The Death Card: A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery Read Free Page A

violatin’ the city ordinance that regulates folks like you. Don’t
know what you’re practicin’ out here but be willin’ to bet it ain’t legit. So
let’s make a deal. You tell me about Seth, and I don’t run you in.”
    She
opened the door and indicated he should leave. “I want you to get out of my
house. What I do is an art, not some kind of witchcraft, and I would never tell
you anything about a client of mine.”
    “I’ll
leave for now but I want you to think ‘bout what I said. Let me put it this
way, you don’t tell me somethin’ by tomorrow night, then I’m comin’ out here
and haulin’ you in. Here’s my phone number. After you think about it, I’m sure
you’ll change your mind. Jail ain’t a real nice place for a looker like you.
Funny things happen in there,” he said smirking as he walked out the door.
“Talk to you soon, Madame Dika.”
    *****
    As soon as he drove away,
Madame Dika picked up her phone and pressed in a number. “Yes, Madelina? What
is it?” a voice on the other end asked.
    Tears
streamed down her face as she tried to talk, “Annntttonnn, he’s going to arrest
me.”
    “Stop
crying and tell me what you’re talking about. Who is going to arrest you and
for what?”
    She
took a deep breath, blew her nose, and said, “A deputy police chief was here
demanding that I tell him about my sessions with Seth Williams, the Red Cedar
chief of police. I refused, and he said if I didn’t tell him by tomorrow night,
he’d arrest me for violating a city ordinance that requires me to be licensed.
He even offered me five thousand dollars as a bribe.”
    “That’s
a lot of money. Wonder where a deputy chief of police in a small podunk town
like Red Cedar gets money like that. What did you tell him?”
    “I
told him to get out. I told him what I did was an art, not some form of
witchcraft. He said he had a longshot horse come in yesterday and it paid big.”
    “All
right, Madelina, I’ll take care of it for you. Don’t worry about it. What’s his
name?”
    “He
said it was Leroy Moore, and he was the deputy chief of police in Red Cedar.
What are you going to do? He told me bad things happen to people in jail.
Anton, I can’t go to jail.”
    “You
don’t need to know what I’m going to do. All you need to do is continue with
your readings. You won’t be seeing him again.”
    “I
hope you’re right. If I was arrested, he’d probably find out about the time I
spent in prison, and I can’t go back there. If it hadn’t been for you paying
people off when I was in prison, I don’t know what would have happened to me
while I was in there.”
    “Madalina,
I told you not to worry about it. I’ll take care of you. You don’t need to know
the specifics. All you need to know is that he’ll never bother you again.”
    “Oh,
Anton. I’m so lucky to have a brother like you. What would I do without you?
Thank you. You’re really sure I’ll never see him again?”
    “Yes,
I’m very sure.”
    Relieved,
Madame Dika hung up the phone. Moments later, disquieting thoughts began
filling her mind.
    What
if Anton can’t do anything? What if he’s just saying that? We haven’t been
getting along lately. What if I’m arrested and I go to prison again? What if
mother finds out? I promised her I would never disappoint her again. It almost
killed her when she found out I went to prison for that little incident in Los
Angeles. I can’t have that happen. Anton is my brother, but I know he’s not the
most reliable person. I suppose the only person I can really count on is me. I
better take care of this. I can’t go to prison again.
    She
heard the sound of a car door closing, and she quickly got ready for her next
reading.

CHAPTER 3
     
    Leroy had just left Madame Dika’s
when his cell phone rang. He looked at the monitor and saw the name “Ratface.”
He was tempted to ignore the call, but he knew from past experiences Ratface
would just continue to call him. He pulled over to