Rings On Her Fingers (Psychic Seasons

by ReGina Welling

"Following that logic, it's not the kind of key that fits in a lock, but maybe something more like a map key. If that's the case, it was probably thrown out years ago."

  "No, I don't think so. Julius put a considerable amount of effort into creating a hiding place and having the window installed; he would make sure the key was something that would stay in the house, with the family. It's here somewhere."

  "Oh! I have an idea," Gustavia said with a wicked gleam in her eye, "what if we reenact his death scene."

  "That is positively morbid," Julie wrinkled her nose in disgust.

  "No, it's genius." Kat chimed in. "If we could get the ghosts to cooperate, we might get another clue. It can't hurt to try." She quieted her mind, reaching out psychically to see if either of the two spirits were around. There was a faint answering echo from Estelle: "I have already shown you; think about what you have seen."

  Kat opened her eyes, holding up her hand to forestall any questions; she explored her memory and, after a moment, decided she understood the message. "Estelle was able to show me a fragment of her memory from the day Julius died, enough to see where Julius was looking and his hand when he gestured. I'm pretty sure I can guide you into the right positions, then it will be up to you to figure out what he was looking at."

  Rather than dismantling the bed and moving it, they decided the sofa would make a decent enough stand-in, and it was already in place. It just needed to be angled toward the fireplace. Tyler would play Julius. Kat would direct the movements of Julie, Gustavia, and Amethyst based on what she had seen in her brief glimpse through Estelle’s memory.

  "Okay, Tyler, just lie down; and, Julie, you sit on the right side of the bed; Amethyst you are on the left; and, Gustavia, you stand on the right, just by his head. Then, Tyler, you sit up and look just above Julie's head and slightly to the right. What do you see?"

  "Fireplace. I'm looking right at the mantel, but that can't be the key. The gesture to the left lines up with the window so that makes sense."

  Gustavia linked arms with Amethyst, and the two of them approached the fireplace and began removing the photographs from the mantel. Being the two tallest of the group, it fell to Tyler and Gustavia to lift the mirror in its ornate frame down from the wall. Before they even had a chance to look at the mirror, Julie noticed something about the wall.

  "Hey, look," she said. "There used to be something else that hung here." She pointed to the darker square of wallpaper. "I can't believe it; another dead end."

  "No, it's not a dead end; we just have to search the house for something that fits that size. Wait here, I'll be back." Gustavia ran from the room to return a few minutes later with a measuring tape that she used on the darker square of wallpaper.

  Tyler jotted down the dimensions, and they started measuring the artwork beginning with the second floor bedrooms. Being the home of an artist, Hayward house had no shortage of pieces to measure. Julie was able to rule out some of the pieces because she knew Estelle had painted them after Julius' death. The second floor yielded two possibilities, but it wasn't until they went downstairs and walked into the living room that Julie realized what she should have known all along. It had to be the painting of Julius that had been hanging over the fireplace for as long as she could remember. She stopped and pointed, "That's it," she breathed.

  Gustavia told Kat in an undertone what they had found. Tyler stepped up to take a closer look and turned with an excited gleam in his eye, "It's signed—and you won't believe this—the artist's name seems to be A. Key." He was unprepared for the pitch and volume of the feminine screams that erupted upon hearing his comment.

  In the painting, Julius was posed formally, standing next to his note-covered desk in the library. Behind him were the familiar rows of books and to one side sat a table covered with pieces of an invention in progress. Julie stepped up onto the hearth to take a closer look. Sure enough. The painting was signed Andrew Key, with both the A and Key in much larger script than the remaining letters in Andrew. Her heart sped up and her hands began to tremble just a little. This was it, the key. Now, how was she supposed to use it?

  Slowly and carefully, she and Tyler lifted the large portrait down from the wall while Gustavia and Amethyst spread some towels over the table to protect both it and the painting. They laid it face down on the towels. At first glance, there was nothing remotely key-like about what they were seeing, at least from the back.

  "Do you think we should pull off the backing?" Amethyst asked.

  "Not yet; let's flip it over and take a look at the front first."

  Now that the painting was face up, Kat ran her hand over the skillfully carved frame. "Here's another carved key," she said as she prodded the spot with her sensitive fingers. Then she said, "Oh!" as the tiny key moved under her probing touch. There was a soft click as a round hole opened up in the side of the frame, then another as she found the second wooden key, this one opening a square hole on the lower end of the frame.

  There was no need for more discussion; every one of them knew what they needed to do. Tyler picked up the painting and led the way back upstairs. No one said a word as they followed him into Julius' rooms, Kat and Gustavia arm in arm. He gestured with nothing more than a nod of his head for Julie to flip the brackets out on the right hand side of the window, then he lifted the painting onto the brackets so that it hung at a right angle to the window.

  "Now what?" Amethyst asked.

  "Well, it says solstice here on the trim, and the window shows a summer theme. Summer solstice is only a few days away; maybe we need to somehow use the key then." Gustavia thought about it for another minute. "I hope there's a clue somewhere about when to use it because, otherwise, we are going to all be sitting here staring at the thing for an entire day."

  Tyler took the portrait down from the brackets and carried it back down to the table. Where the others inspected the painting closely while Kat sat nearby petting Lola, who gazed up at her lovingly.

  It was Ammie who, several minutes later, sang out, "Found it! Duh, easy when you think about it. There's a clock in the painting, upper left-hand side. Looks like it says 3:20. Seems too random to not mean anything, so that has to be it."

  "You're right."

  "Okay, it looks like we have a plan: on the day of the solstice, we hang the key on the brackets and see what happens at 3:20," Julie said.

  "AM or PM?" Gustavia wondered.

  Tyler answered firmly, "PM. The magic garden brings the light, so it has to be daytime.”

  Chapter 26

  From his favorite spot, Logan watched Julie load several framed photographs into her car. It was about time she left the house; he'd been waiting for his chance to get inside and take a look around. If Julie had seen him skulking in the brush, she might never have recognized her former fiancé, he was so changed from the man she had known. With no hope for securing the Hayward property, he'd never returned to his offices and then, once some local yokel of a cop had come sniffing around his apartment, he decided the best thing to do was to lay low.

  He had spent the past few weeks camping in the woods near Julie's place waiting for a time when the house would be empty. He hadn't shaved or showered. His normally immaculately styled hair, now a disheveled mess, stood on end where he had repeatedly run his hands through it in frustration. But, it was the fevered gleam in his eyes that Julie would have found most alien in the face she had come to know and care for. His time in the woods had chiseled away the layer of respectability Logan had always carefully maintained and allowed his true nature to show itself vividly on his face.

  After she had driven away, Logan waited a few minutes to make sure Julie was gone before leaving his hiding place and striding toward the house. He'd already chosen his entry point. One window near the back door was open an inch or two, and it would be a simple matter to nudge it all the way open and crawl headfirst inside.

  He felt a little resistance, but quickly had the window open and hoisted himself over the sill. He had time to see
the squeaky toys littered on the floor, but not enough time to avoid them. He landed on the pile, and the toys lived up to their promise by emitting a cacophony of squealing noises.

  Lola, hearing the sublime call of her favorite plaything shot through the now open kitchen door on a dead run barking at the top of her lungs. The plan had worked perfectly.

  Julius sent Estelle off to fetch Tyler and then settled his energy over Lola, concentrating to form an image of her with fierce eyes and bared teeth and to make it corporeal enough for Logan to see the friendly face turn menacing. He needn't have bothered. Lola's sweet personality covered up a keen sense of perception, and she knew this human was a threat to her new owner and her home. Her deep barks turned to growls as she lunged at Logan with only one thought on her mind: save the house from the bad guy. Julius quickly dissipated his efforts in order to save energy and stepped back to enjoy the show.

  Logan scrambled to his feet and, letting loose a steady stream of invective, kicked at the dog before launching himself back out the way he'd come in. He made a halfhearted attempt to close the window; but, with Lola jumping and snarling each time she saw his hand, he quickly abandoned the effort.

  At this point, Julius concentrated his energy, popped the latch on the back door and nudged it open enough to let Lola out. The boxer lunged through the door and made a beeline for Logan, who ran for his life as the big dog chased him across the property. Lola, running flat out had all the grace of a newborn giraffe; but, even with her uneven gait, she quickly outmatched her prey as Julius skimmed along beside her.

  Tyler looked up from his laptop as Estelle materialized in front of him and, even though he'd thought he was used to this ghost stuff by now, goosebumps broke out on his arms. Estelle spoke, "It's Logan! He's headed for the house; can you come?"

  Without a moment's hesitation, Tyler snatched up his car keys and was out the door on a dead run. He calculated it would take at least three minutes to get there and, determined to shave a minute off that time, floored the accelerator. When he passed Zack about a mile from Julie's house, he was doing 65 in a 45 mph zone. Meanwhile, back at the house, Logan had just landed in the squeaky zone. Zack flipped on the lights and made a quick U-turn to follow him while calling in his plate number. When the info from the car's registration came back, Zack recognized the name and realized something was wrong. Tyler made no effort to pull over. When he turned up the drive, Zack flipped off the siren and followed. They both parked and jumped out their cars at the same time.

  "Where is she?" Zack yelled at exactly the same time as Tyler yelled, "Logan Ellis is here!" Then, hearing Lola's frantic barking in the woods off to the left of the house, both men bolted in that direction. Estelle flashed on ahead to find man, dog, and ghost in the clearing where Logan had been camping for the past few days.

  The big boxer stood behind Julius—the short, spiky fur on her back and neck bristling with fury—while Logan tried, for all he was worth, to brain her with a fist-sized rock. Each time he tried to hit the dog, Julius deflected his aim; but Estelle could see her father-in-law's energy was rapidly becoming depleted. Turning back, she yelled to Tyler to hurry. Tyler and Zack broke into the clearing side by side—Zack with gun drawn—just as Logan managed to land a glancing blow on the dog's shoulder. Lola yelped in pain then twisted her head to sink her teeth into his arm.

  Zack yelled, "Stop right there!" But Logan shook his arm free, with a shriek of pain and anger, then turned to race off down the path behind his tent. Before Zack and Tyler reached the spot where Lola now lay whining in pain, they heard the sound of a car motor starting up. Tyler stopped to see to the dog while Zack continued running and reached the rutted track just in time to catch a glimpse of the rear of Logan's vehicle as it disappeared down the old access road.

  He managed to get a partial plate number and quickly jotted it down before returning to the clearing where he found Tyler kneeling beside Lola, running his hands over her and speaking to her in a calm, soothing voice. Estelle and Julius hovered nearby, but Zack couldn't or wouldn't see them.

  Tyler looked up, "Hey, man, sorry I didn't stop. Give me the ticket; I won't argue. Tyler Kingsley. You may not remember, but we met once a few years back." He held out his hand.

  "Yeah, you were doing a story on that RICO case; you probably know my sister Eloise," he said as he shook the proffered hand. Then, at Tyler's puzzled look, he added, "Gustavia, she goes by Gustavia," and he rolled his eyes.

  "Oh," Tyler smiled, "now, her I know. She's amazing."

  Zack arched an eyebrow at that, but didn't bother to answer. He squatted down to look at Lola. "Looked like he hit her pretty hard; how bad is it?"

  "She needs to go to the vet, but I think she'll be okay." He stroked the big dog's head as she gazed up him, brave but still sad eyed. "Good girl."

  Both men stood up. "You going after him?" Tyler asked.

  "Not much sense in it at this point; he's long gone by now."

  Lola struggled to her feet then limped a yard or so before sitting back down with a low whimper. "I think I can pick her up without causing too much pain," Tyler said.

  "Give me your keys; I'll bring your car up the access road. No sense in carrying her all the way back to the house. She looks a bit heavy for that."

  Tyler tossed them over, and Zack took off at a fast jog. A few minutes later, Tyler recognized the sound of his vehicle as Gustavia's brother pulled up to the makeshift campsite and left the car running while moving some things to make enough space in the back for the boxer to be comfortable. Lifting her gently, he settled her as carefully as he could, then turned to Zack appraisingly; he wasn't sure how much of the story anyone had provided the man, and he didn't want to give away any state secrets. Zack spoke first.

  "That was Logan Ellis, Julie's ex, right?"

  "In the flesh. Looks like he's been stalking her."

  "Looks like," Zack agreed, "Guess I'll be taking a look through his home away from home while you get the dog to the vet. Here's my cell number," he handed Tyler his card, "keep me posted. I'm going to pick this place apart, and then I'll need to talk to Julie."

  Tyler nodded, his face going grim as he jumped in, reversed in the small clearing, and drove off toward town.

  Zack watched pensively until the tail lights disappeared and then pulled out his cell phone to call his sister. When she answered the phone, he told her in short, terse sentences what had happened and agreed to let Gustavia contact Julie with the news about Lola.

  There wasn't much in the tent: a change of clothes, a sleeping bag, some food, a frying pan, a pot, and a small propane camp stove. Logan had been living rough; the inside of the tent smelled a lot like feet. If there had been anything of interest here, the jerk must have kept it in his car, the car he’d gotten away in. And that pissed Zack off no end. Still, he had a plate number. With that thought, he grabbed his cell phone to call in a BOLO. With any luck, someone would have eyes on the guy before he got away clean.

  * * *

  Since Julie was already in town, the call from Gustavia got her to the vet’s office just as Tyler pulled up in front. Without even thinking about it, she rushed into his arms and clung for a moment before asking, "How badly is she hurt?”

  “It’s her shoulder. Julius held him off as long as he could. I think she’ll be fine, but let’s get her in there.” After carefully scooping Lola out of the car, he carried her inside while her tiny stump of a tail wagged like crazy and she gave him a big sloppy kiss.

  An hour or so later, after x-rays and a thorough exam, they learned Lola didn’t have any broken bones, only a deeply bruised shoulder and a small cut that would heal with time, and she was released.

  Zack was waiting for them when they pulled up in front of the house. One look at his grim face told Julie Logan was still in the wind.

  “We found his car an hour ago, abandoned and empty. But the B and E was enough for a warrant. Do you know where he got in?” Julius had popped in on his granddaughter during the r
ide back from the vet’s and given her the rundown, while Estelle did the same for Tyler; so they both knew exactly how and where Logan had entered the house.

  “Gustavia sealed off all the windows except one,” Julie explained as she led Zack back outside, “and then she set up a booby trap for him.”

  “Hmmph.” Zack pulled out a small notepad and jotted down some notes. When he saw his sister’s handiwork, he let the barest of smiles slip through his stern expression before getting back down to business. He asked Julie to give him a rundown of how she met Logan, what their relationship had been like, and describe how things had ended. She was surprised at his gentleness as he asked probing questions and elicited detailed information that she would never have thought pertinent.

  By the time he was done, she could see a pattern that revealed the criminal lurking behind the man she thought she’d loved. As Zack watched the comprehension dawning on her face and the dismay she felt for not seeing things clearly, he was thankful she had a support system in place because she was absolutely devastated.

  “Do you think he’s coming back? Am I safe?”

  “If he is as smart as I think he is, he will go to ground and resurface somewhere with a new name. Be a bit harder now that he has a couple warrants. There’s nothing for him now but revenge. He’d be stupid to go after you now. Or insane.”

  Comforting words if she dared to believe them, but Julie wasn’t so sure.

  Chapter 27

  On June 21st, the date of the summer solstice, the afternoon sun speared through the stained glass window, diffusing through tiny shards of color, and bending, refracting through the prism set in the center of the summer garden scene. The rainbow-infused light sparkled and intensified in brilliance as it slanted across the bracketed portrait, spotlighting an area on the farthest shelves near the right hand side of the library. The phenomenon lasted only a short time, five minutes at most, as four of the five friends stood watching and Kat listened to Gustavia’s whispered explanation.