Page 147 of Power of the Mind

“Believe it. Even Quaid eats here, and that’s saying something.”

Vanessa laughed. “Ain’t that the truth. Are you a coffee drinker, sweetie?” she asked, gesturing to the empty mug.

I grumble-nodded, and without missing a beat, Vanessa filled it with steaming brew, dropping a handful of coffee creamers and tiny milk cups onto the middle of the table. I preferred Dr Pepper for caffeine, but coffee worked in a pinch.

“Sugar’s in the caddy. So where is my grumpy bear today?” she asked Doyle. “I haven’t seen him in a while. He ain’t avoiding me, is he?”

“Nah. He’s working hard. You know him. Eating out is not his favorite pastime.”

“Don’t I know it. You tell him Matthew put grilled salmon on the menu. I know he likes fish.”

“I’ll pass it along. Do you have a complete nutritional breakdown of the meal? You know he’s going to ask.”

Vanessa laughed and slapped Doyle’s shoulder. “Oh stop.”

“It’s true,” he said, laughing along with her.

“You’re trouble. Is Foxy joining you?” Vanessa glanced at the front doors as though expecting someone to walk in at any moment.

“Nope. You won’t see Torin for at least another week or two. He’s on leave.”

“Leave?” Vanessa gasped and clutched her shirt collar as her eyes widened. “Am I calling him Daddy Fox now?”

Doyle’s grin widened. “You are.”

“Oh my goodness. When?”

“August twelfth. He’s taken a month or so off.”

“And why am I just finding out now?”

“Sorry, Nessa. I’ve been busy without him.”

“You send him my love and tell him he has to stop by with the little one. What did he have?”

“Baby girl. Ainsley Madeline. Seven pounds, three ounces. She’s got her mama’s good looks and her daddy’s spunky attitude.”

I watched the conversation as I added cream to my coffee, wishing for all the world I hadn’t needed to call Doyle. The cocky playboy I’d once known had been domesticated in my absence. For whatever reason, as much as I’d never much liked the guy, I was more apt to get along with the rebellious asshole I’d once known than the man across from me who talked about babies and husbands.

Their conversation came to an end. Vanessa left us with menus. An awkward silence filled the air. If I was meant to make friendly chitchat, I didn’t know how.

Luckily, Doyle cut to the chase as he opened a sugar pack. “So, I’ve got a golden ticket,” he sang. “Wanna elaborate?”

Heaving a heavy sigh, I glanced around. “This is off the record. Between you and me.”

“Sounds like someone has been up to no good.”

I grunted and broke down the case, leaving nothing out, stopping only once when Vanessa came to take our orders. Doyle seemed amused at first when I mentioned Tallus’s theory of mind-controlling psychics. But by the time I got to the list of deceased, he sobered.

I ended by placing the paper bag in the middle of the table.

Doyle stared at it for a long time. “Need I remind you what kind of shit you could get into by breaking and entering into a doctor’s office and stealing his files?”

“Save it. I don’t need a fucking lecture.”

Doyle held my gaze a beat, then drew the bag forward, opening it. After visiting Nana, I stopped by Janek’s store and purchased a real bottle of echinacea. As Tallus and I had suspected the previous night, the label on the actual product was not the same.

“I bought these this morning and removed the seal to compare. The pills are different.”

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