by Raven Snow
“We’re not really taught anymore.” Rowen couldn’t pinpoint when the lessons had stopped, but it had been a while. “We all sort of just know what we know. We picked up things along the way. It wasn’t really a formal education.” Rowen had always assumed it had been the same for the Stonewalls. They had attended public school right along with them.
“That sounds so strange.” Amber’s full lips quirked into a smile. “They made us sit down every night to lessons. We even had weekly tests. I’m happy to say the tests stopped, but I’m not sure the lessons ever will.”
Rowen noted that Amber actually sounded happy about that. The smile wasn’t because she was trying to be pleasant. She thought she was better than Rowen. She thought she knew more than her. The painful part was that she might. Rowen tried not to dwell on that. “How much longer do we have until the inmates get here?” she asked instead.
Amber glanced at the clock. “Not too long.” She indicated the mat at her feet. “You can take this one if you want. Before you got here, I was thinking you might enjoy leading the class.”
That came as a surprise to Rowen. It also put her on the spot a bit. “Are you sure? You’re the one with the lifetime of training.”
“Oh, don’t be modest. I’m sure your family showed you how to meditate.” Amber didn’t look like she was backing down from this. “Go on. I’m sure I stand to learn a lot from you. There’s always something you can learn from people.”
“I could say the same for you.” Rowen tried to keep a smile on her own face. She tried to remain civil. It felt a lot like Amber was doing this on purpose, like she was actually trying to embarrass her. “I’m sure you have plenty to teach me.”
“Don’t spring this on her, Amber,” Flint said, rolling his eyes. He had no reservations about calling his sister out on her nonsense. “Let her sit through a class before you have her teach one.”
“I’m not trying to embarrass her,” Amber blurted, sounding offended he could possibly think such a thing.
“It’s fine.” Now that she had had a moment to think about it, Rowen was beginning to see a bright side to this. “I’ll teach the class,” she said, slipping her shoes off and dropping down onto the mat. “Do you normally do a guided meditation or do you just wing it?”
“I prefer to take them on a guided meditation, but you do whatever you’re most comfortable with.” Amber wasn’t smiling anymore. Rowen figured she hadn’t actually planned on her warming up to the idea of teaching the class so quickly. “Come on.” Amber gave Eric a nudge. “You come take a seat by me. I hear we’re family.”
***
The inmates who came to meditation were a quiet, largely mellow bunch. Most of them looked to be older than Rowen. They took their seats without making a fuss about it. The only chatter came from finding Rowen at the front of their class rather than Amber. “This is a friend of mine,” Amber announced. “Her name is Rowen Greensmith, and she’ll be leading the class for me today. She’s as much an expert as I am, so please give her your undivided attention.”
All the eyes in the room turned to Rowen. She managed what she hoped was a confident smile. “Some of you might recognize my last name. My grandmother was an inmate here.”
“Lovely woman,” said an elderly inmate in the front.
“Always had the most entertaining stories,” said another in the second row.
Rowen nodded in agreement. “I definitely miss her. I think she would like it if I did some volunteering here. I don’t plan on taking Amber’s place, but I’m thinking I might be able to fill in on days she’s unable to come.” She sat up a little straighter. “So, if everyone will assume a comfortable position and close their eyes, we’ll get started.”
The group took directions well. Some sat up straight, some slouched, a few laid down on their backs. When everyone was comfortable and breathing evenly, Rowen began. “Picture an open field,” she told them. “The sky is blue and cloudless above you. The grass is a vivid green. Now, picture a well in that field. I want you to take your troubles and throw them into that well. I don’t care how many troubles you have. Take them all and dump them all in there.”
Rowen sensed some hesitation in letting go of troubles. That was normal and to be expected. What she felt more than that, however, was the heavy, oppressive weight of some of those troubles. They made it hard to breathe. It was a quick reminder that these women were inmates. They had all done horrible things during their lives and those horrible things were difficult to take in. Rowen had some trouble taking in another full breath, much less continuing with her meditation. She should have shielded herself psychically before beginning this class. She tried to do so now, even though it was a little late for that.
Rowen opened her eyes a bit. She looked at Amber, looking to see if that faint smile was there again. She didn’t see any sign of it. Amber’s face was passive. If anything, she looked to be focused in on what Rowen was saying, hanging on her every word. Had she just assumed Rowen would shield herself? That would have been the obvious thing to do. Oddly, it seemed that Amber was giving her know-how as a witch a little too much credit. “Take a deep breath,” Rowen told the group, taking her own advice before continuing.
The meditation session was a simple one, but Rowen got the sense that it went well. Everyone was noticeably calmer when it was finished. Outwardly, they were the same. Deep inside of them, Rowen felt less weight being carried. It felt good, making a difference like that. What didn’t feel good was the suspicion it had all but confirmed for her.
Some of the inmates stopped to thank Rowen on their way out the door. She smiled at them all and shook a few hands. She was glad to have helped and promised to come back again for another class someday. She wasn’t sure when that day would be, but she would definitely have to remember to shield herself beforehand.
“You did great,” said Amber, coming to her once the room was empty of inmates.
Flint nodded in agreement. “It was really relaxing. Granted, I haven’t meditated in a while. Maybe it’s something that I should get back into.”
It didn’t look like Eric had been planning on saying anything. After glancing at Amber and Flint, he must have felt obligated. “It was nice,” he said with a slight shrug. Glowing praise indeed.
“Thanks. I enjoyed doing it. I’ll try to come again next week, if I can. I would like to sit through one of your classes.”
Amber nodded. “We’ll have to set something like that up.
Rowen helped Amber put up the mats. After that, they all walked out together, parting ways with Amber after they had made it to the parking lot. “I’ll see you at home,” Flint told her before getting into the car. “So,” he began, once he, Rowen, and Eric all had their privacy. “How did that go? Any of your concerns assuaged?”
Rowen didn’t like that Flint was still treating her like her suspicions were crazy. If anything, Rowen felt vindicated now. “I think I know how Grammy was killed.”
Flint turned in his seat. Eric looked away from his window with interest. “How?” asked Flint, sounding for all the world like he didn’t really want to hear. Whatever it was, he must have figured that it involved his family.
It did indeed involve his family, unfortunately. “I know I wasn’t the only one who felt it.” Rowen looked from Eric to Flint. “Didn’t anyone else have to shield themselves?”
“Shield themselves?” Eric repeated. Of course, he didn’t have a whole lot of experience with that term.
“Protect yourself psychically from negative feelings and emotions,” Rowen explained, using a simplified definition to speed the conversation along.
“I did it before I even went into the prison,” said Flint. “That just seemed like common sense to me.”
“Yeah, well, I forgot. And Grammy couldn’t have shielded herself all the time.” Rowen hated to think of how difficult that must have been for Grammy. She recalled every time she had visited her. The vibe in the room had been oppressive then too. The energies p
resent during meditation, though? Now that was something else. “If she had been caught unaware by the meditation sessions, that would have been devastating.”
“Amber would have said something if your grandmother attended any of the meditations. Unless you’re saying that my sister killed your grandmother by accident?”
“Not necessarily.” Rowen wasn’t willing to declare the Stonewalls totally innocent. “When did Amber start volunteering at the hospital.”
“I don’t know exact dates. I don’t live there anymore, you know?”
“Guess then,” Rowen urged. “You talk to them on the phone. It’s not like you avoid all contact with your family.”
Flint frowned. It was the frown of a man who didn’t want to continue this conversation. “I guess it wasn’t all that long before your grandmother died, if that’s what you want to hear.” It sounded like he knew that was what she wanted to hear from the start. He just hadn’t wanted to say it out loud. “Why bother with all of this if it was an accident? Why tell someone they unintentionally murdered someone else by trying to do good?”
“Because I’m not sure it was unintentional.” That wasn’t entirely true. Rowen did feel sure. She was all but certain that the Stonewalls had intentionally killed her grandmother. She just wasn’t sure which one. She didn’t think it was Flint, seeing how worked up he was getting about this. Even Eric was getting a little worked up on his behalf.
“Are you sure you don’t just want it to be a Stonewall?” asked Eric.
Rowen nodded. “Believe me. I would much prefer my Grammy had died of natural causes. Her being murdered by magical causes doesn’t do me any favors. How do you even see that they’re punished for their crime? It’s not like I can tell Ben, hand over all my metaphysical evidence, and have him arrest the culprit.”
“Then what do you want?” asked Flint, dropping his hand down on the armrest like he was fighting exasperation.
Rowen considered that. What did she want? “I want to know why my Grammy left so much money to the Stonewalls.” That seemed important. “Have you asked them?”
Flint sighed. “I did,” he admitted. “They wouldn’t tell me why. They said it was none of my business. Again. I mean, it’s not like they shared the money with any of their kids. At least, they didn’t as far as I know. Seems like they wanted to keep the reason private.”
“The Stonewalls are pretty well off, though. Aren’t they?” asked Eric. He hadn’t known the Stonewalls for too long, despite indirectly being one. He had at least gathered that they seemed to be wealthy. Having grown up wealthy himself, he must have thought he had a general grasp of what their lives were like.
“They are,” Rowen agreed.
“As far as I know,” said Flint.
“As far as you know?” asked Eric.
“Like I said, they don’t give handouts to their kids.” Flint said all of this like it was no great secret. “I didn’t get anything when I moved away. Sure, I do just fine as a lawyer. It was rough going at the beginning, though. That’s probably why Amber and Jasper aren’t so eager to follow in my footsteps. Mom and Dad keep up their lifestyle as long as they live at home. If they moved away, they’d have to start from scratch. That’s how they keep the family together. It didn’t really slow me down much, but I can’t say the same for my siblings.”
“What if they don’t have as much money as they pretend to?” asked Rowen.
Flint didn’t even hesitate. “I doubt that. They keep up a pretty luxurious lifestyle.”
“Maybe they could only keep that lifestyle up because my family supplemented it.”
Flint laughed this time. “Now, we both know that’s unlikely. And my siblings didn’t stand to gain anything from our parents inheriting money. So, I wish you would go ahead and take them off of your suspect list.” As if deciding that was the end of their conversation, he put the car into drive and headed out of the parking lot.
Rowen considered their conversation. She still couldn’t make sense out of this, but it hadn’t dissuaded her. “I need to know why they inherited that money,” she said again, ignoring the twin groans from Eric and Flint.
Chapter Twelve
“I appreciate that you agreed to have lunch with me,” Rowen told Margo. Her cousin was sitting across from her, stabbing at the salad on her plate without acknowledging Rowen. She hadn’t said anything for the last fifteen minutes. “I think that’s really big of you.”
Margo finally looked up. She glared across the booth, pointing the pronged end of her fork right at Rowen. “I didn’t agree to have lunch with you. I was working on the next issue with Rose and you followed me when I left for lunch alone.” With each word, she emphasized she made a little stabbing motion at Rowen. There was no two ways about it. She was holding a grudge. “And don’t act like you’re not still mad at me. I can feel it. You’re still mad I cheated on David. You think I’m scum.”
“More water?” the waitress asked, standing there with her eyes wide. She had approached at a very inopportune moment.
“Yes, please,” Margo mumbled.
Rowen felt the judgment rolling off of the waitress. She knew Margo felt them too. Rowen couldn’t lie. She was still annoyed with her cousin. She couldn’t help it. She had thought she was bigger than cheating on a guy. She was better than that. “It wasn’t my place to blurt that all out to the family… Even if you did throw me under the bus first.”
Margo raised her hand, trying to wave the waitress back down. “Excuse me, ma’am? Can I get a to-go box?” She failed to catch her attention.
“I’m sorry,” Rowen said, firmly. “I don’t care who did what anymore. I can’t stand that we’re still mad at each other. I hate that the family is being so hard on you. You made a mistake, yeah, but you need a friend right now. That’s why you’re helping Rose today, isn’t it? You’re putting in extra time working because you’re lonely. I hate that. It’s my fault, and you don’t deserve it.”
Margo raised her eyes from her salad. She looked across at Rowen with an expression that was difficult to read. Rowen could tell from the way Margo’s eyes were searching her face that she was debating whether or not to give her a chance. “You need something from me,” she said, finally.
Rowen wanted to tell her she was wrong, but she had hit the nail right on the head. “That’s not the only reason I came out to eat with you.”
“You keep making that sound like we had plans.”
“That’s not the only reason I followed you across the street,” Rowen rephrased.
“But it’s one of them.” Margo pointed her fork again. “Just tell me, will you?”
It wasn’t like dancing around the heart of the matter was doing either of them any favors. Rowen took a deep breath and just came right out with it. “I think Grammy was murdered.” She had thought about it for a long time and decided to lead with that. Maybe it was a little manipulative on her part, but she really did need Margo’s help. Better to open with something that would interest her.
“What?” Margo’s fork fell onto her plate. For all her prophetic prowess, she obviously hadn’t seen that coming. “Why do you think that?”
“I’ve been looking into it for a while. That’s why I tried to contact Grammy to begin with.” She went over all she had learned and her theories on the matter. It would be fair to say that she didn’t have a whole lot of evidence. She wasn’t sure that Margo wouldn’t think she was crazy. Eric hadn’t placed a whole lot of stock into her investigation and he was her husband.
“I’d wondered why Grammy left so much money to the Stonewalls,” Margo said, like a murder plot would provide answers. “I don’t know about murder, but… It’s worth looking into.”
There was a weight on Rowen’s chest that eased up all of a sudden. She hadn’t realized how nervous she was until just now. “I’m glad you think so. I’ve only really had Eric and Flint’s help until now.”
“And you can’t trust Flint,” Margo said that firmly, like it was for Ro
wen’s benefit in case she had forgotten. “Not sure where you expect me to lend you a hand in this.”
Rowen had hoped that Margo would realize on her own. It seemed she would have to say it out loud. “Well, you’ve had some connections with the Stonewalls yourself lately. I was hoping that you could-”
“You want me to bring Jasper into this?” Margo stared at Rowen, mouth slightly ajar for several seconds like she was stunned she’d even suggest such a thing. “I’m still trying to get David to take me back, and you want me to make Jasper think he has a chance? Are you kidding me?”
“You’re trying to get David to take you back?” Rowen stared. That wasn’t something that she had expected to hear.
“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Maybe because you cheated on him?” That seemed like reason enough to Rowen. “Call me crazy, but I figured you wouldn’t have cheated on him without a reason.”