"Your father said-"
"Sit, please."
Her voice was soft but firm. He did as he was told, and quickly scanned the tabletop, noting the crystal ball that stood to one side, near a deck of tarot cards.
"I am Aurelia Boldiszar. And you are..?"
"Remo," he replied.
"Not such a common name. What is it that you wish to know?" she asked.
Remo was tempted to suggest that she tell him, but Master Chiun had frequently reminded him-in diplomatic terms, of course-that no one liked a smart-ass.
Remo said, "A Cajun friend of mine told me that Gypsies-"
"Romany," she said, correcting him.
"Okay, that Romany could give me information of a certain nature, and your father told me you're the one to see."
"My father." There was something in her smile, but Remo couldn't make it out and told himself it was a waste of time to try. "This 'information of a certain nature,'" she went on. "Can you be more specific?"
"It concerns a loup-garou."
If she was startled by his statement, she concealed it like a pro. There was no show of fear, not even hesitation, as she ordered, "Let me see your hands."
"Say what?"
"Your hands. Palms up, please."
"I don't need-"
"I need to see your hands," she told him, with enough steel in her voice that Remo offered up his open palms.
Aurelia studied each in turn, some twenty seconds each, and then sat back, appearing to relax. "You are not loup-garou," she said.
"I could have told you that."
"A loup-garou would lie," she told him. "Some, despite their power, strive for greater knowledge, greater skill. They do not shrink from subterfuge."
"Uh-huh." He made a vain attempt to hide the skepticism in his tone, but her expression told him he had failed.
"You don't believe in loups-garous," she said, "and yet you come in search of information on their habits-and, I think, their weaknesses. Why do you waste your time and money, Mr. Remo?"
"Just plain Remo."
"You avoid my question, Just Plain Remo."
"What I search for is a loup-garou, but it is one that is made by science. Not magic."
She considered that. There was wisdom residing in the depths of her eyes. "Does it matter?"
He was wondering how much to tell her. If she was possessed of psychic powers, there would be no point in trying to conceal the truth. Conversely, if she was a charlatan, he had already wasted time and money on a wild-goose chase.
"Well, yeah. I mean, I assume a mutant created by science is not going to behave like a guy who goes all feral when the moon's full."
"And you seek the loup-garou why?"
"I'm a security consultant," he said, treading softly on the borderline of truth. "My present client, one whom I have promised to protect, is being hunted by bad men."
"In other words, he has a contract on his head." Her smile was almost taunting. "I'm not an idiot, all right, Just Plain Remo? Just run it down."
He smiled in spite of himself. "Okay. Some of my client's late associates have died-been killed-in the past few months, apparently attacked by a large animal. The man I'm working for insists they were the victims of a loup-garou, a werewolf. He insists the thing is coming after him and that there's no way to avoid it. He suggested I talk to Gyp-I mean, to Romany, and get more information. I decided that it wouldn't hurt to humor him."
She sat there looking at him before she gave him a nudge. "There's more to it than that. You think this is a laboratory-created monster."
"Yes."
"So you do not disbelieve in the loup-garou. That's strange enough for a policeman. Or-" Aurelia Boldiszar smiled slightly "-whatever you are."
Abruptly she was all business, turning her gaze intently into his hand. "This I see. You are indeed protecting someone, but he is not your employer. You would not take money from this man, but someone else prevails upon you to defend his life. You demonstrate humility in describing yourself as a security consultant-you are certainly a great deal more than that."
"Well..."
"You did not seek me out to humor anyone," she declared flatly. "For that, you could have left your client where he is and simply gone to dinner. Kill some time, then tell him that you saw the Gypsies. He would never know the difference. You are here because you seek out certain information for yourself."
"Meaning?"
"You want to believe the loup-garou is what you think it is-a science experiment gone bad-but you're not sure. You have seen something else, long ago, not in America, I think, and it makes you wonder. Something..." She considered it for several moments, finally shook her head. "No. Much about you is shrouded in darkness. Your past is a swirl of images that seem real and can't possibly be real. Your present is like the presence of something giant and huge out of the old myths. Except I don't picture the giants of legend wearing goofy grins like they just saw their first dirty magazine. Your future-" Aurelia Boldiszar shuddered.
Remo Williams stopped the goofy grinning. "What about my future?"
"It is difficult-" What was difficult she did not say. Even the speaking seemed to be an effort.
"Tell me," he commanded sharply.
She looked up. Her dark eyes glimmered with moisture. "It is indecipherable," she said, her words fracturing, and for the first time she was something other than in control.
"You're lying," Remo snapped.
She shook her beautiful head very slightly. "No. I speak the truth, Just Plain Remo. I see something that I think is your future. I see you. I see the swirling darkness and chaos of your life. I see your fathers and your daughters and your sons, battling one another......
Remo blinked. "You got the part about the fathers right," he said. "But as for the daughters and sons, there's just one of each."
She just looked at him.
"Tell me the truth," he said quietly.