Angel Watch at Blacknest: A Supernatural Mystery

by T. A. Paquette

  The car came to a stop and she stepped out. Snide held the door as Blithe unloaded her luggage from the trunk. She ran quickly and opened the front door, in hopes there would be no fussy welcome. She was tired and sick of people. She just wanted to sleep. But there was her mother in all her gaudy grandeur. Elise loved to be told how beautiful she still was. So, Zara say, "Oh, Mother you look beautiful in that color."

  Elise giggles with glee, like a young girl her make-up cracking a little on her cheeks. "Thank you, dear, do you really think so?" says Elise with a grin. That morning when Nonie was applying her make-up, she told her to put extra on the weathered spots, as always. Disguising her age was of the utmost importance in her mind. She thought she only looked, maybe fifty.

  Elise gives Zara two air kisses, one on each cheek; rather awkward to watch but normal behavior for the Blacknest's.

  Xander walks in with a drink in his hand wearing khaki pants and a light olive shirt; acting casual and relaxed but his eyes betrayed tension. "Zara, you're looking good; welcome home." he says in his quiet almost predatory voice.

  "Yes, good to see you also, Xander." says Zara pretending not to notice his tension. They don't exchange hugs or kisses; not necessary, they know each other very well, as if they were twins. They had suffered under their father's reign of tyranny as children. The code of silence was taught to them at an early age. They carefully followed the rules. They had seen what happened to others that didn't follow the code; something not easily forgotten. It had forged a strong bond between them.

  “Is my room still in the west wing?" asks Zara.

  “Yes, dear, go take a nap until supper; Cook will ring the chime around seven P.M.” says Elise as she walks away.

  Zara drops to sleep almost immediately and is later woken by the chimes. She gets up and dresses in a long lavender sheath dress; twists her hair into an intricate knot on her head held by a gold clip.

  The smell of lamb fills her nostrils. The table is loaded with food; legs of lamb, roasted garlic, freshly baked French bread, and salads. She spots her favorite dish, roasted cauliflower and Brussels sprouts slightly burnt. Maize, the cook knows how she likes them. She remembered as a young girl standing on a chair in the kitchen and Cook teaching her how to scramble an egg. Cooks name is Maize Fields and she did not live at the estate like the others, Blithe, Snide and Nonie. She comes early in the morning and goes back down the Hill to her own home, after supper each night. As long as Zara could remember, Maize has always been the cook.

  That evening Snide is helping Maize do the serving. The dining room is candle lit and smells of fresh flowers and lamb. Supper is always a formal occasion at Blacknest so, we all dress accordingly. Xander and mother are already seated eating their shrimp cocktails. The conversation is light. Mother is interested in Amsterdam. She wonders if all the basements are flooded. I tell her, to her delight, “That yes, they are!” Mother laughs hysterically. We all joke about that for a while, as we pictured them all walking about in their rubber boots. I think a lie is fine, if it gives mother such a good laugh.

  After supper, Nonie helps mother back upstairs for her evening medications and back to bed. I motioned to Xander to follow me to my bedroom. Once the door is closed, I show him the secret pocket inside my leather bustier that follows one of the ribs. With as much fanfare as I can muster, I pull out the exquisite ruby and diamond necklace. His jaw falls to the floor; surprising him is certainly hard to do.

  “Zara! You wicked vixen! Why didn't you tell me!” growls Xander, his voice sounds fierce but he is smiling. So, I tell him all the details; he laughs and laughs; something I rarely see.

  Later Xander sits marveling at the turn of events. Zara she is a wonder. She is a fast thinker and she has nerves of steel to carry out what needs to be done. Well done, Zara, Xander says to himself. He would immediately let the Counsel know about the recovery. Sam Grayson will be especially interested that it all happened at his club. He will suggest to him that perhaps he needs a tougher screening procedure for guests. It is a private club, after all. Madame Nore was actually lucky that it was Zara she dealt with because he knew that there were a few members that have very violent reputations. He is never deceived when someone is dressed elegantly and has manners that match. It is all usually a facade, a masquerade that is necessary, especially in his world. He retires that night with no worries on his mind, everything is in order.

  Faith Tabernacle Church

  Pastor Bud stands in the entrance of his church thinking. The Faith Tabernacle church once was a barn, now converted into a large meeting hall. It is a little drafty, but functional. He is thankful to have such a large building. Where the horse stalls once stood is now replaced by a scrubbed and oiled wood plant floor and pews. Above the main floor encircling the sanctuary is the balcony, which once was a hay loft years ago. Now it is used for overflow seating. A lot of people are hurting, out of work, some sick with physical problems or just full of anxiety and despair, all turning to God. His wife, Meg is in charge of the food and clothing pantry which is a very busy place these days. It occupies one third of the balcony area. Some mornings they are woken up by people knocking on the door of their trailer looking for some type of help. The need seems to be growing weekly. Pastor Bud wonders if someday there will be a tent city next to the church. They live in an older mobile home behind the church. The good Lord has not blessed them with children yet, so it is big enough.

  As a non-denominational pastor he is not dictated to by a particular denominations guidelines. So, he is free to seek the Lord on all matters. His congregation is his sole support although, he does odd carpentry jobs locally; mostly as a cabinet maker. A skill passed on to him from his father. The smell of the wood shavings in his small workshop always brings him back to those chilly mornings in his dad's shop. His job had been to keep the wood stove stoked. The combined smell of wood shavings and coffee always warms his heart and brings back nice memories.

  It is very early now, maybe five A.M. and Bud is doing his usual prayer time as he jogged around the sanctuary. He prayed and ran laps at the same time. It made sense to him. This habit had been developed back in high school when he was a long distance runner. It felt natural, running and praying. For the past few months he has been doing a lot of fasting and praying and looking to the Lord for guidance. Holiness and forgiveness keeps coming to mind. He has been studying the early church, also. Back in those days, Jews and gentiles worshiped together in the same congregations. He knows that God's Ten Commandments are still in effect so, he has been pondering them and praying. He shared his convictions with his church. He was hoping that they would understand his new found convictions and understand some of the changes he wanted to make in the church. To his amazement they agreed with him. One of their major changes happened a couple months ago when they switched their Sunday eleven A.M. service to Saturday at eleven A.M. No fanfare; they all agreed it was a necessary step towards their desire to worship closer to that of the early church. It is after all the fourth commandment. They all felt it was the right thing to do.

  The need for forgiveness is the next series of lessons he wants to teach his congregation. He thinks he should probably address gossip also, in one of the sermons in the series. It is a sin we all fall into occasionally, some more often than others. Those tasty morsels that people want to pass on often leaves a wake of damage. No wonder God calls it sin. He now concentrated on his sermon for this week. He will call it “Cleaning out the inner man; we are all a mess!” He laughs at his title and then shut his eyes and prays.

  Pastor Bud's Sermon

  Saturday morning, the field in front of the church fills with cars. The congregation starts wandering in to Faith Tabernacle; laughing and visiting in small groups. Pastor Bud comes up to the front and asks them to all be seated and to turn in their hymnal to “How we love Jesus.” They all sing with enthusiasm and then go on to three more songs. Alice Murphy, the church secretary then goes up to the podium and gives the announcements
.

  “On Wednesday, we will have our weekly charity sewing bee. We are making baby blankets. Please, don’t forget to bring your sewing machines. Babysitting and refreshments will be provided. And next Friday there will be a ladies luncheon, where we will plan our fall fundraisers for our missionary outreaches. Also, a sign up list is on the back table for those of you that are willing to help out with some cleaning here at the church. And lastly, remember to tell your neighbors and friends about our clothing and food pantry. It is open Sundays and Tuesdays one P.M. to seven P.M.”

  Pastor Bud then walks to the front of the Sanctuary, silently praying to himself. He says, “Good morning, everyone. I hope my sermon speaks to you today. I believe it is what God has given me.” There are pockets of nervous giggling throughout the building. Dilly and Emily both raised their eyebrows to each other; anxious to hear what he has to say. Pastor continues, “the name of my sermon this morning is:

  Cleaning out the inner man, we are all a mess!

  "The Lord in my prayers for the last few weeks has impressed on me the necessity of forgiveness. For it to be, a daily walk. That it is time for us all too take internal inventory, of our past and present thoughts and behavior. To ask ourselves, ‘what are we hanging on to so tightly? Is it sin or not?’ We must get rid of sin! Are we putting a smile on Jesus’ face or Satan’s? Really think about it for a moment. People, it’s time to wake up and repent. We must always remember it is a spiritual fight. It is God who takes revenge. And we are over stepping, when we harbor hate and seek revenge. The fight belongs to the Lord. We are to trust He will judge correctly and not forget. Like my mother told me many times as a young boy, "Bud, God doesn't take naps, He is always watching and He will make everything right. His judgment is always fair. Trust Him, Bud."

  My mother was a wise woman. We must be wise, also. We are not to allow Satan to manipulate our thoughts. We are not to be consumed with hatred and thoughts of bitterness. God says, "Vengeance is mine!" Remember that. These wrong thoughts are from the enemy's arsenal. He wants to occupy your head and fill you with wicked thinking. The last thing he wants you to do is pray for your enemies, to be useful in the kingdom. You all know we are told to love our enemies and pray for those who treat us cruelly. So, start doing it! Do not act like the heathens, spreading gossip, planning revenge. Do you want to make Satan happy? He wants you to waste your time, he wants you depressed, and he wants you to stop praying! Let's resolve to change, to repent and turn from our evil ways; to be different from this day forward. Let us pray. Jesus show us how You see us. Help us to love what You love and hate what You hate. Please, help us to examine ourselves correctly, daily. Please, dear Lord put us on Your narrow path. Help us to hear Your voice. Protect us and put angels about us in this wicked world, so twisted in its thinking. We are helpless without You. We all bow before You, our King and we all declare our allegiance to You, the only true God. In Jesus name and we all say, Amen!"

  Pastor Bud smiles and then sits down next to his wife. The choir sings a few more hymns and then we all file out of the church, most off to lunch. There is a lot of talking and some hugs and a few people thanking Pastor for the good message.

  But two young girls standing outside on the lawn by their bikes are thinking about finding a new church. They think this one is getting a little too uncomfortable. They agree church is supposed to make you feel good. At least that's how Sara and Allison Mayfield feel. They are boarding students at Blacknest Academy. Their father is a diplomat. He and their mother travel extensively and it is an English aristocratic tradition to send off your children to school. But America is taking a little of an adjustment for the girls. This church had been suggested to them by another classmate. This is the second time they have attended, but they wouldn't be coming back. It wasn't at all like church back in England. They hopped on their bikes and pedaled back to town to get some ice cream cones at Duncan's Sweet Shop. They are talking about trying to persuade their father into letting them come back to England and go to school there. America is just too odd and the Americans are so common acting. They marvel that a perfect stranger would just strike up a conversation with them without a proper introduction, not to mention they are often in a different social class.

  Dilly and Emily after Church

  Emily and I are now heading over to the fabric store to buy some flannel for the sewing bee this week. Emily’s driving because I never learned how. For some reason it always kind of scared me. Don’t ask me why; I know it makes no sense. We buy twenty five yards of assorted fabrics that are suitable for babies. Every so many months our church sends homemade blankets to numerous overseas charities but recently we have started sending a few boxes to an Appalachian group that needs help.

  Emily and I decide to go get a bite to eat, at the Blue Spot cafe, both of us missed breakfast this morning. When we walk in we see Gus sitting by himself in a booth. His face looks gray, unshaven and his expression is one of despair. There has been no sign of his daughter, Mary. She has now been gone two weeks or so. He has been telling folks, ‘she must have run away.’ He couldn't voice what he really feared happened to her. He wondered how someone could hurt his little girl. Emily and I say a polite hello but he just gives us a sad look. It is very obvious that he does not want to visit with a couple of old ladies, so we sit down in a booth and looked at our menus. Emily catches my eye and whispers, “Gus looks terrible.” I nod sadly. Emily has a hamburger and fries and I have the fish and chips. All is very tasty but our spirits are now down after seeing the condition Gus is in. Please, Lord we need help in this little town. What are we to do is the prayer in both of their minds. It is not necessary to speak it. We both feel the same way.

  Later that afternoon after laying down for a little nap, I spread peppermint leaves out on my dehydrator trays, a total of five trays. The dehydrator is a handy tool in my kitchen. It works wonderful for herbs and teas. I have found peppermint to be a natural energizer in the morning and very helpful for my sore throats, with a bit of honey.

  Gene Gene and Belly walk with me out to the garden. For cats they are very attentive and almost always by my side or on my lap. Belly loves her belly petted thus the name Belly. She is the gentlest cat I have ever had. She is not very pretty. Her fur is kind of a desert camo pattern to put it kindly. Truthfully, she looks rather motley, but she is pretty inside. Gene Gene, her brother has been recently nicknamed Puppy because he acts more like a dog than a cat. He always comes when I call him and then he sits at my side or follows me around. I think that is quite unusual. But one of the strangest behaviors is once in a while their eyes get real big and their ears prick up to something I can't hear or see. Then they race to the bedroom and hide under my bed. I always think silly things; what is so scary and why are you both hiding.

  Activity at the Nest

  The Nest is simmering with activity, Xander observes as he sits on a bench by the administration building. He is very proud of the Academy and its contributions. It is a very prestigious institute not to mention it was established by his great, great, Grandfather Alastair Blacknest. The Blacknest Academy students call it "The Nest" not just the town folk. The play has been sold out for two weeks and they are thinking about adding an additional week or two. The Nest runs year around, no summer vacation. There are the usual breaks between semesters, for Christmas, etc... Often the boarding students stay on because their homes are so far away. This year two students are here from Iceland.

  A group of students at the academy have the nickname "The Specials" because they participate in a very hard to qualify for program called The Special Academics Program. The administration tells the parents and the public that the program is made up of the students with the highest IQ's at the school; that is partly true. "The Specials" are housed and take all their classes at Lucis Hall. It is a large modern looking building located behind the administration building; to enter you use a key card. Once a student is admitted into the program all their classes and possession's are transfer
red to The Lucis. Xander smiles to himself because he knows the true nature of instruction going on at The Lucis.

  Blacknest Academy is a secure campus; no one enters without stopping at the front gate. The campus is surrounded by a tall stone wall but the real security is the very high tech devices everywhere. All around the perimeter, a laser beam fence (the real fence) which is invisible to the naked eye, is on constant vigilance against intruders. Everything and everyone is watched on monitors day and night.

  All students are required to wear a RFID embedded badge at all times; whether it is the necklace or the bracelet form. It must be worn on campus. Electronic eyes and ears are everywhere. You surrender your privacy once you entered The Nest. All visitors are required to wear a RFID badge, that includes all workers, from the gardeners to the kitchen workers; no exceptions ever.

  A campus guard approaches the black suburban stopped at the entrance of the campus. He checks his list after talking to the driver then walks back to the gatehouse and activates the gate to open. The driver has been given a visitors badge for himself and his two passengers. They are Dr. Meek and Anna, who have just returned from a mission in Germany. They are coming back to report in at Base (Lucis Hall) for Anna’s debriefing. Anna speaks German fluently and is one of Millicent Morgan’s alters. Her personality has been split into three separate individuals all of them unaware of the other. This personality has been programmed for this specific mission. Alexie Corp. had contracted with them a year ago for her to deliver secretly a very complicated formula and diagram to a Chinese company’s representative. The meeting had been in Berlin at a hotel, two days ago. Anna had been accompanied by Dr. Meek on the trip; posing as father and daughter. The doctor carries a laptop at all times. It contains the codes and triggers for all the Operatives he handles. The Operatives are individuals with split personalities or alters that are being used in The Program based at Lucis Hall. The activation codes often are complex, impossible to memorize, not to mention the hand gestures, they use sometimes when speaking is not an option. Everything had gone smoothly. He had given the Chinese businessman her trigger phrase to activate the information in her. She recited it all very accurately and also, drew a detailed diagram. Then the businessman gave the closing trigger which deleted that information from her memory; never to be accessed again. She would not remember any of the meetings; that was the beauty of mind control. She then joined the doctor in the dining room and had supper. They had a lovely evening.