“I do understand your reluctance, David, but this Cullen lady came highly recommended by my neighbor. I doubt Debbie would’ve mentioned this lady to me if she didn’t believe she could possibly help.”
He was quiet for a few moments.
“It’s just an option, David—in case nothing else works out anytime soon.”
“I don’t need to think about it,” he finally said. “If you believe we should give this lady a try, that’s good enough for me.”
I did feel a sense of relief after he uttered those words. “The facts are we can’t depend on the police since it’s clear they’re not making any progress and your PI guy hasn’t shown any positive signs thus far. Maybe the avenue we’re least confident about might actually be worth a try.”
“What have we got to lose, huh?” he replied.
“Let’s hope by diving in now we save time. I’m sure she won’t get in the way of the police or the PI. They don’t have to know about this.”
“Okay, then. Let’s set it up.”
As I was hanging up the phone, Theodore walked in.
“The cop parked across the street’s doing a good job, huh?” He shut the door behind him.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“He was asleep in broad daylight, so I tapped on his glass before I came inside. All I could do after that was shake my head. Why don’t these cops seem to understand how serious this situation is? You and Merlene got death threats for taking down a judge and exposing him and the other scum bags who killed that Tucker guy. Merlene, all of a sudden, went missing right after the trial and these guys are supposed to be serious about making sure the same thing doesn’t happen to you. And he’s out there sleeping?”
Theodore was furious. He sat down with me in the kitchen and dropped his keys on the counter.
“It’s not like they have twenty-four hours patrol or anything around here,” he went on. “These guys show up when they feel like it; on whatever day they damn well please. Nothing is consistent.”
“I know you’re concerned, Theodore, but I understand why they’re not focusing much of their resources on me as often as you probably think they should. It’s a small police department, which means they have limited resources.”
“I don’t agree with that! Those guys have nothing to do for the most part, except handle a few petty criminals here and there. They can have someone stationed here all day if they wanted to. They just don’t care. That’s why they haven’t gotten anywhere in Merlene’s case. If it was a priority to them, we should’ve heard something by now. Well, I’m not taking any chances. Tomorrow I’m putting in for vacation, so I can be here in case anyone’s stupid enough to try and come after you.”
I reached for his shoulder. “You don’t have to do that,” I said. “I’m going to be just fine. No one’s coming for me.”
“You don’t know that.” His eyes were filled with concern. “You two didn’t take the death threats seriously enough and the next thing you know Merlene was abducted. Anything can happen, Miss Pfiffer, but we have to do whatever we can to keep you safe. I’m taking the two-week vacation. If Merlene isn’t found by then and the kidnappers arrested, I’ll put in for more time.”
I was lucky to have those boys with me at this time of my life. I knew they’d do anything for me and was sure they knew how strongly I felt about them, even though every so often I threatened to kick them out if they were ever late with their rent. They must’ve thought I was joking, but I was as serious as a heart attack. The bills don’t get paid with love.
“Theodore, you’re not taking any vacation to be my twenty-four hour bodyguard. I won’t live like that and neither will you.” I knew I had to get stern with him. “I understand your concern, but I want you to respect my wishes, okay?”
It took a while before I got that nod, then I kissed his cheek.
“You’re such a smart guy!”
I filled him in about us getting a psychic to help find Merlene and he thought it was a great idea—probably since he learned it was proposed by Debbie Anderson whom he secretly admired. I knew he did, even though he never once admitted it. He probably wished Gary, the hubby, would exit from the picture somehow, then he could work his way into Debbie’s heart. I saw the look on his face whenever her name was mentioned and whenever he saw her. Reminds me of Li’l Rodney who had the hots for me in primary school. I could still see that look on his face whenever he saw me as if butterflies were flitting around in his stomach. The poor child had it bad. I knew back then I’d grow up to be a heart-breaker until I’d found my one true love. Donnie once told me he’d never seen a more beautiful specimen before, neither since the day he’d set his eyes on me, but he forgot he’d mentioned he said the same thing to a woman he was dating before he met me. And I didn’t remind him. Anyway, thankfully, I didn’t need his sweet talk to be self-confident. He couldn’t have shaken that confidence off of me even if he was dumb enough to try.
“When is she coming?” Theodore asked.
“Who? Debbie?” I was lost for a while there enwrapped in pleasant thoughts of myself.
“No, the psychic lady,” he said.
“Oh! I have to get her contact info from Debbie, then we can go from there.”
“I see.”
I stared at him for a few moments, then asked. “Are you ever going to come clean with me, Theodore?”
He grimaced. “Come clean? What...what’re you talking about?”
“Debbie. I know you have the hots for her.”
He shook his head and sucked his teeth. “Debbie Anderson is a married woman.”
“Precisely. That’s why you need not trouble yourself over the fact that she’ll probably never be yours.”
He stood up and smiled at me. “Wait, Miss Pfiffer... I don’t know where you got this idea from, but I’m not interested in Debbie.”
“So, you don’t find her attractive?”
“What man wouldn’t? She’s a beautiful woman, but finding her attractive and being interested in her are two different things.”
He walked around the counter, grabbed a glass from the cabinet, then headed to the refrigerator.
“My senses tell me someone needs to cool off,” I teased as he poured himself some cold pink lemonade.
As he took a few gulps, he almost choked from laughter, spitting up most of what went in.
“You’re really a piece of work,” he said. “When you get something in your head, that’s it! No one can talk you out of it.”
“I guess you’re right,” I answered, contemplatively. “Merlene alluded to that many times. In fact, she came straight out and said it. Anyway, your secret’s safe with me. We’ll have to take that to our graves, won’t we?”
“I’m gonna go take a shower. You’re too much.” He started towards the staircase.
“Theodore…”
He stopped and turned my way.
“Thanks for being so concerned about me,” I said.
He walked back over and took my hand. “I never told you this before, Miss Pfiffer, but you’re like a mother to me. You know my mom passed away when I was five-years-old, so I grew up not really knowing a mother’s love. But after I moved here and even though you were…” he paused for a moment, “special...you made me feel like you really cared about me, like a mother would.”
I heard young people use that word “special” and their definition for it wasn’t necessarily the one I was familiar with. I guess Theodore was referring to my feisty side, but I realized he still meant it in an endearing way.
“That’s so nice of you to say, Theodore. I’m glad you feel that way because you and Anthony are my two unadoptive adoptive sons.”
“Unadoptive adoptive?”
“Yes, that’s what I said. It means that you’re not my quote unquote legally adoptive sons, but in my heart, you are.”
I saw a wide smile stretch across his face.
“Now, that doesn’t mean I won’t kick you boys out as quickly as your
heads can spin if you bend or break any rules of your lease agreement. Let’s not get it twisted.”
He pulled me near and gave me a big, jolly hug. “Heard you loud and clear.”
“You’d better!” I yelled as he jogged up the stairs.
* * *
That evening, Debbie was able to get a hold of Dr. Cullen’s phone number and urged me to give her a call right away. Regardless of my nagging doubts, I realized there was no time to waste; absolutely no spare time for further contemplation. Hopefully, this psychic lady would be the answer to our prayers.
Someone picked up the call on the second ring. It sounded like an older woman; probably somewhere around my age. I was sure the way Debbie described this Doctor Cullen, she was supposed to be much younger.
“Good evening, young lady,” I started. Well, I do believe in making people feel good! Didn’t matter to me if she was three hundred years old, I would’ve said the same thing. “I’m trying to reach Doctor Mira Cullen.”
“Why, thank you for the compliment, but I’m afraid my youth has left me a long time ago.” There was a slight chuckle on the other end. “Mira’s here. May I ask who’s calling?”
“Are you her mother, dear?” I returned.
“Yes. I’m Sara.”
“My name is Lucille Velma Abigail Pfiffer. I was referred to Doctor Cullen by a good friend and neighbor of mine. I hope I’m not calling at a bad time.”
“Not at all,” Sara said. “You sound like a delightful lady. I’ll get her for you now.”
“Much appreciated. Thank you.” I was no donkey. I realized I needed to be on my best behavior if there was even a slim chance of me getting what I wanted. Good manners and common courtesy were promised to take me a long way. At least that’s what the seemingly wise old people used to say when I was a little girl. I’d heard it repeated so many times, I couldn’t help but heed... most of the time anyway.
“Hello,” a younger female picked up the phone.
“Doctor Cullen?” I asked.
She confirmed.
“I’m so sorry to call your home, but I was given your number in the event that you might be able to help me.” I introduced myself to her and told her where I was calling from. “My closest friend in the world went missing eleven days ago and we have no clue what might’ve happened to her.”
“I see. Are the police making any progress, thus far?” she asked.
“None at all. That’s why I decided to reach out to you.”
I got the impression that she was quite hesitant and honestly, I was prepared to give her a piece of my mind if she attempted to throw me off. Merlene’s worth more than that. I explained everything from start to finish and still at the end wasn’t sure if any of that mattered to this doctor psychic or whatever the hell she was.
“I sense that your friend Merlene is in terrible danger,” she said. “I’m willing to drop everything to get down there. We have to find her.”
“What did you say?” I was disbelieving my own ears.
“I’m coming to help. I’ll try and get on a flight tomorrow.”
I was truly astonished! She turned out to be much better than I thought she was. But wait! There’s the question of payment. Any scammer would be willing to hop on the next flight out if they thought they’d be getting a pocket full of cash. Maybe that was her motivation and all she was about to do was fly down to Chadsworth, try to run a cruel game on us, bleed us dry, then return to her little posh neighborhood.
“Just so we’re clear. How much do you charge for this type of work?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she replied.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear you…” These ears were playing tricks on me this time for sure.
“There’s no charge, Mrs. Pfiffer. I don’t do this for money.”
“Well, why not?”
“When I feel an earnest need to help someone, I just do.”
I checked the screen on my phone to make sure I’d actually dialed this woman and this wasn’t some sort of prescription pills-induced hallucination or something.
“Are you still there, Mrs. Pfiffer?”
I figured this was another of those rare occasions where I was at a loss for words for at least the better part of a minute.
“Yes. Yes, I’m here. I’m truly amazed at your willingness to help, Doctor Cullen. Please allow me to pay your round-trip airfare.”
“Let’s just focus right now on finding Merlene. Hopefully, if we’re successful, you can buy me lunch before I return home. Deal?” she asked.
I smiled. “It’s a deal. Thank you so much. You’re an angel.”
“May I ask you a question before you go, Mrs. Pfiffer?”
“Sure, you can. I know this is rather late in the conversation, but please call me Lucille.”
“Lucille…”
“Yes?”
“I gather you’ve lost your eyesight…”
“Yes. How do you know that?”
Without answering the question, she asked, “Why are you pretending that you can’t see?”
My heart sank. The weight of its descent almost pushed me through the floor. “Um...it’s a long story. Guess I’d have to fill you in when you get here, for the sake of saving a few dollars on this long distance call,” I said.
I felt exposed and goodness knows it was an embarrassing moment. I almost felt like a con-artist, a liar, a fraud. I hated to know this stranger had the ability to put me out there like that and I swallowed my pride and begged her not to mention a word of it to anyone. And thankfully, she agreed.
“I’ll call as soon as I’ve made the arrangements tomorrow,” she said.
The nagging doubts I had about Dr. Cullen had all vanished in that instant. I was now certain if there was anyone who could help us find Merlene, it would be her. And only could’ve hoped in the process when it came to her having psychic knowledge of my personal life that she’d know how to keep her mouth shut.
5
_________________
David sounded hopeful when I told him Dr. Cullen would be coming the next day. I’d phoned him right after I’d spoken to her and shared my sentiments with him about how gifted she seemed to be.
“I don’t want to get my hopes up,” he said. “But I’m glad to know you feel confident about her and this whole psychic thing.”
“I can’t blame you for not getting your hopes up, David. It’s wise to play it safe. Right now, we don’t have that many options, so let’s pray something positive comes out of this. The fact that this woman isn’t looking for a penny, speaks volumes to me. She has a good reputation as a doctor, so I’m sort of thinking she may not be a psychopath and probably really wants to help.”
“I’m kind of leaning that way too,” he replied.
* * *
There was a loud, clashing sound that sent Nilla darting outside my bedroom and downstairs towards the kitchen. The alarm was blinking at 3:04 a.m.
After quickly getting out of bed, I switched on the light in the hallway adjacent to my room (not that I needed it, but someone else might) and cautiously made my way down the staircase. As I approached the living room, I spotted a shadow of a man several feet away near the bend that leads into the kitchen. Then I saw another shadow dart off to the right toward the vicinity of the sliding door.
“Who is it?” I demanded, my heart beating rapidly. Wondering if men had broken into my house to abduct me like they must’ve done to Merlene, I anxiously called Nilla. I rounded the bend and suddenly someone put his hands on my shoulders.
“Miss Pfiffer, it’s me,” Theodore spoke quietly.
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Is someone in the house?”
“I checked, but didn’t see anyone.”
“Is Anthony down here with you?” I asked.
“No. He’s probably still asleep.”
“But I saw…”
“You saw…?”
“Never mind.” It was another slip of the tongue, but I’m sure I saw a dark shadow over to t
he left of us.
“Are you sure you checked properly, Theodore?”
“I did.” He nodded. “No one’s here. The house is completely secure just like we left it. But I noticed something strange in the kitchen. Not sure to what to make of it.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“A couple of the top cabinets are wide open and several pans are on the floor.”
“What?” I made my way into the kitchen and was shocked by the scene afforded me by my inner vision. Pots and pans were all the over the kitchen floor. “Do you think someone might’ve gotten in, done this to scare us and then left?” I asked.
He shrugged. “If they did, I doubt they would’ve locked the doors behind them. I don’t get it. Who would do something like this?”
Nilla started barking. Sounded like she was in the sitting room.
“I’ll see what’s going on with her,” Theodore said.
My mind was focused on the scene in the kitchen and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what to make of it...and the shadow man I saw dart across the room.
I approached the sitting room where Nilla continued barking, despite Theodore picking her up. And I soon realized what it was that had her on edge. It was all the people in the room—those mysterious figures who’d often appeared in my bedroom with Sir Clement. As I looked out the rear window, I noticed more of them in my backyard and others climbing over the fence to join the ones that were already there. Up, on Debbie Anderson’s balcony were more looking down at the scene below. And as I inwardly scanned other sections of my house, I saw them gathering in the living room, the bedrooms even where Anthony was asleep, the hallways and also the front yard. There were hundreds of them and I was sure I was about to drop dead from shock. I’d never seen so many of them. The most that appeared with Sir Clement were less than twenty. Their features were never clearly defined, including their faces, with the exception of a few and I always wondered why. Theodore was going to think I was crazy, but I had to address them. After all, they looked like they were about to take over my house and that was going to happen over my dead body!
Lucille Pfiffer Mystery Series (Books 4 - 6) Page 3
