THE WITCH AND THE TEA PARTY (A Rachael Penzra Mystery) by Elizabeth Shawn Page B

that you’re somehow seeing the young ladies who have been cavorting around my wife, trying to get her interest in backing them. Our company is helping to finance a local beauty contest and some of the interviews have taken place in the store. They’re certainly cute little girls, but ‘little girls’ is the first thing someone my age thinks about. Some seem sweet and some quite precocious. I am surprised, though, that you’d see them somehow in my mind. To be honest, I prefer more mature women.”
    “Oh, of course,” Moondance simpered. I never knew you could hear a simper through a microphone so clearly. “Sometimes it’s difficult to tell what is the correct interpretation of what I’m seeing really is. I didn’t mean to accuse you of anything.”
    “Well, having gotten the females in my life out of the way, what else do you see about my future?”
    She went on to tell him that she saw tumultuous seas ahead, but that she thought the final outcome would be favorable. She predicted wealth and good health. All in all she did a pretty good tale. I wondered if she ever actually saw anything in the ball.
    Next came Stella Lang, one of the sisters. She scraped the chair rather aggressively. “I suppose you’re going to tell me that I’ll meet a dark, handsome stranger, or maybe that I’ll take a long trip somewhere.”
    “Only if that appears in the ball,” Moondance said, having apparently heard that kind of attack numerous times. “It would be nice if we all had such pleasant readings, but alas, it isn’t always that way. You, I see, have deep, sometimes conflicting, family ties. I can tell you that in your case the good far outweighs any negativity.” There was an intake of breath. Ignoring it, Moondance continued. “You probably don’t want to take any long trips in the near future—say the next few months—but if you do, watch out for too easily obtained friendships.”
    “I don’t plan any,” Stella interrupted. “But what exactly did you mean about family conflicts? What do you see?”
    Oh, oh. From what the terrible trio had talked about various times around my kitchen table, saying that was the sort of question to be avoided. Their theory was to keep things general.
    “I don’t see anything definite,” Moondance seemed quite confident. “There is an aura of unusual upset. I think that’s what I’m seeing, as though there’s been an argument with someone close that’s gone beyond the typical clash. I think you both need to take a step back and reassess your primary values. Anger and frustration, and that’s what I see, can muddy things.”
    “She can be so stubborn!” Stella pretty well gave the game away. It didn’t take much to guess that it was her sister she was talking about. It could be a mother, or even daughter, but a good fortune teller had to play the odds sometimes.
    “Is there someone else you wish ill feelings toward?” Moondance asked. I was beginning to think she was smarter than I’d given her credit for being. That was a neat way of bringing in Mrs. B-H’s request.
    “There are a lot of people who irritate me,” Stella sounded as though that was normal in everybody’s life. And maybe it is. “I’ve got a few in mind that I wouldn’t mind seein g take a little fall, bring them down to earth a bit.”
    Not being a psychologist, I didn’t immediately hear the word “fall” and connect it with the string across the top of the stairs. It was rather odd wording, though. I jumped up and dug in my purse for my trusty notebook and pen. I scribbled, “Stella used word ‘fall’ about getting even with somebody”. I hoped I could make sense of my notes later. Still, we’d have the tape to rely on if we needed to go back and check anything.
    A little “bing” sound ended the session, indicating that the time limit was up. I noticed that it hadn’t been set for the Brown-Hendricks couple. Power does have its privileges.
    “What did she tell you? ” Martha