Free The Fatal Fortune by Jayne Castle

brick apartment house that filled up the block. They weren't likely to have noted the actions of the local psychic who lived in the little house on the corner. Guinevere decided she could hardly just start knocking on apartment doors and asking questions. People would think she was nuts.
    The following day, Francine Bates failed to show up for work. Guinevere was on the phone to Zac by
noon
.
    "She's not here, Zac. Miss Malcolm says she hasn't phoned in sick or made any excuses. She simply didn't show up. That's very unusual behavior for Francine, according to everyone else in the office. I tried calling her at home, and there's no answer. And no one has been able to get hold of Madame Zoltana either. Zac, this is getting very mysterious."
    "Not nearly as mysterious as these forms I'm supposed to fill out for an employee pension plan. What have you gotten me into, Gwen?"
    "Zac, your attention is wandering. We are discussing my case."
    "My professional opinion is that at the moment, you don't have a case. Just as well. You weren't getting paid for solving it, anyway. Now, about these forms . . ."
    Guinevere sighed and gave up. Zac was right. It was beginning to look as though she didn't have a case. She got off the phone after telling Zac to call his accountant about the pension plan forms, and went back down the hall, ignoring Rick Overstreet as she passed him lounging in an office doorway.
    "You think that's going to work forever?" Rick asked softly as she swept by. "You can't pretend I don't exist, Gwen, and you know it."
    Damned if she would give him the benefit of an answer or let him know how much she resented his predatory gaze. With a woman's intuition, she sensed that she was rapidly becoming a challenge for him. If they had never run into each other again, Guinevere was certain Rick Overstreet wouldn't have thought twice about her. But now fate had thrown her back into his path, and all of his egotistical machismo was aroused. Once he'd been able to charm her with ease. Apparently it annoyed him that he'd lost his touch.
    All things considered, it seemed time to throw in the towel on this assignment. It was getting hard to avoid Rick Overstreet, and her big case seemed to have disintegrated. Guinevere decided she would send Sally Evenson back to Gage and Watson in the morning.
    "A wise decision," Zac said that afternoon when she told him. "I've been saying all along that you were wasting your time."
    "I know," Guinevere admitted, "but it's all very disappointing. My big case has disappeared."
    "Don't worry, I'll make it up to you," Zac promised with a wicked grin. "By tomorrow morning you'll have forgotten the whole thing."
    "Promises, promises."
    "Trust me," said Zac.
     
     
    Guinevere went back to business as usual at Camelot Services for the remainder of the week, but she kept tabs on Sally Evenson. By Friday Sally seemed much happier.
    "At first I was worried about what I would do without Madame Zoltana's guidance," she confided to Guinevere. "But now I feel much better. It's a relief not to have to go for those appointments. I'm not worrying the way I did when she was always telling me things that made me nervous. I talked to my friend Ruth today, and she says she's feeling better too."
    "Keep that in mind if Zoltana ever turns up again," Guinevere advised her. "You're much happier without her guidance. Did Francine Bates ever come back to work?"
    "No, and it's very strange, really. No one can figure out what's happened to her. Miss Malcolm says she had Personnel make some inquiries, and they can't find her either."
    Guinevere thought about that. She was grateful for the fact that Sally, at least, seemed to be much more cheerful.
    Sally Evenson's cheerfulness vanished on the following Monday. She showed up at Camelot Services during her lunch hour, looking stricken. After one startled glance Guinevere and Trina rushed to her and urged her into a chair.
    "Sally, what is it?" Guinevere demanded. "What's