Gabe’s face flushed. “You do realize I was out of the country when it happened, don’t you? You and I both know that if there had been indicators, Martha sure as heck wouldn’t have told me about them. She’d have known what my response would have been.”
“Ah, yes,” Archie agreed. “Hadn’t thought of that.”
“There is another reason, however, that my daughter’s question needs to be answered,” Mom said.
“Oh?” Gabe asked.
She nodded. “Yes. If we can figure out what triggered the stroke, then perhaps we can deal with it for her. And then, if we can find some way to let her know that it’s been handled and that the stress is relieved...” She trailed off. Surely the man could take it from there.
Gabe’s gaze focused on Mom. “How could I have forgotten that you all are witches?” He seemed a bit too excited at the revelational memory to suit me. “Can you contact her... wherever she is now? Is that possible?”
Mom went quiet. “Please don’t get your hopes up on that one. If she were on the other side, our chances would be better for a contact to be truthful. But we definitely don’t want that to occur. We want to keep her in the realm of the living.”
His face fell. “Oh.” Then he took a couple of deep breaths. “Fine. What do want to know?”
Archie motioned for me to step back up.
“You say there was a fund-raiser she was stressed about. Why was she so stressed? Aren’t those usually fun-filled events?”
“They are. But normally they’re something we put together as a couple. Not something she has to do all on her own. There are people on the committee who I’m sure would have been happy to help her, but to be quite honest here, Martha had a hard enough time letting me help, let alone anyone else. She liked to be in control of, well, everything.”
To tell the truth, I was wondering how Martha and Archie had become such fast friends. She sounded like a very controlling and assertive type to me. Pretty much the polar opposite of Mom.
“Okay, but no big problems or anything that you were aware of?”
He shook his head but motioned around him. “Not that she told me about, no.”
That didn’t rule problems out, though, did it? “And the Home Owners’ Association thing? What was that about?”
Gabe reached up and rubbed his head. “It was about a fiasco, that’s what. Several homeowners had petitioned to divide the small community park and make half of it into a dog park. A gated one, of course, with only the community members having access to it.”
Didn’t sound like something to stroke out over to me. “Where did your wife come down on the issue?”
“Firmly against. And as President of the HOA, her’s was the tie-breaking vote to end the discussion too.”
“Only I take it the discussions didn’t end?”
He shook his head. “No, unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The other side simply renewed their efforts, going door to door to gather support for their grand cause.”
“Why was she so dead set against it?”
“A couple of reasons. One was that the park isn’t all that large to begin with, and she thought the grounds should remain as they were: a playground for the children of the community. But she also worried about the whole liability aspect of it. People tend to let their dogs off leash in those kinds of parks—pretty much the whole reason to have them, really. If a bigger dog attacked a smaller one or bit another dog owner? Well, it could turn into a legal nightmare.”
I guess I could understand that. But I could also understand people wanting a place to go out and hang with their dogs without having to worry. For some people, our fur babies were our children.
I could understand how the tensions would be high on that one.
Much more so than for a fund-raising event, I thought.
Although, as it turned out, I just might have been wrong about that.
Chapter 6
The rest of the video chat turned over to more fun topics. They tried as best they could to include Martha in that.
And yes, it was every bit as sad as it sounded.
While the others, who all knew each other, talked and reminisced, I walked back to the door. Karen was still standing there.
She gave me a small smile as I approached. “Sorry. It’s facility policy. No guest, even ones approved by the family, are to be left alone with a resident. At least, not on their first visit.”
“Not a problem to me. I kind of like that added security, actually.”
Her smile grew. “Yes. Those stories of people taking advantage of residents in comas? It most assuredly won’t happen here.”
“Good to know.”
We stood in silence for a minute. “Can I ask you something?” she asked.
I grinned at her. “You just did, didn’t you?”
She chuckled. “You know, I think I like you.”
“Likewise,” I told her. “And I’m glad us being here didn’t get you in trouble.”
“Quite the opposite, actually. I think I’ll earn bonus points for letting you all in.” Then she paused. I got the hint.
“Go ahead and ask.”
“Martha has been here for days with not a single visitor. What are all of you doing here today? What’s going on?”
Yeah, that was the question, all right. Another question was whether or not I had the right to tell her. I mean, Martha had reached out to Archie, not me. And besides, we really didn’t know anything concrete, did we?
All that flashed through my brain in the space of a couple of heartbeats. In the end, I went with my gut. And my gut was telling me that Nurse Karen needed to know exactly what was going on with her charge.
I smiled at her. “This could be a very long story, and it’s been a long day. I think I need a caffeine refueling. Is there anywhere in this place a person can get a decent cuppa?”
She nodded slowly. “There is a visitor lounge on the second floor with a coffeemaker and vending machines.” Then she hesitated, glancing over at the group by the bed. “Do you think it would be against my duty if I left while they were visiting with Mr. Donaldson? I mean, right now he is supervising the visit, isn’t he?”
“That would be my impression, but if you are in doubt, why don’t you ask him? He would be the ultimate one to decide, wouldn’t he? After all, it’s his wife we’re talking about.”
Karen hesitated. “Perhaps you’re right. Besides, I would like to clear up that visitor list ruling too.”
She stepped forward until she was within view of the monitor. “Mr. Donaldson, might I interrupt for just a moment?”
“Of course. Was there something you needed to tell me?” He looked worried. “Has there been a change?”
“No, sir. No change. Good or bad. But I would like some clarification on the visitor list for Martha. Do you wish me to add all those present to her allowed visitors?”
“Absolutely.” He glanced at Archie and then Sapphire. “And just for future reference, anyone with the last name of Mineheart or Ravenswind has my full blessing to visit with my wife. The same goes for anyone they personally vouch for, too.”
“And should those visits be the normal chaperoned visits as with most non-family visits?”
He shook his head. “No. I trust Archie and his family with my life.” He hesitated. “But more importantly, I trust them with the life of the one I love most in the world. If they are here, it is to help, not hurt. Maybe they can break through where science and medicine can not.” Another, longer hesitation. “And by the way, I give my full consent to anything they wish to try in an effort to bring Martha back to me.”
Then he turned to Archie. “I hope you realize I am giving you a great level of freedom here. But I know you have...” he threw a quick glance at Karen “... avenues to pursue that they do not. If you think those avenues will help, please use them.”
“You have my word. We will do everything in our power to help Martha,” Archie said.
“I would expect no l
ess.” Gabe yawned. “I’m sorry, these long days are taking a toll on me, I’m afraid. At least I can sleep a little easier tonight knowing you all are keeping a watch over her. I thank you for that.” He paused. “And I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but could I have a few minutes in private with my wife? We have this little nightly ritual that is a bit...” His cheeks colored. “Well, private.”
“Take all the time you need. We’ll check back in about half an hour from now. Unless you need longer?”
“Actually, you’d be safe in ten minutes. It isn’t that long of a ritual, but there might or might not be singing involved, and my voice isn’t made for an audience.”
“Goodnight, Gabe,” Archie said, stepping away. “And in the future, if you need me, call me. Friends are always available when friends need them. Just saying here.”
Karen adjusted the pillow slightly behind Martha’s head, and we all filed out of the room.
Once the door shut behind us, Karen turned to me. “Perhaps you could all go down to the lounge and wait for me? I need to check in with my staff and do a quick vital check on my residents.” She glanced at her watch. “Shouldn’t take me more than ten minutes. Then I’ll join you, if that’s all right. I have a few questions for you.”
I could have let her give them the news herself, but that might take a bit longer than was practical. So I decided to do it for her.
“Karen is a witch, too, guys. And she’s on our side in this. I think we can trust her.”
I saw Mom’s shoulders drop. Archie and Arc still didn’t look all that convinced, but then, for some reason, men didn’t depend on that witch’s intuition thing as heavily as we women did. Male witches tended to be more logical about things.
And what the devil did logic have to do with magic? I’d always thought that was why most of your most powerful witches were female. We just got it.
LESS THAN THIRTY MINUTES later, we were finishing up our coffees and our conversation. As luck would have it, our little group had the lounge all to ourselves. That was probably for the best because of the nature of our talk.
Karen was rather, well, animated. “This is wonderful news!”
“How so?” Archie asked. “I know I’ve lost a lot of sleep lately, and that could be the reason, but I’m just not seeing the wonderful aspect in any of this.”
“Don’t you see? I haven’t been able to reach her soul. If I can’t reach it, I can’t help guide it back to where it belongs. But if you can get the shadow into the same room with her, then that shouldn’t be an issue. She’d be able to find her home, wouldn’t she?”
“That’s just it, Karen. Think about it. Chances are, she knows where her body is. If she could seek me out miles and miles away, I’d think finding herself wouldn’t have been that difficult for her.”
Karen’s face fell. “Oh. I hadn’t thought of it that way.” But she wasn’t about to give up that easily. “That doesn’t mean we can’t still try, though, does it?”
He smiled at her. “No. It doesn’t mean that at all. We’ll try. I just don’t want you to count too much on our success and be disappointed. I’m afraid there is something larger at work here.” He looked at Sapphire. “That’s what we have to determine first, I think.”
Karen looked at Sapphire. “And your role in all this?”
Mom lifted a shoulder. “I’m a fair hand at healing.”
Arc and I laughed. “That’s the understatement of the year right there,” I said. “Mom is the best healer in the family. And, I’m not bragging, mind you, but our family is pretty powerful. We’re kind of extra-special Goddess blessed.”
That was the Goddess’s honest truth right there, too. Not that I’d want to go into all of that with the woman until I knew her a heck of a lot better. Team Destiny was special. It wasn’t exactly something we wanted a ton of people knowing about, either.
Fewer problems that way.
Karen gave another glance to her watch. “Okay. I’ve got one more round to make, and then I have to give my end of day report.” She thought for a minute. “Do you think you all could do your thing, but wait for me before trying to retrieve her soul? I’d hate to miss that.”
Mom nodded. “I think that would be acceptable. I’ll need some time to do a full scan on her and see just what we’re dealing with. Are there any known issues I should know about?”
“Just that she’s diabetic and on insulin. I don’t know if that would show up with what you’re doing?”
“It might.” Mom hesitated. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t comas sometimes associated with diabetes?”
“They are, but not this time. Martha’s blood sugar is as near perfect and stable as it can be. Has been right from the start, too. And don’t forget, this all started with a stroke. Diabetes doesn’t cause strokes.”
“Well then. Let’s get this show started.” Archie pushed back from the table and the rest of us followed. Karen split off to check in with the staff and sign out for the day, and we headed back to Martha’s room.
Arc was watching Mom with interest. “How do you go about doing something like this?”
She smiled at him. “Well, I plan to start at the bottom and work my way to the top. Each area should get a fair bit of attention, I think. Then I’ll end with the soul spot and see if I can tell what’s going on there.”
I noticed both Arc and Archie were frowning. “Isn’t that where you should start things?” Archie asked.
“No. If I start there, I might miss something. I want a clear picture of everything that’s going on with her at the moment. Once I know that, I’ll be better able to judge what’s going on at her very core.”
Arc scratched his chin. “How long do you think all that will take?”
Archie raised an eyebrow at him. “You have somewhere else you need to be?”
“No. I just figured if this would take a while, I’d give Riley a call while Sapphire did her thing. See if he could tell us anything more than his dad did.”
Archie’s brow lowered. “That’s not a bad idea, if you can catch him between classes. Sapphire?”
Mom chewed her lip for a minute. “It’ll take me a good half an hour to work my way through all the various areas. I think we owe it to Karen to wait for the soul center touch, anyway.”
“Anything I can do to help?” I asked.
Mom shook her head distractedly. She was already going into her healer trance. “Just give me space, dear. You know how this works by now.”
I did. I’d seen her do this enough times. Still, it was only polite to ask.
Arc set up station over at the small table in the corner, and Archie sat in the sole chair by the bed. Mom always stood when she was working. She said it allowed the healing magic freer reign to flow. Knowing Mom, that was probably true. If anyone knew that, it would be her.
There was only one other place to sit in the entire room. The other chair at the table. Hopefully, Arc wouldn’t think I was trying to listen in on his conversation with his old school buddy.
Even if that was my full intention.
Chapter 7
Arc already had Riley on the line when I joined him. I tried to act nonchalant about it, but he had to know I was listening in.
Should have known why, too. I mean, I was the investigator here, right? As such, I needed all the information I could get to figure out what the bloody heck was going on.
To give him credit, he didn’t seem too upset about my presence. In fact, unless I was mistaken, he was holding the phone a little away from his face so that I could hear all that much better.
“You’re there with Mom now?” Riley was asking. “Hey, man, you don’t how much I appreciate that. I wish I could be there with her, too, you know? But I have to hope that she’s going to come out of this, and if she does and I’ve let her down... well, I don’t think I could handle that.”
“You sound a lot like your dad in that,” Arc said.
“Yeah? Well, there’s a reason for that. M
om has a definite plan for her family. For dad, that’s being CEO. For me? It’s graduating from Harvard at the top of my class. Nothing less than valedictorian will satisfy my mom. I never should have let her see how close I was to that. I really wish I’d kept that to myself a while longer.”
Arc whistled. “You’re really that close? Dang, man! That’s not an easy feat. Especially at Harvard.”
Riley laughed. “Tell me about it. Let’s just say I don’t get much sleep. Neither does Jimmy, unfortunately. And he’s really close to taking over that top spot. It’s basically down to just me and him.”
“Wait a minute. You aren’t talking about Jimmy McCallister, are you?”
“That’d be him. The man is almost a savant when it comes to anything legal. I think he’s got one of those special minds that just latches onto information and never lets it go again. The closest thing to a photographic memory I’ve ever seen, anyway. He’s a hard one to beat.”
“Well, yeah, I mean he did beat you out in high school.”
“Believe me, I remember. Mom never lets... let... me forget that.” There were a few seconds of silence. “What I wouldn’t give for her to wake up right now and remind me again how important this all is. Because truthfully? I just don’t really see it. I’d rather be there with her and hang the whole graduating with special honors thing.”
“I’d feel the same way. But I know where you’re coming from.”
“Thanks. A lot of people don’t. Jimmy’s folks, for one. They’re really making me feel bad about not chucking it all in and going home. Finish this up next year. But then their family is pretty close.” He laughed again. “Or it could just be that bet our Moms have going, too.”
“Your moms have a bet going?”
“Oh yeah. If one of us makes valedictorian—and the chances of that are pretty good right now—the other one’s parents pay for and host the graduation party. Renting a fancy hall, high-profile guest list, top of the line caterers and entertainment... the whole shebang.”
“Wow. You’re talking a lot of money there.”
Team Destiny and Archie's Apparition (Team Destiny Paranormal Cozy Mystery Book 2) Page 4