Trouble in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #1)(24)
She made the drive in twenty minutes flat, which was fast even for her. But then, being haunted tended to create a sense of urgency. As she parked her rental in front of one of the restored historical buildings along Main Street, she spotted Sabine through the plate-glass window of her shop, Read ’em and Reap. She was dressed to the hilt in her psychic getup—a floor-length, midnight-blue robe with stars and moons on it and a matching head wrap with a huge fake sapphire in the center. Her long earrings and dozens of bracelets glinted in the sunlight. With her jet black hair—dyed, of course—and black nails and lipstick, the picture was complete. And completely frightening.
Maryse smiled for a moment, unable to help herself. From the outside, two more different people had never been made than she and Sabine, and she was certain that more than a few Mudbug residents wondered how in the world they had ever become such close friends. But then people in Mudbug could sometimes be a little obtuse.
Those two poor little girls with no mothers. Maryse could still remember overhearing her first-grade teacher saying that to the principal their first day of school. They were different from the other kids and knew it. And Sabine didn’t even have a father, just an aging aunt who had taken her in but couldn’t tell her much if anything about her parents.
Now they were both short two parents. Sabine’s parents from a car accident when Sabine was still a baby, and Maryse’s parents lost to cancer.
Maryse frowned and tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. She hated being pitied and had felt the difference in the attitudes of the teachers and other kids even then. As much as Maryse missed her parents, and Sabine wanted to know something about her own, neither of them wanted the pity of people who would never understand. Pity was for those who couldn’t do anything about it. She and Sabine had spent their lives trying to fill those gaps, and damn it, one day the holes their parents left were going to be filled.
Sabine’s tarot cards were fanned out before a distraught, middle-aged, overweight woman with more jewelry than Sabine and hair that was entirely too big. There was a shiny-new, white Cadillac Deville parked in front of Sabine’s building, so Maryse figured she better wait a minute until Sabine delivered the happy news to whatever rich idiot was currently seeking her “professional” advice.
Immediately, Maryse chastised herself for judging others and their beliefs. She’d always been the typical scientist, not believing in anything she couldn’t put her hands on, and now she had a ghost stalking her. It had taken her years to buy into the unnatural ability of Raissa, Sabine’s mentor, but the other psychic had been right about so many things that even Maryse had to admit Raissa had talents that couldn’t be explained. God had been the only exception to her self-imposed rule of proof, and she still wondered whether if she hadn’t been raised in the church she would have questioned His existence as well.
And despite all that, here she was—smack in the middle of a paranormal nightmare. She was about to tell her best friend, who believed in the existence of damned near anything, that Helena Henry was haunting her. For Sabine, who’d been trying to convince her of the supernatural since the first grade, this moment would be beyond value—just like one of those stupid commercials.
One lost tarot reading for closing the shop early—$15.
Three glasses of wine and a burger at Johnny’s—$20.
Hearing your best friend, aka The Disbeliever, say she’s
being haunted by a ghost—Priceless.
She shook her head and sighed, feeling so far out of her element it wasn’t even funny. About that time, Cadillac Woman broke into smiles, and Maryse figured Sabine had wrapped up the good news. She hopped out of her rental and started across the street before she could change her mind.
Chapter Six
As Maryse stepped inside Read ’em and Reap, Sabine looked up in obvious surprise.
“Maryse, is everything all right? What in the world happened to your head?” Sabine jumped up from her chair and rushed over to inspect Maryse’s forehead.
“I wrecked my truck this morning.” She held up a hand to stop the barrage that was about to ensue. “I’ve already been to the doctor, and I’m fine. It’s just a bump and a hellacious headache. A couple of uneventful days and I should be good as new.” Of course, she had a ghost of a chance at stringing together a couple of uneventful days. Literally.
Sabine stared at her for a moment, then narrowed her eyes. “Something’s wrong.”
“Of course something’s wrong. This whole day was wrong.”
Sabine shook her head. “I know that look.”
“What look?” Maryse was already having second thoughts about telling Sabine about Helena. What if Sabine thought she was crazy? What if she was crazy?
“That ‘I don’t want to discuss it’ look that you always get when you need help and don’t want to ask.” Sabine paused for a moment. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but did Hank show up for the reading?”
Maryse sighed. “I should have known I couldn’t hide anything from you. But I don’t want to talk here. I can’t drink taking the pain medication, but I was thinking a burger and a painkiller might loosen me up enough for the subject I need to cover.”
Sabine nodded. “Let me lock up and shed the robes. I’ll meet you at Johnny’s in a few.” She grabbed a set of keys off her desk. “Get the corner table.”