There were no cars out tonight. Jenni continued her walk down the long dark road. Her hand was still bleeding and it wasn't stopping. Jenni thought hard on why Mordecai let her go. Between the pain in her hand and the rising anxiety about walking home alone, injured, and weaponless, made Jenni regain her headache. Suddenly, she heard a car approaching from behind. She stopped and turned around. She lept into the grass when she spotted a pair of headlights. "They found me." she whispered to herself.
The car stopped right next to her and the back car window rolled down. Jenni heaved a sigh of relief when she saw the face that popped out. "Jenni!" "Marley, thank god." "Quick get in!" Marley rolled up the window and opened the door. Jenni immediately hopped in and closed the door. She spotted a gray cat next to Marley. "Who's that?" "Oh, this is Rocky. He's my friend." Marley said, cheerfully. "So, you're Rocky." Jenni said with a smile. "Yes ma'am, and you are...?" "Jenni Graves." Jen shook Rocky's hand who gasped,
"Jenni Graves? Like from Graves Railways? My dad worked for them!" Jenni's eyes widened, "Is that so? Who's your dad?" "Ransom Rickaby." "I'm not aware of that name but I'm sure he's a fine worker." "Well...yeah." "And this is Freckle and Ivy." Marley pointed to the other cats in the front seats. "Hello." Freckle said shyly. "Howdy." Ivy added. "Hi." Jenni nodded, "Nice to meet you all." "Oh my god! Your hand!" Marley cried. "It's ok Mar." Jen said. "What happened?" Rocky asked. "I got mugged." Jenni answered,
"I had a nightmare and went for a walk. I got lost and someone tried to rob me. He cut me with a piece of glass but I fought him off." "You went out without a weapon?" Marley asked. "I wasn't thinking straight." Jen sighed. "So, where can we take you Ms. Graves? A paramedic?" Freckle asked. "No thank you sweetie." Jenni sighed. "Let's take her to Lackadaisy." Ivy whispered, "Maybe get her hand fixed up." "Lackadaisy?" Jenni said, a slight hint of shock in her voice, "I don't think that's a great idea." "Why not?" Marley asked,
"It's better than the streets." Jenni sighed and looked at her hand, "I guess I could use some help." "It's not far from here." Marley said. The group drove for another 10 minutes to the Little Daisy Cafe. They went through the shop, down the tunnels from the basement, and to the front door of the speakeasy. "Hey Horatio." Marley said. "Hey, you guys are back! And I see you've brought a friend." the cat guarding the door said, "An injured friend." "Yes, Jenni here needs some help. Can we go in please." Marley asked.
"Oh, right!" Horatio opened the door and let in the small group. The club sat emptier than it was when Marley arrived, but she did see her other friends at the bar. Jenni look awestruck around her surroundings, "This is a beautiful place." "Ms. M." Marley called out. The cats at the bar looked up. "We could use some help." Marley led Jenni to the bar. "Oh, you are back." Mitzi said, "Who's your poor friend here?" "Miss M, you're not going to believe this. This is Jenni Graves!" "Not the daughter of Bruce Graves of Graves Railways?" Wick said. "The very same." Jen said, trying to hide her bandaged hand.
"Jenni, these are my friends. Wick, Victor, Zib, and Mitzi." Marley said. Sierra was cleaning the stage when she spotted Jen, "Jenni! Oh my god!" Sierra raced to her friend, "What happened?" "Some idiot tried to mug me." Jenni lied. "Can I see it?" Sierra asked. "No. I don't want to disgust anyone whose finishing their drink." Jenni said, pulling her hand away. "Sweetheart, we've seen more blood in this place than we have customers. You're not going to be bothering anyone." Mitzi assured her. Jenni sighed and unrolled her bandage. Everyone inhaled sharply as they saw the nasty, bleeding gash.
"Victor, could you grab my first aid kit? It's just behind the vodka bottles." Sierra said. "This one?" Victor held up a large blue bag with a white cross on it. "Yes thank you." Sierra had Jenni wash her hand out in a bowl of soapy water, took out a small alcohol pad, and looked uneasily at Jenni, "This is going to sting a lot." Jenni scoffed, "I've had worse injuries than this." Sierra inhaled deeply and pressed the pad on the gash. Jenni took a deep breath and blinked. Everyone looked impressed. "Wow! You didn't even flinch!" Freckle cried. "How's that even possible?" Rocky asked.
"Well, when you're scraped enough times in life, you start to get used to the pain and it doesn't become such a big deal." Jenni explained. "So, how long you've been in town my love?" Mitzi asked. "A couple weeks now." Jenni said, "I just came from California." "California?" Wick stated. "I was working for a priest named Father Moore." Jen replied. Zib coughed, "I'm sorry. Did you say Father Moore?" "Yes?" Jen looked confused. "That scum mouthed hooligan." Mitzi growled, "He was such a snob. Why were you working for that guy?" "He needed another assistant." Jen answered.
"Father Moore's been missing for a few months now hasn't he?" Wick asked, "You know anything about that Ms. Graves?" "Nope. But I'll let you know if I do." Sierra wrapped Jenni's hand in a fresh bandage, "I sure do hope he never comes around here." "He does, I'll break his neck." Victor snarled. "Moore used to be a customer here. He was a very...rude customer." Marley whispered. "He wasn't rude, he was just...well...I don't know what he was." Mitzi said, "Say, speaking of which, we lost a supplier to the grim reaper a few months ago."
"Oh, may I ask who?" Jenni asked. "His name was Rhad Stone. Rhadamanthus Stone." Zib said, "Aka total jerk!" "Now honey, he may have been a pompous know-it-all, but he was one of our best suppliers." Mitzi said, "According to the paper, Rhad was found in his office with a knife his back. He had been stabbed multiple times. Now who in this world would do such a terroristic thing?" "More importantly, why?" Jenni added. "Why indeed. Oh poor Rhad. He was a bad man but he wasn't all that bad." Mitzi shook her head.
"Anyways, what work do you do around here Ms. Graves?"
"I'm a bounty hunter. Assassin for hire. I came down here looking for work."
"Oh, we don't need a bounty hunter sweetie. But perhaps there is something you could help us with."
"Anything."
"As you can see, we are in a bit of a pickle here. Maybe you could lend us some financial assistance?"
"I'm sorry. I don't control that area of my family. But I can talk to my brother. He controls Graves Railways now."
"Oh, thank you Jenni! You are the sweetest soul in all of Mississippi."
"I can't make any promises but I'll do what I can."
"Jenni was it?" Victor said. Jenni nodded. "You smell very familiar." "You've been smelling her?" Rocky asked. "She smells like this one guy I used to know. He always wore the same deodorant. I worked closely with him for several years. Do you know a Mordecai?" Victor asked. Jenni's eyes opened in shock,
"Mordecai Heller? I don't know him but I have heard stories and rumors regarding him. You were his partner?"
"Yeah. He kneecapped me to try and get me to retire from the field before he left to work with Marigold. Now I work back here."
"That's horrible! I'm terribly sorry. If you want, I can try to axe him for you. And since you guys have been so kind to me, I'll do it for free."
"That is generous offer Ms. Graves but...he and I go way back...besides, he's not worth it."
"Well, if you change your mind, you just give me a holler."
"Are you staying at a hotel sweetie? Do you need somewhere to sleep for the night?" Mitzi asked. "No thank you. I'm staying at..." Jenni stopped herself and glanced at everyone. Marley and Sierra looked nervously at each other. "Mirabel Hotel." Jenni said slowly. 'That's Marigold territory." Victor snarled. Jenni sighed and looked at around. "Look, can you guys keep a secret?" Jenni asked. "We can try." Mitzi said. "Ok look. I have a friend in the area whose boss was kidnapped by one of Asa Sweet's guys. He called me here to take him out." "That's why you're staying at Marigold." Rocky said, excitedly.
"Yes." Jenni said. Mitzi exchanged looks of shock with Victor and Wick. "Also I think he's the one who killed my dad." Jen added. "Well good luck to you Ms. Graves." Rocky said, "if you need any help, you know who to call." Jenni laughed, "Well thank you guys. I wish I had something to pay you for your trouble." "You just take that fat bastard out and we'll call it even." Victor said. "Will do." Jenni nodded. She bid the gang goodnight and exited the club. She walked back to Mirabel Hotel and up to her room.