by Becky Durfee
“You can buy him an umbrella,” Isabelle noted.
“I know, but what about the whole I-don’t-like-my-job-so-I-just-won’t-show-up thing?”
“Now that is a problem.”
Jenny dropped her shoulders. “I know. Suppose he decides he doesn’t like paying bills or changing diapers? Will he just stop doing that, too?”
“I think it might be a little early in the game for you to be worrying about diapers.” Isabelle rested her chin in her hand. “But, if the thought has crossed your mind, then perhaps the answer to the question I asked you before is yes.”
Exhausted from the day’s events, Jenny’s brain was mush. Making a face she asked, “And what question was that? I already don’t remember.”
“I asked whether your reluctance to go back to Greg had anything to do with Zack.”
Jenny let out a sigh. “The truth is I probably wouldn’t have left Greg in the first place if I didn’t know Zack, but it’s not like I left Greg for Zack. Zack just reminded me what it felt like to be happy. He made me realize that it’s possible for a guy to find me attractive. He pointed out that I should be treated better. So even if I don’t end up with Zack, I think he’s taught me that there’s someone out there who is much better for me than Greg. Although, if what you said about Dad is true, then maybe Greg can become that person.”
Jenny made a face before she added, “But when I think about going back to Greg, I feel like I’m being held under water. I am that desperate not to go back there.”
“Then why are you even considering it?” Isabelle posed.
“Because it’s supposed to be for better or for worse. Til death do us part.” Jenny ran her fingers through her hair. “You hear it all the time. We’re an instant-gratification society. People aren’t willing to work on their marriages anymore—they just bail when things become unpleasant. Am I going to be one of those people? Marriages have their ups and downs…is this just what a down feels like? Sometimes I think that I’m just a weak person who can’t handle the low points.
“But then I start thinking: this isn’t a rut. Things have never been good. He’s always treated me like I don’t matter. The truth is that I wasn’t emotionally healthy when I got together with him. Maybe this relationship has been toxic from the start and I need to get out of it.” Jenny looked pathetically at her mother. “Mom, I am just so confused.”
Isabelle reached her hand across the table and held Jenny’s. “Sweetie, you’ve always been one to put so much pressure on yourself. You don’t need to make this decision today. See how things unfold. See if Greg really does become a person who makes you actually want to give things another chance. And as far as Zack goes, try to provide the guy with a little guidance. Maybe he just doesn’t know better. Then you can see if he becomes a man you want to be with.
“And you know what? If neither of them turns out to be what you want, then look elsewhere. Or just stay single. There’s nothing that says you need to have a man in your life to be happy.”
“But last night you said it was good to have a man in your life.”
“I said it’s good to have a man around to make you feel safe.” Isabelle smiled. “Just keep that house with the in-law suite. If Zack ends up moving out, rent it to another guy. Preferably a big one…who knows Tae Kwon Do.”
Returning the smile, Jenny added, “I had actually thought more along the lines of getting a German Shepherd.”
“See?” Isabelle patted the table with triumph. “Now you’re thinking.”
As Jenny pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, Lena’s voice started echoing in her head. Once again she spoke in Russian with a speed that reflected urgency, although Jenny was at a loss for what she was actually saying.
The voice only became louder as Jenny approached the hostess. Doing her best to speak coherently under the circumstances, she politely said, “Hi. I’m meeting some friends here, but I’m a little late. I imagine they’ve already gotten a table. Do you mind if I take a look around?”
The well-dressed young woman smiled. “Go right ahead.”
With a thank-you Jenny walked into the dining area and quickly spotted Elijah with another couple at a table, along with a little girl with long brown hair. Jenny smiled as she walked over, immediately apologizing for being late. “My GPS went a little crazy. I had some trouble finding the place.” She gave a quick emphatic wave to the little girl.
“That’s okay,” Elijah said standing up. “I’m just glad you could make it. Jenny, this is my friend Jacob and his wife Pam. And this little peanut here is Samantha.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Jenny said with a smile, despite Lena’s desperate screams in her mind.
After they exchanged pleasantries, Jenny turned to Elijah. “Do they know about me?”
“That you’re a psychic? Yeah, I told them,” Elijah assured her. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, I don’t mind. I’m glad you did, actually. I have to tell you, Lena is going crazy right now. Have you guys come up with anything?”
Jacob looked quizzically at Jenny. “What do you mean she’s going crazy?”
“She’s talking a mile a minute. In Russian. But honestly, even if she was speaking in English I’m not sure I’d be able to understand her. It’s that fast. She didn’t start until I pulled into the parking lot, though, so I’m quite sure it has something to do with this meeting.”
“Well,” Elijah said. “So far we’ve been able to recall a few cars that people drove, and we do have a couple of small silver-ish cars on our list. But we have to take into account that some of the kids at the party would have been driving their parents’ cars. Who knows how many of those were small and silver?”
“Can you rattle off the names of the people who had silver cars? Slowly?” Jenny asked. “Maybe Lena will react when she hears a name.”
“Sure.” Elijah referred to a list he’s written. “Derek LaFontaine…Peter Mosser…Amanda Billingsley…Mark Smalls.”
Jenny waited for another name, but none came.
“Did Lena react to any of those names?” Elijah asked eagerly.
Shaking her head, Jenny replied, “I’m afraid not. She’s still frantic, though. There’s obviously something she wants us to know.”
The waitress came by and took their orders.
“Well, I know this is going to come as a complete shock,” Pam said. “But I have to go to the ladies’ room.” As Pam stood, Jenny noticed her very pregnant belly, invoking a fleeting but undeniable twinge of jealousy deep in Jenny’s soul.
“Wow,” Jacob said with a smile. “That’s so out of character.”
Pam playfully stuck out her tongue before slinging her purse over her shoulder and walking toward the restroom.
Elijah turned to Jacob and mentioned a few more names, asking Jacob to try to remember what types of vehicles those people drove. Jenny felt the need to interject. “I’m not sure how you can remember what anyone drove fifteen years ago.”
“We’re guys,” Elijah said flatly.
Jenny shook her head. “I can barely remember what I drove fifteen years ago.” The men resumed their discussion as little Samantha caught Jenny’s eye. She was busy coloring the placemat with the crayons the restaurant had provided. She even spoke to herself as she drew, without a care in the world, seemingly oblivious that anyone in the world existed besides her.
“That’s a pretty picture,” Jenny noted.
Samantha looked up. “It’s a dinosaur.”
“I see that,” Jenny remarked. “And you are very good at coloring in dinosaurs.”
As she returned to her picture, Samantha heard her father ask, “And what do you say, Peanut? She just said she likes your drawing.”
“Thank you,” she said in a sing-songy tone.
“You’re very welcome.” Jenny couldn’t help but smile, although she was beginning to get choked up. She wanted a child. She wanted a pregnant belly. But was she about to throw that opportunity away by leavin
g Greg? The notion was horrifying.
From over her shoulder, Jenny could hear Pam’s voice. “You guys aren’t going to believe this.” The sound snapped her back into the present.
Jenny glanced back, watching Pam walk around the table and slide into her seat. Looking at Jenny, she noted, “I think I know why Lena is going crazy in your head.”
Jenny had actually become so used to the clatter that she hadn’t been focusing on it for the past couple of minutes. Now that Pam mentioned it, though, it was deafening.
Pam glanced at both Jacob and Elijah before announcing, “Mark Smalls is sitting at the bar.”
Chapter 5
“Mark Smalls,” Jenny repeated. “Isn’t that one of the names you just said to me?”
“It sure is,” Elijah remarked, looking at Jacob. Turning his attention to Pam, he asked, “Is Mark by himself?”
Pam shook her head. “He’s with Adam DeWalt and Nick Bruccato.”
“All three of them were at the party,” Jacob noted. “Together.”
“If I remember correctly, there were always together back in high school,” Elijah noted. “Okay, Jacob, it’s time for you to remember what Mark, Adam and Nick did that night.”
Jacob let out a sigh as he contemplated. “They got there early. I remember at first we just sat around and played some drinking games with Kyle Addison and Tony Medeiros. Mark sat out because he was driving, but he sat on a bar stool near the table and hung out with us. I guess that went on for the first hour or so, until more people started showing up.”
“About how many people were at the party?” Jenny asked.
“I was able to count, what, fifty-four?” Jacob looked at Elijah for verification, who nodded with confirmation. Turning back to Jenny, he added, “Fifty-four that I know of. By the end of the night, things were just a blur, though. If anyone came really late, I may not have remembered.
“Anyway, we played Asshole that night, and Adam spent all but a round or two being the asshole.”
“Wait a minute.” Jenny stopped him right there. “What did you play?”
Jacob laughed. “Asshole. It’s a card game where you make people drink—especially the asshole.” He made finger quotes. “Anyway, we made Adam drink a ridiculous amount. He was hammered when I stopped playing, and that was early, like maybe eight o’clock. And the game kept going after that.”
“How long did the game last?” Elijah posed.
Jacob shook his head. “It’s hard for me to say. I got wrapped up in playing host. I’m not exactly sure when they stopped playing.”
“Did you see any of them interacting with Lena?”
Jacob shook his head. “Not particularly. But I’m not the most reliable witness. I was drunk and circulating.”
Elijah turned to Jenny. “I already know from past interviews with people that nobody had a heated exchange with Lena that night.” He shook his head. “This whole thing just seems so strange.”
“You know,” Pam offered. “If Mark Smalls had a problem with Lena, it may not have been because of anything that happened that night. He could have been holding a grudge from something that happened earlier, and Lena showing up at this party just gave him the opportunity to get his revenge.”
“It’s certainly possible,” Elijah noted in a distant tone, stroking his chin. “It’s also possible that some other people from high school are here tonight. A lot of folks are in town for the reunion. Let me take a look around and make sure that these guys are the only ones we should be focusing on.” Elijah stood up. “Is Lena still going crazy?”
With a nod, Jenny said, “Very much so.”
“Okay, let me take a look, then. I’ll be back.” Elijah began to walk around the restaurant.
Jenny turned to Jacob. “Can you think of anything Mark might have had against Lena? Or maybe the other two guys he’s with?”
Thinking intently, Jacob said, “Nothing off the top of my head. I mean, they probably wanted to get with her, but so did every guy at the school.”
“Nick had a girlfriend, though,” Pam noted. “Remember, he was dating that girl…what was her name?” She snapped her fingers several times. “Cheryl Anderson. That’s it.”
“Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Okay, so maybe not every guy in the school wanted to get with Lena, but most did.”
Looking quizzically at Pam, Jenny asked, “Did you go to high school with them?”
Pam nodded in affirmation.
“Were you at the party?”
“No,” Pam confessed. “I was a lowly freshman. This was a seniors only party. I wasn’t cool enough to hang with the big boys back then.” She leaned inward, giving Jacob a playful nudge with her shoulder. “But I know who a lot of the guests were. Jacob and Elijah were pretty popular, and all of us freshmen girls idolized them and their whole group of friends.”
“And some of us were in class with your sister,” Jacob added. He remarked to Jenny, “Her sister was in our grade.”
“Was she at the party?”
“No,” Pam said with a laugh. “She was a social misfit. She was most definitely not at the coolest party of the year.”
Jenny smiled politely, but the comment struck a chord. Jenny had always been the one who wasn’t at the parties, and she knew what a toll that had taken on her socially. She hoped Pam’s sister had overcome her social awkwardness and was living a perfectly pleasant life.
Elijah returned to the table. “I didn’t see anyone else,” he remarked. “At least, no one else that I recognize from high school. That’s not to say that one of these other people isn’t a Russian mobster.”
Jenny looked around the restaurant. Perhaps it was a bit premature to assume Mark Smalls was the reason Lena was acting up. “Maybe I should go to the ladies’ room,” Jenny said. “I can walk past them like Pam did and see if Lena reacts at all.”
“Great idea,” Elijah agreed.
“I’ll come with you,” Pam said. “Believe it or not, I have to go to the bathroom again. I think the baby is using my bladder as a punching bag.”
“That’ll help,” Jenny said. “If any one of them comes to my attention you can tell me who it is.”
The two women got up from the table and headed through the restaurant. Lena’s screams became almost unbearable as they approached the three men who sat nonchalantly at the bar, drinking beer and talking. Pam walked toward them with ease, smiling broadly, rubbing her stomach. “Here I go again,” she said to them.
The men smiled. “Wow, that was fast,” one of them commented.
“Every fifteen minutes,” Pam replied. “Like clockwork.”
Jenny did her best to act normally, but her head felt ready to explode.
“This is Elijah’s friend, Jenny. Jenny, this is Mark, Adam and Nick.” She pointed at each man as he said his name.
Bracing herself, Jenny extended her hand. In the past, when she’d touched killers, her skin burned where the contact had taken place. Strangely enough, she hoped for the same outcome here. Perhaps she’d be able to pinpoint which one of the three men Elijah should focus on.
She shook each man’s hand, puzzled by the result. “Nice to meet you,” she said. “Will I be seeing you at the reunion this weekend?”
“Sure will,” Nick said.
“Great,” Jenny remarked with a smile despite Lena’s disturbing shrieks. She was beginning to feel uneasy; internal screams had once made her faint, and she feared the same fate was impending. “It was nice meeting you,” she added, walking away toward the bathroom before she passed out cold on the floor.
“See you guys later,” Pam added quickly, following closely behind Jenny. Once they entered the bathroom, Jenny bee-lined to the sink, splashing cold water on her face. Pam walked equally as fast to a stall. “Did you get anything?” Pam asked from behind the closed door.
Jenny took a few deep breaths, grasping the sink and looking in the mirror. “Lena was definitely trying to tell me something. She still is, actually. But I didn’t feel a
nything when I shook their hands. In the past I’ve felt pain when I’ve touched killers, and this time I felt nothing. Although,” Jenny added, “I didn’t feel any pain when I saw her get shot, either. I think she might be trying to spare me physical pain, but honestly it would be helpful if she would let me feel it. Then I might have an idea if one of those guys is the killer.”
After a flush, Pam emerged from the stall. “Whoa,” she exclaimed. “You don’t look well. Are you okay?”
Jenny nodded, although she wasn’t sure she was telling the truth. “But I may need to get my food to go,” she conceded.
Pam began washing her hands. “Wow. She really is communicating with you, isn’t she?”
“Communicating may be too strong of a word.” Jenny waved her hand in front of the automatic paper towel dispenser, ripping off a sheet and dabbing her face. “Communicating implies there’s a message being relayed. Unfortunately, she’s doing a lot of talking, but there’s not a whole lot of understanding on my part.”
Pam shook her hands dry. “Well, let’s get you out of here. You look like you might pass out.”
Jenny returned to the table, briefly explaining her need to leave. Elijah promised to call once they were finished with dinner so Jenny could meet him back at his house to discuss things further.
The walls appeared to be moving as Jenny walked toward the exit door, making her fearful that she might not make it outside. She grasped the door handle and gave it a push, feeling the cold air hit her face like a wall. As the door closed behind her, Lena’s screams slowed to a low murmur, and normalcy crept back into Jenny’s bones. She stood frozen for a few moments, enjoying the stability, before walking toward her car.
As she reclined in the driver’s seat, she thought for a moment about how far she’d come as a psychic in such a short time. Not long ago she had decided she needed to be tough when the contact became unbearable, but then she ended up on the floor, looking up at a crowd of worried onlookers. Now she realized where her boundaries were and she was able to respect them. Not only that, but she actually found herself wishing she could feel some pain so she could have an indication of who the culprit was. She had been positively distraught the first time she’d felt a victim’s pain; the sensation almost made her wish she didn’t even have psychic ability. Now she welcomed it—just as her friend and fellow psychic Susan had told her she would, once she became seasoned.
