"Phone me," the bearded man said. "Any time, if you hear something again. Here’s my home number. Marv’s the name." He pulled a card from his shirt pocket.
She took his card, not liking the way he held it, close to his chest, just so she would have to get near him. "Are you sure it was a squirrel?"
"Can’t be sure about anything these days. I only found a skeleton."
"Then how can you say that it is?"
He grinned, showing rotten teeth. Clumps of dust lay tangled in his red beard. "What else could it be?"
"Well, thanks for removing it." She gazed thoughtfully at the black plastic bag he had set on the floor by the door.
"Actually," Marv licked his lips as he spoke, "the teeth looked like they belonged to something carnivorous. And I couldn’t find a hole in the roof where it might’ve come in."
Sandy thought she saw something move inside the plastic bag. She shivered in anticipation.
"I’ll get that outside right away." He noticed the bag was distracting her. "Then we’ll settle the bill."
She looked back at the bag, but it was now still.
"No!" She replied a little too sharply. "I’ll pay you now, then you can be on your way."
"No need to rush." His voice had a rumble to it she had not noticed before. "When’s your husband coming home?"
She glanced at her watch. "Any moment."
"Good," he said. "Maybe I can stick around and talk to him. The attic could use some clean up."
"Doesn’t your company pay you enough for this? I figured you guys were busy with raccoons, skunks, and whatever. You work for the town, don’t you?"
"Nope, this is my own business. Have to do some extra work on the side to keep money coming in. But I don’t need money that bad, if you’re broke."
"How much do I owe you?" She fumbled for her purse on the side table behind her.
"That depends." He moved a step closer and leaned towards her. His breath smelled foul.
She could see the bag behind him. It was clearly larger now, and appeared to be ... breathing? "I thought all you animal control workers had to be licensed, and worked for the town."
"Listen," he stared at her piercingly. "I know your husband isn’t coming home soon. You’re not even married."
"That’s not true." Shaking, she pulled out her check book then stuffed it back in her purse. "Maybe you’d better go now. I’ll send you money in the mail after you send me a bill."
"Where’s his picture? There’s no pictures anywhere, even your bedroom. I had a look around, when I came down from the attic."
Marv lunged at her and grasped her wrists. He whispered, "Just a little. I only want just a little, then I’ll go." He tried to kiss her, but she twisted her head away.
"Okay," she gasped. "Let go. We’ll see what I can do."
"That’s better," he replied. "At least we understand each other."
"Can I tell you about my husband first?" She stalled for time, rubbing her wrists.
"Your fictitious husband?"
"If you like. Brad’s his name."
"Okay."
She turned her attention to the plastic bag, now about to split open. "That’s long enough, Brad!" she shouted.
"Who are you talking to?" Marv whirled around in time to see the bag explode. "What’s going on?"
She laughed loudly. "You can come out now, Brad. That was pretty good, hiding in the attic. I can’t wait for your next trick."
A tall, sinewy creature covered in black, matted fur stood up and shook bits of plastic off its body. It straightened to almost ceiling height and growled through long, sharp teeth and a drooling mouth. It’s glaring, yellow eyes stared at the bearded man, freezing him like hypnotized prey.
She chuckled. "I don’t have any pictures of Brad anymore. I never know how he’s going to come back since he got bitten by that ... thing ... in the woods. He keeps taking different shapes. It’s become a little game with us."
Before Marv could scream, the beast reached out, grasped his head and bit into the flesh at the back of his neck.
"Mmmm ... good," Brad slurped. "But let’s try a refrigerator repair guy next time. This one’s too dirty."
END
Published in Crossroads, July 1996 © 1996 by David Shtogryn
Back to Contents
