Eerie Basin

by Ivy Pochoda

“I wouldn’t buy a single one of his properties for a dollar. Even if you think you’re getting a deal, you wind up paying a price. Things happen to folks on either end of Jimmy’s transactions.”

“It’s called a jenglot,” Gina says. “Some kind of bloodsucker. I looked it up a few years back when I realized I was still thinking about it. It’s from Indonesia. The Dutch colonized Indonesia before they landed in this place. Probably came over way back when.” She’s staring at Jimmy, shaking her head. “I bet,” she says. “I bet that’s how he did it. I bet that’s how he started his real estate empire.”

I won’t let it fall into your hands. I won’t let it fall into anyone else’s. This ends with me.