“Is Mab the spirit of the skeleton cat?” Randa cocked her head, looking at the picture of Sammy.
“I think so,” I said. “But I can’t prove it.”
“So if we can get Mab to go back where she belongs, Sammy will come back to us?” Kip asked.
White Deer nodded. “That’s the theory. I can’t promise it will work, but I think that it’s worth a try.”
I glanced at her, grateful that she’d added a caveat. Magic and charms were powerful forces, but there were no guarantees in life—with anything, be it mundane or mystical. I cleared my throat and White Deer gave me a look that told me she knew exactly what I was thinking.
“Trust me,” she said with a slow smile, and I had the feeling she was talking more to me than to the kids. “Are we ready then? Let’s join hands and focus on Samantha. I want you to follow my lead. When I start calling her, you join in by chanting her name, softly, over and over.”
And then, in a hypnotic and resonant voice, White Deer began chanting, and we joined in. We were calling Samantha home.
Chapter 12
From Brigit’s Journal:
Sometimes, I think that image means everything to this family. Substance, real heart, matters very little. I bought my ticket today. Tonight, I break the news. I still have hope I won’t have to use it, but as my hope fades, so does my fear. It’s time I stopped being afraid. There’s no choice but to move forward. I’m not sure I care what happens now. I’m lying, of course, but sometimes, we have to convince ourselves we really believe we’re doing the right thing. Sometimes, it’s the only way we make it through difficult times.
WHITE DEER AND I headed next door after I made sure the kids knew where I’d be and were tucked back into bed. The rain pelted down, sparking in the illumination of the streetlights as it hit the sidewalk. I huddled in my coat, wondering if things would ever get back to normal.
White Deer picked up on my mood. “Emerald, this will pass. It always does, and you always come out stronger than before.”
“I know,” I said, “but this time, something feels different. The spirits here are old and rooted deep. And even if Joe manages to buy this lot, what are we going to do? Unless we can put Brigit to rest, she’ll haunt us for the rest of our lives. Not to mention the Will o’ the Wisps. They’re like a nest of hornets. I’m really worried, White Deer. About the kids, about Samantha. Even about whether or not I’ll be able to keep my home. Those things are dangerous!”
White Deer laughed, a throaty, dusky laugh. Her long hair was more salt than pepper and hung down her back in a single, thick braid. She reminded me of a lynx, secretive and observant and mysteriously lovely.
“Good God, Emerald, when are you going to accept that you’re a magnet for this sort of thing? It’s not going to stop, you know. No matter where you go, you’re bound to attract the fringe elements of the world. So you might as well dive in and test the waters. The more you resist, the harder the lessons get.”
I frowned at her, a little irritated by her flippancy. “What about the kids? What about the ghosts playing loose in my house? What about my cat who has apparently transported over to a different… whatever you want to call it. Dimension? Reality? Walked through the veils?”
White Deer reached out and caught my arm, yanking me toward her. “Stop whining! Life isn’t safe. You have to learn that the hard way. It’s up to you to make it as secure as you can without getting paranoid.”
She paused, then shook her head. “Your children are smart, and most important, they listen to you. So yes, you have ghosts running amok in your yard that scare the hell out of you. You’ve met a legendary beast face-to-face. But you’ve handled it all, haven’t you? And Samantha…” With a sigh, she held up her hands. “Samantha got caught in the hands of fate. She’s alive, though. You know it, and I know it. We’ve had this discussion before. When are you going to start trusting your intuition? When are you going to start believing in what your gut is telling you?”
I froze, trying to force a protest out, trying to counter what she was saying, but she was right. I was too afraid of being wrong to trust that I was right. I was afraid of hurting my children by following my instincts. And most of all, I was mourning the lack of normalcy that everyone else seemed to have.
“All my life I’d lived with one foot in the mortal realm and one foot in the spiritual realm,” I said. “Most of the time I love it, but I’ll never be able to go through life without always knowing there’s more out there than meets the eye. Without always being able to sense things other people can’t. Without always being pegged as crazy, or besieged for help by everybody who thinks I can solve their problems. Sometimes the Sight isn’t a gift. Sometimes it’s a curse.”
White Deer stared me down. “Do you really believe you’re the only one in the world with problems? Get a grip. Most people in this world are focused on just surviving until tomorrow. And look at you! You’ve found love, you have wonderful children, you own a comfortable house, and your business is going great. You honestly think that half the population on this planet wouldn’t jump to change places with you, ghosts and all?”
I hung my head, letting the rain pound down around my shoulders. My hair was stringy and wet, and I was numb from the cold, but that didn’t seem to matter. “That doesn’t invalidate my feelings or my fear.”
She backed off, smiling quietly. “No, Emerald, it doesn’t. But you need to put things in perspective. You’re starting to scare yourself and that won’t help. You have the ability to handle whatever it is that’s happening here. You just don’t know how yet.”
I inhaled deeply, then let my breath out in a thin stream. She was right, as much as I hated to admit it. Once again, I’d let fear get the best of me. “Nanna used to say that there’s always a solution. Sometimes you just have to redefine the problem.”
“Your Nanna was a wise woman. I wish I could have met her.”
“Stick around long enough and you might.” I gave her a wry grin.
White Deer held my gaze fast. “Emerald, I love you almost as much as I love Anna, and sometimes you seem just as much my niece as she is. Ever since you became friends all those years ago, I’ve felt a kinship with you. You are her sister, you know. Not by blood, but by spirit. And therefore, you’re my kin.”
I suddenly felt ashamed of my outburst. Here I was, getting advice and comfort from the strongest woman I’d ever met, and I’d been fighting her every step of the way.
“I love you too, White Deer, and so do my kids. And you’re right, I know you are. I’m just frustrated.” We turned in at the driveway and I stared at the empty lot that spread out in front of us. Faint glimpses of the corpse candles flickered in and out, like lightbulbs ready to fail. They were at it again.
She wouldn’t let me off the hook. “Why? What’s bothering you?”
“So many things.” I sighed. “Joe not being able to buy the lot the way he’d planned, and then all this crap going down—more ghosts and more unhappy souls. Who the hell put that girl in the tree? I mean, who would do something like that? And damn it—what about Joe? Will he get tired of all the woo-woo stuff and goblins that take up residence in my life? Hell, I’m going to be thirty-seven years old the day after tomorrow and I’m in love with a man ten years younger than me. Is he still going to love me when I’m approaching fifty?”
“So is that what’s at the bottom of your fear?” White Deer asked.
I clapped my hand over my mouth. What had I just said? Could I really be that worried about the difference in age between Joe and me? I thought I was fine with it. Nobody else seemed to think it was a big deal, but suddenly I could sense the creeping tendrils of doubt. The worry that maybe, in a year, or five, or ten, he’d find someone else. Somebody not always prattling on about the psychic world or… did I dare even think it? Somebody… younger?
White Deer chuckled, her eyes merry. When I flashed a hurt look at her, she said, “Please don’t be mad! I ca
n’t help but laugh. I’m just surprised to hear those words come out of your mouth. Are we all still sixteen under the surface, still so insecure and frightened?”
I plunked myself down on a rock that was jutting out of the ground near the fence leading to my yard, not caring that I was getting wet from the rain that puddled around me. “Maybe we are. I never thought of myself as insecure—at least not lately. I didn’t even realize that I was worried about losing Joe. Maybe it’s just my past. The breakup with Roy still haunts me. How could he do something like that to me? To Randa and Kip? Do we really ever know the people we fall in love with? Or, maybe I really do sense there’s something to worry about, and I just don’t want to face it. What do you think?”
“You mean, do I think you’re having a premonition about you and Joe breaking up?”
I nodded, afraid to speak.
White Deer pulled her hood farther over her eyes. The rain dripped off, forming thin streams that drizzled to the ground. “Emerald, do you want my honest opinion?”
Good question. She didn’t lie, and she seldom gave advice. When she offered to voice her opinion, it would be the real McCoy. I inhaled and watched my breath go drifting off into the night, a thin stream of white mist that dissipated in the darkness. “Okay, let’s hear it.”
She patted my arm. “Joe’s a good match for you. He’ll remain true, as long as you don’t play games with him. He’s honorable, and he’s madly in love with you. Don’t be so quick to think the paranormal irritates him. He’s more interested than you realize.”
I glanced over at her. “Ya think?”
“I think,” she said and I knew that was the end of the discussion. She’d said what she had to say and that was all I was going to get. It was enough.
“Okay then,” I said, hoisting my butt off the rock. “I’ll stop borrowing trouble. Do you want to see the lot?”
White Deer followed me, her hands jammed into the pockets of her white fleece jacket. We entered the lot. Even though the Will o’ the Wisps were mere flickers, I could feel energy oozing around the lot, old fears and worries and tragedy. Almost as if the land were a black hole, sucking up joy and laughter.
White Deer seemed to have the same thought. She took a step closer to me and said, “This land needs cleansing. It’s stagnant, like a pond that’s covered with bracken. If you don’t clear it out, you’ll be courting trouble.”
I showed her around, cautiously navigating the bricks and tendrils and pieces of wood that littered the lot. “I thought you said not to worry?”
“Don’t worry about Samantha or Joe—those issues will take care of themselves. This, on the other hand… isn’t conducive to good health.” I could see the emotions wage war on her face. “I still believe you can handle this, but the energy is a lot darker than I thought. Not evil, but old and tenacious. The very plants are rooted deep in misery.”
I led her over to the yew. “Here’s where I found the skeleton.”
As she knelt by the base of the tree a gust swept through, forcing the rain sideways, stinging bullets against our skin. I winced, turning my back to the wind.
White Deer placed her hands on the roots and moaned softly. “Emerald, the spirit who was buried in this tree is still walking the world. She can’t break free, she’s entwined in this realm just like the roots were entwined around the skeleton.” She abruptly pulled her hands away as a loud “pop” echoed through the air. “Damned tree shocked me!”
“Let me see.” I flashed the light on her hands.
She winced. Her palms were singed, covered with a strange sooty substance. I lifted one to my nose and sniffed. The faint scent of ozone—yeah, she’d been zapped all right.
“I think that we’d better leave the tree alone,” I said, a rush of adrenaline racing through my veins. “This afternoon it became apparent to me that it’s alive and sentient, and I’m not quite sure just how much it can react.”
White Deer laughed. “Oh, it’s not going to go marching across the lot, trust me on that one.” She sobered. “But you’re right, there are powerful forces here. I think that we’d better cleanse the lot as soon as possible.”
“We?” I looked at her hopefully. “Does that mean you’re offering to help me?” I could use all the help I could get, considering just how deeply the hauntings were embedded in the ground. They had anchored themselves, growing right along with the brambles and the roots of the tree, coiling out from both Brigit’s bedroom and the shelter of the yew to encompass the whole lot.
White Deer sighed. “I think it’s going to take more than just you or Anna to set this place to rest. Let’s think about the situation for a while. It would help if we can find out more about Brigit.”
As we hurried out of the lot, I wasn’t so sure that even with White Deer’s help we’d be able to exorcise the energies here. They were stronger than we were. I just hoped we didn’t end up making things worse.
AFTER A LONG talk with Joe on the phone, where he broke the news to me that he’d be away for one more night, I fell into an exhausted sleep. My dreams were a kaleidoscope of images—a red-haired woman crying, Samantha and Mab running side by side through a stark and barren landscape, Will o’ the Wisps darting around the exterior of my house, seeking a way in. When the alarm went off, I felt like I’d been run over by a truck. I dragged myself out of bed, grumbling.
After making breakfast for the kids, I chased them off to school and brewed my mocha, chugging it. I needed my fix as fast as possible. Just as I drained the mug, the phone rang. Murray was on the line.
“White Deer told me about your talk last night. She’s studying up on some possible ways to cleanse the lot.”
“That’s good,” I said, squinting at my mug. The caffeine was barely touching the edges of my fog, eating away at the weariness that ran through my body. One hell of a way to be facing my birthday, all right—worn out and freaked because I’d found out I was living next door to spook-central. “So, have you found out any more about the skeleton or Brigit?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I found out that Brigit never left the States, and nobody knows where she went. She could have disappeared anywhere, but I’m leaning toward the thought that she stayed right here in Chiqetaw. Especially with what Nerissa discovered.”
I perked up. “What? Did she find some way to identify the skeleton?”
Murray let out a low sigh. “I think we can be certain that we’ve found Brigit. I managed to track down Mary Kathryn O’Reilly, a cousin of hers who still lives in the village of Glengarriff.”
“The Mary Kathryn in the journal?”
“One and the same. It seems that Brigit never returned to Ireland. They lost touch with her back in 1955. Brigit had faithfully written a letter to her cousin every two weeks since she moved to the States. Then, one day, they just stopped coming. In her last letter, she’d mentioned she was thinking about returning home, that she had one last thing to do and—if it didn’t turn out as she hoped—she’d be booking passage on a boat. She added that she had a surprise to tell Mary—though not altogether a happy one. And then—silence. No more letters, no post-cards. Nothing.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Joe’s aunt knew her, Mur. Brigit told Margaret that she was thinking of leaving town, and Margaret just assumed she’d left when she disappeared.” I gave her a quick rundown on what Margaret had told me. “So, if she never left, never went home… then…”
“She died right here in Chiqetaw. There’s more. In talking with Mary Kathryn, I asked if Brigit had any identifying characteristics that might show up on the skeleton or in her possessions. Mary remembered two—one physical and one a keepsake. It seems that Brigit was born with six toes on her left foot. The skeleton has six toes on the left foot. And Brigit owned her mother’s wedding ring. According to her cousin, Brigit never took it off. She wore it on her right ring finger. The description matches the ring that was on the skeleton’s finger.”
I stared at the table, my muscles twitching. That cinched it. We’d found the mysterious Brigit. Poor girl, unmourned and forgotten for all these years. Except, perhaps, for the murderer. Had Brent been responsible for her death? Was there any way to find out?
“And you say her death was no accident?”
“She had a skull fracture on the front right temple. Though we can’t be sure what caused the break, it seems to fit with a heavy blow from a blunt object.” Murray sighed. “I hate this shit. It’s hard enough to solve a murder that’s recent, let alone one that took place fifty years ago. Whoever stuffed that girl’s body in the tree didn’t want her to be found. They just hid her out of sight like a bag of old rags. Bastards.”
“So, what’s our next step?”
“We interview Irena. Want to come? You can talk to her about Brent and the lot while we’re there.”
“Will that be okay?” I asked, knowing that Murray had already pushed the envelope by letting me tag along to see Brent.
“Yeah, don’t sweat it. I can always think of something to tell Bonner if he bitches, but with this case being so old, he’s not really paying much attention. Cold cases like this seldom ever find resolution. Luckily, the crime rate in town the past few weeks has been pretty sparse, so I’ve got some leeway.”
We agreed that she’d swing by to pick me up around noon. I glanced at the clock. 9:00 A.M. Time enough to run a few errands before she got here. I pushed back my chair, grabbed my keys, and headed out the door.
A QUICK STOP at the shop reminded me just how much I missed being back at work. Monday was looking better and better, and I could hardly wait for things to get back to normal. I made sure Cinnamon and Lana had everything under control and then headed out to the animal shelter. Never ignore the practical, even when hoping the magical would work. The charm could bring Sammy home in a number of ways—the neighbors might spot her, or animal control might find her, or maybe she’d saunter home on her own.