Chapter 2 #2
“Which is why you always hire a professional. No women sitting on the sidewalks, offering to read your fortune for a small fee.” Rory smiled at Bubba. “Everyone thinks as soon as they buy a Tarot deck they can interpret the cards.”
“Let’s head over to the store and see if she’ll talk to the two of us.” I had never worked in tantum with another medium before. Maybe Mercy would be receptive to chatting with Rory.
Bubba looked up from his phone. “We’re in luck on the home front. Mercy rented the apartment above the shop, so Nic’s her landlord. He said he’ll have a key waiting for us when we arrive at the shop.”
“Okay then, let’s get this party on the road,” I grabbed my coat and tote. I hadn’t even gone up to my office. Which, I just realized, I hadn’t stepped foot in for a few weeks. “Once this is done, I need to get back to running my business before it falls apart on me.”
“Girl, I know that. I’ve been dealing with things on my phone since we left California. How on earth can telling someone’s fortune be an emergency?” Rory laughed as another text announcement sounded. “Now that we’re out of lockdown, I refuse to do a reading over Zoom. It lacks all the mystic.”
When we got to the shop, the store had finally reopened after Mercy’s death. Her portrait hung behind the cash register, a black veil covering her face. Crystal, the girl who had been hitting on Nic hard the last time I was here, was at the counter.
“Oh, it’s you. How’s Nic? I haven’t seen him in days.” Crystal gushed out, looking at the three of us.
Rory looked at me and I shrugged.
“Hey, Crystal. Nic’s great. His fiancé is in town, and they’ve been locked up in his bedroom for days. I swear, it’s a good thing he has a cook at the house, or they’d starve to death before they came out. They’re like rabbits in love.”
The girl’s cheeks turned red. “Oh, I didn’t realize he was involved with someone.”
“She’s amazing. We’re best friends and she and Nic are the model couple for how to make a long-distance relationship work. I feel jealous every time I hear them talk on the phone.” Rory put her spin on it, making sure the woman knew, Nic was taken.
“Anyway, we’re here to look at the reading room again. Mercy’s room? Did someone leave us a key for the apartment?” Bubba tried to move the conversation off Nic’s love life.
“Oh, yeah. A guy came in a few minutes ago and told me to give you this,” she handed me an envelope. “We haven’t hired a new reader yet. The HR department keeps telling me it might be a while. A lot of people only come in for the readings. I wish they’d hurry and hire. Traffic’s dying here.”
“I’m sure they’re looking for a true talent,” Rory said, glancing at Mercy’s portrait. “Esmeralda said that Mercy was almost as good as she was. Esmeralda is my friend who’s engaged to Nic.”
The girl turned even more red. I thought we needed to get out of there before her head flew off.
“Thanks for this,” I held up the envelope, and then we headed into the reading room. It was set up the same, a dark blue tablecloth over the small table. Stars on the ceiling. And four chairs. A crystal ball sat on the table, a light glinting from it.
“Nic needs to stay away from here. That girl still has designs on your brother. Now she thinks she can woo him away from Esmeralda.” Rory sighed as she took a seat at the table. “The things women do to each other.”
“We are a mystery even to each other,” I said as I sat down. I patted the seat next to me. “Have a chair.”
Bubba gently sat, looking around the room as he perched uneasily on the chair. “I agree with everything you all are saying. Women are a mystery. I’ve never been in one of these rooms before. It’s all a little intimidating.”
“That’s the point, gorgeous man.” A shimmer came from the reader chair opposite us. “Hi, Eddie. I see you brought friends with you. Have you talked to your mom yet?”
I watched the chair as Mercy’s form took shape from a cloud of grey. When I could make out her image, I nodded. “Mom said there might have been a reason why she’d been killed. Not just an accident. So what mystery was so big that she had to be silenced to keep the secret? And why were you killed?”
Mercy sighed, but as a ghost, it kind of lost its umph. “All good questions. But I’m afraid it’s not a secret they want to get out. I’m afraid they are exterminating us. They don’t want us using our talents to help others.” She pointed at Rory. “Your power is strong, but you’re not of us, are you?”
Rory shook her head. “I’m from California.”
Mercy’s mouth quirked up in a smile. “Doesn’t everyone believe in fairy tales in the magic state?”
“Not everyone, but enough that I make a good living. What can you tell us about your death. We might have a suspect.” Rory softly turned the conversation back to the killings.
Mercy floated above her chair. “I kept the information from Eddie when she came alone. I didn’t want to put a target on her back. But now that you have friends to protect you, I can tell you what I know.”
She paused a minute, and I was pretty sure it was dramatic effect, not low ghost energy. She was staring at Rory. “You need to stay safe if this isn’t stopped here, the evil will spread and no place, not even California will be safe.”
Rory nodded, letting her know that she understood, then she grabbed my hand. I grabbed Bubba’s and then Rory reached her hand over and Bubba took her other one. We stayed like that as Rory regained her voice. “I promise.”
“Well, then we should get to work,” Mercy said to the three of us.
“When your mother was alive, a man came to town. He held a tent revival near the river every night, trying to save souls, but I could feel his evil. He wasn’t preaching a pathway to the divine.
He was focused on finding people with power.
Somehow, when he kills, he’s learned how to absorb the talent from his victims. He’s ancient, yet when he came to my reading room, he looked young.
Like those vampires people love to read about.
He feeds off our power. I should have recognized him for what he was, but the girl out front made him an appointment without my approval.
I always preview them before I bring them in. Him, she just let in.”
“Well at least Nic has a valid reason to fire her,” Bubba said, and Rory laughed.
I stayed focused on Mercy. I felt like this was how my parents had died. This man who stole talents. Mom and Dad collected people with talents. New Orleans must be a buffet for him. “He’s still alive? After all these years?”
Mercy frowned and nodded. “He hibernates between big kills. I think he’s feeding now. For some reason, I can see him. When he took my talent and my life, I think a part of me stayed there. Maybe there’s enough of all of us.”
“He kidnapped a woman with power. Has he killed her?” If Mercy truly could see the killer, maybe having Catherine there would strengthen her abilities.
When Mercy spoke, her voice sounded weak. I knew our chances of getting any more answers were growing thin. “She’s alive.”
“Can you see where she is?” I pushed Mercy.
“The river is nearby and she can hear the riverboats whistling. And people, she can hear a lot of people.” Mercy sighed, “I’m sorry, keeping my connection there and here is draining. Your mom says, “Stay safe, please stay safe. Don’t worry about me. Just stay away from him.”
With that, the lights in the room went up and we were sitting, alone, holding hands.
Rory leaned back. “She’s gone. I don’t understand her story. A man who stays young on power? Is that even a thing?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“We know someone who would, though. Alexander. He hasn’t said anything about this type of killing. Maybe Mercy just gave us a clue.” Bubba dropped my hand and stood.
“Maybe more than one. She said that Catherine was near and by the river.” I was trying to see on the imaginary map in my mind where the tourists and the river met. “She might be somewhere near Jackson Square?”
“It’s a great place to start.” Bubba stood, then shook his head. “First, we check out Mercy’s apartment, right?”
“I don’t know if we’ll find anything, but we are here already. We might as well try.” I stood too and waited for Rory. She seemed lost in thought. “You okay?”
“Oh, I’m fine. I’ve just a little winded from the seance. She was a really powerful spirit. Either, he wasn’t able to drain her, like he’d planned. Or someone stopped him. Your mom knew Mercy?”
“According to both of them, they were friends.” I stared at Rory. “What are you not telling us?”
“It may be nothing, but I think we have two strong spirits merging to help us deal with our villain.” She glanced around the room. “Heaven help the man if I’m right.”