by Shea Meadows
Peggy looked around the room nervously. “Is there any way you can protect me?”
Moon smiled. “Sure. I’d be glad to put an energy shield around you, but one person can only do so much for another. I suggest you take my class on self-protection. Call my assistant Beth Ann for the time of the next one. Also, you’ve got to get serious about quitting the cigarettes. Even though the ghost isn’t around to egg you on, you’re still addicted. You might consider hypnosis as well as the nicotine patch. The smoking makes you vulnerable.”
Ricky watched as Moon pulled a chair into the middle of the room and was fascinated to see a bright globe of energy form as she worked in Peggy’s aura. As Ricky looked on, the scene started to waver, then dissolve. Ricky could feel her consciousness moving again, back through the multicolored snowstorm, regaining her body, and falling back into Moon’s bed.
She opened her eyes a crack and peered at the illuminated clock on the bedside table—five a.m. She’d been gone three hours. There was so much she wanted to know about what she’d witnessed, but she wanted sleep even more. She scanned the room; there was no sign of Moon. I’ll ask her to explain later. Ricky cuddled down in the sheets and dropped off to sleep.
Chapter 8
Ricky dreamt she was shopping with Tilda at the downtown Daytons. They were obnoxiously wild teenagers. Walking through the perfume department, they sprayed each other with testers, and felt the condemning eyes of the demonstrators and heard their whispers. Tilda spun around and gave the clerks her most regal look.
Ricky started to laugh, but it turned into a scream. The saleswoman morphed into Peggy Mansfield and sprayed a noxious, dirty-ashtray-smelling perfume from a black bottle into Tilda’s eyes. Her screaming continued as she watched the toxic liquid turn Tilda into Priscilla McGuire.
“Wake up, Ricky. You’re safe. I’m with you. It’s okay. Emily and Phil will think I’m killing you or something.” Ricky struggled to consciousness and stifled the screams lodged in her throat. Beth Ann sat on the edge of the bed, and Pigeon stood on Ricky’s pillow.
“Oh Beth Ann, I miss her so much. Her ghost visits all the time, so you’d think I’d be sick of her by now. But I want the flesh-and-blood Tilda, not the voice in the corner, not the dream, not the memory from years ago. I want her.” Her voice trailed off into sobs, and Beth Ann held her.
After a moment, another voice joined the comforting, and a familiar set of freckled hands smoothed back Ricky’s hair. Ricky sat up and smiled through her tears. “Em, you came. I forgot to call after the will was read. Did you fly?”
Emily shook her head. “I had a feeling you’d stay in Minneapolis. I heard it in your voice. I called your dad last night and got directions. Phil and I drove from Chicago together. We plan to fly back after the memorial service, unless you want me to stay longer.”
Ricky reached for a tissue and rubbed her blurry eyes. “I’m so grateful you came. Really, that’s the worst I’ve been. I had a horrible dream. That’s why I was…” Her voice trailed off, and she shook her head, trying to dislodge the dream images. “I don’t want to talk about it. What time is it anyway?”
Beth Ann looked at the clock. “Ten-thirty. Emily and Phil arrived fifteen minutes ago, so…”
“Thanks. Glad you woke me. Why don’t you two get acquainted? Maybe have some tea or something. I’m all sweaty. I’ll shower and join you.”
Emily sniffed. “Smells like you’ve been hanging out in a smoky bar. Maybe you should wash your hair.”
Beth Ann looked confused. “No, we haven’t been anywhere with smokers. Unless Ricky went out after I went to bed. We worked on a project until two a.m.”
Ricky response was stunned silence. But my body wasn’t at Peggy’s house. Was it the stinky perfume? But that was a dream. She had to talk to Moon about this.
Just then, the phone rang. Ricky picked it up in case someone needed to know about the memorial service.
“Hello? Ricky Banner speaking.”
“Hello, Ricky. It’s David Clark, Highway Patrol. Can you talk?”
“Only if it’s quick. I’ve got company.”
“Well, ah, I was hoping— can I come over for a few minutes? Say maybe an hour from now?”
“Is it about the investigation?”
A pause on the other end of the line. “Well yeah, ah, and something personal too. I’d like to talk to you before the memorial service if possible. There’s something you’ll want to hear.”
“Okay David. But it’ll have to be quick.”
“Great. See ya in an hour.”
Ricky put the phone down and stumbled into the bathroom under the watchful eye of her friends. “I’ll be okay. I’m more centered now. David’s coming over in an hour.” As she stepped into the shower, she could hear Emily and Beth Ann talking as they went down the hall.
“Who’s David?”
“A cute detective from the Highway Patrol. He’s investigating Moon’s accident. I think there’s chemistry between him and Ricky.”
The shower drowned out anything more they said. Ricky smelled the smoke even stronger with her hair wet. It took three latherings with Moon’s sandalwood shampoo before it smelled clean.
“Moon? Can you hear me? My body wasn’t at Peggy’s house, and the department store was a dream. Why do I smell like this?” No answer. Moon must be otherwise occupied.
After cleaning up and putting on a yellow sundress, Ricky joined the others in the breakfast nook. She scowled when she realized the group included Chester.
She gave Em’s current boyfriend, Phil Boyd, the once over. They looked enough alike to be brother and sister—same red hair, fair skin and freckles. If they married, there would be no doubt what the kids would look like. Phil and Chester seemed to be getting on well, and Emily and Beth Ann chatted like old friends. When Ricky sat down, Pigeon jumped up on her lap and glared at Chester. It seemed the cat had a good memory.
“Oh, the cat likes you,” Emily said to Ricky, with obvious surprise, “and you’re not sneezing or anything.”
“Pigeon loves her,” Chester commented, face set in a phony smile. “The creature nipped me last night ‘cause I got too close to Ricky, see? I guess it thinks she’s Moon.”
“Oh, Pigeon is smarter than that,” Beth Ann objected. “If you got bit it was for a good reason.”
Chester turned to Phil. “See what I put up with around here? Working with women isn’t easy. I’m trying to decide if it’s worth sticking around just to get what’s promised in the will.”
“Stay or leave as you wish. Moon wanted your help, but you’re under no obligation,” Ricky answered, trying not to display any emotion.
“I’m kidding,” Chester said with a laugh. “Of course I’ll continue the work. Moon was generous enough to give me the royalties on some of her books. How could I repay her with anything less than my devoted service? You just don’t know me well enough to know when I’m being sarcastic.”
Beth Ann rolled her eyes. “Chester, you’re so full of it. You’re miffed because Moon gave Ricky and me the primary responsibility to keep the organization going. She gave you domain over the spirit communication classes, which is what draws the most students. You’d think that would be a big enough vote of confidence to make you happy.”
“Hey you guys, play nice together,” Emily said with a chuckle. She turned toward her girlfriend. “Rick, are you sure you want to get into the middle of this? I don’t know the details of what Moon asked you to do, but this is a free country. You can come back to Chicago and your nursing career. My apartment is still in need of a roommate.”
“Gee, I thought I was up for that position,” Phil said, sounding mildly annoyed.
Emily smiled at him. “I’m still thinking about it. A roommate is less trouble than a husband.”
Ricky shrieked in glee, causing Pigeon to bound across the table. “Husband! Are you two that serious?”
Emily smiled at Ricky than at Phil. “It’s looking that way. You know me; I enjoy an
audience for intimate moments in my life. What better audience than my best friend. So, yes, Phil, I’ll marry you.”
Phil jumped up, his chair falling backward. “Yippee, she said yes!” He righted the chair and then pulled Emily up for a long passionate kiss.
Ricky hugged Emily next, and Beth Ann did as well. Chester sat at the table with his arms crossed and mumbled about some guys being dumb enough to be roped into women’s games.
Just then, the doorbell rang, and Beth Ann went to admit David Clark. Ricky was still hugging her Chicago friends and everyone was talking at once when David came in. He wore a yellow T-shirt and kaki walking shorts and looked much different from his buttoned-down formal police persona.
Ricky introduced him to Phil and Emily and told him their happy news. Chester continued to glower from his chair, obviously unhappy to see the detective.
“So, you’ve come to grill us some more,” Chester grumped, arms crossed in front of him.
David smiled. “Actually, no. Can I steal Ricky for a few minutes? I have something important to tell her, but it’s private. I promise to bring her back as soon as possible.”
“If you’re going to ask her advice on how to contact a dead relative, you’re asking the wrong person,” Chester said with a laugh.
Beth Ann swatted Chester’s arm. “Will you stop being such a creep?” She answered David. “Of course you may; we’ll chat while you’re gone. We’ll help Phil and Emily plan the wedding.”
David turned to Ricky with a questioning look.
“Let’s go to the third floor.”
David nodded and followed her up the two sets of stairs, neither of them talking as they went. Ricky pulled a couple of thick cushions from a pile, and they sat on the floor next to each other. She was surprised when he pulled his small tape recorder out of his pocket.
“Okay, a word of explanation. Pam, our secretary, transcribes the investigation interviews. Fortunately for me, it’s been slower than usual, and she started on Moon’s case as soon as I got back to headquarters.”
David cleared his throat and looked nervously around the room. “Is this where Moon taught her classes? I didn’t get to see it when I was here before.”
Ricky nodded. “Go ahead. What’s this about? Believe me if something weird happened, I won’t be surprised at all.”
“I know what you mean,” David answered. “After Nellie the ghost trapped us in the stairwell, I knew this wasn’t going to be an ordinary case. I listened to these tapes before I gave them to Pam, but she picked up on something I missed. She uses an amplifying headset for transcription. I had one of the tech guys work on the volume because it was just barely audible. Listen.”
David turned the recorder to full volume and played a section of the tape. First Ricky heard her own voice and David’s as they spoke about Moon. With the volume change, their voices were overly loud and raspy. Ricky remembered the conversation:
David: “Speculation is she fell asleep behind the wheel or was distracted long enough to run into the median. That’s what it looks like from the traffic observation tapes from the scene and the reconstruction we’ve done. There’s still the question of intentional suicide because of her prediction in the living will. That’s why I’m here. We’re looking at Matilda’s frame of mind before the accident. You can help us with that.”
Ricky: “This is horrible to admit. I don’t have any idea about Tilda’s frame of mind. The last time we spoke was a month ago. We’d lost touch. Our life styles were very different. And to be honest, I knew nothing about her classes or spiritual beliefs which were her main focus. It’s horrible for twins to be so disconnected, but it’s the truth. Even when she visited me in Chicago three months ago, we never got past rehashing our childhood and talking about what was going on in my life. I’m sorry. I’m really no help at all.”
David stopped the tape. “If you remember, you were lost in thought here. You walked around the room, looking at things. There was at least two minutes where neither of us spoke. Listen.”
Silence. Then a whishing sound as the tape turned. Then a whispering voice: “I was murdered. He warned me it would happen, but I thought I could track him down before he could hurt me. He blinded me. I couldn’t see the road.” Silence again.
Ricky was unable to speak for a moment. “How did that happen? I guess I should tell you she’s been communicating with me. It certainly isn’t because I have my sister’s talents. She’s so good at this that her ability makes up for my lack of it. But I didn’t hear her talking then. Not a word.”
David nodded, as if her revelation wasn’t surprising at all. “That’s not all. She spoke two more times. I had the IT guy patch them in after the first one. Listen:”
David’s voice: “Do you think Matilda was depressed? Some of the behavior you mentioned indicates high levels of stress. Could she have been desperate enough to commit suicide?”
Beth Ann’s voice: “Just a second, I can clear up that notion.”
The detective stopped the tape again. “Beth Ann went to the office to get Moon’s book on spirit communication. She was gone about a minute. No one spoke, but listen to the tape.”
A purr from the cat, a sneeze, and then the whispery voice: David. You have to help Ricky. She’ll need someone with resources who can investigate. She might need protection. The being who killed me is ruthless. I can protect her spirit. Can you help protect her body? Silence again.
David stopped the tape. “Here’s the last. You were there also. I was interviewing Chester.”
Chester’s voice: “No, it wasn’t like that at all. I didn’t know Moon had those papers. She came to me in a vision. That’s how it happened, see? I’m not going to sanitize it to make it socially acceptable.”
David’s voice: “Are you in communication with Moon still?”
David turned off the recorder. “He was really drowsy. He paused for a minute. This is what the tape picked up.”
Sounds of tea cups being moved on the table. A cough. Then the whispery voice: Yes, I communicated with him. I told him about the will and to come back here. But if he says I’m talking to him from now on, he’s lying. I’ll only talk with Ricky and maybe you, if you say you’ll help.
“That’s all we found on the tapes. I remembered hearing about people picking up messages from ghosts on televisions, radios and tapes, so I researched the subject. It’s called EVP—electronic voice phenomenon —and it’s very controversial. Most skeptics say the transmissions are rigged. But I know these tapes weren’t doctored. Pam and I were the first to listen to them, and they never left my possession from the time they were recorded until I asked the Patrol’s IT guy to splice the EVP transmissions together. From the research I did, I’d swear this is the real thing.”
“She’s probably here now, you know,” Ricky said as she looked around the room. “We’ve had several intense encounters in the last few days. At first it was only a couple words, but now I see her as well as hear her. Part of me thought I was going crazy, but there’s enough confirmation that it’s real, to keep me off anti-psychotic drugs. Now this…” She smiled at David. “So what are you going to do about it, detective. The victim says she was murdered. Will you go after the killer?”
David shook his head, his expression sad. “Officially, the cause of Moon’s death has been ruled accidental, most possibly due to driver error. At least they’re not calling it a suicide. Moon’s ghost’s taped voice wouldn’t be admissible in a court of law.
“Anyhow, what have we got to go on? ‘He warned me’, she said. Who is he? How did he blind her? Did he give her something to drink? There was nothing unusual on the tox screen, so I imagine not. Has Moon told you who it was?”
Ricky stood up and walked to the windows looking out over the backyard. “No, but I get the impression she was investigating that when she died. I’ve got an inkling of how powerful this being might be. She’s training me to help her clear up the mystery of her death. But I don’t think it’s only abou
t her murder. The being is doing something dangerous to other people. Moon thinks we have to stop him. She said Beth Ann could help but not to trust Chester. She said she was arranging for someone who’d help. It’s looking like she had you in mind, but that’s not going anywhere if the law can’t determine her death was murder.”
“I want to let you in on some things,” David said as he joined her at the window. “First, I went to several of Moon’s lectures before being assigned to her case. It was five years back, when I was dating one of her clients. I never knew her given name was Matilda Banner, so when the Chief gave me the assignment, I didn’t make the connection. I wasn’t really her student, so figured it was okay, and the chief agreed. She’s pretty famous in the Cities. Lots of us had heard about her because she’d worked with the Minneapolis police.”
“I wish I’d heard her speak. What a waste, not knowing about my sister’s work.”
“There’s something else, Ricky. Maybe I’ll be able to help. Ya see I’m leaving the force at the end of the month.”
“You’re not quitting because of this, are you?”
David smiled and shook his head. “This was planned months ago. My friend, Brink Matthews, and I are starting an investigative agency. Brink was a police detective in St. Paul. He’s retirement age. He inherited money from his dad and decided to be a PI. He asked me to join him. He’s paying me well and will make me a full partner after a year, even though he’s fronting the start up for the agency. I’ve only got a few more days with the Patrol, and I’m joining him. Brink has tons of contacts and already has two major accounts. He’ll be hiring a few other ex-cops as well, so he wouldn’t care if I was exclusive with you, as long as the agency gets a cut.”