“I heard the rates go down the longer you stay.”
“Exactly,” she said.
“So why didn’t you want to tell me?” I asked.
“Because—I didn’t want my choices to influence you,” she said.
“But Skili, if you—or my Gran—thought it best to stay there, isn’t it? And if Mom went, too...? I mean, if that’s what you both chose, isn’t it the wise thing to do?”
“It depends on what your purpose is,” she says. “If your purpose is to experience peace, then yes. Staying at the Lazy S is the best thing to do.”
I was silent. Purpose. This was exactly what Neil had just spoken to me about. Skili went on.
“It just depends on why you think you’re here,” she said
“Skili, why did Catori Greene come to me in that vision, and charge me with starting up the center?” I asked.
“Because it was something that she always wanted to do while she was alive. She lived on this land, you know. She wanted to use her life to help others heal. She was a powerful witch, like I said. But the job was hard—too hard for her—and she gave up. She checked out. She passed on the job to your mother.”
“And my mom couldn’t handle it, either,” I said.
Skili gave a subtle nod. “And now, Catori has passed the torch to you.”
I fell into silence, thinking this over. My mother felt this wasn’t her home. She must have struggled to balance her mundane life with her magical purpose. In the end, she’d given up. So had Catori. What about me? What did I want to do?
“Giving up isn’t wrong,” Skili said. Her tone had a soft quality that I rarely heard. “It’s just a choice; a movement in a different direction.”
Her words helped. If giving up wasn’t wrong, then I didn't need to feel pressure to heal others. I could just do it if I wanted to—I could make a choice.
What do I want? I asked myself. I closed my eyes, and felt into my heart.
My answer was clear. I want to stay here. This is my home, at least for now. My friends are here, and Justin, and this center. I want to give it a go—even if it’s hard.
I opened my eyes. “I’m going to stay here on the Earth Realm,” I said. “I’m going to keep the Greene Center for Magical Living open. If my purpose is to get stronger, I can’t fail,” I said, as a faint smile graced my lips.
Skili can’t smile—at least not with her beak. It’s forever formed into a straight line. However, I swear, at that moment she smiled at me with her gold-flecked eyes.
“I hoped you might say that,” she said.
I felt a little glimmer of excitement edge out my sense of defeat. “Even if running the center is a challenge, it can be fun,” I said. “I’m going to embrace it. I’m going to give it my best shot.”
Energy coursed through my body. It was only when I felt the energy that I realized it had been missing previously. “I’m ready to take action,” I said.
Skili’s golden eye glowed in the darkness as she focused on me. “I have a gift for you,” she said.
She pointed with her wing to a dark corner of the cave. “Over there,” she said.
I stood and walked to the corner.
“In the earth,” she said. “You’re going to have to dig.”
I got on my hands and knees, and began scooping up fistfuls of fine dirt. Soon my fingers touched something that wasn’t dirt—it was a narrow strand of metal. I pulled at it, and it curved against my palm. It was a delicate chain. I kept pulling. A charm emerged, half hidden in the soil. I scraped at its edges, feeling like an archaeologist. Soon I was able to pull the whole artifact from the ground.
It was a necklace, made of a golden chain with a charm hanging on it. The charm was of a miniature dream catcher.
“It belonged to Catori,” Skili said. “She buried it here, with the hopes of giving it to your mother.”
“Why is it still here?” I asked.
“Your mother wore it for a few years. Then she returned it to the earth. She didn’t want to be burdened by the choice anymore.”
“What choice?” I asked.
The necklace was so beautiful. I couldn't help but slip it over my head. It fit perfectly; the dream catcher rested right over my heart.
“The charm represents the choice between this realm and the Spirit Realm,” she said.
“Is that all that separates the realms—a veil?” I said.
She nodded. “Yes, child. Very thin. The strings woven in the hoop of unity represent that very thin veil that divides this realm from the Spirit Realm. In each moment, you choose which side of the veil to be on. The Earth Realm is heavy, dense, and challenging. It is not for the faint of heart.”
I placed my hand over my chest and felt the charm rest beneath my palm. “I choose this realm,” I said. “The guests aren’t leaving until tomorrow morning. I still have tonight to figure out who killed Carlisle. I think I know where I'm going to start.”
I got to my feet.
“That’s my girl,” Skili said. She winked at me, and then lifted herself off of the ground with a mighty flap of her wings. “Lead the way,” she said. “I’m coming with you.”
Chapter Eighteen
Skili and I made our way back down the mountain in the darkness. On the way, I texted Cora to ask for a favor. I was hoping she’d be able to make time in her busy mama-of-triplets schedule to fulfill my request. It was nine p.m. by the time we emerged from the woods and crossed the lot to my van. Cora was waiting in a camp chair, and she bounced up to her feet at the sight of us.
“I typed up a fake form, just like you asked,” she said, waving the paper in her hand. “It looks pretty official, if I do say so myself.”
I grinned as I reached for the paper she was now holding out to me. Cora used to work as a secretary at a law office in town, so I knew that she’d be the perfect person to type up paperwork in such a way as to make it look like it came from the law firm of Bongo and Chide.
I scanned the sheet. It stated that if Liam Crimson didn’t sign on the dotted line by midnight, he would not be able to inherit his share of Carlisle’s money. The reason was so obscured by fancy legal terms that it was impossible to understand—which was just as I wanted it.
“Nice work!” I said to my friend, while holding up a hand in her direction.
She gave me a high five and grinned. Then she asked, “So what’s up with this Liam guy? Why are you focusing on him?”
“Because,” I said, “we’re running out of time. I think that the killer has to be Liam. And if that’s the case, then I’m pretty sure Alyssa is in touch with him. Someone had to tell Liam that his father was going to be here at this center, this weekend. Plus, the murder weapon he chose strikes me as significant. He used his sister’s blow dryer. I think there must be a connection there. What we need to do is draw Liam out of the woodwork. I think this form is our ticket for doing just that. I’m going to give it to Alyssa, and bank on the fact that she’ll contact her brother. Then, we’ll wait.”
“And you think that’s going to work? You really think that Liam is going to show up here, tonight?” Cora asked skeptically.
“I’m hoping,” I said. “At least it’s worth a shot.”
“I wish I could go with you,” Cora said. She looked down at the gigantic sports watch on her narrow, tanned wrist. “But I’ve got to get back to the house. I left Silas alone with the babies, and they’ve been such a handful lately—managing them is really a two-person job.”
“Go,” I said happily. “I’ve got this.”
“You sure are cheery,” Cora said, eying me. “What’s gotten into you?”
“A little shift of perspective,” I said with a grin. “I’ll explain later—maybe at our next coven meeting.”
“Okay, well...” She hitched her purse on her shoulder. “Be safe tonight, Marley.”
“I’ll be careful,” I said. She hugged me goodbye, and then I watched her pull out of the lot in her little compact SUV.
The tr
uth was, the plan I was about to put into action wasn’t the safest in the world, but I felt sure that if Skili and I were smart about it, we could pull it off.
“Ready?” I asked my familiar.
“Ready,” she said. She flew from the camp chair to my shoulder. I liked the feeling of her strong talons clutching the leather patchwork of my vest. We were a team again—just as it should be.
I was a little bit nervous about how to speak to Alyssa and her mother separately, but as luck would have it, when I knocked on their suite, Alyssa opened the door and informed me that her mother was down in the spa, taking a soak in the communal bath. I handed Alyssa the papers and gave her a brief explanation. “Your family lawyer, Mr. Bongo, was just here with an urgent message,” I said.
“Why didn’t you come get me or my mom?” Alyssa asked. A crease formed on her brow as she studied the page I had just handed her.
“Oh, I did get your mom,” I said. “But I wasn’t sure where you were.”
Alyssa motioned to the phone by the hotel bed. “You know what suite I’m in; couldn‘t you have just called?”
“Um... there wasn’t time,” I said, making it up on the fly. “Mr. Bongo was in a hurry. He couldn’t stick around that long.”
“So he just gave you this paper...” Alyssa said as her words scanned the page again.
“That’s right,” I said. “He said he was very sorry to get it to you so late. He needs your brother’s signature on there. If Liam fails to sign, he won’t get his share of the inheritance.”
“This doesn’t make sense,” Alyssa said.
I shrugged. “That’s how the law is, isn’t it?” I said. “Confusing as all get out. Mr. Bongo is going to be back here at midnight to collect the signed forms. He said that Liam will need to meet him in the meditation room on the second floor and sign it. You know, so Mr. Bongo can...um... notarize it.” I had no idea what “notarize” meant. I hoped Alyssa was buying the unicorn poop I was shoveling. I rushed on. “Hopefully, you can get in touch with Liam and pass along the message.”
When I left her, she was still frowning and reading over the form.
I made my way back down the staircase. “Do you think she’s going to be able to contact Liam?” Skili asked.
“I’m not sure,” I said honestly. “But I’m glad to be taking action. It feels good to be proactive.”
“What’s next?” Skili asked.
I pushed open the double doors that led to the staircase. “Now we head to the second floor,” I said. “And we wait.”
It was 9:15 as Skili and I walked down the second story hallway. I paused in front of the meditation room.
“How should we do this?” I asked Skili, as I swiveled my head around, scoping out the area around the doors. “We need to wait somewhere with a view of the meditation room, so we can catch whoever shows up at midnight. So where should we wait?”
“Somewhere hidden,” Skili suggested.
“How about in here?” I said. I opened the door to the conference room across the hall, and then dragged a big stuffed chair inside. I positioned it right by the door, and then turned off the room’s lights and left the door open only a crack. I was sure that from out in the hallway, the room would look empty and dark.
I curled up in the chair. Skili parched on the upholstered arm, so that she could see out into the hall. For a couple of hours, Skili and I sat in silence. We’re very good at that; neither of us is chatty, and the silence that we share is comfortable, when we’re on good terms. As we waited, I held my new dream catcher charm in one hand, getting used to the feel of the metal until it became as hot as my skin. I felt the necklace become a part of me; I knew I’d wear it day and night, as a reminder of my choice to engage with the world—and all the problems and challenges—around me.
At quarter to midnight, a sound at the end of the hallway caught my attention. I peered out through the crack in the door and saw the double doors way down at the end of the hallway opening up.
I saw the silhouette of a figure, but the lighting was too dim to see any details. I could tell, by the outline of the form, that it was a man.
Who is it? I wondered. Is it Liam?
He got closer, and finally passed through a faint light, cast by one section of recessed lighting. The pale light illuminated the man's features, and I recognized the fedora hat, the sandy hair, and the scruffy beard; it was Adam!
I gasped.
“Adam?” I transmitted to Skili. “What is he doing here? The rumor we started was that Liam had to meet us here.”
Skili seemed just as puzzled as I. She cocked her head to the side slightly and aimed her eyes at the crack in the doorway. “I really don’t know,” she said. “But I think we’d better find out.”
We waited for Adam to step into the meditation room.
He flipped on a light.
He closed the door. I snuck out onto the hallway. Skili was close behind me. I was about to open the door when I heard a noise.
The double doors at the end of the hallway was opening again. I heard a familiar whistled tune and splattery footsteps, and I knew that Geoffrey was approaching even before he stepped through the doors.
His voice was faint, seeing as it was so far away. “And all the air vents are connected in another room up here on the second level,” he said. “I think we’d better call this one, Air Circulation Room Two, or something like that.”
Margie the fairy godmother flew in right behind him. “Great idea!” she said cheerfully, while swooping down to wipe up his drippy, muddy footsteps as he walked.
“What are they doing here?” I transmitted urgently to Skili. “If Adam hears them come through, it might scare him off. We can’t let Adam get away before I get to have a word with him!”
“I’ll go take care of those two,” Skili said. “And you take care of Adam. Will you be alright without me?”
My confidence wavered, but just for a minute. I gave Skili a nod. “Yeah, I’m going to be fine. Thanks for getting them out of here.”
She flew off down the hallway, and I once again placed my hand on the doorknob.
I twisted.
I pushed the door open.
I saw Adam, standing inside the room.
“You’re not Mr. Bongo,” he said cooly, while narrowing his eyes to glare at me.
“And you’re not Liam,” I said, trying to keep my voice cool, too, despite my nerves. I glared right back at him.
He looked past me, to the door. I could tell immediately that he was thinking of pushing past me. I steadied myself, ready to block him with my body if need be. “What is this—some kind of trap?” he said.
“Let’s talk about that,” I said. “Why would I want to trap you, Adam? Feeling guilty about something?”
His whole body tensed. His eyes flicked to the door again.
He wasn’t the only one who wanted to run. I wanted to run, too.
But I stood my ground. Adam’s reaction to my entrance was bizarre. If he was innocent, he wouldn't be thinking about running. What was going on?
Internally, my mind kicked into high gear, whirring over the possibilities. Outwardly, I put on a calm, cool act. Adam was acting guilty, and I wanted to know why. If I wanted a confession out of him, my best bet was to make him think I knew more than I did—which was practically nothing.
“I’m onto you,” I said. “I know you entered Carlisle’s room on Friday afternoon at approximately four p.m. Guess what? You know that closed door, inside the bathroom just past the tub? Did you think about what was in there?”
His face was getting slightly red with anger. I felt it was a good sign. “That was a whole, separate little room” I said, “and a recruiter was in there, hiding out. She heard you enter. She was in there the entire time. You had Alyssa’s hairdryer with you. What, did she give it to you or something? Is she in on this murder with you?”
Adam’s fingers started to twitch. His mouth was pinched closed.
I kept pressing him.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “What matters is, you had it with you. You walked into the master bath. Carlisle had his eyes closed. You plugged in the appliance, threw it into the tub, and then spoke your last words.”
Adam was getting redder by the minute—and his glances to the door became more frequent.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. He clenched his jaw a few times and drilled me with a look of hatred.
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” I said. I was already in deep with my bluff, so I decided to dig in a little deeper. “The recruiter who was hiding in the bathroom saw you leaving,” I said. “She took a picture. We have evidence, and we already called it in to the Air Realm authorities. They’re out in the hallway now, getting ready to arrest you.”
He glanced at the door again. He was quiet, thinking this through. Then he grinned, which gave me a chill down my spine. “You’re full of it,” he said with an evil chuckle. “There’s no one out there. Why would you be in here all by yourself if there was really a whole team of authorities out there waiting to arrest me?” he laughed. “I almost bought it, but now I see. You’re lying. You don’t have any evidence.”
I refused to give in. “You have a choice,” I said. “You can confess now, and serve time for what you’ve done. Or, you can go down kicking and screaming, which is only going to add time to your sentence.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
He was right—I didn’t.
He stepped toward me.
“I’m outta here,” he said. I smelled his foul breath as he spoke.
I stepped forward, placing my body right in his path. “No, you’re not,” I said.
He lifted a hand, and pointed a finger at me. A beam of icy blue light shot out of it. The beam started out small, but got bigger and bigger until it hit me. It was slightly cool, and buzzed through me with an intensity I’d never felt before. I couldn’t control my limbs. Adam raised his finger, and I felt my feet lift off the ground.
“Hey, Miss Positive-Vibes, how’s this for a high vibe experience?” He raised me higher and higher until I felt my head bump into the ceiling. I wanted to shout at him to put me down, but I couldn’t control my vocal chords, tongue, or lips. My whole body was quaking with the force of whatever it was that Adam was pushing through me.
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