by Gabi Moore
They stopped to watch a procession pass by them. It was impossible to tell who was in the procession since none of their faces was exposed under the hooded capes all of them wore. Lilly and Dion watched in peace as they went past them. Each member of the procession carried a lit torch. Lilly counted five members in it until the robed torchbearers continued on their way up the path. The last thing she saw of them was the light of the torches, which illuminated the forest.
“Who was that?” she asked Dion.
“I really haven’t a clue. It happens that these trips show me things which have only a little to do with what I’m trying to find out. Perhaps further along I’ll understand the meaning, but today, I just don’t know who they are or what they’re doing here. Let’s move along.”
They emerged from a clearing at a party of some sorts. It had to have taken place years ago since the styles of clothes and music was well into the past. By Dion’s understanding, these were all people from at least twenty years ago, perhaps more. This was far before he was born. There were all kinds of cars popular to the time period parked on the lawn of some massive country estate. People were leaving their cars and making a path to the action, which took place outside. Once again, they ignored Dion and Lilly who were but spirits in the night, casting brief shadows.
“You have any idea what is taking place here?” Lilly asked him.
“I think it was the night my uncle tried to kill my father. It’s the approximate date I put on the paper I handed Lou. I’m basing it on the period. It’s a wild guess, so who knows where we will end up.”
They followed the crowd in the rear to the party. It took place in the rear of the estate and was catered by servants in uniforms. If this was his family sponsored the party, Dion was heir to a lot of money. Unless it was all gone.
They stopped and admired the decorations and care put into all the food. No one was asked for an invitation, the party appeared to be open to everyone in the neighborhood.
“Do you see your parents?” Lilly asked. “You might not recognize them if they’re a lot younger.”
“I don’t see them anywhere. Let’s check inside the house.”
A servant was stationed at the base of the staircase and served drinks. He also kept people from going upstairs, Lilly noticed. She pointed him out to Dion who agreed with her that it was the best source to check out that evening. Since he didn’t notice them, they had no trouble slipping past the servant and walking up the stairs.
At the top of the stairs, they heard a loud set of noise emerging from a room down the hall. It was easy to find the source: a room with a closed door. Inside the room, they could hear people shouting at each other.
“You think it’s wise to go in there?” Lilly asked Dion. “Won’t they notice the door opening?”
“They will, but they’ll not say anything if we hurry inside. They’ll assume the wind blew it open or something. Trust me, I’ve done this before.” He put his hand on the doorknob and pushed the wooden door open.
There were five people in the room: two women and three men. They turned at the sound of the door opening and starred at Dion and Lilly. As she expected, they couldn’t see them, but the two slid to one side of the room, as the oldest man walked to the door, and shut it.
Now they could observe the proceedings in silence.
“I thought that door was locked,” the man said as he slid the latch in place. “Did either of you boys manipulate anything into opening the door?” The man looked around the hall to see if anyone or anything was there.
“Not me, dad,” one of the men said who was sitting in a chair across from the women.
“Me neither,” the other man said.
The entire group was seated in stuffed leather chairs when the door opened. The room was some kind of study with large bookshelves and floral prints adorning the walls. Brandy sniffers were placed on the tables next to the chairs. All the room needed was a servant in white gloves pouring drinks, but they were all busy with the party in progress.
“Tried to kill your brother, did you?” the older man said to the younger one on the right. “I should have you locked up, but the scandal would destroy everything I’ve built. Not to mention the attention it would bring to all of us by the English. I suppose you’d like that, to see everyone locked away in cages while some scientist tries to figure out how we manipulate the elements.”
It was that moment Lilly realized who they were looking at this very moment. The older man was Dion’s grandfather and his grandmother stood with him. She remembered them from the standoff he did with Officer Karanzen the other day. Across from him sat Dion’s parents and his uncle. What they witnessed was the events, which took place immediately after Dion’s mother had caught his uncle in his murder attempt. This was years before Dion was born.
“It’s a lie!” his uncle cried out. “Why would I do such a thing?”
“Because you are jealous of your brother, that’s why!” his grandmother thundered back. “You were rivals for years and he’s with June. You can’t stand it and tried to kill him.”
“We raised you better than this, Seth,” Dion’s grandfather told him. “I have every reason to have you cut off from the rest of the family, but it’s not our way of settling matters. I’m still shocked at your actions.”
“Look, dad,” Dion’s father spoke up. “I don’t want much more than the woman I love.” Dion’s mother and father held hands so tight their knuckles were white. “I’m willing to leave if it helps things. There is no reason for me to be around if it’s going to cause trouble.”
“You’ve caused enough trouble already, Marsh,” Dion’s grandfather said to him. “Not only did you marry a woman without my permission, but you married someone who is also an elemental worker. Do you have any idea what that means? Your children will either have no abilities or more power than you can ever dream of. Good lord, Marsh, you have two elemental powers, if she has ones you don’t, your son could become a fifth element worker.”
“I could become one too,” Seth snapped back.
“I’ve told you what I thought about that charlatan,” Dion’s grandfather said. “Think you’re going to become a grandmaster by working with him? There are no shortcuts to the fifth element. Either you are born with the ability to acquire it, or you spend a lifetime trying to acquire it. It can’t be obtained overnight.”
“I’ll go,” Dion’s father said, “I have enough money to start my own company and it will provide a means for us to live. June’s pregnant and I need to provide for the both of us.”
“If you must,” his grandfather told him. He turned to his other son. “But don’t think you’ll get off so easy, Seth. I will keep you on a tight leash. I know what you’re capable of doing and I’ll never turn my back on you. It disgusts me because I was willing to divide my entire business with the both of you. Now I don’t know what will happen.”
“I think we’ve seen enough,” Dion said to Lilly. “I would’ve wanted to visit some other places, but I feel we need to move on.” He looked up into the air. “Okay, Lou, send us back.”
Lilly blinked again and found herself in the room they’d left before the trip to Egypt. She and Dion were still seated in front of the older man with glasses. The same candles were burning and he was extinguishing another cloves cigarette.
“These things are addictive,” he told them. “Did you find out what you wanted to know? You paid for more time than you used. I can give you credit for any future time you need to spend if you return.”
Lou handed Dion another form to sign. “This one is for the attorney general. It says I did not force you to pay for any service you didn’t need and you came in here on your own free will.”
Dion looked at it and signed. “They sure make you go through a lot of paper.”
“Red tape,” Lou grumbled. “It’s getting so bad I spend most of my working day on forms. Maybe they’ll figure out a way to computerize it someday, but I doubt it will improve anything.�
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“Have you been busy lately?” Dion asked.
“Not enough traffic coming through here. My best customers are people like you who want to experience and observe incidents outside the time circles, but I do get a lot of customers who physically travel. Not enough that would justify my little operation, but enough to help pay the bills. For instance, that door behind the curtain,” he said and pointed to a section of the wall, “takes you just about anywhere you might want to go, but it’s a one-way trip. You can’t back up, unlike my competition over in the other side of the mall. I have all interesting sorts who come through. Sometimes they pass through the door to the mall; sometimes they take another door to some place else. Depends on what form they have.”
Dion thanked Lou for his help and left the office, the door latching on its own behind them.
“So what did you find out?” Lilly asked him. She scanned the hall for any sign of Karanzen’s men, but didn’t see them anywhere.
“It left me with more questions than answers,” he sighed. “I did see why my parents left their town and went to California. Now I know why we had so little contact with the rest of the family. Father was worried about my uncle finding us. Looks like he had reason to fear.”
“You never knew very much about your uncle?”
“No, they wouldn’t speak much about him. I knew about his other brother, who wasn’t in the room we saw. And Uncle Rich never talks about the family. I understand why, with Seth doing everything he can to gain more power. I was always told you couldn’t acquire the fifth elemental power unless you had the other four. Even those of us who are born to ability need a lifetime to train for the ones we don’t have, so it’s beyond the scope of most people.”
“I’m still unsure about the meaning of the people carrying the torches,” he said to her. “It could be anything, but I’ll have to think about it. I don’t recall asking to be dropped any place which would involve them. They were right behind your namesake, but other than that, I can’t imagine what role they would play.”
“You need to tell me more about this Lilith person,” Lilly said.
“I will when we have the opportunity.”
“Well, if it isn’t our young conjure man,” a voice said behind them.
Dion and Lilly turned to face Detective Jones, the police officer who they’d seen the day before. He was standing there with a pack of playing cards.
Chapter 14
“Good day, detective,” Dion said. “I see you have a pack of cards ready. Is there something you wish to show me?”
“No, I don’t think I have anything which could match your feat yesterday. I was hoping perhaps you could show me a little something?”
“My list of card tricks is very small. The one you saw yesterday was one of the few I know. What I know tends to be physical rather than the mental tricks you perform. I can’t master the mental ones, too hard for me to remember all that information.”
“So what brings you back to the mall?” Lilly asked the detective. “Buying something else for your wife?’
“I wish. Today I’m actually working for a change. I’m here on a fact-finding mission and I think I’ve just located one very interesting fact.” He looked Dion directly in the face.
“Does this concern me somehow?” Dion asked.
“In a way. I found out this morning your uncle owns the mall. Now isn’t that funny? You transfer here from out of town because your parents disappear and move in with your aunt and uncle. No coincidence at all that your other uncle has fronted this entire building project.”
“Have I broken any laws, detective?”
“Not that I know about. It’s not you I’m interested in today. Your Uncle Seth, on the other hand, interests me very much. Him and his entire business empire. I see he’s done quite well for himself over the years. A lot better than most men could have done in similar situations. He took your grandfather’s company public five years ago and now he drops money all over the place.”
“I never even knew I had another uncle until recently.”
Lilly prayed he didn’t reveal how he knew about his uncle. Say the wrong thing and they’d both be carted off to an insane asylum.
“My father didn’t talk much about his family. I knew some cousins and my Uncle Rich, but just recently learned about the man that you are interested in today. I think you might know more about him than I do.”
“Are you kidding me?” Jones snapped. “All the money this guy has and his own brother don’t even acknowledge him?”
“All I know is that my father and he had a falling out and they never spoke again. By the way, detective, how do you know so much about my family?”
“You can find out a lot when you know other police departments. You can find out more if you have friends down at the FBI headquarters in Washington. You can find out a whole lot if there is an active investigation ongoing, which concerns someone who’s made an appearance in your little burg. A whole lot of people are interested in your uncle and how he accumulated so much money in a short amount of time. There are many questions being asked right now and my FBI friends want me to find out some things for them which won’t involve a search warrant.”
“So this is where Dion fits into the picture?” Lilly asked. “Why would he know anything?”
“I don’t know. I would like to find out how much he knows. Anything I can learn from him will be helpful. And it will save me the trouble of digging it out of public records. You can find a lot in public records, but it takes a long time to sort through them looking for what you want. It’s a real pain if you have to do it on your own time and don’t receive any overtime for the job. But sometimes it pays off if you find a rat and get to take him down. I may not be a cat, but I know a rodent nest when I see one.”
“Maybe we need to sit down and talk,” Dion said to the officer. “I see a table by that store with three chairs. If you spring for ice cream, we can have a conversation.”
“I can spare that much out of my pocket,” Jones said and they all headed to the table.
After Jones had ordered three sundaes, Dion began to talk. He told the detective about his parents’ kidnapping and how he was forced to move in with his aunt and uncle on the other side of the country. He talked about what he knew in regards to his Uncle Seth, which wasn’t much. He mentioned how his father and uncle had been rivals for his mother’s heart. He told the detective after they were married; his father started a business and had as little to do with his family as possible. All of which was true, but Dion neglected to tell him about element manipulation or how he’d used a mystical travel agency to jump around time to gain this information. He neglected to tell him about the meeting with his uncle outside the time circles.
“I know most of what you just told me,” Jones grumbled. “I didn’t know the exact connections, but you confirmed most of them to me. Now I suppose you want to know what I have.”
Dion nodded.
“Your uncle took over his father’s adhesives company before the old man passed on. The first thing he did when he had control of the company was to go around and invest in similar companies. Once he gained some control in them, he’d use his influence to have his company buy up all their stock and merge. How he managed to do this with all the anti-trust laws on the books still fascinates me. I think he either paid some people off or worked it in such a way that all the buy-outs happened under the radar.
It didn’t matter, because soon enough he had enough cash to start buying up more companies and make investments. He went into real estate in a big way and over-extended himself plenty of times. Somehow, he’s managed to keep his funds moving around to different shell companies in different states. I think it will all catch up with him and we think he’s crossed a line of sorts.”
“What do you mean?” Lilly asked him.
“He’s cooked up some deal which involved diamonds stolen out of a vault in Chicago. I don’t know the particulars, but there was a huge heist from
a secure vault last year where many expensive rocks were lifted. We keep hearing his name mentioned in connection with the robbery. I don’t think he had anything directly to do with it, but he might have financed the operation.”
“Wouldn’t that be under someone else’s territory?” Dion asked. “I mean, why would the local police be involved in a crime on that scale? I thought the FBI was involved if it crossed state lines.”
Jones leaned back in his chair and gave a look of admiration at two college-aged girls who walked past him. He turned back to Dion and Lilly. “You are a smart kid. How is it that you know so much about criminal activity and law enforcement at your age? Thinking on becoming a cop someday?”
“It has crossed my mind once or twice.”
“Keep this in mind,” Jones told him. “The bad guys shoot back and they have better guns. But to return to what you asked, yes it would normally be a case for the FBI. As I said, they are looking into it at the top level, but sometimes they tap people like me where a local eye is needed. I had some people I know in Washington who needed a favor or two call me. We had a long talk and they told me the mall was attracting all kinds of attention because they suspected he was using it to get rid of money he’s not supposed to have. Happens all the time. You would be surprised how many dud records and lousy movies are the result of people dropping cash because they don’t want their accountant to ask questions.”
All three were silent at the table for a good minute. Each of them had more to tell, but were afraid of revealing too much information before they got what they wanted.
Dion couldn’t tell Detective Jones about the travels outside the time circles to Ancient Egypt and he suspected Jones knew a lot more about his uncle’s activities than he wanted to say. The only person who had little in the way of knowledge to contribute was Lilly. She had seen too much to just get up and walk away.
“So what do you want from me?” Dion asked him. “I barely know my uncle and we’ve only spoken one time.” Dion neglected to mention the one time was a few hours ago.