King of Swords

'The Knight of Swords is an aggressive young guy. Like a younger version of the King of Swords, always going to war. He meets this girl he thinks is everything he isn't, and that maybe she's better than him, so he's afraid of getting his heart broken if he goes after her. They've been in touch with each other though' — he pointed to the Six of Wands and then moved to the Three of Cups - 'and they've made a date to go to - a party?'

'Very good.' Phyllis clapped. 'You're a natural.'

Max thought it wasn't exactly brain surgery, but he smiled at Phyllis instead of speaking his mind. Then he thought of Sandra, who he'd met twice for lunch close to her workplace in the past two weeks and studied the cards more closely.

The Six of Wands - half a dozen branches seemingly falling through the sky - reminded him of rain.

He looked at Phyllis again and got a knowing smile from her.

“You understood that the cards tell a story. Most people, when they start out as readers, take it one card at a time.

Not you. You got a girl in your life?'

'Not really, no. Why? D'you see one for me?' he asked

her. The times he'd met Sandra had been brief, but he'd sworn she'd been a bit warmer to him when they'd first met than these last two times. Their lunches - sandwiches and coffee in Avi's Diner on Flagler — had almost been formal, the talk small and polite, her attitude aloof and distant. Yet it was she who'd made all the moves. She'd called him up both times and fixed the where and when. He'd gone there all excited, like the teenage geek who's bagged the best looking cheerleader in his school, yet he'd come away uncertain as to whether she felt anything for him beyond curiosity.

It was an odd position he found himself in, vulnerable and open to hurt in a way he hadn't been since his youth.

'I thought you didn't want a reading,' Phyllis replied, putting away the cards.

'Guess not,' Max said. 'So, how many different kinds of tarot cards are there?'

'All kinds. The one we used here is the Rider-Waite deck, probably the most common and popular, on account of its simplicity, but there are literally hundreds of designs. You can get the ones with Native American Indians, crows, cats, dogs, vampires, comic-book superheroes, old movie stars, baseball players — you name it. They're all based on the Rider-Waite system. There are some exceptions though.

Have you heard of Aleister Crowley?'

'Yeah. The devil worshipper, right?'

'That's him. He designed a deck called the Thoth Tarot.

It incorporates a lot of Egyptian symbolism in the designs.

Then there's also the Golden Dawn Tarot, the Tree of Life Tarot and the Cosmic Tarot, each with a variation in the way they're interpreted.'

Max pulled out three black and white morgue photographs of the card taken from Preval Lacour's stomach, the scraps fitted together to make a whole.

'Seen this one?' Max handed her the photographs.

Phyllis studied them for just a second.

'My God! That's from a de Villeneuve deck!' She was almost breathless. 'Where did you find this? And why's it been cut up like that?'

'It was found in someone's stomach.'

'Someone ate this?'

'Ate, swallowed, force fed. We're not sure yet.'

'These are very rare cards. Very exclusive. Very expensive.'

'How much do they go for?'

'Five grand a deck, the last I heard, and that was a few years ago. They're not easily available. They're only printed once a year in Switzerland. And they're made to order. Cash up front.'

'What's so special about them - apart from the price?

Why's the face missing'

'All the faces are missing. That's one of their unique qualities. Not just anyone can use them. Only certain people.'

'Like who?'

'People with … a very special gift.'

'Can you use them?'

'I wouldn't go near them,' Phyllis said.

'Why not?'

'Did you ever hear of someone called Kathleen Reveaux?'

'No.'

'She was a well-known card reader, quite famous even.

She'd been on TV a few times, accurately predicted Nixon's downfall, defeat in Vietnam, the attempt on Ford's life. I knew her very well. She bought a de Villeneuve deck at an auction in New York. She tried using the cards and the images on them turned hostile?

'What do you mean?'

'She said she saw monsters, great beasts with blood-red s and white fangs. I told her to burn the cards immedily.

Bur she had a wilful, stubborn side and she persisted :h them.'

Phyllis stopped talking and tears began to gather in her eyes. She took off her glasses and dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.

'What happened to her? If you want to tell me,' Max said.

'She took her life. She threw herself off the Freedom Tower. You must have heard about it?'

'Was that in '78?'

Phyllis whispered, 'Yes.'