“I was looking for all the Finn Concords,” Amy explained. “This guy wouldn’t call me back.”
“The only reason I didn’t toss these letters into the trash was that they were so odd. But then, this week, I had business in Baltimore and I thought, what the hell?” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his ankle over his leg. He didn’t seem the least bit uptight at the strange circumstances. He was so confident, so sure of himself. She thought back to Finn reading her letter in the park. He had reacted so viscerally, so intensely.
He was still pacing.
California Finn wove his fingers together into a steeple. “So? What makes you think I’m dying, Dr. Burns?”
Obviously, he thought this was some sort of prank. Well, that was better than him thinking she was trying to pick him up. She glanced at Finn.
“It’s rather odd—” Cecelia began.
“Cecelia, can I talk to you a minute?” Finn interrupted.
“I don’t think we’ve met,” California Finn said. He stood up and put out his hand. “Finn Concord.”
Finn shook his head. “Nice to meet you, Finn Concord. I’m Finn Concord.”
For the first time, the lawyer flinched. But he quickly regained his composure and smiled.
A laugh came from near the fireplace. “It’s weirder than you thought, huh?” Amy asked California Finn. “You two kids talk. I’ll entertain Mr. Concord here with some parlor tricks until you come back.” She crossed the room and sat on the armrest of California Finn’s chair. “I’m Amy, resident psychic,” she said, putting out her hand as Finn pulled Cecelia out of the room.
Cecelia followed Finn into the dark hallway and before she knew what was happening, she was in his arms. He kissed her long and hard. When he finally released her, she was woozy from the waves of desire that crashed through her body. “Jealous are we?” she asked.
Without a word, Finn kissed her again, harder. He pulled her to him fiercely, as if he might never get the chance to kiss her again. Then his kiss softened, melted, becoming pure warmth.
“Oh, my,” she said weakly when they parted. She didn’t dare make another joke. She couldn’t handle another kiss like that without having to get naked.
“I’m leaving,” he said.
She laughed, then realized that he was serious. “Finn, you don’t think he’s—?”
“Cecelia. If he’s your True Love, you have to know.”
The seriousness of his tone radiated down to the pit of her stomach. “You don’t believe.”
“And if he’s your True Love, you’ll stay with him. You’ll forget me and stay with him.”
Cecelia’s whole body tensed with desire and fear. “No. I don’t want him. I want you.” She was light as air, floating outside her body. This couldn’t be happening. “He might not be The One,” she reminded him.
“If he’s not, I’ll wait at Trudy’s,” Finn said. He called to Maya up the stairs.
She yelled down irritably that she needed a minute.
“You deserve True Love, Cecelia. I love you, but you have to consider him. Promise me you will.”
“Why?”
“You believe. It would ruin us, destroy us. You have to know. Find out. Take it seriously. Really think.”
Cecelia blanched. He was so honest with her. It was time to be completely honest with him. “Then you have to call Cindy Reidel.”
“Maya!” he called up the stairs.
“I looked her up on the Internet. She’s a painter. It would be a better life for Maya.”
Maya bounded down the steps. “Uh-oh. Is blondie the right Finn?”
“No,” Cecelia said. Then she thought of Cindy, her easel set up on the beach, Maya building sand castles nearby, Finn up on a ladder cleaning the gutters of the seaside cottage. It was a better life than a city with a workaholic mom. “Maybe.”
“Then why are we leaving?”
“Because I’m hungry,” Finn said. “C’mon, let’s go get a burger and play some pinball.”
“And make that phone call,” Cecelia said, her heart clenching.
Finn shook his head. “You’re nuts. C’mon, Maya. Let’s get out of here.”
Maya shrugged. But before she let Finn pull her away, she whispered to Cecelia, “I wouldn’t blame you or anything. That guy is totally suede. Just don’t forget us, okay?”
Cecelia melted at the vulnerability in Maya’s eyes. “Hold on. I forgot something.” She ran to the hall closet and pulled out a bag. “I’ve been meaning to give you this.”
She handed Maya the shopping bag. Maya reached in and pulled out a simple yellow sundress.
Cecelia was liquid with regret for letting this child go. “It’s just for—” For what? Cecelia tried to keep the tears from her eyes, the quaver from her voice. “Just if you want it. If it’s your size.”
Maya nodded. “Maybe. I’ll try it on.”
Cecelia swallowed hard. “Good.”
“Good,” Finn cut in. “We gotta go.”
Cecelia nodded. She stood and watched the two of them go down the front steps, Maya carrying Cecelia’s present. Finn’s hands empty at his side.
Chapter 34
Good, good, you got it!” Amy clapped her hands.
Cecelia came back into the living room in time to see California Finn make an ace of clubs disappear with a flick of his wrist. She went to the couch to join them.
“Ah, she returns,” California Finn said. “Watch this.” He did the trick again. He smiled like a little kid.
“So, where were we?” Cecelia wanted this over with. She didn’t want to think about any of it anymore.
Finn stacked the deck and put it down onto the table. “You were about to tell me why you were sending me threatening letters by federal post—a felony, I might add.”
Cecelia blanched.
California Finn laughed. “Okay, shoot. What’s going on in this crazy place?”
“You want me to tell him?” Amy asked.
“No. No. I will.” Cecelia watched California Finn carefully. He looked nice enough. Harmless, even. But he was a lawyer. She had to be careful. “Right, well, I guess I’ll just start from the beginning.”
She told him the story, while he listened like judge, jury, and hangman.
“That is definitely the most interesting story I’ve heard in a long time. And I’m a criminal lawyer, so I hear a lot of stories,” California Finn said when she was done.
“Well, it’s true. So, like I said, I hope I didn’t cause you too much trouble.”
“Me? Oh, no trouble at all. Actually, it was exciting. A mystery. I’ve been enjoying it.”
“So, now I suppose you want Amy to tell you your Named?”
He went white. “No.”
The two sisters caught each other’s eye. Amy shrugged.
“Really?”
“Well, here’s the thing. First, I don’t believe a word that you just said.”
“We’re not lying—”
“I know you’re not lying. I believe that you believe what you said. Defendants always do. But I don’t believe in any of that psychic bullshit.” He smiled sweetly, as if he’d just told them he loved their taste in decorating. “Second, I can see that you two believe this mumbo-jumbo hook, line, and sinker. So if you tell your sister that I’m her True Love, I’m a little nervous that I might never get rid of her. Not that I would want to get rid of you, Dr. Burns. It’s just that I’m not really a commitment kind of guy.”
He’s not my True Love. Cecelia glanced at her watch. She could jump in a cab and be at Trudy’s in five minutes.
“Let me read you,” Amy said.
“Why, Ames? Let him go,” Cecelia said. She was beginning to feel claustrophobic in the house.
“Okay, what the hell,” California Finn said suddenly. “Although, you don’t have to touch me, do you? I don’t want to be getting all touchy-feely here.”
“Just for a minute.”
“Well—no chanting.”
“S
hut up and be still,” Amy commanded.
Cecelia wanted to leave. But morbid curiosity had the best of her. She was so sure that Amy would say “no,” that she almost felt calm.
Amy shut her eyes. She began to rock. California Finn fidgeted in his chair. Cecelia marveled over how shiny his shoes were.
Suddenly Amy’s eyes popped open. “Hot damn!” she said.
“What?” Cecelia and California Finn asked in unison.
“Cecelia, meet Finn Franklin Concord, your One True Love as prophesied by Fate. Finn, meet Cecelia Arabella Burns, the soon-to-be love of your life.”
“Well, this is awkward,” Cecelia said to California Finn. Or should she call him True Love Finn from now on? They had both jumped up at the news, more in alarm than happiness. Cecelia felt an odd twitch deep in her stomach. She felt—blank. It was as if Amy had told her something about a stranger, not about the deepest yearnings of her heart. Amy has just declared my One True Love. Amy is never wrong.
So why did Cecelia feel like laughing?
Amy looked from one to the other of them like a delighted yenta.
“Fairly awkward. Yes. It is.” Finn clasped his hands behind his back, then in front. Finally, he let them fall helplessly to his sides. “I’d always thought meeting my True Love would be more, um, romantic.”
“I could light a fire,” Amy suggested.
“That chimney is about to come crashing down,” Cecelia said, looking to the badly leaning stone construction. Why did she feel so calm? She watched Amy closely.
“I’ll just leave you two kids alone,” Amy said, getting up to leave. She licked her lips.
“No!” they both cried.
They looked at each other sheepishly.
Suddenly Cecelia’s mind cleared. Amy licked her lips. “No,” she said more firmly. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“What’s wrong?” Amy asked. “You don’t look too good.”
Cecelia shook her head. “No? Well, I feel great. Really great. I feel better than I’ve felt for a very, very long time.” She stretched her arms over her head and smiled. She could run a marathon. She could swim the Atlantic Ocean.
“I have that effect on women,” California Finn said doubtfully.
Cecelia patted his shoulder. “You’re not my True Love, Finn.”
“No?” He seemed delighted. He coughed, then modulated his voice to sound more concerned. “No?”
“What do you mean?” Amy countered. “He is. I heard your name, Cel. I heard it loud and clear.”
“You’re lying,” Cecelia said.
“Why would I lie about a thing like that?” Amy licked her lips again.
“You lick your lips when you’re lying. Why are you lying?” Cecelia’s voice rose.
Amy cried, “I am not lying. I know.”
Cecelia shook her head. “This man and I are not destined for anything but grief. Finn is waiting for me at Trudy’s and he’s The One.”
“You don’t have powers!” Amy said.
“I do, though, Amy. I have the power to see through you. I don’t need voices in my head to know that you’re lying.”
“Hey,” California Finn said. “Let me know if you need a lawyer.”
“The last thing I need is another lawyer,” she said. “In fact, the last thing I need is another man. I already have one and I’m going to get him.”
Chapter 35
Amy and Cecelia glared at each other in the fading light of the day. Neither one moved.
“So, I think I’ll just go make a few phone calls, then,” California Finn said. “Holler if you need me.”
Neither woman noticed as he hurried out of the room.
“Why are you conning me? It’s me, Cecelia. Your sister. I thought you wanted me to find my True Love. Why didn’t you tell me that Finn was The One?”
Amy shrugged. She let her fingers run over the ripped, brown upholstery of the couch. She said something so quietly that Cecelia only heard a trace of her voice.
“What? You lost what?”
“I lost my powers!” Amy shouted at the top of her lungs. She slammed both her fists down on the back of the couch.
Cecelia jumped back in surprise.
“I can hardly hear a thing anymore, okay? The voice is barely a whisper! I haven’t been able to make out a name clearly in years! All I get are faint whispers, snatches of sounds. Now are you happy? Is that what you wanted to know? Of course you’re happy! You always hated that I had the power and you didn’t. Now we’re even!”
Amy without her powers. Who was she without her powers? Her anger at Amy’s lie was struggling against concern for her sister. No. The anger won out. We’re not exactly even. Then, it came to her. A perfect plan for revenge. It appeared in her head fully formed. She filed it away for later. Now, she had to convince Amy that she was taking it all in stride. “Where did you get the name Cindy Reidel?”
“She used to come into the diner where I met Maya down in Florida. She was a regular at the back table. It was the first name I thought of.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me you were losing your powers?” Cecelia asked.
Amy sank onto the faded chair. “I thought that if we got back together, I’d get my powers back. It was working too. Every time I’m with you, I can hear the Names loud and clear.”
“You lied about everything!”
Amy got a horrible look on her face, as if she had eaten something sour. “Cel. When I came, all the Names were fading. Yes, I made up the part about Finn being about to die. But when I’m with you, I hear all the Names loud and clear.”
Cecelia waited.
“Except for Finn’s. Your Finn’s.”
Cecelia’s stomach clenched. My Finn’s. “So you think he’s dying.” She could hardly get the words out. Amy’s never wrong.
“Cel—I can hardly get a sound. His Name’s almost gone. Every time I’m with you and I read you, it’s a little fainter. I didn’t want you to have to be with a guy who’s really dying.”
“I don’t believe you.” Finn dying. Her One True Love. She thought about all the time she had wasted. She wanted to bolt out of the room and run to Trudy’s. Tell him to forget the phone call. Forget everything but her.
Amy looked miserable. She didn’t lick her lips. “I was trying to spare you. When I brought him to Baltimore, I thought all the Names were fading. It wasn’t until I got around you that I knew it was just his. I thought it was a mistake. I kept waiting for his name to come back—”
“You can only hear the Names when I’m around?” Cecelia tried to take it all in.
“It’s really weird.”
California Finn came back in.
“So,” Cecelia said quietly. “You can hear the name of his One True Love?” She had to get to Trudy’s. But how could she face him, knowing there was something horribly wrong.
“Loud and clear.”
“Good. Then tell him quick so he can go home. He ought to at least get something out of this craziness.”
“So?” California Finn leaned forward on the couch. “If she’s not my One True Love, then who is?”
“Well, I might not have heard exactly right.”
Now what was wrong? Cecelia felt so incredibly tired. She wanted to go and find Finn. To tell him that she loved him. That she had always loved him. That she always would love him, until—it was too awful to contemplate. She tried to focus on the present. “Oh, hell, just tell him, Ames. He doesn’t believe in it anyway.”
“Is that true?” Amy asked. “If you don’t believe, there’s no way I’ll tell you.”
“Oh, for God’s sake!” Cecelia looked at her watch.
“Make me believe,” California Finn said good-naturedly.
Amy frowned. “Okay. Here’s the thing: your Named sounded like Jonnie Something.”
Finn jumped up. “Was it Jonnie Busso?”
Amy nodded. “Yeah, Busso. Do you know the guy?”
“He’s my boss.” Finn clapped his hands. “O
h, I just knew it.”
“You’re gay?” Cecelia asked.
“Oh, I knew it was Jonnie since the first time I saw him—May twelfth, 2005, three forty-five, by the elevators. He was wearing his blue cashmere sweater that I love so much. I’ve got to get back to California. It was nice meeting you all. We’ll just forget your little threatening letter. Okay?” He grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.
“So you do believe?” Amy called after him.
“Yes! That was amazing! Yes! Yes! Yes!”
“Good. Tell your friends,” Amy said.
He opened the door, then paused. “It really was nice to meet you two. And you—” He pointed at Cecelia. “You must go scoop up that green-eyed Finn. He was a dream!”
Cecelia and Amy stood awkwardly in the creepy living room.
“Go get him,” Amy said.
“You were really losing your powers?” Cecelia asked.
Amy slumped onto the couch. “Yeah. Except when I’m around you. How screwed up is that?”
Cecelia tried to keep her mind focused on revenge. Laying the foundation for the con. It didn’t take much. Just a few words. Then she could go and get Finn. “I know why your powers are fading.” She tried to keep her face neutral.
Amy sat up. Her face was pure shock.
“If you had just told me in the first place, then I could have explained everything. Up front. Saved us all a lot of trouble.”
“Yeah, well, what fun would that have been?” Amy licked her lips ferociously and twisted her rings on her fingers.
Cecelia waited a beat, enjoying Amy’s twitching. Finally she said, “Jasmine.”
“Jasmine?” Amy tensed at the mention of her younger sister’s name. “Jasmine has been gone for ten years.”
“Remember Mom’s postcard? Your sister needs your help. It wasn’t me; the sister that needed help was Jasmine. The day you and me split up ten years ago was exactly one week after Jasmine took off. That was when your powers started fading. Somehow, something is trying to get us together. And why would we get together except to find Jasmine? It’s not me who’s bringing your powers back. It’s Jasmine. She must be near.”
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