She continued. “But he just takes off and leaves me to collect his mail, and when he comes for it, I barely get a thank-you. He tells me I don’t need to bother with it. Well, someone has to care about this neighborhood.”

I nodded in sympathy. “I can’t say I know Mr. Childs. I’m a friend of his sister, Amy. Have you met her?”

“I never knew he had a sister.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I’d hoped he was close to Amy. She certainly spoke highly of him, and she needs all the help she can get right now. With the . . .” I lowered my voice. “Cancer.”

The old woman blinked. “Cancer?”

“They did a mastectomy, but it didn’t catch it all and— I’m sorry. I don’t mean to get into it. I’m just very concerned about her. With the medical bills . . . Well, she has insurance, but it’s never enough, is it?”

The woman harrumphed in agreement.

“Amy had to sell her condo,” I said. “Which is right down the road from us. She was going to get in touch once she got settled, but it’s been almost a month and I haven’t heard from her. I was hoping maybe her brother had.” I exhaled. “Sorry for the long story.”

“No, not at all.” Her voice softened, all traces of annoyance gone. “I completely understand. You’re a good friend.” A glare at Childs’s door. “A better friend than some blood relations, I’ll bet. I don’t know when he’s coming back, but he’s never gone for long. I could give you his number . . .”

“I have it,” I said with a sigh. “I’ve called a few times. I guess he’s really been busy.”

Another glare at her invisible neighbor. “No, he just doesn’t have a lick of manners. Tell you what, hon. Give me your number and I’ll call you when he gets back.”

“Thank you. I’d appreciate that.”

OUTCLASSED

Tristan sat at the dining room table, watching Eden climb into the vehicle where Gabriel waited. A rental car apparently, not surprising given what Macy had done to his old one. Tristan was not accustomed to emotions, but at that moment he experienced a surge of what might be called anger. The stupid girl could have killed Eden with that stunt. Even killing Gabriel would have been problematic. He’d have incurred the wrath of the Cainsville Tylwyth Teg for that. One had to be careful playing these old games of power. Particularly if you weren’t on either team but, rather, hoping to sneak in from the sidelines and snatch the ball from the field.