"Appearances can be deceiving, can't they, Mr. St. John," Jason answers.

" 'This thing'? Tarot? Well, Mr. St. John, I draw from a deck of seventy-eight cards each featuring different motifs and symbols, three of them to represent your past, present, and future, and then I make observations about your past, present, and future based on what cards have been drawn and what stories they tell."

His expression is completely straight, only a faint gleam of deadpan humor in his eyes as he reaches for the first card to flip it.