nice body hidden in those baggy pants, he’d bet. What the hey? “Fine, Karnak, predict something.”
“Dolores is going to tell you she’s pregnant.”
“Fine, we’ll see.”
She shoved a napkin with numbers on it at him. “Call me either way.”
She turned and walked away from him, seemingly confident in her ability.
“We’ll see about that.”
Dolores was cooking some dinner when he arrived. The kitchen had been scrubbed, but it still looked shabby. The appliances needed to be updated.
“Want some?” she asked.
“Thanks.”
“What’d that chick have to say?”
He waved a hand in the air. “Just some nonsense. One of those psychics.”
“What’d she predict?”
“That you were going to be murdered.”
“Lovely. Will you miss me?”
“Won’t have to you’ll still be here. By the way, you’re pregnant.”
Dolores grew still. “You think so?”
“So the lady says.”
Zach dug into his meal. Dolores followed suit a few minutes later.
“She was so sure she gave me her number.”
He dropped the napkin with Grace’s number on the table. Dolores picked it up, then threw it aside. “Odd.”
“That’s what I thought.”
Grace decided she needed a book. Or just to see Dolores who happened to work at a bookstore. “Time to Read” occupied an old Victorian House on the main drag of Glen Hills. The shop sat between an ice cream parlor and a hardware store. Small town America alive and well in New Jersey.
She pushed open the door almost knocking down her quarry.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Dolores said.
Loaded down with books, the woman still struck a defiant pose. What had Grace done to deserve this being so hard? “I’m looking for a book.”
“No, you’re stalking me.”
Paranoid? “I am looking for you, too.” She surveyed the room and at one end sat a small coffee bar. “Can I buy you a cup of coffee?”
“Never drink the stuff.”
“So what can I get you so that you sit and listen to me?”
Dolores frowned. Dropping the books on a cart, she wiped her hands on her dress. “Okay if you’ll leave me alone after this.”
“I’ll try.”
Grace ordered a cappuccino, not that she needed the caffeine. She as too keyed up by the events being different that she could have run to Ohio.
“Spill it.”
“I think you’re in some danger.”
“Danger? What? From you stealing away Zach?”
Did she have Zach this time? “No, I think someone is trying to kill you.”
“Zach said you thought you were psychic.”
“You talked to Zach? Did you tell him about the baby?”
Dolores went still. Her face twisted into a grimace. “Now how do you know about the baby?”
“Because I know Dolores. Just like I know that in two days someone is going to enter your home and shoot you dead.”
Dolores blinked, her face a mask, now. “I think I’ve heard enough.” She stood.
“Dolores, I knew about the baby. Why would I be wrong about this?”
“Because you are. You could have found out I was pregnant other ways.”
Dolores moved away as if on a mission.
“Have you told anyone?”
“No.”
“Then how could I know?”
She whirled to face Grace. “I am pregnant and I don’t care how you know. This will bring Zach back to me.”
“But the baby isn’t his.”
Dolores’ mouth gaped open and she took in a sharp breath. “How do you know that?”
“I know things, Dolores. Now tell me why anyone would want to kill you?”
Chapter Twenty Three
“I was about to call you,” Zach said, as she sat by his desk.
He did have the receiver in his hand.
“She isn’t pregnant,” he said.
“Yes, she is.” Grace ran a hand over her face. Her hand longed to touch him. Just once so she could convey her feelings. He wouldn’t get it. Would he fall in love with her this time? “She just didn’t tell you because you brought it up.”
“You talked to her? I think you need to stay away from her.”
I can’t. How could she tell him? “We chatted. She is pregnant. She wants you back.”
“The child is mine. I’ll do what I need to.”
“But the baby isn’t yours.” she said louder than she wanted. If only she could go forward instead of backward. She’d be through all this. Frustration ate at her patience.
Zach frowned. “So the great Karnak knows that, too.”
Grace bristled at his tone. “No need to make fun. Dolores is in danger. In two nights, I think, someone is going to enter her home and shoot her. Have you checked out her new tenant?”
His back straightened. “I’m in the process of doing that. None of your concern.”
“He’d be a major suspect.”
Zach leaned back in his chair his arms crossed. “Why can’t you tell me who did it?”
“I can’t. I don’t have control over these things.”
“Is she really pregnant?”
“Yes, Za-Mr. Holten.”
“Then why didn’t she tell me? Dolores isn’t exactly one to back down from a confrontation. As a matter of fact I didn’t even confront her. I said it in passing conversation. Look, I have a pile of work to do so if you don’t have anything more specific to tell me about Dolores and her alleged killer I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
Grace stood, knowing what her next move would be.
She needed to find out about Dolores’ tenant.
With Dolores at work, Grace was able to knock on the garage apartment door without prying eyes.
Too bad no one answered. She could see the furniture that came with the place and some boxes, but no other signs of life.
