Split (Chapter-11)

Angelica almost always ate lunch at the Coven Cafe before beginning her shift as the resident fortuneteller. She had her own private table in the back corner, behind a potted black bamboo plant. Ian spotted her at once.

Felix, the half-Cuban hostess, greeted him with a distinct lack of warmth. “Oh, it’s you. Are you here for lunch?”

“I’m not sure yet. I need to speak to Angelica.” As he scooted past the hostess station, many sets of eyeballs shot daggers in his direction. He guessed Angelica had been sharing information about their trials and tribulations with the Coven's staff and possibly the customers, as well.

Angelica’s face looked pinched. “How may I help you?”

“Can I sit here?” He pulled out a chair before she could answer.

“Apparently you’re going to.”

“Angel, I need you to read my cards.” He leaned toward her, hoping to convey his sense of desperation. “It’s an emergency.”

“Isn’t that typical? Not ‘how are you?’ Not ‘are you busy?’” She let out an exaggerated sigh and looked down at her unfinished slice of red velvet cake. “And I suppose you’re in a hurry?”

“Um…” Ian did have a lot on his plate, so to speak.

“Right. I’ll finish my lunch some other time. Maybe tomorrow.” She pushed her dessert to the edge of the table and brought out her tarot cards. “May I ask why the sudden need for my services?”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to hear what the cards have to say first. So as not to influence the outcome.” He realized he sounded like a complete asshole, but he had to know the truth. And Angelica was proficient at unearthing hidden facts through her tarot readings. She had solved his last case this way.

She handed him the deck. “Shuffle the cards while you think about the question you would like to ask.”

He did as he was told, closing his eyes to concentrate, then passed the deck back to her.

“Hold your question in your mind as I lay out the cards.” She watched him warily. Attempting to read his thoughts?

The first card she turned over was the Lovers, but the image was upside-down. This, he remembered from an earlier reading, indicated a reversed meaning.

“You have a relationship which is out of sync.” Her eyes flicked up to meet his, then back to the cards. “There is disharmony and a lack of balance. You may be feeling guilty for problems you cannot resolve. The feelings of the two people involved do not match. You cannot bear the full responsibility for this relationship.”

Ian gave a tiny nod.

She flipped over the next card: the seven of swords. Her eyes widened. This could not be good.

“The meaning of this card is very clear: deception. Someone has betrayed you. Someone has been sneaking around behind your back, keeping a secret. It is possible this person has been cheating on you.” She met his eyes and held them.

He let out a long breath. “I don’t think I need to hear any more. That was all I needed to know.” He reached across the table and opened his hands, asking for hers.

She placed the tarot deck down and took his hands. She was trembling.

“Angel, I’ve been a fucking fool.”

“This is true.” Her eyes shone with tears.

“I should have seen it from the start. I don’t know why I didn’t, because it’s so obvious to me now.”

She sniffed. “Better late than never?”

“Let me fill you in. I called Janice this morning and a guy answered the phone in her room. Told me she was taking a shower.”

“Okay.” She pulled her hands away at the mention of Ian’s wife’s name and used her napkin to dab at her eyes.

“Please?” He held his hands out to her again.

She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. She wasn’t going to make this easy for him.

He rested his hands in his lap with a sigh. “So I guess she’s cheating on me. Again. But the thing I just realized today was that she was cheating on me before we even met.” He lowered his voice. “I’m pretty sure she was already pregnant the night we met.”

The surly scowl on Angelica’s face fell away, replaced by shock.

“Yeah.” Ian tried to smile but it felt more like a grimace. “I started thinking back, remembering the details about the night we met, and I think she was stalking me. Well, maybe not me in particular, but any decent guy who would do the right thing. I’d bet good money her daddy put her up to it.”

Angelica look mad enough to spit. “That’s the sleaziest thing I’ve ever heard. Do you really believe she’d do that to you?”

“After the way several guys I know treated you, I didn’t expect you to be so shocked. Yes, I believe she pretended I got her pregnant that first night. She was very keen to get me into bed. Then, almost seven months later, she went into labor. I thought it was early, but I was so gullible, I didn’t suspect anything. I mean, these things happen. And when we lost the baby, I was sure she blamed me. Hell, I blamed myself.” He rested his head in his empty hands.

“Oh, Ian.” Tears flowed freely down Angelica's cheeks. But these tears were not for her. They were for him. For all the lies he had believed. For all those years of suffering.

“Yeah.” He chuckled humorlessly. “Some great detective, huh? My own fucking wife pulled the wool over my eyes.”

“She should be shot.” The sadness in Angelica’s eyes morphed back into anger. “No, that’s too good for her. She deserves a slow, painful death. Something medieval. The rack?”

He reached for her hands and this time she squeezed his back. “I think your friends might be mad at me.” He gestured with his chin to indicate Bruce and Felix. The two were staring from the bar, all but pointing fingers at him.

“They are. I’ll set them straight.” She smiled. “No pun intended.”

“How’s Erica?” he asked, ready to change the subject.

“Fine, physically. Emotionally, she’s pretty raw. She told me about the flyer you gave her. She’s gonna try a yoga class tomorrow night.”

Ian felt a tiny flutter of fear when Angelica mentioned the yoga class. Would she be able to divine his attraction for Jewel? He forced himself to breathe normally so as not to give anything away. “Maybe I’ll stop by to see her later.”

“I’m sure she’d like that.” Angelica didn’t seem to suspect a thing. “My first client’s here. You better scoot.”

As Ian was leaving, Bruce waved him over for a John Wayne impression. “Treat that little lady right, or you’re gonna experience a world of pain, young man.”

Ian laughed, but Bruce didn’t crack a smile.

Felix sidled up behind him and whispered into his ear, “A world of pain.”

Ian put his hands up in the air. “Guys, you can call off the Gay Brigade. We’re okay now. Ask her yourselves.”

Despite the fact it was lunchtime, and Ian hadn’t eaten in hours, he zipped out of the café and hurried around back to his Crown Vic.

He had just remembered something.