Whisper Cape by Susan Griscom

and rubbed her tired eyes. She made coffee—extra strong—and as she stood waiting for it to brew, she remembered her new, yet, freakish skill. She shook off the nightmare with a glimmer of excitement, glad her day off would allow her to experiment. She also wanted to take some time to explore the internet before she headed off to the cliffs.
    Her feet felt wet and she looked down at the puddle of water around them.
    “What is this?” She crouched down, opened the cupboard under the sink, and peeked inside. “Oh, this is just great, a leak.”
    Sidestepping around the small pool at her feet, she walked to the table next to her bed where she'd left her cell phone, searched through her list of contacts, found the manager's funny picture, and pushed send.
    “Hi, Ed. Um ... this is Addie.”
    “Oh, Addie, hello. It’s kind of early for you, isn’t it? Is everything okay?”
    “Yes. No. I mean, I’m fine, but there’s a leak under my kitchen sink and I was wondering if you could come up and see if you can fix it.”
    “Is it a big leak or a little leak?”
    She pondered that for a moment. Did it matter? “Well, there’s a puddle on my floor, so I’m guessing a big leak.”
    “Ah, well, we can’t have that, now can we? I’ll be up in a jiff. Just give me a couple minutes to get dressed.”
    “Okay, great, thanks.”
    As she turned to hang up the phone, the doorbell rang. Startled, Addie jumped. It was too soon to be Ed. She glanced at the clock … eight-thirty … probably Darcy. She pulled on her robe and opened the door.
    “Hey, Addie.” Darcy beamed. Not waiting for an invitation, she shoved her way in and sat on the unmade bed.
    “Darcy, hi, what are you doing here so early?” Addie closed the door and joined her, pulling the blanket up in her lap to keep her legs warm.
    “I just wanted to see how you were since I didn’t get a chance to talk to you last night. You went home so early and I wanted to know how things went with you and Jared.”
    Addie rolled her eyes. “Jared and I are just friends. Besides, Darce, how could I go out with Jared knowing you and he used to date?”
    “What Jared does is his business and what I do is mine. He can go out with anybody he wants. I don’t give a shit.”
    Something in Darcy’s voice suggested otherwise. “What’s with this Tim guy? You never mentioned him before.”
    “Oh, he’s just a guy I sort of like. He works in construction and has the biceps to prove it.” Her expression became animated. “And, oh God, Addie, he owns a Harley and wants to take me out on it this weekend!”
    “Wait, you’re not seriously going to ride on it, are you? You hardly know him. How do you know he can control it? What if you crash?” The guy was a sleaze and Addie had a difficult time understanding what it was Darcy saw in him.
    “God, Addie, what are you, my mother? It’s just a ride on a motorcycle, not a trip to Las Vegas to get married or anything. Oooh, now there’s an idea.”
    “You wouldn’t!”
    “No, but the look on your face, God, you are so gullible. Don’t worry. Jeez, I’ll be fine. Hey, let’s get together tonight. We can eat dinner, rent a movie, or just talk. I have a great bottle of Cabernet we could share.”
    “Sounds great. Let’s order a pizza,” Addie said.
    Darcy wrinkled her nose. “My hips are going to require major squats but, what the hell—pepperoni?”
    “Sure.” Addie considered telling Darcy about her new little power but wasn’t sure how to explain it. A knock on the door made them both jump.
     
     

Chapter 9
     
     
    “That should be our good old dependable apartment manager. He’s here to fix a leak under my sink,” Addie said, calming herself.
    Addie opened the door. Ed stood there, his dark wiry hair sticking out in all directions. Chances were it hadn’t seen a brush yet that morning. A huge smile lit his face, a utility belt hung from his waist, weighing down his baggy bright red pants, and his hand