Ms. Stiles wasn’t having a great year. Development in the New Orleans area wasn’t what it once was. The timing of several recent natural disasters and an economy that hadn’t recovered from recent real estate and banking failures combined to make things difficult for her fledgling business. She’d chosen the wrong time to go independent, but she wasn’t one to back down or admit defeat, no matter how financially appropriate it may be. Instead, she spent the days sallying forth in her finest blouse and best heels accosting potential buyers and sellers alike, determined to whip up business and single handedly stimulate the economy. With gleaming fingernails she’d managed to slowly etch out a living, following every sliver of a lead and browbeating more than one client into submission. Her persistent searching and probing deserved more credit in uncovering the recent lead than any true talent or business sense. Some rich investors wanted to try capitalizing on a new form of tourism, and they aimed to build a large hotel on the river offering water access at a convenient distance to New Orleans, national parks, and historical sites in the countryside. With a portfolio consisting more of fiction than fact and her best designer handbag, she’d won over the southern gentlemen and received the commission to find and acquire the site for the future hotel, and against all odds had found a place nearly perfect. However, the lot was a trifle too small, and while the land next to it was undeveloped, it currently belonged to the infernal Maëlle Bellany who did not make doing business easy. Most annoyingly, Maelle hid behind her lawyer and maid instead of talking to her. Ms. Stiles knew she could make Maëlle see what a great deal she’d make her, but she couldn’t even get a foot in the door. The one time she’d tried, she’d been all but thrown out of the house. Perhaps even more galling, the Bellany property wasn’t even connected directly to the piece Ms. Stiles wanted to acquire on the river. Redrawn lines of the Three Rivers Wildlife Management area cut off the Bellany house with its direct access to the Mississippi, making the house closer to the Atchafalaya River! It was useless property to anyone but her and her development deal. It would improve the economy in the area and even improve the Bellany’s own property values. Yes, once Ms. Stiles had a chance to sit down and have a real nice long chat with Ms. Bellany she’d see the benefits all around and would thank her for her tireless efforts. Obviously no one was telling her how important it was Ms. Stiles speak with her. She wasn’t a bill collector, if Maëlle Bellany even knew what a bill collector was, but that didn’t matter, everyone liked to make a bit of money no matter how rich they were, and she was offering more than a little sum. She’d just have to go back over there and have the whole thing out businesswoman to businesswoman.
She’d planned to show up around about five thirty, but what she hadn’t planned for was the flat tire on the way out. Thanks to the Bellany place being so completely out of the way, no one came, even though she waited for twenty minutes for a friendly passerby to help her. Eventually, she was forced to change the tire herself, resulting in dirty knees and a few chipped nails. Let it never be said that Ms. Stiles wasn’t a woman of fortitude. While she may stand back and let others bear the load, she wasn’t one to let something as trifling as a flat tire stand in the way once she’d made up her mind to barge in and assault someone in their own living room. Spare tire firmly in place, she resumed her trip in the designated 20 miles per hour allotted speed limit required by the doughnut and arrived at the Bellany’s just as the sun was setting. She liked to think the slow speed gave her the edge of stealth as she puttered down the drive and up to the front door. After her last visit and the mud she cleaned off her stilettos, Ms. Stiles had the forethought to wear platform heels instead, but she still had some trouble navigating the gravel path up to where the front walk began. The noise generated by her feet canceled out any stealthy entrance she’d made in the car earlier, but as luck would have it, no one came to the windows or door by the time she climbed gratefully onto the front porch. She quietly tried the door handle but was shocked to find it locked. It was unusual for most folks to keep a door locked around these parts if they were home, and according to rumor Ms. Bellany never left. Unperturbed, Ms. Stiles gave the faintest knock she could muster with a gentle “yoohoo” to boot. Then she quickly darted back across the porch and down the steps. Her goal now was to assault from the back door, but she wanted to be able to say with absolute truthfulness she’d knocked if asked. A good business relationship didn’t start out with a lie. A few small deceptions may be needed to get the right people involved, but a full on lie would never do.
The house was bigger than she judged from the front, and while the lawn was mowed, it didn’t lend itself to walking in shoes more fitted for office buildings and concrete pavers. But as we said before, Ms. Stiles didn’t easily quit, and sallied on with her portfolio in one hand and the other outstretched for balance. Eyes pointed at the ground, she didn’t see Maëlle Bellany until she’d arrived safely on the patio surrounding the pool. She’d come around the far side of the house and ended up nearer the back of the pool itself, on a mere two foot strip of concrete that widened into the full patio as it neared the house to her left. She was staring with horror at the algae filled pool, but looked up when the sound of a book falling to the ground nearby startled her. The sun was at Maëlle’s back, so Ms. Stiles couldn’t see more than a vague silhouette at the pool side, one foot already poised to go down the steps. She was surprised Maëlle hadn’t said anything at her approach, but wasn’t one to lose a starting edge. Flashing her brightest smile and standing up straight, she approached while trying to shade her eyes with the portfolio.
“Ms. Bellany? So glad we can finally meet! I wanted to talk with you about some property you currently own.”
Ms. Stiles tittered off at the end of her sentence as the sun finally moved behind the trees, leaving the backyard in a soft red light. Yellow streaks streamed through the branches, both casting a soft romantic feel upon the landscape and revealing a monster. Before Ms. Stiles stood six feet of the most hideous thing she’d ever laid eyes on. It was covered entirely in rough scales that looked demonically black in the fading light. It had actual ridges of the things down its back, where a tail grew and lay across the patio floor like a vile serpent from a horror film. Ms. Stiles wasn’t prepared for this, and was just opening her mouth to scream when the monster beat her to it. With a swift turn, the monster moved towards the house and yelled with great vigor, “Max!”, but Ms. Stiles didn’t see this, for she was at the same moment flying through the air and falling un-glamorously into a very unclean pool. For you see, when angered or shocked Maëlle would still often forgot about her tail, which was a giant instrument of destruction when it chose to be. Due to some unfortunate laws of physics, when Maëlle turned to call to the house in panic, the tail also turned and swept Ms. Stiles very unceremoniously into the pool. Realizing her mistake, but rejoicing in the opportunity arising, she scrambled into the house with a swiftness unseen by any.
Max arrived at the scene in time to see the back door slam and hear the strangled scream of a woman drowning due to her own panic. Max quickly rushed to Ms. Stiles rescue and pulled her from the pool, quite used to its green stained state herself. She could have saved the gallantry, for it was lost on the confused and bruised real estate agent who tumbled out of the pool. Max ran back inside to grab a towel and found a distressed Maëlle still standing in the kitchen. Maëlle followed Max around the table to the mud room, hissing if the stranger had seen anything. Max tried to wave her off, but Maëlle called furtively out the back door, “Don’t let her know it was me!” as Max returned to the dripping Ms. Stiles.
If Ms. Stiles had been rude to Max in their first meeting, she was now out right livid with her. She’d started out scared of the monster she’d seen, but after being thrown in the pool, revulsion was winning out over fear, making her a very unhappy woman and leaving Max with nothing to do but take the brunt of her anger.
“What was that thing?”
“That I’m afraid was Maëlle’s cousin. Who’s staying here with her.”
Ms. Stiles was trying to ring out her hair but getting tangled in the towel. Max tried to help but was slapped away insistently,
“You expect me to believe that thing was a person? It was horrible, it didn’t even look human,” said Ms. Stiles.
Max hoped Maël wasn’t still standing in the kitchen where Ms. Stiles’ words would carry all too easily.
“Please keep your voice down, she’s got a skin condition and she’s very sensitive about it.”
“Sensitive! It threw me in the pool, she’ll just have to toughen up about it. If she wants people to be polite she’ll need to show some manners.”
“I’m very sorry about that. It was completely by accident, I’m sure. Would you like to come inside and dry off? I could try to find you some more clothes. “
“No, none of that. I came here for a purpose. I’m going to speak with Maëlle Bellany, and you young lady are not going to stop me.”
Max backed away from Ms. Stiles pointed finger, slowly making a dent in her chest as she punctuated each syllable with it.
“You, uh, can’t ma’am. Maëlle isn’t actually here.”
Ms. Stiles wasn’t scared anymore. She was angry, and tired of being lead around.
“Fine,” she said slowly. “Then I’ll just have to wait for her to get back. You can’t make me leave young lady.”
Max wondered if she should remind her what her name actually was, but decided it would only add another complication and decided to try to appease her instead.
“It may be a long time before she returns, you see she went to speak to her lawyer, Mr. Colefax. About you in fact. His office is in New Orleans, so she will probably just stay the night there. It is a pretty long drive back.”
“Why’s she talking to her lawyer?”
Ms. Stiles just seemed suspicious now. She wasn’t taking the bait. Max decided to gamble. She cleared her throat and hoped Ms. Stiles didn’t notice she started to speak louder.
“I’m not sure, why don’t I call her cell phone for you?”
“Alright then. I’ll wait.”
Ms. Stiles crossed her arms and actually started tapping a foot as Max slowly drew out her cell phone and began calling Maëlle’s number, hoping she was giving Maëlle time, and not just tying a new noose around her own neck. As the fifth ring died she was losing hope, but by some miracle Maëlle answered with a disgruntled, “I don’t like where this plan is going.”
Max pretended like she didn’t hear and pressed on with the charade for the benefit of her hostile audience.
“Hi, I have Ms. Stiles here to see you. She just showed up and wanted a minute of your time. Here you go!”
Max didn’t wait for agreement from Maëlle, and instead just thrust the cell phone at Ms. Stiles. She took it gingerly, as though expecting it to transform into a toad, and primly held it up to her ear.
“Good evening Ms. Bellany, I just wanted to say how nice it is to finally speak with you. I have some very important business to discuss and it really is of a time sensitive nature, but the evening I’ve had at your place, I can’t say I’m composed at the moment. Your staff and, house guest, are really not fit for company. Did she tell you they threw me in the pool? This kind of thing is dangerous, I could have insurance and police out here, if I catch something it will be negligence on your part. So when I’m speaking to you I hope I have your attention. I don’t want to have to bring an armed escort next time I come just to feel safe. As I was saying there is this small property you own, I’m not sure if you’re aware, it is of interest to some buyers I have. I’d be happy to introduce you and facilitate the arrangement if you’d like. Now I’m going to have to insist, this is a very good arrangement they are offering, and I’ve seen the property Ms. Bellany, useless, absolutely useless right now to anyone. You’re just paying taxes on something no one will find any use for unless it is coming from this group of buyers I’m representing. And believe me they are ready to look elsewhere, they’ve had enough delays and uncertainty, the best thing for all of us is to sit down and figure this thing out, don’t you agree?”
As Ms. Stiles went on Max started to tune her out and instead focus on killing the mosquitoes that were feasting on her arms and legs. The woman was as annoying as the small pests. Max didn’t see why she should be rude to her when she’d only helped her. She acted as if she were invited out to the pool instead of just magically showing up and causing any number of problems. The phone conversation seemed to be going downhill though, and Ms. Stiles was getting increasingly hard to tune out as her voice started to raise in volume and pitch.
“No, Ms. Bellany, I won’t just let this go. You need to agree to at least meet with me and discuss this. I’m not going to be pushed around when you haven’t even given me a chance to show you my presentation. You have to understand I’m doing this for your own good, this is an opportunity you will regret, so I’ll keep driving out here every day until you agree if I have too.”
Max could picture the rage that must be consuming Maëlle at this very minute, but hoped nothing would come smashing through a window and ruin the facade of the absent owner. The night stayed silent, and even Ms. Stiles for a moment was concentrating hard on the cell phone in her hand and nodding slowly.
“Well yes, I’ll accept that Ms. Bellany, expect the paperwork tomorrow. I’ll have someone drop it off here at your house. Wouldn’t want things to get lost at your lawyer’s office, would we? No, those are my terms. Thank you very much and I look forward to talking to you soon.”
Ms. Stiles handed the phone back to Max who hung up immediately without a second thought. Any berating from Maëlle could begin after Ms. Stiles was safely away. Then Max, trying to be as Kerry Grant as she could muster, took the offended real estate agent by the elbow and turned her away from the house. While they walked back around to the front, Ms. Stiles resumed her act of distressed guest and complained about everything from the uneven ground to the night insects. Max wanted to kick her into the mud and leave her there for all the trouble she had caused, and seemed bent on continuing to incur in the near future, but decided it would only worsen the situation and didn’t need an assault charge levied against her to make the day worse. Instead, she focused on keeping a firm grip on the wobbling woman and steered her well away from windows and front doors. Max had a horrible thought of her trying to stage a sit in until Maëlle appeared and scared her out of her wits again. Once at the car, Max graciously helped her in, but before she closed the door Ms. Stiles grabbed Max’s sleeve and pulled her close. Suddenly she looked every bit as scared and uncertain as when she’d helped her from the pool. She stared Max down and almost in a whisper asked, “That…cousin, did she have a, a tail?”
Max gently extracted her fingers from her shirt sleeve and tried to stay calm. She had wondered how much she’d seen. Max tried to smile, “birth defect I’m afraid, they weren’t able to remove it surgically for fear of paralysis.”
Ms. Stiles didn’t look convinced or mollified in the least, so instead of leaving and running for the door as she wanted to, Max decided to wing it.
“We’d like to ask you to keep this to yourself if possible Ms. Stiles. Her health problems have made her very self-conscious about her appearance. She came to stay here because the hospital didn’t respect her privacy enough, you know? Tabloids and such. So if you could just keep this to yourself, I’m sure Ms. Bellany would be very appreciative.”
Ms. Stiles smiled, and in the soft glow of the car lights it looked more like a devil’s victory grin. Max felt like cursing.
“Well I’m sure Ms. Bellany will be most cooperative from now on, and when two people are close business partners they’re just as good as family, so you don’t have a thing to worry about from me. Good night now.”
Wiggling her fingers in a goodbye wave, Ms. Stiles slammed the car door shut and drove off in a very slow leisurely way, satisfied in all she’d accomplished and hardly noticing the foul smell permeating her car seats at that very moment. Max turned and walked back towards the house knowing that instead of capturing Ms. Stiles’ compassion, she seemed to have turned the evening into one big case of blackmail. What did it matter if she thought Maëlle was Maëlle or Maëlle was Maëlle’s cousin, either way if she started talking people might start showing up for pictures of the freak. This was the age of the cell phone camera and the internet, the damn thing could turn into a whole sensation overnight. Maëlle did not act the part of a saint but it still seemed unfair to be exposed to an unfeeling and uncaring world and lose your privacy. Max thought about the monumental temper tantrum to follow as she sighed and turned back to the house before mounting the stairs.
Inside she found Maëlle sitting in the dark at the head of the stairs, head in hands. Max wasn’t sure if she should break the ongoing meditation, or just be glad for the brief calm before the storm. It was unusual for Maëlle to be sitting out at all, but here she was, almost waiting for Max to return. Curiosity is a force few of us can conquer and Max was not in this minority. Before speaking, Max cleared her throat and stepped to the side so she could use the doorway as a shield if needed.
“Well, she finally left.”
Maëlle didn’t move, but said, “Did she say anything?”
“She may have kinda threatened to be less than silent about the whole pool incident and what she saw if you didn’t go through with the real estate deal.”
“Of course she did.”
Max was gratified with how well the conversation was going. At the moment it was making records for being the most normal she’d ever seen Maëlle, especially considering the circumstances. Max continued on, “How bad is the deal?”
“I don’t even know. I didn’t listen to half of what she said. I was so mad, I was more focused on not throwing something through the window at her.”
Max suppressed laughter but couldn’t help smiling herself. “Yeah, I had to overcome a similar reaction. Especially walking her to the car. For someone who showed up silently she made plenty of noise getting out of here.”
“Yeah, damn real estate ninjas.”
Maëlle seemed to be perking up. She wasn’t meeting Max’s eyes, but was sitting up straighter and had stopped hiding her face in her hands. She seemed to be looking out over the railing and towards the night sky peeking through the top windows.
“What do we do now?” Max asked.
“Only one thing to do: drink.”