Bryant saw the desperate look in his wife’s eyes. He arched his eyebrows and stood to his feet.
“Well, I’d like to thank you for coming, Doc.”
Mira was taken aback. “So, you’re not going to take my advice?”
“All of my adult life, I’ve never depended on anyone to take care of my wife and me, and I’m not about to start now. We’ve managed this long and we’ll continue to manage just fine. If those things could’ve killed us, we would’ve been dead already. So, the sneaky jabs and strikes here and there won’t destroy us. We’ll get through this somehow.” He helped his wife up.
“I think we’ll try that minister,” Lucille added. “In spite of everything you said – and don’t get me wrong – we do appreciate what you told us, I believe in the power of God and a holy man can cast out any negative force that is in this house.”
Bryant was nodding in agreement.
“Believe me, I too share your views,” Mira said, “but I know for a fact that doors once shut can be opened again and taking a chance like that can be detrimental for you. Look, I don’t usually do this sort of thing when I meet someone for the first time, but to ensure your safety, I am willing to put you up in a hotel for a few days until you decide where to go. You can still get someone to cleanse the house, then sell it, and you’ll likely get most of your investment back that way. Once this place has been properly cleansed, it might be safer for any new owners coming in, but not so much for you. So, how about it? Please let me help. I’d hate to leave you here in this situation.” She sounded as if she was pleading.
Again, Lucille sought a response from her husband, and as expected, he rose to the occasion.
“We truly thank you for your offer, Doctor Cullen; that’s very generous of you. But no, thanks. We’ll be fine right here. Won’t we, darling?”
Lucille cracked a smile.
Mira stood to her feet. “Well, I guess I’ll be going. I do hope you’d reconsider.” She searched their eyes for that option, but didn’t find it. “Okay, well… take care of yourselves then.”
She left the house and headed to her car, all the while feeling like she’d failed that couple. A nagging sensation of impending doom enveloped her being with every step she took and she had a strong suspicion that life for the Sylvesters was about to get much worse.
* * *
Home again and feeling like she’d just run a marathon, Mira dropped her keys on the mantle and decided to make a cup of coffee. Her visit with the Sylvesters proved quite draining in that she saw the danger and could not convince the residents to remove themselves from it. Her hand trembled slightly as she poured a spoonful of brown sugar into the cup. Dropping the spoon, she sighed.
“I don’t know why I get myself so wrapped up in these cases,” she muttered. “Why can’t I just practice medicine and live a quiet life!”
She switched off the singing kettle and poured the boiling water into the cup.
With coffee in hand, she sauntered through the hallway and while passing her mother’s room, spotted her lying in bed. Mira eased the door shut and continued toward her own room.
“Honey, is that you?” Sara called weakly.
Mira returned to the bedroom; opening the door slightly. “Hi, Mom.”
Sara sat up. “How did it go?”
“We can talk about that later. You should get your rest,” Mira said.
“I’ve had enough for now. Come sit with me.” She patted the bed.
Mira went over and sat down. “You want some coffee? I can give you mine and make more?” She offered.
“That’s okay. I’ll brew some later. I prefer mine brewed anyway over that instant coffee.”
Sara studied Mira for a moment before uttering another word. “It didn’t go well today, huh?”
Mira shook her head. “Not at all.” She went on to explain what had happened.
“That’s terrible! How could they not take your advice and continue to live there like that? How many strangers go out on a limb like you did to get them to a safe place?” Sara was annoyed.
“The man has his pride, Mom. Can’t blame him for that.”
“Pride is one thing, Sweet Pea, and stupidity another! That wife of his couldn’t talk any sense into him?”
“She didn’t seem that willing herself. So—”
“Anyway, you tried, honey. Let it go; there’s nothing more you can do. They are grown adults responsible for their own decisions.”
Mira wondered if her mother could hear herself. It amazed her that she could clearly see what made sense for the Sylvesters to do, but couldn’t in her own situation. Nevertheless, she dared not bring up the issue again so soon.
“You’re right.” Switching the subject, Mira asked. “So, you’ve been napping a while?”
Sara glanced at the wall clock located a few feet above the television set. “For about an hour or so,” she replied. “Rosie called at least twice.”
“You think she misses us more than we do her?” Mira smiled.
“Aww… who are you fooling? I notice you playing all tough, but deep inside you can’t wait to pick her up tomorrow!”
On that note, Mira got up with her coffee. “I’m gonna get changed and relax outside on the porch for a bit.”
“Okay, sounds good.” Sara smiled.
7
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The next day...
Mira only needed to honk the car horn once before Rosie came walking out of the Dames’ house. Tonya and Judy saw her off as Tim had left on a business trip earlier that morning.
“Thanks so much for having her!” Mira said, from the car.
“Anytime!” Judy happily replied. She and Tonya were waving by the door.
As they drove away, Rosie turned around to bid farewell to her friend when her eyes met those of the young woman from the house – the dead one – sitting in the back seat, directly behind Mira.
“Mom!” she cried.
Mira stopped and looked through the rear-view mirror, catching a glimpse of the straggly-haired ghost just before she disappeared.
Rosie was beside herself.
“She’s gone, honey,” Mira told her. “Look!”
Rosie slowly turned around.
“It was the lady from the house!” she exclaimed.
“You mean… Tonya’s house?”
“Yes! What was she doing in our car?”
“I have no idea,” Mira said. “Sometimes they move around, you know. Just the way it is.”
“She frightens me, Mom.”
Mira patted her daughter’s knee. “Don’t let her.”
She shifted the gear again and continued down the street. Rosie stared out of the window trying to get her mind off of the strange woman.
“She mentioned something about burning something,” she said as Mira made the turn for the freeway.
“She spoke to you?”
“Uh huh.”
Mira grimaced. “Burning? I wonder what she meant.” There was a brief lull. “Anyway, if you see her again, let me know. And try not to be afraid, okay?”
Rosie watched the cars speeding past them.
“I saw others too. One was Tonya’s grandma. She’s nice though. Then there was this man who kept staring at Mister Dames like he was angry at him or something.”
“How’d you handle all of this?” She glanced her way.
“Just like you taught me, I guess.”
The conversation during the drive was about apparitions; what Rosie did the entire time she was away and when the Dames thought was a perfect time for a second sleepover for the girls. Gradually, Rosie was able to get the young, creepy woman off her mind.
* * *
“May I catch a ride?” Bobby tugged at the back door handle, after Mira pulled to the side of the road. He was just finishing his evening run through the neighborhood.
Rosie smiled as he hopped inside.
“What’s up, Rosie?” He leaned over and ruffled her hair. “How was
the sleepover?”
“Fine,” she said, fiddling with a digital game.
Mira placed a finger on her lips as she looked at him through the rear-view mirror.
He understood the signal.
“Do you have it?” she asked.
He nodded.
She pulled onto his fresh, new driveway. Just a few weeks earlier, he’d hired a truck and a small crew to put down the steel and pour the concrete so he could finally pull into his own front yard. Before that, parking on the side of the road was his only option.
“Be right back!” He climbed out of the car.
Rosie glanced up. “Mom, what’s Bobby doing? And why are you two speaking in codes?”
“Codes? What codes?”
“I’m not dumb, you know.”
Mira thumped the steering wheel with her fingers and before long, Bobby was back outside holding something long and rectangular in both hands. It was concealed by a white cloth.
“What’s that?” Rosie asked as he held it by her window.
“See for yourself.” He unveiled the package.
“Oh, my gosh!” She gasped, eyes widened with glee. “Is that what I think it is?”
“It surely is, honey,” Mira chimed in.
A caged parakeet with beautiful black and white plumage walked primly around, bobbing its head.
“It’s for you, Kiddo!” Bobby smiled.
Shocked, Rosie looked at her mother for confirmation. “Mom?”
Smiling widely, Mira nodded. “It is. He’s not kidding.”
Rosie turned to Bobby again. “You bought this for me?”
“Yeah. Thought you’d like a talking bird to add to the pet collection. Daniel’s cool, but he might want company of another kind, you know?” Bobby had that heavenly smile Rosie loved to see.
“Oh, Bobby! Thanks so much! I’ll take good care of it; I promise.”
“I know you will. Now, I’ll just set this inside on the floor.” He took it to the back and set it down carefully behind Rosie’s seat.
As he shut the door, Rosie jumped out of the car and hugged him tightly.
“Hey, what’s all this for? It’s just a little gift!” he exclaimed, winking at Mira.
Nothing made her more content than seeing Rosie so happy. She reflected on how well Bobby had treated Rosie over the years – like a friend, but also being that father figure she needed in her life, since her own father had been absent for so many years. And although that relationship had been somewhat mended, Bobby remained very special to her since he’d always been there.
“We have to go now, honey. Mom’s made dinner already.”
Finally releasing him from her embrace, Rosie asked. “Are you coming to our house for dinner, Bobby?”
“Aww, thanks, but not today. I’m gonna have a quick bite, then clear some stuff out of the basement I’ve been meaning to tackle for weeks now.”
Rosie sat down in the car again and he shut the door for her.
“See you guys later.”
“Bye,” Mira whispered.
He blew her a kiss, then took off jogging toward the front door.
Suddenly, Mira watched in horror as pitch black root-like organisms silently protruded through the ground from both sides of the driveway, and surreptitiously wiggled over onto the concrete, becoming one with it. They stretched across in rhythmic fashion weaving in and out of the concrete, under the steel fixtures and up again onto the surface of the driveway. And lacking no sense of purpose or direction, they trailed uniformly behind Bobby.
Mira leaned out of the car window just as he was arriving at the door. “Bobby!” she cried. The roots were mere centimeters from his tennis shoes and she feared what the result would be once they gained on him.
He stopped and looked back, and Mira’s heart sank. She wondered if having called out to him would be to his detriment. “Get inside the house quickly!” she yelled.
He looked befuddled; nevertheless, he heeded.
To Mira’s relief, the second she’d called out to him appeared to be the point at which the organisms’ forward progression was halted. Rosie looked on in horror as the phantom-like intruders slid backwards along the driveway, in and out of the concrete again, and off into the ground on both sides of the driveway.
Hearts still pounding, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
“What were they, Mom?” Rosie cried.
Leaning back, Mira reflected on her visit to the Sylvesters house and what she’d seen there. “Another sign,” she said.
Rosie was aware of the signs. Ever since Matilda had appeared to her months earlier, each member of the Cullen family experienced something out of the ordinary.
“What can all of this possibly mean?” Rosie asked.
Mira stared straight through her for a few moments, then said, “We’ll find out soon enough.”
Bobby poked his head out of the door. “Is it safe?”
He never saw what all of the commotion was about.
8
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Two weeks later… Monday 10:17 a.m.
A man rushed over to the Nurses Station at The Caring Hands Clinic. Clearly agitated, he placed both hands face-down on the counter.
Veteran nurse, Maggie Knox, was not startled by his anxious, disheveled appearance. She’d seen a lot of it over the decades she’d been in healthcare. Sickness never discriminated against the rich, the poor, the mentally stable or the downright crazies.
“Sir, may I help you?” she asked, calmly.
He was sweating profusely; his eyes were wild and he looked malnourished. Young man to be suffering so, she thought as soon as she saw him.
“Is Doctor Mira Cullen here?” he asked.
“Uh, yes, but she’s in with a patient now. You’ll have to sign your name on the register here and take a seat.”
“It’s not me. I… I just need to talk to her about something very important concerning my wife.”
Maggie looked confused.
“Could you… could you just get her to come out? This is urgent. Please!”
“Sir, I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way. We don’t interrupt the doctors here while they’re tending to their patients. Imagine if the shoe were on the other foot. You won’t want anyone to come in snatching the doctor away from you for any length of time, would you?”
He slammed his hand on the counter and everyone in the waiting area turned in that direction.
“I said it’s an emergency!” he shouted. “Get her out here now!”
Dr. Barns heard the commotion from one of the examination rooms in the rear, excused himself from his patient and hurried out to the front. By then, Martin Andrews, the clinic’s thirty-year-old security guard, had intervened at the Nurse’s Station and was in the process of escorting the man out.
Mira appeared in the corridor and immediately recognized the man who was in custody.
“What’s going on here?” Barns asked as quietly and as calmly as he could.
“He wants to see Doctor Cullen. I told him she was unavailable and he went berserk on me,” Maggie replied.
“Bryant Sylvester…” Mira approached the man. “What’s the matter?” She could see the stress and strain on his sunken face. A face she noticed just two weeks ago was not that slim.
“Doctor Cullen!” He attempted to shake off the security guard.
“It’s all right, Martin,” Mira assured him.
Martin released Bryant and stood there watching, ready for action if necessary, as Bryant hurried over to Mira.
“Doctor Cullen, I didn’t know where else to turn. It’s Lucille.”
“Your wife?”
He nodded quickly.
“She’s outside in the car.” He gestured for her to follow him.
Mira looked back at Dr. Barns and Maggie who were looking on with interest, then at Martin who stood ready for her instructions.
“I’ll be right back,” she said to them. “Let me see what he wants.”
“I’ll go with you,” Martin said.
“Sure, but just give us some space. I know this man.”
Mira met Bryant standing against the front passenger side of the car. The door on that side was open and she could see Lucille sitting there motionless, staring straight ahead. She approached as Bryant stepped aside.
“Lucille...” she started. “Are you all right?”
Lucille was unresponsive although her eyes were open.
“What’s happened to her?” Mira turned to Bryant.
“I have no idea. A few days after you left, she went outside to hang our clothes out to dry and when she came in, she didn’t say another word. She sat down on the couch, stared straight ahead and has been that way ever since,” he explained.
“Has she spoken at all?” Mira asked.
“Not a single word. Nothing I did; nothing I said was able to snap her out of this. I’m so lost; I don’t know what to do.” He was now holding his head, gripping his thin hair so tightly Mira thought he might yank the roots right out of his scalp.
She reached up and took his hands; bringing them down again. “It’s okay. We’ll take her inside and try to find out what’s going on with her okay?”
“Okay.” He nodded.
She told Martin to get a wheelchair outside for the lady, which he immediately did.
As Martin wheeled Lucille into the clinic, Bryant went on about all he did to try and get his wife some help.
“I took her to the county hospital and they ran all kinds of tests on her. Nothing showed up that explained why she’s suddenly like that,” he said. “And when they saw the bruises all over her, they called in the cops. They were about to take me to jail for spousal abuse!”
The Cornelius Saga Series Box Set 2 Page 9
