Dadgummit
Page 26
Not wanting to get overtired before the long drive, I paddled ashore and joined Twilla Sue at the picnic table.
“Thank you, for saving my life,” Twilla Sue said. “Without you, I’d be dead right now.”
“We did our best to get you back. The important thing is that you recovered, and a serial killer is off your streets.”
“We’ll be years figuring out who those people are in the mass grave. Of the ones we could obtain DNA for, there were no hits in our database. The dental impressions haven’t proved useful either.”
“You’ve got good people here and so does the GBI. You’ll figure it out eventually.”
She raised her brows. “Any chance we can talk you into relocating?”
“No. My home is on the coast.”
“Pity. You ladies have two of my best men stirred up.”
“I can’t speak for Charlotte, ma’am, but I’ve done nothing to encourage Deputy Mayes.”
“That man is used to women throwing themselves at him. Your lack of interest and your similar talents are the perfect lure for him.”
“I’m not looking to replace my husband.”
“Be gentle with him, whatever you do. He’s one of the few good guys. I’ve made no secret of the fact he should take over if I’m successful in running for office. We need him to stay here and have his head here.”
I was uncomfortable with where this was going. “And you, Twilla Sue? Are you sure you still want to run for public office? Seems like this kidnapping took a lot out of you.”
“I remember you were there, in my dreams, and that you tried to get me to leave that sanctuary. I couldn’t for a while, not until I felt like I’d had enough time with my baby. Mayes explained about the energy transfer, that without the four of you sharing your life force with me, I’d be dead same as those seven young men Jonas incapacitated. So, I’m thanking you with all my heart. I won’t forget what you and your family did for me. If you ever need anything from me, all you have to do is ask.”
I was speechless. That didn’t happen too often.
“Plus, I wrote out a check for your services.” She handed it to me.
I gawked at the amount. “This is too much for five days of work.”
“It’s just right. Put it in your daughter’s college account, or get yourself a new vehicle, or do something nice for your parents. The consulting fee is yours to spend however you see fit.”
My parents paddled to shore and joined us. “Everything all right here?” Mom asked.
“We’re good,” I said, pocketing the check. “Very good.”
* * *
After the uneventful drive home, I went through the motions of unpacking and getting Larissa ready for school the next day. I was beyond tired, but I was also unable to settle down. Long after bedtime, I wandered the house, checking doors and windows, but even that routine wasn’t enough to lull me into bed. I halted in the dark kitchen, sipped a glass of tap water, and stared out into the night.
For some time now, I’d detected an energy signature. My watcher in the woods. In the last month, we’d managed a few telepathic communications. Though the idea of being watched seemed alarm-worthy, my watcher had truly been looking out for me, even hogtying a man who put snakes in my truck.
His life signal was inconsistent, and he rarely responded to my mental queries. I’d always had the sense that it was difficult for him to be here. Part of me hoped it was Roland or one of his military buddies, but there was always the possibility that it was an enemy of Roland’s, staking out our place in hopes he’d appear. Sometimes I thought my elderly neighbor, Mr. Luther, knew the watcher’s identity.
Now, after my six days in the Georgia mountains, I’d learned life existed along a continuum between the living and the dead. I believed my watcher hailed from this gray zone in between, which would explain why he wasn’t always there and why he rarely seemed whole. He probably couldn’t abide on Earth full time, but somehow he’d found a way to project his essence here.
That didn’t sound like an act of vengeance or greed or enmity. That sounded like an act of love. It had to be Roland. Who else would want to keep track of me and Larissa? Who else would risk everything to protect us?
No one.
I opened the kitchen door and settled on the back steps, Oliver alongside me. I viewed the area through my extra senses and confirmed no one was in our immediate vicinity. I quested farther with my heightened senses, searching for that dampened energy signature belonging to my watcher.
Nothing.
Oliver nudged my hand with his cold nose, and I petted him. For the heck of it, I pulsed a telepathic message to my watcher, even though I didn’t believe he was out there.
I’m home. Miss me?
As I waited for the reply that didn’t come, I gradually released the tension in my shoulders. I’d had quite the adventure in the Georgia mountains. It would take time to get back into my routine here, not that routine was part of my vocabulary. My medium friend, Stinger, would visit tomorrow, and I had a couple of landscaping jobs to bid. Mayes would visit, and I’d have to take that one day at a time.
Something sparked on the paranormal plane at the far edge of my property. Anticipation made my hands tremble.
Are you there?
I listened so hard for a reply that I forgot to breathe. Oliver gave me a last nudge, then bounded away. As quickly as my hopes had risen, they crashed. Just because I wanted to talk to my watcher, that didn’t mean I could summon him at will. Did it?
Might as well assume he could hear me broadcast thoughts, even if I couldn’t detect his physical presence. I’m home from our trip. Larissa learned how to paddleboard, and I solved a couple of murder cases. I learned more about the realms between life and death, and I figure that’s where you come in. Somehow you are slipping between realms to keep track of us. You don’t have to worry about us anymore. We are safe and happy and able to pay our bills.
I sat there in the dark, listening intently. Far as I could tell, there was no reply, no flare of energy or life sign anywhere in the vicinity. Something niggled at the corner of my mind. I focused on that slight buzz, dialing in that certain frequency.
You’ve changed.
My jaw dropped. The watcher was here. I’d summoned him. How was that possible?
Wrestling with a demon and folklore creatures will do that to a person. But I’m fine. Everyone is fine here. You don’t need to keep making this long trip to check up on us. I may have seemed incompetent when I first became the Dreamwalker, but I’ve got this now.
I didn’t move a muscle. I listened to the ominous silence, wondering what he thought of all this. Did my words relieve his concern?
No answer unfolded in my head. Had my watcher lost interest? I tried something else, a calculated bluff. I know who you are.
The answer roared in loud and clear. You know nothing.
Aha. He was listening and paying attention to what I said. Time for me to put him on notice. With Mayes coming to visit soon and with Springer’s help, I should have enough juice to access the watcher’s realm. Wait and see.
* * *
Photo by Jeanie Reeves
Formerly a contract scientist for the U.S. Army and a freelance reporter, mystery and suspense author, Maggie Toussaint has seventeen published books, fourteen as Maggie Toussaint and three as Rigel Carson. Her previous mysteries include Gone and Done it, Bubba Done It, Doggone It, Death, Island Style and three titles in her Cleopatra Jones series: In For A Penny, On the Nickel, and Dime If I Know. Her latest mystery, Dadgummit, is Book Four in her Dreamwalker series about a psychic sleuth. Maggie won the Silver Falchion Award for Best Cozy/Traditional mystery in 2014. Additionally, she won a National Readers Choice Award and an EPIC award for Best Romantic Suspense. She lives in coastal Georgia, where secrets, heritage, and ancient oaks cast long shadows.
Visit her at www.maggietoussaint.com.