David watched the card-reading girl with mild interest, wondering if her fortune telling was much like the I Ching readings he was used to. He glanced at his watch again. Only another minute or so left on-shift. The girl picked up the cards and wrapped them in their silk again before setting them aside to drink her tea and then looked over at David. She glanced at the pile of coins guiltily. ?He offered 'em to me. Fair.? Her voice was harsh with indignation and a little defensiveness, too.

Looked like someone had a bit of a guilty conscience. She hadn't done anything wrong, though. "I heard him," David said in response, lifting one hand in a 'Don't worry' kind of gesture.

?Well. All right then.? The girl let her gaze linger on him for a moment longer before she turned away to drink more of her tea.

David started to turn away, as well, then paused. Riley kept telling him to be nicer to people. He tried to think of something neutral to say. "Read my cards?" he asked her.

The girl frowned softly and then nodded. She unwrapped the cards and held them out to him. ?Shuffle 'em and then give 'em back.?

He nodded and took the cards, shuffling them a few times before returning them to her. "That good?"

?Does it feel good?? she asked.

"Feel good?" he asked. "I don't know.?

She held out her hand for the cards with an air of impatience. He put the cards into her hand and sat back, waiting. She laid out a single card, face down, on the counter in front of her. Her hand lingered over the rest of the deck for a moment but then she just put it down on its silk wrapping. Then she turned over the card and studied it. It was the Four of Wands. She smiled softly and then looked up at the police man. ?You will have a time to rest and relax after successfully resolvin' something real important. This rest will also help to cultivate a friendship or a romantic relationship. And there's gonna be a helluva party to celebrate.?

"Huh," he said. "Interesting."

?Yes, sir. Real interestin'.? She placed the Four of Wands back on top of the deck and rewrapped it with its scrap of silk.

That brow ticked up just a bit again. "That's it?" Granted, he didn't know much about tarot-reading, but they always seemed to use more than one card on TV.

?Yes, sir. That's it. 'Less yer wantin' another readin'?? she asked him.

"They always a single card?"

?Nope. The cards tell me 'afore I do the readin'. They told me you were wantin' a simple answer.?

"Hm. Simple answer for a simple man," he said, smirking just a bit.

?Oh, now, sir. I doubt that very much.?

"What's wrong with simple?"

?Nothin' at all. Simple's good when it comes to livin' and bank accounts,? she replied with a bit of a grin.

"Can't argue," he said, nodding. "What do I owe you?" he asked her.

She and shrugged a little. ?Whatever you think's right. I can't rightly be askin' for money for such a simple readin'.?

Interesting. Honestly like that wasn't something he'd expect from her. While he firmly believed in the divination powers of the I Ching, the cop side of him was just as sure that people professing to know the future were little more than scam artists. "How about another reading, then?"

She unwrapped the cards again and handed them over to him. ?Same as before. Shuffle 'em 'til you think it's good.? He took the cards once more and started shuffling them. Now that he was officially off-duty, he put more attention into how the cards felt in his hands. This time, there was a point when he felt like it was well shuffled, so he stopped and handed them back. She took back the cards and laid seven out face down in an H-shape.

Turning the left top-most one over, she studied it for a moment. It was the Sun, reversed. She frowned softly and then looked up at the man with a little pity in her eyes. ?This one here is showin' how you feel about yourself - lonely and uncertain.?

He grunted something non-committal. That wasn't particularly accurate. Well, half of it. He wasn't feeling much loneliness lately.

She went to the upper-most right card now and turned that over. It was the Five of Cups. ?And this one is how yer feelin' 'bout yer girl?? She paused for confirmation. He might like boys?

"Uh...sure." He did indeed like girls.

She nodded. ?Yer girl's been havin' a rough streak, yeah? Bad pain and sadness lately. A lot of tragedy in her life.?

"Dead on, there," he said. And how.

The girl turned over the left center card now, uncovering the The Emperor. She looked up at the David and gave him a little smile. ?This here's how you feel towards yer girl. Ya think she's powerful, intelligent, and confident. But ya worry that she uses these to hide her emotions too much.? Okay, now that was dead on, too. He was starting to wonder now. He nodded slowly to her. She turned over the card in the dead center of the H now. It was the Queen of Swords. She laid a finger with a ragged nail on it and tapped it. ?This lady here is standing between ya and yer girl. She's showing herself to y'all in the form of someone who's keen and scary logical. Someone who understands ya both and always somehow remains calm. He or she, this person anyway, is a good friend to ya both and someone y'all need to keep around.?

He thought about that one for several long moments. Half of it made sense. "Standing between us how?" he asked, wanting more clarification.