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on to her back like she had hurt
it.”
    All of the
sudden it was dead silence.
    “But I never wanted
her dead,” Chandra nervously chuckled.
    Just for a
moment, I looked around the room. Gerald was whispering in Petunia’s ear while
she tried to cover her smile with her hand. Chandra traced the lines of her
hand with her long, blue fingernail, and Mr. Prince Charming continued to do
figure eights around my ankles. Oscar was still nowhere to be found.
    “What is going
on?” I asked. The madness had to stop. I brushed my bangs to the side to make
sure I had a good view of everyone.
    “Honey, if Ann
was a good soul, she’d have come back as an animal.” Petunia stared at me with
a baffled look on her face. “That’s my spiritual guidance. I’m the animal
spiritualist.”
    “What is that?”
I was beginning to see what Whispering Falls was all about.
    Palm reader,
crystal ball, tea leaf reader, and now animal spiritualist? What have I gotten
myself into?
    She shrugged
like I knew what she was talking about, and I wasn’t going to stand around any
longer. Izzy planted herself in front of the door alongside Mr. McGurtle.
    “June, can you
please sit down.” Mr. McGurtle pulled a chair out at the closest tea table. “I
told Darla I would look out for you.”
    “You’ve said
that over and over, Mr. McGurtle and look where that got me.” I crossed my
arms. “I’m going to jail for a murder I didn’t commit, and you let me move to a
crazy town!”
    “Honey, we
aren’t crazy.” Petunia shook her head back and forth, a few leaves falling out
of the mess. “We are a spiritual village, as in psychics. And apparently you
are too.”
    Everything
around me spun around my head, and the room darkened to a dull grey. I gripped
the chair to keep myself steady. Petunia’s words twisted in my head.
    Psychic village.
. . everything
went black.

 
    Chapter
Eight
    “Does
she do this a lot?” The giggle rang in my ears.
    I
didn’t have to be fully conscience to know Chandra was standing next to me and
that I had passed out. . . again. I was sort of hoping all of this had been a
nightmare and I was going to wake up in my bedroom in Locust Grove. After all,
they had sprung the whole spiritual village thing on me without a warning.
    One
minute I was flying by the seat of my pants mixing ingredients to sell at the
flea market, and the next minute I was number one murder suspect AND a psychic
rolled up in one June Heal.
    The
rough tongue licking my nose reinforced that I was, in fact, in Whispering
Falls. And it wasn’t a dream.
    “I’ve
known her all my life and I’ve never seen her do this.” Oscar’s much welcomed
voice rung in my ears. It was not a nightmare. “June, can you open your eyes?”
    There
wasn’t a sweet smell to the room. It was more sour. Vitamin like. Slowly, I
opened my eyes. Oscar sat on one side and Chandra on the other.
    “Hi
sleepyhead.” Chandra patted my hand. Her turban reminded me that she was a palm
reader.
    I
tried to keep my thoughts free of any negative thoughts or mean-spirited words.
Izzy had made it clear that she could read some of my thoughts.
    “Welcome
home.” Oscar smiled as if nothing had happened.
    “Are
you kidding me?” I whispered. “Firstly, someone is framing me for murder, and secondly,
I find out that this is a psychic town. Third, “I held up three fingers, “Mr. McGurtle
is involved. And I’m psychic. What’s next, you?”
    “We
need to talk.” Izzy came out of a different room with another cup of whatever concoction
they gave me at the Gathering Grove.
    “No
thank you.” I pushed the cup aside. “I like my tea without the leaves and tons
of sugar.”
    All
the lights in the room came into focus. The little family room had all the
comforts of home. The natural wood walls accented the vibrant orange fabric on
the chairs and couches. I sat up, taking in my new home. I wanted to go back to
my little Cape Cod in Locust Grove.
    I
shook my head when the last