“Iva—” Gideon swallowed, feeling his stomach twist. How could a strange woman know these things about him? “She just made broad statements that could be interpreted in many different ways.”
Iva patted his hand again, still looking at him with something akin to sympathy in her eyes. “She mentioned Fiona.” Her eyebrows rose delicately as Gideon froze and looked at her.
“What?”
“She said that a breath of fresh air had come into your life. That she had reddish hair and that she likes hands, and that she was good for you. I didn’t tell her anything about Fiona.”
Gideon stared at her. “And you don’t know this woman? This psychic?” he asked, reaching blindly for the beer bottle at his side.
“Gideon….” Iva took his hand, clasping his long fingers in her small, soft, wrinkled ones, “she said that you would have a very difficult decision to make…that it would turn your life around…and she said that, although it would be very painful, you would do the right thing in the end.”
He eased his hand away. “I can’t believe I am actually half-believing this,” Gideon said faintly, shaking his head. “Well, Iva, what can I say?”
She gave him a tender, motherly smile. “Nothing. Just file it away in the back of your mind for when you need it. Now, tell us…is there any news from the police about the break-in at Fiona’s shop?”
Gideon shook his head, his mouth grim. “None really. If it weren’t for the note he left that saidyou’ll be next, I think they’d be writing it off as a random robbery.” His grandfather and Iva had learned about the threatening note a few days after the break-in, of course, because of Orbra’s connection to Helga van Hest.
“But there’ve beentwoincidents,” his grandfather reminded him.
“Yes, and the police will say that there are valuable items in that shop, and it backs up to a dark alley, so it’s a target. There’s a lamp in there worth more than five thousand dollars.” At least, according to Carl the shop-smurf.
Gideon thrust that thought away and added, “Fiona’s being smart about it. Taking care not to be alone at night, and always having the alarm system on if she’s at the shop by herself during the day. What other choice does she have?”
“Do they think it’s all related to the skeleton?” Iva asked, her eyes bright with interest—not unlike Fiona’s were, when she talked about the mystery of the skeleton.
“How can it be?” Gideon Senior asked. “The first incident was long before she found the bones.”
“True. But maybe someone knew or suspected the skeleton was there. Or…thatsomethingwas there,” Iva said thoughtfully. “But, still, I can’t imagine what urgency an old skeleton would have for someone. Unless it’s a member of the family? Maybe there’s a family secret hidden in the shop. Or maybe theskeletonis a family secret.” She drew back into her seat on the sofa, bringing her wineglass to her lips, eyes sparkling.
Gideon Senior nudged the shopping bags on the floor. “What in blazes is all in here?” he asked, exchanging glances with his grandson.
Allowing herself to be distracted, Iva leaned forward to pull one of the bags onto her lap, then tilted it so that its contents tumbled onto the ottoman. Tissue paper flew as she unwrapped her treasures. “This is an aromatherapy diffuser, and here are the essential oils that I bought to go with it,” she explained, holding up a device that looked similar to the one Fiona had used at her house, but it was made from metal instead of stone.
“And here are some aromatherapy candles, too—a stress-reliever for you, dearest,” she smiled at Gideon Senior. Then she looked at the younger Gideon and her eyebrows knit. “Hm. I should have gotten one for you too.”
She opened up a small box and showed them a stack of cards with designs and alchemical symbols on them. “When I learn how, I’ll do a Tarot reading for you, my dear,” she told her host, with such sincerity in her voice that he had to look away to keep from grinning.
“What on God’s earth is this?” Gideon Senior bellowed, lifting a rather large, heavy box from the second shopping bag.
“Oh, yes, that’s my favorite of the bunch,” Iva chirped enthusiastically, relieving him of the box. “It’s a mini waterfall. You can put it on your desk…or I could put it in my bedroom.” She slanted a look at him that made the younger Gideon raise his eyebrows and grin. “Or yours.”
“A waterfall? On my desk? Iva, what—”
“Now, dear, remember your blood pressure.” She patted his hand, then returned to the task of pulling the waterfall from its packaging. It was a bowl-like object stacked with rocks of varying sizes and shapes, and a long black electrical cord snaked from the back of it. “Isn’t it cute?”
Gideon himself could hardly believe what he was seeing, but just as he was about to ask what one actually used a small waterfall for, the doorbell rang.
Iva looked up. “Oh, and, Gideon, I forgot—there was one more thing Salton mentioned. She said that you’ll have a surprise tonight.”
Riiiiight.
Gideon glanced at his grandfather and asked, “You didn’t order any more pizza did you?”
“No!” he sputtered as Iva turned an accusatory glare on him.
“Pizza? Anymorepizza?” she asked, shaking a finger. “What have you been eating, Hollis Gideon Nath?”
Gideon didn’t hear his grandfather’s reply as he stepped into the foyer to look out the peephole.
