She remembered over and over that she’d deliberately caused pain to Teacher. But she’d felt it was necessary, and nothing had happened to change her conviction. Necessary steps (maybe necessary evils) didn’t always make you feel good afterward. Plus, she’d called Bobo when she’d promised herself she would not do so again. Plus, the creature was talking to her. Its voice was not coming as frequently, which she figured was due to the fact that no one had died at the crossroad in five days, but she still felt it thinking at her. Fiji was glad she had several customers that morning, and that not a single one of them was suicidal. Fiji would have enjoyed closing the shop for lunch and walking down to Home Cookin, but she wasn’t ready to face Madonna. Fiji had a strong feeling that Teacher would know why he had been stricken, and she was pretty sure he’d share that with his wife.
