Chapter 9: Amanda the Fortune-Teller
"I see a tall, handsome man in your future," Amanda intoned. "I see foreign travel . . . well, that's fine for the adults. For the kids . . . I see candy, lots of candy . . ."
Amanda sat in Madame Florica's tent, thinking up things that she could say to people when they came to have their fortunes told. She had plenty of time to rehearse because the carnival wouldn't officially open for about another hour, and she planned to hide in her tent the entire time so that Mrs. Kelly wouldn't be tempted to assign her any last-minute chores.
Amanda was thankful that she had forgotten all about the homemade bean-bag toss game, although now she was criticizing everyone's costumes and suggesting dozens of last-minute changes to make them all look more "professional" to impress her husband's associates.
To Amanda's surprise, Mrs. Kelly really did seem to approve of Amanda's costume.
"You really do look a lot like the original Madame Florica," Mrs. Kelly said.
"The original?" Amanda asked.
"I took the name Florica from one of the automatons that my husband's company makes. She's a gypsy, sort of a more elaborate version of the characters in fortune-telling machines, the kind you see sometimes in amusement parks or arcades. It's one of the new products this year."
"Oh, I see."
"It's only too bad that I couldn't get one for our carnival. Oh, well. You'll do well enough. Besides, a live fortune-teller can hand out shriekers. A machine can't."
"How true," Amanda said dryly.
Mrs. Kelly also complimented Amanda on her new shoes. She seemed to think that they suited her costume perfectly. Or maybe she was just happy to see Amanda in pain and about to break her neck. Either was equally likely.
When Amanda last saw Mrs. Kelly, she was putting the finishing touches on her costume in the girls' bathroom next to the cafeter— er, "haunted house." Probably half the reason she had wanted Amanda to ride to the carnival with her was so that she could help carry it. With the hoop and all the crinolines, it was ridiculously heavy.
It was a commercially-made costume, of course, and looked like it had been made for a fancy Mardi Gras party in New Orleans instead of Halloween in Arlington. She was, ironically, the Queen of Hearts. Her full-skirted gown was black with red hearts. Her mask was gold and black, and she wore a golden tiara with a heart-shaped ruby surrounded by diamonds (probably imitation, but real would have been more to Mrs. Kelly's taste). She also carried a golden scepter.
The costume was supposed to look elegant, but various other PTA ladies kept murmuring, "Off with their heads!" Then, they would nudge each other and laugh.
Yes, Amanda thought, she was much better off staying out of the way until everyone arrived for the carnival. Besides, if she stayed in the tent, she wouldn't have to walk around on her wobbly shoes. Most of the carnival's midway, including Amanda's tent, was on the school's grassy field. The ground was a bit uneven there, making walking even more difficult for Amanda. She resolved to give the shoes away to the nearest thrift store as soon as possible.
The fishbowl that Amanda had bought on sale at a nearby pet shop was upside down on the table in front of her. She had put a small, battery-operated light underneath the bowl along with a tangle of metallic ribbons so that the globe would glow and be filled with sparkling colors. It was a nice touch, even if she did say so herself. She couldn't wait to see what her customers would think of it.
Amanda had also, reluctantly, placed a couple of shriekers on the table, one on either side of the crystal ball. It wasn't that she really wanted to aid and abet Mrs. Kelly's campaign to promote the shriekers, but she knew that Mrs. Kelly would probably check later to see if she was displaying them.
Whether or not she would actually hand any out to the children was debatable. Maybe she would only offer them to children whose parents were present at the time. If the parents refused to allow their children to accept the shriekers, it would hardly be Amanda's fault. As for the pink shrieker that Mrs. Kelly wanted Amanda to use to attract attention, Amanda had put it out of sight in her purse, and as far as she was concerned, it could stay there for the rest of the evening.
Actually, Amanda had to admit that the two bright blue skulls that she'd chosen didn't look bad next to the crystal ball. The skull shape made them look mysterious enough to fit with the crystal ball, and the bright blue color made them look fakey enough not to be too scary for the kids.
Amanda was adjusting the scarf on her head when her first customer came in. He was wearing a black cape with a hood over a nice shirt and waist coat. Amanda wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to be. If he'd had a top hat, he might have been a magician, or if he'd had fangs, he could have been a vampire. Since he didn't have either, it was hard to tell what he was, which was probably why he was carrying one of the pairs of Groucho Marx glasses that members of the PTA were handing out on Mrs. Kelly's orders. Not wearing them, just carrying them. Amanda grinned, thinking of what Lee had said about people refusing to wear those silly things.
"Hello, Madame Florica," the man said, sitting down across the table from Amanda. His appearance was a surprise to Amanda, who hadn't expected anyone to show up for some time yet. Still, Amanda launched right into her act.
"Greetings, sir," she said in a spooky voice. "Would you like your fortune told?"
"No," he said. "I'm going to tell you yours. If you don't hand over your purse, Mrs. King, I'm going to shoot you." He drew a gun from under this cape and aimed it at her chest.
Amanda was stunned. A hold-up at the Halloween carnival? And how did he know her name?
"Come on, let's see your purse!" he demanded.
Amanda reached under her chair and picked up her purse, setting it on the table.
"Now open it," the man said, "and dump everything out."
He swept his free hand across the table, knocking the fishbowl and the two shriekers to the ground. For a moment, Amanda hoped that they would go off and attract attention, but they didn't. She had no choice but to do as she was told. She opened her purse and spread the contents across the top of the table.
Amanda had expected the man to go for her wallet, but he ignored it completely. Instead, he plucked the pumpkin keychain from amid the odds and ends from Amanda's purse. At first, he looked triumphant. Then, he looked confused.
"What is this?" he demanded.
"It's a keychain," Amanda said softly, her eyes still on the gun. She wished someone else would enter the tent, but the carnival still wasn't officially open.
"It's the wrong one!" the man snapped at her. "Where's the other one?"
"What other one?" Amanda asked.
"You know, the one with the triangle eyes!"
Triangle eyes? The man was right. This pumpkin's eyes were round, not triangular. Something clicked in Amanda's memory, but she didn't say a word. She tried not to even move a muscle in her face.
"Put everything back in the purse," the man told her. "We're bringing it with us."
Amanda put everything back, glancing at the tent's entrance, hoping somehow to attract someone's attention.
"Now, you and I are going to take a little walk," the man said. "We're going to go somewhere where we can talk about this, and we'll see if we can jog your memory. Now move!"
Amanda stood up, but as she did so, the heel of one shoe caught in a softer patch of ground. Amanda fell hard against the table. The man grabbed hold of her arm roughly and shoved his gun against her ribs. She stumbled backward, knocking over her chair.
"No tricks!" he hissed in her ear.
"It's not a trick," Amanda said angrily. "My shoe is caught!"
"Then, leave it and come on!"
The man pushed Amanda out of the tent. Together, they walked slowly down the midway with Amanda limping along in only one shoe.
