"No. Course not. But that different. That-"
"No different. They couldn't burn us out, so they're trying to scare us out. First the doors and windows, now this. Same people behind everything."
"Yeah?" Charlie said. "Then we up against some real geniuses. Anybody who can open and close windows and doors and mess up a room like they did today should be workin' for the CIA."
"Maybe they once did. CIA's into everything." He gestured at the shattered windows. "Sound shatters glass, right? How about ultra-high frequency sound waves that..."
Charlie was shaking his head. "No way. We got company, man. Told you that last night. The earthquake opened a gate and shook somethin' loose. This house possessed, yo."
"And I told you I'm not going there! Some very human assholes tried to scare us and scare off our sitters. That's it, pure and simple. But guess what? It backfired. The fish thought they witnessed a bona fide, super-duper supernatural event and they're totally sold. They think Ifasen's the realest of the real deals and they want more-more-more!"
He started when the phone rang. Without thinking-normally he'd check the ID or let the voice mail pick it up-he snatched it off the cradle.
"Yeah, what?" he snapped.
6
"H-hello?" Gia said. She hadn't been prepared for such a gruff reception. "Is... is this Ifasen?"
A brief pause, the sound of a throat being cleared, then a more cultured voice. "Pardon me. Yes, this is he. Who is calling, please?"
Gia almost gave in to an urge to hang up. She had no clear idea why she had called in the first place. This was so unlike her...
She'd gone to the Beth Israel outpatient lab this morning where they drew her blood for the pregnancy test. Dr. Eagleton's service had said she'd requested stat results, but when 2 p.m. rolled around and Gia hadn't heard, she called in and learned that Dr. Eagleton was off call. The covering doctor did not return her calls. He left a message via the service that he knew nothing about Gia's lab test and saw no reason why it couldn't wait until Monday.
So she'd called the Beth Israel lab but they'd stonewalled her, saying they couldn't release results to patients, only the ordering doctor.
Burning with frustration, she'd paced the house. Normally she would have talked it over with Jack, but this was not a normal situation. And she didn't know how Jack would take all this. So out of sheer desperation she'd looked up Ifasen's number in his brochure and called him.
Crazy, she knew, but she could be pregnant... with her second child... and Ifasen had told her she'd have two. Jack's rational explanations from last night faded into background noise; he hadn't heard about Junie's bracelet then, how Ifasen had known exactly where it would be.
What else did Ifasen know? She had to ask. She could imagine Jack's expression when he learned that she'd called a psychic. But what could it hurt?
Besides, feeling crummy and worrying about being pregnant had thrown her off balance. The medical profession was doing its best to make her psycho, so she figured she'd give this a shot. Call it alternative medicine.
She swallowed and said, "I was there at your place last night. At the billet reading with Junie Moon. I was the one who asked how many children I'd have."
"Yes. I remember. What can I do for you?" His words came quickly, sounding clipped, impatient.
"I was wondering if I could ask you about your answer."
"My answer?"
"Yes. You told me I'd have two children, and I was wondering how you knew that. I don't mean to insult you, but I need to know if you were guessing or-"
"I am sorry Miss, Mrs..."
"DiLauro. Gia DiLauro."
"Well, Gia DiLauro, I am afraid that now is not exactly a good time to discuss this. Perhaps later in the week, when things have settled down a little."
Settled down? Something in his voice...
"Has something happened?"
"Happened?" Abruptly his tone sharpened. "Why do you think something has happened?"
She remembered Jack's impression that Ifasen was afraid of something, and his theory of what and why.
"Did someone make more trouble for you last night after we left?"
"What?" The voice jumped a register. "What are you talking about?"
"One of your competitors, isn't it. Jealous because you're stealing their clients, am I right?"
The silence on the other end was answer enough.
Gia said, "You're probably thinking, 'Hey, I'm the psychic here,' right? But it's nothing like that."