I made a series of mental notes, hoping I could remember everything. "She took Valium on a regular basis?"
"Yep. Walt said she'd been trying to cut down on the booze, but it looks like she had a relapse. Susan knew she couldn't drink; diabetics really shouldn't ever touch alcohol, but her discipline sucked."
"So you think the ghost is lying to me?"
"I think that Susan is confused. Maybe it's her way of holding on to this world. Not all spirits are ready to let go. She came to you because you're good at hearing the dead. End of case. Now tell me about Andy. He is pretty cute."
"It's Andrew, thank you, and I dunno if we're going to be doing much dating. He kind of freaked when I told him I saw her ghost. They were close friends."
"And you told him all that? Jeez, woman, what are you, nuts? That sort of revelation you leave for the second date. Maybe the third." She waited for a moment. "There's something more. You're upset. What's wrong?"
I scrunched my nose and sighed. "Bad stuff, Murray. I think an astral nasty has tagged along on Susan's heels. I call him Mr. Big & Ugly—Mr. B & U for short. There's no other way to describe the thing. It took possession of Kip last night, and I didn't think I was going to pull him out of it."
"Not good. Do you think Susan and Mr. B & U are related? Or maybe the thing is piggybacking in on her wake?"
"I don't know; it blew right through her, vaporized her manifestation, then charged right through me. I'm thinking these two aren't exactly buddies."
"Have you done a reading on this situation yet?"
"No." I shook my head. "I'm too close to the subject. I was wondering if you would lay out a spread for me."
She opened the top of her handcarved rolltop desk that rested against a wall covered with a tapestry. She had woven the canvas in her teen years; it described the life of her Quinault ancestors. I had encouraged her to show it in a gallery, but she said it was personal and that she didn't need to show it off to be happy.
"Which deck?" Murray was one of my few friends who could read tarot and do a good job of it. I went to her for my readings when I needed advice.
"Oh, the forest one—you know the one I mean. Woodburn's deck?"
She withdrew a small deck of cards from the desk. I cleared off the coffee table. As I piled the books onto the floor, there was a flicker of color, and Sid popped his head out from beneath the table. He slithered over to my leg and made his way onto the rocking chair, where he coiled into a ball behind my butt. I let him rest there—Sid was gentle; perhaps more gentle than any snake had a right to be. Nancy, on the other hand, would bite if she was feeling frisky, and though not venomous, those teeth had a sting to them.
Murray shuffled the cards a few times and handed the deck to me. "You know the drill."
I focused on the situation and began to shuffle. The cards were a comforting weight in my hands, familiar and tingling. Nanna had taught me how to read when I was barely into my teens, and I, in turn, had taught Murray. She was good; not as good as I was, but good enough for me to trust.
She laid out a five-card spread. I glanced over them briefly. The Tower—I'd expected that, though the actual sight of it left me sweating. The five of swords, the High Priestess, the Devil. The ten of swords—confusion.
Murray straightened her shoulders as she contemplated the layout. "I don't like this, Em. You have some serious big-time power cards here mixed with clear danger signals. Let's see… watch out for half-truths and betrayals. Whether deliberate or not, they are woven into this matter like the threads in a spider's web. Put your hand on a single strand and you send shock waves through the whole situation. A dark force behind the scenes is working to upset the balance. Masculine power unchecked… much is still hidden from view, and you may make wrong assumptions if you base them solely on what you see on the surface. Be cautious about misreading things. Listen to your intuition or you could topple your world."
As she spoke, a knot formed in my stomach, and I knew her reading was right on target. It wasn't what I wanted to hear. "Great. A well of trouble. Is there any way I can walk away from all this and not get involved?"
"I don't think so." She turned over two more, cards. Death and the Fool. "Em, you can't avoid this. We're talking fate here—destiny—and if you don't take control of the situation, it will run over you. Grab the reins, and you might be able to use it to your advantage. Either way, a new cycle is opening up that you can't avoid." She tapped the Death card. "Transformation… but I also get a queasy feeling on this one. Be careful the next few weeks, okay? You don't want to transform yourself out of this world."
I had the same queasy feeling and thought quickly about my will and whether or not everything was in order. "Yeah, I'll be careful. So, what's the outcome?"
She flipped another card. The Moon. "I don't know. Not enough has manifested to predict what's going to happen. Whatever is going on in your life has some heavy ramifications. Keep your eyes open."
As she folded the cards back into the deck, I excused myself and went to the kitchen for a drink of water. A psychic earthquake was rumbling, and I was right at the epicenter. She followed me. "C'mon. Help me get my Christmas tree into the living room. I could use an extra set of muscles."
We pushed our way out onto the enclosed back porch, which was crowded with craft supplies. "How many projects do you have going?"
She pointed to a loom on which she was weaving what looked like a shawl. "That's going to be a tribal shawl for my aunt. And that"—she pointed to a pile of stained wood pieces—"will be my mother's new bird feeder. I should be able to finish them both by next weekend."
"I don't know how you can keep so many projects straight. It would drive me nuts." I took a deep breath and looked at the sky. The clouds had vaporized, and the sun was actually making an appearance. The snow covering the yard glistened and scrunched under our feet as we traipsed down the back steps and over to the woodshed, where a huge conifer stood propped against the wall. Leaving a trail of branches and needles, we wrestled the eight-foot fir into the house. Murray loved celebrations, and even though she lived alone, she never failed to decorate. We got the tree set up in the corner and stood back to stare at the hulking evergreen.
She reached out and lightly ran her fingers over the needles. "Here's to the holidays. So what else is new? How's your business going? The kids?"
I picked up one of the stray branches and inhaled. The woodland scent was canning. "Business is good. I'm in your debt for convincing me to move here. I still can't get over how well my china shop is doing out here in the boonies. I'm getting customers from Bellingham coming in, and from across the Canadian border, too."
"In Chiqetaw you don't have much competition. There are scores of china shops in Seattle. Here you have the entire town at your feet."
"Well, whatever the reason, I'm starting to make a lot more money this year than last. I think I'll ask Cinnamon to stay on full-time after the holidays. She could use the hours."
"She's a good girl."
"Stupid about her choices, but yeah, a good girl. Those three kids of hers are better behaved than half of the wealthy brats around here. Speaking of kids, Kip's been hanging out with that Sly kid. They're best friends, and it's starting to show. Miranda worries me, as usual. Too bookish. It's not normal to be thirteen and be so bookish."
"Don't sweat it. She's got a good head on her shoulders. Let her use it. Hear from Roy lately?"
I snorted. "The scumbag? Are you kidding? Oh, yeah, he's bucking for Father of the Year. No word about Christmas presents. Remember how he forgot Miranda's birthday in August? I went out and bought her a gift and told her it was from her dad, but she knew better. I can't lie to those kids. Never have been any good at it."
Murray considered the problem, then tilted her head to the left and shrugged. "Nothing you can do. They are going to figure out that he's a dirtbag pretty soon. You have to be there to pick up the pieces. Help me put Sid and Nancy to bed?"
"What is this? '
Work the guest' day?" I winked at her and lifted Sid off the sofa, where he was curled in a tight ball, and let him coil around my waist. She went in search of Nancy as I carried the boa over to the cages lining the wall. He weighed a good seventy-five pounds. As he slid a curious head up to tongue the air near my face, I could swear he remembered me. I opened the door and let him slither back into his home. Murray did the same with Nancy.
"They're looking gorgeous. Happy campers all?" Ever since we'd been roommates, Murray had talked about reptiles and amphibians and arachnids with all the passion of a biologist. I sometimes wondered why she'd taken up law enforcement instead, but whenever I asked, she shrugged off the question. I had a feeling it was something to do with her brother, an alcoholic, but never pried.
"I thought Nancy had mouth rot, but lucky for us, it was a false alarm. The vet gave them both a clean bill of health last visit." She sounded just like a proud mama.
"That's good to hear. I tell you, I'm so glad I gave in and picked up the cats. Kip and Miranda have calmed down a lot since we brought them home. They missed Fluto so much, and so did I."
"You got new cats? Last time we talked, you were headed to Seattle to bring Fluto home. What happened?"
"Roy decided that his little rich bitch couldn't live without her. Damned idiot, I was so mad I almost took a baseball bat to his head."
"Oh, yeah, Emerald the slugger. I can see it now. Score one home run for Em, one strike for the Scuz! When was this?"
"When I went to shake him up about missing several child support payments. He makes enough money; there's no way on earth I'll let him out of supporting his children. Anyway, I picked up a mother and three babies from the animal shelter a few weeks ago. They've wormed their way right into our hearts."
"I still think a snake would have taught them more about the cycles of life. You get the whole thing… life—death—the food chain. Feed a live mouse to a hungry snake and you understand the hunt." She pulled out a roll of paper towels and a spray bottle from the cabinet next to the cages.
"Delightful. Cats hunt mice, too, you know. I'm hoping the kittens give the kids a stronger sense of stability. I don't know why I didn't agree last year when they asked."
Murray sprayed her hands with a mixture of bleach and water, then wiped them on a paper towel. She handed me the bottle. "Wash. You don't want to take any chances after you handle a snake or lizard." She waited till I dried my hands. "I can tell you why you waited so long to go out and pick out a new pet. You can't go back now. By cementing the bond with a new cat, you redefined your family. And this time, that definition of family doesn't include Roy."
I thought about it for a moment. She was right. "Those sociology classes you took really stayed with you, didn't they? You make everything sound so clear."
Murray gave me a big hug. "Actually, I get my insight from my aunt, White Deer. She reads situations like they were made of glass and has been teaching me how to look below the surface. I think you're ready for change, and you're scared. But you'll pull through; you've got too much going for you to sit withering in that big old bed, all alone."
She walked me out to the Cherokee. I glanced up at the clouds banking the sky. "Think we'll get much more snow this year?"
"The onions from my garden say so—thick skin. And the caterpillars had unusually hairy coats this year. Oh!" She pressed my arm. "Wait a moment, I almost forgot." She ran back inside, and a moment later reappeared with a shopping bag. I peeked inside. Presents. Three gifts wrapped in shiny silver paper with blue bows.
"For the kids? I still have to do my shopping."
"Well, I am their godmother, aren't I? There's one in there for you, too. What are you doing for Christmas?"
"I don't know. Truth is, I've ignored the holidays as much as possible the past couple of years. Haven't even bought a real tree—just little tabletop ones that were pre-decorated." Ashamed, I hung my head. "I've been really lax, Murray. Lazy and self-absorbed and selfish."
She frowned. "No, you've been mourning the death of your marriage. Listen, I'm not going home this year—I have to work Christmas Eve, but I've got Christmas Day free. I don't go on duty until 8:00 p.m. How about if I come over during the morning and we'll cook up a big Christmas dinner and play games and sit around and gossip? I can be moral support. Call me motivation, if you like."
It was the best offer I'd had in months. The kids would be thrilled, they adored Murray. "You know I'd love that. So will the kids."
She tucked the shopping bag into the backseat. "Drive safe—we're gearing up for a freeze tonight."
"I hope that the spooks don't ruin the holidays for us. Miranda was so freaked last night. It was bad, Murray. Real bad."
She closed her eyes and leaned against the door, her head resting on the windowframe, a pensive look on her face. "Be careful, Em. There's so much chaos swirling around your home, but… Susan stands separate from it. Unrelated energies caught up in a whirlwind together. Watch Kip—he's at the center of the vortex."
I didn't like the sound of that. "Any advice about how to keep my babies safe?"
She shook her head. "That's it. That's all I got."
That was enough. I needed to get rid of Susan as fast as I could, whether it meant exorcising her or finding her murderer. And for either choice, I needed people who had been close to her, who might be able to help persuade her and her ghoulish retinue to leave us alone. It was time to tell Harlow the rest of the story.
Chapter Six
After I left Murray's, I swung by the shop. I gave Harlow a call and asked her if she could come by later in the evening. She agreed if I'd promise to fill her in on everything that had happened. Since James was going to be working all evening, she agreed to stop over at about nine-thirty.
The Chintz 'n China Tea Room was open on Sundays from noon until four, and usually I had Cinnamon come in and work the counter while I took the day off. But this week I'd agreed to a private shopping trip at the request of a group of tea lovers from Surrey, British Columbia, who had come down on a bus tour of china shops. My store was the first stop on their itinerary. They would head back to Bellingham, then down to Everett for dinner and to spend the night. Delightfully mannered, they bought a bit of this and a bit of that, had a cup of tea, and stocked up on some of the delicacies I carried from local vendors who sold only in the Northwest. By the time I managed to close the doors, it was almost suppertime.
I was surprised to find Miranda in the living room. She seldom waited around on her astronomy club nights. "I saw Murray today, and why aren't you at your meeting?"
"I wanted to show you my jacket before I left." She held up her parka. "I need a new one. I can barely zip this one up."
Sigh. Another expense. The mail from Saturday was sitting on the foyer table. I thumbed through the letters—bills mainly. A letter from Roy. I ripped it open. Finally—the child support payments he owed for the past three months. Apparently my strong-armed tactics had worked. I motioned for Randa to wait a minute and read the scribbled note that instructed me to buy some sort of Christmas gifts for the kids and stick his name on them. He'd pay me back later. Oh, how lovely. Wasn't he a peach?
As much as I wanted to lash out, I decided to grit my teeth as usual. At least I got my child support, late or not. The courts and my threats to expose him as a deadbeat to his friends saw to that. I sighed and tucked the check and letter in my purse. Lucky for us, with Chiqetaw's low cost of living, we managed on a lot less than we had in the city. The refrigerator was always full, we paid our bills on time and sometimes had enough left over for a luxury or two.
"Hand me your jacket." I inspected the coat. It was still in good enough condition to give to a secondhand shop. "Would you mind if we looked at Value Village first? If we can't find something nice, we'll drive over to the mall and pick out a new one."
She shrugged. "As long as it's gray or black. Just don't buy me used underwear. How was Murray? How are Sid and Nancy?"
I planted a ligh
t kiss on the top of her head, and for once she didn't squirm away. "Sid and Nancy are good. Murray's thinking of spending Christmas dinner with us. Would you like that?"
Her face lit up with a glow I hadn't seen for quite a while. "That would be great! Are we going to have a real tree this year? I miss decorating."
Yet another reminder that I'd been slacking big-time as a parent. "I know you do, honey, and yes, we will get a tree this year. I promise. So, what's on your agenda at the meeting tonight?"
"We're debating an argument sparked off by a post on one of the forums at astronomy.com about solar flare activity and their effects on satellites and hi-tech communications. I hope Mr. Gardner's wife doesn't serve spaghetti again—we've had it the last two times. I need three bucks for my donation for the meal."
I handed her a five. She stuffed a couple of notebooks in her pack along with a book on NASA and wiggled into her coat. The fabric strained across her breasts, the zipper barely managing its trip up her chest. Thirteen and she was almost a B-cup, like I'd been at that age. It took all I could do to get her into a bra, but finally, after one day of me wearing a T-shirt and no bra, she was convinced of gravity's effects on big boobs and conceded the argument.
"You do need a new coat."
She flashed me an impish grin. "Yeah. I do." With a quick peck on my cheek, she slung her pack over her shoulder and headed for the back door. "I'm meeting Liam at the library after the meeting. For an hour, okay? He's tutoring me for the English quiz. I'll be home by ten."
"Randa…" I hesitated, unsure as to whether to voice my concerns now or save them for later. She waited patiently. "I know you aren't dating, and I know that you're careful, but don't you think you should find a girl for a best friend?"
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