by Judith Post
“You just said. . . “
“I brought this on myself. I deserve it.”
“We can still help.”
“NO!!” The table rose off the floor, then landed with a thud. “Leave me alone, or he’ll hurt her!”
“Hurt who?”
The wail was so high, it hurt Thea’s ears. Sparks of energy darted all around the room. The words, “I can’t!” tore from Lacey’s throat.
“Leave her alone!” Rachel cried and yanked her hand out of Thea’s grasp. “We’re torturing her.”
Immediately, a wind blew around the room and left it. The candles sputtered to life. The reflection of their flames danced against the walls. The stillness was so loud, it felt physical.
“She’s gone,” Hannah said.
Tears streamed down Rachel’s cheeks. “We have to do something.”
Thea pulled her close and patted her shoulder. “We will, hon. We will. I’ll start tomorrow.”
Chapter 42
They moved into the kitchen for coffee and snacks. They grabbed their chicken salad sandwiches and stood in a loose huddle, too shaken to mill about.
Hannah leaned close to Thea. “Did we help her at all?” she asked.
Kate answered. “We know for sure that somebody’s using that poor girl.” She scowled at Thea. “You’re the weaver. It’s your job to find the creep who’s torturing her and let him know what wrath is all about.”
“He’s blackmailing her somehow, isn’t he?”
“With someone she loves,” Kate snapped. “The bastard.”
“Have any of you met someone from Emerald Hills named Lacey?” Thea asked.
Cynthia shook her head. “You’d think among us, we’d meet just about everybody, but I’ve never heard of her.”
“Maybe she was a tourist,” Hannah said.
“How could someone from here have any power over a tourist?” Thea asked. “Lacey’s tied to someone here, someone she loves. She must have lived around here, but I’ve never heard of her. There are lots of people that I don’t meet, though.”
“Especially the people north of town,” Hannah said.
“The rich people on Vineyard Lane?” Kate asked.
“They come to most of my gallery events,” Cynthia said.
Kate grimaced. “Does Randall come, too? Isn’t that uncomfortable?”
“We’ve learned to be polite and civil, but ice forms if we stand too close to each other.”
“What about Toby?” Kate asked. “Does he spend weekends with his dad?”
“Off and on, it depends on whether or not he fits in Randall’s schedule.”
“Does that bother Toby?” Rachel asked.
Hannah grinned. “We make bets if his dad will show up or not. Toby always bets against him.”
Cynthia nodded. “Toby’s usually relieved when Randall can’t make it.”
“Why?” Kate asked. “Doesn’t Randall make any effort at all?”
“Even when Randall’s trying to be fun, it’s too much of a strain. All the man knows is money and mergers.”
“I hope he has to pay a big chunk for child support,” Kate said.
“His money costs me too much,” Cynthia said. “I’d rather do without it and be without him, but it won’t happen. He has an image to maintain.”
Thea poured herself another cup of coffee. It was late, and it would make her lose sleep, but she craved its bitter taste and warmth. “We have to find out who Lacey was and who she knew here. People from here must marry girls from out of town. Maybe she’s one of those.”
“We help cater weddings and desserts at the country club for their big parties,” Rachel said, “and there are a lot of young girls in their late teens and early twenties who I don’t recognize.”
Thea thought about that. She knew most of the kids who went to school with Josh and Rachel, and she knew the kids who went to school with Hannah, but there was a big gap in between them. The kids who lived and worked in town, she still met. But the rich kids on the fringes, she wouldn’t know. Then another thought struck her. “The last time I talked to Les, he was telling me that he could take a vacation because he had a new girl running the winery who was so good, he didn’t have to worry about anything. Her name is Lindsay. Has anyone met her?”
“I have,” Rachel said. “Les was right. She’s wonderful.”
“What does she look like?” Kate asked.
Rachel frowned. “Every time I see her, she reminds me of someone, but I can’t figure out who.”
“Hair? Eyes?” Kate asked.
“She’s short and sturdy, with sandy hair and lots of freckles. She has a round face, and she just makes you feel comfortable.”
“Hmm, maybe I’ll have to visit the winery and look her over, see if she reminds me of someone,” Kate said. “Have you met her, Cynthia?”
“She bought one of Thea’s wall hangings when she redecorated the tasting area at the winery. Rachel’s right. She’s easy to work with, a natural.”
“How long has she been here?” Thea asked. “Where did she come from?”
“She grew up around Nashville,” Cynthia said. “She’s been in Emerald Hills about a year. She came to manage the winery. She met Les when he was at a business convention. She’d spent a few years representing a wine company and traveling around the Midwest to convince stores and restaurants to stock their product, so she’s a natural for Les’s vineyard.”
“She told me that Les’s job offer came at the right time in her life,” Rachel said. “She was tired of traveling and liked the idea of building a career in one place.”
“Does she have any family?” Thea asked.
Cynthia and Rachel both shrugged.
“I don’t know her that well,” Rachel said.
That, Thea decided, was something that she had to remedy. There were people in Emerald Hills that she had to keep track of. The sooner she started, the better.
Kate looked at her watch. “It’s late. Your dad’s going to wonder what happened to me. I’d better get home.”
“Me, too,” Cynthia said. “Amy’s babysitting for Toby, and I told Nancy that I wouldn’t keep her too late. She helps in the restaurant in the morning.”
Hannah was still wound up when the others left, so she and Thea made popcorn and started a movie. An hour later, Thea tucked Hannah under the blankets on the air mattress in her own room, then she went to the barn to see Gabe.
“How’d it go?” he asked, coming to hover near.
“I need a hug.”
He smiled. “I can manage that.”
She gave a small moan of pleasure as his arms slid around her. “You feel good, almost real.” She moved a little away from him. “You look almost real, not as see-through.”
He blinked with surprise. “I was ghostly just a minute ago. Maybe I’m getting better at the materializing thing.”
“Mmm.” She snuggled against his chest. “You always were a perfect fit. How good can you get at being solid?”
He laughed. “You’re talking flesh-like, not just hard?”
“I wasn’t talking about just one part of you. I like the whole package.”
“I’ll settle for what I can get.” He pressed her closer. “I’m awfully turned-on for a ghost.”
She tipped her head and tried to kiss his face. “Some parts are firmer than others.”
“It works for me.”
“The séance was scarier than I thought it would be.”
“Really?” He sighed. “Guess you could use some TLC. Tell me about it. Did our ghost girl show up?”
As Thea told him about her evening, he listened and asked questions. When she finished, she gave a big sigh. “You’re mist again.”
“I must have to concentrate on one thing and only one thing to materialize. Sorry, hon. I don’t have a headache, but I seem to be done for the night.”
She smiled. “I feel better anyway. You always make me feel better.”
He wrapped himself around her. �
�You’re one of the best, do you know that?”
“Thanks, but you’re freezing me.” She shivered and stepped away. “I’m going to bed. I’m whipped. Thanks for lifting my mood.”
“Any time.” He grinned. “Thanks for lifting parts of me I didn’t think worked any more.”
She started for the stairs. “Maybe that’s the hell of it. They work, but you can’t do anything about it.”
His laugh followed her out of the barn.
Chapter 43
Early the next morning, Thea dropped Hannah at Rachel and Isak’s and drove to the domed, limestone courthouse in the residential area of Emerald Hills. June Nash greeted her at the counter of the records’ department. June had worked at the courthouse for as long as Thea could remember. She looked as insubstantial, with stooped shoulders and a frail build, as the building looked solid. “This is a first. I thought you kept your own kinds of records.”
Thea shook her head. “No, I weave births and destiny. Death just happens when a bookmark ends.”
June raised thin, blue-veined hands. “That’s all I want to hear. I don’t like to think about things like that.”
“I came to look through the records to see if a girl named Lacey died anywhere around here in the last few years.”
June pushed her glasses farther up on her nose. “Why? Did you lose somebody from those rafters of yours?”
“I don’t think I wove her bookmark, but I’m hoping she moved here a short while ago.”
“And died here?”
“Hannah talked to her ghost.”
“Oh, enough!” June waved her hands rapidly to ward off any spirits. “I can help you with facts, when people were born, bought a house, or died. That’s all.” She went to a computer and motioned for Thea to follow. “Births and deaths are in here.” She opened a file. “Good luck.”
Once June left, Thea settled in and began her search. She scrolled through names for the entire region for the last five years, but didn’t find anything. No one named Lacey died in the area or even close to the area. She went through the lists again, looking for a middle initial of L, just in case Lacey was the girl’s middle name or a nickname. Nothing.
Frustrated, she thanked June for her help and left. She was thirsty and aggravated. She’d lost an entire morning and gained nothing. Thank goodness that Emerald Hills wasn’t a big city or it wouldn’t have even been possible to do such a hodgepodge search with no real name or dates.
She wasn’t surprised when she found herself driving to her parents’ house. A talk with her mom would put her in a better mood.
Her dad answered the door when she knocked.
“Sorry, kid. I’m the only one home. Your mom’s out riding her horse. The fool woman’s too old to be gallivanting around the countryside, but try telling her that.”
Thea smiled. “If she’s not here, then you’ll have to do.”
He raked his hand through his graying hair and peered at her from behind his wire-rimmed glasses. “S’pose I can give it a shot. What’s on your mind?” He wandered over to the kitchen table and she followed him. They sat across from each other.
“You look like a girl who could use a tall glass of iced tea,” her dad said. “Thirsty?”
“Parched.”
They made small talk until he returned to the table with drinks for both of them and a small plate of peanut butter cookies, his favorites. “Your mom’s trying to stay on my good side,” he told her. “It’s a good thing you didn’t come earlier. I was out fishing with Tillie’s Bill. Man’s a mess since the baby died. Says Tillie’s worse. But Bill’s bound and determined to marry her. Tillie wants to wait, says she’s not in the mood to enjoy anything, but he’s pushing her to do it anyway and have a second wedding when she’s ready for it.”
“What would they do?” Thea asked. “Just something small?”
“Bill’s voting for the justice of the peace. Go in the office and say ‘I do.’ Man’s damned practical. I like that boy.”
“How’s their money?” Thea asked. “I worried about the hospital bills with the baby.”
“Bill’s got good insurance through the state,” her dad said. “He told me he’s lucky he loves his job. He gets to be outside most of the time as groundskeeper for the park. It suits him. Mowing and plowing keeps his mind off things. Boy’s trying to bolster Tillie at home, and then he spends most of his lunches letting that sweet, little girl who works at Les’s winery cry on his shoulder.”
“Because Les died?” Thea asked.
“That, too, probably. She and Les got on like a house afire. But she’s worried sick about her sister. They came here to work as a team after their mother died. Then the silly girl met a guy and took off with him.” He pushed the plate of cookies closer to her. “You’ve only eaten one.”
In Thea’s family, nothing got done without food. She munched on a cookie. “Do you know anything about Lindsay or her sister? Her sister’s name?”
Her dad shook his head. “Never met them. Just listened to Bill tell how messed up the gal at the winery is, worried sick.”
Thea couldn’t help but think the missing sister must be Lacey. “And Lindsay hasn’t heard one word from her sister?”
“Got a postcard from Alabama, on her way to Florida. That was it.” He scratched his head in thought. “Reminds me. Have you heard from that son of yours?”
“Josh isn’t allowed to call for one month.”
“You’re being a little hard on the boy, aren’t you?”
“It’s killing me,” Thea said.
Her dad reached across the table to pat her hand. “No one said being a parent was a walk in the park. Damn hard. I’d rather re-plumb a whole house. At least you know what you’re up against and what to do about it.”
“I hope I’m right this time.”
“You did your best. That’s all you can do.” He absently reached for another cookie.
Thea was going to return to the topic of Lindsay and her sister when the vibes in the air shifted, and she cocked her head to listen.
“I know that look,” her dad said. “You’d better get to your studio. Damn, I’m glad your mom’s out of that business.”
Thea pushed herself to her feet. “Gotta go, but thanks, Dad. You’re the best.”
He blinked in surprise. “Well, I know that, but I wasn’t sure you did.”
“We all do,” she assured him and bent to kiss his forehead on the way out.
All the way home, her mind turned over what her dad had told her about Lindsay and her sister. What had Lacey told them at the séance? “I have to do what he wants, or he’ll hurt her.”
What if Lacey left Emerald Hills with a tourist she’d met, and they had an accident? What if the man’s ghost hadn’t left, but was obsessed with Lacey, and kept her with him by threatening to hurt her sister?
Thea shook her head. What would that have to do with Gabe and Sheila? Why would he send Lacey to unravel their bookmarks? It didn’t make sense.
But Lacey had to be the missing sister of the girl at Les’s winery. She had to be. And Thea intended to go to the winery to find out. But first, she had a bookmark to weave, and the new soul was in a hurry. She’d better get home fast.
Chapter 44
Thea was poised and ready when Rachel flew up the steps and hurried to stand beside her.
Rachel fought to catch her breath. “Sorry, it took me a minute to find Hannah. She took Annabel for a walk, and they both disappeared.”
“Partners in crime, huh?”
“I found them by the stream, picking clover and weaving the flowers into wreaths for their heads.”
Thea smiled, glancing out the window at a blue sky. “What a fun way to pass a day.”
“Annabel looked so happy. Hannah’s good for her. At first, I was worried about Hannah taking her to the stream, but it’s not very deep, so what’s the worst that could happen with someone right there to watch her? I guess she could fall and get muddy. Her balance isn’t as go
od as it used to be.”
Thea shrugged. “What’s a little mud?”
“That’s what I thought.”
“So where are they now?”
“In Annabel’s backyard. The garden’s beautiful. They’re picking more flowers.”
Their conversation stopped when the new soul stepped on the scale. Both women went silent, concentrating on the needle’s bounces.
Thea started her weave with threads of turquoise and yellow--a dynamic, highly energized personality who would influence other people with her sunny disposition.
“That’s a pretty weave,” Rachel said.
Thea nodded, but then her fingers tangled the threads into a series of knots, each bigger than the one before.
Rachel frowned. “Why so many? Nobody needs that many tests.”
“Each soul comes to learn a specific lesson,” Thea said. “If you don’t learn it the first time, life sends you another chance. If you fail that one, it sends more.”
“So this girl has to keep working on the same challenge until she passes it?”
“Or fails.”
The bookmark’s threads became duller and duller until they were a dingy gray.
“What does that mean?” Rachel asked.
“Depression. Dark colors can mean anger or angst, but this is too flat. This girl likes to skip through life and ignore any problems. She’s ignored them for so long, she’s buried under them.”
“Is that pre-ordained?” Rachel demanded. “That’s not fair.”
Thea shook her head. “A person can survive depression. Her soul could learn from her mistakes and get stronger, or she could get help.”
“What kind of help?” Rachel asked.
“Some people are born with diabetes, some with heart problems. Maybe this girl has a chemical imbalance and needs medicine. Life’s trying to force her to face something, and she won’t.”
“Why not throw in something good?” Rachel asked. “Why not give her a break?”
And as if the heavens had listened to Rachel’s complaint, the girl’s threads were tinged with color again--pale, but there.
