The Truth Healer: A Riveting Spiritual Psychic Thriller

by J Gabriel-Smith

  Just as Chloe was clicking on places to stay near the Austrian, Laurenz Felbiger’s address on her tablet, Tatiana returned.

  ‘So, I have details of your next stage. You are correct….Lucy and Tom need to go to the Austrian guest’s house….Laurenz Felbiger wasn’t it?’

  ‘Yes, that is correct.’

  ‘They will find more clues in the house.’ Tatiana continued.

  ‘Like what?’ Chloe asked, hoping for more.

  ‘That’s for you and them to find out.’

  ‘So I do not get any more names or further places to visit?’

  ‘No, everything you need to know next, is in that house.’

  ‘So how are they supposed to get into the house?’

  ‘They, and yourself, will work that out when you get there.’

  ‘But Tatiana these people are criminals of the worst kind…. I could be leading them and myself into serious danger here.’ Chloe exclaimed, disbelieving about what they had to do.

  ‘I have told you before, you are protected here, and you will be looking out for Lucy and Tom so do not worry.’

  ‘Ok.’ Chloe replied reluctantly. ‘I suppose I will just have to trust you. So how long will I have to be away for?’

  ‘A week maybe.’

  ‘This is getting harder for me with Josh now though Tatiana. There are only so many ‘courses’ I can go on.’

  ‘I know it is hard. We will come up with some sort of creative managerial description for your job in the future, whereby you can tell Josh it is essential for you to travel with. I know you do not want to keep leaving him, but you will get time off between each mission to spend time with him, and think of the goodness you are giving back to people in need.’

  ‘I know you are right, and it means so much to me to be able to help these people. Well, I suppose I better head home and put the next plan into motion. I will ring you once everything is in place.’

  ‘Ok good luck.’ Tatiana wished her, standing up to give Chloe a hug.

  Once Chloe was home, she knew her priority was to stop Lucy going ahead with the private detective agency. She looked up their telephone number on the local on-line directory and dialled the number. As she cleared her throat in preparation to put on her best Lucy telephone voice, a deep man’s voice answered.

  ‘Afternoon, Cunningham’s Investigations.’

  ‘Hello there, this is Lucy Parker here, I rang you this morning.’

  ‘Ah yes hello Lucy, I am just working through your quote now.’

  ‘I am sorry for any inconvenience but I will no longer be requiring your services.’ Chloe was praying he wasn’t going to cause any problems.

  ‘Oh ok….may I ask why, if you don’t mind….have you found a good quote?’

  ‘No, it isn’t that…it’s just we have had second thoughts and think it is best left to the police.’

  ‘That is fine, I understand. Well you know where we are if you change your mind.’ the man said reassuringly.

  ‘Thank you very much, bye then.’

  Phew…one down, one to go, she thought.

  Now was the more important and nerve wracking call. She was actually going to have to speak to Lucy. Each time she saw her she wanted to run over and give her a hug, so she was going to find it hard not to offer words of comfort to her on the phone. Instead, she had to act businesslike and let her down by giving her a quote out of their price range. Chloe knew it would crush her, as she had been so excited when Tom had suggested it, but she didn’t need them. She had Chloe…even though Lucy and Tom didn’t know it.

  She tentatively dialled Lucy’s number.

  ‘Hello.’ Lucy answered.

  ‘Ah yes hello, this is Cunningham’s Investigations. You spoke to my colleague earlier requesting a quote.’

  ‘Oh yes, that is correct.’ Lucy responded hopefully.

  ‘Do you have a pen and paper to hand?’

  ‘Yes one moment…..ok ready.’

  ‘It will be £2000 for the initial searches, but it could rise up to £10,000 after travelling costs and the time taken to work fully on the case.’

  There was a silence on the other end of the phone. ‘Hello are you there?’ Chloe asked.

  ‘Erm…yes…erm that is slightly more than I thought. I didn’t realise it would be that much. I don’t think we will be able to go ahead at that price.’

  ‘Ok well let me know if you change your mind, and good luck with your search if you do not proceed with us.’

  ‘Err…ok thank you.’ a shocked Lucy replied.

  Later on in the day, Chloe heard Lucy telling Tom that they couldn’t afford the agency as they had accumulated quite a bit of debt with Lucy not working a lot over the past two years. Chloe felt bad lying but they didn’t need one and she was actually saving them money. At least that was one obstacle alleviated.

  Fortunately, Lucy had started to look up the address in Austria and to see where it was located, and from the conversations Chloe had witnessed, they were definitely planning to go. She just had to wait and see when. She could feel the butterflies starting to creep in now…even more than when she went to France, as not only would this trip potentially involve more contact with the gang that kidnapped Rosie, but this time, she was going alone. She also felt she was stepping further into the unknown as Tatiana’s direction was a lot more vague this time. She didn’t really know what she was going to find there. Lucy and Tom, and possibly herself, had to enter Laurenz Felbiger’s house, but how were they supposed to do that? Every time she thought about it, she felt physically sick.

  Chapter 21

  A weight had lifted off Lucy’s mind now that Tom knew the whole story. After his initial anger, she was relieved that he could see that her research had been worthwhile and that she had actually discovered some very pertinent facts. Facts that even Tom didn’t remember the police ever mentioning. After their initial search into a suitable detective, they realised it was more than they could afford, so they decided to continue with more of their own research. They discussed going to visit the address in Austria but they hadn’t gone as far as booking it. Lucy knew they were both procrastinating, as not only were they scared of what they would find, but they were also not sure what their plan would be when they got there.

  After a couple of days of mulling it over, Lucy received a surprise call from Marianne.

  ‘Hello’ Lucy answered, intrigued to see her number appear on her phone.

  ‘Hello Lucy, it’s Marianne.’

  ‘Hi, how are you?’

  ‘Yes I am fine Lucy, thank you, I was just phoning to see how you were getting on with your research…have you arranged to travel anywhere else yet?’

  ‘No not yet. I have told my husband Tom everything, and we are now deciding whether to go to the address in Austria or not.’

  ‘Oh ok…well I think you should. I know you will have to be careful, but I think you really need to find out who this Laurenz Felbiger is, and who he is in contact with.’

  ‘Yes….. I know you are right…..we have been stalling as we are nervous as to where it will lead. I will speak to Tom and keep you updated. Are you ok though Marianne… how was your husband when he got back from his trip?’

  ‘Errm… yes he was fine. He didn’t really say too much, and he didn’t suspect anything.’

  ‘Where had he been again?’

  ‘Just….just on a golf trip.’ Marianne stammered slightly.

  ‘Are you ok Marianne, you sound a bit down?’ Lucy inquired, distincting a slight tremble in her voice.

  ‘Yes I’m fine Lucy, I’ve just got a lot on my mind. I have found everything that happened to Anna and Rosie very overwhelming to be honest with you.’

  ‘I know, it has been a lot to take on board. I am sorry to have dragged you into all of this, but without you I would never have got as far as I have.’

  ‘That’s ok…. it has been upsetting for me, but I know not nearly nearly as devastating as it has been for you…anyway I will speak to you soo
n, and good luck Lucy.’

  ‘Thank you Marianne, and I’ll ring you with any news.’

  Lucy walked back into the lounge and sat on the sofa. She was concerned for Marianne. She hoped her husband hadn’t been angry with her, as from what Lucy had seen of him, he liked to impose his alpha male dominance. As Lucy pondered worryingly about Marianne, Brandy jumped on her lap, beckoning for a belly rub.

  ‘You are a cheeky boy aren’t you.’ Lucy grinned, obliging.

  ‘So shall we see if Daddy wants to go to Austria?’ Lucy said perkily, picking up her phone and dialling Tom’s number.

  ‘Luce….is everything ok?’ Tom answered. He worried every time Lucy called him at work these days.

  ‘Tom, we have to go to Austria. Marianne phoned and it has given me the push I needed. We can’t leave it, knowing what we know. Can you get Friday and Monday off?’

  ‘Whoa, whoa ….I’m not sure about this yet Luce.’

  ‘We have to Tom.’ Lucy demanded more assertively.

  ‘Ok ok….hang on let me see what I’ve got on.’

  Lucy could hear him flicking through his diary before he returned to the phone.

  ‘Yes, it should be ok’ he said reluctantly ‘….but do you know where you are going to book…and what about Sam?’

  ‘Yes, I’ve found a hotel in Salzburg which is near the address in Austria. I’ll book the hotel for three nights and then we can see what to do after that…….Sam can go and stay at you mum and dad’s….he loves it there anyway, and you can say you have a last minute work trip abroad that spouses are invited to.’ Lucy replied.

  ‘Ok…you’ve got it all planned haven’t you!…I’ll see you tonight then darling.’

  ‘Yes see you tonight….and Tom….it’ll be ok.’

  Lucy put the phone down to Tom and booked them both on the Friday morning flight to Austria, and into the Hotel White Swan in Salzburg. What awaited them, she didn’t know, but it would at least help stop the wondering.

  *****

  Two days later, on Friday 14th August, Lucy and Tom were driving through the Austrian mountains, reminiscing over the romantic weekend they had spent in Vienna when they were dating. Those were the happy days. The days before the harshness of what real life could bring had cruelly descended upon them. Little did they know then that their future happiness would be wiped out by a crushing tsunami of devastation.

  Lucy still found it hard to believe how their life could have been so tragically transformed in a moment. A moment they would never forget. How one innocent night out, adding to their family memory box, could end in such a disaster. Sadly, that memory box was now tainted. It was now a box filled with horror, and one that Lucy found extremely hard to delve back into.

  They often wondered what they had done to deserve what had happened to them, but there was never an answer. They thought that maybe in a past life they had experienced a joyful and relatively easy life, so now it was their time to be tested through how they overcame the trials and tribulations that this life threw at them. That was the only way it made any sense to them.

  ‘Look there’s Salzburg town.’ Tom announced, seeing the domed baroque buildings in the distance.

  ‘So….. we’re finally here Tom.’ Lucy said, looking across at him, not really feeling happy to be there at all.

  As Tom drove up one of the narrow streets in the town, Lucy pointed to a white iron sign in the shape of a swan, gently swinging in the breeze. ‘Here it is, up on the right?’

  ‘This looks lovely doesn’t it?’ Tom declared, admiring the jubilant geraniums trailing from the balconies

  ‘It said there was a parking lot below the hotel, so I think if we follow it round, we will find it’.

  They parked up and carried their cases in to the hotel lobby, where they were met by some very hospitable hotel staff who led them to room number 7.

  ‘Let’s unpack a few things, then go for some food in town…I’m starving.’ Tom suggested.

  ‘Ok good idea, then we’ll come back and plan what we are going to do tomorrow.’ Lucy replied, nosying around the bathroom.

  After finding the nearest restaurant, Lucy and Tom sat on the balcony of Café Glokenspiel, enjoying a refuelling meal. After watching the tourists milling around Mozart’s Square below, they took a stroll down to the river and onto Mozart’s Bridge.

  ‘You know this is where they sang the Do-Re-Me song in The Sound of Music don’t you?’ Lucy remarked.

  ‘Is it really?….I can’t remember it, but it’s been an age since I saw that film…it was more of a girl’s film anyway wasn’t it?’ Tom smirked.

  ‘It is beautiful though isn’t ….it makes you temporarily forget why you are here.’

  Tom moved in to put his arm around Lucy’s shoulder. ‘I know darling…if only life was more like Mozart and Schubert.’

  They stood mesmerised by the whooshing of the river, both enjoying the calm before the storm of what tomorrow was going to bring.

  ‘I suppose we’d better head back now…we need to make an early start tomorrow.’ Lucy sighed.

  ‘Ok sweetheart…..come on.’ Tom replied, offering her his arm.

  As Lucy sat in bed applying her face cream, her thoughts turned to their plan for the following day. ‘So tomorrow, let’s be down at breakfast by 8am so we have plenty of time to come back up and go over what we are going to do when we get to Laurenz Felbiger’s house. We are going to have to tread very carefully, as we have no idea what we are doing.’ Lucy instructed, her worry now increasing to deep anxiety.

  ‘I know darling, we won’t do anything stupid. We are just going to see what he looks like and monitor his behaviour for a bit initially.’

  ‘Ok…yes…you are right.’ she replied, managing a small smile. ‘I suppose we’d better try and get some sleep now. Love you Tom….I’m so glad you are here with me now.’ Lucy said, reaching out for his hand.

  ‘I’m glad I’m here to look after you too this time…I can’t believe you were doing this on your own in France.’

  They gave each other a kiss and turned over to sleep, but both of them lay staring at the wall, unable to erase the following day’s events from their minds.

  After a long night of broken sleep, they both awoke to the sound of the alarm. As they opened their eyes, they both felt the heaviness of apprehension in the room.

  ‘I feel awful, how do you feel?’ Lucy yawned.

  ‘Ditto…..I must have only got about three hours sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about today.’ Tom groaned.

  ‘I know, I was the same.’

  They both stared at the ceiling, knowing that this was going to be a crucial day for them. After a few seconds of contemplation, Tom finally broke the silence. ‘We’ll feel better once we have had breakfast…come on, I’ll jump in the shower.’

  ‘Yes, I guess you’re right.’ Lucy answered despondently.

  Forty-five minutes later, they were sitting in the hotel restaurant, staring at their ham and boiled eggs. Lucy looked around enviously at the other families and couples in the hotel enjoying their holidays. ‘I hope Sam is ok…..we really shouldn’t be putting ourselves in this danger, as if anything happened to us, it would destroy him.’ Lucy said.

  ‘He will be fine…and we will make sure we don’t do anything stupid.’ Tom reassured her. ‘Let’s eat up, as we need as much energy as possible today.’

  Lucy reluctantly picked up her fork and started to eat. She felt sick inside, but she knew Tom was right.

  Back in their room, the both leant over the bed looking at the map, earmarking where Laurenz Felbiger’s address was.

  ‘So, we just follow this main road here, turn right here, then take the 2nd left, and then the 1st right. Looks quite straight forward.’ Tom surmised.

  ‘I’ve got the camera on my phone, and I brought Sam’s binoculars with me. They are children’s ones but I thought they might be useful.’

  ‘You really are playing detective aren’t you!’ Tom humoured, trying t
o mask his trepidation.

  ‘Well, we’ve got to try haven’t we!’ Lucy replied, managing a half smile. ‘God Tom, what are we doing…..are we crazy doing this?’

  Tom sank down onto the bed. ‘Yes, we probably are….but people do crazy things for the people they love, and we are doing this for Rosie. Yes, we are crazy for not going to police yet, but they have been searching for Rosie for two years, and have scaled back resources so much now, that the more we can find out before we go to them, the better. This may all lead to a dead end, but let’s pray it doesn’t.’

  ‘I am so glad we are on the same page Tom…it would be unbearable if you weren’t.’

  Tom smiled, reaching out to squeeze Lucy’s hand. ‘Don’t worry darling, we’re in this together.’

  ‘We most certainly are….anyway, come along, I suppose we’d better go and find this dreaded house then.’ Lucy grimaced, picking up her bag and the map.

  ‘We’ll be fine Luce…we won’t do anything that will get us into danger.’

  After following the signs for Grizburg, they arrived at Laurenz Felbiger’s street. They found it surprisingly inviting and not at all seedy and deprived as they had fearfully conjured up in their minds. The gardens were well kept and the neighbourhood was tranquil, and they even managed to park up inconspicuously opposite his house amongst several other cars parked in the road.

  ‘Ok, now what?’ Lucy asked, still having second thoughts about the whole situation.

  ‘We just wait and watch. We can’t knock as he probably won’t speak English, and we can’t say ‘We think you kidnapped our child can we?’ Tom remarked flippantly.

  ‘I know that Tom….but what if nothing happens?’

  ‘Well, we will just have to wait and see.’

  They sat waiting patiently for over an hour whilst nothing happened, when all of a sudden the front door opened and a dark haired stubbled man came out of the house and got into his car. They both quickly crouched down in the car.