Dead Suite Read Online Free PDF Page B

birthday.”
    The news droned on and after a while Sadie felt her own eyes drifting closed. She
     arranged herself on the sofa to protect Osbert in case he abruptly decided to roll
     over or do handsprings off the couch while they slept. Together they dozed for a few
     hours—though it felt like only five minutes had passed when the baby decided to put
     an end to all sleep with an operatic high note that would’ve made Maria Callas proud.
     The fillings in Sadie’s teeth were still vibrating when she picked him up and began
     walking the floor while he gnawed on her shoulder.
    Maeva rescued them both. She walked into the living room, pausing to yawn and stretch
     like a cat, before taking Osbert from Sadie’s grasp.
    “Thanks sooo much,” Maeva sighed. “I haven’t slept three straight hours in months.”
    Sadie glanced at her watch and sure enough it was after four o’clock. Time flies when
     you fall into a sleep-deprived zombie state.
    Maeva sat in a chair to nurse the always-hungry Osbert and Sadie went to the kitchen
     to fix them a late lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches. She returned to the living
     room with the sandwiches and went back for drinks. Sadie took the time to position
     a sandwich and lemonade at Maeva’s elbow on a corner table so she could eat while
     nursing. Then she settled onto the couch with her sandwich and another beer.
    “How are things going at Madam Maeva’s Psychic Café?” Sadie asked. “Are the Thingvolds
     holding down the fort?”
    “Well, you know how Rosemary and Rick are . . . ,” Maeva responded, taking a bite
     from her sandwich.
    Rosemary and Rick Thingvold were a husband and wife Wiccan revolution. Maeva had introduced
     Sadie to the Thingvolds when she needed help to excise a demon from a hoarder’s house.
     Maeva had referred to them as paranormally knowledgeable yet “quirky.” Sadie thought
     of them simply as bat-shit crazy. They tended to attract attention wherever they went
     because of their matching shaved their heads, multiple tattoos, and body piercings.
     Sadie used to refer to Rosemary and Rick as Thing One and Thing Two until Maeva told
     her to knock it off.
    “Does that mean they’re doing good at Madam Maeva’s?” Sadie asked.
    “Yes. Business is good. Very good. Rick has set up a website and a blog while Rosemary
     tweets. Business is up twenty percent since I left.”
    “Really? What do they blog and tweet about?”
    “Everything. If one of them opens the mail or poops, they probably announce it to
     the world,” Maeva said in a clipped tone.
    “Well, it brings in new clients, right? Guess the advertising is a good thing. It
     means you can stay home with little Ozz and you don’t have to worry about the business
     tanking while you’re off.”
    “Sure. It’s great.”
    Sadie didn’t have to be a police detective or a trauma cleaner to pick up on the clue
     that Maeva missed working.
    “Look at it this way—it took two of them to replace one of you.”
    “That’s true. I just wish they weren’t so damned good at it. They’re such keeners.
     They’ve even taken on the occasional side job,” Maeva said, expertly switching Osbert
     from one breast to the next.
    “Really? What kind of side job does a psychic do? Home parties like Tupperware gone
     horribly wrong?”
    “The usual . . . séances and stuff. They’re actually visiting a home tonight and asked
     if I wanted to come along, you know, just to keep my hand in. It was a referral from
     that convention I spoke to so, actually, the business came from me.”
    “Then you should go. Why not? It’d be fun,” Sadie said, taking a long pull on her
     beer.
    “Maybe . . . if you come along.”
    Sadie raised her eyebrows in question. “Why would you want me there?”
    “The Thingvolds asked for you.”
    “Sorry, but that cuts into the plans I had to wallow in self-pity and reflect on the
     despairing abyss that is my love life.”
    “I take it you miss