Dead Suite Read Online Free PDF Page A

godson.”
    “I
used
to get sick when you touched me but that was when I had my powers. Now my abilities
     are gone! I have no sensitivities whatsoever. Osbert is nearly four months and still
     my clairvoyant talents haven’t returned.” Maeva’s chin flopped to her chest and she
     sobbed as she lifted the bawling baby from the sling and handed him to Sadie.
    Immediately the child stopped crying.
    “And I think Osbert hates me,” Maeva sniffed.
    “Probably because you named him Osbert.” Sadie lifted the baby to her face and planted
     a gentle kiss on his forehead.
    “Osbert means divinely brilliant.”
    “It means he’ll be picked on in school,” Sadie countered. “Isn’t that right, Ozzie?”
     Sadie managed to coax a toothless smile out of the child’s face. To Maeva she said,
     “I’m sure your medium talents will return eventually. You said that it’s not unusual
     for a psychic to lose their ability during and after pregnancy. Before long you’ll
     be back to running Madam Maeva’s Psychic Café and telling people they’ll go on long
     vacations or meet someone tall, dark, and handsome.”
    “Now you’re just making fun of me.” Maeva reached into an impossibly huge diaper bag
     and pulled out a brown leather purse. She tossed the purse to Sadie. “You can have
     it.”
    Sadie caught the purse and frowned. “But you love this purse.”
    “You love it too. Remember when we argued over who’d get the last one at Nordstrom’s?
     Well, since I’m relegated to carrying a diaper bag for a couple years, someone should
     be using this purse. No sense in letting a good handbag go to waste.”
    Sadie stroked the soft leather. “You’re right. It’s a great purse and it hardly looks
     used.”
    “I used it once when I attended that convention last month.”
    “See, you are still working,” Sadie reminded her. “Didn’t you give a long speech to
     a large crowd about helping spirits move on to the next dimension?”
    “Thanks, but even that wasn’t my stuff. It was all your information I talked about.
     I don’t help spirits move on. I try to contact those who’ve already moved on when
     their families want to reach them. Even that, I couldn’t do without your help.”
    “You’re being ridiculous.” She pointed to a chair. “Come in, grab yourself a cold
     one from the fridge, and then sit down and relax.” Sadie returned to the sofa to collapse
     with Osbert on her lap.
    Maeva plunked herself heavily into a chair across from them.
    “I’m not thirsty.” She eyed the beer and junk food on the coffee table. “It’s only
     one o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon. Why are you partying like a frat boy?”
    “I pulled an all-nighter at work and then ran out to do another job already today.
     This is my happy hour.” Sadie balanced the baby in her arms as she leaned in to retrieve
     her beer and take a long drink. “Ahhh . . . nectar of the gods.”
    “You’re just teasing me since I still can’t drink because I’m nursing,” Maeva grumped.
    “One sip wouldn’t kill you, or him.” Sadie indicated Osbert with her chin and held
     the bottle out to Maeva.
    Her friend shook her head. “You’re wrong. One sip will lead to me gulping down every
     bottle in your fridge and then I’ll go home and gobble everything in our liquor cabinet.
     Next I’ll be seeking out heroin and crack on the streets and Terry will divorce me.
     I’ll end up a toothless, homeless woman begging for change in front of Pike’s Market.”
    Sadie stared openmouthed at her friend. “Wow. You’ve given this a helluva lot of thought.”
    “Yes. I think about it every day and every night. Osbert still doesn’t sleep through
     the night and refuses to take my milk from a bottle, so that means Terry can’t help
     with all those late-night feedings. I spend a lot of time watching middle-of-the night
     TV with a baby stuck to a boob. I’ve developed a fondness for crime shows and all
     those reality