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the square downtown? Sachi called me to tell me they were going to do an investigation Sunday night at Aunt Tammy’s and they asked if we could be there.”
    “Huh? What kind of investigation?” Oscar listened as John related his brief conversation with Sachi.
    “Of course I’ll go with you,” Oscar said. “I love Aunt Tammy. You know that.”
    No, she wasn’t related by blood, but his grandparents were dead and she was the closest thing he had to a grandmother. His own parents had moved out to Arizona a few years earlier. Being an only child, and with no other close family, he welcomed the connection.
    Another thought hit him. “You don’t really think she’s got Alzheimer’s or anything, do you?”
    John shrugged and took another bite of his pasta. “I hope not. You see her as much as I do. Her house is always tidy, her banking stuff seems okay. I don’t know.”
    Oscar knew his friend didn’t believe in the supernatural. He didn’t exactly, either, but he was more open-minded to the possibility. “What if it is her husband?”
    John arched an eyebrow at him but didn’t reply.
    “Seriously,” Oscar said.
    “ Seriously ? Maybe I should get you checked out.”
    “Keep an open mind.”
    “I am. That’s why I agreed to be there with them. Any debate about what’s really behind stuff is kind of a moot point at this time. Whatever happens on Sunday, happens.”
    Oscar didn’t know what would happen, but selfishly hoped it meant he could have some time to talk with Sachi again and redeem himself.
     
    * * * *
     
    “You all right, sweetheart?” Sachi’s dad asked as they drove home from the grocery store.
    “Yeah.”
    “You seem lost in thought.”
    No shit. But she couldn’t admit that to her dad. She also couldn’t believe that twice in the space of a few days she’d seen not one, but two men with those auras.
    The Goddess has a really funky sense of humor.
    No one else in the store had borne the same vivid aura.
    Why now?
    She didn’t want to call Mandaline and talk to her about it. There wasn’t any way to do it without her dad possibly overhearing.
    It would have to wait until she got into the store tomorrow afternoon. She had three skeet students in the morning, in addition to the juniors squad meeting for their first organized practice since she’d been shot. She couldn’t miss that.
    Later that evening, alone in her bedroom, she grabbed her favorite deck of Tarot cards and sat cross-legged in the middle of her bed.
    She closed her eyes as she shuffled, trying to clear her mind.
    Goddess, please quit screwing around with me. I need a sign, and more than just random hunks with really sexy auras.
    She cut the deck, eyes still closed, and laid out three cards, waiting to open her eyes until they were all down.
    The Sun. Ace of Cups. Three of Cups.
    She puzzled over that. Seeing the Sun card didn’t really surprise her. New beginnings, a brighter future, sure. Okay. Ace of Cups with this deck tended to signify the start of a new romance, or new fortunes.
    Again, fine.
    But the Three of Cups…
    She cocked her head and stared at it. It felt a little odd in the context of the other two cards and the question she’d asked.
    Deciding she was too tired to think about it anymore, she quickly gathered the cards, shuffled them, and put them away before crawling under the sheets. As she drifted to sleep, her mind recalled John Evans and the mystery donut hunk.
    They are cute…
     
    * * * *
     
    The next morning, no matter how hard Sachi tried to focus, her mind kept trying to return to the two men.
    Damn, I wish I’d asked donut guy’s name.
    She managed to hold it together, somehow, despite almost flubbing pulls several times because her thoughts had started to drift and she nearly missed the shooter’s call.
    It hadn’t gone unnoticed by her father. “What’s going on?” he asked her when they were back in the car.
    “It’s hot and I need a shower,” she said. She’d grab one at