Hidden Voices (Tess Schafer-Medium)

by Deborah Hughes

  “If this was the family hiding spot, then even if she was too badly injured to tell the family where the gold was, they should have known anyway,” Adam pointed out.

  “True but I think only a couple people actually knew about this. After Isabelle was hurt, she was taken away and cared for. She was not married, she was pregnant and she was injured. Not a good circumstance to be in, especially for the times. Unwed pregnancies were really frowned upon and Isabelle had a tough time as it was because of her Indian heritage.”

  I paused again to gather my thoughts and let all I knew sink in and make sense. “I really believe that the family was afraid to use the gold because the men who came to their home and injured Isabelle were never captured. They especially didn’t want to use it when they found out Rad was dead for they worried that more family members might die.” I stopped here to give a snort of disgust. “People act stupid when gold is involved. Ever read about the furor that took place during the California Gold Rush?” Everyone nodded that they did indeed understand how the gold could create further dilemma for Isabelle and her family. “When Isabelle died, her parents didn’t want to risk more heartache and decided to leave the gold right where she buried it.”

  “The entire family just let it sit here?” Adam looked incredulous at the very idea. Obviously, he didn’t agree with their decision.

  “Kip knew about the gold but he didn’t know about the hiding spot. It might be through him that your family’s stories of hidden treasure were first told.”

  “Do you know who these men were that attacked Isabelle?” Dawn asked.

  I shook my head, frustrated not to know more. “I only know that Isabelle was seeing one of them in secret. He knew about Isabelle’s visions. In fact, I think he was probably using her visions, to some extent, for his own gain. Don’t ask me how, it’s just the impression I get because Isabelle felt so betrayed by him and she kept thinking over and over how he had used her for his own good, and then she would berate herself for not seeing it.” It was all quite sad and I wanted to weep again just thinking about the heartache that occurred. I waved a hand toward the gold the Rowans were holding. “She was determined he wouldn’t have it and she was willing to die to make sure that he did not. In the end, she did.”

  While the Rowans examined the small gold chunks and sifted their fingers through the golden flakes in the box, wondering at its value and discussing the matter with Kade, I thought about the beads and how they ended up where they did. “You know, I think that necklace made from the beads I found belonged to Rad Rivers. I’m not sure if I told you that I suspect he was the son of Isi’s brother.” When all three Rowans frowned because they couldn’t remember if I’d said as much either, I went on with my thoughts. “I’ll be willing to bet he got the necklace from his grandmother. Isi called her one of the Chosen, meaning she was a spiritual leader among her people. In any case, regardless where Rad got the necklace, it was taken from him and somehow ended up at the Tenney house where it was shown to Buck’s son. He was serving as Justice of the Peace at the time and the only law the town had immediately available. I think the argument I heard take place in that room was concerning the men who killed Rad Rivers. Buck and the others must have surmised, as I have and as Isabelle did, that Rad was dead. There is no way those men would have got hold of the necklace otherwise. I’m sure they were being detained while a decision was being made on what to do about them but they got away and high-tailed it here to your house.”

  “So, Isabelle's scumbag boyfriend came after her,” Adam frowned. “I hope he's rotting in hell right now.”

  “I don't know anything about the other two men that was with him. It was her scumbag boyfriend as you so aptly named him, Adam, who struck her down. I get the impression that he didn’t have time to stick around and finish her off. The fact there isn’t anything known in Bucksport’s history about gold being hidden or any stories about an Indian guide being murdered; I am guessing that everything was hushed up. Maybe in part to protect Isabelle but also to keep the peace. I’m sure if the circumstances behind Rad’s murder had come to light it would have angered a lot of people.”

  “So, those three men got away with murder?” Adam’s face scrunched in anger. “They hushed it all up and let three men go free?”

  “They probably left town and never looked back, Adam. It would have been hard to find them anyway. Besides, I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have been hunted down in any case because Rad was an Indian and I’d be willing to bet people weren’t held accountable for killing Indians. Not during that point in our history anyway.” To be fair to the Buck family, I felt it only right to continue voicing my impressions on the whole matter. “I really believe Buck, his son, and any of the other men in that room were afraid of stirring up more trouble if word got out about what happened. That’s why there’s nothing written anywhere concerning the whole incident. The necklace was hidden away and eventually forgotten. I truly believe that Buck’s son would have seen those men punished in some way for what they did but they managed to escape their confinement, as I said, and made their way here to your house. Their plan, of course, was to take the gold and flee.”

  “But how did this all lead to the curse?” Kade asked. Everyone was now sitting on the grass around me, the gold for the moment, temporarily forgotten.

  “Well, as to that, bear with me, I’m still piecing it all together.” Tears gathered in my eyes as I recalled everything that happened in my vision. “Isabelle’s brother Kip was quite young at the time of this incident. He saw them take her away.” I couldn’t stop the tears that chased down my cheeks. No one spoke. After a moment I managed to continue though my voice wobbled considerably. “Her shoes came off as they dragged her away.”

  Dawn gave a small gasp. “Her shoes? Do you think that’s a coincidence? You know, her losing her shoes and there being a booted foot on Buck’s monument?”

  “A shoeless foot, remember Mom? Tess says that the foot on the monument looks more like a shoeless one.” Mary’s eyes practically glowed with inner joy. Realization of what this all meant was beginning to sink in.

  Kade shook his head, clearly confused. “But what’s the correlation? What does any of this have to do with the curse?”

  “Ah, but there’s more to this puzzle. Hang tight and I’ll try to explain.” Excitement raced through me as the realization struck that I was about to solve the mystery of Buck’s curse. “Remember that I told you Kip probably knew about the gold but not the hiding spot? Well I’m willing to bet that after his father died, whom I suspect was the only other person who knew where the gold was hidden, Kip tried to find it. Of course, he never did but he probably mentioned it to other family members which is how you ended up getting stories told by your grandfather about hidden treasure.” I tapped Adam’s and Mary’s hands, both holding some of the gold. “As time went on, it all just became a fun story to tell.” I had to pause here to take a breath. My heart was pounding so hard I wondered if they could hear it. My knees were beginning to protest at the continued crouching and I slowly straightened up and moved to the bench a couple feet behind me. Kade looked relieved at the change in seating arrangements and joined me. I saw him rub his leg and touched his arm in concern. “You okay?”

  Kade nodded. "Sure but I don't mind telling you, I could use a cigarette about now." He sighed with the acceptance that it wasn't going to happen and waved for me to continue. “Please tell us how that monument became cursed.”

  Though I hated to admit it, I pretty much felt the same way. A few drags of a cigarette sounded good and I wondered when that urge would go away once and for all? Echoing Kade's sigh, I continued on with my story. “Well, here’s what came through as I was merged with Isabelle. Remember I told you she had a baby? Well, she gave birth to a daughter. The name that comes to mind for her daughter is Isidora.” I glanced around at everyone to see if they made the connection to Isi. They did. “Because she died giving birth, no one from town ever saw her again. They
certainly didn’t know about Isidora.” Again I paused as I remembered how it felt to be merged with Isabelle’s spirit. Because I was privy to her life, I could also glimpse into the life of her daughter. “I’m pretty sure Isidora inherited her mother’s special gifts.”

  Here again I had to pause. There was so much injustice in the world and I was uncovering quite a bit of it in the telling of this family’s history. “You know those sorts of things were often thought of as witchcraft back in the day.” I waved a hand for them to give me a moment. There was so much to explain.

  “I just don’t see how the curse comes into play?” Mary said. “Is it Isidora then who cast the curse?” Clearly enthralled with the story, I could see her brain trying to make connections and reason it all out.

  Impressions were filling my mind and I had a strong suspicion Isidora was connecting with me. Things were coming through like they did when writing Isi's story. “Isidora came to town when she was fully grown. She settled in the area and I think she was considered by some of the locals to be a witch because of her psychic gifts. I'm pretty sure no one knew her connection to your family. Since I keep getting visions of plants, I am willing to bet she was a knowledgeable herbalist as well."

  Once again I had to pause to let Isidora's memories fill my consciousness. "Now here the story is a bit sketchy and I’m relying heavily on my psychic ability to make sense of it.” I truly believed Isidora was connecting with me and bringing this information through. Otherwise, where did it come from? “I don’t know if you realize there was a strong Spiritualist community here at one time but there was.”

  “Spiritualist community?” Adam asked, the term obviously unfamiliar to him. Dawn and Mary nodded that they heard of them. Kade certainly knew.

  “Spiritualists believe in life after death and they also believe that you can and should keep in contact with those who have crossed over. Or, as they call it, gone through transition. Part of their church service is dedicated to allowing messages from departed loved ones to come through via a medium.”

  “Cool, are there any Spiritualists around today?” Adam’s eyes met his sister’s and I figured the church was about to get a couple new members.

  “Yes, they are still going strong though not so much in this area like they were back in the late 1800s when Spiritualism was sweeping across Europe and the United States.” I closed my eyes at this point and tried to concentrate on the impressions filling my mind. I could feel Isidora’s spirit and was glad she was helping me with all the details for I was as curious to know as the Rowans. “Buck’s monument was erected in the mid-eighteen hundreds when Spiritualism was at its height and as I said, there was a strong community of them right here in Bucksport. Now, the rest of this story I can’t confirm. I’m telling you as it comes to me and I haven’t verified any of it.” The Rowans all nodded in understanding and gestured for me to continue while Kade took my hand and held it firmly in his. “Well here I keep getting the name Clayton and I’m not talking about the Clay Rowan that was married to Isi.”

  Dawn nodded as if that made sense. “One of Night’s distant grandfathers was named Clayton. I remember that name because we considered naming one of our sons after him.”

  Smiling because I loved it when things came together, I continued on with even more enthusiasm. “Well Clayton believed the story passed down about hidden treasure and he hooked up with a friend of his to find it. I'm pretty sure this friend was a distant relative of Colonel Buck’s. The name Elijah comes to me on this.” Since no one here knew any of Buck’s family history, I didn’t figure the name would ring any bells. “Isidora came to town round about this time. I am almost positive it is her who I keep encountering at Buck’s monument. I get the feeling she fell in love with Elijah.” A little stab of pain pierced through my heart at the precise moment I mentioned Elijah’s name and I knew I had it right. “Isidora knew where the gold was hidden, its hiding spot revealed to her by her dead mother. Not such an amazing feat as I’ve just done the same thing. Right?” I laughed here because it was all so strange and joyous. Sometimes this bizarre gift of mine was quite wonderful.

  “But if Isidora knew where the gold was, why didn’t she just tell her family and dig it up?” Kade asked.

  “I’m not sure she knew the Rowans were her family. And maybe she didn't think it was her secret to tell. I don’t know her whole story but obviously she died and her death was…well it ended sadly. I think Elijah betrayed her somehow.” I had to take a moment to think about this because once again images were crowding my mind. I also had to deal with the emotions that accompanied them. This poor family sure did suffer a lot of betrayal. Maybe it was their family karma, something they needed to work through. “I can see quite clearly in my mind’s eye a young man, Clayton I think, kneeling before a dying Isidora.” I paused for affect then delivered my little bombshell. “She’s the supposed witch in the Buck curse. Although really, she was not a witch and she most certainly did not cast a curse. In fact, I think she was using her gift of sight when she spoke to Clayton of Buck’s monument and the image that would appear upon it.”

  “What do you mean?” Mary asked.

  “The monument hadn’t even been placed on Buck’s gravesite at this point.” I paused to clarify the words ringing like a distant echo in my brain. “She tells Clayton that the Buck family will suffer and the Rowans will prosper when a sign is given for all to see on Jonathan Buck’s grave marker.” I glanced at the three Rowan faces staring at me with rapt attention. “Clayton knew about Isidora’s affection for Elijah and his subsequent betrayal, and please don’t ask me for that story, I don’t know it. He must have believed she was cursing the Buck family when she told him her vision. She was doing no such thing, of course. She was simply predicting the images that would appear on Buck’s monument. She knew a negative legend would be spurred from it marring Buck’s good name. She also knew that the Rowans, you guys, would eventually prosper from the image. The foot, as you can see, is a clue to the gold.” And something else I had yet to tell them.

  Mary’s forehead puckered in confusion. “I still don’t get what that image really has to do with this even though you somehow managed to put it all together? In all honesty, it just doesn’t make sense.”

  “The world works in perfect synchronicity. All events affect other events and so on and so on until everything is related somehow. The chain of events set in motion when Rad was killed, the necklace taken, the discovery of it and subsequent argument at the Tenney house, the eventual hiding of the necklace which I would find and set in motion my own investigation…well it all comes together. I learn about Isabelle losing her shoes, the lake is shaped similarly to the type of shoe she would have worn, a leg image appears on Buck’s stone, a witch legend is born, the foot points down toward sacred ground.” I waved my hand toward the fireplace. “Your father told you his family used to dance around the fire. They conducted spiritual rituals out here." Now I glanced at the lilac trees and began to get excited all over again. "This whole area is probably considered sacred and believe it or not there’s an Indian burial ground right there.” I pointed at the lilac bushes.

  That little bombshell caused quite the commotion. Everyone began talking at once and I raised my hand to quiet them. "I saw it in my vision. There's a burial site right where your father planted those lilac bushes and I'm willing to bet you'll find some interesting treasure hidden in those graves."

  Adam stood and grabbed his head, incredulous to this new bit of information. He walked over to the bushes. "No freaking way."

  "Where did you get the rocks to build this fireplace, Adam?"

  He swung around to look at me, his expression guarded. "There used to be a rock wall along here and I dismantled it. Why?"

  "They used to cover the burial mounds."

  "Oh God. Seriously? Oh man." Adam glanced around nervously. "Are the spirits pissed about that and that's why they are haunting us?"

  I hurried to calm his fears. "No, of cou
rse not. I think they like what you've done actually."

  "What should we do about this, Tess? You said there might be interesting treasure in the graves but wouldn't that upset them?" Dawn asked, waving a hand to indicate the spirits she thought must be surrounding us.

  "No, they won't mind. In fact, I think it's what they want."

  Kade shook his head in amazement. "This is just fantastic, Tess. You are awesome. You know that?"

  Although I was as fascinated with the idea of an Indian burial ground being right next to us as they were, I wanted to get on with the rest of my story. "You will need to decide what to do with that knowledge later but right now I want to share what else I know." Adam came back to join us, flopping down on the ground at my feet. Mary and Dawn did the same. They waved for me to continue and I took some time to gather my thoughts. Somehow I needed to put all the images and the bits of knowledge rattling around in my brain into some sort of coherent story. “I just don’t believe all these things are a coincidence.” I pointed to the slate slab we just removed from its resting spot of countless years. “Even that slab has a similar shape to the leg image on Buck’s monument. The universe works in a synchronistic way that is beyond our imagination. Everything ties together in some way. It’s in being unaware of the connections where we often come up short. In any case, as soon as I saw the map of the lake and the outline it made, I connected it to the foot image on Buck’s monument and now I’m linking it to the incident with Isabelle and the loss of her shoes. Everything came to me as soon as I stepped out of the car when we got here to the house. Isabelle, and now Isidora, have showed me everything.”