“I can’t thank you enough for giving him pointers,” Destiny said. “He admitted you were the ones who thought of the roses. They were lovely.” She moved carefully away from Inez, smiling as she did so. “I’m not much of a dancer, Inez, but you move so beautifully.”
The sisters twittered, pleased that Nicolae had taken their advice to heart. “Did you get your chocolates, dear?” Inez asked slyly.
“I’m looking forward to that pleasure,” Destiny lied, blushing for no other reason than that the two women had such wicked thoughts in their heads.
Inez looked dreamy. “It will be a memory to treasure,” she advised.
“What I really came by for was to get more information about these strange incidents. Nicolae is helping me look into them, and I thought you might have some more information for us,” Destiny said hastily. “Do either of you remember similar events happening in the past?” Destiny asked. She seated herself in the chair between the two elderly ladies. “Something weird? Someone acting completely out of character?”
Inez made clucking sounds as she thought it over. “Why, yes, dear, now that you ask. Sister, you remember poor Blythe Madison. She’s in the mental institution now. What a sweet girl she was.”
“Oh, yes, Inez, I had forgotten that poor girl. We visited her a few times, but she was unresponsive and her husband told us our visits only seemed to upset her. We should have continued to make inquiries, though.”
“Sister, how awful we are.” Inez’s hands fluttered to her throat. She looked distressed. “We haven’t even asked about her lately. Poor Harry, he probably thinks everyone’s forgotten about her. Poor, dear man, carrying such a burden alone.”
“Blythe had no other family,” Velda continued. “Just poor Harry. He was so bewildered when she cracked up.”
“Blythe was a meek little thing,” Inez added. “She would hardly speak without permission. That’s why it was so difficult to believe it when she began doing bizarre things. Wasn’t it awful, Sister? Why, she ran down this very street waving a butcher knife, threatening everyone.”
Velda nodded. “It wasn’t the first incident, but it was the one that finally convinced Harry she was dangerous to herself and others. I must go visit her.”
Destiny patted her arm. “I’m certain Blythe would appreciate that, Velda, but could you give me a little more detail? What was the first odd thing she did?”
“It was right after they made such a success of The Tavern,” Velda said. “Blythe had the idea of making it a deli-bar, hoping to bring in the neighborhood after work and in the evening as a visiting place. It was a wonderful idea. Everyone loved it, and we all gravitated toward The Tavern in the evenings. Her idea turned the entire business around.”
“You liked her,” Destiny guessed.
“Very much,” Velda admitted, while Inez bobbed her head with enthusiasm. “A dear, sweet girl—she’d give you the shirt off her back. She was always rescuing animals and bringing soup to anyone who was sick.”
“A lovely girl,” Inez reiterated wistfully. “Perfectly sensible. Everyone liked her. We should have continued to visit her, Sister.”
Destiny hung on to her patience. “Do you remember what started it all?”
“We were in The Tavern to celebrate Inez’s birthday,” Velda said. “I remember because we were wearing party hats.”
“It was my sixty-fifth birthday, a true milestone,” Inez put in.
Velda rolled her eyes. “It was your seventieth birthday, Inez. You’re five years older than you tell people.”
“Why, Sister! Surely not. I am certain of my age.”
“You’re two years younger than I am.”
Inez looked shocked and began to fan herself. “I am certain you’re wrong, Sister. I am at least five years younger.”
Velda took a breath, patted her sister lovingly. “Now that you say so, I believe you’re right. I was mixed up for a moment, dear, do forgive me.”
“You were telling me about the party hats,” Destiny said to redirect the conversation, but she was looking at Velda with far more respect. There was genuine love and compassion in the woman’s eyes as she looked at her sister.
“Well,” Velda went on. “I had tried one of those new perms and my hair was all curly and sticking out from under the party hat. I was looking at myself in the mirror and laughing. Blythe was laughing with me. We pointed to each other in the mirror. She’d had a perm, too, but her hair wasn’t sticking out like mine. It looked pretty. Didn’t you think so, Inez?” Deliberately she drew her sister into the conversation, taking her mind off the distressing subject of age. “Didn’t you think Blythe’s hair was really pretty all curled the way it was?”
“Oh, yes, Sister, she looked so young.”
“But the mirror shattered. It just shattered. Nothing touched it. I was looking right at it.” Velda frowned. “There were slivers of glass everywhere. The mirror must have really meant something to Blythe. Maybe it was an heirloom. She just went for the closest person. She picked up a chair and smashed it over his back. Who did she hit, Sister? Do you remember?”
“That tall friend of Harry’s. He isn’t around much anymore. I haven’t seen him but once or twice since,” Inez answered. “Davis something.”
“Morgan Davis.” Velda pounced on the name, proud of her memory. “Of course. I didn’t like him, much too cold for me, but the young girls went for him.” She glanced at Destiny. “I didn’t like his aura. It was off color. He worked with Harry on and off for a few months and then left town.”
“That’s right. Davis is very tall, and Blythe smashed that chair right over him.” Inez grinned at the memory. “Everyone wanted to laugh, a little thing like her breaking that chair. But then she picked up a piece of the leg and began to hit him all over. She didn’t make a sound and she wouldn’t stop. Harry restrained her, didn’t he, Sister?”
“The next day she didn’t remember anything at all,” Velda said. “When we asked her about it, she denied it. She cried. I believe she began to think there was a conspiracy against her. None of us could convince her she had actually hit Davis with a chair. She just seemed to give up after a while. She withdrew from everyone, and eventually we rarely saw her. There were four incidents about a month or so apart. Finally Harry took her to the hospital. No one’s really talked to her since.” Velda’s hand trembled as she reached for the talisman hanging on a chain around her neck. “I was her friend. I should have continued to visit her.” She looked down at the ground. “I all but forgot her.”
“Velda,” Destiny said in a soothing tone. “Blythe knows you’re a good friend. She’s unable to cope at this time, but perhaps we’ll find some information that will help her.” She was turning Velda’s words over and over in her mind.
A mirror shattered, Nicolae. The other night, just before John Paul’s strange behavior, the streetlights shattered. There must be a connection. She reached for him easily, naturally. Nicolae. Her other half.
I knew you felt that way.
His voice was far too complacent for her liking.
You are my other half, I’ll admit, but you’re the worst half. The ridiculous, impetuous half that must be monitored continually.
Ah, that word again. Impetuous. Spontaneous, reckless, a lover without measure.
Destiny laughed out loud.
Where did that come from? You’re dreaming again.
“Thank you for telling me, Velda, I know it isn’t easy to bring up difficult memories. You’re always so generous.” Destiny studied the two eccentric women. The pink and purple hair. The flashy tennis shoes. Inez with her overdone makeup and Velda with a cleanly scrubbed face.
“You’re extraordinary women.” Destiny knew it was true. They gave service to others, watching over and caring for the people they loved. Some thought them busybodies, others thought them silly, but those were the people who didn’t take time to know them. To see who they really were. “I feel privileged to have met you.”