The other day, Jackie, Uncle Joey’s wife and administrative assistant, invited me to lunch. We’d never gone to lunch before, but with Uncle Joey standing there with his brows raised, I couldn’t turn her down. Not that I would have since we’d become friends. But, since I can read minds, I knew she had ulterior motives, and I wasn’t too happy about it.
Jackie started a new venture writing romance novels about the mafia. To support her, Uncle Joey even bought a small book publishing company and named it Manetto Books. Jackie had great success with her first book, so now she’s onto the next. That’s exciting and all, but this time she’s writing a character in the book based on me, and today she’s planning on picking my brain to help with her plot. I won’t lie, it is flattering, and, as long as no one knows she’s using my real-life stories, I guess it’s okay, although some of them are embarrassing. Because of that, I think you can understand my reluctance to share too much.
At least she waited until we’d given the server our orders before she started grilling me. “So Shelby, you know I’m basing a new character on you in the book I’m writing. I’m having a blast, but I need to know just a little more about your work with the police. Do they actually pay you for your help?”
“Yes, they do.”
“What’s the going rate?”
“I don’t get a lot. It’s a little under forty dollars an hour.”
She gasped. “Is that all?” She shook her head. “Shelby…you should get more than that. I mean…you solve most of their cases.”
I squirmed. “Yeah…you’re probably right. I think they’re putting more in the budget for next year.”
“I should hope so.” She pursed her lips. “You work mostly with just one detective, right? And you call him Dimples?”
“Yes. His name is Drew Harris, but… you’re not going to put his real name in the book, are you?”
“No, of course not. I already have a good name for my detective.”
“What is it?”
“Detective Scardino…but everyone calls him Dino for short.”
“Cool. I like it.”
She grinned. “Yeah. In my book your name is Serenity and I’ve actually added quite a bit to her psychic powers.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well…along with having premonitions, she also has psychometry.”
“What’s that?”
“It means that when she touches something, she gets a vision about the object, or who touched it last…it’s kind of like premonitions, but touching things can bring the vision on. I mean…you get visions, right?”
“Uh…yeah. Sometimes I envision things.” I hope she didn’t catch that I was making this up.
She nodded. “I think it’s pretty cool. And adding psychometry makes it more interesting. Not that what you do isn’t…but this just adds a nice touch to her psychic abilities.” She grinned, thinking her use of the word ‘touch’ was pretty punny.
“Ah…touch…I see what you did there.” I smiled, grateful she didn’t know that I could read minds, since that would totally ruin everything. “So…Serenity…works for the police and the mob?”
“Well…I’m getting around to that. She doesn’t work for the police yet…but I think she will. That’s why I wanted to talk to you.”
I nodded. “Makes sense to me.”
“Yeah. So can you tell me about some of your cases?”
“Sure.” I mentioned a few of them, mostly telling her about the easy cases that didn’t involve someone trying to kill me. I did tell her about my latest case involving the bones I’d discovered, but I had to leave out the part where I heard ghostly whispers since she didn’t know I ‘heard’ things like that. It wasn’t quite as intriguing, but she liked it, even though she didn’t want to use the case in the book she was writing now.
“Thanks Shelby. That’s great information.” She took a drink of her water, wanting to hear more about the funny side of things. “You know…talking about the bones…I know all about the skunk. That was hilarious.” Her brows crinkled. “Ramos also mentioned a lizard but didn’t elaborate about that story, so I’m really curious. Can you tell me what that was all about?”
I raised my brows. “Uh…actually, I’d rather not.”
“Oh come on…it can’t be that bad.”
“Yes it can.”
Her lips drew down, but she decided not to push it, thinking she could probably get it out of Ramos. “All right. But someday, you’ll have to tell me.”
“Sure. So how’s Miguel doing in New York?”
Jackie loved talking about Miguel and filled me in on his latest news. We spoke for a while longer about the New York Manettos and Maggie and Syd’s adjustment to married life. Before we knew it, it was time to get back to work, and I breathed a sigh of relief that I’d made it through without revealing too much.
On the elevator ride up to Thrasher, Jackie gave me a sideways glance. “I am taking some liberties with Serenity’s character. In my book she’s not married and she and the hitman, Stone, are…well…quite attracted to each other. Since my book is a romance…they’re the romance part of the book. I hope that doesn’t make you uncomfortable, since he’s based on Ramos. But just remember…it’s not real, and I think my readers will love it.”
“Well…I guess it’s important to keep your readers happy.”
“It certainly is.”
“In that case, I can’t wait to read it myself.”
Her chest swelled with happiness, and she thanked me again. The elevator doors opened, and we went our separate ways; her to her writing, and me to Uncle Joey’s office to meet with an employee whom Uncle Joey thought could be stealing from him.
I welcomed the distraction, but I had to admit, I could hardly wait to read Jackie’s newest book. I looked forward to the romance and all the kissing between Stone and Serenity. It was an easy way to indulge in my deepest fantasies without having to feel guilty, right? Well…I may be kidding myself, but as a great writer once said…to read a good book is like living a thousand lives without leaving the comfort of your own home…so that’s what I’m planning to do. I’ll let you know when it comes out, just in case you want to read it too.
Until next time!
~Shelby
Shelby Nichols Consulting 