The three gendarmes stopped in front of her in a line. She noted with alarm that they had guns holstered in their belts.
One man started speaking in rapid French.
When he paused, waiting for her reply, she shook her head and said, “Can you speak English?”
He gave a slight bow and said, “Yes. We’re here to report a stranger who has frightened several women in the area. He’s been seen looking into windows late at night, when the women are undressing.”
Samson! That blithering idiot is going to get us all in deep trouble, Leilanie thought. Stupid moron. Omar had told Samson not to go around anywhere in the village. His looks alone scared people, not even mentioning that he was chillingly intimidating. His gigantic size could frighten and threaten even large, well-muscled men.
Leilanie took a deep breath. “I haven’t seen any strangers around here.” She feigned a shudder. “Do you have a description?”
Their portrayal fit Samson to a T.
Leilanie was wearing the long skirt that was traditional here in this region and could feel a little hand tugging on it.
When she looked down, it was Petal pulling on her skirt, practically hopping from one foot to the other.
“Potty. Now!” Petal said urgently.
Leilanie nodded at the little girl and said to the policemen, “I want to hear more about this man who’s scaring people. Could you wait for a minute? It’s warm outside today. I’ll bring out some lemonade.”
As she was speaking, she was horrified to see Samson peeking over the gate. Luckily the policemen had their backs to him. He slowly lowered his head. Leilanie hoped he had the wits to go hide someplace as she grabbed Petal’s hand and headed to the house, whispering, “Hold on honey. Try not to spill. Try not to spill ‘till we get to the bathroom.”
Evidently the policemen heard because she heard them gently chuckling behind her.
She had to keep these policemen happy and liking her family, she thought as she rushed inside to the nearest bathroom.
“What a good girl! You held it all the way here,” Leilanie commented after Petal relieved herself. “You’re getting to be such a big, strong girl. Now let’s get lemonade for the nice policemen.”
“Cookies too,” Petal said.
“Great idea,” Leilanie muttered. She had tried her cell phone several times to get Omar so she could tell him to control Samson or they’d all be in deep shit. He wasn’t answering. Her messages went to voice mail.
Leilanie threw a tray together and went into the backyard, serving the policemen and inviting them to sit down in the shade at the umbrella table to enjoy the cookies and drinks.
The three girls, meanwhile, were becoming cranky because their game had been interrupted.
“You can start hunting now, but first, what are the rules?” Leilanie asked sternly, looking at the girls.
“Never put marbles in your mouth,” Ivory said.
“And?”
“Marbles don’t fit in your nose,” Shelly said.
They ran off with their baskets and finally Leilanie was able to find out more about the so-called scary stranger. She had no doubt when the policemen finished their stories that Samson was the culprit.
Evidently he had walked right up to the window and peered in at several different women while they were changing in their bedrooms. He’d even been seen looking through bathroom windows. He ran off fast if the woman screamed, but just smiled at them if they didn’t.
No wonder the woman were frightened, Leilanie thought. All they saw when Samson opened his mouth to smile was a black hole, since he didn’t have a tongue. She’d known Samson for years and she still got chills when he opened his mouth.
The description from those who had been spied upon was a huge monster-man with ears that stuck out like tea cups, a flattened nose, squinty eyes, and dark hair. They also said his mouth was strange.
When the police left and the children had gathered all the marbles in their game, it was, thankfully, time for their naps.
After she put them down, Leilanie ran up several flights of stairs to the top tower of her home. From the outside, the mansion looked just like a castle, and it had several towers. She went to the highest one, where the whole town could be viewed from the wrap-around windows.
It was a small square room, sparsely furnished, and the picturesque view of gently rolling hills and the town below was beautiful. She took binoculars from a table near a window, hoping to see Omar’s car to locate him. The car was unique in the town, a red Bugatti Veyron.
Just when she needed him most he continued to ignore her calls, she thought, irritated, as she scanned the surrounding area. Finally she spotted the car. It wasn’t too far away, at a small cottage on the outskirts of the village. She could walk there, or take one of the cars in the garage.
As Leilanie was turning away she saw movement and trained the binoculars back on the house. Omar was leaving the front door, moving to his car. She breathed a sigh of relief. Then she saw a beautiful young woman with stunning red hair come out of the home behind him. Omar turned, gathered her in his arms, and proceeded to give her a long passionate kiss.
Shocked, Leilanie felt like she’d been stabbed in the heart, but she couldn’t stop watching. Evidently the woman adored Omar, because she went in for several more sizzling kisses. They probably thought their caresses were private because there were tall trees around the cottage, but Leilanie had a perfect view from high above them.
She had always known that Omar had special powers over women, and he’d been the opposite of celibate. From his past behavior Leilanie knew this about him, but she thought he had changed since they moved to France.
Omar had the power to look a woman in the eyes, and she was a goner, mesmerized. When they’d lived in Hawaii, several beautiful women lived in his Waikiki penthouse, along with Leilanie. They’d all shared Omar’s sexual favors. The women had been witches from his covens.
Leilanie had been happy when they moved to France. She believed he had finally settled down and she was the only woman in his life. She foolishly believed Omar didn’t stray because he returned her love. Now she realized she had been very lonely here in France.
He used her as a cheap nanny, and a cheap lay, she thought sadly. She felt like a fool.
Leilanie trained the binoculars and followed the car as it eventually left the cottage and started moving up the cliffs toward their home.
Almost dizzy, her heart pounding, she dropped the binoculars and backed up ‘till her back hit the wall. She slid down until her butt met the floor, trying to take some deep breaths.
She had to appear normal when Omar arrived home. His behavior was unacceptable. She would leave him, she vowed. But she couldn’t, she decided in a flash. The children needed her.
She got up slowly, like an old woman, but her faintness was due to shock, and her misery quickly turned to boiling anger.
She would leave Omar. And she’d take the three girls with her.
Omar might be their real biological father, but they were more her children than his, Leilanie thought self-righteously. First, he had duped her at the hospital in Mexico when she agreed to be implanted with an embryo. She was implanted with three! Without her knowledge. Omar didn’t go through the misery of carrying three babies for nine months and the agonizing birth. She did. And she had taken care of them as though they were her own since that birth.
Omar didn’t deserve to have such beautiful bright babies.
Omar had never acted like a father to the girls, she thought resentfully, as she sped down the stairs to their room. She looked at the beautiful sleeping girls and decided Omar wasn’t worthy to have them. He never held them, or picked them up, or played with them. He just watched them carefully for a little while each day and then left. Probably to fuck the redhead. He always told Leilanie he was going out for business. Now she knew better.
Only once had he showed the slightest interest in what the children did. She remembered the nig
ht she told Omar about the candle burning down during the night. How it was a mystery. His eyes had turned that scary luminous yellow color for just a moment.
He was a Wiccan, or said so to his covens of followers. She believed he also had supernatural powers. It had been a little frightening, but exciting to know that this man whom she loved was extraordinary. Now, it seemed like a curse. It would be hard to leave him because he could sniff out her moods, almost as though he read her very thoughts.
As Leilanie sat in the rocking chair next to the girl’s bed, she quickly made her plans. Omar was generous with gifts. She had enough jewelry to pawn to buy plane tickets for herself and the girls. There would be enough money left over for her to live for some time, even if the pawn brokers robbed her blind. And she didn’t care if they did. She had to leave the deceitful son-of-a-bitch.
Leilanie was good with computers and she’d had lots of free time to play on the sophisticated one that Omar bought. She would order the tickets online. Then she’d have to go to Paris, to the pawn shops, to get cash.
She heard the door open from below and knew Omar was home. Now she’d have to appear like her normal loving self. It would be tricky because Omar almost had a strange sixth sense when it came to accessing the vibes of people. She’d need to be a consummate actress.
Maybe not though, Leilanie thought angrily. Maybe Omar wouldn’t even notice, because he took her so for granted.
As Leilanie made her plans, she realized she could hardly wait to get back to her home, back to Hawaii. There was one problem, though. She’d have to stay on the windward side of the island. The three girl’s biological mother, Michelle, lived in the Waikiki area. If Michelle saw three little girls with Leilanie, she would know they were her children.
She wasn’t too worried about Omar following her to Hawaii. He was a wanted man there. And if she ever saw him in Hawaii, Leilanie vowed she would call the police. Then his sorry ass would be dumped back in jail.
She heard Omar climbing the stairs and took a deep breath.
He poked his head in the doorway and looked at the girls, and then his gaze went to Leilanie. “What’s wrong?” Omar asked, frowning.
Damn, he was perceptive, Leilanie thought, glad she had a reason to be upset. Other than the fact he was fucking a beautiful woman while sleeping in her bed every night. “Samson, that pervert, is peeking in the windows at women undressing.”
Omar shook his head and smiled, like Samson’s antics were a minor annoyance; something a child might do.
“He’ll ruin our lives here,” Leilanie said, letting some of her fury show. “If the police catch him they will find out who he is, and that he fled prison in Hawaii.”
“No problem,” Omar said. “I’m taking him to the airport tonight. He’s going to Switzerland.”
“Why?”
“Samson’s too conspicuous. Too easy to identify. I sent him to a plastic surgeon. When he comes back, no one will recognize him.
Chapter 5
Michelle didn’t realize what putting a big wedding together entailed. When she wasn’t busy working, or at Wiccan school learning magical spells, all her spare time was spent on the details of the wedding with Heather.
The first thing they needed was a venue for the ceremony and a huge party afterward. Neither Heather nor Mike wanted to be married in some enclosed, claustrophobic church. Each had lots of friends, so they had to find a place big enough to accommodate about three-hundred people.
The fun part was driving around Oahu each weekend, singing at the top of their lungs along with tunes on the radio, with the top down in Heather’s little sports car, searching for beautiful outdoor wedding spots. There were lots of them. Hawaii is known for being romantic the world over, from its isolated and tropical paradise-like beauty, to its traditional music and dances.
They went from the Waikiki area, into Honolulu, and then across the island to Kaneohe and Waialua.
One cool option had been a ceremony on a private yacht, and they almost decided on that, but Heather’s mother got violently sea-sick after about five minutes on a boat; so that was out.
They visited the Kahala Resort, The Sunset Ranch, The Royal Hawaiian, and the top of Diamond Head. The surprise was that the best place for the wedding happened to be only a mile away from where they lived: the Moana Surfrider Hotel on Kalakaua Avenue. It had outdoor beach weddings with a beautiful view of the ocean, and a ballroom large enough to accommodate the indoor/outdoor dinner and party, with a live band for dancing.
Since the Moana Hotel would cater the dinner and provide drinks, that took a big burden off the wedding planning.
While Michelle and Heather arranged the wedding, Rod, as traditional best man, made plans for a bachelor party for Mike. Rod contacted some of Mike’s friends at the TV station where he worked. They met at a pub in Waikiki and made plans.
It turned out they were creative, fun people, with extravagant imaginations. With lots of liquor as lubricant for planning Mike’s party, they picked a gentleman’s club which encouraged cigar smoking and liquor. One of Mike’s friends, a camera man, knew of a private company that offered uninhibited strippers. The voice-over director for the TV station would be providing lap dances for all the guests. One of the lighting directors knew where to get topless waitresses for serving drinks.
Whoa! Rod thought. This bachelor party is getting a little wild and out of hand. Plans had taken off fast; he was losing control. Rod didn’t want Mike, and especially Heather, Michelle’s best friend, mad at him.
Throughout all the activities, Michelle and Rod managed to take time to go to the fertility clinic on Oahu.
Rod disappeared into a solitary room all by himself, looking a little uncomfortable. He emerged empty handed. There was a little door where you placed the pre-labeled specimen jar that spun around and was picked up by technicians on the other side of the wall.
Then both Michelle and Rod went to visit the fertility expert, Dr. Fugima.
He was a skinny guy with a sparse black chin beard. They sat in front of his desk. It was all very clinical, Michelle thought, as the doctor told her that she would be taking fertility drugs for a month before the embryo was implanted.
“I understand you want only one embryo implanted at a time. Doing it this way will be costly, and there is a statistically lower pregnancy rate.” He looked a bit forbidding, like it was a bad choice.
“Yes. I want to do one egg at a time,” Michelle answered. She didn’t like the idea of having several live embryos implanted. If there was a problem, one or more would be culled, or surgically aborted.
Dr. Fugima nodded. “Then we will unfreeze one egg and have it fertilized with the sperm specimen Mr. Nakamura provided, as you wish. I’m just waiting for the report.”
Michelle shook her head. “I want all the eggs fertilized with Rod’s sperm.”
Rod looked at her with raised eyebrows, but she could tell he was pleased.
“That’s a good idea,” the doctor said. “Embryos last longer than unfertilized eggs, and they seem stronger.”
“And Rod won’t have to come in repeatedly to give specimens, if the first implant doesn’t take.”
“I do appreciate that,” Rod said, hiding a smile of relief.
A nurse came into the office and handed the doctor a piece of paper. He placed glasses on his nose and took a moment to read it.
“Mr. Nakamura, your specimen was put under a microscope. I believe we can start the process right away.”
“Why’s that?” Michelle asked.
“Good motility and a high sperm count.”
This was excellent news, Michelle thought. She had never even considered that perhaps Rod’s sperm wouldn’t be up to snuff; only that her own eggs might be defective.
“What if two sperm enter an egg at the same time, if the little guys are moving fast?” Rod asked.
Dr. Fugima smiled. “Yes, it happens. It’s like Mother Nature makes it a race for procreation. Smart, because the fastest,
healthiest sperm in the bunch gets to provide one-half of the baby’s DNA. You’d get fraternal twins if the egg split into two eggs. If the egg splits in half when fertilized by one sperm, you get identical twins. Since Michelle is using fertility drugs there’s a small chance that could happen.”
Michelle started popping fertility pills each day and impatiently counted off time until the she was due for the embryo implant. The drugs made her feel a little off, with emotional highs and lows, and she had some dizziness, but she endured it. Still, she hoped the first implant worked.
She realized she really was affected by the medication when Heather beat her to the door a few times when she came over unannounced. Michelle wasn’t getting her usual psychic precognition signal fast enough. She concluded that the drugs had a negative effect on her paranormal abilities. But truthfully, she didn’t care if she lost her abilities altogether, if she could have a baby.
That changed one evening at Wicca School. Michelle was sitting with twelve other women in the living room of Ms. Alice Holcum, the teacher of the school who held the classes in her home and always came into the room grandly, after all had arrived, making her entrance when everyone was seated.
Alice was tall, with jet black hair and an air of superiority. She had a long nose that was always held up high in the air, like she was looking from a lofty view at everyone else.
When she first met Alice, Michelle felt the woman was somehow blocking her out. Like she had an invisible, impenetrable shield. But Alice did know all about witchcraft and Michelle trusted she could teach the unteachable: magic. Alice knew her stuff.
The students were eating cookies brought in by one of the members of the class. Michelle looked around, smiling at the conversation. They were all excited about potentially getting new supernatural powers and were gossiping like mad, with the idea that they’d be future witches. Of course, they would be the white kind. They all nodded vigorously in agreement. The good witches.
Magical Legacy Page 3
