Beware Wishing

I'm over it. I mean, it's been three years. At least, I'm mostly over it...I can't imagine why I even telephoned that number. It all started when Margie and I went to Dark Carnival to see if there were any new Tanya Huff or Katharine Kerr or maybe Piers Anthony books around. We have eclectic taste. We picked up Tanya's newest fantasy, which turned out not to be as good as her vampire stuff, and of course there was a new Xanth. We chatted with Jake for awhile about his new window display, and wandered outside to look around. That area of Berkeley always has great stuff in the shops, not to mention the street artists and just people wandering around. It's a nice break from business, you know? Particularly when your business is being a female private detective in a city like San Francisco. Not a quiet moment, let me tell you. Margie and I have been in business together since college -- that must be eighteen years, now.

The business card was card to miss -- the one posted in the window of the shop next to the carnival. The odd thing is, I didn't remember the name of that shop later, or even what kind of a place it was, what they sold. That's strange for me, because I'm the 'nose' in our business. But the card was shiny black, made out of some kind of plastic, with writing that looked like liquid plastic. It read, I can grant your fondest desire; and in the lower right corner was a name -- Annalisa Solnikov. A telephone number and a small red heart with a lightening bolt through it.

I laughed and pointed it out to Margie. "So, what's your fondest desire?"

"To get pregnant, as if you didn't know."

"In our business you run around too much and get in too much danger; that little soul is avoiding you. You're gonna hafta be patient, honey."

Margie sighed, the breeze stirring her blond bangs. "I have been, for five years. Jack and I are thinking of adopting."

"Sounds like a good idea. There are lots of babies and kids out there that need a home; unfortunately we see evidence of it every day."

"Yeah, but I thought just one of my own...I'm gonna call 'er."

I stared at her in disbelief. "Marg, you've lost it. It's a scam. The kind we investigate all the time."