Garden of Sorrow (Book 4 of Psychic Visions, a paranormal romantic suspense)

by Mayer, Dale

  Regardless, at the moment she needed to get to work. Her soul needed the comfort of the gardens. Only there wasn't likely to be anything peaceful about them today. The damage from the excavation yesterday could be extensive.

  Arriving at work twenty minutes later, Alexis cast a wide glance across the park. From the looks of them, the gardens needed her, too.

  They'd been trashed. She wanted to howl at the damage. Damn.

  One officer stood off to the side. She nodded at him, but stayed away. Some of the police tape had been removed, though most still sagged in place. Several long strands of it cordoned off the grave and surrounding area. A few forlorn pieces blew aimlessly across the park. Heavy vehicles had left muddy ruts in the grass. Litter decorated muddy footprints. The carelessly discarded Styrofoam cups and cigarette butts really burned her.

  The park definitely had a 'morning after' appearance.

  She exhaled hard, rolled up her sleeves, and tucked her shirt into her jeans. She pulled several garbage bags from her truck. After putting on her work boots, she stomped her feet a couple of times to settle in, then locked her truck and stormed around the site on her clean-up mission. Every area of the park came under her scrutiny as she searched for offending human trash – every area, but one.

  When she finally realized what she'd unconsciously been avoiding, Alexis forced herself to walk toward the tiny open grave. The police officer stood to one side, his narrowed eyes watching her.

  The grave remained achingly difficult to gaze upon.

  Alexis couldn't stand the lonely, uncared for look of it. She had to do something.

  She couldn't enter the area, but she stacked several rocks just inside the cordoned off perimeter, where the ground held deep ruts from the vehicles. Maybe this location for her construction would reduce vandalism. Stepping back, she studied her handiwork.

  As a memorial, it left much to be desired.

  Plants. It needed the healing energy of plants. Chewing the inside of her lip, she surveyed her gardens. Her understanding of Mother Nature had become well honed over the years. Her coworkers called her spooky because of the way the plants responded to her. According to them, she could bring any dead plant back to life almost immediately and even make flowers appear out of season. That wasn't true, of course. Not totally.

  She couldn't save them all.

  As for the plants flowering off-season, who said plants could only flower at specific times? Alexis couldn't explain why her methods worked. She only knew they did.

  Alexis gave them the same loving attention she gave to animals and kids. Walking through the flowers, she called out softly to them. "How are you guys doing today? Yesterday was tough on all of us, wasn't it?" She stopped here and there, once to smooth a bent leaf, another time to stroke a particularly bright petal. "It's okay. It's all over. Everything is back to normal now."

  She continued to speak to her babies, murmuring soft words of comfort as she checked out each one. Her senses picked up on the energy levels of the plants around her. One small daisy plant with multiple white petals had a dark dull color to it. Alexis walked closer.

  The leaves drooped miserably. It cried out for help. She couldn't resist. Gently, her hands hovered over it. Years ago, she'd read several books on tricks to improve plant health and she had to admit, with practice it seemed to work better all the time. The more caring and attention she devoted to her plants, the better they did. Nothing magical about that. Common sense, really. One of the books also mentioned something about playing music and using soft lights. She grinned. Like her boss would let her do that.

  Within a few intense seconds, the plant brightened ever so slightly, almost appearing happy to have the company. Alexis laughed at that whimsical thought. She did have a good imagination.

  That thought wiped the smile off her face. Had Lissa's ghost been a figment of her imagination? God, she hoped not.

  Using another technique from the book, she focused a loving green – for health and healing – light around a different listless daisy plant.

  "What else can I do for you, little one?" She chuckled at her words, for in truth it was a decent size. She glanced over at the grave and without giving herself a chance to reconsider, she dug up the plant, making sure she kept a large root ball attached.

  "Yup, they're really going to think I'm nuts for this one." Alexis checked the surrounding area. Outside of the silent ever-watchful police presence, she was still alone. "I can always move you again, if you're not happy there," she murmured.

  It would be the public that showed its displeasure. A lone flowering plant wasn't going to be considered an artistic improvement. Yet, as a memorial, it was a start.

  Using her hands, she carefully loaded up as much of the rich black dirt around the ball as she could then carried it over to the rock pile. After planting it deep, she rearranged the rocks in an artistic pattern, creating a backdrop for the daisy.

  Scott found her almost an hour later.

  "Alex?"

  Bent over her tools, Alexis raked the footprints from the flowerbeds. She straightened and smiled up at him. "Hi, Scott. About time you showed up."

  "Don't you be worrying about me. The real question is, how are you?" He studied her face.

  Alexis grimaced and looked off in the distance to avoid his piercing blue eyes. He had a way of seeing things a little too clearly. "I'm better. It helps being in the gardens." She motioned to the mess around them. "We have a lot of work ahead of us."

  "There's time. I don't know if the police are done yet." He studied the daisy flower memorial. "Did you do that?"

  "What? Oh, yeah, I did." She searched his expression. "I had to do something," she added warily, hoping for, but not quite expecting, understanding. She needn't have worried. Scott was already nodding acceptance.

  "You're different this morning. What's the matter?" he asked.

  Startled, she hid her expression behind the fall of her hair.

  "Come on. What's going on?" Concern thickened his tone, making him harder to understand.

  She didn't know how to answer him, so she said nothing, just looked quietly into his eyes. What could she say that he'd believe – that wouldn't make her sound on the edge of a breakdown? Accepting the visions seemed too far-fetched, even for her.

  The intensity of his gaze changed. "Oh wow," he muttered softly. "You've always had a touch of the Sight, but something's changed." He studied her face. "But what?"

  She missed the last part, too startled by his first comment. "I don't have the Sight, whatever that is."

  "Like hell you don't. Don't be trying to hide it. You've always had magical speakings with them little plants of yours." He did a sweep with his arm to encompass the whole of the gardens. "That's how you make this so glowing. Only someone with the Sight could accomplish all this."

  Alexis flushed with warmth, followed immediately by icy fear that he might know more than she'd intended him to know. "No, you don't understand. I just practice some exercises I read in a couple of books. Anyone can do it."

  "No way. I can't." He grinned. "But my gram sure could. That…and more. You probably see all their colors too, don't you? My gram could tell all kinds of things about her plants just by the colors she saw."

  He was so matter of fact she could only stare at him in shock. She shook her head violently. "That's nuts!" She plunked down on the ground, her hand on her forehead. His words had shaken her very foundation.

  A loud snort answered her. "That's your modern thinking interfering. Me…I have a healthy respect for the Sight."

  That she had the Sight, or whatever he referred to, so didn't make sense. She was a gifted gardener. That she could see and accept. More than that? Uh, uh. Over the years, she'd had some indications that her abilities were out of the ordinary, but she really hadn't given it much thought. Her skills were a natural part of her world so why question them? Besides the Sight meant psychic stuff, premonitions, visions. Ghosts? Her world slowed. The child in the ditch
. Lissa.

  Oh, Dear God.

  She stared at the sky above, her mind blank, her heart pounding – but not in shock – more like after a revelation.

  "What would make these skills suddenly change?" she asked, not really sure she wanted to hear the answer.

  His clear gaze seared through her.

  She shuddered at the sense of exposure. As if he could see what she could not.

  "That's what yesterday was all about, wasn't it?" he asked.

  Slightly afraid, she nodded – a tiny, barely perceptible movement – then said, in a small voice, "Maybe."

  "Ah lassie… Scared yourself right and proper, didn't you?"

  His words startled a crooked smile out of her. "I don't understand any of this. Life was pretty normal until I fell into the ditch, but now…the things I'm seeing… That's scary." She was confused and more than a little relieved to be able to talk about it with someone.

  "What did you see?" Curious, Scott sat down on the grass beside her, close enough to be supportive and far enough away not to crowd her.

  "I saw a little girl in a hallway. I think. I mean, I saw a little girl. Or I thought I saw a girl…but she wasn't real… It's like she was mist or something and in a hallway…in the ditch." She stopped, confused.

  Scott nodded. Keeping his voice low and calm he said, "Start at the beginning and tell me what happened. Step by step."

  Alexis checked around to make sure they were still alone. The sun was almost directly overhead. A few people walked around, or sat on benches, but they were down at the other end of the park.

  She took a deep breath, and began to explain. She left nothing out. Her voice wobbled as she finished by telling him about her sister's visit.

  "I thought I was having a breakdown, Scott. My God, Lissa was so clear. She was right there in front of me. She said my name." Shock and disbelief colored her voice.

  "Ah, lassie." Scott pulled her into his comforting embrace, squeezing her tight before releasing her. "You should be joyous, not 'afeared."

  What could she say to that? She studied his compassionate gaze. "Really? It's that simple to you?"

  "Is what that simple?" A strong voice reached across the flowers to them.

  Alexis pivoted. Detective Sutherland.

  What was it about this man that made her back straighten and her knees weaken at the same time?

  "Hi, Scott. Alexis. I need to speak with the two of you. But first, who put that memorial together? It's within the crime scene." The detective's stern face towered above her.

  "Oh." Alexis snapped to her feet, brushing the dirt of her pants. "I did. I'm sorry. I'd hoped it would be far enough out of the way for you, but deter vandalism because it was inside the tape."

  The chiseled features eased. "The tape is there for a reason. We aren't done with the scene yet."

  Alexis twisted around to look at the memorial in the distance. "I can move it outside, if you need me to."

  Casting a quick glance at Scott, who now stood beside Alexis, he continued in a calmer voice. "Should you even be at work today? Most people would understand the need to take off a day or two after yesterday."

  Alexis shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm better off doing something constructive." She hesitated. "Have you identified her yet? I can't imagine what her family has gone through all these years." Alexis stuffed her hands into her pants pocket as she waited. Her insides trembled. She didn't know why his answer mattered so much, but it did.

  Suspicion shone in his eyes as he stared her, his jaw firmly locked in place.

  His instant shift from casual stance to hardened investigator had Alexis asking, "What?"

  "You called the skeleton a 'she.' What makes you so sure it is a little girl?"

  Confusion clouded her mind. Good question, how had she known it was a little girl? Because she'd assumed it was the same child that she'd seen running in the ditch.

  The men waited for her answer.

  "I guessed," she answered lamely, not ready to share her bizarre vision with this man.

  Skepticism washed over the detective's face but thankfully, he left it at that, at least for the moment.

  Scott was a different story. He quirked his eyebrow at her, but she shook her head.

  Kevin watched the silent exchange. Alexis could almost feel his mind cataloging her and Scott. Figuring who they were, their relationship, and if they were hiding anything. It was obvious this man missed little.

  His body stance relaxed, in total opposition to the sharpness of his attention, and damned if her contrary hormones didn't find that attractive. What the hell was with that?

  "Do I need to move the memorial? I just felt that the grave needed to be respected and marked." Her fists clenched deep inside her denim pockets. She wanted to wipe them dry on her jeans, but didn't want to arouse his suspicions any more than they already were.

  "I'll see. There will be a crew here later today to map out the gardens to compare to aerial photographs." He glanced over at Scott and gestured to the spot above the ditch. "Scott, you've been here awhile… How long has this garden bed been here? Do you know?"

  "Since forever, it seems. I can't give you an exact year, but I've been working on it for over twenty years."

  Kevin nodded. "Right. And in that time, has any major work been done? Work that would have brought the skeleton to light if one had been here then?"

  Both Alexis and Scott turned to study the bed. A beautiful blue spruce stood close to twelve feet tall in the center with weeping maples and begonias filling in the bulk of the area beneath. Bulbs flowered and went with the seasons, and annuals were planted each spring for bright cheerful color.

  "Even if we dug it over, like we do in the fall, we wouldn't go that deep," Alexis said.

  "Ay, that's true enough. But Cardinal Park was upgraded with this spruce and new perennials around twelve to fifteen years ago. I'll have to check the records." He paused, a frown twisting his face. But that spot where the body was found was part of this big bed here," he motioned to the spruce bed. "We moved all the smaller plants at this end of the bed last year when we were notified about this job with the pipes. There weren't many big plants, so we didn't need to go very deep. It wasn't a big area, and was fairly easy to shorten up to make way for the construction." He walked around the garden bed, studying the plants flourishing in the rich mulch. He pointed to the end where the grave sat. "And that spot had originally been put in about a decade…maybe even fifteen years or so ago."

  "There will be pictures and plans on file," Alexis offered.

  Kevin smiled. "Pictures and plans would help a lot. Help establish a timeline. Scott, send over anything you have and I'll add it to the file." He glanced at the large silver watch on his wrist. "I'm short on time. Make sure nothing else is disturbed in the crime scene. Don't be surprised if you come in one day to find your memorial has been moved. We need to have full access to the entire surface." He nodded to both of them and headed back over to the grave.

  Alexis watched as he stood in front of the memorial for a long moment. Don't touch the plant, she pleaded in her heart. Instead, he pulled on thin rubber gloves and moved over to the open grave, where he sifted through the lightly packed dirt close to the surface. He filled several small vials, and then repeated the process from lower, inside the ditch. Back on top, he pulled out a notepad and started writing.

  "Now what the hell is he doing?" she muttered. It shouldn't matter, but everything to do with this case affected her. She needed him to do his job and find out who this little girl was. It was important. She just didn't know why she felt it so strongly.

  Finally, he must have finished, because he tucked his notebook back into his pocket.

  With each sign that he'd soon be leaving, Alexis could feel her tension drain away. It had been years since any male had rattled her cage like this one did.

  The detective walked toward the parking lot, but instead of going to his car, he strode down a path that looped through the trees.<
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  She relaxed. In the distance dark clouds gathered. Rain threatened.

  "What's going on now?" Scott asked.

  "I hardly know how to explain it." How could she explain? "It's like the little girl is real. Trying to say something to me…through me. Only I don't know what she wants me to say." She cast a glance his way. "Scott, what if I'm losing my mind?"

  "Why? Because the dead are speaking to you? They only do that when they have something important to say. They aren't going to leave you alone until you give them voice." He shrugged, helpless to offer more comfort. "Maybe you should go study up on it?"

  Alexis nodded. "I can do that easily enough. The Internet is full of information." She silently wondered if she should do more…like book an appointment with her doctor.

  "Internet, now that's bad stuff. How can all that information float around in the air?" The huge man looked around uncertainly, as if words and pictures from the Internet were going to jump out of thin air and attack him. "That can't be good for you."

  Alexis snorted. "Listen to you. It's okay for dead people to be speaking inside my head, but it's not okay to send data through cables or fiber optics. Yeah, that makes sense."

  "Don't you go being disrespectful of the Sight. It'll get you if you do," he warned.

  "Get me how?" This new worry stopped her cold. She rubbed her arms, brushing the first summer rain drops off her bare skin. She always carried rain gear in her car, but didn't bother to go after it. The horizon showed bright blue. This could just be a short squall.

  "No way to know. Mostly, it's demanding that you listen – or else." Scott studied her face.

  "Like I need more to worry about." She changed the subject. "What do you think about the detective?"

  He looked sideways at her. "In what way?"

  At his teasing tone her face warmed. "Do you think he's a good cop? You obviously know him, so what's he like?" she asked, exasperated.