by Jim Johnson
Bello folded his large hands together on the table. “It’s likely all the deaths are connected, but I need to perform my due diligence, just to confirm.” He paused, then added, “Best to cover all our bases.”
I bit my lip. “I guess that makes sense. So what do you know?”
Bello shrugged, which for him was a tiny lifting of his wide shoulders. “Some clues here and there, some information shared. I’m confident at least two of the recent deaths are connected, and I’m willing to bet this latest disappearance will be as well.”
Grandpa sucked juice out of his box with a gurgling sound. “What makes you so sure about that?”
Bello met his eyes. “I have my resources, sir, and they’re certain.”
He turned to me. I caught a flick of his eyes down to my chest. I sat back, mildly surprised. I was a B-cup without padding, and while my chest wasn’t spectacular, it wasn’t exactly a huge disappointment. “Hey, my eyes…”
“I like your crystal, Rachel. I remember you wearing it the other day.”
Oh. I flushed slightly. Maybe he hadn’t been checking out my chest after all. I mentally removed pervert from my list of adjectives for him. Well, maybe I left it on the list but added an asterisk to it. “Thanks, I guess.”
He focused on my eyes. “You were wearing it when you were...exercising in the stairwell.”
Grandpa placed his empty juice box on the table. “Exercise?” He glanced at me. “What kind of exercise can you do in a stairwell?”
Bello kept his eyes focused firmly on me, which was creeping me out. “All sorts of things. One can only imagine what kind of a glow you can create by running up and down a lot of stairs.”
There was something in his brown eyes, deep and mysterious, and I was certain I had heard a certain inflection on the word ‘glow’. Did he know what I had really done in that stairwell? Or was I being paranoid?
I started to sweat under his scrutiny and hated the feeling. I crossed my arms across my chest. “Stair-stepping is hard work, Grandpa. I just happen to like the stairs here for the occasional free workout after I come visit you.”
Bello raised a thin eyebrow. “Any plans to exercise this afternoon?”
I frowned, not liking where he might be going. “I don’t know.” I nodded toward the empty courtyard beyond the windows. “Probably not if there’s more people coming up missing around here. Could be a kidnapper or a murderer on the loose somewhere in the building.” I shook my head. “I don’t think it’s safe.”
He nodded, looking as confident as ever. That certain, cool look sent a chill down my spine. This guy could really be scary when he wanted to be.
“I think you’re absolutely right, Rachel. I think this nursing home is far too dangerous right now for people to go wandering off alone, especially in staircases.”
He gave me a look, but I had a hard time parsing it given what I thought I heard as a veiled threat of some sort. He shifted to a smile. “How’s your friend, by the way? Malcolm?”
I blinked a couple times, caught off-guard by the question. “Uh, he’s fine, I think. Busy, you know.”
Bello nodded. “Sure. Probably out there getting his own kind of exercise.”
About a million questions crashed into my brain all at about the same time, and I needed a minute or two to process them all. I decided that ‘retreat and regroup’ sounded like a great idea, so I stood up from the table.
“I should really get going, Grandpa. I need to, uh, head to work. It was great seeing you.”
Grandpa was no idiot. His gaze flicked from me to Bello and back again. He gave me a friendly smile. “Come back whenever you feel like it, Rachel. I’ll be around.” He shot a glance at Bello. “No would-be kidnapper slash murderer is gonna get to me.”
Bello glanced at me. “I’ll do what I can to protect your grandfather.” He glanced at Grandpa. “And the rest of the residents here, of course.”
I backed away from the table, not liking the weird vibes I was picking up off Bello. I still didn’t have much control over the powers Miss Chin was introducing me to, and I was afraid of that lack of control. I didn’t know how it would manifest itself, and the last thing I wanted was to screw up in front of Bello, much less Grandpa.
I reached the door and opened it, then tossed a wave toward them. “I’ll see you soon, Grandpa.” I nodded to Detective Bello. “And hopefully not you. No offense.”
Bello stared at me with a look that suggested I would be seeing him again, and soon, but I wasn’t about to linger on that.
I ducked out of the room and pulled the door closed behind me. I took a moment to shiver and shake in the hallway. How did that man manage to get under my skin so easily?
I rolled Bello’s statements through my head. The more I thought about it, the more I suspected he was warning me away from that stairwell. Detective Bello was either very suspicious, and probably justifiably so, or knew more than he let on.
I needed help. I stared down the hallway, lost in thought, then focused on the door that I remembered Malcolm leaving that day I’d met him. He’d said his grandma was a resident here. I walked over and leaned in to listen at the door, but didn’t hear anything. I knocked on the door.
After a moment, the door opened and a kindly old black lady opened the door. “Yes?” she asked.
I smiled. “Hi! Are you…uh…Malcolm’s grandmother?” Crap. Not having his last name made it weird. I didn’t know her name.
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Who wants to know?”
“My name’s Rachel. He’s a, uh…friend of mine.”
She raised an eyebrow as she gave me the once-over. “Are you, now? Huh. I thought he was dating Shawna.”
I felt the blush blossom on my cheeks and neck. “Oh, no, no…no. I’m not his girlfriend. I already have a girlfriend. I’m a, you know, friend friend.”
She nodded her head. “Oh, you kids these days.” She leaned against the door jamb. “Rachel…I think Malcolm talked about you. You went with him to DC, right? To try and find Sandelle?”
“Yes! We looked around but didn’t find her until just recently.”
She nodded. “Malcolm told me. Said you were a big help. He spoke highly of you, dear.”
I blushed again. “Ah, thanks. I was happy to help. So…” I shifted my feet. “Would you happen to know if Malcolm is available? I need to talk to him.”
She shook her head. “He said he might stop by in the next day or two when he called me. He’s doing well, but has been busy with Sandelle. She’s home now, bless her heart. Do you have a cell phone? You could try giving him a call.” She gestured to somewhere inside her room. “I think I have his number…”
I raised a hand. “No, I have it already. Thanks, though.” I thought about saying my good-byes, but paused. “Hey, what’s your name?”
She tapped her forehead with an open palm. “God, where are my manners? I’m Dolores, dear. Dolores Forbes.”
“Dolores, I’m Rachel Farran. I’m happy to meet you.” I shook her hand. “Are you doing all right with the…” I waved my hand. “You know, the disappearances, the deaths?”
A sorrowful expression crossed her face. “Oh, yes. Oh, dear. It is tragic. So many, so soon.”
“Yeah.” I gestured down the hall. “My grandpa is a resident here too, William Farran.”
Her eyes brightened. “William is your grandfather? Well!” She grinned. “You have good genes in your family, my dear. That man can cut a rug with the best of them.” She gave her ample hips a little shake. I raised an eyebrow. Another thing I had no idea Grandpa could do.
I smiled. “Are you two good friends?”
She shook her head. “Don’t know him that well, but now that there’s sort of a family connection, I’ll be sure to cozy up to him on the next movie night.”
I grinned. “I bet he’d like that.” I sighed. “Well, I really need to get going, but thank you for the information about Malcolm. I’m glad Sandelle is safe at home now.”
&
nbsp; She nodded. “Thanks again for your help, Rachel. I’m sure I’ll see you soon.” She retreated back into her room and closed the door.
“Rachel!”
God, what now? I turned and saw my stupid brother, Robert, walking up the hallway toward me from the main entrance. He grinned as he sidled up to me. “How the hell are you? Haven’t seen you in forever.”
I pushed him back. “I’m fine, creep. No thanks to you. I’m barely scratching by on that envelope you gave me.”
He shrugged in his expensive-looking suit. “You’ll figure it out.” His grin widened. “You always were the creative one.”
I felt a little snap in my head. I reached out and grabbed his lapels and pushed him up against the far wall. “No, Robert! That’s it! I’ve had it with you and mom and dad lording over me. You get your ass back to them and demand that they give me my full stipend. I haven’t been able to talk to Grandpa about it, but you bet your butt I’m going to if I don’t start seeing what I should be getting from you.” I pushed into him. “Got it?”
He blinked a couple times and then raised his hands. “Uh, yeah…yeah, Rachel. I’ll…I’ll go check in on Grandpa and then talk to mom and dad.” He tried to push off my hands and I used a little ley thread juice to keep them locked in place.
“Come on, Rachel. Let go. We’re not kids anymore.”
I snorted but pulled my hands off his jacket and removed the ley threads. “Really, Robert? Then maybe it’s time you acted like it.” I stepped back from him, giving him the room he needed to make an escape.
And he did. He stepped around me and then backed off, muttering all the way down the hallway. I turned away from him and headed toward the visitor desk to return my badge. Shoot. I still needed help to work through the new disappearance and the Bello problem. I didn’t feel confident about my chances talking with Miss Chin, given recent events. And if Malcolm was unavailable while dealing with his sister, who did that leave me?
The spark went off in my head and I rushed out of Branchwood and headed for the bus stop. Time for a Bonita intervention.
Chapter 48
I SPENT MOST OF MY REMAINING fundage on a big Pork Barrel barbecue dinner for me and Bonita. I figured I owed her for the crystal and for the chance to pick her brains. As we finished off the last of the sweet collard greens, Bonita focused on me. “At the risk of sounding ungrateful, what do you want to talk about?” She indicated the remains of the dinner surrounding us on the table. “You don’t go to this much effort just for the heck of it. I know you better.”
I stared at her but she smiled and rested a friendly hand on my forearm. “No offense, honey. I know you have money challenges. Eating out like this isn’t something you do every day, or even every week. This feels like a special occasion, and so I’m just curious. Why a big dinner with me rather than, say, Abbie?”
I snorted. “After you hear what I say, you’ll wonder why I didn’t bring filet mignon and wine.”
Bonita settled into her chair with her sweet tea. “What can I help you with?”
I brought her up to speed, telling her about the botched attempt at meditating I did at home with Abbie, glossing over the reaction I’d gotten from Vinya and what had happened after—which was still a vague blur—and then gave her the bare-bones summary of talking with Miss Chin.
Bonita is a weird chick herself, so she took pretty much all of it in stride. I couldn’t tell if she really believed it all or not, but at least she was open-minded.
I asked her point-blank, “Do you believe in all this stuff? Crystals, the Holding, the Veil?”
She sipped her tea, clearly evaluating how to answer me. Finally she put her tea down and met my eyes. “I’m honestly not sure. I can do some little magic, and I’m confident I have some abilities as a healer that go beyond just what a normal midwife and doula can do.”
She lifted her hands and spread out her fingers. I’ve done things with these hands that I never thought I could do. I’ve delivered babies and I’ve handled stillborns. I’ve had blood on my hands from dozens of women and children.”
She sighed. “And I believe I’ve helped a few babies into this world that the doctors didn’t think would make it.” She folded her hands into her lap. “And I know that even with that power, I’m not perfect. I’ve...I’ve lost a few along the way.”
I inclined my head and reached out a hand to her. She hadn’t told me that bit before. “Bonita...I’m sorry.”
She gave me a sad smile. “It’s all right. It’s part of the job. “So, when you ask me if I think all of what you say is real, I have to honestly say I’m not sure. But I see that you believe it’s true, and that’s good enough for me.”
“So I’m not crazy?”
Bonita shook her head. “Of course not. Or, if you are, then we all are.”
I sighed. “Wish I knew why I earned all this and not someone else.”
She shrugged. “That’s a good question, chica, but I have to admit, you have better things to do than dwell on that.”
I guess she was right. No use asking “why me?” anymore; the question really was more like “what now?” I looked at her with shy eyes. “What do you think I should do, you know...about this weird presence within the Veil?”
“I don’t know. How did it end? Did he threaten you?”
“I think he tried to open the Veil up, maybe to pull me into the Holding. He wasn’t being nice about it.”
She frowned. “Is it likely he’d know you again on sight?”
I mused on that and nodded. “Possibly. We’ve run into each other three times now.”
“Three?”
“Yeah.” I ticked them off my fingers. “The first time in Branchwood with Malcolm, the second time when I went to the stairwell by myself, and then this third time at home with Abbie.”
Bonita’s mind was clearly racing given the variety of expressions that crossed her face.
I stared at her. “What?”
“I just...I don’t know. This guy, whoever he is, did Miss Chin know anything about him?”
I frowned, trying to recall. “We didn’t really talk much about it, but she said he was known as the Spinner and that he was a troublesome sort. She added that there are a number of people in the world who can pierce the Veil and cross in and out of the Holding. Just that not everyone can, you know...guide souls or whatever.”
Bonita stared at me. “It sounds like this guy is unhappy with you, and might know who you are.”
I stared at Bonita. I wasn’t always the sharpest tack in the box, and my brain and body might have been lethargic from the good, heavy dinner, but I think I finally got a hold of what Bonita was trying to get at.
I raised a hand to my mouth. “Oh, shit! Even if he doesn’t know who I am, he knows where I live.”
Bonita nodded. “And he knows you don’t live alone, and knows you had a little bit of help from Abbie, even if she didn’t directly help you.”
I felt butterflies rustle around in my stomach and my face flushed. “And if he knows where I live, he’s got to know that he’s encountered me twice at Branchwood.”
We stared at each other for several seconds, the connections coming together at last. “Branchwood!”
My eyes got wide. “Grandpa? He’s gonna go after Grandpa!” The pieces fell into place. “This guy in the Holding, he’s been going after the old people in the nursing home, waiting for them to die, maybe even killing them himself, and drawing them into the Holding, for...why?”
I stared at Bonita with confusion in my mind. “Why would someone want to pull lost souls into the Holding?”
She was off her chair and rummaging around in her large satchel purse. “I don’t know, but it can’t be good. I’m sure that’s something Miss Chin can tell you. I deal in life and in babies. I think you guys are mostly working the other side of things.”
I shook my head, struggling to wrap my head around all the possibilities. “What are you doing?”
She waved her keys at
me. “Gonna give you a lift. I figured you’d want to get back to Branchwood, right quick!”
Encouraged, I nodded and followed her out the back door, and waited for her to lock the door before heading to her little orange hatchback. I pulled my phone, meaning to call Miss Chin, but no luck. Either I’d forgotten to charge the battery again or my connection to the ley threads had drained it.
“Dammit!” I glanced at Bonita as she unlocked the car and piled in. “Can I borrow your cell? Mine’s dead.”
She snorted and tossed her old flip-phone to me. “Here. I think I have a little juice left.”
I buckled in and Kirk-flipped her phone. My fingers waggled over the keys, but then I punched my hand down on my thigh. I had Miss Chin’s number programmed into my cell phone but hadn’t memorized it. “I don’t know Miss Chin’s number!”
Bonita pulled out of the alley behind her shop and pulled onto Mount Vernon. “Try Abbie.”
I dialed Abbie from memory. As it rang, I said, “Just head to Branchwood anyway. I need to check in on my grandpa and make sure he’s okay and that the Spinner—whoever he is—hasn’t messed with him.”
Abbie’s phone rang a few times and then transferred to voice mail. “Damn, she must be in a meeting.” When the tone came on, I took a breath and said in a calm-ish voice, “Hiya baby, it’s me. I guess you’re working late tonight.” I glanced at Bonita. “I, ah, just wanted you to know that Bonita and I are gonna do some inventory at the shop after we close. I’ll probably be home late, but don’t worry about me. I’ll be home soon enough.” I paused, wondering if I’d even make it home if something bad happened.
My eyes misted. “I love you a lot, girl. Hope your project was a success. See you soon.” I closed down the phone and then palmed away a tear. I handed the phone back to Bonita.
She glanced at me as she drove. “Abbie doesn’t know all the details, does she?”
I shook my head. “No. I haven’t told her everything. I think I’m going to have to, though. I don’t like keeping secrets from her and I hate lying to her. She knows me well enough to know that something’s not right and that I’m not telling her, but…”
