The Psychic

The Psychic(Joseph Logsdon) The Psychic
By Joseph Logsdon
Bob Carson wanted to find love. He was, as most of his friends would tell you, a psychotic and fragile man. Bob wanted, more than anything else, to be loved and accepted. After many years of loneliness and despair, Bob decided to visit a renowned psychic. To many people, Virginia Rappe could predict the future. Bob had always been a rational man, but his loneliness overcame his skepticism.
One night, Bob visited Virginia Rappe. She was, to his amazement, a very beautiful woman. Her eyes, more than any other part of her body, captivated him. The night was young and full of mystery as she grabbed his soft hands.
“You have very beautiful hands,” she remarked.
“Thank you,” Bob replied.
“Tell me, Mr. Carson, are you stressed?”
“How did you know?”
“I know everything,” she stated.
“Will I ever meet the right woman?”
“It’s hard to say,” she answered.
“What do you mean, it’s hard to say?”
“You’re a very difficult man to read.”
“What are you saying?”
“Maybe, if you relaxed, I could get a better sense of your future,” she stated.
“Sorry, I’m a very nervous person,” he stuttered.
“Men like you are always nervous,” she replied.
“What do you mean?”
“Many men have come to me, looking for wealth and status. Most of them, sadly, don’t realize that I don’t have the power to change the future. Believe me, I wish I could make everyone happy, but that isn’t my gift.”
“I don’t want wealth and status, I only want to find a girlfriend,” he whimpered.
“Well, if that’s what you want, I can’t give it to you,” she replied.
“Why?”
“You weren’t meant to find love,” she answered.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t worry, it isn’t all bad,” she stated.
“What do you mean?”
“You will receive a promotion,” she claimed.
“How do you know that?”
“I told you, I know everything.”
“Do you see anything else?”
“You will also become a very powerful man.”
“I doubt it,” he replied.
“If I say that it is so, then it is so,” Virginia replied.
“I didn’t mean to question you,” he replied.
“It’s not easy doing what I do.”
“Is it really that hard?”
“Reading people is the most difficult job in the world. I hate all of the frauds out there, especially those who take advantage of innocent, weak-willed people. I don’t do this for money, I do it because I love helping people.”
“Well, you definitely helped me,” Bob stated.
“I’m glad,” she replied.
“You have a real gift,” Bob complimented.
“Before you go, I must tell you something, something very important,” Virginia stated.
“What is it?”
“Don’t, under any circumstances, tell people about my prediction.”
“Why?”
“Trust me, it won’t help you.”
“Yes, but why?”
“Don’t question me, trust me,” Virginia stated as the session came to an end.
The following morning, Bob stood in disbelief as he learned that his employer had been murdered.
“I can’t believe it,” Bob stated as the police officer questioned him.
“When did you see him last?”
“Yesterday,” he answered.
“Well, if you remember anything else, let us know,” the officer stated.
“I’ll do that,” Bob replied.
Troubled by the death of his employer, Bob visited Virginia once again.
“You were right, Virginia,” Bob stated.
“Right? Right about what?”
“He died last night.”
“Who died?”
“My boss,” he answered.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I’m taking his place!”
“Wow, good job,” she laughed.
“This isn’t funny!”
“I didn’t think my prediction would come true so soon,” she laughed.
“I don’t care about your stupid prediction!”
“There’s no need to get angry,” Virginia stated.
“He’s dead, he’s dead because of me,” he cried.
“You don’t control the future.”
“Then, why do I feel so guilty?”
“My prediction didn’t say that your boss would die, it only said that you would get a promotion. Now, it’s perfectly understandable, given the unusual circumstances, why you might think that my prediction had something to do with your boss’s death, but it didn’t. I don’t control the future, I only predict it.”
“What should I do?”
“Look to the future,” she advised.
The following morning, a detective visited Bob Carson.
“What can I do for you?” Bob asked.
“Mr. Carson, I have some very bad news,” he stated.
“News?”
“Have you been to a psychic recently?”
“Why do you ask?”
“We now know, without a doubt, the identity of the murderer,” he informed.
“Who is it?”
“Her name is Virginia Rappe,” the man answered.
“Interesting,” Carson stuttered.
“You see, Mr. Carson, we are dealing with a lunatic.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She has murdered many people over the years, and for a very strange reason. You see, Virginia believes that she has psychic powers, but she doesn’t. When she makes a prediction, she does everything in her power to make that prediction come true. She’ll steal, harass, even murder.”
“How do you know that it was her?”
“Her fingerprints were positively identified,” he answered.
“So, what does this have to do with me?”
“In this case, we believe that she had a partner.”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone hired her to commit murder.”
“Surely, you don’t think that I had anything to do with it?”
“You profit the most from this crime, and because of that, you’re under arrest.”
“I didn’t do it, I swear,” Bob cried.
“Tell it to the judge,” he stated.