Chapter 19

Chapter

Nineteen

KEIR

Sittingon the floor of the basement, Sibley and I read through a few of the letters Sandy George had sent to his parents. He’d meticulously dated them, and there were only a few weeks that he’d missed sending a letter home to let them know he was okay. I speculated that those missing letters were probably when he’d been on patrol.

Based on what I read, Sandy had been an affable guy. He’d been a soldier’s soldier, looking out for the other men in his unit as they looked out for him.

He’d seemed to take to Army life easily, and he worried about those in his unit who had more difficulty with the changes in their lives. He’d taken the time to learn about their families and their fears. He was the guy who tried to help everyone, and as I read the letters, I believed his fellow soldiers had appreciated him.

Sandy had given his family quick summaries of the day-to-day activities at Camp Javalin, the operating base where the First Division was stationed during the Gulf War. Reading his letters was like I was there with him. He loved Army life, and I couldn’t imagine him doing anything else.

There were several bundles of letters from him to his parents, but we were wasting time by continuing to read them because they weren’t giving me the information I needed. I stacked them back into the wooden box where we’d found them in the basement of Sibley’s parents’ home and stood from the hard concrete floor of the storage area.

“Wait. Here’s the last bundle.”

Sibley was sitting on the floor, but she’d grabbed a few pillows from the couch on the finished side of the basement. I was the idiot who turned down her offer of two for myself. And my ass was hurting.

I took the letter from the bottom and read it.

30 Jan 1991

Mom & Dad⁠—

I wanted to drop you a line to let you know I’m fine, but work is getting busier, so I might not be able to write for a few weeks. Don’t worry about me. I’m safe, I swear.

I do have a favor to ask. A buddy of mine, Race Green, is in a bit of a bind. Seems his ex-wife is being stalked by some psycho jerk, and Race is worried about her safety and the safety of their daughter, Rachel.

The guy broke into Naomi’s home and beat the hell out of her, and she’s damn scared, as anyone would be. I suggested she move to Gilbert because who’s gonna look for anyone there? Dad, can you give her a job? She’s an office assistant on base, and I’m sure you could find a job for her. Maybe in human resources or accounting?

I’ll send her a letter with contact information, okay? Seems to me the best thing would be for this to happen sooner than later.

I appreciate your help with this, Mom and Dad. My buddy got himself into a little trouble, but he’ll be relieved when I tell him you guys will look out for Naomi and Rachel.

I love you guys so much. Thanks again for the care packages. The guys love your chocolate-peanut butter cookies, Mom. I have to fight to get a few before they’re all gone.

I’ll write as soon as I can. Tell Sibs I said hi. Take care of each other.

Love,

Sandy

I refolded the letter and slid it into the envelope before handing it to Sibley to return to the bundle. It confirmed what we’d thought. Naomi didn’t just happen to show up in Gilbert. Sandy had paved the way, and the fact Naomi might not have mentioned that part of the story to Keith had me worried.

What to do with the information, though, wasn’t clear. Did Keith know the truth and had just kept it from Betty and Ronald? What would it change if I told Keith the truth about her affair and the fact that Horace wasn’t beating her or Rachel as she’d claimed?

Sibley returned the box to a shelf, grabbing a slimmer one instead. “Let’s go upstairs and have something to drink. I’m thirsty.”

I turned off the lights on the storage side of the basement and grabbed the cushions. After returning them to the couch, I followed her upstairs and turned off the lights in the basement.

Sibley was in the kitchen with two mugs on the counter. She was filling a kettle with water from the faucet. “What are we having?”

“You’re having chai, and I’m having hot chocolate.” She went to the pantry and returned with two powdered drink packets, emptying them into the mugs.

I walked over to the round table in the bay window of the kitchen. It looked out onto the backyard where there was a swimming pool, all tucked in for the long winter, and beyond that was a field that led to a bunch of trees that had already lost their fall leaves.

“Where’d your family move from? How old were you?”

I sat at the table where Sibley had put the Ouija box when she’d come up. I pulled it closer, taking off the lid and examining the contents. I couldn’t remember ever being around one. Ronald and Betty seemed pretty conservative, so I was guessing it was a big no-no for them.

“I was four. Dad had worked for Henderson Gear in Toledo for years, and when the owner decided to retire, Dad bought out the business and moved everything here. He grew up here in Gilbert, and he found a factory for sale that would be perfect for the business. He and Mom worked their asses off to make it a success, and we became Gilbertonians—Gilbertites? Whatever.”

We both laughed. “So, this thing? Have you always been interested in the occult or things of a supernatural nature? You mentioned a friend who had a tie to this game?” I pulled the woodgrain-looking board from the box and placed it on the table between our chairs.

“Yeah, she was a girl named Hanna, and we pledged the same sorority. We met during rush. She said her grandfather from Baltimore had a hand in it, but it wasn’t really serious back then, just used for parlor games. It was popular, though. Hanna gave each of us sisters the game for graduation so we could ‘avoid the many potholes on the long road of life.’” Sibley made air quotes, but she had a scowl on her face that led me to believe she wasn’t besties with Hanna.

The kettle whistled, so Sibley filled the mugs with hot water and carried them to the table. “Get the cookies if you want some.”

I chuckled. “Do you want some cookies?”

She reached under the table and fidgeted with her jeans, unsnapping the button and lowering the zipper before she giggled and nodded. I stood and went to the counter to grab the cookie jar and put it on the table between us, taking off the turkey head to find the glass body full of the most delicious smells… Well, since Betty made all those pies the other day.

I grabbed a sugar-cinnamon-dusted cookie and took a bite. It was absolutely mouthwatering.

“Of course, you’d find your favorites. Well, I guess they’re Keirnan’s favorites. Snickerdoodles. Mom makes them just for him. When they were younger, Sandy and Keirnan used to volunteer to help her, and they would eat them right out of the oven when they were scalding hot.” She had a fond expression as though remembering a sweet memory.

I was intruding on everyone’s life, and I knew it, but the sooner we reached out to Horace Green, the sooner I could get back to my own life, and Sibley would have Keirnan with her to relive those memories.

“They’re good. My mom makes kitchen-sink cookies.” I remembered the warm goodness of the large cookies made during Christmases when I was young.

“Keir? Do you remember your mom?” Sibley touched my hand, bringing me out of a memory of me and a lovely woman with a beautiful smile. We were in a galley kitchen, and I was sitting at a peninsula with a glass of cold milk and a large cookie on a paper towel. It felt like a warm hug as she gazed at me.

“Yeah. She’s pretty. She has dark-brown hair like mine and the greatest smile.”

“Lucy my love! What smells so great?”A handsome man who looked exactly like me wandered into the kitchen as he removed his tie and jacket, tossing them over the back of a dining room chair and sitting next to me at the peninsula.

The man reached for my cookie before Lucy smacked him with a spatula. “Leave Keir’s cookie alone. I’ll get you one of your own. What time are you picking up Mrs. Anderson, David?”

“I think her name is Lucy and my dad’s name is David.” For some reason, I was sad. I couldn’t stop the tears as they fell.

“Are they still alive?” Were they?

“I’m not sure. Let’s get on with this. I have a life happening without me.”

I wiped my fingers on a napkin and moved the cookie jar, pulling the game board closer and hoping it would give us some answers.

“No, wait. Let’s do this right. Go into the living room and close the drapes. Turn on the fireplace and sit on the floor by the couch. Try to rid your mind of any negativity. I’ll be right there. I don’t have any sage with me, but I can make some salt water. I’ll be back.”

I suddenly felt like I was fifteen and doing something I shouldn’t, but in for a penny, in for a pound. I did as Sibley suggested and turned on the gas fireplace in the living room. I grabbed a couple of cushions, put them across from each other on the floor, and then I waited.

If I was starting to get memories—provided they were from my real life—did that mean I would figure out where I belonged and get back there? That blond man in my dreams was damn tempting. How disappointed would I be if he was just a figment of my imagination?

“Nope. Get rid of all negative thoughts.” I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. Immediately, I was sitting at a table playing cards with a few other men I recognized, though I didn’t know why. I sat directly across from the blond guy, who had a scowl on his face.

“I see you, and I raise you.”His voice was smooth and deep as he pointed to a pouch he’d tossed into the mélange of poker chips and playing cards in the middle of the table.

He then stared at me, his gray and brown eyes catching my attention to the point I couldn’t speak. He got a cocky grin. “I’m so confident I’ll win this hand that I’m going to sweeten the pot. I’m throwing in half of everything I own that we’ll love each other forever. I know you might not be sure about us yet. Hell, you said you didn’t feel like you had much of a say in the way things developed between us. I believe we are everything we need, and I’ll put my money where my mouth is because I have faith in us… together. You in or out?”

My heart caught in my throat. Was I engaged to that man? I took off the ring on my finger and stared at it. There was an intricate infinity symbol engraved on the outside, and inside it read, “Mitt Hjerte.” I had no idea what it meant, but I damn well planned to find out.

The scene faded as I concentrated on slowing my breathing. Sibley quietly entered the living room, having changed into a pair of sweats, carrying a bowl of water.

She walked around the room and whispered something as she sprinkled water around it. When she got closer to me, I could hear what she was saying. “With salt and water, I cleanse all negativities. This is a safe space to talk to those who have gone before.”

She placed the bowl on the hearth and sat on the cushion across from me. “You okay?”

I grinned. “I am. Tell me what we do next.”

Sibley hopped up and went to a drawer in the entertainment center. She pulled out candles—black, white, blue, and purple. She moved closer to the coffee table and lined up the candles on top. I grabbed the gameboard and the silver thing with the window in the middle.

“What’s this?” I held up the silver heart-shaped thing and looked it over.

“That’s a planchette. We use it with the board. We’ll start with some yes and no questions to see if we can contact a spirit willing to talk to us.”

I nodded. “What’re the candles for?”

She reached into the coffee table drawer and pulled out a box of matches, striking one and holding it to the black candle. “The black candle is for protection.”

Sibley lit the white one next. “White attracts positive energy and pushes away negative.” The blue one was next. “Blue is for communication, and purple enhances any psychic energy we may have.” She lit the last one and blew out the match. The scents from the candles seemed to swirl around us.

“Now what?” It came across as a little impatient because I was dying to get back to my real life and wanted to believe I was getting married to the blond guy. I had the feeling he was everything I wanted in a man, and I hadn’t even spoken to him in real life.

“Okay, try to clear your mind. Let’s get started. Gently put your index and middle fingers on that side, and I’ll put mine here.” She placed her fingers on her right hand on the silver thing, so I mimicked her with my left, barely touching the planchette.

Sibley held my right hand as she moved the planchette to the middle of the board so the ‘G’ was visible through the little window. “We’re reaching out to the spirit world for spirits of light. Please come talk to us.”

We sat still for a moment. The house seemed much quieter than a moment ago, but that was probably in my mind.

The planchette moved. “J-O-H-E-R-E.” Sibley said the letters out loud as the planchette glided over the board without any help from me.

“Welcome Johere.”

Jo? Suddenly, the name Josephine popped into my head. “Keir, it’s me, Josephine.” I turned to Sibley, but I could see she wasn’t hearing what I heard.

Sibley spoke again. “Johere, would you like to talk to us?”

I heard laughing in my head, and suddenly, a white shimmer appeared by the fireplace. Sibley stopped moving, and I couldn’t move if I wanted, being paralyzed by fear and panic.

A little old woman appeared from nowhere. She wore wire-rimmed glasses and a brown beret and held a bag with knitting needles and yarn sticking out of the top. “Hello, dear.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Do, uh, do I know you?”

Her face bloomed into a grandmotherly smile. “Yes, dear. I’m Dashiell’s guardian. I was incommunicado for a few days, and now I see I was missed. Just hang in there for a few more hours, okay. Dash is going to fix this today. He’ll be here tomorrow with a few friends.”

Now I was just dizzy. “Is Dash the man I’m engaged to?” I held up my left hand.

Josephine nodded. “Yes, dear. He misses you very much. The sooner we rectify this stupid stunt, the sooner the two of you can begin to plan your life, and Keirnan and Sibley can get ready for their sweet little boy. You’re going to have to help with the mobster though. Beelzebub has an idea about how to deal with that, so don’t worry. You’ll get to your mother’s house in time for Thanksgiving.”

Josephine turned to walk out the front door but stopped. “On second thought, he’s a prince of Hell, so maybe worry a little.” She giggled as she stepped through the front door—actually through the front door.

“Wait! Are you sure things will work out? There’s a lot of money involved in this, and I don’t think Ronald or Keirnan has the funds to pay it back.” Not without Keirnan dying, anyway.

She stepped through the door again. “Yes, I understand. Well, no worries. Beelzebub knows a lot of beings, what with him being a glutton by nature. He’ll figure something out. Have faith.”

“Beelzebub? You mean the demon or Satan or whoever? Do I know these people?” What the fuck kind of life was I living?

“Don’t panic. You’re one of the good guys. You just know a lot of otherworldly beings who aren’t. I’ll be back. Just ask for Horace Green with your little game. He’ll come forward. He really wants to get his personal things and the money he has to his daughter.”

I blinked, and she was gone. Sibley turned to look at me and grinned. “Maybe the spirits are on a coffee break? I gotta pee. Let’s try again before Mom and Dad get back from the store.”

I nodded, though I wasn’t sure if I was ready for whatever might happen next. I hoped that grandmother-looking woman knew what the fuck she was talking about.