First, confront her.

And that would achieve what?

William did not appreciate his devil’s advocate’s snark-filled tone. Even his mind seemed against him.

Well look where you are, writer boy? Smart people don’t end up with careers in the toilet and implicated in murder.

There was no reply to that, so instead, he worked through the conversation he might have with Orelia if he was to reason with her.

Orelia, you’ve placed a curse on me. Morris is dead, I look guilty and my career is finished. My writer’s block is the size of a mountain and my life is pretty much destroyed. What did I do to you?

Oh, are you hearing yourself? That’s a touch… insane? interrupted Snark Voice, instead of his imaginary Orelia.

He thought to answer, Any better suggestions? I’m all ears, buddy, when he realized this thought process was unhinged. While thinking to yourself was normal, carrying on a board meeting in his head was not. He’d gone from being confident William, imagining he might bring that woman down through sabotage, to victim William, pleading for his life.

No, that wouldn’t do. No groveling.

I agree, chimed in Snark Voice.

He saw her face in his hospital room as she sat across from him. She knew exactly what that would do.

“So terrible what happened to you,” he heard her say in his mind. “Darling man, you’ve been so forgiving, here’s your reward. You relax now while I read an excerpt from my new book.”

Yeah, right, Orelia. A reward!

You can’t go off half-cocked, Snark Voice added.

It seemed now on his side and was absolutely correct. He needed to be smarter than her.

First, was understanding what he was dealing with here, and he had to hurry. If someone saw him with Morris or recalled him from the festival, how long before there was a knock at his door? Then, no doubt, Phil Spector and he’d be spending bunk-time together.

What William must do was prove his innocence. He had to verify Orelia possessed abilities like in one of those SyFy channel shows. How he’d achieve this, he didn’t know. And from Snark Voice’s silence, neither did he.

For now, the important goal was to act normally to throw off any suspicion. While he was at it, the idea of hand balling that suspicion in Orelia’s direction could be a solution and solve most of his problems. Somehow she had orchestrated all this.

Snark Voice chimed in. You know, you do sound crazy. A lot crazy.

William smiled, his confidence back, as he replied aloud, “Crazy? No, Orelia planned this whole thing. That doesn’t make me mad. That makes me smart for realizing it.”

A young couple approaching him, walking in the opposite direction, stared as if something was wrong. They laughed like he was a comedy act, or insane, as Snark Voice had suggested.

He wasn’t crazy.

He was cursed by that woman who had come after him for no reason. Though he didn’t know yet how he’d save himself, he would find a way to send that curse right back at her. Even if it killed him.