Rachel had worked for a few hours on
the plane, polishing the speech she was going to give and wishing she’d asked
Derek’s opinion on it before she’d left.
It was too late now. She’d have
to wing it and hope for the best. It
was an international conference, with delegates coming from Europe, the US, and
the Near and Middle East. This wasn’t a
small gathering of like minds. It was
important.
The flight wasn’t direct. There was a two hour stopover at Detroit
Metro and she used the time to relax, drink plenty of water, pack the speech
carefully in the bottom of her carry on bag, and prepare for the long haul into
Heathrow. Rachel wondered how Kat was doing
on her flight to the islands.
*****
“You want the window seat?” Merlin
asked.
“I’m not sure.”
Merlin swung into the seat by the
window and gestured for Kat to sit next to her. “What exactly is the problem with you an’ flying?”
Kat thought about it. “I don’t like the idea that I can’t move
around much. I feel trapped. Cramped.”
“That all?”
“I get bored.”
Merlin nodded. “Anything else? Most people don’t mind the long, boring bit in the middle. They get panicky about the start an’ the end. Of course, if there’s turbulence – ”
“You’re not helping,” Kat stated.
“Fasten your seatbelt. You have the aisle seat. You won’t feel so trapped with a space
beside you. If you wanna get up, get
up. Take a walk around. Stretching exercises are good for you on a
plane.”
“Okay.”
“I like the take off and landing. It’s exciting. I remember this one time when I flew from London .. it was
great. I mean, usually, it goes like
this – you get to the airport, wait around for ages, then go wait somewhere
else, then get on board. Then you wait
some more. Then you go out to the end
of the runway an’ wait again, then you go.
But this one time, we got on the plane, waited as usual, then went out
toward the runway, and we turned the bend an’ straightened up, an’ pow! We went.
From a rolling start, bam, straight into the sky. Exciting .. hell, it was exhilarating. Good pilot.”
She shrugged. “As for the bit in the middle, I either read
a book or I sleep. Depends on how long
it’ll take to get there, where I’m going an’ why I’m going there. I may not get much sleep once I’m back on
the ground.”
“I think I’ll sleep,” Kat
decided. “It was an early start today
an’ I didn’t sleep much last night.”
“Nerves or excitement?”
“A little of both,” Kat admitted with
a grin.
“Oh, one other thing I gotta ask
you. When we get to the hotel, do you
want your own room? I figure you’re
fourteen now, way old enough to have your own room, but .. maybe you don’t want
that. But maybe you do. I don’t wanna cramp your style, Kat. This is your vacation. The alternative is a suite. We each get our own room but it’s still part
of some shared space. Think about it,
let me know.”
“All right.”
It seemed hardly any time at all
before their plane was moving for take off.
“There’s only one problem with this
part,” Merlin said softly, frowning.
“What?” Kat asked, her eyes wide.
The engines roared and the aircraft
hurtled forward.
“It’s over too soon,” Merlin winked.
*****
Rachel slept as well. The airports around London had a rule about
no night time take offs and landings so her flight couldn’t leave too
soon. She waited for the crew to start
serving drinks, and she ordered a bottle of water and another of orange juice,
then settled back, reset her watch to London time, closed her eyes, resolutely
put the conference and Kat’s trip to Hawaii from her mind, and slept. It was the quickest way to pass the
interminable drag of transatlantic flying.
She woke once and only briefly. It was just as well because she’d developed
a stiff neck. Adjusting her position,
she took the chance to look quickly out the window but it was dark. Wisps of pale cloud slid by beneath and that
was all there was to see. Rachel closed
her eyes again.
The next time she woke, there was
daylight outside. She checked the
time. Five thirty in the morning. They would be landing in about an hour if
all went well. Sometimes, all those
transatlantic flights which had been in the air all night stacked up, circling
around London as they waited for the airport to open and their turn to land.
Rachel visited the restroom, splashed
water on her face, generally tidied her appearance and brushed her teeth. She felt reasonably fresh and ready to face
the day. Returning to her seat, she was
just in time for breakfast. If this was
a sign, it was a good one.
The plane landed at six forty, ten
minutes late. She waited for her bags,
got thru Immigration and Customs, then headed out to the information desk, as
per her instructions. There was a man
there with a large card in his hand with her name on it.
“Dr Corrigan. That’s me,” Rachel smiled.
“Morning. Good flight?”
“Yeah. Very smooth.”
“This way,” he gestured. “I’m Dave, your driver. Where you from?”
“San Francisco.”
“Nice place,” Dave commented. “Was there once. Few days. I’d like to go
back.”
Rachel smiled politely as she followed
after him, thinking taxi cab drivers were the same the world over.
“Over here long?”
“Four days, then I head home again.”
“Not long to see all the sights,” he
remarked.
“I’m not here on vacation. I’m attending a conference.”
“Oh, right. But .. they give you time off, don’t they?” He paused by his car. “You should try to do Oxford Street, at
least.”
“I will try,” Rachel promised, and was
glad she’d slept on the flight over. If
she hadn’t, this much interrogation would have exhausted her and they hadn’t
even left the airport yet.
*****
She stayed at the Hilton, Park Lane,
right in the heart of the capital.
Rachel saw nothing of the splendor.
Her first priority was to call Kat and see how she had coped, so Rachel
called Merlin’s cell phone.
It rang for a few seconds then a voice
said, “Yeah.”
“Peri, it’s Rachel.”
“She’s right here. Kat, it’s your Mom.”
Rachel waited, smiling even though her
daughter was on the other side of the world.
“Hi, Mom!”
“Hi, sweetie! How was your flight?”
“It was good. I had a real good seat an’ Peri talked to me
right thru the take off. Then I had
lunch an’ went to sleep. An’, then, I had
lunch again an’ we landed.”
“Are you at the hotel?”
“Mom, it’s nearly eleven at
night. Where else would we be?”
Rachel laughed. “Well, it’s nearly nine the next morning for
me.”
Kat laughed too. “The hotel’s really cool. Peri asked me if I wanted my own room an’ everything
cos she didn’t wanna cramp my style or
we could have a suite so we got a suite an’ it’s like a palace! You should see the bathroom. The tub’s the size of a swimming pool an’
it’s sunk into the floor. We went
shopping this afternoon cos I didn’t pack any cool clothes or swimsuits. Tomorrow, we’re going to the university to
pick up Dr Chang’s artifact. Mom, it’s
fantastic. You should see this place.”
“I’m so happy for you, Kat. You sound really excited. I wish I could be there with you to see it
but … Maybe next time, huh? Take lots of pictures of everything so you
can tell me all about it.”
“I will. I promise.”
“I’ll call again tomorrow .. or later
today. I’ll try to make it a more
reasonable time. It’s difficult with a
ten hour time difference between us.”
“You don’t have to call. I’ll be fine an’ you’re working. Call when you’re back in San Francisco an’
you have time to talk.”
“I’ll think about it. No promises. I don’t wanna cramp your style either,” she laughed. “Now, to bed, young lady. Eleven’s quite late enough. An’ don’t forget to brush your teeth.”
“No, Mom, I won’t forget. I love you.
Bye.”
The line went dead in her hand. Rachel didn’t have to speak with Merlin and
tell her to look out for Kat, she knew she’d do that like Kat was her own, or
at least her younger sister. And Kat
had sounded like she was really enjoying herself on her first ever vacation
without her mother. Merlin had been
spending money, and she could easily afford to do that and give Kat an experience
she’d remember her whole life. Rachel
just hoped the purchases weren’t too .. adult.
She checked the time again. The conference officially began at six that
evening with pre-dinner drinks in the bar, then dinner, but her day began at one in the afternoon
when the speakers met with the organizers.
Rachel decided to take a shower, unpack, decide what she would wear,
then go over her speech again. She was
looking forward to the next few days.
There were a lot of other speakers, most of whom she’d heard of, even
some she’d met, and she was interested in listening to what they all had to
say.
And, she had to admit, this wasn’t
Legacy work at all. It was normal, even
if the subject was
parapsychology. Rachel found it
incredibly relaxing. In fact, it was
just like being on vacation.
*****
“Dr Corrigan, I’m so glad you could
accept the invitation,” Professor Marcus Graham remarked. “You have saved the day, and that isn’t an
exaggeration.”
“I’m sure it is,” Rachel smiled.
“When Professor Emharte had to pull
out, we were at our wits’ end but then she suggested your name and that you
might be able to take her place. She
said she’d worked with you on a very intriguing case but she wouldn’t give any
details.”
And, for that, we must be eternally
grateful, Rachel mused.
“Oh, yeah, it was certainly ..
intriguing,” she agreed, recalling it with reluctant amusement.
“So we are grateful you could step
into the breach. Did you have to change
your plans radically to accommodate us?”
Rachel wasn’t quite sure how to answer
that. “I had to postpone something
because I realized this conference is important.”
“Well, I hope your talk will give us
an insight into how parapsychology works in the US. I sometimes think you’re more geared up for it. Your funding is certainly more reliable than
ours. People in our line of work do
tend to be viewed as eccentrics, people who can’t hold down a normal job.” He angled his head. “But you do, don’t you?”
“That’s right,” Rachel nodded. “I have a psychiatric private practice. I believe that work keeps me grounded when I
venture into parapsychology. You’re
correct in that researchers and investigators aren’t taken seriously so our
presence in any team adds a layer of credibility. But we also add balance to the mix. Some researchers are desperate to prove the existence of
paranormal phenomena an’ they occasionally slew their findings to put them in a
more positive perspective. Often,
they’re not even aware they’re doing it.
It’s enthusiasm rather than a deliberate fraud. Science can shine an objective light and
either confirm or provide a more realistic answer.”
“Fabulous,” he gushed. “If your talk is more of the same, it’ll be
wonderful.”
“That’s great,” she smiled, “because
it is.”
“I’m monopolizing you. Let me introduce you to the other organizers
and some of your fellow presenters.”
Rachel followed him around the room,
shaking hands, exchanging pleasantries, trying to eat some of the buffet food
which had been provided. She felt at
home with these people, comfortable in a way her colleagues in San Francisco
perhaps wouldn’t understand. They never
slewed their findings but they were enthusiastic, at times too ready to jump at
the implausible because they’d been in the Legacy for many years. So being with people who wanted to prove the
existence of the paranormal yet were cautious about it was very
comforting. Rachel sometimes felt she
was a lone voice in San Francisco.
Here, her voice chimed in harmony.
Around three, the meeting drew to a
close. Marcus Graham wished everyone a
pleasant afternoon and he would see them all that evening at the
reception. Rachel decided to take a nap
in her room rather than venture outside.
As she left the meeting and crossed the foyer to the elevators, she saw
a young man standing near the entrance to the dining room. He had dark hair and a quite piercingly
direct gaze, so much so that her step faltered and she blushed. For some reason, he found this amusing
because a small smile lifted the corners of his generous mouth. Rachel dragged her eyes away. Okay, he was incredibly good looking and his
gaze had set her heart fluttering in her chest but that was no reason to start
acting like she was Kat’s age.
The elevator doors closed and she let
out a held breath. “C’mon, Rachel,
you’ll never see him again,” she commented and grinned to herself, “except,
maybe, in your dreams … ”
*****
Kat woke abruptly and didn’t know why
.. for possibly five seconds. Then the
banging on her door came again.
“You awake in there?”
“Yeah. What time is it?” she called, stifling a yawn.
“Just before seven.”
Kat sagged back. “Peri!
This is supposed to be a vacation!”
“I know. I’m going out running. I
wanted to tell you in case you woke an’ came looking for me. You can go back to sleep for a while.”
“Thank you, I will,” Kat stated.
Merlin grinned to herself as she
headed for the door. It didn’t matter
to her where she was or why she was there, some things in her life ran on
tracks. Morning run was one of
them. She’d been halfway to the
elevator before she’d remembered Kat and had gone back. She could have left a note but she knew that
Kat wouldn’t sleep so deeply now and, when Merlin returned, she’d be ready to
wake and face the day.
She stepped out into the foyer and
crossed it, the day drawing her like a magnet.
The sun was already bright and hot.
The palm trees waved in the very slight breeze. It was a day to celebrate being alive.
Merlin began to stretch and warm up,
then eased into a gentle jog. While she
ran, she called Nick.
“Yeah?” he said.
“What’s happened?” Merlin asked,
hearing the slightly tense quality in his voice.
“Oh, the usual. You know how it is around here.”
“I thought you were looking at some
old sword,” Merlin frowned.
“I am, except this sword seems to be
looking back.”
“You don't need me, do you?”
“Nope. Derek, Pete an’ I can cope.
You enjoy your vacation.”
“Pete? Pete Miller?”
“Uh huh. Small matter of some dead bodies to complicate things.”
She thought about it and decided not
to explore it further.
“Will you be able to come join us?”
she asked.
“That kinda depends on what we
find. Right now .. I don’t think I’ll
be able to.”
“Oh.”
Her heart sank. “Oh, well, we
can always go away some other time.”
“I’m sorry, babe. This could go in any direction. Maybe Tokyo did a wrong thing sending it to
me, maybe not. But, if it does go bad
on us, Derek will call one of the others.
Kat’s already had one vacation postponed, I’m not having this one cut
short. It isn’t fair on her.”
“What a hero you are,” she remarked
and he laughed. “Okay. I’ll call you later, see how you’re doing.”
“Check. Miss you like crazy.”
“Me too. Bye, Nicky.”
She put her phone back in her pocket
and idly noticed a limo rolling past. For
a second, Merlin thought she recognized one of the faces in it but then it had
gone by and she was heading in the opposite direction. She’d felt nothing to put her on alert, but,
there again, Merlin’s alarm system only worked with evil.
*****
Looking round the room, Rachel felt
young. Apart from a handful of
delegates, she had to be the youngest one present. Her self esteem didn’t need any boosting but it still rose several
notches and she began circulating, introducing herself and doing an excellent
job of promoting the Luna Foundation.
“It’s a great pity, don’t you think,
that, for all the work we do, there is only personal experience and that, of
course, cannot be impartial. There’s no
empirical evidence. Nothing
concrete. Nothing we can hold out to
other impartial, or even slightly biased, individuals for independent
assessment,” Edith Mallory remarked on a sigh over her sherry. “We can see, we can believe, but ‘I saw it’
rings very hollow to the skeptic.”
“It’s why these conferences are so
important,” Gaston Mirabeau commented.
“Sharing of experiences, sharing knowledge, may help suggest as yet
untried methods. A little of one
approach mixed with a smattering of ideas from other areas, combined with a
technical hint from an unexpected source may break the whole thing wide
open. But, if we do not share, we
cannot experiment.”
“What’s your view of the ESP testing
online project?” Sam Sullivan inquired.
Rachel thought about it. “I think it must be easier to get an
accurate result. So much of the
experimentation in the past was .. hands on.
How much is down to the receiver receiving or the sender sending? Online .. it’s a more pure application, I
guess. The computer can’t send so it
has to be down to the individual and only the individual. There again, it takes away the personal
touch. Sensory perception is a human
quality. Can people truly sense a
random answer generated by a machine?
Or are they just making a good guess?”
“My thoughts precisely!” Sam nodded
briskly even as the others smiled at his choice of words. “Extra sensory perception can’t be
accurately tested using machines as the ‘sender’. Machines play their part, yes, but only in measuring physiological
reactions.”
“Are sensitives sensitive over a wide
range of paranormal responsibilities?
Or do they, like doctors, tend to specialize in one or two?” Edith
questioned.
“I find they tend to specialize to the
exclusion of every other area,” Rachel replied. “I’ve seen people get fantastic results in clairvoyance, prescience,
by handling objects or merely concentrating on a person’s emotional state. A disturbed person – not psychotic but
emotionally distressed – can be a great subject to read. Yet those same clairvoyants can’t read
minds, couldn’t predict cards, or make anything move. Another person may be a complete failure in the .. traditional
paranormal fields yet can be off the scale at telekinesis.”
“Do you find .. mentally disturbed
people are more liable to display paranormal phenomena?” Gaston asked.
“Not always but it can happen,” Rachel
replied. “In the past, of course, it
was the other way round. People with an
unusual ability were either, one, against God and were locked up as heretics,
or, two, declared insane an’ locked up in the interests of public safety. Thankfully, we’ve moved on a little and
we’re more enlightened these days, tending to view it in a more benevolent
way. Disturbed, violent, strong
emotions can emerge as TK, it’s true.
Often, when the cause of the emotional upset is resolved, the TK
disappears. Or it can be that
discovering you have this ability, perhaps triggered by the surge of hormones
at puberty, leads to violent, strong, disturbed emotions. It’s really a case of what came first – the
chicken or the egg.”
They nodded slowly as they digested
this. Rachel glanced round and saw the
young man by the door. He was gazing at
her again, his stare unblinking and unwavering.
“Would you excuse me?” she murmured to
the group and she headed toward him.
He straightened slightly as she
approached.
“Why are you staring at me?” Rachel
began, her voice quiet but blunt.
“We shouldn’t speak here. People will get the wrong idea. They’ll talk.”
Rachel sighed at the overly
melodramatic reply but she stepped outside into the corridor. A moment later, the young man followed.
“This way,” he said. “There’s an empty room.”
Rachel halted. “I think here is just fine. I’m not going anywhere with you until you
start answering some questions.”
“I don’t want anyone to see us
talking. It’s as simple as that. I have my reasons.” He smiled, his eyes warming. “I’m not going to attack you. I just .. want to talk.”
Rachel glanced at her watch. “I can give you ten minutes.”
“It’s enough, for now.”
She followed him along the corridor
and into another large, but empty, room.
He carefully closed the door behind them. Rachel maintained a healthy distance.
“Why were you staring at me?” she
repeated.
“To get your attention. It worked.
If I alarmed you, I apologize.”
“Okay,” she accepted. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Poltergeists,” he replied.
“And we couldn’t have talked about
that in the other room?” Rachel queried.
“It’s hardly out of place.”
“I know.” His eyes lowered and Rachel felt like she’d stepped out of a
spotlight. “Do you plan to talk about
the subject at the conference sessions?”
“I hadn’t, no.”
“Does anyone else plan to talk about
it?”
Rachel frowned. “Are you being affected by one?”
“Not exactly.”
“Look, if you want me to help you in
some way, you have to be straight with me.”
“Then you be straight with me,” he
countered. “Is anyone intending to talk
about poltergeists at the conference?”
Rachel thought. “I don’t think so,” she replied and saw his
shoulders drop. Some of the intense
light in his eyes was quenched. “But I
can tell you that the last half hour of the morning and afternoon sessions is
an open forum. Anyone can ask any
question. If you’re a delegate, you can
raise the subject yourself.”
“I’d rather talk now.”
She nodded. “You’re not a delegate, are you?
You’re a gatecrasher.”
He smiled again and Rachel had to
smile too.
“What’s your name?” she asked. “I’m Rachel Corrigan.”
“I’m Toby. Toby Johnson.”
“Okay, Toby Johnson, what d’you wanna
know?”
“What creates a poltergeist?”
“Jury’s still out on that. We don’t know. But the most promising, the most common theory is that a
poltergeist is created by a person, usually a child with abnormal brain function. I don’t mean a retarded child. Usually, it’s the opposite. A gifted child, very bright, at an age when
that gift isn’t recognized. You hear
about them in school – the difficult ones, easily bored, no attention
span. It’s because they find it too
easy. They’re not being challenged
enough. Sometimes, that excess brain
function, that excess energy, creates a poltergeist. A poltergeist is a ghost which attaches to a person, is never
seen but is heard or experienced by telekinetic activity.”
He nodded. “And what gets rid of them?”
“Because it’s an .. artificial
construct an’ not the soul of a deceased person bound to this plane for
whatever reason, blessing of a house or exorcism by a priest doesn’t work. Invariably, poltergeist activity fades as
the child grows, and disappears completely by the time that child reaches his
or her teenage years.”
“And what if it doesn’t?” Toby asked.
“Excuse me? I don’t understand,” Rachel said.
“What if that child reaches his or her
twenties, and the poltergeist is still with them?”
“I’ve not heard of that happening,”
Rachel admitted. “Are you haunted by
one?”
“No.
No, I’m not.” He sighed and
shook his head. “Rachel, will you help
me? I realize I can’t keep you much
longer and I can’t attend the conference.
But .. when the session is over tomorrow afternoon, will you help me
then?”
“I guess so,” she agreed. “What exactly is the problem here, Toby?”
“Tomorrow,” he replied. “I’ll be in reception at .. seven. I’ll tell you everything.”
Now she was intrigued. Her conference had turned into Legacy
work. She smiled in resignation.
“Okay. Seven in reception.”
*****
When Merlin came back from her run,
Kat was not only awake but she was showered, dressed and she’d also ordered
breakfast from room service.
“It’s okay, isn’t it?” she asked, her
voice wary.
“Sure. Money is no object.
Although, if you decide you want a gold plated Rolls delivered to the
mainland, I think I’d have to say no.”
Kat giggled. “I wasn’t sure what you’d want so I got extra coffee an’ pancakes
with syrup cos they’re my favorite an’ Mom doesn’t let me have them every day.”
“This isn’t everyday. It’s a vacation. You can have whatever you want.
Do whatever you want.” Merlin grinned at her. “I’m gonna grab a shower. It is a glorious day out there, Kat. Really fabulous.”
“Peri,” she called quietly, “is Heaven
like this?”
Merlin paused. “That I can’t answer because I’ve never been
there. It’s nice to imagine it is. Next time I see the boss, I’ll ask him for
you.”
Kat’s eyes widened. “You don’t have to do that.”
Merlin chuckled. “It’ll throw him. Just for a moment, but I love the look on his face when I ask or
say something he doesn’t expect. Give
me ten minutes.”
Kat ate her breakfast as she gazed out
the window at the view beyond the balcony.
She couldn’t imagine a more beautiful place. When Merlin returned, the Enforcer sat down, poured a large cup
of coffee and sipped at it.
“You wanna come with me to the
university?”
Kat’s gaze drifted away from the
view. “I have to, don’t I?”
Merlin shrugged. “You could stay here. The pool looks very inviting. If you promise me you won’t try any
alcoholic beverages from the bar, I really don’t see why you have to drag
yourself all the way across town an’ stand around while I work. Kat, you’re nearly fifteen. I think that’s old enough to trust you with
some responsibility. You’re not a
little kid anymore.”
This was totally unexpected and Kat
found she liked the idea a whole lot.
Her mother trusted her to survive the occasional night alone in the
house but that was at home and her mother was still fairly close. Kat had worked hard to prove she was worthy
of that small freedom. To be trusted
this much, to be left alone in a strange city, a strange hotel, even if it was
only a few hours …
No, I’m not a little kid anymore, am
I? Yeah, I can stay alone by the pool.
“There’s stores in the foyer. You can go window shopping. I’ll leave some money in case you want a
snack or coffee or something,” Merlin offered.
“Hell, if I could, I’d send you to the university an’ I’d stay by the pool but you can’t drive
yet so I guess it’s down to me to go do the boring stuff.”
“Okay,” Kat agreed with a smile. “Thanks, Peri.”
“I want that promise.”
“I promise I won’t get any alcohol
from the bar,” Kat recited.
“Sodas, fruit cocktails, other drinks
like that, sure, charge ’em to the room,” Merlin ordered. “I’ll catch you later. Don’t forget your key when you go out.”
“I won’t.”
Five minutes later, Merlin was gone
again and Kat was on her own. She
changed into a swim costume and tied a sarong around her waist. She put on sun cream so she wouldn’t burn,
covered her hair with a hat, then, taking the key, a book and a towel, and the
cash in a purse, she headed down to the pool feeling a little self conscious. Kat found a deck lounger, spread out her
towel and lay down. Soon, she was
engrossed in her book and had forgotten all about being self conscious.
After some fifty minutes, she became
aware of a shadow falling over her. She
turned, blinked and peered up.
“I thought
it was you,” he said with a smile.
Kat knew him from somewhere but, for a
few panicked seconds, she just couldn’t place him. Then memory kicked in to supply a name.
“James.” Kat sat up. “What you are
doing here?”
She couldn’t quite mask the dismay in
her voice. Here, in a strange town, a
strange hotel, surrounded by people she’d never met, was one person she had met
and his family might be here with him.
“Hey, don’t worry,” James
Rosenwein grinned. “Mom an’ Dad were going to Orlando with
Georgia an’ I couldn’t face that. My
best friend Laurence was heading out here with his parents . No contest.
I did a deal with my Dad. He
paid my flight an’ chipped in to the hotel room so Laurence an’ I can share, he
gets a nice family vacation in Florida with no sibling bitching an’ complaining. In return for him doing that, I worked to
earn my vacation money.”
“You worked to earn it?” Kat queried.
“You wouldn’t believe how hard. I’m not used to doing that but .. I walked
dogs. I painted fences. I washed cars. I couldn’t quite force myself to do babysitting – not after doing
that unpaid for my sister all these years – but I did some math tutoring.”
“Wow.
I’m impressed,” Kat smiled.
Warily, James sat down on the next
lounger. “Thanks. You here with your Mom?”
“Actually .. no. I’m .. with a friend. My Mom had to go to a conference in
London. She’s making a speech.”
James nodded. “Your friend .. she around?”
“I’m on vacation but she’s
working. This morning anyway.”
“I’m on my own too, for a while. Laurence an’ his folks are thinking of
buying a vacation home out here so they’re looking at real estate. Wanna hang with me?” He gave a lopsided grin. “Kinda nice to find a face I know .. an’
someone I respect.”
Kat blushed. “You do?”
“Sure! You an’ me .. we’re alike.
Magic. We turned our backs on
it. You got courage. I respect that.”
Her blush deepened. “Okay.
We can hang together.”
“Great! Let’s blow this place, get outta here. Go exploring.”
Kat hesitated. Merlin hadn’t exacted a promise to stay in
the hotel. She’d simply implied
it. But she had said Kat could do
whatever she wanted. And she was nearly
fifteen. Way old enough to take a
little responsibility for her own life.
Yes, James was eighteen and officially an adult. But, if they were both ten years older, no
one would think it strange that a twenty four, almost twenty five year old
would go out exploring with a twenty eight year old if they were both on
vacation. Especially when he’d said he
respected her and that she had courage.
Words like that meant a lot.
She took a deep breath. “Okay.
Let me go get changed.”
*****
Merlin put the metal briefcase on the
passenger seat and paused to light a cigarette. Mission accomplished, she thought happily. No mix ups, no complications. The rest of this week is all mine. Her phone beeped.
“Yeah,” she said, silently praying it
wasn’t going to be an urgent work call.
“Hi, Peri. It’s Rachel. Is this a
better time?”
“Uh huh. It’s just about noon here.
How’s it going?”
“I just finished dinner. I’m not sure how I’m gonna sleep
tonight. Either badly or I’ll have some
serious nightmares. The real work
starts tomorrow. Is Kat there?”
“Er .. no,” Merlin replied, leaning
against the hood. “I’m just leaving the
university. Kat stayed at the hotel, catching
some rays by the pool.”
“You left her alone?” Rachel asked, an
accusing edge to her voice.
“Yeah, I did. She’s nearly fifteen, Rachel. She promised me no drinks from the bar. She can swim, sunbathe, go window shopping. It’s been .. just a few hours. Now my business is done, we’ll hang
together.”
There was a strained silence.
“C’mon, lighten up,” Merlin
urged. “How’s Kat gonna feel if you
never trust her to do her own thing from time to time? She’s a good kid, Rachel. Cut her some slack now, or, when she’s old
enough, you won’t see her for dust.”
“I know,” Rachel sighed. “It’s just – ”
“You’re her Mom an’ half a world
away. I won’t let anything happen to
her. Don’t you trust me either?”
“Of course I do. Okay.
Look, I’m gonna be up early tomorrow so .. have her call me about ..
nine in the evening? Just so I can wish
her a good night.”
“Okay,” Merlin agreed. “Nine tonight.”
She ended the call as she started the
engine then drove back across town, hoping that Kat had remembered to move into
the shade. The last thing she wanted
was to go see the sights in Honolulu accompanied by a lobster. She parked and took the case upstairs, laid
it on the bed and put her hand on the catches to seal them against intruders,
then slid the case under the bed. Then
she went down to the pool to find Kat and take her to lunch.
Merlin scanned the pool area. She walked around it twice. Kat wasn’t there. Merlin checked the stores in the foyer, carefully. Kat wasn’t there either. She hadn’t been in her room in the suite
upstairs.
Kat was gone.
Merlin closed her eyes.
“At nine tonight, Rachel is expecting
a call,” she muttered. “I got eight
hours to search an entire island.
Thanks, Kat. I really needed
this.”
*****
Rachel was just drifting into sleep
when the quiet knocking came on her door.
At first, she thought she’d imagined it, it was so quiet. Almost surreptitious. Then it came again, just a little louder.
“Just a second,” she called, sitting
up and stretching for her robe.
Rachel peered thru the spy hole and
blinked when she saw who it was, then opened the door.
“Toby, it’s either a little late, or a
lot early.”
“I’m sorry. I thought over everything you said .. and this really can’t wait
till tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Rachel slowly agreed, holding
her robe tightly around her body, her arms crossed like a shield. Then a thought occurred to her, shortly
followed by a thrill of alarm. “How did
you know this is my room? Have you been
following me?”
He shook his head. “No, nothing like that.” Toby glanced up at her. “Can I come in?”
“I really don’t think that’s gonna
happen,” she replied firmly.
“I won’t hurt you, Rachel. Really.
I need your help. Why would I do
something to alienate the only friend I have?”
Oh, c’mon, Rachel thought. A good looking guy like you?
“I’ll keep my distance,” he pleaded.
Against every good sense she had,
Rachel backed into the room and gestured for him to come inside.
“Make it quick,” she instructed.
He took a deep breath. “Poltergeists haunt people. That’s what you told me. It’s true.
They do. And, when those people
don’t .. need them anymore, they’re supposed to go away.”
“Uh huh,” Rachel nodded.
“So why did I end up like this?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” she
frowned.
Toby shrugged helplessly. “I was
a poltergeist. But I didn’t go
away. I .. changed. I became a ghost. A real ghost .. but I don’t haunt anything. I seem to be solid and I can open doors and
do things because, when I was a poltergeist, that’s what I was good at
doing. I can’t go where other unwanted
spirits go, Rachel. That’s why I need
your help. Please. I’m desperate.”
This is one, very strange delusion,
Rachel considered. There are people who
believe they’re God. Or Napoleon. Or even Alexander the Great. This is the first time I’ve ever heard
someone say they believe they’re a ghost.
“I’ll do what I can to help you, of
course I will,” she said in her best therapist’s voice.
“Thank you,” Toby sighed and sounded
relieved.
“But not tonight. We’ll meet tomorrow at seven, like we
agreed.”
“Okay. Thanks. I really
appreciate this.”
She opened the door for him. “Goodnight, Toby.”
“Goodnight, Rachel,” he smiled and
left.
Rachel went back to bed and lay there
for a moment. Then she smiled slightly
and shook her head.
I hope no one saw him leaving. I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea
… Ah well, this isn’t Legacy work at
all. This is pure psychiatry. An’, y’know? It’s still just like a
vacation.
She rolled onto her side and fell fast
asleep.
Continue to Chapter
5 Return to Home