Death of a Crafty Knitter Read Online Free PDF Page B

her face.
    Facing the mirror, she scrubbed at the smeared dark makeup around her eyes. She did not look happy. The water had caused her beautiful mask to melt down her cheeks. I couldn't help but flinch when she looked my way, because the sopping-wet, bedraggled woman looked like something from a horror movie—something that might crawl out of a dark lagoon.
    "Don't be frightened," she said. "I don't bite."
    "Here, let me help you with that," I said as I dug around in my purse. I could feel her eyes on me, which caused me to nervously start a dialog with the contents of my bag. "Hello, purse guts, hello, breath mints and things I forgot I had in here."
    She didn't say anything in response to my rambling chatter, so I kept going, even while I told myself to shut up. It was like a case of nervous giggles, only without the giggles.
    "Darn you, purse, I know you have tissues. Don't hold out. Soft tissues are so much nicer than those awful brown paper towels. Those darn things are scratchier than tree bark, aren't they? And when you get them damp, they have that weird pulpy smell. Why is that, do you suppose? How can freshly cut wood smell so good, yet the smell of damp cardboard is the epitome of revolting?"
    I looked straight at Voula, pretending I'd been talking to her the whole time, and not talking to my purse like a weirdo.
    "Damp cardboard?" She sniffed the wadded brown paper towels she'd been using on her smeared makeup. "You are right. That smell is revolting." She turned to meet her own golden tigress eyes in the mirror, and frowned at her black-streaked face. "I am revolting."
    "No, don't say that." I finally located my pack of tissues, plus a travel-sized bottle of moisturizer. "Here, try this." I set the items on the counter between us, carefully avoiding hand-to-hand contact.
    Maybe it was the fact that the waitress had called Voula a witch and accused her of practicing black magic, or maybe it was the terrifying effect of her smeared dark makeup, but I felt apprehension toward the alleged psychic. I also felt pity, but not as strongly as the apprehension.
    She tentatively applied some of my moisturizer to one dark-streaked cheek to loosen up the makeup, then stroked it off with a clean, soft tissue. The darkness came off—not perfectly, but at least she wasn't scrubbing her cheek raw.
    "Thank you," she said. Her voice had an accent to it, maybe Eastern European, but it could have been an affectation—all part of her branding or image, like driving a hearse around town.
    What next? I couldn't leave without using the washroom in some way. I'm not usually the superstitious type, but I worried she would put a curse on me for being rude if I did. So, I carefully removed my glittering masquerade mask, lifting my cone-shaped party hat so I didn't tangle the elastics. I set the mask on the counter and started fixing my eye makeup. My eyeliner was a little smudged from the mask, but not bad. Unlike the specter next to me, at least I didn't look like a ghoul from a horror movie.
    "You have pretty eyes," Voula commented with her exotic, yet non-specific accent. "Why are you not married?"
    I laughed at her direct approach. "Beats me. I was engaged once, but it didn't work out."
    She arched one thick eyebrow, urging me to continue. "Why did it not work out, this engagement? It was because of you, your temper, no?"
    "Long story short, he was afraid of a little spider."
    She clucked her tongue. "If this is true, that is not the man for you. A woman like you, a woman with courage and fire, you need a real man. Like a horse and a tiger, but in a man."
    "That's a good idea. I should put up an internet dating profile. Courageous woman seeks horse-tiger-man. "
    Voula held up one manicured finger, catching my attention with her black-lacquered nail, which tapered at the tip like a claw.
    "Be careful what you dream of," she said. "The fates enjoy twisting your desires into your nightmares. Do not ask for anything in jest, or you will