“Doing what? Sitting on a bench?”
“Him.” Fate was staring at Charlie, who was sitting by himself at our favorite table.
I looked at Fate's slightly squinted eyes, like he'd rather not see Charlie there.
“Why do you dislike him?”
His face relaxed instantly. “I don't like or dislike him. He's simply there.”
I looked at him for another minute and then back to Charlie, eating by himself. I didn't want him to be alone.
“What are you accomplishing by doing this? No matter what happens, he's not slated to die for another sixty years.”
“You know when he's going to die?” A week ago, I would’ve been surprised by that statement. Now I asked just for confirmation.
“Yes.”
“Do you always know?”
“No, but he's got a strong destiny. He’ll start up a chain of medical clinics for the under-privileged.”
I smiled. He was really going to do it. Charlie had talked about plans for a clinic since the day I’d met him. “Do you know if he'll be alone?”
“He'll get married.”
“I'm glad.”
I broke my gaze from Charlie to look at Fate. His eyes, face, everything, was the polar opposite of Charlie's warmth.
“Let's go,” he said.
I wasn't ready to leave. “Why do you care what I do? This has nothing to do with you or our arrangement.”
“You're creating useless emotions. What logical purpose does it serve?”
“Of course you don't understand. You'd have to understand love, be able to feel it. Logic has nothing to do with this.”
He stood up abruptly and I got the distinct impression I might have hit a nerve I didn't know existed. I was hoping he'd leave but he didn't. He stood in front of me as if resigned to some course of action I wasn't aware of yet.
“I got a flash. If you want to check it out, we have to go now.” He looked down at his watch.
“Where?”
“Florida. We've got to leave now if we want to make it.”
I stood and took one last look back at Charlie. His eyes caught mine and he gave me an awkward smile. It was the kind people give when they catch a stranger staring and they are trying to be polite. I smiled politely back and then went to follow Fate.
“I want to drop my car off first,” he said.
“What about my car?”
He looked down the street where my Honda was parked and dismissed it quickly. “We'll tell someone at the office to come back for it.”
I settled into the passenger seat and did a double check on my seatbelt. Fate drove like a demon.
“You were never meant to be with him.”
I'd thought we had come to an unspoken agreement that we wouldn't talk about Charlie, but he seemed to want to change the rules again today.
“You have no idea what you're talking about. Please keep your opinions to yourself.” I watched the road whiz by and wondered how many times I was going to have to tell him the Charlie subject wasn't open for discussion.
“Did you forget who you're talking to?”
“You don't know everything about him. You're just like the rest of us. You get flashes. The universe hasn't seen fit to make you all-knowing.”
“Maybe not, but I know his fate.”
“And that means you know every detail of his life? I don't think so.”
“No. But I've seen souls who were fated to be together. Lifespan after lifespan, there is still a connection. I saw him look at you. Nothing. You're relationship with him was purely luck. I might not know love, but I know fate. You two were never supposed to end up together.”
“Why are you doing this? Why can't you mind your own business?” I watched him across the small expanse of car and wondered why he couldn't just leave it be.
“I'm not saying this to be hurtful. I just want you to understand you didn't lose anything. You were never meant to be with him. When you move on from this and get reborn, as he will, you still won't be together. You are clinging to a life that was never going to be.”
I didn't scream but I came really close. “You don't get it because you have no feelings. You're a robot. Maybe I was human, which makes me a dirty transfer, but I like my humanity. I like having feelings. You have no idea what it's like to lose everything you are but still be there, so close that you could reach out and grab it—except that the second you did, it would fall like water through your fingers. So you might think you know, but in truth you have no clue. So please, shut the hell up.”
I turned my head away from him, back to look out the window. He actually did shut up.
He didn't know if we were meant to be together or not. It was nothing but a guess.
The phone ringing through the speakers broke the silence a few minutes later.
“Fate?” the voice spoke through his car speaker system.
“Harold, you called my phone. Who else would it be?” Fate’s voice had an edge to it that I hadn’t heard before.
“I need you to come back to the building.”
“Can't.”
“This isn't optional.”
“Neither is this.”
“Mother's flipping out.”
Fate groaned then hit the steering wheel. “Be there in five.”
He hung a hard left that sent me crashing into the car door and had horns blaring.
“What are you doing? We'll miss Bad Guy,” I said.
“And if I don't get back there and handle this, it could be worse.”
“I don't care who Mother is, or what's happening back there. I'll go on my own.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Who are you to tell me no?”
“I don't want you to go alone.”
“Why?”
“I just don't and Florida is a big state, without having any idea what you’re looking for.”
“It's in our best interest for me to go. You can't withhold information from me.”
“Hold me in contempt of court.”
It riled me because there was absolutely nothing I could do. “If I don't get to kill this guy before I leave, I'll be killing you in his place.”
“You're perfectly welcome to try.” He smiled at me, practically daring me to do it.
I made a half groan, half scream of frustration as we pulled up to the front door and he got out. On the slim chance that perhaps whatever he needed to handle would be done quickly, I followed Fate to the second floor.
I barely got to read the door plaque—Mother's Landscaping—before we entered. What could be happening at a landscaping business that would cause us to have to run over here and not continue to search out who the murderer was? But nothing was what it seemed here, which meant Mother wasn't really a landscaper.
The reception area was similar to our own office, but with images of beautifully manicured lawns scattered throughout. A young guy sat behind the desk, giving me a skeptical look.
“Tommy, let us in,” Fate said when he stopped at the locked inner door
“Who's she?”
“Karma.”
“Why's she seem different?” His head tilted to the side, as if a different perspective would help answer the question.
“Because I'm a transfer. Okay?” I blurted out before Fate could answer.
Tommy made an “oh” face, and nodded, as if it all made sense now.
“Tommy. The door?”
“Oh yeah, sorry, Fate.”
I heard the wailing and screaming as soon as it swung open, so when I walked in behind Fate, I wasn't surprised at the chaos before me.
Clusters of people in jeans and t-shirts were everywhere, arguing loudly. If I had seen any of them working on a lawn, while driving down a residential street, I wouldn't have taken a second look.
They were all in heated groups, some screaming to let her do it, some screaming no. A little pixie of a woman was at the center of the chaos, being trailed by several brawny young men, as she paced around the
room. Thick dark brown curls framed a peaches and cream complexion, which the blue of her suit complimented.
Her eyes lit as she saw us—or more precisely, Fate.
“Darling! You've come to visit me?” Her voice was so sweet it gave me a sugar high, but the kind that made you nauseous and turned you off chocolate bars for a year.
“I came as soon as I heard you were upset.” He took her hands in his as he greeted her with a kiss on each cheek.
My head snapped back and forth between the two of them. Where had Fate gone? Who was this well-mannered guy? And why did it seem like he was nice to everyone but me?
The entire room seemed to cease all other activity as everyone watched their conversation, including me. Fate took one of her hands and laid it on the crook of his arm and strolled with her through the room.
“What has you so upset?”
“I want a blizzard and they all keep arguing with me! I don't care if it's spring. I'm in charge. Why do they all bother me with these ridiculous details?”
“Now, you know we've talked about this before,” he said as he patted the hand resting on his arm.
My eyes went to Fate's hand as it then moved to rest on her lower back. He steered her toward what looked like an office and I watched the door close on the two of them.
As soon as the door shut, I was the point of focus.
“Who are you?” the group of fifteen or so landscaper-looking people asked, eying me up from the top of my pony tail, down along my sun dress to my sandals.
“Who are you?” I asked, throwing the question back at them. Most of them looked like normal men, but there were four who definitely weren’t human. They looked like they could’ve been the original models for the garden gnomes.
“We're her Gardeners,” one replied.
“We heard there was a transfer,” the guy on his right said.
They were circling me in an uncomfortable fashion.
“Yes, well I'm it. If you don't mind, I'll just go have a seat over there and wait for Fate.”
I moved away from the crowd. Only one followed me over. I sat down and eyed the office up, wondering what exactly Fate’s relationship was with Mother.
“It's not like that,” the guy who followed me said.
“Like what?” I replied, feigning disinterest.
He let out a chuckle. “You know what I'm talking about. What, you think you're the only one hot to trot with Fate? He doesn't dabble with coworkers.”
“I'm not hot for anything.” What was wrong with me? Was I broadcasting every thought in my head these days?
“I'm not blind. I saw how you watched him with Mother.”
Him wiggling his eyebrows was my last straw. I got up and left the office, his chuckles taunting me as I closed the door. I wanted to go back to the cafe and watch Charlie, as sick and masochistic as that might have been. I wanted something I knew just for a while, a small taste of normal to keep me going. But the chance that Fate might finish sooner rather than later stayed me from walking out of the building. Instead, I went to go and sit at my table.
I was surprised at how many people were in the office when I got there. I grabbed a newspaper and went to the corner, as I normally did.
About fifteen minutes later, Kitty the cat herder walked over and stopped in front of me. It was the first time she'd ever approached me. As far as Kitty went, though, she didn't seem to talk to anyone too much, so it wasn't that insulting.
The black cat weaving in between her legs nailed me with a stare, jerked its chin up slightly in what looked to be a greeting and then went back to rubbing its head along Kitty's leg.
I found Kitty to be slightly scary. It wasn't because she was large and intimidating; she was actually quite frail looking. It was the crazy that scared me. She looked like she'd just been let out of the mental ward for good behavior, but you weren't sure how long the sane spell would last.
I looked up, not exactly sure what to do with her. Didn't these people understand I'd already reached my crazy quota for the year?
“I sent you many cats.”
Her flat, monotone voice didn't offer any hints to whether that was supposed to have been a good thing or a bad thing. Yep, this was definitely going to put me over the top.
“Uh, thank you? Are they at my apartment?” I wondered if I should go run over and see if this woman had shoved a herd of cats into my condo. How many were we talking about?
“No, before you died. I sent you cats. Many cats.”
“That was you?” The hair on my arms stood up. I remembered them. I'd even mentioned to Charlie how I kept seeing black cats everywhere I went. I'd thought I was crazy.
She leaned in closer, her palms on the table. “You didn't have to die.”
“What do you mean?”
“I only send cats when it's something that can be avoided. I knew what was coming, but it didn't have to be. You had a choice. You've had more choices than anyone.”
“I don’t understand.”
She stood up straight and started walking away.
I grabbed her arm to stop her. “Please, I need to know what you mean.”
“I don't know anything else.” She pulled away, finishing a conversation that was sure to haunt me for the rest of my time here.
I could've avoided this?
Chapter Seventeen
When Fate didn't come back to the office by six, I gave up. Hank gave me a ride back to my Honda, which was still sitting on the street outside the luncheonette and miraculously didn't have a ticket.
We'd lost our chance at figuring out who the Bad Guy was for today, but Fate would get another lead. He’d better, after he blew this one on us. But who was Bad Guy after? And why?
I didn't know how long Fate would be helping Mother, so I decided to swing by the grocery store. I’d pick up a couple of things for my place and have a quiet night out on the balcony, overlooking the ocean. I didn't expect to see old guy perusing the produce when I got there, his Fedora sitting low on his brow.
I pushed my carriage over to where he was picking through some fruit mounds.
“Did you know I was going to be here?”
“What? I can't go shopping for some fruits and vegetables without looking suspect?” He smelled the tomatoes and then placed them in a bag. “Ripe tomatoes smell like the plant near their stem.”
“Who exactly are you?”
“I'm Paddy, a recruiter. I thought we'd covered this.” He moved over to the pineapples. “Now with these, you have to pull a leaf from their stem to check for ripeness.”
I ignored his fruit ripeness course and got to the subject. “A recruiter no one knows?”
“I can't help it if all the young kids are too self obsessed to be bothered with an old man.”
“Okay, well, it was nice to see you.” I pushed my carriage over to the next aisle. I really didn't need apples that badly and I couldn't handle any more complications or lies at the moment. I didn't know who Paddy really was, and it was probably for the best he wasn't going to tell me.
Except it didn't look like he was done with me.
“So, what have you and Fate been up to?” he asked as he followed behind me. I turned around to go get apples. If I was going to be stuck with him, I might as well get what I intended.
“You mean the Fate that doesn't know who you are?” Granny Smith apples, bingo. I grabbed a few and turned to head toward the shampoos, hoping he would disappear like he had the first time I'd met him.
“If you want to find your man, perhaps it would be wise to target someone he wants on the grid.”
“What do you know about it?” I asked, not surprised in the least that he did know. Recruiter my ass. “Just be straight with me, are you the guy in charge or something? If you are, I've got a serious bone to pick with you.”
I looked up from the Pantene and he was gone. If I wanted him to stay, he left. Wanted him gone? He stayed. This Paddy guy was pissing me off. I was tired of this existence of riddles and n
on-answers. People who treated me badly and then turned around and sweet-talked whack jobs who threatened blizzards in the middle of spring.
Losing the mood to shop, I grabbed a tube of toothpaste, a rotisserie chicken and checked out. I loaded up my Honda and headed back to the condo with his words “On the grid,” repeating in my head.
I managed to get a few hours of peace before Fate barged in at eleven.
Without so much as a single rap on the door, he came in and planted himself right in front of the T.V., so all I could see was a sliver of poor Jimmy's suit.
“What are you doing?” He motioned to my reclined state on the couch.
“Watching Jimmy Kimmel?”
“You know what I'm talking about.”
“I was going to come over after this was done.” If I leaned my head against my palm, I could almost make out Jimmy's mouth.
“Bullshit.”
“You're right. I was coming over after I watched Craig Ferguson. But, I would have left the minute it was done. Well, I mean, unless something else good came on after that.” I looked up from the spots of TV to him and shrugged. “You know how it is.”
“Get up.”
He stepped closer to the couch and loomed over it. I, in turn, sank deeper into the cushions, not wanting to relinquish my comfy spot.
“Can't we take a night off?” There was a whiny quality to my voice that was cringe worthy. I felt like a dog, begging for mercy as I lay on my side and stared up at him.
“No.”
“You don't want to be glued to me, either. I think it's for the best. Maybe every other night is a better idea?”
“You agreed. Get up or I stay here and there's a lot less room here to pretend.”
He decided to demonstrate this by squeezing next to me on the couch, his hands picking up my outstretched legs so he could shimmy underneath.
I jumped up. I was not having any more moments with Fate. It was much easier to forget he was there in his larger home. Grabbing my stuff I walked to the door and he followed me out.
“Where's my car? Someone stole my car!”
Fate laughed where he stood next to me. “No self respecting car thief would touch your Honda. The Jinxes are driving it over to my place.”
Karma (Karma Series) Page 13