Frustrated

by Diane Darcy

  “No one’s dead, are they?”

  “No’ that I know of, but we may have a potential kidnapping on our hands. The parents are very worried, as ye might have guessed, and I’d like tae be able tae set their minds at ease.”

  “Do you think someone really took her?”

  “An eighteen-year-old girl? Tis certainly possible.”

  She’d seen the movie Taken, and Las Vegas was a large city with a definite criminal presence.

  The thought of two parents worrying over their child did make her want to help, blast him.

  “I actually have a client this morning, who should be here any moment. After that, I suppose I could run over?”

  “Are ye at the shop or on Fremont? I’m on my way tae get ye.”

  “I’m home, but you don’t need to —”

  But he’d already hung up the phone.

  She threw the phone down on the couch and couldn’t help but glance over at her sister Olivia, still sitting at the table, not even pretending she hadn’t been listening.

  “Don’t say a word.”

  “What? Your boyfriend is coming over? I want to meet him.”

  “Me, too!” Tabitha said, her mouth full.

  “I’m not ready for him to meet the family yet, thank you very much.”

  Olivia’s green eyes flashed fire. “That’s hardly fair! Especially as I’m the one who brought the two of you together! Remember that?”

  She couldn’t argue the point, as Olivia had been the one who’d found the dating website, Soulmated. She’d also filled out Lena’s application, and sent it off. The fact that it had drawn in a man who believed he was a werewolf was something she still hadn’t shared. The longer she was away from him, the weirder their murder investigation seemed.

  “Olivia, where did you find that dating website, anyway?”

  “It was a flyer that came in the mailbox.”

  “You found an Internet dating website flyer in your mailbox? Don’t you think that’s a little bit weird?”

  “What’s weird about it? Some people like to advertise old-school. Why? It got you a date, didn’t it? From how strange you’re acting, I’d say you probably like the guy.”

  Lena scowled at her sister. “What are you talking about?”

  “If you didn’t like the guy you’d have just blown him off and told me so. All of this secretive, closed mouth, not telling me anything, makes me think that you might actually be crushing on him.”

  Her sister tapped her lip. “What was his name again? William? Lena and William, sitting in a tree,” she used her hands to start leading the music, and Tabitha quickly joined in. “K I S S I N G!”

  The two of them laughed together.

  “Zip it!”

  Olivia continued, and now Tabitha was waving her hands as well. “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage.”

  Lena snorted. When she asked Olivia to babysit her little wolf, she might not be quite as thrilled or want to admit she was the one who’d gotten them together, would she?

  And then there were the witches. She was supposed to have lunch with them yesterday, but she’d canceled. Esmerelda had answered the phone and sounded so downcast, Lena had actually felt guilty enough to reschedule.

  How would Olivia like them? Huh?

  This was all just getting too weird, and yet William made one phone call, and here she was saying yes, and getting sucked right back in again.

  The buzzer on the wall went off, indicating her client was here. With a dirty look at her still smirking sister, Lena went downstairs to meet one of her regulars, a Mr. Carter Woods.

  “Carter!” She said when she saw the man. An older gentleman in his late sixties, Carter wore grey slacks and a white, short-sleeved shirt. He’d retired a few years ago, and she thought the man was lonely, and came in for a bit of handholding.

  She would’ve thought he’d be more interested in her grandmother reading his palm, but Lena had been the one who originally told his fortune the first time, and he’d continued to ask for her.

  Honestly, she had the impression her grandmother scared him.

  “Lena, you look well.”

  “Thank you.” She’d spent far too much time in front of the mirror today, fixing her dark hair until it curled around her face, and doing her make-up until her green eyes popped. She wore a silky black dress and a red scarf.

  And it wasn’t to impress Carter, was it?

  She shoved the thought aside. “You look nice, as well, Carter. Have a seat.”

  Carter sank into his usual spot in front of the small table, the crystal ball between them.

  “I can tell you’d like your cards read today.”

  He smiled. “You’re right, I do. You’re so good at this, Lena.”

  She waved a hand in the air, and refrained from telling him he was quite predictable. Palm reading, crystal ball, and then cards. As they’d used the crystal ball the last time, it was definitely a card type of day.

  Lena placed the crystal ball on a nearby shelf, and set out three decks of Tarot cards. “Do you feel one of these decks calling to you?”

  Carter, used to the question, quickly tapped The Golden Rider cards. He seemed to have an affinity for them.

  She put the other cards away, and then handed him the deck. “Please shuffle these three times, and then give them back.”

  Carter slowly did so, his face a study in concentration as he tried to get it right.

  He handed them back, and she tapped her finger on the top card. “Do you have any questions today? Any answers you need in your life?”

  He sighed, as he always did, and looked at her with pale gray eyes. “My lease is coming due on my car, and I’m wondering whether to buy it or not.”

  “Anything else?”

  He shook his head. “Just general guidance, as always.”

  She turned over the first card, and studied The Tower. Not the best card to draw the first time out. It depicted people falling out of an exploding tower, rain clouds, lightning, fire.

  There was no a way around it, it wasn’t a great card.

  “Something is about to happen, in your life. Something big. But remember these things can go either way, good or bad.”

  She glanced up into Carter’s worried eyes. “Let’s see what else we’ve got.”

  Next she turned over The Moon, and set it next to the other card. It depicted the moon with a couple of wolves — which she thought was sort of ironic considering what she’d been going through lately — and a lobster at the start of a path. “It looks like there’s a journey in your future. There is no telling whether it is long, or short, at this point. Going somewhere Carter?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t have any plans,” he said slowly.

  The next card she set down was the Queen of Wands. She was sitting on a throne, not doing anything, a black cat at her feet. As she was passive, Lena took another card and lay it at a forty-five-degree angle on top of the queen. The Eight of Swords, a prisoner surrounded by swords signifying despair.

  A distressed noise from Carter had her looking up into his pale face. She tapped a finger on the woman. “This woman is going to keep you from despair. This is a positive thing.”

  He nodded quickly, but still looked scared.

  Lena had to admit this was unusual. She liked to bring people happy news, but this morning was serving the opposite. Carter looked anxious, and upset, and she quickly pulled another card, hoping for better. She was all about telling people good news in their lives, and the cards usually yielded such results because most could go either way, meaning-wise.

  But the words had already spilled out of her mouth, and she could only hope for better. She turned the next card over.

  Carter gasped.

  It was Death.

  A black knight, a skeleton, on a white horse carrying a flag and surrounded by the dying.

  Carter’s gaze flew to hers.

  “It’s reversed, Carter,�
� she breathed out. “That’s positive. It usually doesn’t represent physical death, anyway. It could be the end of a relationship, or of an interest that you have … .”

  She hesitated a long moment, as the card seemed to glow in her hand. Just around the edges, just a bit, the way she’d seen Nora Harcourt before she’d realized that Nora was a murderer.

  She could feel her heart beating hard in her chest, and looked up to see the fear in Carter’s gaze. “Carter do you have a blue car?” she asked before she knew she’d meant to.

  “I do.”

  Lena wondered if she’d seen it before.

  The bell over the shop rang, and they both glanced up to see William walk in and she sat back, the moment lost.

  A quick glance at her grandmother assured her that Grandma was all eyes. “Welcome! Can I help you?”

  William kept his gaze on Lena for a few seconds longer, before turning to her grandmother.

  He wandered over to chat with her, and even though it was the polite thing to do, it sort of irritated Lena.

  He couldn’t have waited outside?

  She’d expected him to wait outside.

  “Is there anything more, Lena?” Carter still looked anxious.

  She stood, and Carter did as well. “No. I’d say things could have looked grim, but instead you’ll be saved by a woman.”

  “Thank you, Lena. You’ve really relieved my mind.”

  “I’m so glad.”

  She took his hand and shook it, and a shiver raced up her spine.

  Clasping his hand, she turned it over so she could look at his palm.

  One of the lines on his hand seem to be putting out a faint glow, and she quickly looked up at Carter.

  “What is that?” She ran her hand up the glowing line.

  He looked at his palm and then at her, his stare questioning. “What is what?” He didn’t see it.

  “It’s just that —” She studied his glowing lifeline and shook her head once, as if to clear it, and ran a finger along it once again.

  “What? What do you see?”

  She must look surprised or something to elicit such a panicked reaction, and she quickly tried to reassure the man. “This right here,” she ran her finger up his palm again, “is your lifeline. But, Carter, I think you’re in danger.”

  Another premonition seemed to rock her, and this time she saw the flash of a blue vehicle in her mind’s eye. “You said your car is blue?”

  “Yes. Blue,” he said earnestly.

  “I think you’re going to be in a car accident very soon.”

  Carter looked aghast! “What do I do?”

  She shook her head. As she’d never had this happen, she didn’t know what to tell him. “Take the bus?”

  “I’ll do that. I’ll take the bus. For how long?”

  She shook her head again, and then, seeing that William was watching, she felt slightly foolish and gestured Carter toward the door. Once they were outside, he pointed at his car, parked four cars down the block, and sure enough, the bright sunlight showed it was a periwinkle blue.

  “That’s mine. What do I do with it?”

  Again, she felt at a loss. Was she hallucinating? Maybe William coming into the room had sent a shot of adrenaline to her head or something.

  Regardless, she did not want Carter getting into that car. “I guess just leave it there.”

  A large, gray cat curled around her legs, its fur warm and soft as it slid around one ankle. “Oh, pretty kitty,” Lena leaned down to pet the animal. It had a starburst of black on its chest, and really was gorgeous.

  Another gasp from Carter. “The woman on the card! The cat! Lena, it’s you! You saved me from a bad accident.”

  As she straightened, Carter’s breathing escalated. “Lena, I can’t thank you enough. If I hadn’t come today … .”

  She tried to reassure her shaken client. “That’s what I’m here for. If you —”

  A truck skidded around the corner, tires screeching, then sped up far too fast, and at the last moment the driver seemed to lose control, and smashed right into Carter’s parked vehicle.

  Both Lena and Carter stood with their mouth’s gaping open, before turning to stare at each other in amazement.

  “Are you kidding me right now?” Lena whispered the words.

  And then William was there, his arms gathering her close, swinging her around, as he stood between her and any possible danger.

  “What happened?”

  “That guy just lost control of his vehicle and crashed into Carter’s car,” Lena said.

  Carter was hyperventilating. “I would’ve been in that car, right then, if Lena hadn’t had a premonition. I could’ve been dead right now.” He turned to stare. “Lena. I would’ve been dead if … .”

  William already had the phone to his ear, talking to emergency services, as he headed in the direction of the crash. She and Carter followed behind, and her grandmother, sister, and niece were there now as well.

  The man in the truck moaned, so they knew he was still alive.

  A moment later William hung up the phone and shoved it in his suit coat pocket, and gestured them all back. “Get back. I don’t know if the vehicle will blow up or not.”

  She remembered the The Tower card she’d pulled earlier. “No! William, stay back!”

  But he was moving forward, wrenching the door open, and talking to the dazed driver inside.

  She glanced up to see Carter staring at his own car, and followed his gaze.

  It was all the way bashed in on the driver side.

  She honestly didn’t think Carter would have survived the accident.

  From his haunted expression, he didn’t believe so either.

  William pulled the passenger from the car and carried him to the sidewalk and gently lay him down, just as the car caught fire.

  A neighbor ran outside with a fire extinguisher and handed it to William, who immediately sprayed down the car as two men calmed the injured man.

  As William seemed to have things in hand, she took Carter by the arm. “Let’s go back inside and get you some tea. You look pretty shaken.”

  Eyes still enlarged, he nodded, and allowed her to lead him away.

  Olivia shot her a, what the heck glance, and then gathered Grandma and Tabitha and followed.

  A fresh pot of tea calmed them all, and after an ambulance arrived, and then a tow truck, William came inside to join them.

  She introduced him to everyone and Carter thanked him profusely for the help with his car. Grandma and Olivia shot her sly glances and managed to hold back any questions they had for her. Barely.

  “Are ye ready, lass?”

  “I’m not sure I can leave Carter yet.”

  “Doonae worry, I’ll send a car out tae take him home. We’ve still an eighteen-year-old girl to find.”

  She gave him a nod, said her goodbyes, and followed him out the door as Olivia pretended to fan herself.

  Chapter 4

  It was after one o’clock by the time they drove away in William’s Maserati, but Lena found she was still slightly shaken, and when William took her hand, she didn’t protest.

  “What is it, lass?”

  She shook her head. “I’m just thinking. That was crazy, wasn’t it?”

  He shrugged. “Las Vegas, drunk drivers, happens all the time.”

  She turned to stare at him openly. “Yes, it does. But that doesn’t explain … .”

  “What happened with yer client? The way ye predicted it?”

  She exhaled loudly. “How did you know?”

  “Wolf. Good hearing.”

  That finally got a smile out of her. “So I understand.”

  They both started to chuckle, and William brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it.

  Her heart fluttered. “Tell me about the missing girl. She still hasn’t been found?”

  “Nae. I’ve been in contact with my men and she’s still missing. Her name is Addison Stansberry. She’s eig
hteen years old, and she left her room last night at 8:10 PM, and hasn’t been seen since.”

  “What’s been done to find her?”

  “We searched her room. It looked like someone had turned it inside out, but I think perhaps it was deliberately done on her part to set the stage.”

  “Why?”

  “There was a ransom note, but the cameras caught the girl leaving the room by herself, so I suspect she was either lured out, and is in danger now, or is holed up with a new boyfriend somewhere.”

  “Which one do you suspect?”

  William blew out a breath. “In this day and age? It could be either.”

  “What about the ransom?”

  “It was for 10 AM. I sent one of my men with the money and he watched for a pick-up. It didn’t happen.”

  “Any chance kidnappers saw him and got spooked?”

  “No’ Caleb. Ye doonae see him unless he wishes it.”

  “So, a boyfriend then? It sounds like you have it well in hand.”

  “No’ so ye’d notice. No’ so her parents would notice. I’m hoping we can take ye tae the room, and see if ye can glean anything from her possessions.”

  “Why would I be able to do that?”

  “Because ye’re psychic.”

  She’d never really had the discussion with William yet about the fact that she wasn’t actually a psychic, and she conned people out of money for a living. Sort of, anyway. It wasn’t like her customers didn’t want to be there, and she pretty much stuck to telling them positive things that would be helpful in anyone’s life.

  Other than this morning.

  She still wasn’t sure what that had been about.

  “I doubt I’ll be very helpful in this type of a situation.”

  “But, ye’d be willing tae try, wouldn’t ye? I mean, think of the poor parents, don’t ye think they want us tae try anything at all, tae get their daughter back?”

  “I hate to give anyone false hope,” Lena said.

  “I thought ye did a wonderful job helping me track down Creighton Cameron’s murderer. Mayhap ye just have an eye for this sort of thing.”

  “As long as that’s the way you see it.”

  “I’ll be glad tae see it any way ye like. As long as it keeps ye near me.”