Free Trouble in the Tarot by Kari Lee Townsend Page B

asked.
    “Well, for starters, Fiona Atwater is from out of town.” Mom smoothed down the front of her expensive peach suit coat.
    “What does that even mean?”
    “Basically, that Fiona can’t leave town until the case is closed,” she finished.
    “The problem is,” Dad added, “Fiona doesn’t have any family here. Since Granny and Fiona got themselves into this mess together, the judge feels they should stay together as a sort of punishment to work out their differences. He was quite angry that the carnival was cancelled early for the first time ever. Said those two women were a menace to society.” Dad threw up his hands. “What can I say? Fair’s fair, I guess. We’re just lucky to have a retired judge staying at the inn where we are.”
    “Wait a minute. What retired judge?”
    Mom shot Dad an odd look and then said, “Harold something or other. We met him when we checked in,” Mom said.
    “Hey, I know him. I met Harry when he helped me hang my shingle the first day of the carnival. Very nice guy. I haven’t seen him since, though.”
    “That’s because he’s staying at DivineInspiration, fishing Inspiration Lake. Or trying to.” Mom chuckled. “I don’t think he’s caught a thing, but he seems like a nice enough fellow. Just not coping well with retirement, much like I imagine your father will be when the time comes.”
    Dad started to protest, but Mom shushed him and kept speaking. “Anyway, I’ve never heard of Harry, but Judge Eustace Navarra has, and that’s all that matters. Without Harry’s intervention, Granny and Fiona would probably still be in jail instead of staying with you.”
    The words staying with you finally registered. “They’re staying here?” I sputtered. “At my house?” I choked. “Together?”
    “Precisely.” Dad smiled a big gloating smile.
    A big boom sounded and the house shook as though it had just thundered outside.
    Mom frowned, looking out at the sunny sky. “The Weather Channel didn’t say it was supposed to storm today.”
    “Don’t change the subject, Mother. You did this on purpose, didn’t you? Is this your idea of paying me back for making you leave right after Easter?”
    “Don’t be ridiculous, Sylvia. It’s not like I would ever willingly move here. Besides, I do know how to be professional. Some things just can’t be helped. At least your grandmother is out from behind bars.”
    I didn’t bother to correct my parents anymore. I had changed my name to Sunshine years ago, but they’d refused to call me anything other than Sylvia. “And who exactly is supposed to be in charge of them?” I asked.
    My parents didn’t say a word. They didn’t have to. The looks on their faces told me everything I needed to know.
    “Oh, no. You have no idea how these two have behaved all week all while I was trying to stop whoever was trying to sabotage the carnival. Bernadette’s murder might have been prevented if they had let me do my job. There is no way I am going to get stuck babysitting them. They’ll wind up killing each other, and then you’ll have an even bigger mess to clean up.”
    “No worries, darling, that’s why I insisted on these.” My mother held out a picture of a pair of thick, heavy iron contraptions that sort of looked like bracelets.
    “Interesting choice of accessories. What are those?”
    “Those, my dear, are ankle bracelets.” Dad smiled again, even bigger this time. “They try to flee the coop, the bracelets go off, and they are in even bigger trouble. Game over.”
    “You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” I shook my head at him.
    He shrugged. “Maybe now you and your grandmother will realize you don’t know everything. You two living together was never a good idea, but no one listens to me.”
    “Look. None of us has the time to watch over your grandmother or Fiona,” my mother pointed out. “I’m actually representing them both, which your grandmother nearly had a coronary over.”
    “Probably