Carpathian 13 - Dark Destiny

her. She's making up a story about my stealing her beau. I'm a true spinster. I never wanted a man in my life, and she certainly didn't want ten babies! Did you, Inez? You wanted to sing in a bar."
    "I did sing in a bar," Inez returned haughtily. She patted Destiny's knee, unaware that Destiny was squirming to get out of reach. "I was a raving beauty, dear, not unlike you. But I had a real figure. I was no stick like you girls now. And I had a voice like an angel. Didn't I, Sister?"
    "An angel," Velda agreed solemnly. She leaned close to Destiny. "Don't look at me, dearie. Pretend you're interested in the apartment over the dress shop there." She waved airly, so Destiny followed the direction of her pointing finger. Immediately Velda lowered her voice to a conspirator's whisper. "We're thinking of hiring a private eye. We've been discussing it. I think we need someone hard-boiled like Mike Hammer, but Inez thinks an intellect like Perry Mason would be better. What do you think?"
    Destiny gaped at her. She had no idea what or whom the sisters were referring to. "Why do you think you need a private detective?" It was the only thing she could think of to say. She had no idea how she had ended up sitting between these two eccentric women. The thought of two seventy-year-old women needing a "hard-boiled" detective was laughable. Destiny had watched the women for the last few months. They were open and honest and so much a part of the neighborhood, she couldn't imagine the streets without them.
    Velda looked around. Inez did the same. Simultaneously they hitched closer to Destiny. "There've been strange goings-on around here."
    Inez nodded solemnly. "That's right, Sister, you tell her. Listen to her, dear—it's mojo. Bad, bad mojo."
    Laughter bubbled up in Destiny's throat, but she blinked rapidly, battling to stay solemn. The two women deserved respect. They were gossips, but they were sharp. Destiny settled back into her chair. "I'm Destiny, by the way." She felt she owed them her name because they had spotted her on the streets often enough to recognize her. If they could see her as she moved rapidly along the streets at night, they had sharp eyes to go with their sharp minds. And more than that, they had restored a semblance of balance in Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    her world. "Please do tell me."
    "No one believes us, Sister," Inez cautioned. "They think we have bats in the belfry." She parted her bright hair, and Destiny noticed that her nails matched the amazing shade of purple. So did her tennis shoes. The laces were coiled and metallic purple.
    "I doubt that," Destiny answered decisively. "You're very well respected by everyone. If you say something is going on, it probably is. I'd have to hear some details, though, before determining what sort of detective you'd need."
    The sisters exchanged a long, satisfied look. It was Velda who took up the challenge. "It started a month or so ago. We began to notice small things, but at first we didn't connect them."
    Inez nodded wisely. "Small things, you know?" she echoed solemnly while her head glowed purple and red from the odd lighting of the streetlamp.
    Velda shushed her. "Sister, let me tell her."
    "I was just verifying. An account must be verified or no one takes it seriously. Isn't that right, dear, don't you want verification? Two eyewitnesses are better than one, don't you think?"
    Destiny didn't know if she reached out or if Nicolae was already a shadow in her mind. Or maybe she was a shadow in his. All she knew for certain was that she wanted to share with someone the extraordinary relationship these two wonderful women had. They were everything she had always wanted in a grandmother. They made her smile inside and lightened the burden she always carried.
    She was pleased with Nicolae's reaction. Warmth flooded her, amusement, but not mocking laughter.
    He saw the sisters the way she saw them. It was the first time she could remember sharing something fun, lighthearted, a connection of warmth rather than pain and degradation. She knew that the moment would be etched in her memory forever.
    Destiny took in every detail of the two women—their open, honest faces, their eccentric hair and attire.
    Even the green-and-white striped lawn chairs. The way the wind was riffling the leaves in the bushes and blowing small bits of dust and debris along the streets. This was as close to happiness as she had ever