Touchy and Feely (Sissy Sawyer Mysteries) Read Online Free Page A

darling. You can’t be affected by passive soothsaying.’
    ‘All the same, Momma, it’s not healthy , is it? Living out here all on your own, smoking and fortune-telling and having conversations with dead people.’
    Sissy gave a dismissive pfff! ‘My cards are my friends . They talk to me, they tell me what’s going to happen to me next. They’re very comforting. Well, most of the time, anyway. At the moment, they’re—’ She paused. ‘Well, I’m sure you’re not at all interested. How’s little Jake?’
    ‘Jake? He’s great. You’d hardly recognize him. He’s cut two new teeth. Top ones.’
    ‘I can’t wait to see him again.’
    ‘Yes,’ said Trevor. He stood over the coffee table, looking down at the cards. ‘As a matter of fact, that’s the reason I’ve come up here to see you. I, ah—that is, Jean and me—we were wondering if you’d like to spend the holidays with us.’
    ‘In New York, darling? I really don’t think so.’
    ‘Well, no, not New York. We’ve rented a house in Florida, just outside of St. Pete. It has three bedrooms, so there’s plenty of space; and a pool, of course. The warm weather would do you so much good . . . and you could get to know Jake so much better.’
    ‘You mean I could babysit, free of charge.’
    Trevor vehemently shook his head. ‘That’s not it, Momma. I mean, of course you could babysit, if you wanted to. We’d pay you, for Christ’s sake. But that’s not the point. It’s so frigging cold up here during the winter, and you’re not getting any younger, and we worry about you.’
    Sissy went through to the kitchen and lit the gas under the kettle. Trevor followed her and stood in the doorway, watching her.
    ‘What?’ said Sissy. ‘I’ve celebrated Christmas in this house every year since 1969. And your father would have sent you to your room, if he had heard you say frigging.’
    ‘I’m sorry, Momma, but you have to admit that you can’t really manage any more. I mean, look at this place.’
    ‘It’s a little dusty, I’ll admit. But what’s a little dust?’
    ‘Momma, it looks like nine-eleven.’
    Sissy pursed her lips. ‘Would you like some tea, or are you afraid that I might not have washed my cups properly?’
    ‘Momma, it’s time you thought about living someplace comfortable, where you wouldn’t have to cook or do your own chores. Not only that—someplace where you wouldn’t be alone, and you could have meaningful daily interaction with other people of your own generation.’
    ‘Don’t use that human-resource jargon on me, Trevor. You want me to move down to Florida and live in an old folks’ home.’
    ‘It’s not an old folks’ home at all. It’s supervised accommodation for your dignity years.’
    The kettle gargled, and belched, and then set up an ear-splitting whistle.
    ‘My dignity years!’ Sissy protested. ‘What’s dignified about sitting in a lounge all day with twenty other old relics in pale-blue leisure-suits, watching Rugrats ?’
    Trevor took the kettle off the hob. ‘Momma, Jean and I are both deeply concerned. Anything could happen to you here, especially in winter. Supposing you fell and broke your hip, and you couldn’t get in touch with anybody?’
    ‘Mr Boots would go for help.’
    ‘Mr Boots is as old as you are. You have to admit it, Momma, the time has come for you to leave New Preston behind.’
    Sissy opened the tea caddy but when she tried to spoon the tea into the teapot, she found that her hand was shaking. She stopped, and took two deep breaths. This was the last thing she had expected this Christmas, but maybe Trevor was right. Maybe the year had come around at last.
    ‘I’ll, ah—I’ll have to consider it,’ she said.
    ‘You don’t have too long, Momma. We’re leaving on the nineteenth.’
    She put down the spoon. ‘It’s not just a question of what I want, Trevor. The cards have predicted that something very bad is going to happen.’
    ‘The what? The cards