ring.”
“Yes!”
Often, once a customer was hooked, all she had to do was repeat what people told her in order to amaze them.
“It is important to this person, this man, and he comes from the north. No, the south. Yes, he comes from the south.” She peeked at the ring. “He has history with the ring … but you do not want him to have this ring.” Obviously whoever it was had a history with the ring, or why would he have come?
“Yes!”
“The ring, the ring … you have had it many years … and it came to you under dark circumstances.” She figured that someone, a relative perhaps, died and bequeathed it.
“Can you tell me who he is? How he knows about the ring?”
“There is a dark history with this ring. This man is part of that history, a member of your family.”
“Well…”
“No, not your family, but a place where you once lived.”
“Yes, the orphanage.”
He had just given Helena a wealth of information to build on. “You do not know this man.” If he did, he would know why he had come for the ring, wouldn’t he? “But you must know someone who does know him. At the orphanage. Yes, the orphanage!”
“Yes, the orphanage! But who? Pasqual? I haven’t seen him since La Paz.”
“The man who has come is Bolivian.” Helena watched Jeopardy! so knew some geography.
“Bolivian?”
“Yes, he is from the south, from La Paz.”
“Mexico. La Paz, Mexico.”
“Yes, of course, how silly, I am very tired … he has come from Mexico … but you knew he would come, did you not?”
“Yes! But when I asked him to come, I didn’t think he was going to ask for the ring.”
He asked the Mexican to come? “You had a business arrangement with this man. He is a contractor of some kind, a specialist…” Helena figured anybody from Mexico summoned by a rich white person had to be in the trades, maybe to stucco this rich guy’s house or something.
Grant pulled his hands away.
Aha. There was part of the story he didn’t want her to know. Must be something illegal. Drugs, maybe.
Helena smiled sadly. “The ring, which was taken under dark purpose, has brought this upon you. The ring is cursed, and now so are you. This curse has been a great burden to you.”
“A curse? You mean Purity?” Grant blinked hard a few times. “Should I give him the ring? Will that lift the curse?”
“The curse is upon you, not the ring.” Helena did not understand that Purity was a name, so was a little confused.
“So if I give him the ring, the curse will not go away? My burden will remain?”
Helena jumped from her chair, eyes wild, and loosed a shriek that toppled Grant right out of his chair. Then she sank slowly to her knees, sobbing.
Grant scuttled next to her. “Helena, what happened? Are you all right? Are you OK?”
Helena’s sister, Abbie, appeared in the doorway, a behemoth in a tracksuit. She held up some dried leaves in her hand. “Stand back! Back, I say!”
Grant lurched backward and found his chair.
Abbie strode forward and crumpled the leaves over her sister, chanting as the shredded bay leaves rained onto the sobbing palmist. She paused and furrowed her brow at Grant. “Have you paid?”
“No, I—”
“You must come back tomorrow. She will be better then. Pay and go.”
Grant slapped a hundred-dollar bill on the table, grabbed his umbrella, and pushed out the front door.
Helena abruptly stopped crying. “Lock the door, Abbie.”
Abbie waddled over to the door and flipped the latch. When she returned to the séance parlor, Helena was at the table lighting a cigarette. “He’s a live one.”
“So I figured. What’s the deal?”
“He’s in some sort of shady business.”
“Him? He looks rich.”
“He is, but he is also up to something and has things to hide.”
“Ah. Cursed, is he?”
“Cursed real bad.” Helena grinned.
“Like I seen him before. Famous?”
“Not TV famous. Rich famous.”
“I think I seen him on TV, Lena.”
“That would be
“Yes!”
Often, once a customer was hooked, all she had to do was repeat what people told her in order to amaze them.
“It is important to this person, this man, and he comes from the north. No, the south. Yes, he comes from the south.” She peeked at the ring. “He has history with the ring … but you do not want him to have this ring.” Obviously whoever it was had a history with the ring, or why would he have come?
“Yes!”
“The ring, the ring … you have had it many years … and it came to you under dark circumstances.” She figured that someone, a relative perhaps, died and bequeathed it.
“Can you tell me who he is? How he knows about the ring?”
“There is a dark history with this ring. This man is part of that history, a member of your family.”
“Well…”
“No, not your family, but a place where you once lived.”
“Yes, the orphanage.”
He had just given Helena a wealth of information to build on. “You do not know this man.” If he did, he would know why he had come for the ring, wouldn’t he? “But you must know someone who does know him. At the orphanage. Yes, the orphanage!”
“Yes, the orphanage! But who? Pasqual? I haven’t seen him since La Paz.”
“The man who has come is Bolivian.” Helena watched Jeopardy! so knew some geography.
“Bolivian?”
“Yes, he is from the south, from La Paz.”
“Mexico. La Paz, Mexico.”
“Yes, of course, how silly, I am very tired … he has come from Mexico … but you knew he would come, did you not?”
“Yes! But when I asked him to come, I didn’t think he was going to ask for the ring.”
He asked the Mexican to come? “You had a business arrangement with this man. He is a contractor of some kind, a specialist…” Helena figured anybody from Mexico summoned by a rich white person had to be in the trades, maybe to stucco this rich guy’s house or something.
Grant pulled his hands away.
Aha. There was part of the story he didn’t want her to know. Must be something illegal. Drugs, maybe.
Helena smiled sadly. “The ring, which was taken under dark purpose, has brought this upon you. The ring is cursed, and now so are you. This curse has been a great burden to you.”
“A curse? You mean Purity?” Grant blinked hard a few times. “Should I give him the ring? Will that lift the curse?”
“The curse is upon you, not the ring.” Helena did not understand that Purity was a name, so was a little confused.
“So if I give him the ring, the curse will not go away? My burden will remain?”
Helena jumped from her chair, eyes wild, and loosed a shriek that toppled Grant right out of his chair. Then she sank slowly to her knees, sobbing.
Grant scuttled next to her. “Helena, what happened? Are you all right? Are you OK?”
Helena’s sister, Abbie, appeared in the doorway, a behemoth in a tracksuit. She held up some dried leaves in her hand. “Stand back! Back, I say!”
Grant lurched backward and found his chair.
Abbie strode forward and crumpled the leaves over her sister, chanting as the shredded bay leaves rained onto the sobbing palmist. She paused and furrowed her brow at Grant. “Have you paid?”
“No, I—”
“You must come back tomorrow. She will be better then. Pay and go.”
Grant slapped a hundred-dollar bill on the table, grabbed his umbrella, and pushed out the front door.
Helena abruptly stopped crying. “Lock the door, Abbie.”
Abbie waddled over to the door and flipped the latch. When she returned to the séance parlor, Helena was at the table lighting a cigarette. “He’s a live one.”
“So I figured. What’s the deal?”
“He’s in some sort of shady business.”
“Him? He looks rich.”
“He is, but he is also up to something and has things to hide.”
“Ah. Cursed, is he?”
“Cursed real bad.” Helena grinned.
“Like I seen him before. Famous?”
“Not TV famous. Rich famous.”
“I think I seen him on TV, Lena.”
“That would be
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