THE WITCH'S LADDER (Detective Marcella Witch's Series)

by Dana Donovan

  Her question silenced the room. Leona shrunk into her chair; her eyes darted nervously from one curious face to the other before settling again on Valerie Spencer. Just the warmth in her eyes seemed to calm Leona. She smiled, stood and made her way slowly to the window. Below, the remaining investigators had begun packing up for the evening. The news people and their bright lights had already gone, pressed to meet the six o’clock news deadline. Leona opened her mouth and her soft-spoken words spilled out effortlessly.

  “I used to see everything,” she said, her monotone voice void of emotions. “When I was a little girl in Honduras, I saw such things and I remembered every detail. I remembered the faces and the uniforms of the men who came to kill.” She put her finger to the glass and traced a sign of the cross as she gazed out in a hollow stare. “They came to kill. They always kill.” Her finger slid down the glass and her hand came to rest by her side. “They took people away into the jungle. I saw the color of their eyes peering from above the bandanas they wore to cover their faces, and I remembered. I saw them, but they could not see me. The innocent could, but not the evil ones.

  “Many of the women in their pretty dresses…the men shot them dead. Blood ran down the front of their dresses, turning them bright red. I learned to despise that color. To this day, I do not wear anything red. To me, it is the color of death.”

  She turned her cheek to the window and pressed it against the glass. Her voice, already barely loud enough to hear, came back even softer.

  “When I became older…” She reached up for the beads around her neck and clutched them. “I slept with the holy rosary so that I might have it with me when I traveled out of body. I could do nothing to help the innocent whose murders I witnessed, but when they saw me holding the beads, they would think the Holy Mother sent me. They would look up at me and make the sign of the crucifix. I think it gave them a sense of peace before…” Her voice trailed off to an inaudible whisper.

  In the window, Leona could see the reflection of the others. They stood behind her, silent, but for their breathing, straining to hear her words. She had not spoken of those horrible memories to anyone before, not even to Valerie or Doctor Lieberman, though both found it encouraging that she could speak of it after all these years, finding the strength to confront her demons.

  “One night, about two years ago,” Leona continued, “I went away to Puerto Castilla on holiday with my Uncle and his family. I went to sleep, but awoke to find myself in the jungles of Nicaragua. It had been many months since I traveled out of body, so I did not sleep with my rosary. I knew then what I would see there, another killing. What I did not expect was that this time it would be my own papa. They beat him severely and dragged him into the jungle so they could shoot him and leave him dead. Papa begged on his knees for his life. He looked over and saw me. I knew he did, but his assassins could not.

  “When they executed him…” She broke again to catch her stifled breath. “I looked at the men who did it so that I could remember their faces.” She shook her head softly. “For some reason, I could not see them. They were not wearing masks or covering their faces anymore. I just could not see them. My brain would not allow me to see. That was the last time I experienced bilocation in my sleep, until now, before all of this started.”

  Leona turned from the window. A single teardrop skittered down the side of her cheek, splashing delicately onto her chest before disappearing in a salty trail down the front of her blouse.

  “So you were at Suffolk’s Walk?” asked Michael.

  “Yes, but I did not see who did it. It was just a shadow to me. I was very frightened. I feel whoever it is, he knows me. He can see me. Only now I cannot see him. I cannot explain. I have this feeling. The killer knows me and soon…” She began to tremble. “I will be next.”

  Valerie hurried to Leona. Doctor Lieberman also rushed to her side. Together, they steadied her.

  “So you know it’s a man?” said the doctor.

  “No, not for sure. Every time the shadow seems somehow different. Sometimes the figure is large and menacing, and sometimes it is not so large.”

  “Maybe it’s not always the same person,” said Valerie.

  Leona shrugged.

  Shekina said, “Let me get this straight,” her voice twanged with cynicism. “You’re telling us that you were present at all six murders. You saw everything, but you cannot tell us if the killer is a man or a woman? I find that difficult to believe. Am I the only one who thinks that is unbelievable?”

  Akasha stood. “No, Sister. You are not the only one. It seems to me if one is watching, then one can see everything and not just shadows. I believe we have much documentation including vivid accounts of Leona’s bilocations. In them, she has never mentioned seeing shadows, only colorful details.”

  “Wait just a minute,” Lilith said. “I don’t remember anyone saying that Leona was at all six murders. Nobody said she saw Travis or Barbara murdered. Why make that assumption now? Are you morons, or just pathetically lacking compassion for this poor woman?”

  Akasha turned her nose up. “Why do you defend her?”

  “Because she deserves the benefit of the doubt. No one said she was there when—”

  “I was there,” said Leona.

  “What?”

  “I was there when Barbara and Travis were killed. I saw everything—except for who did it.”

  Doctor Lieberman said, “Leona. Why haven’t you told us this before? Don’t you know that any information you have could be important?”

  “I was afraid that whoever it was would come for me if he knew I could help the police.”

  “But you came clean now,” said Valerie. “That’s what’s important. Maybe we can help you remember. Would you let us try?”

  Leona clutched her rosary to her chest, searched Valerie’s eyes for reassurance and said, “All right.”

  Doctor Lieberman motioned for Jean to check outside the door. Gordon and Michael drew the shades over the windows. Valerie grabbed a chair and slid it to the middle of the room. “Lilith,” she said, “will you help me?”

  Lilith agreed, and the two led Leona to a chair, taking up positions by Leona’s side.

  “Leona,” said Valerie. “Lilith and I are going to try something on you. It will help you remember. It’s a form of hypnosis called spontaneous trans-neuro-manipulation, or STM. It won’t hurt a bit. Is that okay?”

  Leona nodded.

  Most in the group knew what to expect next, except Jean. She asked Doctor Lieberman, who explained it the best he could.

  “It’s a simple procedure,” he said, “involving the manipulation of the temporal lobe and the spinal accessory nerve at the base of the skull. It requires two people to perform, as you can see, with Valerie implementing pressure on Leona’s spinal accessory nerve while Lilith applies equal force to Leona’s temporal lobes. If performed correctly, Leona should fall into a relaxed state of consciousness. Signals to her cerebellum will temporarily short circuit. When that happens, the temporal and frontal lobes of her cerebrum, the portions harboring long and short memories, will become energized or super charged.”

  Jean nodded as though she understood. In all likelihood, though, she probably lost him at, ‘It’s a simple procedure’. Though his narrative might have proved difficult to understand, the results of the experiment were realized immediately. In no time, Leona was under hypnosis and vividly recalling the horrid events of the night before.

  “Tell me what you remember about last night, Leona,” Valerie said, her voice soft and soothing. “Start from the beginning, just after you called Doctor Lieberman to tell him you weren’t going to make it to the meeting.”

  Leona’s body fell into a relaxed slump as she melted comfortably into her seat, releasing her inhibitions and surrendering them to the will of her guardians.

  “I remember feeling so very tired,” she said, rocking her head back into Valerie’s cradling fingers. “All day I did not feel well. I went to bed for a
nap. The next thing I knew I was here at the Center. I was bilocating.”

  “How did you know that?”

  She smiled. “I hovered outside the second-floor window.”

  “Oh. I guess that would be a good indication. What happened then?”

  “I looked in the window. I saw you all gathered around Valerie for an experiment.”

  As she spoke, Leona tilted her head curiously from side to side as if trying to see through the window. “I know the experiment also involved Barbara, because I saw her here, as well. She stood beside Valerie with one hand on her shoulder. She tried to say something. I think she wanted to warn Valerie—in the back seat. You must not look back there, Valerie. There is something bad there, something very bad.”

  “Yes, Leona, I know. She wanted to warn me about the danger in the back seat of her car. Didn’t she?”

  “Yes. There is much danger. You must not look back there.”

  “Do you know what it is, Leona?”

  “Something bad. Something very bad.”

  “I know. It’s a person, isn’t it? Do you know who it is? Do you know who’s hiding in the back seat?”

  Leona shook her head no.

  “That’s okay, Leona. We’ll get back to that later. Tell me what else you remember. What happened next?”

  “Detective Marcella came in. I saw him in the hallway. He watched the experiment, too.”

  “Marcella? He was here the entire time?”

  “Yes, from the beginning. He watched everything.”

  “Did he do anything? Take notes?”

  “He did not take notes. He stood in the hall, playing with the rope, twirling it. Watching. Listening.”

  Valerie and Lilith looked up, first at each other and then toward the door, perhaps expecting to see my shadow outside in the hall. Michael even went to the door and peeked around the corner. He returned with a shrug. The two women continued the trans-neuro-manipulation.

  “Go on, Leona. What happened next?”

  “Something drove me away. A strange force pushed me away from the window. It was very powerful. It happened the moment Detective Marcella untied the knots.”

  “The witch’s ladder,” someone said, and several in the room echoed the phrase in whispers.

  Leona described how she then found herself inside the room with everyone else, but that no one could see her. “I sat over there,” she said, with a nod toward her usual seat in the corner. “I knew I was still bilocating, but I did not know why I was there.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Nobody killed. I only bilocate when somebody is killed.” Then she added, “Unless Doctor Lieberman helps me to bilocate.” A soft grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. She seemed to fight it at first, but eventually gave in, and her parting lips peeled back to reveal a gorgeous, though seldom seen smile.

  “You like it when Doctor Lieberman lets you go, don’t you?” Valerie said.

  “Oh yes, it is wonderful. He has allowed me to visit such wonderful places. I have seen many happy people: mothers with babies, fathers with sons, children playing with other children. It is always so wonderful. Everybody is so happy, not like when....” Her voice trailed off. Her smile faded, replaced by a grimace of disapproval.

  “Not like when you bilocate on your own,” Valerie said. “Is that it?”

  “Yes. I do not like to bilocate on my own. It is always a nightmare. It is a nightmare I know is really happening, and people are really dying. Sometimes I would do anything to trade places with those people. Then I would not have to see more. I could make it all go away.”

  “Leona, I want you to listen to me. Tell me what happened afterward, when you found yourself back in the room with us last night. What happened next?”

  Leona turned her head again toward the window, her eyes still shut. “Travis was here,” she said in a near whisper. “He came in the form of thought energy, there,” she pointed, “on the window. He wanted to tell you something. He knows who killed him, and you know this person also.” She turned forward again. “The killer moves freely among us. Beware. No one is safe. We are all in danger.”

  Valerie looked first at Lilith, then around the room at the faces of her fellow shop mates. “Who is it, Leona? Is he in this room? Is he here now?”

  She repeated, “The killer moves freely among us. That is all I know. No one is safe.”

  “Leona, after Travis appeared, you went back outside. Didn’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “What did you see there?”

  Leona drew a deep breath in through her nose, and a smile came to her as she let it out. “I love the fog,” she said. She took another breath and savored it. “It reminds me of my home in Honduras. When I was a young girl, I remember how the fog rolled down from the mountains early in the morning into the valley where I lived. It always smelled so fresh and clean. Sometimes it came in so thick I could stand in one place and let the moisture collect on the tip of my nose in tiny water drops. Then I would reach up with my tongue and try to lick the drops off my nose.”

  She giggled as she attempted to demonstrate her ability to touch her nose with her tongue. Valerie and Lilith smiled. From the corner of her eye, Lilith saw Gordon and Michael attempting to duplicate the feat.

  “It was very foggy last night, wasn’t it?” Valerie said, realizing the connection.

  “Yes. The fog rolled in off the lake. It shrouded everything. The officer sat in his patrol car, watching you leave. He wrote down the plate numbers of the cars as they drove away.”

  “Why did he do that?”

  “He was counting, seeing who had gone and who remained. He knew two people were still inside.”

  “Michael and Chris?”

  “Yes, but when Michael came out and got into his car, the officer did not write down his number.”

  Valerie glanced across the table at Michael. He offered an uncertain shrug.

  “Why is that, Leona? Why didn’t he record Michael leaving?”

  “I told you; the killer moves freely among us. There is no place to hide.”

  “He was already dead, wasn’t he? You were there. You saw him murdered. Didn’t you?”

  Leona nodded. “There was no place for him to hide. He looked up and…it happened.”

  “Did he see it coming?”

  “Not too much. He did not have time. I do not believe he felt much pain. The blade cut him quickly.”

  “Then you saw who did it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Who was it?”

  “No.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I did not see.”

  “You just told me you did.”

  “I am sorry. I do not know. I know only that the killer moves freely among us.”

  “Yes, I know. We heard that. Tell us something we don’t know.”

  “Don’t get excited, Val,” Lilith warned. “You’re getting frustrated.”

  “I know I am, but she’s blocking the memory. It’s in there. She knows.”

  “So what do we do?”

  Doctor Lieberman said, “Valerie, you’re not likely going to get her to remember something she does not want to remember. Perhaps if we try a more conventional form of hypnosis we can—”

  “No, Doctor. She remembers. She’s blocking it for some reason. I want to proceed.” She addressed Lilith again, who continued maintaining pressure on Leona’s temporal lobes. “Are you in this with me?”

  Lilith nodded. Valerie clinched her teeth and gestured back with a nod. “A little more pressure then.” She refocused her attention on Leona’s spinal accessory nerve and pinched harder. “Leona.” Valerie’s voice grew noticeably impatient. “Concentrate. Marcella’s officer was gone. He was dead. There was nothing more you could do. Tell me about Chris. What happened when you saw him? He came out of the building, but he didn’t realize the policeman was dead yet, did he?”

  She shook her head. Tears began pooling behind her closed eyelids. “He did n
ot realize.” Her voice quivered. “He thought he was safe because he saw the patrol car there. He stepped outside and headed toward his van when he heard the horn.”

  “What horn?”

  “From the patrol car.”

  “But you said the policeman was dead.”

  “The killer is tricky. I tried to warn Chris. He could not hear me. None of them can hear me.”

  “None?’

  “The damned and condemned.”

  “The people you see when you bilocate.”

  “Yes. They can see, but they cannot hear me.”

  “Could Chris see you?”

  Leona smiled and sighed. “He was so beautiful. We always talked after workshop. Sometimes he would come to my apartment and watch television with me. He insisted we watch the Spanish stations to make me feel at home, even though he did not speak Spanish. Is that not so sweet?”

  Shekina blurted out, “They were in love.”

  “Shekina.” said Doctor Lieberman.

  “They were.”

  “Enough.”

  “I don’t want to do this any more,” said Valerie. “I’m starting to feel guilty. I think we should stop.”

  “You can’t stop,” Gordon argued. “She knows. You have to continue. She has to tell us who killed Chris.”

  “No, said Doctor Lieberman. “Valerie’s right. They should stop. They’re getting into police matters now. We should leave it for Detective Marcella.”

  I stepped into the room and called out, “Keep going.” All eyes turned, surprised to find me standing there. “Let’s hear what she has to say. I’m tired of finding dead bodies around here, especially when they include my officers.” I pointed at Lilith and Valerie. “You two just keep on doing whatever it is you’re doing. Get some answers out of that girl or I’ll haul her downtown for questioning myself.” I looked to Doctor Lieberman, “Do you have a problem with that, Doctor?”

  I thought he would call me on it, but he didn’t. He turned to Valerie and Lilith and gave them the nod. Valerie shrugged. Lilith winked, and the questioning continued.

  “Leona, I didn’t know you were in love with Chris. Why didn’t you tell anyone?”