CHAPTER THREE

"Ms. Promeaux?" asked Gabriel, stepping through the door into the reception area.

"Agatha. Please just call me Agatha," she smiled, reaching out a hand to the handsome young man.

"Agatha, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please come with me. Our entire team is here this morning, more than a dozen men and women. We'll all be listening to your request."

"I'm so grateful you agreed to see me," she said, shaking her head. "I just didn't know where to turn, and I found your information on the internet through one of those search things where you type words in, and things pop up. A lot of things I didn't want to see popped up." Gabriel chuckled at the woman, nodding.

"Can I get you some coffee? Tea? Maybe just some water?"

"Tea would be lovely," she nodded. "Cream, no sugar."

He guided her to a seat around the huge conference table and stepped outside, grabbing the tea. A few moments later, everyone entered and took their seats.

"Good morning, Ms. Promeaux." Nine greeted the woman while the others took their seats.

"Agatha," she smiled.

"Agatha," nodded Nine. "Agatha, my name is Nine. This is Gaspar, Ian, and Ghost. We are the senior members of Gray Wolf. The rest of these men and our wives are on our team as well. We understand that you're here about a murder. May I ask who has died?"

"My friend, Gladys."

"I'm sorry for your loss. Do you know how she died?"

"A car ran her over," said Agatha.

"Can you explain a bit more?" asked Ian.

"She went to see a psychic in Jackson Square. While she was seated at the table, the psychic said she had this horrible feeling that death was coming fast. Before she had a chance to truly warn her, the car jumped the curb and hit Gladys, killing her."

"Was the psychic injured?" asked Ghost.

"She was. Broken leg and some cuts and bruises."

"What did the police say?" asked Ghost.

"They said it was simply a case of an out-of-control driver who jumped the curb. They're still looking for the car because he left the scene immediately."

"But you don't believe that?" asked Angel.

The woman turned, raising her eyebrow at the beautiful man. She was old, but she wasn't dead. These were absolutely gorgeous men, and her old body was still feeling everything it should.

"No. I don't believe it. The psychic knew, and she's been right about everything with everyone who has gone to see her. She was right about our friends, Norman and Charlotte."

"Were they a couple?" asked Miller. They were all trying to be patient with the woman, but getting answers felt a bit like pulling teeth.

"No. Norman Meisner was a resident at Maison Soleil. It's the senior community where we all live. He went to see Madame Serena, and she told him that he would have great fortune if he trusted the numbers eleven and nineteen."

"And what happened?" asked Ian.

"He won more than two hundred thousand dollars playing those numbers at the casino. Charlotte was told to see an acupuncturist in Slidell. A very specific person. She could barely move any longer because of her debilitating arthritis. Just two visits, and she's now walking two miles per day."

"Those are all wonderful things, Agatha, but they could also be coincidence," said Alec, trying to show empathy and understanding to the woman.

"And what about my friend Maureen? She told her to trust that she would find love, and she left Madame Serena and ran into Al, his coffee spilling on her. Two weeks later, she moved out of her condo at the community and into Al's Garden District home and now shares his condo. They leave tomorrow for a ninety-day cruise."

"I know it all seems strange, Agatha, but these could still be coincidences. If nothing else has been suspicious, it could definitely be that the car jumping the curb was just a tragic accident."

"I see. So, you won't help me," she said with a sour expression.

"Yes. Yes, we will," said Alexandra, standing to walk toward the woman.

"Alex, baby, we can't…" started Gaspar. Alexandra, all five-feet-two of her, glared at her husband, giving him a warning.

"Let us do a simple investigation into all of this and see if there's anything truly suspicious. No charge." Nine started to speak, but Erin gave him a look that said, ‘if you ever want sex again, you won't argue.'

"I know you think I'm just a crazy old woman, but you didn't let me finish. This psychic has seen many of our residents and has been right about everything with them. Except sometimes it's not for the good; it's for the bad."

"That would have been helpful to know," smirked Ian. "Explain, please."

"Well, she said that Browning would be relieved of his pain with his children. They weren't very nice to him when they came and visited, always asking him for money. He did well in the stock market and retired with more than enough to live on."

"What happened with him?" asked Nine.

"He spent the weekend with them and returned so sick they couldn't save him. All of his money went to his children."

"That doesn't seem out of the norm," said Ghost.

"It is when I'd been the witness to the changes in his will. He'd left everything to a granddaughter, not his daughter and son." Ghost stared at the woman, then at the other men.

"Agatha, you have to understand that we're not even sure where to start here. This psychic has successfully predicted some things, but I can't see where anything ties back to her. I don't know where to begin with this."

"I didn't say it did tie back to her. But if you want a place to start, I think you should begin with Mike Dodd."

"Mike Dodd," repeated Ghost, writing the name down. "Who is he?"

"He's a resident in our community and supposedly in charge of security. He told everyone to stay away from Madame Serena. It turned out that he knew Al, my friend Maureen's new partner. When Browning died and the estate went to his daughter and son, I was suspicious. I mentioned it to one of the nurses, and she said he must have changed his will back. I thought that would be weird, but not as weird as learning that Mike married Browning's daughter."

Now, she had their attention.

"Mike Dodd married Browning's daughter, the woman who inherited half of his money?" asked Ghost.

"Yes and then she suddenly died a few months later."

"And Maureen and Al? They're leaving on their cruise?" asked Miller.

"Yes. They are. But Al was a police officer with Mike. They were on the same squad when they were younger, although, to us, they're both terribly young. Just turned sixty-five. I'm terribly worried about Maureen." Faith and Grace stared at the table.

"Agatha, you're telling me that these two sixty-five-year-old men have been manipulating the lives of people in their eighties?" asked Grace.

"Yes. I think so. I don't think it's the psychic, but they definitely seem to be everywhere all at once."

"Alright, Agatha. You have our attention," said Gaspar. "Let's get some more information from you, and we'll look into this."

"Thank you," she said, visibly relieved. "Thank you."