The Power of Faith: Science Fiction Faith Ferguson Series Book 3

by Andrea M. White

  “I’ve always thought you were weird,” Paul said. “I just think it would be great to know if she killed her or not, shoot me.”

  “I just might.”

  “Do you think she did it?” Paul asked.

  “I don’t know. She had a motive, but remember, Claire’s throat was slit, not generally a woman’s thing.”

  “She’s tall enough,” Paul said.

  “She is, she had a motive, and she might have done it, we just have to rule out old Maggie, first.”

  “Agreed.

  ******

  At that moment, Faith was sitting at her desk, long dark brown hair in a messy ponytail, a large mug of herbal tea on her desk, and banging away on her new novel. This would be a departure from her usual witchy fare, a story involving ghosts and the afterlife, and she was excited about this project. Much as she loved her new life as a psychologist, she would always love creating and getting to know her characters. Faith was totally engrossed until a vision stopped her cold. She saw three people walking toward the front door of a house, a car pull up, and a young woman fall to the ground.

  Without skipping a beat, Faith picked up her phone.

  “Can you talk?” Faith asked.

  “Yes,” Ed said.

  “Had another vision.”

  “Tell me.”

  “A young woman is shot walking to her front door. She wasn’t alone, but she was the only one shot.”

  “All right, thanks,” Ed said.

  “Oh, one more thing, I think it was dusk. And this time, I don’t think it’s happened yet. I don’t know how, but I just seem to know that.”

  “So, your first actual premonition with a vision,” Ed said.

  “I guess.”

  “Okay, then,” Ed said with a little laugh.

  He didn’t know what to do with the information. If it was Bella, he had no idea where she was. This time, at least, he didn’t have to hide his Buidseach source from Paul.

  “Come with me,” Ed said to his partner, who followed him out into the hallway.

  “Now you get to come with me, to talk about secrets.”

  Ed told Paul about Faith’s premonition.

  “Whoa, this is gonna be cool. Will she have visions about all our cases?” Paul asked.

  “No, just the ones that we have some connection with, which is why I think Claire’s death is related to Maggie.”

  “Text Faith a picture of Bella,” Paul said.

  “Oh, good idea.”

  Sending Faith Bella’s photo from the program, Faith was able to verify that she was the girl in her vision.

  Ed tried calling and texting, but, once again, there was no reply.

  “Let’s take a ride over and see if she’s there, or if, God forbid, there’s been a shooting,” Ed said.

  “It’s too early,” Paul said. “Faith said dusk.”

  Ed had to laugh at how easily Paul seemed to be taking it all in.

  They drove over to Bella’s and found that she was not at home, and it didn’t appear that anyone had been shot there.

  “Let’s stay here,” Paul said.

  “All right,” Ed said.

  They, however, were unable to stay as their captain had summoned them back to the station to attend a press conference on the murders.

  Since they couldn’t cite Faith’s vision, the only evidence they had was that Mary Robbins had overheard the fight. This wasn’t enough to justify a car being stationed at Bella’s house, but they were approved for a regular patrol of the area.

  ******

  Maggie Dunham had a visitor for the second day in a row. Her confinement in the psychiatric prison severely limited the number of visitors that she was allowed, but she, like any other prisoner, did have some. In the past few months, Ethan Blackett had made four trips to see her. It wasn’t that Ethan had wanted to visit her; he had been summoned. Before her arrest, Maggie had, like Ethan, taught at Myles University, but that fact, alone, was not how she knew him.

  Maggie Dunham had been Bella’s therapist, and the night Bella witnessed Ethan carrying Nancy Creighton’s lifeless body, she called Maggie, who came to her aid. Maggie took the murder weapon, planning, not to turn it over to the police, but to kill Ethan with her magical powers. However, when Bella dropped her as a therapist, Maggie became petulant, and her interest in Ethan quickly waned.

  It was revived, however, when she needed someone to eliminate her niece. The hurdle she had to overcome was contacting him, but since one or two of her former coven considered her a political prisoner of sorts and visited her, Maggie had a way to get him a message, come to see her or she would hand his gun over to the police.

  Now, having fulfilled his end of the bargain, Ethan wanted his gun, and he wanted it now. For two years, he’d worried about its whereabouts. He’d been somewhat comforted by the thought that Bella might have it because he knew that she was afraid of him, as well as the consequences for having kept it from the police. But he wasn’t positive, and he knew that his prints were still on it.

  He went to their usual visiting spot, the solarium, where Maggie Dunham sat alone. There were no other patients, and as there was no possible means of escape from this circular third-floor room, there was no attendant standing guard. “How come you always want to meet here?” Ethan asked as he walked toward her.

  “Because we won’t be disturbed,” Maggie replied

  “Why, isn’t anybody else around?”

  “It’s not all that popular. No TV, game tables or anything like that – So, why are you here?” she asked.

  “Don’t be cute. I want my gun,” Ethan said as he sat down next to her looking to all the world the caring visitor.

  Being coy, Maggie said, “It’s probably safer where it is.”

  “You don’t have it, do you? You lying bitch! Why did I believe you? You’re a lunatic.”

  He stared at her with contempt, wanting revenge but not knowing what to about it.

  “All right,” Maggie said, “My house on the Cape.”

  She told him the address, and he said, “It better be there.”

  “It’s there,” she said. “In the basement under the washing machine. The house key’s in the flower pot by the garage.

  Ethan walked away, hoping that was the last he’d ever see of Dr. Margaret Dunham.

  ******

  Before her death, Claire had been making herself at home in all of Maggie’s properties, and when Ethan had been in the process of planning when and where to kill her, he’d followed her to this very house. Maggie was extremely wealthy, and this was no small cottage on the cape. He turned into the driveway which culminated in a circular drive in front of the large colonial home. Leaving his vehicle by the front door, Ethan got out and headed toward the three-car garage. Between the garage and the side entrance to Maggie’s house, there was a large planter.

  He assumed that this was what Maggie had meant by ‘flower pot,’ and after a bit of digging, Ethan came up with the key. Using the side door, he entered the vacant house and looked for any security alarms. There didn’t appear to be any, so, he proceeded to search for and locate the door to the basement, and with little effort retrieved his gun.

  Ethan felt a lot better. He had one blackmailer off his back, now he would take care of the other. Driving back to the city, Ethan began to plan. He thought that she’d be in school during the day and most likely back to her apartment after that. Having previously scoped out where she lived, he also knew that there were no CCTV cameras in the area. Beyond that, however, this was a residential area of tightly packed multi-family homes, meaning there would be lots of prying eyes.

  He drove over to the Haverland Theatre, parked his car and looked for a particular vehicle that would not be traced back to him. He was in luck. The car he was searching for was in the lot. Now, the question was, would it be missed. He went into the darkened theatre and looked around. No one was there except the security guard.

  “Mr. Blackett, what are you doing her
e?” the guard asked.

  “I wanted to talk to Ron Gould. Is he here?”

  “You just missed him. I helped him pack some things in his car. He said he’d leave it in the lot tonight and pick it up tomorrow. Then his wife picked him up. They had to get to Wellesley for their kid’s recital.

  “Good to know. Maybe I can catch him tomorrow,” Ethan said.

  That was just the news that Ethan had wanted to hear. He said goodbye and set about borrowing the director’s car.

  It was a short drive to Bella’s neighborhood, and Ethan drove past her building looking to see if her car was anywhere in evidence. It was not. Ethan parked nearby thinking that he would patiently wait for her. After all, he had all night. Ethan did see the patrol car driving down the street and slowing as they passed Bella’s building. He found it curious but not of serious concern. The car he was in had tinted windows, and he was parked in a dark corner of a lot across the street, so he could see out but couldn’t be seen. And to the police, the van looked as if it was just parked there. He sat for a couple of hours and watched the patrol car come by again and again. So many times, that he got a feel for when it would show up. He figured that it wasn’t a set schedule but, with luck, if he worked between their drive-bys, he could come and go with impunity.

  It took another hour, but, finally, Bella arrived home. She parked in her driveway and got out. She was not alone, but Ethan didn’t care. He’d kill them all if necessary.

  Backing up from his spot, Ethan waited for them to reach her front walk before he drove up to the curb and shot.

  He hit Bella, and she fell to the ground, but she was quickly covered by her companions. He hadn’t expected that, and he wasn’t bold enough to exit his vehicle for fear of being identified. Speeding off, he drove back to the Haverland, switched cars and headed home.

  ******

  With unfortunate timing, just as the captain finished his presentation, informing the press that the murders did not appear to be related, an officer approached him and broke the bad news about another shooting.

  Carlos did not enlighten the reporters as to this latest development, because he didn’t even know if it was related to the other murders, or not.

  Upon being told that a young woman was shot at her home, Paul and Ed had no question as to who it was. Speeding over to Bella’s, they were told that she was alive and had been taken to Boston City Hospital.

  “You secure the scene,” Paul said to Ed. “I’ll head over to Boston City.”

  Paul jumped into his car and sped off, arriving at the hospital in mere minutes.

  Directed to the surgical floor, he found Bella’s parents sitting in the waiting room.

  Introducing himself, Paul said, “How’s Bella?”

  “You know our daughter,” Anna Moore asked, recognizing that he’d called her Bella.

  “Yes,” he said with a soft smile. “She’s a lovely girl. I interviewed her after Claire Spencer was killed. Do you know what happened this afternoon?’

  “We were there. We’d just driven her home from a wedding and were going into her building when a car pulled up and shot her. I threw myself over her,” Beth’s father Douglas said, “to keep him from shooting her again.”

  Paul took note that Douglas was covered in blood.

  “She was bleeding so much I didn’t think she’d make it, so while Mary dialed 911, I took my belt off. I was going to try and make a tourniquet, but it was amazing. The police arrived while Mary was on the phone. We were so lucky they were nearby.”

  “We learned something this morning that made us fear for her safety, but we couldn’t get a hold of her, so we had a car patrolling the area.”

  “Well,” Mary said, “it saved her life. The young officer knew just what to do, and he had the bleeding almost stopped by the time the EMTs arrived.”

  “I’m so glad.”

  “What did you see?”

  “A car and a gun,” Douglas said. “I heard a car pull up to the curb behind us but it’s a busy street, so I didn’t turn around. A minute later, there was a shot, and Bella fell to the ground. I turned to look, and all I saw was a man in a car. He was in shadow so I couldn’t see his face. He was about to shoot again, so I pulled my wife over to me and threw myself over both of them.”

  “I’d already pulled out my phone, and while I lay there, I was trying to call for help, but my hand was shaking,” Mary said.

  “I raised myself slightly so I could get up to fight him if he’d gotten out of the car, but before I could even turn around, the car had pulled away.”

  “Did you see the plate?” Paul asked.

  “No. Sorry, I turned right back to help Bella.”

  “I did,” Mary said.

  “You did?” Douglas asked.

  “When you looked up, I did too. It was a Massachusetts plate, but I only got the first three letters DRA. I think it was a vanity plate, but all I got was DRA before another car blocked my view.”

  “Good for you, honey,” Douglas said.

  “Can you tell me type or color of the car?” Paul asked.

  “Grey. Medium grey, I guess. Aren’t they all these days?” Mary said.

  “Pretty much. Type?”

  Mary looked at her husband, was it an SUV? They’re all sort of the same shape now.”

  “Minivan, but I couldn’t tell you the make. It was good sized but not as big as an SUV,” Douglas said.

  “I’m going to be sick,” Mary said as a wave of nausea came over her.

  She stood to rush to the public restroom across the hall. Douglas caught up to Mary and went in with her. They came out a few minutes later with a pale Mary Moore sitting back down next to Paul.

  “I’ll get you some water,” Douglas said.

  “Are you sure that you don’t need medical attention yourself,” Paul asked.

  “I’ve got a few scrapes and bruises from when Doug pulled me down to the ground, but I was checked out, I’m fine. Everything hits me in the stomach. I’ll feel better when Bella’s out of surgery.”

  “You’ve been a great help,” Paul said.

  As they spoke, Ed came walking toward them.

  “My partner,” Paul said and got up to meet him.

  “Poor woman just threw up from the stress,” Paul said. “Anything new from the scene.”

  “Not much. She was shot by the door to her building. Several witnesses said it was a gray midsized car. No one who could ID the driver. He pulled up, shot from the driver’s side. He evidently went to shoot again, but when the man with Bella blocked his shot, the shooter gave up and drove away.”

  “That’s what I was told. The man was her father. I want to know how she’s doing,” Paul said, “so I’m going to hang around for a while.”

  “I’ll go back to the station.”

  “Wait, so why did Faith see this. I thought you said that she only had visions about things she was connected with.”

  Ed just shook his head and left.

  Chapter Twelve

  On this Tuesday morning, Faith was arriving at her third job at Patterson State hospital. On the way there, Faith had been thinking about continuing her investigation into Maggie and wondered if Dan would allow it or be angry at her for even asking. If he didn’t allow it, she could always probe Maggie’s brain, but being that this was likely related to a legal case, she was reluctant to go against Duncan’s guidance about abusing one’s powers. On the other hand, Faith knew that she was not law enforcement and that this was to some extent self-preservation, but she would hold that particular card in her deck, for now.

  “Morning Faith,” Dan Ryan said pleased to see that his new recruit had indeed come back.

  “Glad to see that we didn’t scare you off.”

  “What’s on for today,” she asked.

  “You’ll be observing.”

  “That’s good. I’ve got a lot to learn – but do you have a minute to talk about Maggie Dunham?”

  Dan nodded.

  “Oh, n
o, not the psychiatric nod,” she said laughing.

  “Fraid so. I don’t want you getting obsessed.”

  “Dan, she could be involved in the death of her niece.”

  “No kidding, how?”

  “That, I don’t know. To be fair, from what my boyfriend told me, the girl might have been robbing her blind, but, still, that’s what the courts are for.”

  “The one thing that I can tell you is that she didn’t get out of here without us knowing it. This place is as secure as any maximum-security prison.”

  “That it is. I’m always afraid that you won’t let me out. The question is, who’s been here to see her?”

  “I can’t show you that.”

  “No, but you could get me a coffee, and leave your computer on. I saw you pull it up the other day, and it’s right there,” Faith said pointing at a folder on the screen.

  “The police will get a warrant, but since I could still be a target, I was wondering if I could get a look at her visitor’s list.”

  “What do you want in your coffee?” Dan asked.

  “Black is fine but take your time.”

  Dr. Ryan left, and Faith sat down in his chair, opened the folder entitled Logs, and found Maggie’s visitor log. There were only a few names.

  Claire Spencer had been there once, and Ethan Blackett had visited on four occasions in the past two months. That seemed really odd to Faith, who knew that Maggie had no use for him. The next name was not a surprise. Laura had mentioned that Donna Muise had been in contact with Maggie. According to the log, Donna had visited on multiple occasions. Faith knew her because Donna had been a resident at Bourne Street, as well as a patient of Maggie’s. It was at this point her phone rang.

  Grabbing her phone from her bag, Faith saw an unknown number, but answered it, never the less. An operator asked if she’d accept a collect call from Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Medfield. Intrigued, Faith said that she would.

  “Faith?” Laura asked.

  “Yes, Laura, what is it?”