by Deborah Camp
He pulled her close to kiss her lips. “You know it has. Loving you and having you love me has been my salvation.”
She kissed him, her lips savoring his before pulling away. “Stuart needs us, Levi, and in a way, we need him.”
His gaze sharpened. “You’re not wanting to adopt him because you’re not pregnant yet, right? Because that’s not a reason to adopt a child.”
“No, of course not.” She let go of his hand. “This has nothing to do with that. Adoption has always been something I wanted to do.” She grasped his hand again with both of hers. “This seems destined, doesn’t it? This psychic child, who has suffered a terrible loss, is placed in our path. If that isn’t divine intervention, then what is?”
He sat back, his expression growing wary. “I wouldn’t go that far.” Running a hand down his tie, he took a few moments to think about what she’d said before he continued. “We should still speak to Dr. McClain about this. She’s his psychiatrist and she’ll know if this would be detrimental.”
“How could it be?” Trudy asked, incredulous.
“Maybe he’s not ready for a new family. Maybe he would feel that he’d be replacing his mom and dad and he isn’t emotionally prepared to do that.” He held her gaze until she blinked and looked away. “Trudy, you have such a big, beautiful heart. I love that about you. And if Dr. McClain thinks it’s the right time to discuss adoption with Stuart, then I’m in.”
She swung her gaze back to his as excitement coursed through her. “You are?”
“Yes.” He held up a cautionary finger. “But go into this with eyes wide open, baby. Stuart is emotionally crippled right now. Because he’s a child, he’s resilient, and because he’s an introvert, he’s holding a lot of what he feels inside. However, you don’t just get over having your parents murdered a few feet away from you and hiding in your closet in mortal fear. Those are things that will cling like burs to him for the rest of his life.”
She nodded, barely able to contain her joy. “But we can make it better, Levi. We can offer him security again and love and a family. We have the power to do that! Plus, we will guide him as he explores his psychic abilities and he won’t feel like some kind of freak of nature like we did growing up.”
His smile was lovingly indulgent. “All true. Let me see what Althea has to say about this. Okay?”
“Yes.” She couldn’t imagine the psychiatrist not agreeing to the adoption. “I bet she’ll think it will be a good thing for all of us.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll see.”
“Don’t sound so apprehensive or I’ll think you were shining me on about being on board.”
“I’m on board. I’m just not going overboard.”
She groaned at his pun.
“I have to get back to work.” He stood and grabbed his suit coat from the back of his chair. Slipping it on, he shifted it into place across his shoulders and gave her a wink when she smoothed her hands down the front of his shirt and tie. “I enjoyed our lunch.”
“So did I.” She inched up on her toes to kiss his chin, then his soft lips. “And I always enjoy you.” She laughed a little when his hands squeezed her backside and pressed her middle against his. “Down, boy
His hands traveled up her body to frame her face. “I love you, Mrs. Wolfe.”
“And I love you, Mr. Wolfe.” She sighed and let her eyes close. “I’ll never grow tired of hearing that or saying it.” His kiss warmed her, through and through.
“I have to go now. If I don’t, you’ll cast a spell on me and have me naked and in the bedroom before I know what’s happening.” He retreated as if he were afraid of her witchy ways, then called out, “I’m leaving, Wes! It’s safe to come back upstairs!”
Trudy slapped his chest, getting a chuckle out of him as he made his way out of the apartment.
Dr. Althea McClain had given a provisional agreement on pursuing their adoption of Stuart. She said she would discuss it first with Stuart in session and let them know if she felt he was ready for another set of parents. He was fragile and still dealing with the loss of his parents and the fact that he’d never see them again.
In the meantime, Trudy and Levi had decided it was time to expose the boy to more of what being psychic meant. As it happened, Levi had an appearance that Friday at a psychic symposium in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. They’d decided to let Stuart watch Levi in action and answer any questions he’d have about what he would witness.
They’d fly there Friday and fly back to Atlanta Saturday afternoon, following Levi’s participation in a panel.
As Trudy packed for the trip, she sorted through Stuart’s clothes and found them lacking. He had about a dozen or so pairs of underwear, ten pairs of socks, and a couple of undershirts. No wonder Wes did laundry more often now. He had to keep the boy’s underclothes clean because he had only about a couple of weeks’ worth.
“You need more underwear, young man,” she said, glancing over her shoulder at Stuart, who was engrossed in a video game. He sat in the middle of the bed, his face screwed up in concentration, his thumbs flying as he fought some demon on the tablet’s screen. “Where are the rest of your clothes? This can’t be all you have.”
He bobbed one shoulder. “The storage place, I guess.”
“Oh, right.” She recalled the mention of the McFarland’s belongings going to a storage center once they were released by the crime lab. “We need to find out where that is and bring more of your stuff here.”
He looked up from the game. “Like my bike and racer building set and my scooter!”
“Sure. And underwear and jeans, shirts, shoes, the works, kid. We’ll do that when we get back from our trip. And you have the bike that Gonzo brought over the other day.”
“It’s not my bike, though.”
“No, it belonged to one of his sons, but you can use it until we bring your bike here.” She sat on the bed beside him. “When we get to Myrtle Beach, you’re going to meet a very good friend of ours. Quintara. You talked to her on the phone once, remember?”
He nodded.
“She is excited to meet you. Quintara teaches a class for psychics and she helped me learn how to deal with my abilities and use them to benefit others. She also helped Levi. In fact, she introduced me to Levi. We love Quintara very much.”
“Is she old?”
She chuckled, surprised by his question. “She’s older than you and me and Levi. She’s wise and funny. I’m sure you’ll like her.”
“Will you have other friends there?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure who all is going.” She knew one person who wouldn’t be there – Chason Bolt. She had checked first before she’d agreed to this excursion. One thing she didn’t need right now – or ever, really – was another confrontation between him and Levi. “If we have time, we’ll go to the beach and we’ll ride the Ferris wheel there.”
He pushed out his lower lip. “That’s okay. I don’t want to do that.”
“Hey, buddy.” She hooked a finger under his chin and brought his eyes up to hers. “You’re not scared of Ferris wheels now, are you? Don’t let that one bad moment ruin the fun of riding on one.” She chucked him under his chin. “You’re safe with us. You know that, right?”
His lower lip trembled slightly and he sniffed. “I was safe with Mommy and Daddy until I wasn’t.”
Ouch. Trudy flinched. What could she say to that? She struggled to find words to comfort him, but finally resorted to folding him in her embrace and kissing the top of his head. He smelled faintly of crayons and model airplane glue. Boy scents that she breathed in and relished.
“Sometimes life sucks,” she whispered, combing her fingers through his silky, dark brown hair and thinking that he needed a haircut soon. “That night changed your whole world. What that man did was despicable.”
“What’s that mean?” he asked, his voice barely registering in the quiet room.
“Despicable? It means evil, unthinkable, horrid.” She gave him a squeeze when he
nodded. “And we’ll find him and put him in prison. Until then, Levi and I are doing everything possible to keep you safe and provide a home for you.” She let the quiet enfold them for a minute before she asked, “Was there only that one man? Did you see anyone else that night, Stewie?”
“No.” His voice was squeaky and weak.
“So, it was just one man who came into your house?”
He nodded, his cheek rubbing against her chest.
“You didn’t know him? You hadn’t seen him before?”
He didn’t answer for almost a full minute. “I thought . . . no.”
“No, you didn’t know him?”
“He didn’t have hair. None on his face, either.”
Thrilled with the crumbs he was tossing her, Trudy strived to keep her voice calm even though she felt like rejoicing. “You saw his face, then? You’d recognize him if you saw him again.”
“I don’t know.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t know!”
“Okay.” She rocked him for a minute before resting her hands on his narrow shoulders and facing him. “Did you say that you have a scooter?”
A shadow of a smile curved his lips. “Uh-huh. It’s blue.”
“We’ll definitely have to get it out of storage. In the meantime, it’s a beautiful day and I’m tired of packing. Let’s go for a bike ride.”
“Okay.” He scrambled off the bed and began putting on his tennis shoes. “Can we bring Mouse?”
“Yes. She likes to sit in the bike basket.”
“I’ll go get her!” He raced out.
Trudy chuckled at his lightning change of mood and was grateful for it. He was so resilient. Or was he good at getting her to change the subject? She tended to back off the moment he balked at any questions or discussion about the man who murdered his parents. But she didn’t want to push him, and besides, it wasn’t her place to do so. He had Dr. McClain for that and she was far more equipped to guide him back to that night and the memories that haunted him.
She sent Bill Myers a text about what Stuart had told her about there being one assailant. It wasn’t much, but it added another piece to the puzzle.
Chapter 12
Levi Wolfe always drew a crowd and his gig at the South Carolina Psychic Symposium was no exception. The organizers had saved seats near the front for Trudy, Quintara, and Stuart or they would have been out of luck. The place was standing room only.
Seated between Trudy and Quintara, Stuart’s big, blue eyes took in everything and everyone around him. He twisted about to ogle the variety of people who were eager to see and hear Levi Wolfe in person. Most of them, Trudy assumed, had watched him on TV or listened to him on various radio programs, and the majority of them probably owned a book he’d penned. She could tell by their flushed cheeks, bright eyes, and the hum of excited voices around her that these were true admirers of Levi’s.
“Some people don’t have seats,” Stuart observed.
“That’s how it is when Levi speaks,” Quintara said, patting Stuart’s knee. “He is extremely popular. Why, I have no doubt that he’s the most famous and sought-after psychic in the whole world.”
Trudy delivered a chiding glare at Quintara. “You’re laying it on thick there, my friend.”
Quintara poked her snubbed nose in the air. “Just stating facts, my dear.”
“How come they want to see him so bad?” Stuart asked, facing the stage again. “Are they sigh-kick, too?”
Quintara’s throaty chuckle made Stuart grin. “Heavens no, my boy! Being psychic is rare and wonderful!” She leaned closer to him, her voice dipping to a whisper. “We’re some of the lucky few. Didn’t you know that?”
He shook his head, falling under Quintara’s powerful personality.
“Oh, yes, we are!” Quintara chuckled again, her brown eyes shining with mirth. “Few people can do what you can, Master Stuart. And even fewer can match Levi and Trudy’s ESP powers. That’s why all these people have come here today. They want to witness with their own eyes the wonders that Levi can perform.”
“Quintara, please,” Trudy pleaded. “You’re making Levi sound like the Great Houdini!”
“Oh, he’s much more talented that Houdini,” Quintara scoffed.
“What’s Levi going to do?” Stuart asked, his blue eyes latched onto Quintara with her big, spangle earrings swinging with her every move and ropes of beads hanging around her neck. Even without the jewelry, she would have stood out in her palm tree printed caftan with long sleeves of neon green.
“Levi is going to talk about being psychic and then he will take requests from some people gathered here.”
“What kind of re . . . requestions?”
Quintara dimpled and glanced at Trudy. “Requests, you mean? Well, I would guess that people will be asking him about loved ones who have crossed over.”
“You mean, they’re dead.”
Quintara’s thin brows arched. “Yes. They have crossed to a different place, but psychics like Levi can communicate with them.”
He sat straight in the padded seat. “He told me about that. He can’t make the people come back here, can he?”
“No.” Quintara’s face crumpled a little. “Even Levi can’t do that.”
“You’ll see how it works,” Trudy said, sensing Stuart’s depression crowding in on him. “People gain comfort from knowing that their loved ones are safe and happy where they are. Sometimes they even receive special messages from them.” She studied the boy’s solemn demeanor before rummaging in her purse to find the Tootsie Roll Pop she’d stuck in there earlier. “Here you go, Stewie. Cherry. Your favorite.”
He brightened and flashed her a grin as he accepted the candy and yanked off the wrapper. “Thanks,” he managed before filling his mouth with the lollipop.
“Stuart, I believe you’re going to be a very talented psychic just like Levi,” Quintara announced, getting a big-eyed stare from the boy. “Yes, I do, and I’m seldom wrong about these things.”
“I’m going to be a pilot,” he told her around the sucker firmly planted in his mouth. “Maybe an astronaut.”
“You can be anything you want and a psychic. No matter what profession you choose for yourself, you’ll always be psychic. Just as you’ll always have blue eyes. It’s part of you.”
“Remember, Stewie, I told you that Quintara teaches psychics how to use their gifts. So, she knows a lot about it.”
“You teach at a school?” Stuart asked. “Far away like Hogwarts?”
“Oh, no.” Quintara laughed and her beaded necklaces clattered over her bosom. “In Tulsa. In my own home. It’s nothing like Hogwarts, I can assure you.” She dipped her head toward him to whisper, “But wouldn’t that be grand? You know, Levi went to a school for psychics in England. Did he tell you that?”
Stuart shook his head and looked to Trudy for confirmation.
“He did,” Trudy said. “Arthur Findlay College. It has classes in spiritualism, ESP, clairvoyance, and all sorts of things like that.”
“Cool.”
“Yes,” Trudy agreed. “Very cool.”
“You didn’t go there?”
“No. I went to the University of Tulsa and I didn’t take any classes in being a psychic.” She sighed as her thoughts meandered to her college years when she had struggled with her horrible dreams and ghastly visions of rape, molestation, and murder. “It would have been wonderful if I could have studied it back then.” She glanced at Quintara, who was smiling tenderly. Quintara knew how beaten down Trudy had been a few years ago before she’d met the flamboyant, big-hearted woman who had shown her the path to peace. “Would have saved me a lot of sleepless nights and migraine headaches.”
A white-haired man dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt stepped on stage and the room quieted as he approached the microphone stand.
“Good evening, everyone. I’m Kirby Phelps and I’ll be introducing our next speaker. Thanks for attending this event that should be everything and more than we’ve come to
expect from Mr. Wolfe. As you are all aware, Levi Wolfe is a renowned psychic who is a popular guest on radio programs across the country and on televisions shows such as Ellen, The Tonight Show, The Sissy Franklin Show, and Good Morning, America. We were extremely pleased when he agreed to be our keynote speaker. He is a graduate of Arthur Findlay College and he has a master’s degree in psychology. On top of all that, he owns Wolfe Enterprises, Inc., with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and he is a bestselling author. Whew!”
Laughter broke out as the man swiped at his brow and drew in a deep breath before continuing. “Mr. Wolfe is going to speak to us about some of the experiences he’s had as a psychic and then he’s graciously agreed to handle requests from a few of our audience members.” He looked offstage and extended one hand. “Let’s extend a warm welcome to Levi Wolfe.”
Levi came into view. He moved confidently and shook hands with Kirby Phelps before adjusting the microphone to suit him and surveying the audience. His gaze lingered on Quintara, Stuart, and Trudy.
“Thanks, everyone. You’re very kind. Thank you.” He held up one hand, asking the audience to settle down. “It’s my pleasure to speak to you this evening at this splendid event. Since I’ve married, I’ve shortened my speaking engagements, but this symposium is one that I left on my list because it’s well run and always has an interesting roster of speakers and topics.” He lifted the microphone from the stand and walked slowly from one side of the stage to the other, making eye contact with the audience, sharing quick smiles here and there, and generally weaving his Levi Wolfe spell. “As is often noted in articles written about me, ‘I talk to dead people.’ Well, that’s a crude way to put it, but accurate. You might think that the deceased are eager to have a chat with me, but you’d be mistaken. Usually, I have to plead with them for a minute of their time. Whatever is going on ‘over there’ must be fascinating because it’s hell to tear them away from it!” Smiling, he waited for the chuckles to die down. “It seems that the departed leave all their cares and woes behind and aren’t keen on visiting them again. In short, what’s of dire importance to us here is of no consequence or interest to them. In fact, they often let me know that they can’t be bothered with the petty squabbles or questions I put to them.” He shrugged at the smiles and light laughter. “Therefore, you might be disappointed with what I can tell you from the Great Beyond, but remember, I’m only the messenger. I can’t force the departed to chat with me. I can cajole and plead and I will on your behalf, but if they’re not in the mood, then the shop’s closed, folks.”