Sixth Sense (A Psychic Crystal Mystery)

by Baron, Marilyn

  “I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around everything that’s happened,” Katherine said.

  Jack grabbed her hand and they walked toward the back door together. “I know, it’s unbelievable.”

  He strode toward the back of the house, with Katherine close on his heels. Spying a barn across a long stretch of lawn, they checked inside the outbuilding to make sure no one was lurking there. They only found several thoroughbred horses in their stalls.

  “Oh, these horses are beautiful,” Katherine sighed, stroking the mane of a handsome black stallion.

  “No time for petting. We need to get moving.” Jack pulled her away. When they got to the back door of the house, he glanced up at the alarm system.

  “The reverend made a serious mistake. He must either have been in a hurry or preoccupied, because he forgot to arm his security system. The red light isn’t blinking, and that will make it easier to find our way in.”

  “Don’t you mean break in?” Kate corrected.

  “You say potato, I say potato.”

  “Let’s call the whole thing off,” she quipped, managing a half smile.

  “No way. We’re going in.” In one movement, Jack dropped Katherine’s hand, took out his gun, smashed the glass, and picked the lock.

  “Is that legal?”

  “Details,” Jack said, and warned her to be careful of the glass as he shut the door behind them.

  They walked in through a mudroom and a set of French doors, which led into a spacious kitchen. “Okay, let’s head for the den. We need to get into the reverend’s safe.”

  “Breaking and entering and robbery.” Katherine shook her head.

  “Add it to the list,” Jack said dismissively as he moved into the den.

  “How are we going to open this safe?” Katherine wondered.

  “I don’t suppose you can conjure up the combination?”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “First, I’m going to remove this priceless painting you’re so hung up on. Maybe we’ll take it with us. You deserve it.”

  “Jack! That’s a felony. Anyway, I’m pretty sure it was already stolen.”

  “Add stolen art to my tab,” he said. “Although I’m pretty sure you can’t steal stolen art.”

  Jack was busy removing the painting. He started to toss it onto the couch.

  “Jack, be careful! That painting is priceless.” Katherine studied it. She couldn’t believe the treasure she was looking at and how much this masterpiece could command at auction.

  “Now I remember where I saw this,” Katherine recalled. “A thief broke into the Chagall museum in Nice, France, a few years ago and just walked out with this painting. It was never recovered.”

  “Well, then we’re taking it as evidence,” Jack stated.

  “Give it to me.” Katherine lifted the painting from Jack’s hands and gingerly placed it on the couch.

  “Okay, now we shoot off the lock.”

  “Will it work?” Kate looked at the safe.

  “We’ll find out, won’t we? Cover your ears. We’re so isolated out here, no one will hear the shot except the horses. Hope it doesn’t spook them.” He aimed his pistol and shot off the lock. The sound reverberated around the room.

  What they found inside the safe shocked them both.

  “We hit the mother lode.” Jack pulled out a velvet pouch full of loose diamonds, some estate-type jewelry, and Kate’s birth certificate, along with several other contracts and documents, enough cash to finance a minor war, and several passports, all with different names and countries, all with the reverend’s picture.

  Jack spread the loot out on the coffee table. “The reverend sure didn’t take a vow of poverty. Wonder where he got all this cash?”

  “What are we going to do with all this stuff?” Katherine asked.

  “Take it back to Atlanta, as evidence in the case I’m going to build against the rotten reverend.”

  “But this is Florida. Atlanta doesn’t have jurisdiction over this case.”

  “What about selling children across state lines?”

  Katherine frowned.

  “Go see if you can find some pillowcases we can stash all this loot in.”

  Katherine set out to explore the rest of the house.

  “And don’t dawdle or gawk over the paintings. We need to get out of here before the reverend returns. He’s dangerous, Kate.”

  Katherine held up her hand in assent as she walked down a long hallway in search of some bags or pillowcases. Distracted as she came across painting after painting, signed print after signed print—in the hallway, in the bedrooms—she marveled at what she saw. The art in this home could fill a small museum, and she had the feeling that’s where most of these paintings had come from. There were several Monets, a Matisse, a Cezanne, even a Fragonard—the Holy Grail. The reverend seemed to favor French artists. Could they be copies? Very fine forgeries, if they were. Katherine looked at the signatures and touched the frames. No, these were originals. She was definitely in the presence of genius, paintings she had only studied in books, seen in museums, or dreamed of owning.

  Speaking of dreams, she was here on a mission, in search of a pillowcase. Katherine walked into what was likely Reverend Coulter’s bedroom at the back of the house. A spacious master room, overlooking the ocean, with museum-quality decorative arts—an antique French writing desk worthy of Napoleon, French Aubusson rugs, the best satin sheets money could buy. Was this where she got her love of fine things? Her love of art? Only her real father didn’t just appreciate art. He stole it and hoarded it so no one else on earth could bask in its beauty.

  She put all thoughts of Reverend Coulter as her father out of her mind. Pillowcases, that was what she was after. She threw back the comforter and removed all the pillowcases from the bed. They would fill them with all of the reverend’s possessions. How could he even sleep at night?

  Katherine scooped the pillowcases up in her arms and ran down the hall.

  “Jack, you won’t believe what I—”

  She stopped short and stared at Jack, whose hands were bound in his own cuffs, sporting a nasty gash on the side of his head. He was face-to-face with Reverend Coulter, who had Jack’s own gun trained on his heart.

  “Jack, no!” she cried, dropping the pillowcases and running to him. “Did he hurt you? Are you okay?”

  Jack nodded and squeezed his eyes with the motion of his head. Katherine reached behind Jack and closed her hand around one of his.

  The reverend kept his eyes and gun on Jack, but spoke evenly.

  “Katherine, so nice of you to join us. I’ve waited a long time to get to know you. Our meeting was inevitable. I’ve watched you, studied you as you grew up. Hungry for any sign of you in the newspapers, as any proud parent would be.”

  Katherine cringed. Jack squeezed her hand.

  “The beautiful young debutante Katherine Crystal is formally introduced to Atlanta society at the Cotillion Ball, dressed in her creamy white designer gown and dripping in her mother’s fancy diamonds. Katherine Crystal graduates from the Pratt Institute. Oh, yes, I was there. Katherine Crystal joins the Freyer Gallery in Midtown. It’s all there in the scrapbook your friend Jack discovered as I walked in and surprised him. I call it the Katherine Chronicles,” said the reverend proudly.

  Katherine looked down at an open scrapbook with pictures of her with her parents on vacation—skiing, at the beach, on safari, with friends, intimate photos with Justin Bamberger. She released Jack’s hand and leafed through the scrapbook—pictures of her from grade school to college, news clippings after Ocean Rivers’ death, stories about capturing the Sydney Strangler.

  “You were always the goal, Katherine, the prize,” acknowledged the reverend, smiling. “I knew the minute I held you in my arms that you would grow up to be special. How could you not? The union of a talented trance medium and a strong psychic and spiritualist. I have had many offspring, with many women, but you, Katherine, are the realizati
on of all my hopes and dreams. The first moment you realized your pent-up talent, when you predicted the death of little Ocean Rivers—that’s when I began to consummate the plan. You and I together—think of what we could accomplish, Katherine. You are just beginning to come into your true powers, and I will be your spiritual guide, help you realize your potential. With your psychic ability and my...talent, there are no limits. My lifeblood flows through your veins.”

  The reverend’s beady eyes sparkled. “Come, closer child. Come over where I can gaze upon you at long last in the flesh. Come, don’t be afraid. Come to your father.”

  Katherine choked. But when the reverend waved the gun at Jack, she complied.

  “I’ve never gazed on such beauty. Ah, your mother, now, she was a beauty, but you far surpass her. I understand you’ve already met your mother.”

  “She is not my mother and you are not my father,” Katherine said, her jaw set stubbornly.

  “Of course you will need time to digest and accept reality,” said the reverend. “But we’ll have plenty of time together for you and me to become intimately acquainted, to get to know each other in every sense.”

  The reverend’s words were creepy, his tone not the way a father spoke to a daughter.

  “You must know that the girls and women who came before, they mean nothing to me. They were just a sideshow. But you are the main attraction. You are my creation, you are above the rest. I have power, Katherine, and untold wealth, as you can see. I can give you everything. You’re going to love it here at mes Sur la Mer. We’ll keep you tucked away here at the estate for a while until you get used to our arrangement, and then, if you’re good, you can venture out into the community. I have horses. Can you ride, Katherine?”

  Katherine didn’t answer.

  “Of course you can ride. There’s a picture of you riding, right here in the scrapbook.” He flipped the book’s pages to the one he was referencing.

  “I’ve collected all of your favorite artists, all of your favorite things. I did it all for you. We’re just about to start our journey together. I can’t wait. My beautiful Katherine. Created in my image. My darling daughter. Ours will be a perfect union. Think of the children that will spring from our loins. They’ll be magnificent.”

  Reverend Coulter reached out his hand and touched Katherine’s face, slowly toyed with a lock of her dark curls and let his hand slide farther to skim across her breast.

  “I could never—I would never—” Katherine shuddered, shrinking away from the monster before her.

  “Oh, you will, and you will love it. Trance sex is delightful. No inhibitions. Once I put you under, you will stop struggling, and I will take you to levels you’ve never dreamed of.”

  Jack started to lunge forward.

  Katherine dropped back to stand next to Jack in a show of unity, taking one of Jack’s hands in hers once again. Jack squeezed her hand, almost cutting off the circulation as his muscles strained against his restraints.

  “Uh, uh, uh,” the reverend cautioned, waving the gun at Jack’s heart. “I’m in control here. Jack has been a very naughty boy, and he will have to be taught a lesson. But I’ll deal with him later.”

  “Like you dealt with my parents?” Katherine accused.

  “Where did you get that notion, child?”

  “We were there, when you went to visit Psychic Juliette. We heard everything, just not the details about how you murdered them.”

  “Oh, I suppose it can’t hurt to reveal my triumph,” said the reverend. “I’m actually pretty proud of my handiwork. I simply tampered with the judge’s brakes and, unfortunately for them, the car careened off a mountain road and exploded. The fireworks were magnificent,” recalled the reverend, as if he were remembering a pleasant Fourth of July night on the National Mall.

  “You bastard,” Katherine whispered.

  “Now, now, it had to be done. Don’t you see? To fulfill our destiny.”

  “You’ll never get away with it,” Jack said, struggling to maintain his temper.

  “Oh, but you see, I already have gotten away with it. You have no proof of anything. It was a nasty accident. But the judge had suddenly developed a conscience. He was going to turn me in, turn himself in, admit to everything. I couldn’t let that happen.”

  The reverend rested his free hand on his chin and tapped his mouth, deep in thought. “Jack is an obstacle I hadn’t counted on. But, no matter. I will think of a way to dispose of him, too. I was going to come to Atlanta to get you, but you came to me. Come, child, I’m anxious to get started. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

  Katherine folded her arms and stood her ground. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  “Don’t be difficult. You’re trying my patience. But if that’s the way you want to play this game...” The Reverend pulled out a hunting knife and held it up to Jack’s neck, pricking it and drawing blood.

  “Jack!” Katherine screamed and faced the reverend. “Leave him alone. I’ll do whatever you want. Just leave him alone.”

  “Oh, so that’s the way it is. Two lovebirds. Maybe I should let you watch while I gut him like the pig that he is.”

  Katherine moved forward and reached for the knife.

  The reverend grazed her arm, and she pulled it back, wincing.

  “Don’t drip on the Aubusson,” the reverend said, grabbing Katherine’s flowing hair and pulling it tightly into a knot around his hand until she cried out in pain. With his other hand, he loosened the grip on his gun and picked up a coil of rope resting on the coffee table next to a pile of cash. He released his grip on Katherine’s hair and tossed her the rope.

  “Now tie him up in that chair, at the waist and feet, and do it quickly. I’m losing my patience. I’d just as soon put a bullet in his brain.”

  “Do it, Kate,” Jack said. “Just do what he says.” Katherine hesitated.

  “We can make this easy or we can make it hard.” The reverend smiled at his off-color joke. “Personally, I love a good struggle. You know what daddies do to naughty little girls. I hadn’t wanted to use the strap, but...” His eyes twinkled at the prospect.

  Katherine’s hands trembled as she started to tie Jack to the chair.

  “Make it tight,” the reverend ordered. “Cut off the circulation, that’s it. I’m going to check your handiwork.”

  Katherine placed a kiss on the top of Jack’s head after she’d tightened the knot. “I’m sorry I got you into this mess. I love you, Jack.”

  Jack looked up into Katherine’s eyes, trying to remain confident when she could see how agitated he was.

  “Come along to the bedroom, sweetheart,” cooed the reverend. “It’ll go much easier on you and your boyfriend if you cooperate.”

  Kate’s eyes pleaded with Jack.

  “Kate, it’s okay. I’ll be okay. Just do as he says.”

  “But, Jack...”

  “I’m the man with the plan, remember?” Jack grimaced as he tried to smile. He was tied up tight, knocked almost unconscious with the butt of a gun, blood was trickling out of his neck, and he was talking about a plan?

  ****

  Jack forced himself to remember his training. Studies he’d read of officers killed in the line of duty showed they were too nice, they waited too long to put a person in a control hold or contain the situation. The man who had killed his father had equated hesitation with weakness and it had gotten his father killed. Jack was not going to make the same mistake.

  “Don’t hurt her, Coulter,” Jack barked. “I’ll kill you if you do.”

  “You’re in no position to threaten me.” The reverend smiled. “Keep making a fuss and I’ll make you watch.”

  “I’m a police officer,” Jack said.

  “You don’t think I know that? I’m going to take my time with her, and I would advise you to use your last moments on earth to ask for forgiveness for your sins.”

  “You said if I cooperate, it would go easier on Jack,” Kate protested.

  �
��I lied,” said the reverend, pulling her down the long hall into the bedroom, farther away from Jack.

  The man was demented, and unfortunately Kate was going to pay the price. This might be the last time he saw her alive.

  “Kate,” Jack called out mournfully. “Kate, I love you.”

  ****

  He loved her. How bittersweet to finally hear the words pour out of his mouth when they had no future together. Bile rose up and threatened to spill over. This couldn’t be happening to her. The reverend was a monster. He was going to rape his own daughter. Who knew how many other times he had done this to how many other innocent women in addition to her birth mother.

  If she had one regret besides losing Jack, it was not getting to know Juliette. Now that she’d met the reverend and knew what kind of man he was, she realized Juliette was no match for him. He wouldn’t hesitate to kill her, too, to keep her quiet.

  She could scream out, but the house was so far from the road and any other house that no one would hear her but Jack, and she couldn’t make him sit there helpless and listen to her screams.

  She would find a way to outwit the reverend. She looked around for something to use to defend herself. If she were as talented as he claimed, surely she could use some of her powers to get herself and Jack out of this mess. But what were those powers? Should she try to read the future? What good would that do? Should she attempt to distract him? What was about to happen to her was a fate worse than death. A fate she didn’t know if she could endure.

  The reverend tossed her onto the bed. She massaged her head where he had practically pulled her hair from its roots.

  “Now, take off your clothes slowly and let me see you, all of you. See how sensitive you truly are.”

  “I won’t,” Katherine said stubbornly, scooting away from him on the bed.

  The reverend rolled his eyes. “You dare disobey me?”

  The man was seriously deluded.

  He inched closer to Katherine and lifted her blouse. She winced and covered herself with her hands. He ripped off her blouse with a slice of the knife.

  He began to breathe hard as he stared at her.

  “You’re a vision,” said the reverend. “Just like Juliette. I loved your mother, you know. And she loved me, until I took you away from her. She never forgave me. But things will be different between you and me. Now stay still.”