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

I can find out about him.”
    “Don’t waste
your time. That’s why I keep Sean on the payroll. He’s a genius at finding
things out about people, but you already know that from the work he did in your
other two cases. I’ll put him on it first thing in the morning. Think it’s more
important that you get some sleep. What’s the second thing?”
    “Remember how
Seth told you he’d been having his tarot cards read this afternoon?”
    “Yes. I
thought at the time it seemed completely out of character.”
    “So did I.
Well, I found what’s called the Death card in a tarot card deck on the
carpeting in Leroy’s office, or should I say Winston found it. He was pawing at
something, and when I went over and looked, it was the card. I recognized from
the one tarot card reading I had a long time ago.
    “The office
was cleaned this morning, so it would have to have been left there sometime
during the day. I asked Seth if he’d dropped the card on the carpeting. He was
adamant that he’d never stepped into the room. He said he saw Leroy from the
doorway and never went into the room. He also said he didn’t get the card from
Madame Dika. He said she was fiercely protective of her cards. Do you think
Leroy had visited her or maybe the murderer dropped it?”
    “I have no
idea, but let me tell you what Sean told me about her. I called him after I
talked to you and asked him to see what he could find out about Madame Dika.
She has a past that includes some prison time for theft. When he examined the
court records, he found out she had a thriving psychic practice in Beverly
Hills, catering to wealthy people in Los Angeles. Evidently they would go to
her and ask her help with something or other. Lots of it involved love affairs,
and almost all of her clients were women. She told them she would help them if
they would lend her their favorite piece of jewelry for two weeks, so she could
get their vibes imprinted on her psyche. She told them when their vibes had
meshed with hers she would be able to help them.”
    “You’ve got to
be kidding me! And people really fell for that?”
    “They not only
fell for it, they did it in droves. According to what Sean found out, more than
one hundred people testified at her trial. What she did was have someone create
a replica of the piece of jewelry, think it’s called paste, anyway, she gave
them the piece of jewelry back two weeks later, or what they thought was the
original piece, except it wasn’t. Instead it was a knock-off fake. They wanted
to be helped so much they never questioned whether it was the original piece
they’d given her. She used a fence to sell the original pieces, and they split
the proceeds.”
    “How was she
discovered?”
    “One of the
women’s husbands took his wife’s necklace to his jeweler and asked him to
create a bracelet similar to the necklace for her. The jeweler had designed and
made the original necklace and told the man that what he’d brought in was a
fake.”
    “Wow! What a
scam!”
    “Yes, and
she’d foolishly kept records, so one thing led to another, and the prosecution
was able to find a number of the people she had defrauded. Madame Dika, who
went by the name of Madame Tsura then, was sentenced to five years in prison,
but was released after three years for good behavior. And guess what? She just
happened to land in Red Cedar.”
    “I wonder if
she’s running a scam now,” Liz mused. “Maybe I should have a tarot card
reading.”
    “I don’t think
you need to do that. I’m wondering if there’s a connection between Tom Rice and
her. Maybe Leroy found out something. I’ll give you a call tomorrow after Sean
does some research.”
    “Sounds good.
I’m whipped. I really don’t know why I seem to have developed a knack for being
exposed to murders, but I have to say it’s not my favorite thing. Sleep well. I
love you, Roger.”
    “Love you too,
sweetheart. I cleared my schedule for the end of the week, so I’m planning