The Cornelius Saga Series (All 15 Books): The Ultimate Adventure-packed Supernatural Thriller Collection

by Tanya R. Taylor

  John sat in the armchair and Toby on the couch. Belinda eventually sauntered in and sat next to Toby.

  “It’s a pity Rachelle couldn’t be here with us right now,” John said.

  “Has anyone heard how she’s doing lately?” Toby asked.

  “According to her doctor, she’s still in a slightly hallucinatory state,” Belinda informed him. “She still seems to hear Dad’s voice. I don’t know what to say…”

  “Wow.” Toby shook his head.

  “She told me a couple of days before she got committed that she thinks Dad’s not at peace and maybe we needed to get that headstone,” Belinda continued.

  “Nonsense! Rachelle was never too wholesome in the head, if you ask me,” John chimed in.

  Belinda sat back and crossed her legs.

  “What’s this all about, John?” Toby decided he’d get straight to the point.

  John leaned forward slightly. “Well, the point of this meeting is to get to the bottom of some strange things that have been happening to some, if not all of us. Tell me…have you noticed anything odd happening to you, as of late, Toby?”

  Toby glanced at Belinda, then focused on his brother again. “Yeah. I’ve been having a lot of weird nightmares.”

  “Tell us about them,” John said.

  “Well, they seem to have a common theme each time. I find myself in a cemetery and then I’m walking over to a grave and…”

  “What?” Belinda was curious.

  “I see this hand…reaching up through the ground and…I wake up in a cold sweat. I feel like I’m being tortured at night.”

  “That’s not good,” Belinda said, “but you should thank your lucky stars you’re not in my shoes.”

  “Why? What happened,” he asked.

  “Try finding snakes in your car and maggots, and other creepy, crawly things in your bed at night.”

  “What? Someone put snakes in your car?” Toby cringed at the thought of it.

  “Yep. And don’t forget the creepy, crawly things in my bed!” she stressed.

  “Wow. That’s crazy,” he replied. “Did you see any sign of a break-in?”

  “No. Not at all. It’s like those things appeared out of nowhere.”

  “And as for me,” John chimed in, “The most important presentation of my life went to utter ruin last week and we might’ve lost a top client because of it. Just this morning, before I called you guys, my boss, Allen Nolan, called and told me they’ve decided to make my position at the company redundant—this was after he’d given me last week off, supposedly to get some rest.”

  Belinda shook her head.

  “That’s what I got after all those years of making them millions richer. Oh—and did I mention that Pam upped and left me and is filing for divorce?”

  “What?” Toby was shocked.

  “Yep. Said she’d had enough. Enough of what is still the million dollar question.”

  “You should be glad the old bag is gone.” Belinda couldn’t resist.

  “That’s one way of looking at it, Belinda, but with that old bag being gone, a good chunk of my money might follow her!”

  “Didn’t think of that!” She arched her brows.

  “With all these things happening, including Rachelle having just lost her mind, wouldn’t you both agree that something very strange is happening here?” he said.

  “I definitely do,” Belinda replied.

  “Yeah. Me too,” Toby nodded.

  “This guy I play golf with suggested I contact Dr. Mira Cullen. Have any of you heard of her?”

  “You mean that psychic who recently got married?” Belinda asked.

  “Yeah. I heard she’s really good at getting to the bottom of things,” John replied.

  “I don’t think I’ve heard of her,” Toby said.

  “You think we’re being haunted, John?” Belinda asked.

  “I doubt it, but at the same time, I don’t see how any of us could be so down on our luck and all at the same time.”

  “At first when Rachelle was rambling on about seeing and hearing things, I thought it was all nonsense.” Belinda glanced at her brothers. “But now I truly believe we’re cursed. Something’s definitely wrong. One family can’t be this bad off when things were normal before.”

  Toby shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Just to let you know,” John started, “I was able to get a hold of this Dr. Cullen who lives right here in Mizpah, and she’s agreed to come by on the weekend to see if there’s anything she can do to help us out. As much as I would normally oppose any talk of ghosts or curses, right now, I’m open to anything. My life is pretty much on the verge of complete ruin.”

  Toby felt John’s pain. He’d never seen his brother looking so defeated. “Whatever y’all think is best, I’m all for it,” he indicated.

  “Great!” John replied. “I’ve given Dr. Cullen directions to my house. She said she’ll be here at ten o’clock, Saturday morning.”

  “Sounds good,” Belinda said. She was looking forward to the visit.

  11

  _________________

  Friday evening…

  “Just out of curiosity, do you think you’ll ever stop doing this?” Bobby asked his wife as they sat together on their porch watching the sunset.

  “Stop helping people? I doubt it,” Mira replied. “I guess you can look at it this way…if the time comes when I ever stop seeing ghosts and having any clairvoyant ability, that’ll probably mark the end of it. But I like helping people. It’s a good feeling to think you’re making a difference in someone’s life.”

  “I didn’t expect any other answer, honey.” He smiled. “Where did you say this guy lives?”

  “In Steventon Hills. I’m meeting with the family, actually. John Reed’s the name. He said he and his siblings have lost both parents in a short time span and now some terrible things are happening.”

  “Losing both parents is really hard,” Bobby said.

  “I just hope I’m able to find the answers because he seems quite desperate.” Mira stated, contemplatively.

  Bobby took her hand and gently squeezed it. “I know you’ll get to the bottom of whatever’s going on. You always do.”

  She brought his hand up to her lips and kissed it.

  He looked at her adoringly. “What’s that for?”

  “Because I love you.” She smiled.

  Despite her gifts, Bobby had no idea that Mira knew more about him than he knew about himself. He would never understand the extent of her love which was tied to and far beyond the silent, invisible clock steadily ticking toward his demise. Though still afar off, Mira knew that every precious moment counted.

  * * * *

  Saturday morning…

  By the time Mira arrived at John Reed’s house, Toby and Belinda were already there waiting with their brother. They were eager to meet this renowned medical doctor and psychic whom many in the community held in high regard.

  As they all stood in the living room, John said, “Dr. Cullen, thanks so much for coming by. This is my sister, Belinda, and my brother, Toby.”

  “It’s a pleasure meeting you,” Belinda told her.

  “Yes, very nice to meet you.” Toby extended his hand.

  “The pleasure’s all mine,” Mira said. “I’ll help in any way that I can.”

  They sat down and John offered Mira a cup of coffee or tea, which she gratefully declined.

  “Where is your other sibling?” Mira asked John, which caught him by surprise, since he’d never mentioned anything to her about Rachelle. In fact, he’d only vaguely told her about some of the things that had recently happened to him.

  “Um…she’s not well. She was committed to a psychiatric hospital just recently,” he explained.

  “How’s her son coping?” she asked.

  “You mean…Steve?” John glanced at Belinda and Toby who were eagerly observing. “I haven’t spoken with him. Have any of you?” he asked his siblings.
r />   “Not for a while,” Belinda said.

  “You, Toby?” Mira asked.

  “I went to see him about a week ago. He was okay,” he replied.

  Mira looked at each of them—a flood of images crowded her mind.

  “Do any of you have anything that represents or belongs to your parents and your sister, Rachelle?” she asked.

  “Will our parents’ photographs do?” John asked.

  “Yes, pictures are fine.”

  John immediately got up to retrieve photographs of his parents from the other side of the wall.

  “I have a ring that belongs to Rachelle,” Belinda said. “She lets me borrow it sometimes.”

  “That would be perfect,” Mira replied.

  Belinda slipped the plain silver ring off her finger and handed it to Mira.

  Toby wondered why Belinda felt the need to borrow Rachelle’s ring when she was well capable of buying an even better one for herself.

  “The snakes…” Mira looked at Belinda intently, “…they were meant to scare you more than anything else.”

  “Did John tell you about them?” Belinda asked.

  “No. I didn’t,” John said, as he handed the photographs encased in lovely wooden frames to Mira, then he sat down. “Dr. Cullen wasn’t interested in me relaying very much information to her at the time.”

  “How did they get in my car? Who put them there? And what about those horrible things I found in my bed?” Belinda thought she’d blurt out everything at the top of her list at once.

  “Please give me a moment,” Mira said, as she slid her finger around the ring and across each of the photographs.

  The three siblings quietly observed her.

  “There’s been talk of a headstone?” Mira asked.

  “Yes.” John nodded. “There’s one already at our mother’s grave, but we haven’t yet gotten around to having one erected for our father.”

  “I see.”

  She sighed heavily. “Can I be honest with each of you?” Mira looked at them.

  “Yes!” they all answered.

  “What I sense here is so extreme that is almost sickens me,” she uttered much to their surprise. “I can’t sense any warmth at all in this family and it’s troubling. No wonder you’re facing so much negativity in your lives.”

  “We’re cursed, aren’t we?” Belinda sought confirmation.

  Mira shifted a little in her seat. “I’ll reserve that answer for later. If you want to see a turnaround in your luck, as I’d put it,” Mira continued, “I advise you all to do some things that you may or may not want to do.”

  “Anything!” John cried. “My life is already a train wreck, so I doubt anything you suggest would make it any worse.”

  “Are you two in agreement?” Mira turned to Belinda and Toby.

  They both quickly indicated that they were.

  “I’ll begin with what you can do, in general, then I’ll speak with each of you individually.”

  Mira’s eyes wandered around the living room with all its extravagance; so many heart-wrenching memories were embedded inside those walls.

  She then turned to the siblings. “There’s a coldness that I feel just being in the midst of you all—something that I sense has been around for the greater part of your lives and has its roots from the time when you were all children. I ask myself: do they care about each other and the answer that pops up is barely. I implore you to think back to those days when you were very young—under the age of twelve—when you actually felt love in your hearts for one another before the influence of a parent who pitted some of you against the other, had firmly set in. You know what I’m talking about.” She paused. “If you can delve that deeply, you can have that love again. Otherwise, as far as your relationships are concerned, they’ll continue to be frigid and superficial. And I assure you that wherever there is a lack of love, there is an abundance of toxicity. I want you all to remember that. The negativity you have created will follow you and keep you within its grip; that’s why it’s so important to fix this dysfunction the only way that you can.”

  They all nodded in agreement, even if, in their hearts, they were generally unfazed.

  “With that said, I would suggest you get your father’s headstone. I can see his grave. It’s not well-kept and difficult to find since his name is barely visible on the card,” Mira added.

  “That is what’s behind everything that’s been happening to us, isn’t it?” Belinda’s eyes lit up.

  “It’s certainly where your most recent problems have originated,” Mira replied.

  “I knew it!” Belinda sat back in her chair. “I told you so, John!”

  “You didn’t come right out and say that, Belinda,” John corrected her. “You simply stated that it was Rachelle’s assertion that Dad probably isn’t at rest because of it.”

  “So, this means that Rachelle was actually being haunted by Dad’s ghost?” Belinda asked Mira, choosing to ignore John’s defense.

  “Your sister’s haunted by her own conscience,” Mira replied. “She also feels that you were a bad influence on her when it came to your father.”

  Belinda seemed startled by the revelation. “She’s her own woman. She could’ve seen Dad whenever she wanted to.”

  Toby and John could tell that Belinda was offended.

  “So, who’s gonna buy the headstone?” Mira asked, generally.

  “I was thinking that we all can chip…” Toby started.

  “Who’s going to pay for the headstone?” Mira interjected, focusing solely on John and Belinda.

  Belinda folded her arms and there was a brief pause before John said, “I’ll pay for it. No problem.”

  “Okay—we’re getting somewhere,” Mira replied. “The quicker you can get that arranged, the better.”

  “I’ll be jumping on it first thing in the morning,” John assured her.

  “Good.” She nodded. “Now we can move on to the next part. I’ll start with you, John.”

  John started to feel a bit anxious since he was sure Mira could see what he was hiding, and he was afraid she’d blurt it out in front of everyone.

  “You owe your wife an apology,” she said, bluntly. “She’s really hurting for literally no fault of her own. If you can find it in your heart to render a sincere apology to the woman you once claimed to love, perhaps, although broken, she will forgive you and what you fear the most would not materialize.” Mira knew as far as the break up was concerned, he was worried about his assets more than anything else. “You need to come clean with her about everything even if, in the end, the marriage isn’t saved.”

  “Okay.” John nodded. “I’ll do the right thing.”

  Mira then turned to Belinda who was still sitting with her arms folded. “Belinda… your need to control the people you perceive as weak defines who you really are on the inside: one that is craving attention and needing to be praised, because the truth is that you don’t think so well of yourself. You believe money and fine things cause people to look up to you and you feed off of it, but I know that inside you’re really miserable. What you fail to understand is that being the giver instead of the taker all the time is what would make your existence more meaningful. You—be the bearer of the compliments, the praise and whatever else you can do to brighten someone’s day, as opposed to always wanting to be celebrated and on the receiving end. When you make that shift, you will find true happiness.”

  Toby noticed the tears rolling down Belinda’s cheeks. It was the first time he’d seen her so moved since they were children. All she did was nod slowly.

  Mira then looked at Toby. She sensed his nervousness. “You have a kind heart, Toby, and a humble spirit. Right now, all I have to say to you is… continue making those doghouses and don’t worry about anything. Your wife was right—life is going to get better soon.”

  He smiled and felt a huge weight leave his shoulders. “Thank you, Dr. Cullen.”

  John arched his brow. He and Belinda had no idea the
ir brother was making any doghouses. Belinda wasn’t the least bit interested anyway, as Mira’s admonishment of her was still ringing in her ears.

  “Is Rachelle going to be all right?” Toby asked Mira.

  “Your sister’s getting the counseling she needs where she’s at right now, so she’ll be fine,” she replied.

  Mira then addressed everyone. “I don’t know what you expected when you invited me here, but I gave you what I had and I hope it makes a difference in the direction your lives are going.”

  “Dr. Cullen…” John cleared his throat, “…what you’ve shared with us today has truly been enlightening and I want to thank you sincerely for taking the time to come here and do this for our family.”

  “It’s my pleasure.” Mira smiled. “I guess I’d better be going now, but before I do, I would like to get each of your phone numbers, just in case something else comes to me that I feel you should know.”

  “Certainly!” John replied.

  Mira retrieved a small diary from her purse and wrote down the numbers that each of them provided.

  Afterwards, John walked her to her car.

  “You saw more about me than what you shared, didn’t you?” he said to Mira as she got into the car.

  “Yes, but that’s none of our business. I did tell you though, that you should come clean to your wife. She has a right to know the truth, even if no one else does. Once you do what I suggested, your life will be on a better path.”

  “Okay.” He nodded, shutting the door for her.

  “Take care, John.”

  “You too, Dr. Cullen.”

  * * * *

  Ten minutes after Mira left for home, she stopped at the side of the road and dialed Toby Reed’s mobile phone.

  “This is Dr. Cullen,” she said. “Are you alone?”