Chapter 2

Nadine marveled at the building that housed Madam Yvonne's office? Shrine? It also housed a toy shop, a Thai restaurant and a law chambers. Nadine steeled herself and got out of the car. 

She got to the beaded curtains that stood for a door and said, "Hello."

"State your purpose here." Said a sweetly feminine voice from inside.

"I'm here to see Madam Yvonne." Nadine said, rolling her eyes.

"Then by all means, enter." The voice said.

Nadine gingerly stepped in, and the sight before her astonished her. The room was dimly illuminated by what looked like hundreds of candles. Talismans, charms, masks and statuettes littered everywhere. She saw a black woman who presented only her profile, sipping what would seem like a cup of tea.

"Are you Madam Yvonne?" Nadine asked.

The woman replied, "Yes." She dropped her cup on a table and turned to face Nadine fully. Nadine saw that the other side of her face had a long thin scar that started below her left eye and ended at her chin.

"Come here." Yvonne called Nadine over. "I see you're a skeptic."

"Yes. I think your kind only do parlor tricks." Nadine decided to come clean.

"The gods tell me that you're looking for someone close to you." Madam Yvonne proclaimed with a hand on her temple.

"Is that supposed to impress me?" Nadine asked with disbelief. The desk sergeant could have given this woman the scoop on Nadine.

"They tell me that you're coming here as a last resort." Madam Yvonne continued, unperturbed.

"Duh. No one comes here first." Nadine replied.

"You'd be surprised. They tell me that you have the hots for the detective in charge of the case." Nadine said, smiling conspiringly. 

Nadine gulped. The night before, she'd had an insanely erotic dream in which Nick Law had played a starring role as the lead male. Nadine still wasn't convinced. Maybe some detective had noticed her reaction to Nick; a reaction she thought she hid well.

"A word to the wise; keep off that man. You don't want to mess with him." Madam Yvonne advised.

"Stop playing psychological tricks on me!" Nadine screamed.

"Young lady, I must say that I do not understand you. Have you come to my place to shout at me or are you here to seek my help? If it is the former, I suggest you leave." Madam Yvonne said, scowling.

Nadine was surprised. This woman who had called her 'young lady' looked like she was the same age as her. She sighed.

"I'm sorry, it's been such a hard time for me." Nadine apologized.

"It's okay, child. You can tell me everything." Madam Yvonne cooed.

*  *  *

"There, there. It's okay. These things hit hard." Madam Yvonne consoled Nadine, who was crying in her embrace.

"Don't worry. I'll see if I can help you find him." Madam Yvonne assured.

"Thank you." Nadine sniffled. It was actually nice to unburden herself to someone.

"You said, it looked like there'd been a fight in the apartment and you think he was kidnapped." Madam Yvonne said, "We need to go back to the scene. I might be able to see something."

Nadine gulped. Although Dave's lease on his apartment hadn't run out yet, the landlord might have allowed in a new tenant. "I don't know if I can get you in there." Nadine didn't even know if the locks were still the same.

"You have to. You've wasted three months already. The clarity of my visions muddle the more time passes." Madam Yvonne warned.

Nadine nodded and stood up.

"Oh, and for my services rendered, I'll charge you $100." Madam Yvonne said as she put a 'closed' sign on the wall above her door.

When they got to Dave's apartment, Nadine gave a sigh of relief. The landlord hadn't given it over to a new tenant. She inserted the key Dave had given her into the lock, and turned it. The door opened, and they stepped in.

The apartment was still like it had been that day, nobody had bothered to clean it. Dust had settled on every possible surface. Nadine led Madam Yvonne to Dave's bedroom.

"I think this is where it happened." Nadine told her. 

"Let me see. Try to make as little noise as possible. The slightest distraction makes me lose focus." Madam Yvonne warned.

"Do you need to chant a spell or an incantation?" Nadine asked curiously.

"Nope. I leave that to the amateurs." Madam Yvonne replied. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she began speaking.

"I see a lot of things; the passion. A lot of love was made in this room."

Nadine blushed furiously, thankfully Madam Yvonne couldn't see her.

"A lot of people have come here; probably the police officers. Wait! I see it! I see it! It's here! It enters in human form! I see it!" Madam Yvonne said as she went over to where there were long claw marks were made on the wall. She ran her hand over it and then peacefully, her eyes opened.

"Did you see anything?" Nadine asked, Madam Yvonne's soliloquy had scared her. She even began to consider that maybe Madam Yvonne was not a con artist.

"Of course, I did girl." She replied impatiently, "the question is; can we make meaning from what I saw?"

"What did you see?" Nadine asked.

"Like I said before, my vision was muddled because so much time has passed and also many people have been here." She warned.

Nadine nodded and waited eagerly.

"The claw marks on the wall were not made by a human being. I think it was whatever made that mark that took your boyfriend." Madam Yvonne said.

"I was right! I was right!" Nadine shouted. Then she sobered up. "Do you know what made the marks?"

"Yes, I do." Madam Yvonne smiled.

"What is it?" Nadine asked. Maybe it was a bear, or a lion, or a wolf. Or maybe it was someone with Cardi B nails.

"It was a lycanthrope." Madam Yvonne said.

"A what?" Nadine asked. She didn't know of any such animal.

"A lycanthrope. A shapeshifter with the ability to change at will to either a wolf-like creature or a human being." Madam Yvonne declared.