Tragic Magic Read Online Free PDF Page A

attraction to the supernatural.”
    “Who writes this crap?” asked Ava.
    “She does,” said Carmela. “Kimber just opens her mouth and dreck pours out.”
    “Melody Mayfeldt had high hopes that Medusa Manor would become one of the premier haunted-house attractions in the country,” Kimber continued. “Now, with her almost ritual murder tonight, those hopes are most surely dashed.”
    “I don’t know if I can take this,” muttered Carmela.
    “Shhh,” said Ava.
    With breathless enthusiasm, Kimber Breeze went on to weave a greatly embellished story about Medusa Manor and share with her audience the brutal details of Melody’s murder.
    “She’s making half of it up!” exclaimed Ava.
    “She sure is,” agreed Carmela. “Most of what she’s saying is pure conjecture.” She snorted. “Typical.”
    “Uh-oh,” said Ava. “Here’s someone who’s not conjecture. Sidney St. Cyr. The guy who does the ghost walks in the French Quarter.”
    Now there were two people on screen: Kimber Breeze
grasping the arm of Sidney St. Cyr, trying to pull him closer into frame.
    “Sidney St. Cyr was a good friend of Melody Mayfeldt,” said Kimber Breeze. “Our viewers may remember Sidney as the founder of Ghost Walks Inc., the rather unique company that guides visitors on ghost walks through the more haunted parts of the French Quarter as well as our rather infamous cemeteries.”
    Sidney smiled nervously into the camera. He was tall, thin, and stoop-shouldered, with a slightly beaked nose. Though Sidney was in his midthirties, he projected the air of an older, wearier person.
    “He doesn’t look happy,” said Carmela.
    “Looks like Kimber’s got him under her thumb,” said Ava.
    “Tell us, Sidney,” said Kimber. “What was your opinion of Melody Mayfeldt’s Medusa Manor project?”
    Sidney blinked and cleared his throat. “Well, Melody was a great fan of the paranormal. And I think Medusa Manor would have been a terrific attraction.”
    “Because of the keen interest in haunted houses today,” prompted Kimber.
    “Yes,” said Sidney, who looked even more frozen and stiff now.
    “Sidney looks like a Popsicle,” remarked Ava.
    “Do you actually know Sidney?” asked Carmela. She’d seen him a million times, bumping around the French Quarter at night, wearing a flapping black cape and leading a group of camera-toting tourists. But she’d never actually met Sidney face to face.
    “I know him a little,” said Ava. “Sometimes Sidney brings his tour groups into Juju Voodoo. You know, it’s all set up beforehand. We do a tarot reading or toss the I Ching , and then his group shops for souvenirs.” Ava’s shop wares consisted mainly of plastic skulls, small silk bags filled with herbal love charms, saint candles, miniature voodoo dolls,
funky jewelry, and various voodoo doodads. All very harmless, but highly appealing to tourists who’d convinced themselves they were getting “the real thing.”
    “That’s nice of him,” remarked Carmela.
    “Sidney’s not that altruistic, honey,” said Ava. “He always asks for twenty percent.”
    “A kickback,” said Carmela.
    “Sidney prefers to call it a finder’s fee,” laughed Ava.
    “Okay,” said Carmela. She nodded toward the TV. Sidney’s interview had concluded, and the TV station was running random footage of the crime scene. “Who’s the woman in the white trench coat? I saw her earlier tonight, being accosted by Kimber Breeze.”
    “Don’t know,” said Ava.
    “As we were leaving she was talking to the police and crying,” said Carmela.
    Kimber Breeze’s continued narration conveniently filled in the blanks. “I tried to speak with Olivia Wainwright, the silent partner in Medusa Manor,” said Kimber. “But she was unavailable for comment.” There was another quick close-up of Olivia Wainwright looking distraught, then she turned her back on the camera.
    “So that’s Melody’s partner,” said Carmela. “Melody mentioned a partner,