An Unhappy Medium

by Dawn Eastman

  I stepped into the fray. “We don’t need a pendulum for this, but we can show one to Sophie later. Let’s eat, and then I guess you guys can help me.”

  I scowled at Vi and waited my turn at the counter to make a sandwich. I had promised Richard and Aaron that I would keep this a secret. I’d have to make something up.

  By the time we had all made and eaten our sandwiches, the kitchen looked like a rugby team had scrummed through it. The dogs kept busy searching for anything that may have dropped and Seth ransacked the pantry for cookies.

  “Okay, let’s get going,” Vi said as she crumpled her napkin and rinsed her plate. “I don’t have all day.”

  We went into the living room and sat around the coffee table. It reminded me of another time Seth and I had done this to help Diana cast a protection spell. This time, I was going to try to use the energy in the room to find the rest of the diamonds.

  I turned to Seth, “Logan’s dad asked me to find something for him, but I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone what it was.”

  Seth held his hands up. “He’s a pretty intense guy. I wouldn’t want to break a promise to him, so don’t tell me.”

  “How can we help you find it, if we don’t know what we’re looking for?” Sophie knelt by the couch and looked underneath. “Did he lose it while he was here?” She sat back on her heels and held up a chew toy, which Tuffy promptly nabbed and began chomping. Baxter’s ears went down, but he didn’t try to take it from Tuffy.

  “No, he didn’t lose it here,” I said. “He doesn’t know where it is. I can sometimes sense where a lost item might be. It’s hard to explain, but it’s sort of like playing hot and cold. I feel a tug when I’m zeroing in on the place. Obviously, it helps if I have some sense of where to start. I’ve never tried this before, but a friend of mine told me that using other people’s energy will sometimes amplify the signal. Like using an antennae to get a TV picture.”

  Sophie looked blankly at me.

  Seth said, “It’s like getting a better Wi-Fi router.”

  Sophie’s eyes lit up. “Oh, I get it.”

  We held hands in a circle and I closed my eyes. I felt weird. I knew they were all watching me like maybe I’d start speaking another language or something. I opened my eyes. Yup, they were staring.

  “I think this will work better if everyone closes their eyes,” I said. “You guys are making me nervous with the staring.”

  I waited until they closed their eyes and then I relaxed. I slowed my breathing and concentrated on the diamonds. I saw the ones I had already hidden upstairs and pushed that image aside. I saw an office with a desk and shelves. There was a large plant in the corner. No idea why I would see that detail. It would be much more helpful if I had an address.

  I waited a little longer and then sensed, rather than saw, that this was Aaron Vaughn’s office.

  I opened my eyes. The other three were watching me. “I told you to keep your eyes closed.”

  “I was starting to fall asleep,” Seth said.

  “It freaks me out to sit with my eyes closed,” Sophie said. Already she had picked up Vi’s phrase. She’d be shouting, “I knew it!” next.

  “I had to keep an eye on things,” Vi said.

  I dropped Sophie’s and Seth’s hands and they in turn let go of Vi.

  “So did you see anything?” Vi asked.

  “It was strange,” I said. “I think I saw Aaron Vaughn’s office.”

  “Maybe he lost whatever it was in his own office,” Sophie said. “I sometime lose things in my room.”

  I smiled at her. “It’s possible. I guess I’ll have to go there and see what I can find.”

  We spent the next hour or so playing cards and discussing where to get takeout for dinner. Vi had gone off on her very important business, promising to go to Aaron’s office with me in the morning. If it wasn’t for the kids, I would have gone there right away, but I’d promised Sophie we’d stay home that afternoon and I didn’t mind the time to mull over what I had already discovered.

  Mac was home early and we let him choose the restaurant for takeout. He chose Everyday Grill since we’d just had pizza. The kids went up to Seth’s room while we ordered. They had become obsessed with a computer building game.

  I sat on the couch with Mac. The house was surprisingly quiet for a few moments.

  “I got some interesting news today,” he said.

  I turned toward him.

  “The boat that caught fire belonged to Paul,” Mac said. “The police assumed they had just taken it, but the boat was sold two weeks ago.”

  “They weren’t even in town two weeks ago, were they?”

  “The former owner said the whole transaction took place online. He got suspicious when the buyer sent him cash and told him to leave the key in the boat this weekend. So he kept watch and saw who took it out. He was the one who called the police when it caught fire. He confirms that they got in the boat.”

  My voice shook a little when I said, “They had to have been planning the whole thing. From the moment they got here they were planning to leave the kids and disappear.” Part of me still worried that they had actually died in the boat. Rationally I knew that Grace called me at that specific time to let me know she was safe, but still. The evidence they left behind led to one conclusion.

  “It looks like it.” Mac took my hand. “You’re hands are like ice. Are you okay?” He scooted around to look at me more closely.

  I pulled my hand away. “I’m just trying to process Grace’s unbelievable plan. What if I hadn’t agreed to take the kids? Would they still have left them here?”

  Mac opened his mouth to say something and stopped. We both heard the kids clambering down the stairs.

  “Is dinner here yet?” Seth asked. “I’m starving.”

  “I’ll go pick it up.” I stood and snagged the keys from the hook by the door. I needed a few minutes alone.

  31

  Friday morning I took Seth and Sophie to my mom’s for a cookie-baking marathon. Vi had talked Mom into it so Vi and I could go to Aaron’s office and return the diamonds I had found at the shelter and snoop for the ones I thought were in Aaron’s office.

  Vaughn’s Jewelry occupied a corner spot in a well-trafficked area of Grand Rapids. Windows wrapped around the building and sparkled in the sunlight. I snagged a parking spot just down the street and we walked past a coffee shop and a clothing store on our way to the corner. Vi pulled open the glass door and we stepped inside. I was dazzled by the chrome and glass with high-intensity lights throughout the store. Shelves of glassware, silver trays, vases, and boxes lined one wall. Rolex, Cartier, Breitling, and Panerai watches occupied the vitrine nearest the door. Other glass cases held gold and silver necklaces, bracelets, and rings. The center island contained only diamonds.

  “Good morning,” a perky blonde woman said as we walked in. “How can I help you?”

  “We’re here to see Mr. Vaughn,” I said.

  “Richard or Aaron?”

  “Aaron,” I said. Vi and I had debated on whether to turn the jewels over to the older Vaughn, but worried that we wouldn’t get into Aaron’s office that way.

  “I’ll see if he’s available.” She walked back to the customer service desk and opened the half door to reach the hallway behind.

  Vi and I strolled along the glassed-in displays, goggling at the pieces inside. I started to think again that I had undercharged them for finding the jewels. There must be millions in inventory just in the display cases.

  The salesclerk gestured at us from behind the counter and we followed her down the hallway to Aaron Vaughn’s office.

  “Hello!” Aaron hurried from behind his desk to shake my hand. He turned to Vi and took her hand as well. “Ms. Greer, it’s nice to see you again.”

  “Hello, Aaron,” Vi said.

  Aaron clos
ed the door behind us and gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. Vi and I had a plan to get him out of his office so I could snoop, but we’d decided to give him the diamonds we had already found. I couldn’t wait to get rid of the things.

  He folded his hands on his desk and looked at me. “So have you had success already? I’ve heard the rumors about you, but I have to say I had no idea you’d find them so fast.”

  I pulled out the baggie with the diamonds and put it on his desk.

  “It’s only ten of them, but I feel like they’re the ones you’re looking for.”

  He pulled the bag across the desk, placed a black velvet board on top, and dumped the diamonds onto it. He took out a jeweler’s loupe and examined them. With one eye squinted over the loupe he said, “Yes. This looks like it’s from the batch that was taken. We have serial numbers etched onto them and I’ll have one of our experts compare them to the list of the missing gems. Where did you find them?”

  I exchanged a glance with Vi. We’d decided it wouldn’t hurt to tell him where they were and his reaction might tell us something about what was going on. The fact that I was getting such a strong pull to his office had both of us wondering if he had more to do with the theft than he was letting on. I had even started wondering if he had killed his brother because of the diamonds only to be disappointed that Derek had hidden them before the zombie run. Were they in it together and Aaron had his half stashed right here in his office?

  “I found them at the animal shelter,” I said. “They were in the back office where volunteers leave their belongings while working at the shelter.” I had decided not to tell him they were in Logan’s cubby. Until I knew what was going on, I didn’t want to cause any further family disruption.

  “The animal shelter?” Aaron said. “How did they get there?”

  Vi and I shrugged. I was only halfway paying attention to the conversation. I was trying to sense the rest of the diamonds. I got a definite pull from behind me. But other than a large plant, there was nothing there. I had assumed I’d need to rifle through his desk, but that felt as cold as any other place. Every time I tried to imagine them in his desk, or on his shelves, I saw the corner where the plant stood, limply, in the weak electric light.

  “Can you verify how many are still missing?” Vi asked. “It will help my niece to find the rest if she has a better idea of what she’s looking for.”

  “Oh, yes,” Aaron stood up and scooped the diamonds onto a little tray. “I’ll take these to the back and check them against the list. It’ll just be a couple of minutes. I can send Julie in with some water or coffee while you wait?”

  We both shook our heads. We didn’t want Julie and her coffee to interrupt our ransacking of the office.

  Aaron stepped out, promising to return shortly.

  “Take your time,” Vi smiled at him.

  The minute he left the room, Vi jumped out of her seat and took up sentry duty.

  “Hurry,” she said. “Do you have any idea where they are?”

  I rushed to the plant and felt around behind it and under it. I was about to dig through the dirt when I got another tug. I looked up and noticed the picture of a boat hanging on the wall above the plant. I turned to see if he had any boats on his desk or books about boats. He had a wooden fishing boat sitting on one of his shelves. I picked it up and shook it, but it didn’t make a sound. It also didn’t feel right.

  I had just set it down when Aaron came back in the room. He had seen me.

  “Isn’t that a great piece?” he came over and picked it up. “I had a local artist make a replica of my boat. I love to be out on the water. Can’t wait to get back out there this summer.”

  He seemed sincere and not at all suspicious that we had been snooping. If I had a stash of diamonds in my office, I wouldn’t leave a psychic finder alone in it. None of this made sense to me. And we still hadn’t found the diamonds.

  “I wonder if we could take you up on that offer of coffee?” Vi said. She knew I needed another couple of minutes.

  “Of course, I’ll just call Julie . . .”

  Vi held up her hand. “I like to make my own coffee. Just show me where you keep it. I’m very particular about my sugar-to-cream ratio.”

  “Oh, okay.” Aaron led Vi out into the hallway.

  I heard her asking him questions about the business, his wife and kids, and his boat. I had to move quickly.

  I went back to the picture. It was framed in one of those metal poster frames and I pulled the bottom gently away from the wall and ran my fingers along the inside of the frame. Halfway across I felt a soft, lumpy item. I pulled it out. It was a black velvet drawstring bag similar to the one Vi used to store her pendulum, and exactly like the one I had found at the shelter. I heard Vi talking loudly in the hall. I shoved the bag in my pocket and hurried to sit in my chair. I pulled my phone out and was pretending to check messages when they walked in.

  Vi handed me a cup of coffee and I raised an eyebrow at her—our signal that I had found the jewels. I hoped that was what I had found. I had no idea how we would get another chance aside from a full-on break-in. Which would probably land us in jail with all the security cameras they had set up. I had a sudden moment of apprehension—I scanned the corners of the office and the top of the shelves for a security camera but didn’t see one. I’d just have to hope that the boss didn’t have a camera in his own office.

  We sipped our coffee and Aaron continued his one-sided boating conversation until the desk phone interrupted us. Aaron picked it up and had a brief conversation. Vi and I pretended to look everywhere but at Aaron. I was waiting for security to come barging in to accuse me of stealing whatever it was from behind the picture.

  Aaron set the phone back in its cradle and smiled.

  “The diamonds check out as some of the ones that were taken by my brother. I can’t thank you enough.”

  “You’re welcome,” I said. “How many are still missing?”

  “Twenty,” Aaron said. “They will be similar in size and value to the ten you already found. Do you think you can find the rest?”

  “I’m very confident I can track down at least some of them.”

  “Great, my father will be thrilled,” Aaron spun his wedding ring on his hand. “I can’t tell you how hard it has been on my parents—losing Derek and then discovering he had stolen from the family. My mother doesn’t know about that part. She’s barely spoken since Derek died and Dad didn’t want to upset her further by telling her about the golden boy’s fall from grace.” He looked at us quickly. “I’m sorry, that was an unfortunate choice of words. I know you’re both dealing with your own loss. Grace was so lovely. We were all very fond of her when she and Derek were together.”

  “We’re sorry for your loss as well,” I said. “It’s hard to lose a sibling, especially so young.” I felt like such a fraud. Aaron had truly lost Derek and even if he was a jewel thief and a screwup, he was really dead. Grace was only fake-dead, and I was getting tired of pretending to be upset.

  We promised to let him know as soon as we found anything and he showed us back out to the front of the store. I took Vi by the elbow and quickly exited Vaughn Jewelry.

  32

  The enthusiastic doggy greeting when we entered Mom’s house made me worry the dogs were confused by the disrupted routine. Seth gave them treats every day when he came home from school but without the cue of coming home, the dogs got nervous. They were never sure when the treat would come and, in desperation, would appeal to me.

  I knew I was right when Baxter shoved his head through the strap of my bag and shoved his face inside. One time he had found a bag of treats in there and he had never forgotten or given up hopes of another jackpot. Once. He roughly pulled away and the strap caught on his collar. This made him panic and he pulled harder. The bag flipped upside down, scattering its contents everywhere. Mom, Seth, and Sop
hie came into the foyer to see what was causing the melee.

  “Baxter, leave it,” Seth said. He bent and took my wallet out of Baxter’s mouth.

  Mom crouched on the floor and began shoving things back in my bag while Sophie held Tuffy back. Seth held the soggy wallet out to me. I took it and wiped it off on my jeans. I turned to put it in my bag and saw Mom reach out and pick up the packet of tea that Neila had given me a week ago. I had forgotten all about it.

  Mom held it up in a shaking hand. “Where did you get this?” I could tell by her tone of voice that she knew where I’d gotten it.

  I exchanged a nervous glance with Vi.

  “I’ll take that,” Vi said. “It’s mine.”

  Mom snatched her hand away. “Don’t lie to me, Violet.”

  Seth cast a worried look at me and ushered Sophie and the dogs down the hallway and out the back door.

  Mom stood slowly and looked at me steadily. “Tell me.”

  “Neila Whittle gave it to me,” I said.

  Mom nodded. “I haven’t seen one of these in years, but she still folds them up the same way.” Mom ran her fingers over the creases. “How long have you been visiting her?”

  I felt my shoulders slump. “About six months. She’s been helping me with my dreams. Recently we’ve been working to strengthen my finding skills.”

  Mom turned to Vi. “I assume this was your doing?”

  Vi crossed her arms and clenched her jaw in her stubborn expression.

  Mom turned back to me and waited.

  “I needed some help to understand my skills and I found out from Vi that Neila could help.”

  Vi sniffed loudly.

  Mom handed me the packet. “You should drink this. I’m sure it will help with whatever you’re working on.”

  “Mom, I didn’t tell you because—”

  Mom held up her hand. “I know why. Vi told you I wouldn’t approve.” Mom sighed and gestured toward the living room. “Let’s go sit down. I wanted to talk to you about this anyway.”