“That’s not entirely true.” Cadence pointed. “You have access to the cars in the lot. I need the keys to one of them.”
Maddie’s face went slack. “I ... are you kidding me?”
“No. Now is not the time for jokes.”
“But ... those aren’t my vehicles.” Maddie hoped a practical tone would be enough to dissuade Cadence. “I can’t just give you someone else’s car.”
Cadence made a face. “Um ... yes, you can. I can’t stay here. There are people out there looking for me right now. That means they know ... and I have to go.”
“They know what?” Maude queried, genuinely curious. “Are you talking about the fact that they know you killed your roommate and fled from Florida?”
Maddie’s eyes went wide as she slapped her hand to her face. “Granny!” She was horrified.
“What?” Maude held her hands out, as if to say “it’s the truth and you know it.”
“You can’t just blurt those things out to people,” Maddie chided. “Now we’re in big trouble and it’s because you opened your mouth ... again. Saying it once was bad enough. Twice, though?”
As if sensing Maddie’s distress, Olivia popped into existence on the far side of the saloon. It only took the ghost a short amount of time to ascertain what was happening. While Cadence wasn’t armed, it was obvious Maddie was uncomfortable ... and there was an air of menace wafting around the room that made all those involved uncomfortable.
Olivia lifted her chin, met Maddie’s gaze, and nodded. The message was clear. She was going for help. Maddie wouldn’t have to hold off Cadence for long. It was a relief, although now the pressure was mounting and Maddie wasn’t exactly sure how to distract the other psychic.
“What?” Cadence’s eyes grew to the size of saucers. “You think I killed Sarah, don’t you?”
“Was that your roommate’s name?” Maddie asked, making up her mind on the spot. If Olivia was going for help, that meant Nick and the others would be racing through the door any second. That gave her time to draw information out of Cadence. She couldn’t very well give up the opportunity.
Cadence folded her arms over her chest, frustration obvious. “How do you even know about Sarah?”
“It wasn’t that hard to track down,” Maddie replied, choosing her words carefully. “You piqued our interest when you tried to take over the seance. We ran your prints and ... well ... that was all it took.”
“You ran my prints?” Cadence rolled her eyes. “No offense, but how do you have the jurisdiction to run my prints? You’re not a cop.”
“No,” Maddie agreed. “I’m most definitely not a cop. Nick is, though, and Sheriff Boone is in charge of the investigation.”
“And they ran my prints.” Cadence chewed on her bottom lip and shook her head. “Well, isn’t that just a kick in the pants, huh? I never even considered you might do that. I guess that means I’m the stupid one.” She rubbed her chin and rolled her neck. “This entire thing is blowing up in my face.”
Maddie regarded her with inquisitive eyes. “Why did you kill your roommate?”
“Hmm?” Cadence jerked up her head. “Oh, don’t be daft. I didn’t kill my roommate.”
“The report on you from back then says the exact opposite.”
“Yes, well, that’s because they’re stupid,” Cadence muttered. “Sarah isn’t dead. I know you probably believe that because of the story you heard, but she’s not dead.”
“Oh, sure.” Maude rolled her eyes. “She just disappeared into the wind without a trace. Likely story.”
Even though it was a surreal — and serious — conversation, Cadence managed a smile, which somehow threw Maddie for a loop.
“Sarah was ... larger than life,” Cadence explained. “She was a party girl who liked attention. I was the same, so we got along famously. In addition to the drinking, we had another thing in common. Neither one of us wanted to work.”
Despite herself, Maddie was intrigued by the story. “You came up with the psychic thing together.”
“No.” Cadence shook her head. “I came up with it after a trip to the circus. They had a psychic there and she was horrible. I mean ... absolutely horrible. She couldn’t divine a real future from a fortune cookie. It got me to thinking, though.
“I didn’t want a nine-to-five job,” she continued. “The idea of working in an office choked the life out of me. It’s not exactly like I had skills either. I could’ve worked in a restaurant — my mother was a waitress and I learned from her — but I didn’t want that. I wanted something better.”
“You wanted a job where you had to put in minimal effort and rake in money,” Maude mused. “On one hand, I get that. Working has never been something I’ve wanted to do either. On the other, though, there is no such thing as easy money.”
Rather than argue the point, Cadence snorted and bobbed her head. “Oh, trust me. I figured that out relatively quickly. Reading people is easy. I have a knack for it because my mother taught me what signs to look for. I thought I would coast through because of that. I was wrong, though.
“This psychic thing is no joke.” Cadence almost looked whimsical as she flicked her eyes to the window and sighed. “I’m not trying to pretend that I’m some upstanding citizen or anything. That’s not who I am. It’s just ... I did put effort into this. I don’t want you to think otherwise.”
Maddie was conflicted. “I guess I’m not sure what you’re trying to say,” she said after a beat. “I don’t really care why you chose to be a psychic. I’m more interested in the other stuff.”
Cadence was rueful. “Believe it or not, this leads into that ... although I can already tell you aren’t going to believe me.”
Maddie stared at the other woman for what felt like a long time and then
