PodCastle 740: Beck’s Pest Control and the Case of the Drag Show Downer

* Author : Abra Staffin-Wiebe

* Narrator : Christiana Ellis

* Host : Matt Dovey

* Audio Producer : Devin Martin

*

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PodCastle 740: Beck’s Pest Control and the Case of the Drag Show Downer is a PodCastle original.

Rated PG-13

Beck’s Pest Control and the Case of the Drag Show Downer

by Abra Staffin-Wiebe

I was sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast and arguing with my daughter, when my work phone broke the silence of our discussion.

Not happening, I signed, quickly swallowing my last bite of peanut butter toast so I could talk on the phone. Bedbug infestations are a no-go.

Moooooom, she answered, holding the word for emphasis. You promised!

“Beck’s Pest Control,” I answered my phone. “This is Beck. How can we help you?”

My mind was still on my argument with my daughter. I had promised, a month ago. You can’t break promises to kids, not even when they ambush you in a moment of weakness. And I confess, I was proud of her grasp of strategy.

Annie’s a smart, observant girl. She waited until I came back from a rough call. She ran me a bubble bath. She let me soak away the last traces of puke and ectoplasm. She waited until I settled into my armchair with a cup of hot chocolate, also provided by her. Then she’d sprung her request on me.

“Yeah,” a male voice answered me. “José Hernández said you might be able to . . . fix my problem?”

I perked up at the hesitation in his voice. Hesitation meant this was probably one of my unusual — and therefore better-paying — gigs. José’s had been.

“What’s the problem? Beck’s Pest Control can help.” I signed, Job.

Annie rolled her eyes. Not done talking about this.

I nodded my capitulation. Later.

I would follow through on my promise to take her class on a field trip. After all, she’d already made sure the parents met me and signed permission slips on Career Day. But there was no way in hell I was taking a class of kids into a bedbug-ridden apartment.

I was determined that Annie wouldn’t suffer socially because her mom was the gross bug lady. It was hard enough being raised by a single mom who was also a small business owner. I would never forgive Melissa for leaving us when Annie was only five, when we started to realize the full extent of how our daughter’s profound deafness would affect our lives.

Annie liked her high school. She was doing great in her classes and she’d made friends. I was relieved by how well she was settling into high school, because there aren’t a lot of choices for Deaf schools. I did not want to screw that up.

“You have to experience it to understand,” my new client said.

If I had a dollar for every time a man told me that, I wouldn’t have to worry about paying for Annie’s summer astronomy camp.

I grabbed my pad of job forms. “Your name?”

“Justin Coleman. I own The Juicy Patty.”

I recognized the name. “The burger joint?”

“Yeah. We open at 11 a.m. Can you meet me then?”

“Sure.” Interesting. Most property owners tried to keep pest control away from paying customers.

The drive to school was usually a peaceful time in my day. Today, though, I could tell that Annie was up to something. She was practically bouncing in her seat. It wasn’t the field trip, because I’d already agreed to discuss that later.

She sprang it on me as soon as I pulled up to the student drop-off point.