Page 24 of Statler

She’d purposely not picked that house for the tour today.

“As you can see,” she cleared her tight throat, “they all have screened doors and windows you can use if the weather permits. They’re open now, but feel free to leave them however you want. You don’t have to worry about anyone breaking in when you’re not here. Crime is literally zero in our little town.”

She wouldn’t say it was because no one wanted to cross her father, but if these people were as savvy as Eliza thought, they’d probably already figured that out.

“So, no speeding tickets if I have a lead foot?” Dizzy teased.

She laughed, happy for the unserious distraction. “You might get a reprimand if word gets back to Mr. Flazer, but no one’s going to fine or arrest you,” she told him with a grin. “We seriously have no crime and no real police department. Things mostly work on the honor system around here.”

Did she just see them all side-eye each other?

That was strange. Maybe they’d encountered a lot of bad players where they came from.

“So, here’s the living room,” she announced as she walked in with everyone following. “It’s small, but the furniture is all very comfortable, and like I said, we have a dish, so you get a large selection of TV channels.”

“That’s good,” Pipes spoke up. “I’m kind of a TV, singing-show junkie,” he admitted.

That got a belly-laugh from Dizzy.

“Because he wants to be on one of them, some day,” the amused man revealed. “Actually, though? He’s not bad, or I wouldn’t have offered to be his roommate, because I’ll have to listen to him warble in the shower every morning.”

“Cut the shit. I do not warble,” Pipes grumbled.

The entire bunch laughed and chorused, “Oh, yes you do.”

Eliza chuckled.

These people were fun to be around. Especially after pretty much being on her own for so long. Sure, Granny Edith was always down for a comfy chat, and the older people who worked at the gas station and convenience store were nice, too. But no one her age, and not a single soul who worked for the factory wanted anything to do with her, after-hours.

Because of who she was.

Did they think she was going to snitch on them to her father for any infractions or wrongly-worded conversations they might have? Perhaps.

It was all moot, however. After Holden—who had proven he wasn’t afraid of William Flazer—was out of the picture, the small amount of headway he’d made into gaining her some friends, had fizzled.

Eliza thrust that to the back of her head, and continued showing the group around.

“In here is the kitchen.”

She opened the refrigerator. “And as you can see, there’s enough food for a couple days to get you started.”

So what if all the stuff she’d stocked had been paid for out of her own funds. Eliza considered it worth the expense.

Her father would have left the group mouse turds and crickets. Not a very warm welcome.

Getting the cottages all new linens on William’s dime had been hard enough; a stretch, and he’d drawn the line after that.

Tonka moved forward and immediately snagged a small container of yogurt from the still open fridge, smacking his lips.

“Hey, big guy. Get your own,” Blue snapped, grabbing it from his hands. “This cottage and everything in it, is officially mine.”

Tonka swiftly relinquished his treasure, backing up like a man in trouble, with both hands raised. “Okay. I get it. I get it. Don’t have a fit.”

Eliza nearly snickered.

That someone Tonka’s size was afraid of Blue was funny, but also intriguing.

What, exactly, was Blue capable of? Eliza vowed to find out, but right now…