SEEING DEAD THINGS: A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Novel (Roxie’s Midlife Adventures Book 1)

by Leigh Raventhorne

  He turned calculating eyes on me. “Fine. You can have that jewelry back, but I keep my Camaro.”

  I felt Sam nudge my foot twice. That was the signal we had worked out beforehand. It meant he was buckling and to just go with it. This was a small concession for it all being over and he would think he had come out ahead this way.

  “Great. You keep the Camaro. I want my jewelry back. Now.

  He jumped out of his seat. “You can have your stupid jewelry back.”

  Mr. Holden put a hand on Steven’s arm to guide him back down to his seat. “Mr. Bell, please. We are almost finished here. Mrs. Bonacci-Bell, I have the envelope of jewelry your husband gave me outside the courthouse this morning, right here in my briefcase. There was some worry about bringing it through the metal detectors.”

  He reached down and pulled the envelope out, setting it on the table between us. I slid it over and opened it up, dumping the contents out in front of me. Frowning at the small pile, I recognized most of the jewelry I had purchased for myself or received from Steven over the years. I saw a few pieces that I vaguely remembered taking out of my mother’s jewelry boxes but there seemed to be some missing.

  I looked at Steven and asked flatly, “Where’s the rest of it?”

  “What are you talking about? That’s everything!” he spat at me.

  I pulled out my spare set of keys to the Camaro and held them up. “I will put miles on that car until I get all of it back. And I might not remember what kind of gas it takes, got me? I want every last piece back, Steven, I mean it.”

  He jumped out of his seat and reached into his pocket. “Take your stupid jewelry back, it’s not even worth enough money to bother with!” He threw a handful of rings and pendants across the table at me. None hit me, but several fell into my lap or onto the floor. Calmly leaning over to pick the ones on the floor up, I had a sudden flash of intuition just as my fingers brushed the last piece I was reaching for.

  I narrowed my eyes at Steven as I straightened. “And the pendant in your other pocket?”

  His face went slack with astonishment. He sputtered for a moment before reaching into his other pocket and pulling out the pendant I had somehow seen for the briefest moment in my mind. I would worry about what that was about later, for now I made sure I held his gaze and didn’t show any emotion on my face. I fully expected him to throw it at me, but he set it firmly down right in front of me. His glare held nothing but hatred in it as I swept all of the jewelry into the envelope.

  Mr. Holden put a hand on Steven’s arm to guide him back down to his seat, frowning disapprovingly at either his client’s display or his dishonesty. Or perhaps both. “Mr. Bell, please. We are almost finished here.”

  ‘Almost finished’ ended up being another hour of paperwork, signatures, and more paperwork. Steven sat with his arms crossed, alternating between glaring at me and pouting. I tried to focus on just getting through the mound of papers so we could get out of there. By the last signature, I wasn’t even sure what I was signing, but I trusted Sam implicitly. Just before we stood to leave the mediation room, I slid the car keys over to Steven and left the room just ahead of Sam.

  When we finally walked out of the courthouse it was well after noon. I had the envelope of jewelry tucked safely in my purse. Sam and I decided to grab take-out for her whole office from Hoffman’s Deco Deli and Cafe.

  Tess was the first to jump up and grab some of the bags we were carrying in and head off to the break room. We met her and the rest of the staff there.

  “Well?” she asked, already diving into the food. “How did it go? Did you make that butt-head pay?”

  “I think we’re both walking away with what’s fair,” I said quietly.

  Sam looked over at me sharply. “Hardly! After what he did to you and the crap you’ve taken from him for years, he’s lucky to walk away with anything! But I was really proud of you, there, Rox. You stood up for yourself. I haven’t seen you do that in—I can’t even remember how long. Not with him, anyway.”

  I let out a shaky breath. “I’m just glad it’s over. Another couple of weeks and the divorce will be final and I’ll . . . ,” I paused, not able to go on.

  “Uh-oh,” Tess said as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around me. “It’s hitting her. Want to give her some good news?”

  Sam joined her, hugging an arm around both of us. “Yeah, I may have forgotten to mention your final bill for the divorce.”

  “Um, what?” I couldn’t believe she was bringing this up now.

  “Yes, I wrote it into the agreement that both of you signed. Steven is paying for the whole divorce,” she grinned. “And I may have charged slightly more than my normal going rate. And allowed for any future discrepancies.”

  Tess nodded, with a sly grin of her own. “I prepared the invoice myself. I’m pretty sure he’s even paying for this lunch.”

  Laughing, I hugged them back and sat down to eat. I don’t know what I would do without such great friends in my life.

  Chapter 22

  I paid Annie to do a thorough cleaning of the house and did the touch-up painting myself. All of this kept me so busy I didn’t have the spare time or energy to pursue looking at any of the journals. The jewelry I had recovered still sat in the envelope in the nightstand, next to Elmer’s box. I rarely even saw Elmer during any of that time. When I did, he seemed more distant than usual.

  Two weeks later . .

  “Shut the front door! Three-hundred-seventy-nine thousand dollars?! After only three days on the market? Heck yes I’ll take it! Just show me where to sign, Sam!” I quickly did the math in my head. Minus realtor fees plus what was still owed, that would leave me with around $102,000. And then there was what we had in our savings and investments. I blew out a breath. Maybe things were going to be all right, after all.

  “I’ll go over the paperwork with my realtor friend, and bring home the purchase agreement for you to sign tonight then. That’s the first step. Next, we have to get Steven to sign it,” she explained.

  That last part burst my bubble completely. “Knowing him, he’ll probably refuse to sign the papers. He’ll be as big of a prick as he possibly can, guaranteed.”

  “Don’t worry Rox, this won’t be the first peeing-for-distance competition I’ve been involved in. His fragile ego is in for some rough treatment ahead, if he gets too cocky with us.” Sam’s smile was almost predatory, as if she was looking forward to the challenge.

  I am so glad Sam’s on my side.

  “So, what happens now? What if he refuses and we lose the buyers?”

  “Then we get a judge involved. And I guarantee that any judge in this county will be on your side, especially with an assault charge, even though you’ve agreed not to press charges now. This divorce agreement is already a done deal—the judge will see he’s just dragging his feet. There’s absolutely nothing he can do to stop this now, since the papers are signed. Think about it—you two have no children together, you were married almost—oh my gosh! Roxie, it would have been ten years, right after your birthday next month!”

  “Yeah, I know. I’ve been trying not to think about it.”

  “The anniversary or your birthday?”

  “Either! This is going to be the crappiest birthday ever.”

  “Not on my watch it’s not, Rox. This is going to be a completely fresh start for you. Look at yourself,” she stood up, pulling me with her, and spun me around to face the gilt-framed mirror hanging behind me. “Seriously girlfriend, look at yourself. You just lost all that marital weight—and I’m not just talking about the twenty pounds,” I raised my brow at her reflection. “Look at all you have going for you. You are beautiful. You are smart. And you have a fabulous lawyer.” We both laughed at that.

  If only I could tell her about everything else I had going for me.

  “Anyway,” she continued, as we sat down again. “You are going to be just fine financially. You’re even getting half of his pension. He earned most of that while you
were married, so you are technically entitled to a portion of it, so don’t you dare give me that guilty look, Roxanne Bonacci. When everything is said and done, you might not even have to go back to work for a while, you know. If you had let me ask for alimony, you wouldn’t have had to think about work for a long time.”

  “What? I’ll still have to find a place to live and housing isn’t exactly cheap around here. I don’t want anything to do with him past this divorce. I want to do something, I just don’t know what. And Sam, I am really grateful that you’re letting me stay here—I appreciate that, you know I do, but—”

  “Roxie, you know you can stay with me as long as you want,” she interrupted. “I absolutely love having you around. I never really noticed before how big this house was living here all alone.” She made a sweeping motion with her arm, as if to prove her point.

  I wasn’t touching that last thing she said, yet. I still had no idea how to break it to her that she had never really lived here alone. “What if I paid rent or something? Just until I get back on my feet and figure things out.”

  “Absolutely not! Like I said, it’s a good thing that you’re here. And, if you get bored or we start to get on each other’s nerves, we’ll figure something out. Tell you what,” she held up her hand to halt my protest. “We’ll discuss all of that later. Now, can we get back to more important issues?”

  “Of course, what else do we still need to go over?”

  She smiled again, mischievously this time, “Help me pick out a dress. I’ve got a date tomorrow night!”

  We both squealed like schoolgirls. “It’s Leo, I mean Dr. Lane, isn’t it?”

  “Yes! We’ve been texting and talking since you got out of the hospital. He finally asked me out!”

  “I want deets. I can’t believe you haven’t said a word about this to me.”

  She huffed on her nails and shined them on her shirt smugly, “Well, I thought he was a lot younger than what he is, so I didn’t want to say anything until I kind of knew if I wanted it to go anywhere. And this is only a first date, so it might be nothing.”

  “Sam. It most certainly won’t be ‘nothing’. I could feel the chemistry between you two every single time he walked into my hospital room. He’s perfect for you, I just know it!”

  “But I don’t usually have time for this. Dating. Getting to know someone. Most men are intimidated by my success. He’s . . . different.”

  “That’s because he’s on your level. He knows you’re busy and successful—he is too. You two couldn’t be more right for each other. How old is he, by the way?”

  “He’s thirty-eight.”

  “For real? I seriously thought he was thirty-two at the most. Well, you only just turned forty-two, so there’s barely an age gap at all. Sooo,” I grinned at her. “Have you run a background check on him yet?” I already knew the answer.

  “What do you think?” she deadpanned.

  “Come on, Sam. Dirt. Please!” I gave her my best puppy dog eyes.

  “There isn’t any,” she shrugged. “Like—nothing at all. No ex-wife, no child support payments, not so much as a parking ticket. He’s nearly paid off his student loans. He’s an absolutely brilliant doctor. From what I can see and what we’ve discussed, he’s put one hundred percent of his focus into his work. And now he thinks he’s ready for something—more than work.”

  I dipped my head as I stood up, letting my hair fall forward to hide my happy tears. She deserved this more than anyone I knew. She had dated on and off during the years we’d been friends but her natural confidence, as well as her success, drove many of her would-be suitors away. The rest could never pass her background check test. Leo seemed like a perfect match. Seeing her this excited, even when my life was such a mess, made me ecstatic for her. As much as I wanted to spend the evening going through my mother’s jewelry, my friend needed me more. To be honest, doing something this normal felt really good.

  Upstairs, we dissected most of her closet, eventually going for a classic little black dress. With her height, she rarely wore anything with a heel, but the black kitten heels we paired with the dress were too perfect to forego. As we went through her jewelry, I was reminded how unusual all of my ‘new’ jewelry was, compared to her more understated collection. In the end, we decided on a simple pair of earrings and a thin silver chain.

  “Hair up or down?” she asked, as she pulled it up in front of the mirror.

  “Definitely up. Your neck is a mile long. Show it off.” I helped her pile it up, pinning it strategically so that a few errant strands framed her face. When I stood back and looked at her reflection in the mirror, she looked like a model, except ten times more elegant. With her slender runner’s body, she didn’t even need Spanx to hold anything in. If I didn’t love her so much, I would be jealous.

  “Roxie—I think I’m actually nervous!” Sam whispered.

  “What? Samantha Stone, look at all you have going for you. You are beautiful. You are smart. And you are a fabulous lawyer. You have nothing to be nervous about.” Throwing her pep talk from earlier back at her, I smiled as I hugged her. “Did I mention he’s going to have to glue his eyes back in his head when he sees you? Now get out of that and put on some comfy clothes and let's go have coffee.”

  We laughed as we put everything away and headed back downstairs.

  Chapter 23

  As it turned out, Sam did have to take the matter to court and force the sale of the house. I had the remainder of Steven’s things and most of the furniture I was moderately sure he would want to keep, put into a storage facility—one at the other end of town from mine. I made sure it was in his name and had Sam forward the information, including when the bill was due, to him through his lawyer.

  “Guess what Elmer?” I announced, coming into the living room. “The sale of the house and the divorce proceedings are both final!”

  “Well that was sure quick,” he mumbled, like he was only half paying attention. He sat on the end of the sofa with Jake laying at his feet with his massive head up on Elmer’s lap. He was petting Jake’s fur and gently stroking his ears thoughtfully. Even the dog’s ears were huge.

  “Are you okay Elmer?” I asked, concerned with his expression.

  “Yes, Roxanne, I am. I was just thinking of the day Birdie and I brought this big lug home to live with us. He was such a little guy then—well, compared to what he is now, anyway. Birdie carried him inside. Oh, if she could see him now—err, I mean while he was full grown. She never got to see that, you know? What Rosemary said has really got me to thinking.” He lowered his head, his eyes getting moist.

  I sat down beside him. “That’s perfectly understandable and, no, I didn’t know that Elmer. You haven’t told me too much about your wife. I’ve been selfish, and have only asked you questions about the Sight. But let’s not even talk about that today. How about you tell me about the day you two brought Jake home? And some more days. Today, just tell me about Jake and Birdie.”

  He chuckled. “You better be careful what you ask for, young lady! I could keep you sitting here for a very long time on that topic.”

  “Well I have no place to be all afternoon. Tell me a story!”

  Elmer leaned his head back, wiped at his eye, and smiled. “Heh! When we left to go get Jake from a farm out by Byron, Birdie had set some loaves of bread dough to rise on the dinner table with towels over them . . .”

  “Oh no! He didn’t.”

  Elmer had a bit of a laughing attack. “Oh yes he did! To this day I still don’t know how he got up there. I didn’t think this boy was gonna make it through his first day here. Come to think of it, I thought that most days. Seemed like Jake here terrorized my Birdie. She acted mad, but she was never mean to him. Nary a time. In fact, I saw her sneak him bits of our dinner many a time, shortly after threatening to beat him senseless. Nope. Birdie loved ole Jake just as much as I did. Didn’t she boy?” He scruffed Jake’s head and got a deep woof in reply.

  He was right. Elmer had
a ton of stories like that. As he shared them with me, his whole expression changed. He and Birdie had raised their children here. They’d seen wars come and go. They’d seen prosperous times and hard times as well, but when the kids were grown up and gone, their big house seemed empty. That’s why they’d decided to get a dog—to fill that emptiness. It sounded like they were very happy here for a long time, until one day Birdie’s doctor had some very bad news for them. She had cancer. It was too far along to treat and she went quickly. Elmer was so devastated—an ocean of emptiness engulfed him. He really, really missed his wife.

  I really wished I could give him a hug. The poor old guy. I never wanted to see Steven’s face again as long as I lived, yet here was Elmer, heartbroken, wishing he could just see Birdie’s face one more time. “We’ve talked about this before, Elmer. While I truly appreciate everything you’ve been teaching me, it breaks my heart how bad you’re missing your wife. The promise still stands—if you want to cross over and be with her, I’ll look after Jake for you. He seems to really like me, and it’s not like he eats or makes messes. Wait—he doesn’t eat—does he?” I asked.

  Elmer looked at me thoughtfully. He scrunched his rather large, rounded nose and pushed his glasses up with one finger. Then he smiled. “No. He doesn’t eat. Therefore he doesn’t have the need to eliminate waste, either. We’re pure energy, Roxanne. All spirits are. The consciousness, or soul, of any living creature is best described as a spark of light and pure energy. You’ve heard the phrase ‘from ashes to ashes and dust to dust’, I’m sure. That’s the physical body. It’s more like ‘from energy to energy and light to light’ for the soul.”

  I thought about that for a moment. “You told me once that you don’t think that Jake can go with you, were you to walk into the light. Why do you think that?”

  “Oh my . . . sometimes you ask some tough questions, Roxanne! But let me take a stab at explaining that to you. Hmmm. Well, I see the light beckoning to me regularly. Nearly every one of your days. It’s an incredibly pure white light. The first time I saw one of those new fangled LED lights, that’s what it reminded me of. It’s very prominent. There’s just no way to miss it. There’s no sound or anything, but it’s pretty irresistible. The reason I think Jake cannot go with me into it is because when I see it, Jake doesn’t. My light doesn’t beckon to him.”