Chapter 10
Thursday, Oct. 12
About the only thing that made Madame Zora’s waiting room any different from a doctor’s was the faintest smell of lavender in the air, Kate thought.
It was painted off-white with magazines like People stacked neatly on tables next to moderately uncomfortable couches. And there was no sign of what Kate had expected-scented candles, beads or voodoo dolls- not even new age music.
Instead the place had more of a sterile quality.
She was surprised a little by the number of people there-she counted eight. Apparently a lot of people need a psychic healer, or an “alternative medicine guru” as she styled herself now.
Maybe the crowd should not have been surprising. Madame Zora was one of Loudoun’s oldest business owners and if her establishment did not have much respect (jokes about it were common), it had at least endured long enough to command a loyal clientele.
Kate shook her head. It wasn’t that she disbelieved in something beyond the material world, but this? A semi-doctor's office dedicated to the occult? She found it hard to accept.
But she dutifully scribbled something in her notebook. An article on Madame Zora-Loudoun’s most famous (and presumably only) psychic-was to be her contribution to the Halloween section. And though she hated the section, she would at least write a good article. It was a matter of professional pride.
“Kate Tassel?” a sprightly teenage girl with a ponytail asked as she came out of the door on the far wall. She too had the air of a nurse-or doctor’s assistant-clothed in a white coat.
Kate gathered her notebook and stood up.
“Madame Zora will see you now,” the girl said and gestured for Kate to follow.
Kate followed her in and they proceeded down a long hallway with several closed doors on either side.
“Have you ever been with us before?” the girl inquired.
Kate shook her head.
“Well, you are in for a treat,” the girl said and smiled broadly. “Madame Zora is the best in the business.”
Kate wryly wondered what “business” they were talking about.
She was escorted to a red door near what Kate assumed must be the back of the building. The girl knocked, smiled again, opened the door and walked quickly away.
Watching her go, Kate stepped through the doorway and was astounded at the change.
She took a deep breath. This is more like what she had expected.
Rows of creepy dolls lined two bookshelves in the back, all positioned in different ways. A dark maroon drapery hung across one wall and a door in the back was semi-hidden by columns of beads. In the center of the room sat a small round table covered in a gold tablecloth with a single lit candle on it. Two empty chairs sat on either side of the table.
Kate smelled the air-the candle was definitely lavender-scented. She waited for close to a minute before she heard a small hissing sound. The room started to fill with smoke. Kate stood up and started to back away.
“Reporter!” a voice called from above her head. “Stay where you are!”
With some reluctance, Kate sat back down and quietly turned on her tape recorder.
“You are about to meet Madame Zora-the most powerful psychic in the world!” the voice said, and Kate noticed it had a vaguely British accent to it. “Be not afraid to look directly at her, for your heart will be filled with peace and you shall know contentment.”
With that, a plume of smoke shot up in the center of the room and when it cleared there was a woman standing there, dressed in a brightly colored robe. She faced away from Kate.
“Why have you come?” Zora asked.
Kate coughed, waved away smoke from her face and tried to speak…
“I shall tell you why you have come,” the woman continued before Kate could say anything.
“You have come to test the great Zora. You have come to see if she is a fraud.”
“Actually, I…” Kate started.
“Silence!” Zora shouted. “I know your heart. I know your fears. I know all.”
With that, she started to slowly turn until she faced Kate, but Zora kept her eyes closed and her arms crossed in front of her chest.
“I will give you what you seek,” Zora intoned. “I will tell you, Kate Tassel, that…”
At that moment, Zora opened her eyes…and stopped.
“Well, Jesus,” Zora said and her body language changed dramatically. Her voice now had a slightly southern lilt to it.
“Hell, I’m sorry,” she said and Kate felt her jaw beginning to drop. “I got all dressed up because I thought it was some reporter… and… well, crap.”
She laughed and shrugged in a you-know-how-it-is way. Kate didn’t get it.
Zora turned and pushed a button underneath her table.
“Lou Ann,” Zora yelled at the table. “Lou Ann, get your butt in here!”
Zora gave Kate an apologetic look. Kate stayed silent, not sure what was going on.
A moment later, the teenage girl reappeared.
“Yes, Madame Zora,” she said when she poked her head through the door.
“Why the heck did you tell me it was the reporter coming?” Zora demanded. “I got all dressed up, used my best show smoke and all. That stuff isn’t cheap, Lou Ann. I’ve told you before you need to pay attention to who you are sending back to me.”
Lou Ann looked guiltily around and then turned to Kate.
“But I thought you said…” Lou Ann said and looked plaintively at Kate.
“I am the reporter,” Kate said, looking at Zora.
Zora looked stunned.
“But you’re…” she said and her voice faltered. “You’re the Loudoun Chronicle reporter?”
Kate nodded. Lou Ann looked briefly vindicated and shut the door.
Zora appeared flustered and sat down in her chair.
“I don’t understand,” she said, but Kate had the impression she was talking to herself.
“You were expecting me to come,” Kate said, feeling a little defensive as if she was the one at fault.
“Yes, yes,” Zora said and looked back at her. “It’s totally my fault. Hell, that was impressive, though, wasn’t it? My performance? I mean, I felt pretty ‘on.’ Did I feel ‘on’ to you?”
“It was…” Kate started. “Impressive?”
“Yeah, it felt pretty good. And now I blew it. And I think that was a really good one, too. Oh well.”
“If you want I can go back out and you can start over,” Kate said.
“No, no,” Zora said and waved her hand. “It’s done. No use crying over spilled honey.”
“Don’t you mean milk?”
“Well, aren’t you little-Miss-literal?” Zora said. Then she sighed and leaned back in her chair. “I’m sorry to snap. It’s been a tough day and I had really been hoping to wow you. I don't get that many new customers anymore. It’s mostly the same people, with the same problems. You always want to jazz it up for the new people.”
“Why did you think I wasn’t the reporter?” Kate asked.
“Well…” Zora started. “I thought you were in the trade.”
“The trade?”
“I thought you were another, oh hell, what’s the latest term, ‘alternative healer.’ I just assumed really. It isn’t often…”
Kate waited.
“No sense me prattling on,” Zora said. “You can ask your questions. I’m not in the mood to give much in the
