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planning?"
Sylvia tooted the horn twice. I waved. She threw her hands in the air and gestured for Allie to get a move
on.
"I gotta go." Allie took step, managing to scoot past me out the door. I watched as she raced down the
sidewalk, then slid into the car next to Susan, Sylvia's daughter.
I told myself there'd be no reason for Cool to be there. After attacking me last night and, worse,
revealing himself as a demon I figured he was probably going to avoid the school and Coastal Mists
until whatever plan he'd set in motion was underway. In the meantime he'd spend his days and nights
running around San Diablo wreaking all sorts of demonic nonsense. He had no reason to bother my
daughter. No reason at all.
Except, of course, that she was my daughter.
No, no, no!
I raced back to the kitchen and snatched up the cordless phone. Then I dialed Allies number and waited
impatiently for her to answer.
"Mom?"
"Hey, hon."
"Um, don't take this the wrong way, but, like, what's up with you today?"
"I just never got an answer from you, that's all. Is Cool at all these planning meetings?"
"Why?"
"Allie," I said, using my I'm-the-Mother voice. "Just answer the question."
"Fine. No. He never comes to the school. Only the practices at the beach."
"Right. Good. Okay, then."
"Mom?"
"Yeah, hon?"
"You wanna tell me what's going on?"
I didn't, of course, but she needed to know something. Not only was she going to think her mother was
insane if I stayed silent, but I wanted her to be on her guard.
"I've heard some things about Cool," I said. "I don't want you around him."
"What kind of things?"
"I'll tell you later," I said, hoping that by the time later rolled around, she'd have forgotten the question.
"Mom& "
"I'm serious, Allie. Now's not the time or the place."
"Fine. Whatever. But you're wrong about him. He's not just some brain-fried surfer dude. He's like totally
smart." A pause, then, "Hang on." I heard the muffle of discussion as she kept her hand over the
microphone, then, "Susan says he's not just smart, but he's totally into the community. And his girlfriend's
even a museum docent. I saw her last week, and she's totally mousy."
"And this is relevant why?"
"Because if he's a sleaze, he'd have some bimbo bikini-babe girlfriend, right?"
The holes in her reasoning were large and looming, but now really wasn't the time. So I complimented her
and Susan on their astounding feat of logic, asked them to humor me and avoid Cool, and made Allie
promise to come straight home after her surf club meeting.
When I hung up, I felt only mildly better. At least David would be at the meeting. If nothing else, he'd
keep Allie safe.
I reluctantly shoved thoughts of surfer-demons out of my head. I would have liked to have spent the day
scouring the city in search of Cool, but that wasn't an option. I had a sick boy at home. Plus, I had
furniture deliveries scheduled. The demons might not be taking a day off, but I had no choice.
"Mommy?" Timmy padded into the kitchen, Boo Bear under one arm. "Is it a school day?"
"No, kiddo. Today you're home with me." I bent down and felt his forehead. Cool, thank goodness.
"School tomorrow, unless you get sick again."
He puffed out his little chest. "I'm not sick."
"Nope, you're totally healthy. Want to read some books?"
"Wockets!" he shouted. "Wockets and pockets!"
I readily agreed, more than happy to wile away some time with Dr. Seuss.
I found the book, settled Tim on my lap, then started to read, laughing as he bounced and blurted out the
nonsense (and real) words. After that book (twice) we moved on to One Fish, Two Fish, and then The
Cat in the Hat. After that, I begged off, fearing if we read any more, I'd think in rhyme for the rest of the
day.
"Let's check the TV," I said, clicking it on. Dora the. Explorer burst onto the screen and my kid made
happy noises.
"Sit with me, Momma!"
"Sure, kiddo." I snuggled up with him, and let myself get lost in the show, feeling the pain of Dora, Boots,
Tiko, and the others as they tried to get to the City of Lost Toys to find their missing treasures. I was
humming along, when Laura tapped at the back door. I extricated myself from Timmy and unlocked the
door for her, careful to close it and reset the alarm.
Since Timmy was entranced, we retreated for the breakfast table. "I've got news," Laura said, as soon as
we sat.
"So do I. Cool's a demon."
Her entire expression crumpled. "Well, damn! What's the point of being the research sidekick if I can't
even tell you something you don't know."
"If it's any consolation, I never got the chance to check him with holy water. But I watched him change
into a Hell monster. Not a pretty sight." I explained about the newly minted Creasley-demon and how I'd
gone looking for him. "I found him," I said. "Him and Cool."
"Wow," Laura said. She reached into her tote bag and pulled out some computer printouts. "Here," she
said, pushing one toward me. It was a newspaper article dated from late November. The story reported
a terrible wipeout by celebrity surfer Cooley Claymore, known to his fans as Cool. " 'A sigh of relief
swept over the entire surfing community after an unconscious Cool was resuscitated by quick-acting
lifeguards who performed CPR and mouth-to-mouth, despite the surfer having been unresponsive for
over eight minutes.'"
"Well, now we know how long he's been a demon," I said. "We just don't know what he wants."
We spent the rest of the day tossing around useless theories and trying to track down Cool. Laura found
an address on the Internet, but when we called the apartment complex, we were told he'd moved out.
Laura left when the furniture deliverymen came, promising to keep working. I didn't hold out much hope,
though. The demon Cool wouldn't want to be found.
On a whim, I called the school and asked to speak to David Long. Miraculously, he called me back
within the hour, explaining that I'd called right before his off period. "So what's up?"
"Cool," I said. "Do you have an address?"
"In the market for a celebrity boy toy?"
"Absolutely," I said.
"Hold on. Let me check my file." I heard him rifling through papers, and then his voice came back on the
line. He read off an address, but I didn't copy it down. Laura and I had already called; I knew that Cool
had moved on.
I confirmed with David that Cool was definitely not going to be anywhere near the planning session that
afternoon. Then I signed off and drummed my fingers on the table until the furniture guys signaled to me.
Then I spent the next hour showing them where the various pieces went, and telling them which of the
destroyed items they could cart away.
I spent the rest of the afternoon moving furniture this way and that, pretending like I had even an inkling
of talent in the interior-decorating department. Finally, I just shoved the couch back where the old couch
had been and called it a day.
Allie came home, pronounced the new furniture "okay," then went upstairs to do homework. Timmy
immediately got chocolate smears on the sofa. Eddie announced that the floral print was "too damn
frou-frou." And Stuart wandered in so exhausted that he didn't even notice.
Nice to know my domestic efforts are appreciated.
As soon as I'd put Timmy into bed, I followed suit, anxious for this day to be over and tomorrow to
arrive. At least then I could get back to demon hunting. My efforts there might not be acknowledged, but
at least I knew they were appreciated.
Chapter Fifteen
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