And hopefully forget magic ever existed.
12
At first, I glanced around in search of anything suspicious happening downtown. After a couple hours passed with no activity, though, I reasoned that Fluffikins would probably just pick up whatever he needed via my brooch cam and switched to staring off into space and seeing how long I could wait before I surreptitiously stole a peek at Melony’s phone to check how much time had passed since last I checked.
Around eleven, people at last started to drift toward the fishmonger in hopes of an early lunch. And fifteen minutes later, we had the first taker for our services.
“How much to get my fortune told?” asked a man wearing dingy khakis and an army green flannel over a sports T-shirt.
“Oh, hello there.” I elbowed Melony in the side to get her attention.
“What did I say about—” She put on a huge phony grin upon noticing our company. “So you’re here to glimpse into your future with the Marvelous Miss Melony?”
“Yes. How much?” he repeated, bobbing his head.
“It’s free,” I said.
At the same time, Melony said,“Twenty bucks.”
The man looked toward me, obviously having decided he preferred my pricing.
“Don’t listen to her. She’s just the assistant. I’m the one with highly honed psychic powers here.” Melony grabbed the deck of cards and began to shuffle. “Tell you what. We’ll split the difference. Only ten dollars, and believe me, you’re getting one heck of a deal here.”
He nodded and pulled out his wallet to pay Melony.
She grabbed the money and stuffed it into her phone case.“Now. Pick a card.” She stopped shuffling and fanned the cards out on the table before him.
Our customer did as instructed, choosing from the center of the pile and pointing.
And my companion psychic nodded and picked up the card, keeping it hidden from both the man and me.“Now, what’s your name?”
“Tom,” he said with a smile that revealed crooked teeth. “Nice to meet you. I’m hoping you can tell me whether my wife would—”
Melony flipped the card face up on the table, interrupting him mid-speech.“Death.I think that’s self-explanatory. Enjoy your day. You don’t have too many of those left now.”
“Melony!” I shouted, shoving the cards at her so that several flew off the table.
The morose man had already begun to skitter away from our table with slumped shoulders and a shuffling gait. Poor guy.
“Wait, Tom,” I stood and called after him. “Don’t listen to her. That’s just a bit of comic relief before you get your real fortune. Come, let’s have a look in my crystal ball.”
His pinched expression practically broke my heart as he turned back our way and approached my side of the table.
I pulled the orb in front of me. It sat clear and unassuming. Meanwhile, Melony was already back on her phone, which meant it fell to me to improve his mood.
Say general things and observe the target for clues as to what they might like to hear.That’s what Parker had suggested, and that’s what I would do now.
Before Melony had interrupted with her cruel prediction, Tom had begun to ask a question about his wife. I also noted that he wore a simple gold band on his left ring finger. His appearance was a bit disheveled, and I guessed he worked a low-paying job in manual labor. He’d also approached us wanting to have his fortune told, which meant he was after an answer of some sort.
I waved both hands over the crystal orb, keeping my expression serious.“Yes, yes. It’s all becoming clear now, Tom.”
“Really? What do you see?” he asked, a small smile playing at the edges of his mouth.
I reached in and let my inner romance author out to play.“Despite recent hardships, your wife still loves you very much. For your next anniversary, skip the usual gifts and offer her a romantic getaway. Spending that quality time just the two of you away from the normal hustle and bustle of everyday life will make your marriage stronger than ever and revitalize you both.”
Tom’s smile faltered. “But what about the death card your friend pulled?”
Ick. I tried not to flinch at his casual referral to Melony as my friend, seeing as we were anything but. I also knew very little about Tarot, but I tended to be pretty good at talking my way out of trouble, so I decided to give it a shot rather than once again reminding him that Melony had only been trying to get his goat with her phony prediction.
Not that mine was any more authentic, but still…
“The death card, yes.” I brought a finger to each temple and rubbed as if deep in thought. “It’s a very powerful card, but it does not predict literal death. Rather the end of an era. Your troubles will soon be over. Keep on your current path, and soon you’ll see.”
If possible, he looked even sadder now than when Melony had told him he’d soon be dead. “You mean I am going to lose my job? I was afraid of that.”
“No, no, no,” I cried. “It’s a positive change. Not a bad one.”
“But you said—”
“You’re taking it too literally,” I sputtered. “Go home and meditate on what I’ve said, and soon all will become clear.”
“Okay, thanks. I guess.” Tom hung his head and ambled away.
I watched him go, wondering what I could have done differently and hoping that Melony and I hadn’t ruined his day too much.
That was when a blurry flash of black caught my eye.
It was moving fast and coming straight at us…
13
As the blur grew closer, two things happened. I realized I probably needed to see an eye doctor… and also the dark shape finally began to come into focus.
It was a lanky long-haired cat, mostly dark gray with black tabby stripes. He took a sharp turn into the nearby alley, and I immediately got up to follow.
If Melony noticed my abrupt departure, she didn’t say anything about it—or make any effort to follow. Definitely better that way.
“Hey, you!” I bellowed as I tore into the alley.
Sure enough, the shaggy Maine Coon stood at the edge of the dumpster, ready to dive in. Noticing me, he straightened himself and waited.
“Can you talk?” I asked.
His tail quivered, but he said nothing.
“You’re a field agent, right?” I tried again.
He twitched his whiskers then let out a raspy meow.
Hmm. I needed a different approach. Reaching down and unpinning the brooch Mr. Fluffikins had bestowed upon me, I held it out for the cat to see.“I work for the PTA, too. See, Mr. Fluffikins gave this to me. I’m here to help figure out what’s happening to the missing field agents.”
He regarded me stonily, not budging in his unwillingness to speak with me.
I was just about to give up on the whole thing when a second cat jumped out of the dumpster and landed on its edge with a clumsy thump. The chubby calico took a moment to struggle for purchase before addressing me.
“Why would the boss send you?” she asked in a high-pitched voice that hurt my ears.
“Stop it, Mungo,” the previously silent Maine Coon hissed. “She was just about to go away and leave us to our vittles.”
“Hey, hey. I come in peace.” I put both my hands out in front of me and approached slowly. “I just want to find out what’s happening here, so no more field agents go missing and so that I can go home and get back to my life.”
The fur on Mungo’s back raised. “Wait, Lester. What about the ones who have already gone missing? Doesn’t she want to get them back?” her shrill voice dug deep into my brain, giving me an instant headache.
It took me a moment to regather myself.“Yes, yes, of course. I want to do that, too.”
“Then why didn’t you say that?” the silver Maine Coon asked, pushing his nose into the air.
“I guess I got put off by the whole not talking thing—You know what? No. It doesn’t matter. I want what you guys want. Don’t you want to stay safe while you’re on the job?”