“No, he didn’t. I told him I wanted to see it as soon as he got a chance to look at it.”
His words contained a strange edge to them that I couldn’t place. Wanting to avoid any potential issues about Stephen, I didn’t ask anything else about the report.
“Well, quid pro quo, so here’s what I know about Amy Perkins. She was born and raised in Sunset Ridge, but she left for a couple years after graduating from Sunset Ridge High School. I wasn’t close friends with her, so I don’t know what she did or where she went when she was away, but she returned to town about five years ago and began reading tarot cards as a side job in addition to working at the Charming Cakes Bakery.”
Alex looked over at me. “Charming Cakes Bakery? Is that where Prince Charming buys his pastries?”
I chuckled at his joke. “You haven’t heard about Charming Cakes? It’s only the best bakery around these parts. They make these little tart things that are to die for. How is it you’ve lived here for years and never had a Charming Cakes dessert?”
“I don’t get out enough,” he said dryly. “So what did she do at this Charming Cakes Bakery?”
I thought for a moment and said, “I think she was one of the cake decorators. Not a baker, definitely, since I don’t think that was what her degree was in.”
“She had a degree? Why was she a cake decorator if she had a degree?”
“I want to say her degree was in something in the health services area, but she never did anything with it.”
“That begs the question even more. Who goes to school for a degree in a field that’s exploding and turns their back on it? There has to be some reason.”
“The plot thickens,” I joked before continuing. “I don’t know what happened, but I know she was never employed in anything related to health services since she returned to Sunset Ridge.”
Alex drove the car down the exit to Caston and stopped at the bottom of the hill. Turning to look at me, he wore an expression of disbelief. “You never asked her when you were interviewing her?”
“No. Why would I? I was writing a piece on paganism, not a piece on people who had degrees in the health service industry who chose to abandon that profession.”
He stared at me, still stunned that I hadn’t pried into Amy Perkins’ personal business until the driver behind us blew his horn and he pulled out onto Old Caston Pike. Alex said nothing as he drove, but I felt a little insulted that he thought I was no better than the old busybodies in town who routinely thought it was okay to invade other people’s privacy.
We remained silent, Alex watching the road while I stared out the window at the line of older homes on my side, each one Colonial style with its order and symmetry. When he didn’t say another word for nearly five minutes, I finally had to speak.
Twisting in my seat to face him, I said, “I can’t believe you think I would ask someone about their private business, Alex. Is that what you think of me? That I’m like those awful old biddies who did that to me for years?”
Now my voice possessed an edge, and I saw the surprise register on his face as I spoke. Staring straight ahead and paying attention to the road that had gotten quite busy with other cars, presumably all heading toward the hall where the convention was being held on Broad Street, he said nothing for a few moments and finally when he did reply, he was nothing less than contrite.
“I didn’t mean anything like that at all, Poppy. I just know you and people like to tell you things. It’s one of the unique traits you possess.”
“Well, she didn’t tell me anything about her personal life. I didn’t even get a lot of firsthand information about the pagan community, to be honest. Since she considered herself a Druid, she didn’t feel that she could talk about paganism at large, so we mostly just talked about positive energy and how she believed in visualization as a powerful way of achieving things in her life.”
“Okay.”
He parked the car and pointed out the front window toward a red brick building with a plaque that read Jacob’s Hall. Like so many places in this part of Maryland, it held some kind of historical value someone had figured out, so it had received a sign indicating that.
“Do me a favor and let me do the talking, okay?” I asked as we opened our doors to get out.
Alex slammed his shut and walked around the front of the car to stand next to me. Arching one dark eyebrow, he said, “They’re going to know we’re not here just to soak up the positive energy and get our cards read, Poppy. The uniform is going to clue them into that. I don’t think they’ll even need tarot cards to know we’re here on official business.”
I closed my door and scowled at his judgmental attitude toward what we were about to experience. “Again with the closed mind. I’m just saying that we might get further with these people if we keep the official thing to a minimum.”
He twisted his face into an expression of irritation. “Fine. We’ll do it your way at first, but if we don’t get anywhere, the badge is coming out.”
“You know, the negative energy is coming off you in waves.” I motioned around his body and added, “You can practically see it. Your aura is probably a dark brown or even a black at this moment. They’re going to pick up on that.”
Rolling his eyes, he said, “I don’t know if I’m supposed to take you seriously or not. Let’s just go and see if we can find any of the people on Tamara’s list.”
We walked toward Jacob’s Hall and as we walked in, I stopped to read the historical sign hanging on the brick façade. “Members of the Second Continental Congress stopped at this building during their time in Baltimore at the Henry Fite House December 1776-February 1777.”
I turned to look back at Alex and shook my head. “They never cease to amaze me with these things. It’s highly unlikely anyone from the Second Continental Congress ever stopped here, then or at any time. But people do love these things. At least it’s not the usual George Washington slept here ploy.”
“So it’s just a scam. Seems like a perfect place to hold this convention,” he said with disgust lacing every word as he walked into the building.
“That’s a lot of negative energy there, sir. Lot of negative energy,” I teased as I followed him in.
I secretly couldn’t wait to see how the very logical Alex reacted around an entire room full of people whose very beliefs flew in the face of his skepticism. Who would be more frustrated? Alex or the tarot card readers?
Either way, I intended on having a reading and knowing what they saw in the cards for me.
Chapter Six
Whatever Jacob’s Hall usually looked like, today it resembled something like a cross between a traveling carnival and a circus. A green and white striped cloth attached to the center of the ceiling flowed out to the walls to make the entire room look like the inside of a tent. Each tarot card reader had a table they sat at and a dark canopy for privacy during the readings, which made the whole area look like the fairway of a carnival.
Looking around, I elbowed Alex. “I didn’t expect it to look like this. They really went all out. I like it! The place has a great feel to it, doesn’t it?”
A surprising number of convention attendees milled about, traveling from table to table as they picked up brochures from each reader. I hadn’t expected to see so many people there before noon, and Alex clearly looked shocked.
“I can’t believe all these people are here. You know what they say. There’s one born every minute.”
I shot him a nasty glance to let him know how much I disapproved of his attitude toward the tarot readers. “For someone who thinks of himself as a good detective, you certainly do have a very closed mind when it comes to some things. Is it that you don’t understand tarot reading and that’s why you’re so dismissive of it?”
Alex rolled his eyes at my judgment of him and sighed. “I know exactly what’s going on here, Poppy. These people can no more see the future in their special cards than I can. The future can’t be foretold, as much as we may wish it cou
ld be. This is just charlatans taking gullible people’s money. Nothing more.”
This man could be so frustrating! Balling my hands into fists at my sides, I tilted my chin up and looked him dead in the eyes, ready to blast him finally for his narrowmindedness. “It isn’t just the future they talk about, Alex Montero. Many times, they just help people to see the situation they’re in more clearly so they can make the right choice. Not all of us are able to see everything in black and white and cold facts. Sometimes feelings cloud things and it’s just nice to have someone to help clear the fog.”
For a long moment, he stared at me like I’d just said the dumbest thing he’d ever heard leave someone’s mouth, but then he asked, “What are you talking about, Poppy? Is there something I should know?”
My frustration bubbled over, making me want to scream. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing that someone like you would care about.”
I marched away toward the card reader at the farthest booth on the back wall, not looking back at Alex as I abandoned him. Hanging off the front of the table was a hand printed sign that said the woman sitting there went by the name Madame Cassandra.
“Hello, my name is Poppy. I’d like a reading,” I said to a thin, older woman with jet black hair and startling silver streaks that framed her lean face.
She looked out at me from behind the table and studied me for a moment, pressing her lips together so they formed a thin deep red stained line across her face. Finally, after a few moments, she nodded. “Okay, but I’m not sure you’re in the right frame of mind for a reading right now. It might be better if you come back in a few minutes after you clear your head of the anger you’re holding in.”
“I guess it’s obvious, huh? Is my aura some horrible shade of baby poop green or something?”
My question elicited a chuckle from her, and she shook her head so those silver streaks swung back and forth across her face. “No, dear. I saw your disagreement with the officer over there right before you came over here to me.”
Now I felt foolish. Hanging my head, I mumbled, “Oh, yeah. That.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t do aura reading, so I have no idea what yours looks like. I just try to be as truthful as I can and help people by telling them what I see in the cards.”
Taking a step toward her table, I said, “I’d really like a reading now, if you’re willing to do it. I’m not really angry at my partner anyway, if that means anything. I just got frustrated with his closed mind on what you all are doing here.”
Madame Cassandra smiled and waved me around the table. “Okay. Come back and we’ll see what we can see.”
I hurried through the space between her table and the back wall of the hall and sat down at a tinier table she had set up between herself and her customers. I hadn’t even thought about asking how much she charged and hadn’t noticed the amount mentioned on her sign, but now that I was sitting there ready for the reading to begin, I wasn’t even sure I had more than a couple twenties on me.
Quietly, I asked, “I’m sorry, I know I should have asked this before, but how much is a reading?”
She picked up the deck of tarot cards and began shuffling. Focused on the cards in her hands, she didn’t even look up when she answered, “Forty, dear.”
Okay, that would probably be fine. If I didn’t have enough, I’d just ask Alex to give me the money and pay him back later. That would give him a chance to pooh-pooh this whole thing again, though, but I didn’t care. Let him dismiss it all he wanted.
She set the deck of cards in front of me. “Shuffle until you feel comfortable to cut them into three piles, dear.”
I did as she instructed and shuffled until something inside me said to stop. Then I divided the deck into three nearly equal sized piles of cards and sat back in my seat for her to begin the reading.
But instead of starting, she looked at me intently, like she was studying me. She did this for so long I became uncomfortable, so I fell back on what I always did.
I talked.
“Is something wrong? Did I do the cutting wrong? I can do it again, if that’s what you need me to do,” I said, each word coming faster than the last as they all tumbled out of my mouth.
Madame Cassandra said nothing and didn’t even shake her head. Uneasy about what could be going on, I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Maybe this was the way she did her readings. I didn’t know, but what I did know is that any residual anger that had been left over from my disagreement with Alex was quickly replaced with a real sense of discomfort as I sat there waiting for her to begin the reading or at least say something.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she said, “I prefer to do simple readings, using as many cards as I need to in order to get to the heart of the issue you’re concerned about.”
“Okay. That’s fine with me.”
She chose the stack of cards farthest to my right and moved the other two stacks with her other hand. I watched as she dealt out seven cards face down into a pattern that resembled a triangle on the right, a triangle on the left, and a single card in between them.
“Now, dear, what this will tell us is about you and your significant other and any issues there are between you that may be getting in the way,” Madame Cassandra said as she turned over the first card.
“How did you know that’s what I wanted to know about?” I asked as she tapped on the first card, the Queen of Cups. “What if I wanted to know about my career?”
She looked up at me and smiled. “Everything in life is based on relationships. Your significant other might refer to your boss at work or a co-worker, if you’re wondering about your career.”
“Oh. Okay,” I said, examining the Queen of Cups and liking how she looked dressed in a long white gown sitting on a golden throne with a large gold cup in her right hand.
Madame Cassandra tapped on the card again and looked up at me. “These three cards represent you. This card, the Queen of Cups, indicates you’re a compassionate and empathetic person. You care about others around you. In the upright position, like she is here, she’s able to take care of the needs of others. She’s the kind of woman any man would want for a wife or partner.”
Her last words struck me, and I looked down at the card, surprised at how exposed I felt at that moment. I watched as she turned over the next card in the triangle that represented me and saw the Moon card that actually looked more like a sun with the face of a man inside it set against a deep blue background that represented nighttime.
Once again, she tapped her index finger on the card and looked up at me. “The Moon. You’re prone to letting what happened in the past affect your present and your future. You worry that what happened before will happen again, so fear controls your thoughts and emotions.”
The memory of Jared running off with Cicely and being left alone came rushing back, and I felt myself get small at the thought of that happening with Alex too. I’d never considered that he’d do that before, but now as I sat there in that tiny cubby at the back of Jacob’s Hall staring at that Moon card, I began to worry.
Then she turned over the third card in my triangle and I saw the Three of Pentacles come up. Looking across the table, I waited to hear her interpretation to see if Alex and I were doomed or if there was some chance for us.
“The Three of Pentacles is all about collaboration. Working together is key. All the parts of a clock must work in unison for it to tell the correct time, and a relationship is very much the same thing. Both people must be working toward the same goal or they won’t be happy.”
I nodded and forced myself to smile at her, but so far, this tarot reading wasn’t helping me much with my concern about my relationship with Alex and how I feared it had stagnated. Madame Cassandra smiled back at me and turned her attention to the other three cards that represented my significant other.
“Now these are all about the person who you’re in the relationship with. Remember, it doesn’t have to be a romantic
relationship. It could be a work relationship too.”
She winked at me and then turned over the first card, the King of Pentacles. “Ooooh, this is a good card for a potential mate or a partner. This represents a man who provides stability and comfort. He handles crises well, so as a partner, he’s always grounded. He’s a very strong opposite to the Queen of Cups, who is far more emotional and intuitive.”
Well, that wasn’t bad news, and Alex certainly would be considered as stable and grounded. King of Pentacles he was.
The next card she turned over made my stomach twist into a knot. A man lay on the ground with swords sticking out of his back. Was this death? Alex’s death? Was he in danger?
Reaching her slender hand across the table, Madame Cassandra gently touched my arm. “Please don’t worry. The Ten of Swords doesn’t mean something bad is going to happen. It more than likely refers to a betrayal and loss that your significant other has suffered in the past. This loss was devastating, but he made it through. Does that make sense?”
I realized I’d been holding my breath since she turned over the card, so I let the air out of my lungs with a whoosh and looked over at her. Alex had been through a devastating betrayal with Ken and losing Helena had made him leave his life behind and come to Sunset Ridge.
“It does make sense. Thanks for explaining it that way. I got scared when I saw that card. It’s pretty awful looking.”
“Oh, dear, I know. It looks far worse than it actually is. In fact, none of the tarot is all bad. Each card shows us some part of ourselves and the situation we’re in, good and bad.”
“Let’s see what the final card for your significant other shows us.”
She turned over the last triangle card and I saw a man and a woman holding golden chalices with a lion head with wings on each side hovering over them and a caduceus between them. I had no idea what all that meant, but it looked positive, at least.
“The Two of Cups is an auspicious card, for sure,” Madame Cassandra said. “It says that the relationship is important to the other person, which is always good news. This card can signify marriage or at the very least commitment. What it tells about your significant other is that they value what they have with you, be it work or personal.”
The Witching Hour Page 6