Chapter 69

Nigel took a long gasping breath and blurted out, "Clara told me to warn you that the clematis are not what it seems!"

"Nig, what is that supposed to mean?! Surely she had to have said more than that!"

"Oh come on Jordan! It's Clara Rose! OF COURSE she said more than that! I was there 45 minutes and you know the woman never stops talking!"

When Nigel paused to take a breath Jordan jumped in with, "But what else did she say about this?! You know that is all that matters to me!"

"Jordie, honestly that was all she said about you. The rest was just stuff about me and Bug. We've been having some issues…" At her raised eyebrows, he stopped what he was going to say and then added, "I'm sorry. I know that's not what you want to hear right now."

"Right, not now on that Nig, but later, okay?!" When he gave her a half smile and nod, she went on, "Can you tell me what her exact words were?"

"Do you want that with or without all of the TV and movie references she made?"

Jordan sighed, remembering Clara's ramblings, "Much as I might regret it, I guess 'with', because something in them might actually prove useful this time."

He thought a moment and then reported, "As I was about to walk out the door she put her hand on my arm and with a very far away look on her face she said, 'Tell that dear sweet Jordan of yours, that the…I know this is going to sound like something right out of that show Twin Peeks but…you know they canceled that way too soon…it was such a good show…anyway the clematis is not what it seems…' then another customer came in and she told me she would see me next week as she took him to the backroom for his reading."

Shaking her head from side to side, she tried to sort out any actually relevant information from Clara's babble, while Nigel escaped before she could grill him anymore.

Within the hour everyone in the office had heard the story about Clara Rose's warning. They all wanted to pitch in and help try to figure out the encrypted meaning. However, every time one of them came into Jordan's office to offer their latest thought on what it could mean, they either barged in on her nursing Riley or woke him up.

Jordan was getting frustrated by this and the fact that not one of them had anything truly constructive to offer. Finally she locked her office door after putting a 'Do Not Disturb' post-it note on the glass. She knew the only hope she had of getting any real answers was to go and see the physic herself. So, she hid out until 5pm and then with Riley already strapped in his stroller, she made a be-line for the elevator.

Lily spotted her and called out her name, but Jordan just kept moving. She figured if she survived the weekend, then she could apologize to her friend on Monday.

Not bothering with the hassle of the stroller when she got to Clara's shop, Jordan walked in with her son in her arms. The shop was empty of any other customers so Clara eagerly looked up to see who had entered, "Oh my dear, I knew you would stop by to see me…and you have brought your little one with the no account daddy…are you ready to have his star chart done…not the 'no account daddy' of course, but your dear sweet little one…you know it is better to be aware of any warning signs of trouble in his life…I mean, I am sure you and that dear sweet Detective Hoyt will do your best for him, but after all he does have a scallywag for a father…now why don't you take him right back to my reading room while I put out the 'closed' sign…this might take a while you know…"

"Ms Rose!" Jordan finally jumped in.

To be continued…