Foods, Fools and a Dead Psychic, Maria Swan [reading list TXT] 📗

wear it in a ponytail if necessary. I left Scottsdale behind and headed toward Paradise Valley Mall with specific shopping ideas in mind. Kay was an easy task. Things Remembered, tucked away in a forgotten mall corner thanks to the Costco addition, was my go-to place for anything personalized. I ordered a crystal and silver name plaque for her desk. It also said, Realtor and Mentor Extraordinaire. The idea was to have Brenda or Leta sneak the wrapped gift under Kay’s Christmas tree the night of the catered affair. An affair to which apparently no co-workers were invited. And that included me. Tristan’s, on the other hand, was a bit more complicated and still a work in progress. I turned the corner, planning on cutting through the food court to get back to the covered parking. My eyes were drawn to the brightly decorated windows and I nearly bumped into of all people, Lois Thomas gingerly pushing a wheel chair with a relaxed and contented-looking Angelique Dumont. You could have knocked me over with a sparrow feather.

I tried to play dumb, but Angelique called out to me. “Monica, what a pleasant surprise.”

And with that kind hello, I was trapped. Inside I squirmed like a gold fish flipped out of its tank, but I had my best smile on and a freshly cut head of hair. Bring it on.

After a few minutes of my changing foot dance, we ended up on the top level where the seating accommodations were cushy and didn’t include food. It turned out the two women were also gift shopping and the wheel chair was one of those light folding things people keep in the trunk of the car. Apparently, as Lois pointed out, Angelique’s health had been improving by leaps and bounds, probably due to Arizona’s favorable climate and easy access to attentive medical personnel. I felt as at ease as a Buckingham Palace Guard with poison ivy in his skivvies. Merci me. The two women had nothing but kind things to say about Brenda and me.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any more awkward, Angelique said, “Why don’t you come visit us when Tristan is back from his trip? And bring your dog, the Great Dane. Tristan can’t stop talking about the way his Tache and your dog like each other.”

On my way to find the car, all I could think about was how badly I needed a drink or a shrink. So instead of heading home, I made a U-turn and took the road to the Desert Homes Real Estate office. Not sure why. Everyone had gone to an afternoon affair put on by the Scottsdale Association of Realtors, to which I might add, we all paid dues. But I chose to skip it and Kassandra wasn’t invited since she was a civilian. I always got her riled up when I said that. Well today was her lucky day. I would pay for happy hour in exchange for the pregnancy test kit she had sworn to bring to the office.

It was after four by the time I drove into the parking lot where the Kia sat in all her loneliness. My cell chimed. It was an agent from Homesmart requesting permission to show my walk-in tub listing in the morning. Yesssss!

If I could just get a negative on the test, I’d be the happiest girl on earth. Well, sort of. I kept wondering where Tristan was. Angelique mentioned a trip. Maybe he went to Vegas to get a divorce? Stop it, Monica. Besides, he may never speak to you again. I didn’t even lock my car. I figured I’d be out of the office and on my way to happy hour in a jiffy. That is, until I got to the front door of Desert Homes Real Estate and found it locked. What the h**l?

What was Kassandra up to now? Would she be so brazen as to have a man in there? Nah. I never knew her to be anything but professional at work. Okay, except for that time when she showed up braless. Not exactly the image I needed in my head; poor Miss Fortune. Why would J.S.’s dad kill her? Wait, no one called him the killer yet. He was ‘a person of interest.’

I tried the door again. There wasn’t a door bell to ring so I knocked. It would take a baseball bat to knock loud enough. The door was massive. So I dialed Kassandra’s cell first and when the call went directly to voice mail, I tried the office number with the same results.

The sudden stiffening of the hair on the back of my neck wasn’t exactly the result of an early evening breeze. I slowly backed away and returned to my car. Maybe Kassandra was in the bathroom. Or maybe she stepped out to run an errand. On foot? And why wasn’t she answering her phone? Where was her surveillance? Breathe, Monica, breathe.

There was a card that allowed agents to open the door after hours, except I never asked for mine. Damn. I could have slid the thing in and voilà, open sesame.

I needed to clear my head and try Kassandra’s phone again. I started the engine and went around the block, paying close attention to parked cars, looking for trucks and campers. Any clue. Nothing looked familiar and my phone calls all ended up in voicemail. When I returned to the parking lot, the outside lights of the building were lit, but they were set to come on at dusk automatically. No lights at all inside. I sat there, like a pile of laundry waiting to be sorted. When my cell chimed I jumped.

“Hey,” Brenda said.

I sighed. “Brenda, something weird is going on.” Then I spilled the beans, leaving out the part about the pregnancy kit.

“Monica, listen and listen good. Get yourself out of there now. Promise me. I’m calling somebody, but you need to get out of there. Okay?”

“OK.” I said, fingers crossed as I just