Thankful that her lover thought of that, Sonja ran into the house. Taking two steps at a time, she rushed down the stairs and to the back of the house.

Betty and Theodora looked at her with tired, shadowed eyes.

Sonja smiled sweetly at them. "Only been a couple of days down here and you look like hell."

Betty tried to make a noise, but days of screaming into a gag left her hoarse and unable to make a loud noise. Sonja padded over to Theodora and slide a finger up the dark girl's breast. Finding the nipple in her fingers, she suddenly twisted it as hard as she could. Theodora tried to scream out, but it came out broken and soft, not nearly loud enough to be heard from outside. A couple steps over and Sonja did the same to Betty who screamed louder, but it still only came out as a raspy noise.

Sonja stepped back, smiling. "Good."

Spinning around, she grabbed some boxes and shoved them into the windows. A bright idea flashed and she threw laundry into the dryer and turned it on the longest cycle.

"Just in case."

Calculating surprise flashed through Betty's eyes, but Sonja just gave her a glare. "Try anything stupid and I'll make sure you find yourself in a grinder."

She didn't have a grinder, but neither of them knew that. When fear sparked in the gaze, she retreated back up the stairs, locking the door behind her. The handle felt icy cold and she whispered softly to the door. "Take care of them, Master Cold. Please?"

A very tiny sliver of cold air brushed against her feet, from under the door, and Sonja felt safer. Grabbing another large platter, she stacked it high with meat and returned to the bright summer afternoon.

It took very little effort to get a block party going was the first thought that crossed her mind as she stared at the back.

At least twenty neighbors were already gathered, setting up tables from next door and placing down large amounts of food. Sonja slowed to a stop, staring at the older folks that were setting up folding tables and chairs. There was a buffet table laden with deserts, salads, and fruits.

Fear gathered inside Sonja. She spent almost an entire year being ignored by the neighbors and now they were invading her house. She gulped and glanced at Meris who manned the grill while looking down. There were two other women talking to her, gesturing to the meat. One of the older women had a small plate and had a sample of what looked like Ming's buttocks.

Sonja gulped. "Uh... wow."

Evelyn stopped by the door and looked up. "Well, what did you expect? You haven't been doing your job and we've been waiting."

"My job?"

"Yeah, been that way for a couple of decades at least. Whoever lived here always has the best food. I mean they would bring out these huge platters of meat, throw them on the grill, and we would have such a wonderful time. We just brought the fixings. I mean, its been a couple of years since we had a great cookout and you, out of the blue, just happen to have one!"

Evelyn paused for a moment to take a deep breath, "I have no clue how they could afford so much."

"Maybe they had a deal with the butcher shop?" Sonja had no clue how to respond.

"Oh, like your friend?"

Sonja smiled, "Yeah, like Meris."

Evelyn though for a moment and shrugged, "That makes sense..." She thought for a moment, "Never occurred to me. Oh well."

Without a second though, the older woman returned to managing the tables and food being placed out across Sonja's back yard. She stared at the people, all cheerful and filled with laughter. Jim was talking to Meris as she flipped the meat, cooking each one.

Sonja padded over, her bare feet on the soft ground. Setting the second platter on the first, she gave Jim a smile. "Smell good?"

He nodded and wiped his mouth. Sonja enjoyed the smells, then got dragged away by Evelyn to meet the rest of her neighbors, including the ones she already knew. An hour later and she almost had everyone's name straight. She was still stunned by the compliment and thanks everyone gave for hosting a block party.

Meris was giggling by the grill. She refused to let anyone flip the meat but the line of people for thirds told Sonja how about the quality of the meat and grilling.

"That would be the smell of the forbidden meat, isn't it?"

A vaguely familiar voice cut through her thoughts as a waft of cigar smoke blew past Sonja. She jumped and spun around, staring at a man she barely remembered. She frowned, trying to recall him, then the flash of the old bridge broke through her memories. He still wore his bomber jacket and, in one hand, he had a thick cigar.

Sonja frowned at the smell of the cigar, but she plastered a smile on her face. "Oh! Hello."

The old man chuckled, "Don't pretend you remember me."

"No, from the bridge, about a year ago."

He brightened, "You do remember. I'm impressed."

"Uh... what are you doing here?"

"Well, my assistant and I were driving around and I smelled your cookout."

"Smelled... from a car."

His eyes flashed around her for a moment, "Motorcycle, actually. And the smell of woman on the grill is pretty obvious for those who know the cut of long pig."

Sonja blanched and it suddenly hurt to breath. She stared at him, eyes wide.

He laughed and took a deep breath from his cigar. Letting it out in a cloud of smoke, he looked at her with old eyes. "Don't worry, girl, I'm not going to tell anyone. It's illegal in this part of the country, I've heard."

Sonja nervously chuckled, "Where isn't it?"

"Over in Dolcett."

"Dolcett...?" The word rolled off her tongue as she remembered the history book and James' words, "The county?"