by T. Jones
Teresa had kept some odd company over the years, and she was secretive about her business ties. While he had a good job, she had been a phenomenal investor. Their considerable fortune had mostly been her doing. She had been a difficult woman at times, but they learned to keep their distance and tolerate each other for the sake of the boys. She and Derrick had always had a special bond, which was probably why he had lost it after her death. Curious thing her being up there, but Jane Macdonald had claimed she was just going to see an old friend.
"Bottom line Doc, what's the prognosis?"
"We'll try therapy along with medication, but it will take a while."
"Money's not a problem, just fix my son."
"Fix, is not a word we use here, Mr. Blackburn. He isn't broken, just confused and delusional. He has concocted quite a backstory for his delusions, a whole network of women, using their psychic powers to control Fate. It's really quite creative, the way he explains it all."
"Just fix my son, Doc."
***
Callie and Jenny arrived at the Mconvil home just before noon on Friday. The For Sale sign in the yard, proclaiming the name and number of the real estate agent, had a banner attached, announcing the fact that it had been sold. Jenny was excited for her mother, but immediately nostalgic for all the good times she had had there. She insisted they go up to her bedroom.
"God Callie, this is the first place we ever made love, do you realize that?"
"Of course Jen, but things change. You can be happy living in the Cities, right? We don't always have to live in the Loft, we can move out a little ways. Someday, we'll have kids."
"Have you seen something? Now that you can see your own future, is there stuff you're not telling me?" Callie laughed at her.
"I said I wouldn't lie to you, I didn't say I was going to tell you all my secrets. Some things are better when it's a surprise."
"Did you see us making love up here this morning?"
"No, Jenny, I didn't see that."
"Surprise!"
"Madeline was by. She said Derrick Blackburn went completely off the deep end, tried to expose the group, and threatened to kill her." Callie's mother was in her usual spot at the kitchen table.
"Yeah, I heard. Old man Marsh called her to warn her, that surprised me. Ozzy seems to be getting his shit together, maybe it's rubbing off on his dad."
"I hope they get Teresa's son straightened out. That apple didn't fall too far from the tree."
"Just so you know, I'm going to Jamaica."
"Might be a dangerous place after the earthquake. Sure that's a good idea?"
"Have you ever seen what was coming Mom, I mean for yourself? I think I did, and it wasn't getting killed in Jamaica." Her mother looked at her quickly, dropping the newspaper she'd been reading.
"Nobody can do that, Callie. Was it a dream? Maybe it was just that, a dream."
"No, I'm sure it wasn't. Why is it we don't get to choose what we see, Mom? Why is it so random?"
"God knows, Callie!" Bess chuckled. "No, literally, God knows, because I sure don't. I don't suppose I can stop you from going down there."
"I've seen Danielle, in real trouble, in Jamaica. I have to try to stop it, or help her any way I can. That's what we do, change Fate for the better, right? I have to talk to Dad, I'm going to run to the hardware store."
"About school?"
"It's a waste of your money for me to be in college. What am I going to do that's more important than what I'm doing with the Sisters? Deeann raised our salaries, and Jenny's going to be working some. Maybe I'll go back, but not this year."
Callie found her Dad in the back room of the hardware, sharpening lawnmower blades. He smiled when he saw her, turned off the grinder and pulled the safety glasses from his face.
"Hi Princess, nice surprise, I didn't know you were coming up today."
"I have a lot to do Sunday, so we came early, we're going back tomorrow afternoon. I figured I better talk to you, give you some news."
"Not usually good news, when you put it like that, but go ahead, I can take it." Callie laughed at him.
"It's not that bad. I have to go to Jamaica to help Danielle, and there's going to be an earthquake, probably while I'm there." He tossed the glasses on the work bench and turned to her.
"But I shouldn't worry at all, right, because that group of yours knows you'll be safe. Bullshit!" As far as she knew, it was the first time he had uttered that word, and he was visibly angry.
"I can't explain how Dad, but I know that I'll be safe. I shouldn't be able to see that myself, but I do. Can you just take my word for it?"
"You're my daughter Callie. How can I let you go running headlong into a catastrophe like that, and not try to stop you?" Callie teared up, but stood her ground.
"Because Danielle's life is at stake, Dad. And no one, you included is going to stop me from going down there to try to help her."
"Isn't she the one that's supposed to protect you? I thought she was like your bodyguard, and tougher than most men."
"She's all that, but it doesn't mean she won't need my help."
"Don't expect me to say this is alright, Callie." He glowered at her. She smiled back at him.
"I wasn't asking for your permission." He turned away and flipped the switch on the grinder, ending the conversation. Callie walked into the breakroom, made a pot of coffee, then sat down and ate a doughnut left over from the morning group of freeloaders. She opened a magazine that had been left behind, waiting for the noise from the grinder to stop. Her father seldom got angry, and it never lasted long. After a few minutes, she heard the machine stop, and her father walked in and poured himself a cup of coffee. He didn't look at her.
"Your mother always said it was impossible, for anyone like you two to see their own future."
"Surprise! Really, I thought it was. I just know what I know Dad. There's no danger for me in Jamaica. But I can't say the same thing for Danielle. She's our best friend, mine and Jenny's. I have to go down there and do what I can." He relented, smiled.
"You wouldn't be you, if you didn't."
"Something else I wanted to talk to you about, if you have a minute."
"There's more?" She laughed at him.
"Good news, maybe. It'll save you money. I'm not going back to school this year. Maybe later, sometime. I really feel like what we're doing is important, and being an Art major isn't, not right now. If I go back, I'll probably do something else, maybe get a law degree, I don't know."
"Because of Madeline?"
"No, I mean it's cool that she helps people her way, but that's not why. Maybe politics at some point. Would that be crazy? I don't know, but having the gift I do, it seems like I could do a lot to help people get along."
"That doesn't seem crazy at all Callie, you'd be wonderful at it."
"Anyway, no school this year, so take the money you would have spent and take Mom on a vacation somewhere, okay? Jenny and I can watch the store anytime now. The Sisters can do without us for a week or two."
"Alaska." Her father smiled. "I'll take your mother on an Alaskan cruise! It's not too late to book for September." Callie was happy to steer the conversation away from Jamaica.
"Perfect."
Chapter Fifteen
Lucinda Mitchel smiled over at Lamar Henry. It had been awkward, her riding with the Inspector while Danielle followed them in her rental, but he had insisted. She knew he found her attractive, and she was fine with that, the feeling was mutual. But there was more to it, he'd said he wanted to talk to her alone.
"I'm glad you could ride with me Lucinda, it isn't that far, but I enjoy the company of an attractive woman."
"Thank you. I don't think Danielle was thrilled having to drive by herself. If she drank as much as I did last night, she probably has a headache."
"My spies tell me there was an incident."
"I don't think I'm going to make her mad anymore. She knocked that guy out with one punch, it was unbelievable. Good thing, o
r who knows what would have happened."
"We both know what would have happened. Ennis Brown is the worst kind of scumbag. None of the women he's raped would dare talk about it, he'd kill them if they did. Danielle humiliated him, and he'll be looking for her. The mountains will be a good place to be."
"It was my fault, it really pissed him off when I said she was gay."
"There are still people here that aren't accepting, that hate people for it."
"Where did she learn to fight like that? She's tall, and crazy strong looking, but still."
"After I sent her to live with her grandfather, he would me call once in a while, tell me how she was doing. He thought she could be an Olympic boxer, maybe the best. Not sure what happened to that plan after he died."
"The Obeah you mentioned, is that magic? She really believes her friends can see the future."
"She does. If there's an earthquake in the next week, maybe I will too. Lucy, not being forward, but I was reading your bio on Wikipedia. Did you even know you had a page?"
"Something a girl always likes to hear, not creepy at all." She laughed.
"Professional curiosity, really. I saw you were a competitive trap shooter in high school, runner up in the state championship."
"Who researches that stuff? I grew up in Kentucky Lamar, my brothers and I learned to shoot long before we learned to drive, I'm a damn good shot."
"How are you with a handgun?"
The Evans house was a small mansion, built into the side of the mountain with a view of much of Kingston and the Caribbean beyond. They had a small cabin that housed the maid and her husband, who doubled as security. They sounded and looked British, and were well into their seventies. They laughed at the suggestion of an earthquake.
"This house has been here for three generations." William Evans assured them. "It hasn't fallen down the hill yet, and I don't think it will anytime soon. If it ever does, so be it, there's no fighting Fate." They knew Lamar well and he stayed and talked with the couple while the girls got the equipment ready to carry up the mountain.
Lucy had coordinates mapped out for the transponders with exact GPS locations for each. The idea was to avoid the possibility of noise contamination, or worse, theft by someone who could have no possible use for such a device. Lucy had GPS trackers to locate each device, should they malfunction, and pick them up when they were done.
"We need readings for several days, Danielle. Months would be better, but I know your group didn't want to commit to that long. The two solar vibration monitors are eighty pounds, but they're set up to backpack. Depending on what happens, and what the professor says, I might leave them out and retrieve them in a month or so. The two smaller units are only thirty pounds. They all transmit data right to my lap top, then I'll forward it to the Institute. Cool huh?"
"Great Brainiac. You take care of the nerd stuff, I'll just carry them." Danielle said coolly.
"Are you pissed at me because I rode with Lamar? Are you jealous or something?"
"Of course not, Lamar and I are just friends, and I have a girlfriend remember? Alright, I'm pissed at you, but not about Lamar. Last night could have turned out really bad. I asked you to stay by the front where you would be safe, and you didn't listen."
"I am sorry about that. I drank too much, and the whole thing took me by surprise. I'm not used to dealing with people like that. I really thought he was just talking shit, until he grabbed you."
"I shouldn't have gone back there either, but I trusted Leroy. Glad he didn't try to stop us from leaving."
"Don't think he was going to do that after watching you knock his boss out. I'd like to see that guy Ennis today, I think you broke his nose." Lucinda laughed a little.
"Trust me, neither one of us ever wants to see that asshole again. Next time, if there's trouble, can you just do what I tell you to?"
"I'll try, but no guarantees." She smiled sweetly at Danielle, then pointed at the pack. "You can take that one and I'll grab the little one. We have to go a mile east, up the mountain, so we can switch off whenever you need to."
"You just try to keep up, okay."
A mile up and a mile down the mountain turned into a grueling trek carrying the equipment. The balance was poor on the pack, and the terrain was steep and rock strewn, but Danielle refused help with the heavier device. It was all that Lucy could do to keep pace with her, and neither woman talked. Once they had reached their first destination, Danielle sat quietly, staring to the south, where the blue waters of the Caribbean clung to the skyline. Lucy busied herself anchoring the solar AVM and starting the computer that reported its sonar findings back to her laptop.
"Is it going to be like this for the next three days?" She asked, glancing at the taller woman. "I said I'm sorry about last night."
"No, I'm sorry, I'm just thinking. I was born in Jamaica, just wondering if it's where I'll die. Sometimes knowing the future isn't easy."
"You really believe you and your friends can see the future?"
"I know we can, and the best part is we can change it sometimes. That's the only reason I was strong enough to come, the hope that the fate Callie saw for me can be changed."
"Still not buying the soothsayer business. Let's just get my readings, then head back into town on Monday. These units should be self-sufficient, but I may have to tweak the locations slightly."
"I talked to Raoul, the Evan's security guard. He'll help you move them if you need to. I have to go back down and keep trying to warn people. I'll come up Monday afternoon and get you."
"Crap, it's going to be boring here. I was hoping we could have a slumber party, make smores and talk about boys." She got a smile out of Danielle.
"Want me to send Lamar back? He's probably never had a smore, or a seismologist." They both laughed and Danielle picked up the smaller pack.
Danielle drove back into town that evening, leaving Lucinda in the care of the Evans. Her muscles ached from walking up and down the steep terrain, and she stayed in the shower for longer than usual. Five years ago, she wouldn't have noticed it, she was sure. Thirty-three, plenty of life ahead. She wished she hadn't seen the picture Callie had painted, then it couldn't weigh on her mind. But she couldn't let it affect her judgement, or make her overly cautious.
She checked in with Callie, and told her what she knew. At least the blonde girl hadn't dreamt anything more, anything worse. She kept the conversation light, they gossiped a bit about Deeann and Fatty Carson, then she called Anna. All was well, she was busy with work, she just wanted Danielle to come home as soon as she could. She hung up the phone before her voice betrayed the fear that was building in her. She climbed into bed with a glass of water on the nightstand, and opened a book. At a few minutes before midnight she thought she felt something odd, maybe just the slightest shift. She looked over at the glass. The water was moving, just the slightest sway from side to side, then it slowed and sat flat again. She took a big swallow, then turned out the light.
***
Jennifer Mconvil glared at her girlfriend as she sat down on the couch next to her, noticeably upset. Callie raised an eyebrow.
"Why wouldn't you tell her you were going down there to help her?"
"She said not to, Jen. It just would have been a big argument. I'm going, so there's no point in fighting with her about it. Plus, if she knows I'm coming, it'll just be one more thing for her to worry about. Thanks to your new record keeping system, I know how to get ahold of Lamar Henry, and her great uncle, if for some reason I can't reach her when I get there. I can help her convince the powers that be that there's a real danger. You know how convincing I can be."
"Is that a joke? Are you going use your stink-eye on them?"
"I hope you don't call it that in the official log." Callie laughed.
"I don't know what to call it. Someday, somebody will read my ledger and think I was the crazy one."
"I wouldn't worry, probably be one of our kids, they'll already know how crazy you are."
&nb
sp; "Funny. You just better come back to me in one piece."
"Not me I'm worried about Jen, you know that."
***
Sunday evening Oswald Marsh left his NA meeting and walked the half block to his car. It was quiet and getting dark earlier as summer wound down. He didn't see her until he was almost to the car, and he stopped, startled. Callie Fisher was leaning against his driver's door, smiling slightly.
"Hello Oz, how's the sobriety going?"
"One day, then the next, you know. Can't get too cocky, that's when things go to hell. It isn't very often these days that I have a pretty blonde waiting for me."
"I'm sure you will, when you're ready. Men with their shit together are sexy, haven't you heard?"
"So, what's up? You didn't show up just to boost my ego, or are you checking up on me."
"Yes and no. How you stay off the shit is your business, but if you need my help, all you have to do is ask. I know you went to see her, Nadine."
"She is trying to get her life straight, finally. Meth is tough to beat. She doesn't like leaving the house, so I go to her, try to help." Callie laughed.
"Kind of makes me glad I didn't kill you that night." He chuckled a little.
"That makes two of us, but we both know that was just my guilt choking me, power of suggestion, right?"
"You'll never get me to admit any different."
"Did you think I might be using again?"
"I'd know, but I wouldn't admit that either. Like I said, if you need help, you have my number." Callie stepped away and pointed her keys at the Camry, unlocking the door. Ozzy swung his car door open and stood looking at Callie. She moved forward, hugging him suddenly. It surprised him. She stepped back, wiping her cheeks quickly. "It's a good thing you're doing for her Mom, Oz. Natalie would be really proud of you."
"She loved the stars you know, I hope she's up there somewhere, and she knows." He smiled sadly.
"Me too Ozzy. Goodnight."
Chapter Sixteen
Danielle knew there was some risk, returning to the home of Kendra Campbell, but she couldn't forget the little girl. Making choices based on being stubborn might be alright if you were an adult, but not if a seven year old girl would pay the price. She had to find some way to convince the woman that she was putting her daughter in danger by not reconciling with her uncle and aunt.
