Mind Games

Polly Iyer

Description

During a New Orleans Mardi Gras Ball, psychic entertainer Diana Racine touches the hand of a masked Cyrano de Bergerac and is instantly transported into the icy-cold body of a dead woman submerged in water. As Diana crumples to the floor, water filling her lungs, she hears Cyrano whisper that the game has begun.**Diana has been called every epithet in the book: charlatan, cheat, publicity hound...and genius--all at least partially true. But convincing New Orleans police lieutenant Ernie Lucier that her vision of the dead woman is the real thing may be her hardest act yet. He becomes a believer when Diana leads him to the alligator-infested bayou and the woman's remains. When another vision leads to another body, it's clear that the two dead women are a prelude to the killer's ultimate victim-Diana.

Sujets

• Thriller

Informations

• Publié par: Parkwood Press
• Date de parution: 01 avril 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781611879643
• Langue: English

Extrait

Table of Contents
Title Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Polly Iyer
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons either living or dead is purely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author. All names of characters and events are the product of the author’s imagination, including some references to New Orleans and surrounding areas. Saint Mark Parish exists only within the confines of this story.
I’ve also taken liberties with the New Orleans Police Department. Any detective working homicide would be part of the CID, Criminal Investigations Department, and work out of the main headquarters building on South Broad Street. However, I wanted Lieutenant Lucier in the French Quarter, District 8. So I put him there because it suited my purpose, and after all, this is fiction. I hope no one is offended by the liberties I’ve taken under artistic license.



Cover design by Polly Iyer





Mind Games
Copyright © 2011 by Polly Iyer
ISBN: 978-1-61187-964-3

Table of Contents
Chapter One
The Performance
Chapter Two
The Contest Begins
Chapter Three
The Born Skeptic
Chapter Four
Goddess of the Hunt
Chapter Five
Background Check
Chapter Six
The Button Speaks
Chapter Seven
Darkness Falls
Chapter Eight
The Chicken Wing from Hell
Chapter Nine
Pink Is the Color of Dead
Chapter Ten
Through a Third Party
Chapter Eleven
Found: Lost Gift Never Lost
Chapter Twelve
Into the Dark Realm
Chapter Thirteen
No White Women Allowed
Chapter Fourteen
Daddy Dearest
Chapter Fifteen
Obsession
Chapter Sixteen
A Who’s Who on Murderers’ Row
Chapter Seventeen
An Encyclopedia’s Point of View
Chapter Eighteen
Carried Away
Chapter Nineteen
A Mental Barricade
Chapter Twenty
Quieting the Jabbering Magpies
Chapter Twenty-One
Tracking a Sacrificial Lamb
Chapter Twenty-Two
Connecting Connections
Chapter Twenty-Three
A Trip to the Non-Virgin Islands
Chapter Twenty-Four
Matlock in Snakeskin Boots
Chapter Twenty-Five
Failing Fast
Chapter Twenty-Six
Divide and Conquer
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Collision Course
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Door One, Door Two, Door Three
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Role Reversal
Chapter Thirty
Near Miss
Chapter Thirty-One
Unfinished Business
Chapter Thirty-Two
The Little Brown Box
Chapter Thirty-Three
Sex and a Bologna Sandwich
Chapter Thirty-Four
Pieces of a Puzzle Paint a Picture
Chapter Thirty-Five
A Lesson Learned
Chapter Thirty-Six
Daddies’ Little Girls
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Nothing Beats a Little Luck
Chapter Thirty-Eight
An Unwanted Dinner Guest
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Stoned
Chapter Forty
Witchy Woman
Chapter Forty-One
Follow That Car
Chapter Forty-Two
The Empty Room
Chapter Forty-Three
A Deal with the Devil
Chapter Forty-Four
Promises, Promises
Chapter Forty-Five
Speechless for Once
Chapter Forty-Six
Just Another Day at the Lake
Chapter Forty-Seven
The Inevitable Vision
Chapter Forty-Eight
Forgone Conclusion
Chapter Forty-Nine
Curbing Temptation
Chapter Fifty
Into the Spider’s Web
Chapter Fifty-One
A Change of Routine
Chapter Fifty-Two
The Ghost
Chapter Fifty-Three
Nothing Is What It Seems
Chapter Fifty-Four
The Diversion
Chapter Fifty-Five
The Priest and the Confessor
Chapter Fifty-Six
Between Justice and Revenge
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Coming Unglued
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Harley’s Way
Chapter Fifty-Nine
A Vision to Die for
Chapter One
The Snatch
Chapter Two
The Call
Chapter One
The Performance

D iana R acine, Fraud of the Century

T hat was the headline in the morning’s Times-Picayune . She’d heard the accusation since she was a child. Charlatan in Miami, carny huckster in Detroit, and a dangerous witch in Boston. Others had called her a hustler, schemer, faker, pretender, gypsy, quack, phony, and scamster. That last was from Vegas. Totally biased reporting there.
They were all right. She was a fraud. And a damn good one too. A thirty-three-year old, five-foot-two bundle of fraud.
To a point.
Well here I am, people of New Orleans. Judge for yourselves.
She peeked around the curtain at the filled-to-capacity crowd, blew a curl off her forehead, and smoothed her skirt. After massaging her neck to loosen the tight muscles, she drew a deep breath, let it out slowly. They’re just people, Diana. You’ve done this a thousand times before . She stepped onto the stage to the welcome sound of applause.
After a few minutes of waves, smiles, and some audience banter that passed for warm-up, she picked out a cute guy in the first row. “What about you, handsome? Are you ready to be spooked?” She bent down closer to him and dropped her voice into her sexiest register. “Care to have your innermost secrets exposed to this raucous crowd?
“I’m ready for anything with you, Diana.” He reached out for her, nearly making contact. “In fact, you can take me home and find out everything about me.”
The audience burst into laughter and applause. Diana threw back her head, tossing her mane of shiny black curls, and laughed along with the others. Waggling her finger at him as she strutted backward on high heels, she said, “Uh-oh, I better stay away from you. You could put an end to my act.”
She teased a few others before scanning the crowd and randomly chose a chunky, red-faced woman from the third row, coaxing her to come onstage. Random to everyone but Diana.
“You don’t have to if you’d rather not,” she said to the woman. “And you can stop the reading at any time. No problem.”
After hemming and hawing, the woman went into a huddle with her husband for a minute.
The crowd spurred her on.
“Oh, go ahead,” one man shouted.
Another voice rang out. “Scaredy cat.”
The woman chewed her lip. “Oh, why the hell not?” She rose from her seat. “I have no secrets.”
Perfect.
The sparse stage displayed two wooden chairs and a café table containing a pitcher of water, tissues, and a stack of plastic cups. As the woman approached, Diana detected the stale smell of cigarettes.
“Please, have a seat and relax.”
“Yeah, right,” the woman said sarcastically. She eyed the water.
“You’re thirsty,” Diana said. “Nothing telepathic. Just an observation.” The woman’s lips twitched into a tight smile. Diana poured a cup of water and handed it to her. “All set?”
“Yes, I’m fine. A little nervous, that’s all.”
“No need to be.” She took the other chair. “If you wish, you can tell me your name.”
“Oh, I thought you’d tell me.” The woman chuckled, and scattered sounds of amusement rose from the dimmed theater. Diana joined in with a smile. She searched the faceless crowd and shrugged, as if she’d never before heard the comment. “Well, that’s a new one―a subject turning the tables. I have to admit, you have me stumped.” Elsie Cavanaugh .
“Elsie. Elsie Cavanaugh,” the woman responded.
“Okay, Elsie. You managed the first surprise of the evening, now let me hold your hands and see whether I can surprise you, okay?”
Elsie sucked in a deep breath, let it out in a huff, and reached her hand across the table. “Okay, I’m ready.”
The audience went dead silent. Diana felt their expectation. She took Elsie’s hands in hers, closed her eyes, and let some time pass before she spoke in a voice everyone could hear. “You have a child who’s away and you’re worried. A young man, right? Answer yes or no. Nothing more.”
“Yes.”
“He’s in his early twenties.” Not too hard to figure for a woman her age. The young man part would have been a fifty-fifty chance…if I were guessing .
“Yes, that’s right. He’s―”
Diana’s eyes flared open. “Please don’t say anything before I finish.” Elsie nodded and Diana closed her eyes again. “I see a uniform. He’s in the military―”
“How did you know that?”
“And stationed overseas. The Middle East, I believe.” Thank you, phone records .
Elsie’s bottom lip quivered. “Oh, dear God, is he all right? I haven’t heard from him in weeks.”
Diana opened her eyes. “He’s fine, fine. Missing you. I think you’ll hear from him soon . ” General information. Law of averages .
Tears filled Elsie’s eyes. “Oh, thank you. I’ve been so worried.” Sporadic applause drifted throughout the theater, along with the obvious intakes of breath, signifying either belief or skepticism.
“Are you all right, Elsie?” Diana asked. “Would you like a moment to gather yourself?” She poured more water into Elsie’s glass and her own. The stage lights seemed especially brilliant tonight. Sweat dripped down her back. Both sipped their water.
“That’s better,” Elsie said, plucking a tissue from the box and wiping her cheeks. “Go on.”
Diana slipped back into meditation mode, waiting long enough to pique interest before speaking. After all, she was an actress, and t