As Raven drove the young women in his purple jalopy, Trudy demanded from the backseat that Mina explain what she had just said about D. Vito's fifth ex-spouse. "Why are we going to see this Bronx thugs ex wife?! We already know how bad he is! I'm still trembling from that messy marinara sandwich he sent me!"

  Mina turned her head from the passenger seat to face Trudy and Winona, both sitting in a very crumb covered leather interior.. "Frida isn't just his ex wife. She's Madame Butterfly, the Aura reader. If D. Vito is truly the AuraFather, you can bet your buttocks she'd know about it and what he plans to do."

  There was a complete and utter look of concern on both her friends' faces. Mina forced a weak smile, attempting to ease them slightly. Ever since she involved them with Operation: Savin' Raven, their lives had been turned so upside down they were right side up again. Or at least she hoped they would be after she sorted this dire mess out. Raven pulled into Thrifty Thrifts where venetian blinds were drawn over the foggy windows and she knew they'd at least get some answers.

  Raven cocked an eyebrow. "How ya know Big Frida is home even? This place always looks like it's closed."

  Mina gave an affirmative nod. "Frida told me she can't even show her face outside. So this is most likely where she'd be."

  Everyone exchanged uneasy looks. She had better be home. There were lives on the line.

  ***

  Unfortunately, when they got to the door, there was not only a closed sign flipped forward. But the door was locked. "Great," Trudy remarked. "Even his ex wife wants nothing to do with us."

  Reading the closed sign, Mina's eyes widened. "Closed Forever. Out of Business. Don't look for me!"

  "Cheese Louise…" Mina muttered, rolling her eyes. "That's laying it on a bit thick."

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  "That's ominous!" Winona answered with a sick smile. "I kinda like it. Even if it means she won't help us."

  Mina shook her head and stepped out of the doorway. "Why is Frida running away after all this time?! D. Vito knew where she lived. If he wanted to go after her, he could have it at any time!"

  Raven crossed his arms and looked at the nearby alleyway that led to a parking lot. "Well, maybe she's still there inside. A wise man named Confuse-cious once said, "Where there's a front door, there's always a back door!"

  Mina narrowed her eyes at Raven. "Did he really say that? That sounds like common sense. "

  The birdbrain chuckled and put her hands through his belt loops. "Nah I just made it up. But it sounds like something out of a fortune cookie."

  Mina shook her head and started off towards the parking lot. There was no time for fake proverbs. This was a life or death situation.

  ***

  Traversing the back alley, Mina and her friends reached the parking lot for the stores. The young attorney gasped. A large woman in a butterfly mask with beads and bangles and a purple shawl was stuffing a briefcase into an old brown car. She seemed frantic, but she was having trouble fitting the whole briefcase in there with the amount of knick knacks and tchotchkes she was packing in there. Even her crystal ball was there.

  "Frida!" Mina exclaimed, running towards the woman as fast as her pink heels could take her.

  Frida turned around, her face as pale as the ricotta cheese in her calzones. "Now you've done it, child!" she said, her voice and body quivering. "You've brought the wrath of a very powerful man on not just us but the whole world!"

  Mina raised a thick eyebrow. "What the flying huh do you mean?! We were just trying to defend ourselves when D. Vito's son tried to kill us! And also he killed my first boyfriend!"

  Frida took Mina by the shoulders. "But is the everlasting punishment of death for you to decide as a patron of Justice?"

  Mina was silent. She couldn't answer that question. Despite all the pain Hot Dog Johnny has caused her and everyone else, she was indeed a lawyer and she stood for fair and balanced law and justice (even if she sometimes had trouble staying balanced herself with own hand eye coordination!)

  The butterfly medium placed her hands on her rounded hips. "Summoning the angel of death, child, is a grave matter. Literally. Denny visited me today and he warned me. If he doesn't get his way in court, there will be no world left at all!"

  Mina gasped. Her friends did too. What could D. Vito possibly do to end the world? He was the all-powerful AuraFather, but could he somehow bring a cataclysm? The four of them awaited Madame Butterfly's prophecy of death with bated breath.