by Diane Rapp
The woman giggled. “Yes. But I don’t use the name Sheila, so what’s my nickname?”
Natalia searched her memory and it came to her. She smiled and said, “Your friends call you Barbie! Your boyfriend is an Aussie and loves to eat shrimp. Am I correct?”
The woman’s mouth formed a round “O” of surprise. She blurted out, “You must really be a psychic! He claims I’m better than shrimp on the Barbie.” She handed the microphone back and sat whispering among her friends. Natalia felt grateful that she’d touched several of the woman’s friends during check-in.
“Now let’s gather a few personal items from the audience. The man in the red T-shirt on the second row, a girl dressed in purple on the fourth row, the woman on row eight dressed in turquoise, the kid waving his hand on the top row, and the gent pushing his wife’s hand down on the fifth row all wish to contribute a personal item to my mystic’s box. I’ll avert my eyes, so I can’t see the items placed in the box.”
Wandering down stage right, Natalia smiled at the group of twins and told the audience, “You’ve heard that Genetics Ultra has an interesting research project underway with these twins who were separated at birth. Please stand while my helpers fill the box.”
The twins stood as a group and waved to polite applause. Natalia felt waves of emotion emanate from the crowd but nothing alarming. She announced, “The twins will be featured in a book sponsored by the owner of Genetics Ultra, Kate Foster.”
Angry glares from Kate’s daughters went unnoticed by their mother as she stood and waved to the crowd. Natalia continued, “You should all thank Kate. Her company paid for this fabulous cruise.”
Applause vibrated through the theater, but Natalia’s gaze was drawn to a glowering face in the middle of the theater. The woman vibrated with anger. Certain that she’d identified the source of malice, Natalia said, “Now let’s get back to work.”
Walking to the black box, she withdrew a small beaded purse. “I believe the girl in purple on the fourth row has a specific request. Please stand, Maxine.”
One of the workers handed the girl a microphone. Maxine said, “Yes, I need to say good-bye to Gran. She passed away while I was at college, so I never got to see her.” Maxine sobbed into the microphone and the crowd hushed.
Smelling lavender, Natalia felt a warm embrace around her shoulders. Her voice filled with compassion as she confirmed, “Grandma Turner is watching right now, and you should feel her love. She’s proud of how hard you’re working in college and wants you to graduate with honors, Maxine. Become a brilliant doctor for Gran.”
Tingles rushed down Natalia’s arms as she delivered the message. Although this spirit sent comfort to the girl, Natalia wished the ghosts would leave her alone.
“Thank you so much,” Maxine cried. “I feel Gran’s touch and smell her lavender perfume. That’s my Gran’s purse, so may I have it back?” Natalia nodded and handed the clutch to a helper, who quickly returned it to the girl.
Reaching into the box, Natalia withdrew a small pair of fuzzy dice. She dangled the dice in the air and scanned the audience. “I believe the man in the red T-shirt should come down and retrieve his lucky charm.”
The man’s friends pushed him out of his seat, and he jogged onto the stage. “Sorry, my buddies forced me to volunteer.”
Natalia explained to the audience, “Bubba carries this pair of dice for good luck at the blackjack tables. How has that worked out so far, Bubba?” Natalia swung the dice like a hypnotizing clock pendulum.
He shrugged and dug into his pocket to pull out a $100 chip. “I’m ahead but maybe you can see into my future. What will happen next?” He grabbed Natalia’s hand with a hopeful look in his eyes.
She laughed and folded the dice into his palm. “You’re not going to get lucky with me, Bubba, but if you play six games of blackjack and then quit, you should be money ahead,” she predicted.
“Six? Well, it’s awful hard to quit when I’m on a winning streak, but if you say so…I promise to quit after six games.” As the audience applauded, he jogged back to his seat swinging the dice above his head.
“That was interesting. Let’s see what else is inside this box.” She pulled out a plastic dinosaur. “Let’s ask the audience, who is the owner of this object?”
The audience shouted, “It belongs to the kid!”
“Well, come on down to collect your toy, Billy Jacobs.” The boy whooped with excitement as he bolted down the steps.
“That’s Dino!” he shouted and hugged Natalia’s legs.
Natalia grinned. “I do believe you’re right, Billy. Dino really wants to go back home with you and watch you play baseball. Does a dinosaur play baseball?” she asked.
Billy grinned. “How do you know about me playing baseball?”
“Dino tells me that he is the mascot for your little league team. They can’t win the next game if he’s not with you in the dugout. Is that right?”
“Gosh! You really know your stuff! Do you think we’ll win our next game?” He vibrated with excitement as he waited to hear the answer.
Natalia smoothed Billy’s unruly hair and glimpsed his future. She bent down and said, “I can’t see what happens to the entire team, Billy, but you’ll hit a ball into outfield in the sixth inning. Run like crazy after you hit that ball.”
“Thanks! I never connect with the ball, so that will be cool.” He ran back to his seat and snuggled against his mother.
“We have two items left in the box, a bracelet and a woman’s scarf.” She frowned at the man in the fifth row. “You can’t stump me with your wife’s bracelet, Henry! Please come down and fetch it for her.”
The gent sauntered down the aisle with a big grin on his face. “The wife is afraid to come herself, so I thought I’d put the bracelet in the box for her.”
“Since you bought this anniversary bracelet for your wife, I think you’d better take it back to Edith right away.” She cast a glance toward the man’s wife. “Is he always so shy? You’d expect a Realtor to display more bravado.”
Handing the bracelet to Henry, she said, “Call the office tomorrow morning. There’s an offer coming in on the apartment complex you listed last week. They need your advice on the counter offer.” She grinned as he scuttled back to his seat.
Glancing up, she gazed into the eyes of Rose Martin and held up the scarf. “My spirit guide has a message for the woman in turquoise on the tenth row. Would you please come to the stage?”
Rose pursed her lips as she stood in the spotlight. She glanced down at her daughter for support and slowly walked down the aisle toward the stage.
As Rose stood next to her on stage, Natalia said, “I see the initials R and M. Is your name Rose Martin?”
Rose snatched the scarf and said, “Yes, my name is Rose Martin.” She wound the scarf around her hand nervously.
In a serious voice, Natalia said, “A spirit wants me to deliver an important message to you. He’s a tall man with dark hair and a name with the letter J. Does that mean anything to you?”
Rose’s eyes grew round as she gasped, “Jim? Is Jim trying to tell me something?”
Natalia felt a heavy weight press against her chest. Breathing became difficult as she spoke, “Jim calls you by another name. I see a black bird and a shiny globe.” Natalia wiped sweat as it beaded on her forehead. “His voice is fading away.”
The woman clutched Natalia’s hand in a viselike grip. “He called me Raven Moon. Is the man named Jim? What’s he trying to tell me?” Her voice quavered and tears flooded her eyes.
Sensations of sorrow and fear flooded Natalia’s mind. Suddenly she heard hundreds of voices yammering in the distance and tried to pull away from Rose’s hold.
Natalia mumbled, “He says you don’t know the truth. He wants you to stop! Don’t hurt the boys on his account.”
In a panic Rose jerked her hand away and ran. She shouted, “You’re lying. Jim wouldn’t tell you that!” Reaching her daughter, the two women fled from the
theater.
Jason started to follow the women but noticed that something was terribly wrong with Natalia.
She swayed from the pain that lanced through her mind. Inundated by voices shouting from a distance, she grabbed her head with both hands and screamed, “Leave me alone!”
Dropping the microphone, a series of loud pops burst through speakers as it bounced across the stage. Natalia slumped unconscious onto the slick floor as Emily rushed toward the stage. Jason bounded up the steps, swept Natalia into his strong arms, and carried her backstage.
As the audience muttered, Emily retrieved the microphone and announced, “Natalia has fainted from the excitement. We must end the show, but we’ll make an announcement about her condition later.”
She failed to notice a white-haired gentleman rush out the side entrance of the theater with a worried expression on his face.
*****
Xander ran down the corridor from the theater and stopped at the Purser’s office. “Is Jacquie in her office?” he asked breathlessly. “I really need to see her.”
Andy pushed his horn-rimmed glasses and shook his head. “She’s got a powerful headache and asked the doctor for a sleeping tablet. I doubt she’ll be able to see you until tomorrow.”
Sighing, Xander controlled his shaking hands and mumbled, “She probably couldn’t offer any help at this late date. Thank you, young man.”
He knew the psychic on stage was the same young woman who’d shared his memories in the jewelry store. Worse yet, he recognized the woman named Raven Moon as part of the Red Brigade. He must hide until they’d apprehended Raven and her daughter. That gent with Natalia must believe the attacks on the twins were linked to Raven, who went by the name Rose Martin.
Unlocking the door to his cabin, he rushed inside and turned the deadbolt, but kept the lights off. He could think of nothing except the last day he saw Raven Moon.
It was the evening of November 18, 1978. Drew rode into the Guyana compound on his new dirt bike, having picked up a satchel from a safe deposit box in town. He often handled discreet transactions for his father, but today’s seemed particularly odd. That afternoon Congressman Ryan’s group abruptly fled the compound, after Don Sly tried to attack Ryan with a knife. Jim Jones was fuming because fifteen of their members had defected with Ryan. A Safari Wagon filled with Red Brigade members tore out of the compound and moments later Jones ordered Drew to fetch the satchel from his safety deposit box in town.
On his return, the compound was deadly silent except for the hum of his motorcycle. Then he saw row upon row of bodies lying in a grisly tableau. Dismay and horror mingled with shock as the truth hit him.
His father had been conducting practice events called “White Nights”—when members drank simulated poison and fed it to their children without asking questions. Jones claimed they practiced for “Translation”. He and his followers would die together, move to another planet and live blissfully.
How could sane people murder their babies and children?
The motorcycle roared up to his father’s house. He parked and dashed up the steps, leaving the motor running. Inside he found Jim Jones alive, sitting in a chair with a pistol resting in his hand.
Jones moaned, “I can’t do it, Drew. Can you help me?” Jim pointed at his second in command, lying dead on the floor. “He was supposed to do it before drinking the cyanide, but he failed me.”
“Failed you?” Drew gasped. “All those people outside died because of your vile ideas! You failed them all. How could you convince parents to murder their children and drink poison for you?”
Jim’s face contorted in grief as he mumbled, “I know the Feds will helicopter in and take us all off to prison. I had to prevent it.” He pointed at a tape recorder on the table. “I explained to the world that we committed ‘revolutionary suicide’, but now I’m afraid. Maybe you and I should take the jewels in that satchel and run away. We could go to Columbia and make a good life for ourselves, son.”
“Son? I can’t be the son of a coward and murderer! You run away alone, or take your lover Raven. I’m ashamed of you!”
As Drew ran toward the door, a shot reverberated through the deathly silence and splinters sprayed off the door jamb. He slammed the screened door without looking back at the Reverend.
He’d never look at his father again.
Tears streaming down his face, Drew ran to the bike with the satchel strapped on the back and gunned the engine. Just as he thundered down a jungle trail, he noticed the Safari Wagon arrive.
Raven sat in the driver’s seat with her face contorted in rage. He heard her scream, “Murderer!”
Bullets sprayed the forest around him as the bike zigzagged through the dense jungle trail. The buzz of motorbikes chasing him made Drew realize he’d be running for the rest of his life.
*****
“It is ze time to wake up, Malyshka.” Natalia heard a Russian accent in a woman’s voice, and the pet name, Russian for little girl, made her feel safe and loved. Opening her eyes, she beheld a beautiful young woman with long black hair. The woman wore a peasant skirt and white blouse with puffy sleeves, and Natalia recognized the necklace around her throat.
“Who are you? Why do you wear my grandmother’s necklace?” She cringed away from the woman’s outstretched hand.
“Oh! Zo sorry, Tally. I forget I wear ze young face in Heaven. I fix for you.” She waved a hand over her face and transformed into an old woman with smiling blue eyes and round cheeks filled with wrinkles. “Is better, yes?”
Natalia sighed, “Grandma Natasha! It’s really you.” She wrapped the old woman in an emotional hug. “Where am I?”
“You be in ze middle, between Earth and Heaven, but you must go back, quick, quick. Now is not ze time for you to cross over. Shoo, shoo before ze ghosts find you.”
Natalia gazed down a golden pathway, shrouded in fog. She saw a bright light in the distance but angry faces rushed toward her. “Who are they?” she asked.
Her grandmother shuddered. “Hundreds of ze angry people want revenge against dark man. He lie to convince followers to take ze poison and kill ze children. After truth is learned, much hatred fill ze minds.”
A beautiful woman glided down the pathway, dressed in a shimmering green gown. She wore an expensive emerald necklace around her slender neck. The woman cried, “Hurry! Make Natalia wake up before the angry ghosts reach her. I’ll try to hold them off.” She turned and held up both hands, forming a flickering barrier against the angry faces. Hundreds of fists pounded on the barrier.
Pain lanced through Natalia’s head as fists smashed against the barrier. She groaned, “I recognize Celeste. She’s the ghost Kayla crossed into the light last year. Why did she say I must wake up? I’m already awake.”
Grandma Natasha shook her head. “No, Tally. You be sleeping in ze real world. Ze voices give you much fear. You faint on ze stage. Can you feel Jason’s hands rub yours, yes? He help you to wake. Go, Malyshka. We give protection zo long as we are able, but you must leave here, quick, quick I tell you. Wake up. Now!”
*****
Natalia’s eyelids fluttered and she gazed into Jason’s worried eyes. “Hi there, beautiful,” he said, setting a cool cloth on her forehead. You didn’t need to make such a dramatic exit from the stage, you know.”
She sat up and rubbed her head. “I saw Grandma Natasha and Celeste while I was out. They’re protecting us from angry voices. Hundreds of outraged people screamed at me after I delivered Jim’s message to Raven Moon. They’re full of hatred and want to punish Jones and all of his family. Did you catch Raven?”
Jason sighed and shook his head. “Raven and her daughter fled during the excitement and vanished.”
Emily scoffed, “We’re in the middle of the Caribbean, so how can two women disappear?”
Jason rounded on her. “A lifeboat is missing and someone heard a motor race away, that’s how. Their team stood ready to whisk them away to safety, which means this whole escapade
was highly organized.”
Natalia nodded. “When Raven grabbed me, I touched one of her memories. She witnessed Drew running away from his father’s house after a shot rang out. She believes Drew killed Jim Jones and escaped with a bag filled with jewels. The Red Brigade tracked Drew throughout South America and then to the U.S. To draw Drew into the open, they might kill his sons or target Kate.”
“I can’t let that happen!” Emily stated emphatically. “My sister suffered enough because of Drew. If he’s alive, he must fight his own battles.”
Jason nodded. “We must attempt to locate Drew. It’s our duty to protect his children and your sister, but he’s got a stake in the outcome of this whole endeavor.”
Natalia added, “I believe that Drew might be on this ship. Someone in the audience was filled with sorrow and fear after I delivered that message to Raven. I’d bet the feelings came from Drew.”
Jason turned to Emily. “Does Kate have any old photos of Drew? We might age the photo and learn what he looks like now.”
Shaking her head, Emily replied, “Kate got too stressed. The doctor gave her a sedative, so she’ll probably sleep for hours.”
Natalia stated, “Get her daughters to help us. They caused enough trouble and owe their brothers and mother help.”
Nodding, Emily headed for the door muttering, “Those girls will get a piece of my mind if they don’t cooperate.”
Natalia felt worried. “What can we do about the tour on Grand Cayman? The twins seem eager to visit Stingray City, but is it safe?”
Jason rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I’d rather guard them on a tour boat. It would be impossible to protect them properly in downtown crowds whilst shopping.”
Natalia agreed, “Let’s round up help, perhaps that couple who works for Homeland Security.”