Rock Star Down (The Psychic Registry) (21 page)

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Authors: William Leslie

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"No Christmas ham?"
Nathan teased.

"Funny,"
Laurel said. "Ham isn't cooking. You just buy it at the store and heat it
up and voila, ham!"

"So what else?"

"Steak."

"True,"
Nathan nodded.

"Fried chicken,"
she added.

"You're killing
me. But yes," Nathan grinned. "And finally?"

Laurel smiled, "We'll
mom's
fifth was smoked brisket."

"
Nice
. Why
brisket?"

"Dad's favorite,"
she said.

"And yours?"

"Oh,
I don't
know
. What do you like?"

They took dessert in the bedroom,
although Nathan gave his powers a rest. And it wasn't incomprehensibly
mind-blowing. But it was really, really good. And it was still real.

They were enjoying another respite.
Laurel was pressed into the crook of his shoulder, her head upon his chest. The
stereo played up-tempo blues by the gone-but-not-forgotten
Justin Roberts
Band
. Nathan seemed lost in the music and Laurel was dozing, but it was a
light, lazy sleep.

From her nightstand
came the ringing of her phone. Laurel reached out to silence it and took note
of the caller,
Fletcher
.

"The boss is calling,"
she sighed.

"Take it, if you
like," Nathan mumbled.

She kissed his chest,
then answered the call. "This is Laurel."

"Congratulations,
Laurel," Fletcher replied.

"Thank you,
Mister Fletcher. It was a
combined effort
, of course."

"But
you
ran the interview. And then you knocked that girl
flat
!"

"I had no choice,
Sir. She attacked me with a microphone stand—"

"
I know
. I
saw the footage," Fletcher said.

"Really? How did
I look?"

Fletcher chuckled, "Pretty
good, Laurel. Pretty good."

"We're vain
creatures, Mister Fletcher," Laurel said.

"What do they
say, Laurel?
The camera likes you?
"

"So I hear."

"Anyhow, what was
it like?" Fletcher asked.

And for some reason,
she felt like he was prying. "Sir?"

"Reading Miz
Porter. What did it feel like, knowing another person's thoughts? Experiencing her
feelings as your own?"

Given his last
question, Laurel suspected he had a fairly good grasp of the process. "I
think you answered your own question," she replied.

"I worked with psychics
when I was in Internal Affairs. You pick up a few things," he admitted.

"It was intense,
Sir. Almost overwhelming," she volunteered.

"I bet. But
Miller's good. I'm sure he took good care of you. Showed you the ropes."

"I've picked up a
few things," she admitted.

"So did you fall
for him, yet?"

Laurel was dumbstruck.
David Fletcher was always a step ahead. He always knew what she was going to
say, even when she didn't say it. Sure he was a clever, savvy man. But it was
almost as if
he was a psychic
.

Fletcher continued, "Don't
worry about it. These things happen. Anyway, good job getting the confession.
We'll meet again soon to discuss your future."

Then she recalled
Silverman's offer to work for him on
Jaqui's World
. To be sure, they
were an unusual and sometimes troubled bunch. But she figured she could handle
them. Besides,
the camera loved her
.

"Yeah… about
that," Laurel said with a grin.

And
that was that.

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