Death by Dragonfly

by Jane Tesh

How did he get away from Kary? An even bigger question was how did he get to the studio? By now, people were clamoring for him to come over, shoving each other in an attempt to be next. Ellin jumped up and down in her own frenzy.

  “Keep the camera on him! No, we’re not going to commercial yet! Stay with him!”

  “Brenda, you should’ve kept in touch with Rocky. He’s going to be very rich very soon. Karen, your mother says it’s okay. She forgives you. Jerome, don’t buy the Chevy. Sid, Mr. Right is in Oklahoma. You’ll meet him at the rodeo. I know it sounds crazy, but he’s a rodeo clown. You’ll be married for fifty years.”

  He must have been saying all the right things because there were cries of delight. Then he turned toward the set. “Hey, everybody, watch this!”

  He made a sweeping gesture, and all the set decorations, the vases, the flowers, the picture of swirling stars and planets went dancing in a circle.

  Okay, so the telekinesis was still in good working order. Bonnie and Teresa made squeaking noises of disbelief and scurried to get out of the way. Reg stood open-mouthed as his comb and pocket square zipped out to join the circle. Camden continued to direct the dance like a conductor with an orchestra of random objects. He kept everything moving until Ellin finally had to go to commercial. The decorations landed with thuds and crashes. There was thunderous applause.

  I pushed through the crowd to snag his elbow. “What’s going on?”

  “I feel better!”

  “I can see that.” The lights in his eyes were flashing like fireworks displays.

  He twisted away and grabbed Ellin in a fierce embrace. “How was that?” He gave her a long kiss and hurried off to kiss Bonnie and Teresa, leaving Ellin to rock back on her heels.

  Camden finished kissing all the women and ran out the door. It took Ellin another moment to recover.

  “Randall, catch him!”

  “Catch him? He’s probably halfway up the Amazon by now.”

  “Something’s wrong!”

  “I thought you’d say something’s right, at last.”

  She pushed me toward the door. “Go get him! He’s not himself.”

  I hurried out to the parking lot and looked in all directions. No Camden. But I did see Kary’s Turbo parked sideways and taking up three spaces. So that’s how he got here.

  My phone rang, and I answered Kary’s frantic call.

  “David, Cam took my car! He was sound asleep when Vermillion and I headed for the park. We were almost there when Turbo went flying by. He must have grabbed my extra keys off the hall tree.”

  “Turbo is here at the TV studio, but Camden has taken off on his own.”

  “Did you see which way he went?”

  “He’s probably headed for home. You wait for him there. I’ll tell Ellin not to worry. I’ll search some of his favorite haunts.”

  “If he thought he got a talking to before, he is in for the lecture of his life.”

  When I returned to the set, Reg had stepped in front of the camera and taken charge. “That was a word from Kitty Kare Kat Food. If you care for your kitty, you’ll feed him Kitty Kare. Now let’s have another round of applause for our surprise guest this afternoon, Camden. Unfortunately, he had another engagement and had to leave, but we’ll try and have him back again soon. Now, Bonnie and Teresa will take your calls.”

  The cameras switched to Bonnie and Teresa on the set. Ellin grabbed my arm. “Did you catch him? What was that all about?”

  “Camden got into some happy dust. He’ll come down eventually.”

  A brusque voice said, “Well, that was quite a demonstration.”

  Matt Graber. I’d forgotten about him. He stood off to one side, and even from a distance, I could see his eyes blazing.

  When he approached Ellin, his voice was deadly calm. “Who was that man?”

  Better men than Graber had tried to intimidate Ellin Belton. She looked him straight in the eye. “That was my husband, Camden.”

  “I take it he is not a regular on this show?”

  “No, he surprised us all.”

  Graber’s gaze took in the entire audience, still buzzing happily over Camden’s revelations. “I can also safely assume he is quite accurate?”

  “He’s never wrong.”

  “I see. Then you wouldn’t mind telling me what he was doing in my studio the other day?”

  Ellin didn’t even blink. “Cam’s interested in all facets of the paranormal. I’m sure he enjoyed your program.”

  He turned to me. “As for you, you’re not really from the Herald, are you?”

  “You psychics,” I said. “Can’t hide anything from you.”

  He gave a snort of derision. “Amateurs. If you think you can dissuade me from being on the PSN’s shows, you’re mistaken.” He snapped his fingers at Reg. “Haverson, show me the office area, if you would.”

  Reg looked to Ellin for permission and she gave a short nod. Graber strode off, Reg in tow.

  I wasn’t sure what annoyed Ellin more, Graber’s insistence on hanging around, or Camden’s odd behavior. “He saw right through my disguise,” I said. “So much for being subtle.”

  “I don’t care about him.” Ellin said. “I’ve got the rest of this show to finish. You’re sure you didn’t see Cam anywhere?”

  “I’ll find him.”

  “What did you mean by happy dust? Why would he take any sort of drugs?”

  “Two big old pythons came by the house earlier today.”

  She lowered her voice. “Not Graber’s snakes?”

  “They came to climb a tree.”

  One of the cameramen signaled to her. “I’ve got to take care of the show,” Ellin said, “then I’m calling Jordan to help us locate Cam. Let me know the minute you find him.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “The Call”

  I drove around to Janice Chan’s hot dog restaurant, to the Little Theater, to the Baptist Church where the chorale practices, and to Victory Holiness Church, but my link to Camden wasn’t working. I cruised the neighborhood and up and down Food Row. No sign of him.

  Must be the pills he’s taking, I thought. Maybe they’re blocking the signal. Or maybe I haven’t been integrated into his new power grid.

  At home, Kary met me on the porch.

  “He isn’t here, David. I looked in all the rooms and up in the attic and even under the house. Did you find him?”

  I started to answer when her gaze went beyond me.

  “Cam!”

  Camden staggered slowly up the walk. I couldn’t believe he’d made it home all in one piece. His shirttail was out and his shoes were missing.

  Kary ran and took him by the arm. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Tired.” He stared at her hippie outfit. “What year is this?”

  I helped him up the steps. “She’s in disguise for my case. When did you come back?”

  “About half an hour ago. I was on top of the monkey bars in the park.” He rubbed his forehead. “I’m seeing six of you.”

  “Want to lie down?”

  “No, let me sit for a minute. I think everything will level out.”

  He sat down on the porch swing. While Kary gave him hell for running off and scaring her, I called Ellin. Then I filled a large plastic cup with iced tea and extra sugar.

  When I returned to the porch, Kary was still giving Camden “what-for,” as Rufus would say.

  “This is absolutely the craziest thing you have ever done. Do you realize what taking too many pills can do to your health? Do you even know what you’re taking? And then to take Turbo! You hate to drive.”

  I didn’t think much of this was getting through. “Steady on. He can’t comprehend half of what you’re saying right now.” I handed Camden the cup and he thanked me. “Remember anything?”

  He
took a drink. “Did I crash Ready to Believe?”

  “You were sensational.”

  “Oh, Lord.”

  “Ellin was speechless, so you know you made an impact.”

  He put his head down on one hand. “I’ll never get out from under this.”

  “Seriously, she’s so concerned about you she might not push for a return engagement. She’s out riding around with Jordan, looking for you.”

  “I should call—”

  “Already did. She should be home in about ten minutes.”

  Jordan’s car had barely stopped in the driveway when Ellin jumped out and ran up the steps. She hugged Camden so tightly I thought she might come out the other side.

  “Oh, my God, I was so worried. Are you all right?”

  “I’m okay,” he said. “I’m tired, that’s all.”

  “You were absolutely wonderful. People can’t stop talking about you.”

  “Ellie, you know I can’t do that again.”

  “Come inside. We’ll talk about it.”

  She dragged him into the house. Kary followed, still fussing. Jordan paused at the bottom of the porch steps, frowning in concern. “Where’d you find him?”

  “He made it home on his own.”

  “You want to explain what the hell’s going on now? Ellin went on and on about one of her shows. Didn’t make any sense to me.”

  “He was Super Psychic on there for a while, what she’s always wanted him to be. He came on the program and blew everybody away. He does that when he’s high.”

  Jordan’s eyes narrowed. “Would you care to explain?”

  “I believe you’re aware of his low tolerance for any sort of medicine. He’s been taking some pills for his headaches, and I think they may be a little too strong.”

  “Any particular reason for these headaches?”

  “Aside from explosive visions, Ellin’s demands, touching a cursed object, and a couple of pythons stopping by to say hello, no. Which reminds me.”

  “Pythons?”

  Jordan followed me to the backyard where I checked the tree. Slim and Jim had enjoyed their Snakes Day Out and were gone. With any luck, they’d made it back home before Graber noticed his pets were missing.

  Jordan peered up into the branches. “Whose pythons and why?”

  “They belong to Matt Graber, master of Cosmic Healing. He’s angling for a spot on the PSN.”

  “You think that set Cam off?”

  I didn’t want to tell Jordan that Leo Pierson’s lost dragonfly car mascot was probably the real cause. “He has a problem with snakes.”

  “Then why were they in his backyard?”

  “They wanted to hang out.”

  Jordan regarded me with barely concealed impatience. “I can’t have pythons roaming the city. People don’t like it. Tell Graber to keep them locked up, or they’ll be taken to the zoo.”

  “No problem. While you’re here, what’s the latest on Samuel Gallant’s death?”

  “Looks like his pacemaker gave out.”

  That’s what Rainbow had told me. “Any clues as to why he was in an empty closet?”

  “That’s still under investigation. Do you have anything to tell me?”

  A black SUV had narrowly missed running over me and Kary. I had eight days to find Pierson’s treasures and two more people to interview. A mysterious feud and a puzzle worth twenty-five million dollars had yet to be explained. “Nope.”

  Jordan took one last look up the tree as if expecting a snake attack. He’d driven away when Ellin called to me from the kitchen door.

  “Are they gone?”

  “No more snakes.”

  “Thank goodness. I didn’t want Graber accusing me of stealing those things. What were they doing here?”

  I came up the back steps. “I told you they stopped by to say hello.”

  “Cam heard them? I thought that only worked with cats.”

  That reminded me to unblock the cat door. “They met when we did our undercover operation. Of course, now we’re busted.”

  She made a dismissive gesture. “That doesn’t matter. Graber is not going to be on the PSN, I don’t care how many snakes he has.”

  We moved into the kitchen, and I took a soda from the fridge. “Well, you don’t need Graber when you’ve got Super Psychic.”

  She sat down at the counter. “Not when he has to resort to pills. He says he’s taking aspirin, but I don’t believe aspirin could cause that kind of reaction, do you?” She gave me one of her long measuring stares. “What sort of case are you working on now?”

  “Trying to solve a murder and recovering some stolen property. These two things are most likely related.”

  “Is it a horrible death that’s likely to give him flashbacks?”

  Six deaths. Not sure if they were horrible. “The murder appears to be related to a faulty pacemaker. That’s about as ghastly as it gets.”

  “For now.”

  She had me there. My cases always started out as someone’s harmless run-of-the-mill problem and ended in an avalanche of death, destruction, and general craziness. A dead songwriter taking possession of Camden, check. Amateur superheroes running amok, check. Magicians murdering each other over a Houdini box, check. Ghost trapped in a mirror, check. A cursed dragonfly fit right in.

  Ellin fixed me with her steeliest gaze. “You don’t need to say anything, Randall. We both know this isn’t over. Why don’t you find another office somewhere? Preferably in a city far far away.”

  “Why don’t you find another job?”

  She arched her eyebrows. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

  I was careful to stay on the other side of the counter. “You’re not psychic. You never will be. You could run any company you wanted to. Why are you staying with the PSN? You have to know it’s all a sham.”

  “Because I’m fascinated by psychic ability. I want to know how it happens, why it happens, why it didn’t happen to me.”

  I almost said, it didn’t happen to me, either, but decided to keep my mouth shut. It’s a struggle, but on occasion, I can manage. No matter how hard I try to deny it, Camden and I have the very link Ellin would kill to have. Plus I was now Detective to the Dead.

  She gave me a suspicious glance as if wondering why I was so quiet. Lucky for me she can’t read minds. “That’s why I try so hard, Randall. You don’t give up on your cases, do you? I’m not the type to give up, either.”

  “You don’t have to give up. But don’t be so intense about it. Lighten up. And cut Camden some slack. He’s had a rough few days.”

  She stood. “Then keep him out of your business.”

  “Only if you keep him out of yours.”

  Stalemate. The usual outcome of our little talks. I got a glare that would’ve singed off my hair if I hadn’t been Ellin-proof and she stalked out. I was surprised my soda didn’t boil over.

  That night, I heard from the TV Ghost, but not in the way I expected.

  I took Kary to retrieve Turbo, and fortunately, the little car was undamaged. Kary handed Camden over to Ellin to straighten out and came to bed pretty riled up, so I used all my considerable charm and expertise to take care of her stress-related issues. She’d used a scented shampoo, so her long silky hair smelled like strawberries, and her skin felt as soft as the pillows.

  “You can’t be angry,” I told her. “You feel and smell too good.”

  “It’s the feel and smell of anger,” she said, but she giggled when I tickled her and soon wrapped around me with a contented sigh.

  Afterwards, she curled up next to me sound asleep, but I was still wide awake. That’s when I saw the pale shadow in the mirror over my dresser. Words formed on the glass.

  David Randall.

  Oh, man. Not another mirror! I carefully slid out of bed and approa
ched my dresser. “Yes, that’s me. Can I help you? Did you try to contact me the other day?”

  Yes. I could not get through. My name is Isabelle.

  Isabelle! Pierson’s relative, the one whose great aunt had been the model for the missing poster, the one who had owned all the missing artwork. “Isabelle Duvall?”

  More letters formed. Yes. I have been on the other side for many years. I am an old shade and not used to this form of communication with the living. But Lindsey showed me the way. She wants you to succeed, as do I. Can you help me?

  So Lindsey had managed to help this spirit reach me. “Yes,” I said. “I’ll do whatever I can. All those Art Nouveau items belonged to you, right? What can you tell me about them? Is it true they can lead to a fortune? Do you know where they are?”

  My beautiful things.

  For a moment, I thought she was gone. Then more letters appeared.

  I paid for them with my life.

  There was another long silence. I waited. Then: Some said it was the Curse of the Dragonfly. I was the victim of a bitter feud, a feud that still exists today. After my death, the families fought over who should own my belongings.

  “Your artwork came to Leo Pierson,” I said. “He inherited it from his father.”

  Yes. Even though a Pierson killed me, I wanted the Piersons to have it.

  I went cold. “Killed you? For the artwork?”

  Yes. I wanted to end this ridiculous quarrel. I wanted to leave them my fortune.

  “But somebody on your side of the family had different ideas.”

  Another long pause. They wanted revenge. They wanted to keep the feud alive.

  “Miss Duvall, who are your relatives still living today? Is one of them responsible for the robbery?”

  No answer. “Miss Duvall? Isabelle?”

  No more words appeared on the mirror. Was that the extent of Isabelle’s message, or was she unable to come through?

  I went back to bed. I hoped Isabelle would return or I’d have a follow up dream from Lindsey, but the rest of my night was uneventful, and I managed to fall asleep without any other interruptions.

  Once we were all settled at the table Sunday morning for breakfast, I told everyone what I’d learned from Isabelle. Neither Camden nor Kit had tuned in to the exchange.