“I guess that’s something, huh?” Cadence’s tone was light but there was no merriment in her tone. “Like I said, I came up with the idea of being a psychic first. I taught myself how to read tarot cards. It wasn’t difficult as much as time consuming. Each card means a different thing and if you’re wrong on one and someone catches you — which is always a possibility — you’re basically done for with an entire group.
“I first started reading fortunes in the park by our house,” she continued. “It wasn’t easy. In fact, it was ridiculously difficult. I was giving readings away at first, pretending to be a benevolent soul. I needed to practice, though. Slowly, I started getting traction.
“During this time, Sarah was working for a day spa,” she continued. “The money was better, but she hated having to work on a schedule. Still, when I first started doing the cards in my free time, she made fun of me. Then, when I slowly started building up a clientele, she started asking questions.”
Maddie could see where the story was going. At least she thought she could. “Sarah tried to steal your business out from under you.”
“Of course she did. That’s who she is. She’s a scammer, and then some. She’d sell out her own mother to get ahead. I knew she was the type of person who would survive no matter what when we met. I didn’t know exactly how far she would go, though.”
Maddie waited for the woman to continue, but Cadence seemed lost in thought. Or, more precisely, the past. “And then what happened?” Maddie prodded.
“And then ... she put her plan into motion.” Cadence pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. “I didn’t know what was coming. I was caught off guard. I’m pretty sure that was her intention. She thought, if she moved fast enough, that she would be able to take me out of the game. What she didn’t realize is that I was a survivor, too. Sure, I wasn’t as cutthroat as she, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t willing to do what I had to do to survive.”
“I’m going to need more than that,” Maddie prodded.
Cadence’s eyes flashed with impatience. “I’m getting to it.” Her annoyance was evident. “For a very brief time — we’re talking three weeks or so — Sarah and I both worked the same area. It was a tense relationship. We were no longer friends. Heck, we weren’t even pretending to be friends. We stayed under the same roof because neither of us could afford to live on our own ... at least not yet.
“I went out and worked a party at one point,” she continued, taking on a far-off expression. “I was supposed to be out until two or so. That’s what I told her anyway. I was done early, though. It wasn’t as lucrative as I thought it would be.
“Anyway, I was back at the apartment hours before she was expecting me. I overheard her making plans to take my clients and run. She knew I kept the information locked in a small safe in my room and she thought the clients would be invaluable. She also knew she would have to disappear if she took them and was prepared.”
Maddie stirred. “Who was she talking to?”
“What? Oh, her boyfriend at the time. Brad Pryce. He was a total jerk. He hung with some motorcycle gang because he thought he was tough. The thing is, he was a total wuss. Sarah led him around by the nose, made him look like an idiot. It was honestly ridiculous. I mean ... just terrible.”
“I take it he’s no longer in the picture.”
Cadence shook her head. “He never made it out of Tampa. She never had any intention of taking him with her. She used him to get what she wanted and then left him. I know because I saw him when I was leaving town and he was bitter about her taking off.”
Now they were finally getting somewhere and Maddie was determined to press the issue. “I need to know exactly what happened.”
“It’s not some profound story or anything,” Cadence replied. “I overheard them plotting to steal my contacts. There was no way I could allow that to happen. I didn’t realize that was only the tip of the iceberg, though.
“I waited until they went to bed to return to the apartment,” she continued. “I took all my real contacts out of the safe and replaced them with fake ones. Then I took my real ones and hid them in a location outside of the apartment. I thought that would be enough to dissuade her.”
“Why didn’t you just move?” Maude asked. “I mean ... wouldn’t that have made more sense? You obviously couldn’t trust her.”
“I couldn’t,” Cadence agreed. “That doesn’t mean I could afford to move. We were barely making our rent as it was. Finding another apartment was impossible. It would’ve been the smart move, but I believed at the time that my only two choices were being homeless or living with Sarah. I chose to keep a roof over my head.”
“And I’m guessing that was a mistake,” Maddie mused.
“You have no idea.” Cadence dragged a hand through her hair, restless. “Basically, in a nutshell, Sarah broke into my safe, stole the fake contacts, and left. The thing is, in leaving the way she did, Brad became convinced that I killed her and reported her disappearance to the police. He refused to acknowledge that it was likely she just bolted on him. He couldn’t see what kind of person she was.”
Realization washed over Maddie. “Oh. You were on the hook for killing your roommate and yet she voluntarily left.”
“I knew the moment the cops showed up on my doorstep that I was in trouble,” Cadence volunteered. “Reading people is a gift of mine. They’d already
