3 The Ex Who Conned a Psychic

by Sally Berneathy

  She turned to go back to the main area of the shop. Charley stood just outside the office door, arms folded, a scowl on his face. Without a word, he turned his back to her.

  Sulking? It was something he’d done in life when he didn’t get his way. If she was lucky, he might decide not to speak to her for a day or two.

  “Dawson, go home. Tell Grant I said hi.”

  “In a minute. I just need to finish what I’m working on.” He didn’t look up from his work on the dark red gas tank but continued to move a thin paint brush along the curve, deftly adding a swirl of silver.

  The smell of the paint, Dawson’s intent form, the motorcycle parts strewn about in glorious disarray…the elements of her shop embraced her. Her shop.

  Amanda’s anger with Charley blended into her anger with Collins, and she was no longer just angry. She was furious. Ready to hurt somebody. Eager to hurt somebody. Since she couldn’t think of anything she could do to Charley, that left Collins to bear the brunt of all her anger.

  She walked to a window and looked out at her bullet-riddled tree. It had been kind of sweet of Jake to offer to watch over her during the night, protect her from Ronald Collins. Sweet, but unnecessary. The question of the moment was, who would protect Ronald Collins from her?

  Chapter Fifteen

  Teresa strode through the door an hour later, a large Whataburger sack in one hand and a bulging tote bag in the other. “What are you doing in the corner, Charley?”

  Amanda set down the clutch plates she’d been working on and stood. “He’s sulking. I’m going to dinner with Jake tomorrow night, and he’s not happy about it.” She looked at Charley, still standing with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face but now several inches above the floor. Apparently his anger propelled him upward. Maybe he’d eventually go through the ceiling and drift into space. “He hasn’t said a word in almost an hour. I had no idea sulking could be such a positive thing.”

  Teresa smiled at Charley and lifted the Whataburger bag. “I brought three burgers and three orders of onion rings.”

  Charley glided to her side. “Thank you, Teresa. You’ve always been nice to me.”

  Amanda ignored the implied accusation. When Teresa renewed her attempts to send him into the light, he’d change his tune. “Well, the sulking was nice while it lasted. Let’s go upstairs and eat. That smells wonderful. I love Whataburgers.”

  “Who doesn’t?”

  They climbed the steps to Amanda’s apartment and Teresa carried the Whataburger sack and her tote bag to the kitchen. She set the food on the table and the other bag in the far corner of the room. Amanda assumed it contained her crystals, candles and whatever else she needed for Charley’s ticket to forever-land, but she didn’t verbalize her thoughts. Charley was being reasonably pleasant at the moment. She didn’t want to set him off again.

  She took down two plates, sighed and added a third. Teresa had brought food for him. She’d have to give him a plate. And a Coke. She set three Cokes on the table and opened two of them. When he feigned an attempt to pull the tab, she gave in and opened his too. It seemed a shame to waste a perfectly good Coke, but what was the loss of one Coke compared to a peaceful meal?

  The three of them sat at the table. She and Teresa ate the burgers and rings while Charley moved his hands and occasionally his face through his food and drink. Amanda tried not to look at him. Her mother had never liked him. She could only imagine what Beverly Caulfield would say if she could see him with his face buried in a bag of onion rings.

  “This was a very good choice, Teresa,” he said. “I haven’t had Whataburger since…well, you know.”

  “Since you died.” Teresa spoke matter-of-factly. She took a sip of Coke then looked directly at him. “I’m sorry, but you have to accept it. It’s not a bad thing. We’ll all get there someday, free of the restraints of our bodies, able to focus on spiritual matters.”

  Charley looked toward the bag in the corner. “You brought your stuff, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, I did. Don’t you want to move into the light, see your grandparents and the dog you had when you were a little boy?”

  She got Charley’s attention with the dog thing. Charley’s mother had told Amanda about Barney, the half-collie he’d had when he was in grade school, but he had never mentioned it to her. Was Teresa taking another educated guess or had she been talking to the dog?

  “Barney,” Teresa said. “That’s his name, isn’t it?”

  A spectrum of emotions played across Charley’s face, but he finally settled on stubborn. “I want to stay right here with Amanda.”

  “What if Amanda wants you to move on to a better world?”

  Charley snorted. “I know why she wants to get rid of me. She wants to get it on with that damned Detective Daggett. Well, I’m not going anywhere.”

  One onion ring remained on Amanda’s plate, but she’d lost her appetite. “Can we make him go even if he doesn’t want to?”

  Teresa shrugged. “I don’t know. Usually if a spirit is stranded on this side, he’s eager to move on. I think I need the spirit’s cooperation.”

  Charley leaned back in his chair, folded his arms and smiled smugly. “The spirit wants to stay right here.”

  Amanda slammed her empty Coke can onto the table. “This is just wrong! If you hadn’t got yourself murdered, we’d be divorced and you’d have to leave me alone.”

  “No, I wouldn’t.”

  Amanda picked up the empty can and hurled it at Charley. It passed through his head and landed behind the chair, dribbling sticky drops on the white vinyl. All she’d accomplished was to make a mess she’d have to clean up.

  She stood and leaned toward him. “I am going to freeze you and break you into a million pieces! I’m going to suck you into a vacuum cleaner bag and toss you into a volcano! I’m going to—” It was hard to think of ways to get rid of a ghost. In the old days she’d been able to threaten to cut off his manhood with a rusty, serrated knife and stuff it in the garbage disposal or wrap him in a shower curtain and beat him to death with a hammer. Though she’d still like to do those things, they were no longer possible.

  Charley sat straighter. “You can’t do that! Your vacuum cleaner’s bagless.”

  Amanda snatched up her plate but resisted the urge to throw it at him. It would only mean a bigger mess for her to clean. She picked up Charley’s full plate and took them both to the sink.

  “Hey, I wasn’t through with that,” Charley protested.

  Amanda turned back to the table. “Teresa, you’ve got to try. Please.”

  Teresa drew in a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”

  Charley’s eyes widened. “What? You’re going to run me off like a stray dog?”

  “I’d never run off a stray dog,” Amanda assured him. “You know how much I love animals.”

  “Charley,” Teresa said, “people are waiting for you on the other side. Barney’s waiting for you. You’re upsetting the entire balance of the universe by being here when you should be on the other side.” She waved a hand through the air. “You could cause earthquakes and floods and tornadoes.”

  “Could not.” But he looked uncertain.

  Teresa stood and took her plate to the sink. “I’m going to set out my crystals and candles, and we’ll all just relax for a while. How does that sound, Charley?”

  “Okay, I guess. But don’t try anything funny.”

  “Amanda, could you help me move these things to the table?”

  Amanda went to the corner where Teresa’s bag rested. “Did you make that up, about the floods and earthquakes?” she whispered.

  “Of course. Spirits come and go to the earthly plane all the time. But he seems to need some incentive. Here, take these.”

  Amanda accepted three white candles and peered into the bag. “What’s that? Some kind of ceremonial robe?”

  “No, that’s my nightgown. I told you, I’m spending the night. Okay, I didn’t bring my sleeping bag, but I’ll fit just fine o
n your sofa.”

  “Really, that isn’t necessary.” Amanda carried the candles to the table and set them down. “I appreciate the thought. Jake offered to spend the night watching, and I turned him down too.”

  “Jake offered to spend the night,” Charley mimicked. “Wasn’t that sweet?”

  Amanda’s jaw clenched, but she refused to get caught up in Charley’s nonsense. There was no point in wasting her breath arguing with him. “I already ran Collins off once with a few rocks. He’s a bully who runs when somebody stands up to him. Besides, I promise to sleep with a gun on my nightstand.”

  Teresa arranged crystals of various sizes and colors on the kitchen table. “I understand. I have no doubt you are more than a match for Ronald Collins. But you never came to slumber parties when we were in high school, so we’re going to make up for that lack in your life. We’re going to have a slumber party here tonight, just the three of us.”

  Amanda had to admit she felt pleased at her new friend’s efforts however silly they were. “That’s very nice. But I don’t think two women and a ghost constitute a slumber party.”

  “I could always call somebody else, maybe Jody Gordon or Patricia Dewitt.”

  Amanda laughed, thinking of the two girls in their class who made it into the in crowd not by their dazzling personalities but because everybody was afraid of them. “I think I’ll pass on that.” She smiled. “Okay, fine. You can spend the night and we’ll make popcorn and then make random phone calls and ask people if their refrigerator is running.”

  “We could do that. Or we could make popcorn and not make random phone calls. Besides, I confess I have an ulterior motive. Of course my primary motive is to help you, but it occurred to me when I was at home getting my things together that I might be able to lure Anthony here tonight. Maybe he and Charley can have a chat.”

  Great. Amanda wanted to get rid of the one ghost she already had. Now Teresa was planning to invite another one.

  “Do you have room for me to put my car in your shop?” Teresa continued. “I don’t like the idea of leaving it out where Cuckoo Collins can get to it.”

  “Oh, sure. Good idea. Let’s go down and I’ll open the bay door. You can park next to my motorcycles.” She grabbed her keys off the counter. “Let’s do it right now before it gets dark and Collins has a chance to get here and start trouble.”

  “I’ll keep a lookout so he doesn’t sneak up on you,” Charley said.

  He’d never been able to stay mad for long. At one time she’d liked that trait.

  When Teresa’s BMW convertible was stashed safely behind a locked door, they returned to the kitchen and Charley returned to frowning and standing in the corner.

  Teresa added two decks of Tarot cards to the objects on the table, sat down and spread them out. She extended a hand to Charley. “Come sit with us. We’re just going to relax. I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do. Amanda, maybe we should have some wine.”

  Amanda was pretty sure it wouldn’t be possible to get Charley drunk, but there was no harm in trying. She found a bottle of red wine and poured some into three wine glasses, none of which matched.

  Teresa lifted hers. “Crystal. Nice.”

  “They’re really cheap at garage sales when the people have broken all but one or two from a set.”

  Teresa produced a small box of matches and lit the candles. “I always use matches. The flame is more natural than the flame from a lighter.”

  Evening shadows were slipping across the windows, and the candles provided a soothing effect, an oasis of brightness in the twilight room.

  “Let’s each choose a card to represent us. Amanda, I think the Queen of Swords for you.” She laid a large, colorful card in front of Amanda. The card depicted a queen holding a sword.

  “Yeah, I like that,” Amanda said.

  “A strong woman with a hidden emotional side. Charley, I think the King of Wands for you.” She laid a card in front of him.

  “Hey, how come Amanda gets a real sword and I only get a stick?”

  “It’s symbolic. The stick is from nature. You’re a natural leader and adventurer. And I’ll take the High Priestess.” She selected a card and placed it in front of her. “Now, which of my crystals do you think is the prettiest, Amanda?” Teresa’s voice dropped a couple of octaves and became soft and soothing.

  “That one. I like purple.”

  “Amethyst. The gem of fire and passion that also soothes and guards against insomnia. A stone of contradictions. Appropriate for you.” Teresa handed it to her. “Hold it in your hand. Feel the warmth.”

  Amanda accepted the purple crystal. The edges were smooth but it didn’t feel warm. However, she wasn’t going to do anything to discredit Teresa’s performance. “Nice,” she said.

  “Charley, how about you? Which of these stones is your favorite? Which calls to you? Which would you like to touch?”

  Charley looked across the room and shrugged. “I don’t know. They’re just rocks.”

  “How about this blue one? It’s almost the same color as your eyes.” She picked up the stone and moved it close to him. “It’s calcite. Very calming. Blue is the color of trust, spiritual cleansing, immortality.”

  Charley shrugged again.

  “It’s pretty, isn’t it? Soothing. Go ahead and touch it.”

  Charley hesitantly reached one hand toward the stone, moving as if unsure but compelled. That was a good sign. Maybe Teresa could compel him right out of Amanda’s life.

  “How does it feel?” she asked. “Smooth? Warm?”

  Charley nodded slowly. Amanda was pretty sure he couldn’t feel anything, but it boded well that Teresa made him believe he could.

  “Aren’t you glad we have these candles? It’s getting dark, but we have light, three lights, three flames flickering in the darkness, one for each of us. Do you like your candle, Charley?” Her gaze focused on him, and the flames from the candles reflected and danced in her dark eyes.

  Again he nodded, the movement slow and halting, then he made a sound as if clearing his throat. “It’s okay. It’s just a candle.”

  “You could say that. It’s a cylinder of wax with a wick running through the middle. Nothing unusual there. But the flame is unique. Every flame is unique. It flickers in a way that’s continually changing and creating new patterns that come and go and are never the same. It’s one flame, the same flame, but it’s always shifting, taking new forms.”

  “I know what you’re trying to do.” Charley’s voice was quiet, his words slow. “It won’t work.”

  “I’m trying to get you to relax, to consider the light, to feel the freedom of the light.”

  “I don’t trust you.” His words were slightly slurred and seemed to come to Amanda’s ears from a great distance.

  “You don’t have to trust me. Trust yourself. Relax and watch the flickering flame. You haven’t relaxed in a long time. It’s hard to be outside with the sunshine all around you but you can’t feel it. You can see fajitas, but you can’t taste them. Would you like to sip that glass of wine? Look at the way the flame dances and sparkles in the wine glass. The light is free. It moves and flickers from the candle to the wine, back and forth, ever changing, the same but new, free and unconfined.”

  The darkness of the room flowed around them, touching and cooling the back of Amanda’s arms and neck while the warmth of the candle flames drifted to her face. She felt as if she were floating, her body free to dance with the fire.

  “It won’t work!” Charley shot up from his chair.

  Amanda jumped, startled out of her concentration. Maybe it hadn’t worked for Charley, but it had almost worked for her.

  Teresa lifted an imploring hand. “Charley—”

  “No. I don’t want to do this anymore.” He stood next to the light switch and ran his hands through the wall as if reaching for the wiring. Something snapped, and every light in the apartment came on. Sound exploded from the television and pictures flickered as the chan
nels switched from one to another. “Blow out those stupid candles and let’s watch a movie.”

  Teresa looked at Amanda and mouthed the words, I’m sorry. She carefully blew out all the candles.

  Amanda’s heart sank to the bottom of her toes. Teresa was good enough that she’d fallen into a trance, but Charley was awake and adamant that he wasn’t going anywhere. Her date with Jake was less than twenty-four hours away. It didn’t look good for the two of them.

  “Turn that television down!” she ordered. The level of sound diminished. She turned to Teresa. “Try again, please. What if we have different cards? More candles. White wine instead of red.”

  “No.” Charley folded his arms across his chest and stuck out his lower lip like a small child. “I’m not sitting in that chair and I’m not looking at any stupid candle flame. You try that again and I’ll turn the television up so loud I won’t be able to hear anything you say.”

  Teresa spread her hands in a gesture of helplessness. “Maybe another time.”

  Charley put his hands over his ears. “I can’t hear you!”

  Amanda clenched her hands into fists. “How about an exorcism?”

  Teresa smiled tentatively as if unsure whether Amanda was joking or not. Amanda wasn’t quite sure either. “I don’t know how to do that.”

  Amanda flopped onto the sofa in despair and picked up the remote. “Let’s find a comedy. I need to laugh.”

  “I’ll make popcorn,” Teresa said.

  Charley took a seat in the middle of the sofa. “I love popcorn.”

  The movie was funny, but Amanda didn’t laugh. Her brain kept conjuring images of her, Jake and Charley sitting in a restaurant, Charley standing on Jake’s head, running his hands through their food so it cooled before they could eat it, making faces at Jake, forcing himself between them if Jake tried to kiss her.

  She was relieved when the final credits ran and it was time to go to bed.

  She rose and stretched. “You take the bed, Teresa. I’ll sleep on the sofa.”