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Dottie pulled off the road and entered Madame Toulescent’s address into her GPS. She hated the robot lady that gave the instructions on her GPS but didn’t want to get lost in Amelia County. The country roads looked the same to her. She mulled over Camilla's death as she tried to remember every single detail. If she got to Madame’s home early, she decided to jot them all down on her calendar. She didn't want to miss anything important. She jumped as her cell phone rang. It was Michaela.
"Hello, Michaela. Is this going to be long? If it is, I'm gonna have to pull off the road. I'm in my car driving in the country south of Richmond."
"What are you going over there for? I thought you never crossed the river. You know what they say about old Richmond crossing the James, don’t you."
Dorothy shook her head. Honestly, Mic never gets it. "Really, Michaela,” she said in an exasperated voice, “I'm not old Richmond. Never will be. At best, I'm old Rome. I wasn't born and bred in Richmond. I was born and bred in a villa in Italy. Can you get that through your thick skull?" she asked crossly as she pulled over into an abandoned gas station.
"Whoops, who messed with your Cheerios this morning? You’re grumpy," Mic observed. "I have Dr. Peggy Grey with me and we’re heading downtown to meet with the federal poison people to identify the poison that's been used in these murders."
Dottie's mood brightened and she said, "Hello, Peggy. I know Michaela appreciates your help and so do I. This has just been awful. I feel so sorry for Camilla’s family and everyone else, including myself," she added. "I am going to miss my friend dreadfully." Dorothy’s hand left the steering wheel to wipe a tear from her eye. Camilla had been her dear friend.
Peggy sighed deeply. "I'm so sorry about all of this, Dottie. I think I've isolated the poison that's being used. I want to see if the federal authorities agree with me. If so, it'll help us prevent other killings," Peggy said. “We can at least avenge Camilla’s death and the other women and children who’ve died.
"That's great," Dottie said. "Then Mic and I just have to find the killer or killers. Right, Michaela?"
Mic rolled her eyes smiled over at Peggy. "Yep, that's right, Dottie. Now, where are you headed over in Southside?"
Dottie was quiet for a moment and didn't reply. "To see a friend. I'm working on this case too, as we speak."
Realization dawned as Mic figured out where Dottie was headed. It would be the only reason Dorothy Borghase would ever cross the James River. "Oh no,” she wailed, “You're not going to go see that psychic person?" But of course she is.
Anger flared through Dottie’s body. Why couldn’t Mic admit that Madame Toulescent had helped them in the past? Why was she so obstinate? "What's that, Michaela? I can't hear you, you’re breaking up on me," Dottie said as she clicked off her Bluetooth and smiled to herself. Michaela just wouldn’t admit it, but Dottie knew that Madame Toulescent could help them. She certainly had in the past, but Michaela just called it coincidence. She looked both ways and pulled carefully on to the road.