“Lexi, what did you find out about that curse?” it was Sid on the phone. He sounded like it normally did, just the doofus boss, not the maniac mafia boss who threatened to kill her and three other people.<br/><br/>“Some one had broken into my apartment and left a voodoo doll with its mouth sewn shut with pins. The note there was warning us off this quest. We searched that book until the wee hours of the morning and then I went to bed.”<br/><br/>“Alone?” Sid asked lewdly.<br/><br/>“No, not alone and don’t ask anything else.” Lexi snapped.<br/><br/>“Neo seems to think that we might have to summon a demon. To tell you the truth, I freaked out a little and didn’t catch the name. He will probably tell you more about it when you see him. I’m researching pirate curses and found a way to reverse a curse. I don’t know if it would reverse a curse this huge, though.”<br/><br/>The bell rang over the door and Lexi said,<br/><br/>“I have to go, Sid. A customer.”<br/><br/>She hung up and  turned her attention to the group of senior citizens who came in off a tour bus. One little old woman poked around in the bin of bones while a man wanted her to open the display case so he could see the antique rings in there. He tried to haggle with her over the price but Lexi kindly dissuaded him, saying,<br/><br/>“I only work here. It is priced as marked.”<br/><br/>Two ladies, one with bright red hair and one with black hair but sprouting white roots, made their way around the store, pointing at the animals and investigating the skulls. There was something furtive about their little old lady movements and Lexi found herself watching them closely in the convex mirror over head. When they got to the Employees only doorway, they pulled the curtain aside and looked in. Lexi frowned and started to get up but the man who wanted the ring was back, trying to discuss the origin of the piece.<br/><br/>The bell over the door rang again and Lexi heard several people come in, but she couldn’t take the time to see who it was. The ladies had disappeared into the back room.<br/><br/>“Excuse me,” she said to the man as she came out from behind the counter. He stepped in front of her to block the way. Lexi narrowed her eyes,<br/><br/>“Really, Grandpa?” she said as she made to brush past him. His eyes turned completely black, no whites, no iris and Lexi felt all the air go out of the room. She couldn’t move. The ladies came back out from the store room and the man set the ring down on the counter. As soon as they reappeared, he took on his old man persona once more.<br/><br/>“Well, if you can’t answer questions about the merchandise, I suppose we will shop elsewhere. Mavis, Daisy, Jane, let’s go.” He said with an air of elderly gentleman authority.<br/><br/>Lexi’s jaw dropped as she watched them go. When the door slammed, she went to the storeroom. It had been trashed, vandalized.<br/>“Shit” she expostulated. She called Sid and told him. Lexi held the cell in her hand and wondered about calling Neo. “Hell, yeah,” she said and punched in his numbers.