by Wilson, Maer
She ended the evening with the song, “Magic.” After the applause, she thanked her pianist and everyone in the audience for coming to visit and wished them well in their futures. I almost felt her casting good luck on the audience. Was she a witch? She disappeared behind the curtains.
Thomas was at our table before we could even stand up. “Brandy has asked if you would mind staying, as well.” We nodded and settled back down. Aside from Miss Diva and her group and us, no one else was permitted to stay in the room. Miss Diva’s guards had settled at a table nearby. A few guests lingered over wine glasses, but none stayed for long. Soon no one was left, but the two live parties and the ghost.
Chapter 20
In about fifteen minutes, the curtains parted. A male figure in his early thirties came through the curtains. He was dressed in jeans, a nice shirt and a light leather jacket. The long auburn hair was gone; instead, he had short, spiked brown hair. He smiled at me and Thulu, held up a finger and went over to Miss Diva.
The ghost was still sitting at the table and watched his progress.
“Hi, thank you for waiting,” this to Miss Diva, who looked up from her phone, which had held her attention since the show's end.
“Yeah, it's okay,” she said a bit grudgingly as she looked away.
“You asked about your future?” The question was spoken gently.
“Yeah, Brandy said she would tell me my future. She said for me to wait.” This last sounded a bit defensive to my ears. We could hear every word in the almost empty room.
He raised his eyebrows and gave a glance to our table. “Yes, and I'm glad you did.” Miss Diva rolled her eyes.
I could tell she had no idea who she was talking to. I stifled the urge to laugh. This girl was not the sharpest tool in the shed.
“So how much longer is she going to be?”
The man offered a swift smile. “We can begin now, if you like.”
“You? So, who are you?” A light bulb went off in her brain somewhere. “Oh my god! Are you her brother?” Thulu was choking, trying not to laugh.
“Miss Diva, I'm Brandy Malone.”
The look on her face was priceless. The urge to slip my phone out of my purse was almost irresistible, but I managed. Servers and busboys and girls were still tearing down tables. I was surprised when none reached for their own phone cameras. I realized that confidentiality was probably a quality insisted upon.
“No way!”
“Yes, way!” He sang a few bars, while it sank in to her.
“Wow!” Not a scintillating conversationalist, this one.
“Shall we begin?” He seated himself next to her. His back was mostly to us, so I didn't get a lot of his face, but we could hear him clearly.
He explained to her that he had seen her in a very serious car accident. He told her she didn't die, but that the glass from the vodka bottle had shattered and jammed into her throat. Watching the expression of disbelief on her face change to guilt and fear, he was gentle, but insistent.
“Miss Diva, if you don't stop drinking and driving, you will have that accident and you will sever your vocal cords. I'm afraid you will never sing again, possibly never be able to speak again.”
“You're just trying to scare me.” Anger flashed in her eyes.
“Yes, I am! Because I'm scared for you. Think of all your fans who would be devastated to lose your music.”
“How do I know you didn't just make up the whole thing?”
“Because you were driving. You love driving, don't you? You especially like to drive when you get drunk. Even when your friends and your staff try to tell you not to drive, you do it anyway. You put all of their lives in danger because you make them go with you. You think it's fun to scare them.” His voice had gotten firmer.
“So? It’s none of your business.”
He sat back. “You're absolutely correct, it isn't. You asked for your future, and I've given it to you. One other thing.” His voice took on a hard edge. “You won't spend your life a pampered former star. You'll spend it in prison for felony drunk driving, which is second degree murder.”
“Murder? I'd never kill anyone.” She was indignant.
“Not on purpose, but the time I've seen, you were not alone. You were racing around a curvy road. I'm not sure where it is, but it has two lanes and it's in the mountains somewhere. You went through a guard rail down an embankment and into a tree.”
This startled Miss Diva.
“Who is with me?”
“I don't know. It seems to be a young girl, with brown hair.”
“I don't believe you.”
He stood up and shrugged. “That, of course, is your choice. You asked and I told you. It's up to you to decide what you want to do with the information. Have a pleasant evening.” He smiled and turned toward us.
“Wait. What kind of car am I driving?” She had a sly smile, like this was a trick question.
He turned back and said, “A shiny and new red Lamborghini.”
“You can't know that! How can you know that?”
“Because, Miss Diva, I see the future whether you care to believe it or not.”
“But –” Tears had formed in her eyes. Suddenly, I felt sorry for her. A scared little girl, dressed up like an adult and with only paid bodyguards to have her back. Thulu took my hand.
“But, Brandy – I only ordered that car this morning. And I didn't tell anyone I did it, either. It's going to be a surprise birthday present for my little sister. She loves them. She can't even drive it yet, but she'll be able to a few weeks after it comes in. How could you know?” Tears poured down her face. “So what am I supposed to do?”
He bent over and, with a linen napkin, gently blotted her face. “You've got to stop driving drunk. Maybe stop driving altogether for a while. I honestly don't know how much would change. Sometimes someone will get a different car or make some other minor change, but that doesn't change the outcome.”
She sniffed and looked at him like she was a lost puppy.
“Miss Diva, maybe just stop driving yourself for a long while. And don't drink in the car – even if it's only water. Just be careful and take care of yourself, okay?”
She nodded numbly. He helped her to her feet. She was unsteady, but this time I think it was from shock.
He stared at the bodyguards. They stared back, impassively. Hired help, for sure. He looked around the room and called Thomas over. “Thomas, would you please escort Miss Diva to her suite?”
Thomas nodded, then turned and smiled at the girl. He offered his arm, and she looked at it a moment. She tentatively took his arm, with a shaky smile. Thomas led her from the room, trailed by her bodyguards.
Brandy looked at the ghost, and they exchanged a few low words. He seemed very comfortable, and I got the impression they were old friends.
The ghost looked over at me and Thulu, gave a half salute and dematerialized.
“Thanks for waiting.” He made his way to our table. “I'm Reo Malone.” He paused. We shook hands before he pulled over another chair and sat down. “When I'm not being Brandy, that is.” His smile was sweet.
“Nana Fae said it was time to meet you two.” His features were delicate up close. I could see how he would easily transform into Brandy.
“Reo? You sure like exotic names.” I smiled.
“Blame my folks. It's actually Brandon Arreo Malone. My parents are former hippies who had the bad grace to make a fortune, but their tastes can be eclectic.” He laughed easily.
“I'm so glad to finally meet you. Nana Fae said she wanted to keep me to herself, but I think she just wanted you guys to find your way on your own before bringing me into the fold.”
“How did you meet Nana?” Thulu asked.
“Here, of course. She came to a show about six months ago. Naturally, we saw each other for what we really are. We chatted after the show and we've been friends ever since. She met my parents and they adore her, but she's been sly about you two.”
“N
ana met your family?” Interesting.
“Yeah, they get along great. I knew they would.” I could hear the love in his voice when he spoke of his parents.
“You sound very close to them.”
Reo said he loved and appreciated his parents. He wasn't the stereotypical, mistreated gay child. He'd been an adored, well adjusted, happy kid, whose parents loved him and spoiled him rotten.
“Well, of course, they did!” I exclaimed. “You're a projecting empath. You made sure they adored you.”
Reo laughed. “I'm not sure I could affect them. It doesn't seem to work well on other gifted people. Mama is a telepath and Dad is psychic. I'm a bit stronger than either of them, but I'm erratic and not always reliable.”
Since the serving staff was almost done, we decided to go back to our place to continue our conversation. Thulu left a hefty tip on our table for Thomas, then we made our way to the parking garage and Reo's black Mustang.
Once at home, we proudly showed him around. The rest of that night, we spent hours sharing stories about our various gifts, drinking wine and snacking on cheese and crackers. In just a few hours, Thulu and I grew to appreciate Reo. He was smart, talented and compassionate.
We owed Nana for finding him, but when we asked her why she didn't introduce us earlier, she said the time hadn't been right. Sometimes Nana herself didn't know why she did or didn't do things.
Reo had been part of the family ever since. It was like having a brother. He usually kept his professional life separate from his “real” life as he called it. Brandy was a character he portrayed, he said, not who he was. She allowed him privacy in his personal life, but also gave him the chance to help others with his gift.
I guess we all found ways to keep our gifts separate from our private lives as much as we could. Reo just seemed to be more visible than most.
It wasn't all work for the wealthy, though. He also volunteered at one of the shelters and often wandered the streets late at night. I asked if he had ever run into trouble doing that, but he said his gifts had protected him.
He wasn't in a relationship when we first met him. He'd recently split up with a partner he'd been with for a year. He seemed rather stoic about it.
Thulu was quick to assure him that he had someone out there who was just right for him. Thulu is always right about those things, but Reo wasn't sure he believed him. I did though. I knew my husband didn't say things lightly. However, after three years and still no life mate in sight, we had taken to giving Thulu a bit of a hard time about it.
Thulu, of course, took the teasing in his usual good grace.
“I know what I know,” he would say.
And that would be that.
Chapter 21
It was still a bit early, not quite dinner time, when Stuart parked at the curb and opened the doors for us. We thanked him politely and made our way up the walk. Company waited for us on our front porch.
A figure dressed in a full, felted, burgundy skirt and pink angora sweater sat on the swing. Slim legs were crossed at the ankles. Brandy Malone stood up when we reached the porch, fluffing platinum blonde hair. A burgundy snakeskin bag rested next to high heels with ankle straps, also made of burgundy snakeskin. The shoes put Brandy almost up to Thulu's six feet.
A deep smoky voice purred, “Okay, so who am I?”
“Johnny Depp,” I quickly replied.
The answer was a long, drawn out, agonized, “Nooooo.”
With her lips pouted prettily, Brandy said, “I'm Ed Wood, silly. Johnny Depp just played him in that movie. Honestly La Fi, don't you know anything?”
I knew lots of things, actually, including that. But it was more fun to make Brandy work for it. Thulu had unlocked the door and turned off the alarm. We followed after him.
“I'm thinking of this for Halloween. What do you think? Then segue into a sort of futuristic theme for the night?”
“Hmmm.”
“That isn't helpful. I'm going to change.” She glided from the room, with more grace than I could manage. That was so not fair.
I adored Reo and was curious what he would make of all the events over the last few days. I was sure his abilities would be a great help with the case.
Brandy had left the room, but it was Reo who returned. He'd helped himself to the kitchen and balanced a tray with chips and dip, napkins, a bottle of wine and three glasses. Brandy's show was dark, and he had the night off.
His Halloween outfit was packed away in his bag, which swung from one arm. He now wore khakis and a nice shirt, and his face was freshly scrubbed. He came into the family room where we had settled down. Thulu took the tray from him and set it on the table.
Parker, Jenna and Sophie had checked in shortly after we got home and were sitting in their usual mid-air positions.
Jenna reverted to shyness with Reo there. I noticed she did that around the living. I'd have to find out what that meant. Reo gave her a smile and said hi to her and Parker.
Seeing that we had grownup talk, Parker soon took the other two outside again.
We started to fill Reo in on what had happened in the last two days. Jeez, two days! It seemed like so much longer.
Reo was very curious about everything. He asked some very pointed questions and looked at the pictures of the relic and panels. The picture of the dragon pitcher brought a smile to his face.
In a falsely innocent voice, he asked, “How far are you in your scheme to keep that one?”
I frowned at him. “I'm not planning on keeping any of them. They are all bad luck, if you ask me.”
Reo gave me a look of disbelief and shook his head.
I gave him a superior look and changed the subject. “Anyway, have you ever made contact with someone in a coma?”
He nodded. “Yeah, once.”
“You have?” We quickly explained the Mason situation and Jones's idea. Reo thought it was worth trying and agreed to go with us.
We finished up the details of the ghosts, relics and everything we could remember. It was a relief to bring Reo in. He would add a balance we needed.
Not that Thulu and I were not capable, but this case had quickly escalated to one beyond anything we had ever dealt with before. I might not admit it, but I felt we were way out of our league. I was grateful to be able to bring in someone we could trust, in addition to Nana Fae, of course.
“I'd like to know why Jones doesn't find the relics himself,” Reo said while slicing cheese off the slab. Thulu and I were still too full from lunch to do more than nibble at a cracker now and then.
“We haven't really asked him. I just figured he couldn't find them or he wouldn't need us,” Thulu said thoughtfully.
“Well, I don't think making assumptions about anything is wise right now. I've felt weird all week. Anxious, but I don't have a handle on what's making me anxious.” Reo gave us a steady look. “I hate when things are all muddy and murky.”
“Yeah, must be a shame to have to cope like a normal person.”
He rolled his eyes and went on. “Well, it can be frustrating to know something's up, but not have a clue where it's going to come from. Kind of hard to prepare for it.” Reo shook his head, as if he were trying to shake the feeling out of it – or rattle things together. He added, “But since when are you a normal person?”
Thulu called Jones to set up a time for the three of us to see Matt Mason. We settled on late morning the next day, and Jones gave us the address. Jones seemed unsurprised that we knew a telepath, but he was happy Reo was coming along. We also said we'd bring the cup with us. Reo said we needed to get it out of the house, and we didn't argue. He declined the offer to see it; something about tempting Fate.
Thulu called Nana Fae and filled her in on the latest developments, while I called Jane in. I told her what we had discovered that afternoon and asked for her permission to email the jeweler, requesting a copy of the receipt and a picture of the locket. She agreed immediately, and I got on the computer and used her email account to send off
the request to her jeweler.
The kids and Sophie came back in, and we spent the rest of that night just hanging out. We talked, watched a bit of TV, drank more wine and tossed out any ideas about the case when one would occur to us.
It was a nice, pleasant evening; as normal as one can be, considering two ghost kids and a dog were part of it. Reo thought Sophie chasing the ball was hysterical. Occasionally he asked Parker to throw it.
Sophie had gotten very good at fetching it. Once she took the ball to Reo to throw, but of course that didn't work out so well. I think the look she gave him was pitying. Jenna grabbed the ball and threw it for her.
Because of the wine and not wanting to call a taxi, Reo stayed in his room. He was enough of a fixture to keep extra clothes and toiletries at our house. He'd staked out one of the rooms as his own, and any other guests we had were usually put up in one of the other rooms.
As it got late and we got sleepier, we did our final tour of the house and made sure the alarm was set.
“This was nice. I liked tonight,” Reo said as we went upstairs. Just outside his door, he stopped and turned to us. His smile was almost melancholy. I didn't think he'd had enough to drink to get maudlin, but braced myself anyway.
“You can't put the genie back in the bottle.” He turned to go in.
“What does that mean?” Thulu asked.
Reo turned back to us with a very thoughtful look. “I have absolutely no idea.”
“Very helpful,” I said. He shrugged elaborately, but smiled when I went over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Sweet dreams.”
He gave his head one of those weird shakes of his and went into his room.
Thulu and I smiled at each other and went into our own room, shutting the door behind us. From the exotic of the morning, to the amazing afternoon with Jones, it had been nice to get back to a normal evening with Reo. Too bad it was the last one. Normal would never again have the same meaning for us. The next day, our world as we knew it changed forever.
PART THREE