Page 23 of Deadly Misfortunes

A man stepped up to Lucy’s booth and paid her. “I would like to speak to my beloved wife.”

“Marybeth? She’s here, thrilled to talk to you. She wants you to know how much she adores you and will wait for you to join her.”

“What are our nicknames for each other?” the man asked, as if needing confirmation that this was all true.

“You called her Swan Song because she’d been a ballerina when she was younger, and she called you Grease Monkey because you were always tinkering on vintage cars, restoring them and selling them.”

He laughed and wiped tears from his eyes.

Gregory hurried after the others as they got in the long line for Sascha’s booth. He glanced back at the old man, unable to hear what else was said, but Lucy was smiling and nodding.

Rose was standing quietly next to Marvin. She finally glanced over her shoulder and asked Gregory, “Since you hung around for the elderly man’s reading, did he hear what he wanted to?”

“Yeah. He was overjoyed.” How would Lucy know what the man and his wife called each other unless she knew them or they had shared that information with people she knew? Yet, he couldn’t imagine she would unless this was a great con job and he was a plant.

A crowd began to line up at Lucy’s booth as Gregory and his companions drew closer to Sascha’s.

“I’m not doing this,” Stephanie said as they got closer to the front of the line.

“Did Sascha do your reading when you were here with Prescott?” Gregory asked.

“No. She was out sick. Kat did because she was trying to steal Prescott from me.”

Which she did.

“I hope you don’t feel like this is the same situation all over again,” Marvin said.

“No,” Gregory answered for Stephanie. “Because we aren’t dating. Stephanie and Prescott were.” He knew Stephanie was interested, but he sure wasn’t.

When Marvin and Rose reached Sascha, she smiled at Rose. “Thanks for everything last night.”

“You’re so welcome. Do you feel better today?”

“I do. Do you want me to do a reading for you again?”

“Sure.” Rose handed her a bunch of tickets. “Who is Fenton and where do I meet him?”

Sascha closed her eyes and ran her hand over a purple-tinted crystal ball that had to be for show, as she hadn’t used one the other night. She opened her eyes. Green eyes, the color of emeralds. “Uh, you run into each other.”

“Where? Like at a restaurant or something?”

“In cars.”

“A car crash?” Rose looked horrified.

“You’ll both be fine.”

Rose glanced at Gregory, as if he could change the fortune teller's outcome. He couldn’t help but be furious that Sascha had conjured such a terrifying vision of his sister's future. Wasn’t this supposed to be all fun and fluff?

“That sucks,” Marvin said, handing his tickets over to Sascha. “What do you see for me?”

“Bars.”

Marvin laughed. “Yeah, I like to frequent several bars.”

If Rose didn’t dump the guy after the fair, Gregory would make sure he never saw her again.

“No worries,” Sascha said to Gregory as if she’d read his mind.