She makes a face. “Calm Tom?” She glances to the ceiling. “He’s not exactly the knife-you-in-the-back type.”
Was Wyatt knifed in the back? There was blood everywhere. I’ll have to ask Jasper when I get a chance. I’m sure that’s something the killer would know, too.
I clear my throat. “Did Thomas know Wyatt very well?”
Juni clucks her tongue. “Aw, come on, Biz. Didn’t you say they went to college together? Cut to the chase.”
My eyes expand as I look her way, and Georgie mumbles something about a strange talent before she spins her jabber-jaw daughter around and they bury their noses in a book.
“Oh, that’s right.” I shake my head. “Wyatt introduced me to Thomas. I think he mentioned something about a university.” Note to self: Juni is forever banned from any further investigations.
Molly casts a quick glance to the door. Wasn’t I there when Wyatt introduced them? I don’t remember anything about a university. But then, my head was all over the place. I was a woman on a mission, and I completely focused on the task at hand.
Fish squirms as I tip my head back and take a breath. She’s thinking of something incriminating, wasn’t she?
I give a slight nod to the intuitive ball of fur.
Molly shrugs. “Yeah, I think they went to school together.”
“What school was it again?”
Molly squints my way, and I know I have less than a second to defuse her suspicion.
“I went to Dexter and my fiancé went to Ward,” I say. “We’re rivals in that sense.” I never finished at Dexter, but that’s beside the point.
Molly makes a face. “I never understood all that rivalry bologna. Wyatt went to Somerset down in New York. Thomas went there, too. They never really talked about it, but there was this weird tension between them lately. They had an argument last week in the break room, and I heard Wyatt tell him to forget about it.”
“What did Thomas say to that?”
She shudders. “He said two people could keep a secret if one of them was dead.” She shrugs. “Some old Shakespeare quote, I think.”
“Dark words.” But she, or Thomas, got the quote wrong. It’s three can keep a secret if two of them are dead. And it’s not from Shakespeare. It’s Benjamin Franklin who said it, but something tells me this isn’t the time to be a know-it-all.
“But Thomas didn’t kill Wyatt,” she insists. “He’d be at the bottom of the list if I was that handsome homicide detective. Did you see that side of beef? Woo—wee.” She fans herself with her fingers in Jasper’s honor. “That man can interrogate me into the early hours of the night.”
Fish lets out a riotous screech. I’m about to pounce.
Molly wiggles her finger over Fish’s nose. “Hey, little guy. What are you getting so worked up about?”
“It’s a girl,” I say with a note of laughter. “And she’s probably just hungry.”
Fish mewls. Now that you mention it, I can go for a tuna salad.
“Speaking of eating.” Molly checks her phone. “I’ve got a hot date in about fifteen minutes.”
“A date?”
She wrinkles her nose. “Some guy I met at the funeral home offered to buy me coffee.” Wyatt may have left me, but I’m getting the last laugh. Or should I say last cup of coffee? “I’ve still got a few minutes, though. I can do a quick reading for you and your friends. I’ll throw it in as a freebie since you knew Wyatt.”
“Yes!” Georgie shrieks as she and Juni head on over, palms up with expectant, yet hopeful, looks in their eyes.
Molly pulls Juni’s hand close. I bet the old hag wants to hear something salacious.
“There’s a man who is very interested in you,” she says with a devilish gleam in her lying eyes. “Expect a phone call within the next seventy-two hours.”
Juni grunts as she takes her hand back. “Leave it to Spike to turn into a stalker. I’d better dump him before he gets too serious.”
“Me, me.” Georgie waves her hand wildly in Molly’s face.
Molly pulls it to her and examines Georgie’s palm while turning her head from left to right.
“Wow, you’ve really been places.” I may blow hot air at people for a living, but this woman really does have interesting lines. “You’re going to be famous.” She nods to Georgie. “Like TV and everything. And there’s something about you that men are just drawn to. Much younger men. In fact, one of them is going to slip you his number very, very soon.” You owe me one, Brad. “And if you don’t go out with him, you could be missing your destiny forever.”
Georgie gasps, “You hear that, Bizzy? I’m getting a man! A young man!”
“I thought you were averse to men?” I couldn’t help but point it out after her aforementioned outburst against the gender.
“Only the men of my past.” Georgie pulls a compact out of her purse and begins to primp her hair.
Juni nods to Molly. “What about Bizzy?”
Molly picks up my left hand and squints down at it. What in the heck? Her eyes meet with mine for a moment. I’ve read a lot of books on the topic—she shakes her head—but this isn’t anything like I’ve ever seen.
“You have a pink vein in the shape of a lightning bolt.” She traces her finger over my palm. “You’re the only person I’ve ever seen with one of these. Do you know what it means?”
“No.” I lean in. “Do you?”
Her lips waver. It’s not like I’m going to tell her it means she has paranormal tendencies. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want to hear that she has a third eye into another dimension. She’d probably freak out. She looks very Pollyanna. Besides, she’s got a lot on her plate. The cops will have no choice but to arrest her soon. The last thing she needs is to feel like a freak.
Molly shakes her head. “It means that you’re going to be very much loved by your friends and family.” And when they put
