Fabric of Life

by Judith Post

  Gabe grinned. “I didn’t think you could spend a whole day doing nothing. See you at supper time.”

  Thea followed Kate down the stairs to the bottom level of the barn. Josh and Elyssa had the double doors thrown wide so that Rachel and Isak could help them carry a bed to the far side of the huge work space.

  “Don’t tell me that your mother won’t let you stay in the house,” Kate said.

  Josh shook his head. “We want our own space, and Mom’s been nice enough to loan us her queen-sized bed.”

  “That’s more like it.” Kate gave a final wave. “Gotta go. Nice to have you two around.”

  “Do you need any help?” Thea asked Josh.

  “That would be nice. Ask the pit boss what needs to be done.”

  Elyssa blushed and motioned to the back of Josh’s pickup. A tarp covered a few pieces of furniture. “These belonged to my parents, so they’re special to me.”

  “Are your parents gone?” Thea asked.

  “They died when I was young, maybe Hannah’s age. I grew up in an orphanage.”

  Maybe that’s why Elyssa had such an introverted, otherworldly quality about her, Thea thought. “I’m sorry.”

  “We all worked together and considered each other brothers and sisters. From what I’ve heard, it’s better than being passed from one foster parent to another.”

  “When did you find your gift?”

  “It was always there. I learned about clay at the orphanage, though.”

  Thea looked at the glazed pots scattered on Josh’s workbench. “You do lovely work.”

  “Thank you.” Elyssa glanced away, embarrassed by the compliment.

  “Come on. Let’s get these off the truck.” Thea helped her move a small desk, a straight-back chair, and a baby’s high chair into the barn. None of them were in very good shape, but it didn’t matter. She could tell that they meant the world to her new daughter-in-law. When they were finished, Thea gave Elyssa a quick hug. She was a nice girl. She liked her. “You’re busy. I’ll let you two get at it.” And she walked to the house.

  Once inside, she went to the kitchen. She put two huge skillets on the burners and sautéed chicken breasts until they were tender. While they cooked, she diced onions, apples, and halved red grapes. She’d make a big monstrous amount of curried chicken salad for supper that night.

  Chapter 74

  David and Muriel dropped by Thea’s house later in the day. “The town’s had too many funerals lately,” Muriel said. “Most of Annabel’s friends are already gone.”

  “That’s part of living to a ripe, old age,” David said. “Your friends leave before you do.”

  Thea poured them each a cup of coffee. “What did you decide on?”

  “A private service at the small church this evening,” Muriel said. “Just family. Mom wanted to be cremated, so there won’t be any graveside service until we get her ashes back.”

  “Do you want to come back here for supper?” Thea asked.

  Muriel patted Thea’s hand. “Honey, you’re so busy, you don’t know which end’s up. At least this death was part of the big plan, no threads pulled. We saw your mom this morning. We heard about that poor girl’s murder.”

  “I’m taking supper to the barn loft tonight, if you want to hang out with us after the funeral,” Thea said. “You’re invited.”

  David shook his head. “People from town have brought us more food than we know what to do with. We’re set.”

  “What time should I be at the church?”

  “Four thirty. You’ll be home in time to finish dinner,” Muriel said. “David and I are staying in town for a while to sort through Mom’s things. We’ll have plenty of time to visit, but you’ve got enough to do right now.”

  Thea didn’t want to take any chances, though. The chicken salad wouldn’t be enough if people stopped by later. She ran to the store to buy hamburger and sausage, and by the time she had to leave for the funeral, her crock pot was full of sweet and sour meatballs. Those, with crusty bread and a seven layer salad would have to do.

  True to her word, Muriel chose a short, simple service--a few words about Annabel and a short reading from the Bible. In twenty minutes, the funeral was over.

  Thea usually didn’t like to go to the casket and look at the dead person, but Annabel looked ornery even in “sleep.” Her lips quirked up at the edges, as if she were ready to say a wisecrack. Thea looked up and saw Gabe standing at the foot of the casket.

  “She went to the light,” he said. “I waved her and Grandpa off.”

  Thea smiled. This death had some comfort level to it. Annabel went quickly and peacefully. She left this world with fond goodbyes, accompanied by her Huey.

  Thea looked at the body in the casket again. The little firecracker had given the world a lot of bang and sparkle.

  When Thea returned home and took the chicken salad to the barn loft, it was to a small crowd. Josh and Elyssa had gone to Rachel and Isak’s with Muriel and David. She could save the meatballs for tomorrow night. Thea didn’t mind missing the funeral supper. She’d already made her peace with Annabel’s death.

  Chapter 75

  Gordon raised an eyebrow when he saw Thea and Hannah. “You’ve lived here your whole lives. How much different do you think it’s going to look from the air?”

  Thea raised a camera. “A lot different. I thought it might be fun to get aerial shots and make wall hangings of Emerald Hills.”

  “Hey, bet they’d sell,” Gordon said. “You ready?”

  Thea took a deep breath. Airplanes made her nervous, but she could tolerate them.

  Gordon noticed her hesitation. “I haven’t lost a customer yet,” he told her. “If you get sick, though, throw up in a bag, not on my seats.” He handed her a plastic baggie.

  “I can do this,” Thea said.

  “For a family that can talk to ghosts and weave peoples’ futures, a helicopter should be a piece of cake,” Gordon said.

  “You’re right.” Thea slid into the seat beside Gordon and helped Hannah settle in the back.

  “Grab a strap if you want to.” Gordon motioned to an overhead handhold, and Thea gripped it tightly. Gordon started the engine, and the helicopter lifted off the ground.

  Thea watched the old buildings of downtown Emerald Hills grow smaller. Then Gordon turned the helicopter, and they headed past Les’s winery, past the mansions on Vineyard Lane, and toward the national forest.

  Thea found herself eager to take pictures. Everything DID look different up here. And the bird’s eye view of Emerald Hills really would make great wall hangings.

  The forest stretched below them for miles, and Thea thought that one view of the treetops would be like any other. But the canopy changed from light greens to dark greens. Small openings appeared where craggy landscape dropped suddenly, and waterfalls flowed into meandering streams and the river.

  She clicked away until Gordon turned the helicopter again, and they headed toward the lake. When they were at the fringe of the forest, where trees spread farther apart before the grassy area led to the lakeshores, Hannah reached forward and tapped Thea on the shoulder.

  “I’d like some pictures of this spot,” Hannah said.

  Thea raised her eyebrows, and Hannah nodded. Thea turned to look at Lacey, seated at the window behind Gordon. The girl’s form quavered with waves of light. Her energy blinked as if having convulsions. Thea lifted her camera and took pictures from every conceivable angle, so that she could find this exact location when they were on the ground.

  When the helicopter finally lowered to their takeoff spot, Gordon said, “There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  “It was wonderful.” Thea paid him. “Thanks. I got exactly what I needed.”

  Gordon looked at the camera. “Hope all of your prints turn out.”

  “Me, too.”

  Thea, Hannah, and Lacey bundled into her Jeep and hurried straight to a one-hour photo shop. Thea dropped off the film, and they went back to the
Jeep to wait.

  “I could feel it,” Lacey said. “My body’s not buried very deep.”

  Hannah put a hand onto Lacey’s misty shoulder. “Are you all right?”

  “I feel weird,” Lacey said. “Like part of me wants to go to my body and part of me wants to go to the light.”

  “Maybe you’ll be free soon,” Hannah said.

  Lacey shivered. “What if I’m going to be punished? What if I don’t get to go up?”

  “If you were going to be punished, it would have already happened,” Thea said. “You’re helping us. The universe wants to forgive you.”

  Lacey looked doubtful. “I brought all of this on myself. If I had just given Dad a chance, if I had practiced a little forgiveness. . . “

  “You didn’t know you weren’t going to have the time,” Thea said. “You didn’t expect to be murdered.”

  The wait seemed to last forever before they could finally get the pictures. Then, loaded with specific information, they hurried back to the others, who were waiting for news in the weaving studio.

  Chapter 76

  “You found it?” Lindsay asked.

  Thea spread out the photos and pointed. “Right here.”

  “Let’s call Mike Krider,” Lindsay said. “Let’s make an arrest.”

  “First, let’s be sure,” Lacey begged. “Let’s go there ourselves and dig me up.”

  Thea wrinkled her nose. “You’ve been gone a while. Is your body zipped in a bag or wrapped in anything?”

  “How would I know?” Lacey’s energy blazed. “But what if I’m wrong? What if I picked the wrong spot? I’ve never looked for my body before. What if somebody else is buried there?”

  “Somebody else? Not that many people go missing in Emerald Hills,” Thea argued.

  But Lindsay immediately sided with Lacey. “If it would make her feel better. . .”

  Everyone looked at Thea. She sighed. “Why not?”

  Hannah started for the stairs, but Thea tossed a worried glance at Aggie. “Not you. Not this time.” Lacey's body had been buried long enough, Thea didn't know what they'd find. She wasn't looking forward to it.

  Hannah looked as if Thea had slapped her. “Why not?”

  Aggie immediately understood. “You’re too young. This time, you stay home with me.”

  “That’s not fair!”

  Aggie took a firm line. “We let you do things no other ten year-old does, but this is where I draw the line. You might see ghosts, but you aren't turning into a grave digger."

  Hannah didn’t like it one bit, but then she grinned. “None of you can see or hear Lacey when she’s outside the studio.”

  “I can,” Gabe said, ruining her gambit. “And Thea can see me.”

  "I'm going too," Lindsay said. "I'll go crazy if I have to sit here and wait." So Thea, Gabe, Lindsay, and Lacey left together.

  Thea drove south on Ruby Riverwalk, crossed the bridge to the residential area of Emerald Hills, and followed the river to the lake at the north side of town. She circled around it toward the trees at the west side of the property. When they spotted the huge oak tree in the photo they'd taken, with the pine tree a little ways down from it, she knew they were close. She parked the car, and she and Lindsay grabbed their shovels. Gabe and Lacey followed behind them. When they reached the grassy shoreline, though, they came to an abrupt halt.

  Randall and Melissa were digging a few feet away from them. Several other holes dotted the border where the grass gave way to sand. Randall's Hummer was parked in the shadows of the tree line, hidden from any casual observer.

  "What are you doing?" Lindsay's words shot out like bullets.

  Randall spun to see who was there, then shook his head. "Why didn't I think of bringing you here?" he asked Lacey. "Looking for your body? Good luck. I know I buried it somewhere around here, but it's not so easy to find."

  "What are you going to do with it?" Thea asked.

  Randall motioned toward the Hummer. "I paid a carpenter to make a beautiful, wood coffin."

  Thea raised her eyebrows. "And he didn't wonder about that?"

  "I told him it was for a Halloween party at the club. We were going to use it as a buffet."

  "What are you going to use it for?" Lindsay demanded.

  "He wants to set Lacey free," Melissa said, stepping slightly behind Randall.

  "You're lying." Lacey's energy spasmed. "You were going to kill Lindsay. Gabe followed Melissa and heard you."

  "Gabe's here?" Randall gripped his shovel more tightly.

  Thea turned to Gabe and asked, "What's going on?" So Gabe started giving her a blow-by-blow account, and she passed it on to Lindsay and Melissa.

  When everyone was up to date, Randall turned to Lacey. He'd used the interruption to gather his wits and go into salesman mode. "That was our first plan, but you’re turning into a clever little ghost. You’ve outlived your usefulness, so I decided to get rid of you."

  "Get rid of me? I'm already dead."

  "But still here. I figured if I found your body, stuck it in a coffin, and buried you in a cemetery, you might get out of here."

  “You killed my sister and dumped her here!" Lindsay's fingers balled into fists and she lunged toward him, but Thea held her back.

  "Not true. I didn't kill her. She tripped."

  "You probably pushed her," Lindsay said.

  Melissa shook her head. "It wasn't like that. He tried to grab her when she ran out of his house. She turned to jerk away and fell. You've seen the steps that lead to his front door. She hit every one of them, and that was that.”

  "So why not call the EMS?" Thea asked.

  Randall grimaced. "We'd been fighting. There was a red slap mark on her cheek."

  "There'd have been questions," Thea said. "And everyone would know you were having an affair with a young girl."

  "She was legal age, and she fell. No more, no less, but it would have been embarrassing. I panicked. I made a stupid decision and buried her here."

  "No, here." Lacey hovered over a patch of ground with only sparse tufts of grass scattered here and there.

  Randall picked up his shovel and headed toward her. "Are you sure?"

  "I can feel the pull. I can feel my body." Lacey planted her feet on the spot, as if drawn to a magnet.

  "Good, let's get you out of there and into the coffin."

  "Hold it right there," Lindsay said. "You're not touching my sister. You've done enough damage. I'll call the sheriff…"

  "Look. I'm trying to do the right thing here," Randall argued. "I brought the coffin…."

  "To save your own sorry hide," Lindsay snapped. "Get out of here."

  Randall took a deep breath. "I messed up. I'm sorry. I've caused everyone pain. How much will it cost to put things right?"

  Lindsay stared. "You can't buy us!"

  "Everyone has a price. Name it."

  Lindsay's face mottled with temper, and Melissa stepped behind Randall. The sun glistened off the rubies and diamonds of her ankle bracelet.

  Lacey gasped. “He gave me that. I was wearing it when I fell.”

  When Gabe passed that along to Thea, she raised an eyebrow. “You don’t mind wearing a dead girl’s jewelry, Melissa?”

  Before Melissa could answer, Lacey rounded on Randall. "You did push me! I remember now."

  Randall cussed and swung his shovel at Lindsay. Thea stepped in front of her. The metal blade hit her shoulder. The impact knocked her and Lindsay to the ground.

  Randall's shoulder gave a sharp snap. He yelled and gripped the broken bone. His arm dangled, and his fingers went limp. The shovel fell through them. He walked to Thea and tried to pull her to her feet. When she clung to Lindsay, he grabbed her hair and yanked. A ripping sound made him scream. A bloody thatch of his scalp fell near his feet.

  “Stop it!” Melissa threw her arms around him, trying to drag him away. “She's a weaver! Whatever you do to her comes back on you.”

  “What the hell?” Randall staggered backward
and stared. Thea's shoulder was unharmed. Her hair fell back into place.

  “Don't you get it?" Melissa cried. "She's protected."

  "They're going to ruin me." Randall took another step toward them. "I'll make millions on this deal."

  Melissa gripped his arm. "What good will that do you if you mess with her?"

  Randall held his shoulder, panting with pain. “Don’t try to follow us. I might not want to tempt fate, but I’ll fight back if I’m cornered.”

  He and Melissa backed toward the trees, then ran to his Hummer.

  Gabe let out a sigh and wrapped Thea in his arms. His energy came in bursts as if his pulse were measured in spurts of light. “If a ghost could get gray hairs, you just gave me a full head of them.”

  Lindsay’s knees gave and she sank to the ground. “This life and death stuff is too much for me.”

  Lacey sank down beside her, as solid as Gabe. “I’m sorry. I remember everything now, and if I’d listened to you, none of this would have happened.”

  “Quit it. It was a fling, a rebellion. Randall’s the one to blame. Are you free now?”

  Lacey nodded. A beam of white light pierced the blue of the sky and bathed her in a brilliant circle. “If I leave you, will you be all right?”

  Lindsay blinked back tears. “I'm happy for you. Just come back for me when it’s my turn.”

  “You’d better believe it.” And Lacey rose upward and away.

  The rest of them watched until she was gone. They huddled in a silent cluster until Lindsay squared her shoulders, pulled out her cell phone, and dialed 911. She asked for Mike Krider and explained that she and Thea had found a body.

  Chapter 77

  Mike Krider came with a team of men and a police dog. When he saw Thea’s shovel in the dirt, he shook his head. “Don’t you watch CSI? Don’t you know better than to disturb a crime scene?” Then he stopped and looked at the area. “I don’t suppose you’d like to tell me how you knew this WAS a crime scene.”