***
The Coven of Aleutian Seals, enjoyed a sky-rocket to public acclaim; two members appeared on major talk shows. Fox News hired a coven member to be the “occult expert” reporting on Wiccan and Pagan events from around the world. Many interviews and witchcraft photos filled the Teen Magazines. The publicity feast was extreme.
The coven found public recognition to be a mixed blessing, much as the Quileute Tribe of Washington State found the success of the Twilight Saga films. The tales of vampires and werewolves were economically useful, but far removed from any cultural reality.
***
Westcott and I were surprised to hear from Agent Wilson. A month or so after the Orcas Island ritual, Whitman and the other two thugs turned themselves in to the FBI. They wanted protective custody, and were willing to give any amount of information to get it.
Agent Wilson knew Westcott and I had been up to something, probably something illegal, but he could never prove anything. The surviving mobsters never mentioned a word to the FBI about their satanic witchcraft ordeal. When asked what caused their sudden willingness to surrender, the men said, “We found Jesus, and took the Blessed Savior into our lives.”
This was apparently true. Two weeks after the men were rescued from the Orcas Island beach, the three mobsters were baptized into the All Saints Pentecostal Church of Newark. In addition to the usual baptism ritual, the men were given loud and soul-stirring blessings and prayers from the entire congregation to protect them from the Dark, Pervasive Powers of Satan. That seemed to help.
For myself, I have not yet chosen an adequate reality. The reality of boat-loads of cash in an off-shore account is comforting, but superficial. My new professional life as “an award-winning, Oscar-nominated writer” is also pleasant, but sounds too much like fiction.
Many details remain unexplained to my satisfaction: 1.) The talisman bag, looking like new leather, but over 400 years old. 2.) The psychic and magickal powers of High Priest Frederick Hansen, and the scrying and poppets of Mr. Casterbridge. 3.) The extensive past-life memories of Hansen. 4.) The 17th century Dutch artifacts on Bainbridge.
As Derek Thomas said, “Our human experiences have too many variables, trying to label them accurately can turn into a form of lying.”
I believe there are energy forces, psychic or spiritual energies not quantifiable by modern scientific instruments. I also believe we are capable of creating miracles using the tools at hand, without any witchcraft or magick. Our creative use of drama and special effects, permanently changed the spiritual lives of three thugs. We made use of deep psychological fears and cultural memories to scare the crap out of them.
I feel very good that Derek peed on Whitman, and caused the religious conversion of three mobsters. My reality includes personal choice, with or without the approval of other people or the legal authority of governments. Most of our lives we accept definitions of reality invented by other people. I have simply chosen to invent my own stories and definitions. Personally, I think accurate or not, my version of reality is a lot of fun.
Below are the Classical pieces mentioned in The Bainbridge Affair
Classical Music for Murder
Book One
Scriabin: Piano Prelude, Op.11 no.21
Chopin: Piano Preludes Op.28 no. 4, 8 & 15
Tartini: Devil's Trill Sonata
Janacek: Sinfonietta
Sibelius: Symphony No. 5, in E flat major, Op. 82. Finale
Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor
Stravinsky: Firebird, Infernal Dance
Symphonie Fantastique – Hector Berlioz “Witches Sabbat” Dies Irae
Piano Concerto No. 23. 2nd movement – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 6 in F major “Pastorale” 3rd movement – Beethoven
Violin Concerto in E minor – Felix Mendelssohn
Water Music – George Frideric Handel
Sousa: Washington Post March
Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor. 1st movement – Ludwig Van Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 24 in F-sharp major, op. 78. 1st movement
Bach: Solo Cello Suite No.6 Gavotte No.1
Johann Strauss II: The Blue Danube Waltz
Delibes: Lakmé, Flower Duet
Boccherini: Minuet
Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, 18th Variation.
The Bainbridge Affair Page 8
