so many lies could be told in so few words while technically telling the truth. “He’s doing okay, though?”

“He’s a heart attack risk, but he’s been doing all right otherwise. If you feel like coming to the house, I’ve been told a good exsanguinator could deal with the problem, but he’s old and stubborn.”

The Hampton family would drive me insane within a week. “Seriously, Bradley?”

“He’s picky on top of being old and stubborn. He wants only the best, and you’re the best. You’re also the only registered exsanguinator with hundreds of hours of experience working in a hospital.”

“What is the issue?”

“Heart disease. He did start eating a better diet, but he’s paying the price for it. He’s been told a talented exsanguinator can clear out the blockages. He keeps refusing the surgeries.”

“There’s a word for that, Bradley.”

“Idiot?”

“Yes, that’s one. I was going to go with stupid, but idiot fits.” Adding a full-body treatment would be the ultimate test of my abilities—and determine if I’d lost my touch. “Give me a week. If I’m in all right shape, I’ll go set him straight.”

“If by set him straight, you mean verbally, I would like to watch.”

“I meant magically, but if you want me to deal with him verbally at the same time, I can probably help you.”

Bradley grabbed his phone, tapped at the screen, and a few moments later, he shoved the display in my face. “Is this the right type of bribe?”

According to Bradley’s phone, he thought I’d enjoy a waterproofed e-reader. As he was not wrong, I nodded. “That would earn you three days of visitation with my cat while you’re at it. But I’d set him straight because he’s being stupid without the need of a bribe.”

Bradley considered my cat, who worked her charms on my father and mother, enjoying her round with the brush. “Okay. Deal. I’ll bring it tomorrow morning with the coffee maker.”

I pitied Ren, and I turned to the bodyguard. “I’m sorry.”

He grinned at me. “Don’t worry about it, Janette. I have already made him an appointment to go to a car dealership this evening, and I have selected the make and model for him. They’re preparing the vehicle now. Usually it takes a few days, but the amount of money he’s spending convinced them to get it ready today.”

Damn. What had they been doing while I’d been talking to the contractor? Rearranging my whole damned life? “Okay. Don’t let him pick out some prissy gun for me, Ren. I don’t know if I can be caught dead with a prissy gun.”

“Your special needs will be accommodated, never fear.”

I eyed my mangled foot, which handled the strain of the day much better than expected. “If I’m going to be spoiled anyway, pick me up a new cane.”

“A new cane?” Ren hopped to his feet, snagged my cane from where it leaned against the wall by the door, and brought it to me. “What’s wrong with this one?”

“It doesn’t have a sword in it.”

Everyone stared at my cane in silence, and after several long minutes, Bradley asked, “Do you really want a cane with a sword in it?”

“Well, it’d be pretty cool, but honestly, this one is getting a little old and worn, and it’d be nice to have a new one.”

“Right. Ren? Add a new cane to the list. Do you have a measuring tape? We have to get one the right height, don’t we?”