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large brown mole on her cheek. Piper was close enough to see the errant black hairs protruding from the woman’s upper lip.
    â€œI can give you a psychic reading. I am a spirit guide, a medium between this world and the next.”
    â€œWhatever you think,” said Piper. “Do you use cards or my palm or . . . I don’t know, a crystal ball?”
    â€œWe don’t need any of those. I’m already getting very strong feelings.”
    â€œOkay,” said Piper, thinking she had made a mistake. This was all so silly. But she’d come this far. Having your fortune told in New Orleans seemed like something everyone should do at least once in life.
    â€œWho is ‘J’?” asked the woman.
    Piper shook her head, already disappointed. “I don’t think I know anyone named Jay.”
    The woman’s eyes were closed now. “It’s a female spirit. She’s holding flowers in her arms.”
    Piper watched as the woman sniffed at the air.
    â€œI smell magnolias. Why do I detect the scent of magnolias?”
    Magnolias . In Piper’s mind they were associated with one person.
    â€œThat could be my Aunt Jane,” said Piper, startled at the thought of her mother’s sister, whom she had loved very much. “She lived in Virginia until she died a few years ago. Aunt Jane spent hours and hours in her garden. She had the most beautiful old magnolia tree.”
    The woman nodded. “That’s the ‘J’ I was seeing. She says you recently went through something hard. Something traumatic for you. You were very frightened. You couldn’t move.”
    Piper’s jaw dropped. How could this woman sitting across from her know about the puffer fish?
    â€œAunt Jane wants you to know that you must take care of yourself. She says you aren’t completely well yet. You still have a way to go.”
    It was true, thought Piper. Though she had improved in the weeks since being poisoned, her physical stamina wasn’t what it had been. Nor was she sleeping well. Piper also found herself anxious and irritable sometimes.
    â€œWhat else is she saying?” asked Piper, eager to hear more.
    â€œShe says you are very talented. There is something you want very much, and you are going to get it.”
    Piper sat up straighter, the little hairs on her arms rising. How could this woman know about the role she was auditioning for? Her mind raced, and she thought of her father and how he would mock the idea that this woman could have psychic abilities. Yet here she was, telling Piper specific things that she could never have known otherwise. It was incredible.
    â€œAunt Jane is saying you must be careful. It will not be easy, and you are going to have to give more than you have ever had to give, and it may take you to places you may not be ready to go.”

Chapter 13
    A aron Kane was suddenly conscious of his wrinkled suit, receding hairline, and ample girth. Working in radio, he’d never had to pay much attention to his appearance. His audience couldn’t see him. But now, standing in the office of the program manager and listening to the bad news, Aaron wished he looked better, younger, trimmer. He’d be more self-confident, more able to convince his boss of his worth.
    â€œYou’re not setting the world on fire, Aaron,” said the manager. “Far from it. The ratings are down again this cycle.”
    â€œIt’s just temporary, J.D.,” said Aaron with more conviction in his voice than he actually felt. “I admit, we may have spent too much time the last few weeks on police malfeasance, but I was planning on getting off that topic anyway. Tonight I’m going back to Katrina rebuilding.”
    â€œDo you hear yourself, Aaron?” asked the station manager. “It’s the same old, same old. Some say that talk radio as we know it may be on the way out—and the simple reason for that is that the demographic