USUALLY MY MOTHER SMILED FROM EAR TO EAR WHEN presented with the country fried steak platter from Bill’s Bar and Grill, but she quietly thanked our server and then sat staring at her food with indifference.
“Not hungry?” I asked, eyeing the gravy-smothered mass on her plate with mild distaste. I’d never cared for the dish that had put this place on the map and always opted for the spicy catfish po’boy, which came with a side of slaw and a mound of sweet potato fries.
Picking up her fork, my mother pressed the metal tines against the pads of her fingertips. I could tell that her mind was on other things besides her food. “I’m afraid I’ve brought a dark cloud to supper, hon.”
Noting that she had ordered a mixture of lemonade and iced tea in lieu of whiskey, my concern grew. I’d planned on telling her about my visit to Tilly’s and that I thought I might have seen a figure lurking near the writer’s home, but seeing that my mother was not herself, I decided not to mention the worrisome subject.
She was gazing blankly at some point in the middle distance, and I gently waved my hand in front of her face to bring her back to the present. “Did something happen during your reading?”
“Only at the end,” she said after blinking a few times. “I laid out the cards and asked Miz Margaret to think of a question she’d like answered. Most of the time, she’s frettin’ over one of her kids. I think havin’ them live so far away is tough on her. She’s awfully lonely, and if you ask me, they don’t call her near enough.”
I pictured the elderly, housebound woman sitting expectantly by the phone and shook my head in sympathy. “That’s sad. She has a caregiver though, right?”
My mother nodded. “Sure. The kids send money and hire plenty of help for her. They’re right good about that, but there are other ways of carin’ for folks. The most important ways.” She put her palm over her heart. “If one of those kids doesn’t step up, that old gal is gonna keep fadin’. She’s gettin’ real depressed.” After sprinkling some pepper on her fried steak, she continued. “But there were good signs in her cards today. Her son, I think, is gonna get her trained to use a computer so they can email. He’s always on his BlackBerry and he’ll reach out to her a couple of times a day once this happens.”
“That sounds like a great solution for both of them,” I said, hoping my mother would perk up. “Go on and take a bite. Your food is getting cold.”
Absently, she did so. “The problem came at the end of the readin’. Once I knew good news was on the way for Miz Margaret, I’m ashamed to admit that my thoughts wandered. I started thinkin’ about Trey and about that woman who got killed. The one who looked so much like you that my blood practically turned to ice when I saw her picture in the paper. She—”
“Her name was Melissa Plume,” I interjected. I didn’t want her to be referred to as “that woman” or “the victim.” My mother hadn’t meant any harm, but it was important to me that Melissa be remembered as an individual and not just a cold and impersonal noun.
“Melissa.” She spoke her name with respect. “I was layin’ cards down into the Future position, but they weren’t meant to speak to Miz Margaret’s future because I was focusin’ on you and Trey.”
I hated to ask, but it was clear that my mother needed to tell me about those cards. “What were they? Our Future cards?”
“The immediate Future was the Tower. It’s a card of ill omen,” she explained heavily. “Shows a tall tower that’s been hit by lightning. People are runnin’ for their lives or fallin’ from the heights. It’s a warnin’, Lila, probably to both you and Trey. And it’s serious.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. The shadow I’d seen near Tilly’s house seemed to fill the room. Despite the din of the other diners and the innocuous setting, I felt vulnerable.
“The Emperor came next. It’s not a scary card. He influences folks. Can be a benevolent father figure or a mentor. But this Emperor was in reverse. He’s manipulating his authority and that made me think of Jasper. And he can be dangerous, like the man who took Melissa’s life. I reckon both of those men have discovered a new and dark power in themselves. It’s twisted them, made them wicked—each in their own way.” She put down her fork and grabbed my hand. “They’ve got to be stopped before the Tower’s omen comes to pass.”