"No, of course not. I didn't think about the dogs. You're right, I just worry." He gives up easily which surprises me. The whole time we are having this argument all eyes at the table are watching us. When there is silence Emma starts laughing. All eyes go to her.
"What? I think between Adeline giving you a hug, and Jacob giving up so easy there, that either hell froze over today or pigs are flying." She snorts with her laugh. Soon the whole table is laughing as cliché's are flying left and right.
"Maybe money is growing on trees."
"Maybe the sun will rise in the west tomorrow."
"Is the moon blue?"
"What I can't believe is that she was so brazen and stupid to use the code," Luke says after the laughter has died down.
"We always knew she was off her rocker," Emma says which then starts another round of sayings and hysterical laughter.
"A few cards short of a deck, two bricks short of a load." It's safe to say that the wine is making everyone feel pretty good, now that we are going on the fifth bottle.
"Ok, so the two things she was most interested in were the library and the cemetery, right?" Lucy asks after we've all settled down.
"Yes."
"I guess that is where we concentrate our efforts. Have you found anything in the library yet?" Emma asks.
"Don't you think I would have told you if I had?" I give her a 'don't be stupid' look. "I wish I still had those books I took out of the library the first day we were here." I suddenly feel a pang of sadness realizing that the picture of my grandmother, with whom I now know is my aunt, blew up with everything else in the house.
"I still haven't found anything on January James." I tell them of my search for my aunt.
"Have you checked marriage licenses? It's possible she could have married, she would have her maiden named listed on the certificate," Lucy says swirling some spaghetti on her fork.
"Of course, duh, I didn't even think about that." It's as if a light bulb went off in my head. How could I not think of that? If she is still alive, it is most likely she is married and wouldn't have the James name anymore. "Why would she let her family home go to pieces though? Why would it not go to her when her father died?" It seems as if the more answers we get, the more questions that are brought up.
"Who knows, maybe she moved away. We know that your grandmother died during child birth with Samantha by the dates on their crypts," Luke says, trying to piece it together. "Maybe she didn't want anything to do with this house, too many memories or something." He shrugs as he says his thought. Everyone is silent, pondering what it could be.
"We also know that Adeline knew your birth mother and that Miss Jeanette knew her, too, so it's a safe bet that my mother knew her as well." Jimmy weighs in his opinion, putting his arm around the back of Emma's chair.
"God I love this," Emma says all excited, "It's like a real life murder mystery or something. Tomorrow, when it's light, I am going to scour the cemetery for clues."
"No, tomorrow we are going to Baton Rouge to meet with Roger Thibeau, remember?" Jimmy says while patting Emma on top of the head and she swats his hand away.
"Okay, the day after tomorrow then." She sticks her tongue out at Jimmy and he leans in grabbing it with his lips. They are in a lip lock like no one is in the room.
"Quoting Emma Williams. . . ." Luke raises his wine glass and waits for a second, and then Jacob, Lucy, Luke, and I all say simultaneously, "GET A ROOM."
Chapter 18
The four of us are off bright and early the next morning for Baton Rouge. Roger remembered Luke, Jimmy, and Emma from school. They were all very popular. Most everyone who went to the same high school when they did knew them.
Roger had agreed to meet us at a little diner off of the interstate. When we walked in, Luke scanned the room. He spotted him sitting in a booth in the corner.
"Over there." Luke points in Roger's direction. Sitting by himself is a very attractive black man. A little older looking than Luke and Jimmy, but it is plain to see the man has worked hard. Walking up to the table, Roger notices us and stands to greet us.
"Luke, Jimmy," he says, shaking their hands very nervously. "Emma." He gives her a sweet smile and pulls her in for a one arm hug. Emma had said she didn't remember Roger, but I think now that she's seeing him she does.
"Roger, it is so good to see you. We had chemistry together, right?" Emma says to Roger who is beaming at her.
"Yeah, I was your partner one year. I didn't even think you knew I was alive," he says sheepishly. "To be honest, Jimmy, I never knew if you remembered that my mother worked for your family. You always seemed to act like you didn't know me," Roger addresses Jimmy.
"Of course I knew who you were. You know I was a stupid kid, you were older. I just figured you didn't want some freshman hanging around you," Jimmy says almost embarrassed.
"Well you know that's not true, you three were some of the most popular kids in school. Everyone wanted y'all hanging around them." Roger laughs nervously.
We all sit in the booth and there is an awkward moment of silence.
"I'm so sorry about your mom." Emma breaks the silence with a sincere apology.
"Thanks, Emma. That means a lot. She was troubled, had a lot of mental problems the past 15-20 years," he says, looking down at his hands embarrassed.
"I'm so sorry." Roger looks up at me with confusion as if I just got here.
"Thanks. I don't remember you. Did you go to our school?"
"Roger, this is my fiancée, Lilly Sumnor." Luke introduces us putting his arm around my shoulder.
"Sumnor, huh," he says in a way that most people do when they hear my name and realize who I am. "You own the house my wife and I are renting. We wanted to buy, but with all of the medical expenses we've had with Mother we just didn't have the credit. The rent is a little steep, but I wanted something nice for the baby," Roger says and then elaborates. "She is eight months pregnant. I want my baby to grow up in a nice home. I have been working two jobs to make the rent, but it's worth it to not be in the slums, ya know," Roger says, not talking to anyone in particular.
Unfortunately, I own so many rental properties that I have no idea who is renting, or even where all the houses are. I just know that every house I own is very nice and the rent is not cheap. I feel a pang of guilt for this poor man working two jobs just to have a nice place for his wife and child.
"The reason we contacted you, Roger, is because. . . ." Luke says, not knowing how to bring it up.
"I ran into your mother a couple of days before she died," I finish Luke's sentence. "She had actually mistaken me for my mother Samantha and I think it really upset her," I finish Luke's sentence.
"Samantha James?" Roger looks at me wide-eyed and shocked.
"Yes, does that name mean something to you?" I shoot back my question quickly.
"Yeah, you could say that. I have no idea who the woman is, but my mother said her name daily, in some sort of Voodoo chant rather, and in her sleep. There wasn't a day that went by that I did not hear that name." Roger is staring at me, like he is mad at me. As if I am the reason his mother went crazy.
"So she's a real person then?" He mutters, more to himself than to us. "Huh, I never knew if she was, or if it was part of her illness. If you wouldn't mind telling me, what the fuck did Samantha James do to my mother to make her go insane?" His accusation is toward me. Luke puts his arm around me in a protective manner at the turn in the tone of Roger's voice.
"I have no idea, Roger, she died almost twenty years ago after I was born. I never knew her." I defend myself. I'm not trying to make him feel bad, just trying to put us on a level playing field. I didn't do anything to his mother and wasn't going to be accused of it either.
"Oh", he's puzzled and it's obvious he has no idea what happened. "That means she died around the same time my mother was fired from the Carmichael ' s ' ." He puts his hands up to his forehead confused and is trying to figure it all out.
"Roger, we just want
to know what you remember of the time your mother worked for the Carmichael ' s, especially at the end when she was fired." Emma speaks softly placing her hand on his forearm in a friendly manner. Just like me, Emma senses the change in Roger.
He looks up at Emma's friendly, concerned eyes and he nods his understanding. "I was pretty young. I remember there were a lot of nights when she did not come home till very late. I mean like middle of the night late," he recalls. "I knew it was late because my father would be pissed. I was awakened by them arguing," he explains still looking at Emma. "I don't know if he thought she was having an affair, or what he thought really."
"Did you ever find out why she was so late?" Jimmy asks after a second of silence.
"No, but my father was drunk one night when she came home. I heard them yelling and he left mad." I see tears well up in Roger's eyes as he remembers so long ago. "He was really drunk. He crossed the center line and hit a car head on. Both him and the driver of the other car died instantly," Roger whispers his horrible memory as a tear falls down his cheek.
"Oh man, I'm so sorry. I had no idea, you always seemed so put together in high school," Luke consoles.
"Yeah, well, I had my little brother to take care of so I had no choice. I stayed strong for him, put him through college, and now he is a very successful marketing director in Chicago. I wanted him away from all of this." Roger is beaming now thinking of his little brother. "Unfortunately, between his college and Mom's expenses, I was never able to save," he states with a half laugh at what has become of his life.
I'm in admiration of this man. I always thought I had it so bad, but here is a man whose father died, his mother went insane, and he has worked all of his life to take care of his family. Now he has nothing for himself. With a baby on the way, wanting only the best for his new family, he is paying a very steep rent.
"You know, I always thought my father's death is what made Mom go off the deep end," Roger says looking at me now, his hands crossed in front of him.
"You said that your mom said Samantha's name almost daily. What would she say?" I ask, placing my hand on his giving them a squeeze. I don't know why I do it. I just want to give the man some comfort.
"Mostly she spoke in tongues, you know that Voodoo mumbo jumbo. I never understood what she was saying. She'd do rituals with candles and herbs, a bunch of stupid crap. I don't know. The only words I was ever able to make out were Samantha James," he answers, moving his hands to his lap. Apparently, my show of affection was making him uncomfortable. "It got worse after she was fired, she went totally insane. She wasn't able to keep a job and paced the house at all hours of the night," he recalls.
"Jeez, Roger, I am so sorry. If my mother was any cause of this," Jimmy stutters, "I am so sorry."
"You know, I think she was always troubled. Whatever happened at the Carmichaels' just put it into full force," Roger mutters looking at Jimmy. "I wish I could be more help, I just don't know what happened. Any time I asked her why she was fired, it would set her off into one of her rants. I stopped asking and did the best I could to keep my brother shielded from her craziness."
Everyone is silent for a moment, no one really making eye contact. I feel Luke squeeze my shoulder before he moves his arms in front of him.
"I don't know what happened either, but I want to do something for you." I speak up after the awkward silence. "Consider what you have paid in rent so far on your house as paid in full. It's yours. I am going to have my assistant transfer the deed into you and your wife's name." I tell Roger, whose eyes widen in shock.
"I can't," he sputters in surprise, "you can't be serious?"
"I am serious, very serious. Ask these guys, when I give someone a gift they will take it." I gesture at everyone, which they all nod.
"It's going to happen whether you like it or not." Luke laughs, looking at me with pride.
"It's a done deal. If you don't want the house, sell it. I don't care, it's yours. It's time someone does something for you," I state firmly.
"You don't owe me anything. For all we know, my mother is the reason your mother is dead," he says, looking at me abruptly as if he can't believe he just said that.
"You are not your mother, and I am not mine. We don't know what happened. All I ask for in return is that if you remember anything you let us know. No matter what it is. If you remember something that may indicate that your mother did something to my mother, I want to know about it. I will not hold you accountable for things your mother did when you were nothing but an innocent child. Do we have a deal?"
"Why would you do this for me?" Roger says flabbergasted.
"Because I can, do we have a deal?"
"Take it man. She won't stop until she gets her way." Jimmy snickers.
Looking at me for a long moment, he finally says, "We have a deal!" He seems as if he is going to jump out of his skin in excitement. "I will rack my brain! I will have so much time on my hands now only having to work one job." He's smiling from ear to ear.
After everyone says their goodbyes, and we exchange contact information, Roger takes off in his beat up little car excited as all get out to get home and tell his wife the news.
Chapter 19
"When are you going to buy me a house?" Jacob teases the next day when I tell him about what we learned from Roger.
"Never, you're stuck living with me." I punch him in the shoulder. "I'm giving you your own wing, plus free everything. So deal with it." I laugh at his mocking of me.
"I guess I will try to survive." He chuckles.
We are sitting in the library going through some of the thousands of books trying to find anything we can.
"So do you think your grandmother was really into all this magic Voodoo stuff?" Jacob scoffs, putting one book aside to pick up another. He's sitting in the overstuffed chair with one leg draped over the side. I'm on the floor next to the chair with my legs crossed in front of me.
"It would appear so," I answer, placing the open book on my lap. "Why else would all of this be in here?" I question Jacob.
"Maybe she was just a collector." He shrugs.
"I don't think so." I chew on my bottom lip thinking for a second. "I mean, I don't believe she was evil or anything, but I think she practiced witchcraft. Not the dark stuff though." I look up at Jacob for his reaction.
"You are basing this on what?" He's smiling down at me, lightly kicking me with his foot.
"A gut feeling."
"Okay, we'll go with that," he says amused.
The house is quiet with Luke at his dad's house helping him move some stuff around for a remodel they are doing. Jimmy is with them, needing all the muscle they could get. Jacob and I sit in silence pouring over books.
Now I'm reading one that I translated to mean Lost Souls. I have my laptop next to me to translate enough to get the gist of what the book is about. Some of the words are not recognizable by Google, so I am very intrigued with this one. I'm able to make out enough to know that this book is based on believing in souls that die before their time and are believed to be stuck on another plane. At least, that is what I've interpreted so far. It explains that there is a way to contact these souls if one believes in its power. I try to figure out what power they are referring to, but am unable to translate.
Gus is on one side of me and Oscar is on the other. I am taking turns petting them in between changing hands my book is in.
Flipping through the book frustrated, my eye catches something. On a page toward the back there is a spell of some sort. Taped to the top of the page is a key, an old looking key. It is tarnished with age.
"Look at this!" I elbow Jacob in the leg, who I think has dosed off because he jumps when I speak.
"Is that a key?" Jacob says sleepily looking over my shoulder.
"Yes it is." I gently try to pry the tape off without ripping the paper.
"Do you know what it says?"
"No not yet." I have my full concentration on the task at hand, trying to get the old, brittl
e, yellow tape off without ruining the page. The tape is so brittle it almost disintegrates in my fingers, which is to my advantage because I'm able to free the key without damage to the book.
Holding the key between my thumb and forefinger, I study it for any writing. Turning it back and forth, I stare at it like writing is going to suddenly appear. There is nothing on it, no writing or markings.
"Let me see." Jacob leans his arm over my shoulder putting his hand out for me to give him the key. I give it to him and he does the same as me, studying the blank metal with no markings. I start laughing at the seriousness on his face.
"What?"
"Nothing." I chuckle and he sticks his tongue out at me.
"What does it say?" He nods at the page from where the key was taped.
"I can only translate soul and innocent so far. I need to find someone that can translate these words. I think they are old, like old Haitian." I put the book down stretching. "I want to go back to Bon Dieu's. I want to talk to the woman in the back again," I tell Jacob, waiting for the argument I'm about to receive.
"Lilly, do you really think that woman is going to tell you anything?" Jacob exclaims giving me a ' be serious ' look.
"She told me the woman in the article wasn't my mother, yet it was in the safe along with the deed to my mother's house." I stand up and sit on the arm of the chair. Jacob moves his leg quickly before I sit on it. Gus and Oscar move into a sitting position in front of me. I do a hand motion Sam had taught me to let them know to relax. "I know more now, I think I have some fire power." I proclaim chewing on my thumb nail looking down at the floor.
"Yeah, but she is not the type of woman you want to have angry with you," Jacob says pushing gently on my shoulder to get my attention.
"I know about Miss Jeanette now, she was coming from the back when I ran into her," I argue my point. "Besides, what is she going to do to me? Put a "hex" on me?" I say using my fingers for quotation marks.
"Maybe," Jacob says raising his eyebrows. "You don't know what they are truly capable of."
"I know that it is only dangerous if you believe in that stuff. I know you've heard horrible stories. They're just stories, folklore." I tell him getting up from the chair. "My head is swimming with all this info, I need a break."
Unbreakable 2, The Mystery of Lilly (Cypress Grove Series) Page 8
