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Maysoun frowned. “He’s not here.”
“Do you know when he’ll be back?”
“Not until April or May. He hates the cold. He went home to the Middle East for the winter. He left back at the beginning of October.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize.”Strike one.There was no way Gramps would’ve given his token to someone who wasn’t around all the time. It needed to be accessible.
“We were all sad to hear about your grandfather. My great-grandfather will miss him very much.”
“Thanks, Maysoun.” She gave the other woman a smile. “Tell your family I said hello. See you in the spring when it’s much warmer.” She gave the young girl a wave and left the shop with Hawk at her heels.
Back out on the sidewalk, heading south, she turned to Hawk and said, “We can scratch that one. The token would need to be somewhere that Gramps could get it when he needed it. Abdul being out of town for months on end makes it unlikely he would be in charge of it.”
“Agreed.” Hawk’s gaze darted about their surroundings.
Remy wasn’t sure if that made her feel safer or more freaked out. She decided not to dwell on it. Let him do whatever it was that he was supposed to do to keep her alive, and she’d just concentrate on finding the token.
They walked down another two blocks and then turned onto West 75th Street. “Do you know where we’re headed?” Hawk asked. He still didn’t look at her but kept his gaze sweeping the streets.
“Yes, the second stop is right up here.” She pointed, and Hawk followed her direction to the store front.
“We’re going to see a psychic?” He shot her a glance then.
She nodded. “Madam Zalenski. Maria is her first name. She knew both of my grandparents. She’d invite Gramps in for tea when he was walking past if she didn’t have a client.” Remy walked over and glanced in the window. It was a huge plate glass affair withPsychic Readingsstenciled in bold red lettering. Across the inside of the window hung strings of gold beads of varying lengths that had different symbols mixed in among the beads.
“Maria has been here for donkey’s years, as my grandmother used to say. I remember looking for my sign in among all the gold beads.” She pointed. “There, see that symbol? It’s mine, I’m a Virgo.” She pointed to the gold charm attached to one of the bead strings.
Hawk stood mute beside her. He seemed to be using the window’s reflection to see what was going on around them.
Maria Zalenski waved at them. Remy moved around Hawk and opened the door. “Maria, it’s so good to see you.”
“Remy,” the older woman said, as she came forward and gave Remy a warm hug. “It’s so good to see you, too.” She touched the blond hair and cocked an eyebrow. “A wig?” She narrowed her eyes slightly but didn’t say anything else.
Two for two. Apparently, the wig wasn’t fooling people when they were up close. Remy let out a sigh as she marveled at how the older woman hadn’t seemed to age a day since they’d first met when Remy was about twelve. Maria’s long white hair still curled around her cherubic face. Her brown eyes danced with laughter more often than not, and she exuded an air of warmth and pure joy of life.
“Come, sit for a minute,” Maria said as she moved back toward the chairs in the corner of the room. There was a table covered with a black tablecloth between two chairs, and her tarot cards and crystal ball were there in the center, as they’d always been.
Once seated, she turned to Remy. “Who did you bring with you today?” She nodded toward Hawk.
“Um, this is Hawk. He’s a friend of mine.”
Maria studied Hawk for a full minute. Hawk held her gaze with seemingly no issue and then went back to looking out the window when Maria turned back to face Remy. “He’s more than a friend.”
Remy didn’t quite know what to say to that. “Um…”
“You’re in some kind of trouble.” The older lady studied Remy. “You’re in danger. He’s here to keep you safe.” She stared over Remy’s left shoulder. “I’m not sure he can,” she mumbled and then grabbed her tarot cards. She quickly shuffled the deck and then cut them. She drew out three cards, none of which meant anything to Remy.
“There is much change coming for you, dear,” Maria said. “Some of it is good. Some, not so much. You will have to come to terms with things before you can move on.”
Remy wasn’t sure what she should say to that, if anything.
Maria looked at the cards again. “You have discovered that your grandfather kept secrets.” She lifted troubled eyes.
Their gazes met. A chill went down Remy’s spine. “You know, don’t you? You know about—"
Maria held up her hands. “Don’t tell me. I don’t know the details, and I told your grandfather I wanted no part in it. Nothing good can come from itfor me. For you, it will be different.”
“What do you know?” Remy demanded.
