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skirt. She’d stuffed her double-sized friends into an electric-blue, glittery t-shirt that appeared to be straining at the seams. When she stopped next to us, her green garden clogs started tapping impatiently on the pavement.
    “Your friend,” Mac said to Julie, “went left and then looped over to the dead-end. He looked this way before using the public path to the street. We both waved, my gesture friendlier than his.”
    Generally, only locals knew about the neighborhood short cuts.
    The Cottages were part of a several-block residential neighborhood. Most of the residences were owned by investors or out-of-state landlords and handled by the vacation rental businesses that were now on every other corner.
    “I’ve got a gig to get to,” Julie said. “Don’t worry. Striker is harmless.”
    “Another cartoon?” I asked.
    She nodded, clearly annoyed with me.
    Julie supported herself and Liam as a voice-over actress specializing in animation, and often entertained the family with a wide range of different voices. She’d gotten so popular, she had bookings nearly every day. It surprised me that she continued to live at The Cottages when she’d expressed a desire to move several times and now had the money to do it, but having her brother living here and Brad staying in whatever empty unit was available must have changed her mind.
    “Have fun.” I linked my arm through Mac’s, and we headed in the direction of the office until a shrill whistle brought us to an abrupt halt.
     

Chapter 6
    Joseph waved his arms, staggering from the opposite end of the driveway and acting like he’d gotten his drunk on early. He was another inherited tenant from my aunt and, like Miss January, had been given a signed death warrant by his doctors. He suffered from cancer and a variety of ailments, and also like Miss January, he thumbed his nose at them and overindulged in cigarettes and liquor. Lately, he’d started to look a tad healthier. Ignoring his expiration date, he’d even put a few pounds on his boney frame.
    I started in his direction, but Mac jerked my arm. “Oh no you don’t. You’re not going anywhere without me. I’m listening in.”
    “Did you get his girlfriend back from the doctor?” I asked.
    “That’s another thing I deserve a raise for. I boxed Svetlana up and shipped her to Los Angeles. Martin at the doll hospital assured me that if he couldn’t patch her thigh like new, he’d cut off her leg and give her a new one.”
    Joseph had inherited the rubber doll from a friend, she came with a complete wardrobe and shoes. Another of his friends, mad because he wouldn’t share, deliberately burned a hole in the sexy blonde’s leg. Svet had a positive effect on his surly attitude. There had been a time when he’d wanted to marry her, and when he got turned down by the court clerk and a couple preachers in town, he went into a funk and went back to hardcore drinking.
    Mac continued, “You had to pay extra to jump to the top of the list and get expedited service. Apparently Dr. Martin has a waiting list for his talent.” She grimaced at the thought. “But it was worth it. Svet just came back, and Joseph’s been all smiles. I forgave him for moping the whole time she was gone and frankly for acting like a prick.”
    “Did you actually call him that?” I asked.
    “Heck yes, and his response was, ‘I get called that every other day.’”
    “What’s up?” I asked Joseph as we came to a stop in front of the fold-up beach chair he’d dragged out into the driveway. “Happy to see you’re not in jail.”
    Joseph had cut back on his felonious activity when I cut off the twenty-four hour jail pickup service and made him wait until business hours for a ride home. It limited his options to walking or taking a snooze in the bushes.
    “Striker’s a bad dude,” he said in a stage whisper that the neighbors could hear. “Hope you’re not renting to him.”
    I shook my head. That’s all I need. “How