Chapter 23
T
oots returned to the house and found the girls in the kitchen, clustered around the table like three old hens. Bernice was busy making Long Island iced teas.
“I thought you were sick,” Toots said.
“I got better,” Bernice said. “I figured you girls needed something to drink and eat besides cereal and toast. I stopped at Publix and picked up fried chicken, with all the extras.”
“I am a bit hungry, but I don't want coffee. We had so many of those specialty coffee drinks this afternoon, I need something to take the edge off. Maybe we'll just get drunk,” Sophie told Bernice.
“I've got a few phone calls to make. Then I'll join you,” Toots said.
Upstairs in her bedroom, Toots made fast work of calling Pete so that he could arrange for the bakery to be cleaned. After she gave him all the details, she told him he could pick up the key to the bakery first thing Monday morning. Once those arrangements were finalized, she made the dreaded call to Henry.
She quickly dialed his home number. He answered on the third ring. “Henry, it's Toots. I know it's Sunday, and I'm sorry to disturb you. Having said that, how are you?”
“I'm fine, but something tells me you didn't call me to find out the state of my mind. What's going on?”
“Henry, you're a rotten old man. Actually, I called to tell you that the bakery was broken into, so I'm going to need to transfer some money into the bakery's checking account. We're going to have to replace most of the equipment, and it isn't cheap.”
“That's all?” Henry asked.
“Why? Is there something more you think I should be asking you?” Toots inquired.
Henry chuckled. “No, I just wanted to let you know about a conversation I had with Mr. King yesterday.”
Toots's heart rate quadrupled. Oh no. The dark stuff was about to hit the proverbial fan. Toots had visions of wearing prison stripes and eating bologna sandwiches with Kool-Aid for the rest of her life.
Toots's voice cracked, “Oh, really? What does that have to do with me?”
“Yesterday afternoon I received a call from Mr. King. He was quite jubilant about an incident that happened at his warehouse the other night. Seems someone sneaked inside while the security guard was helping a woman in distress. It seems she had an accomplice who
removed
a bunch of ugly gray material and left ten grand in its place.”
Shit! Shit! And double shit! Those prison stripes and bologna sandwiches were about to become her new reality!
“And you're telling me this, why?” Toots asked.
“It seems all that material was outdated and was about to be shipped to his outlet warehouse in Charlotte. He said something about the net value being a hundred bucks. This gave me a good laugh. I thought you, of all people, would want to know that.”
Good-bye, bologna!
Toots took a deep, refreshing breath. “I'm glad you shared that with me, Henry. It's made my day.”
“I'm sure it has. That break-in at your bakery you just mentioned, they didn't happen to leave ten grand, did they? Seems Charleston may have some moral-minded thieving going on.”
“Kiss my rear end, Henry. Just transfer the money. I'm hanging up now.”
Toots raced downstairs, relieved. The girls were gathered around the table, getting looped on Long Island iced teas. She was about to join them. “I just got off the phone with Henry from the bank. You're never going to believe what he told me. Apparently someone broke into Mr. King's warehouse and stole a hundred dollars' worth of fabric that was about to be shipped to his outlet store. The culprits left ten grand in its place. Why would someone be that silly?” Toots asked, grinning from ear to ear.
Her statement was greeted with a round of applause. Bernice looked at them all as if they were one slice short of a loaf.
For the next half hour, the women dined on fried chicken and potato salad and chugged Long Island iced teas. Toots explained to Bernice that Jamie would be staying in the guesthouse, but there was no need for her to worry about keeping it clean. Jamie said she would take care of that.
“You're always taking care of someone, aren't you?” Bernice stated.
“It's what I do best,” Toots slurred. “And before you ask, no, I am not drunk. Maybe a little tipsy.”
“Whatever you say. I'm going to be upstairs the rest of the night cleaning the bathrooms and changing sheets. If anyone needs me, that's where I'll be, so you're gonna have to do the dishes yourself,” Bernice announced.
“What else is new?” Toots said to no one in particular.
As soon as Bernice left the room, Ida, a little tipsy herself, spoke up. “Sophie, Mavis, Toots, you guys up for a little séance tonight? Something tells me I need to try to contact Thomas one more time. I need to try to top Toots in the good-deed department.”
“Why do you want to? I thought you were too creeped out to want to try again,” Sophie said.
“I have been thinking about it. The
my daughter
stuff has got me wondering. Maybe Thomas really did leave behind a potential person of interest we should know about.”
“I'm game if you are,” Sophie said. “What about the rest of you?”
“I suppose I could since I've made arrangements with that factory in California to start working on my clothing line. I won't have to spend every waking moment in front of the sewing machine. I'm so excited about my new business venture,” Mavis chortled.
“We are, too,” Toots added.
“What about your new friend Jamie in the guesthouse? She's not gonna come in and interrupt us or anything, is she?” Sophie asked.
“No. Something tells me Jamie's gonna spend the rest of the night soaking in the Jacuzzi,” Toots stated.
“Then let's get this show on the road,” Sophie declared.
Once again, the four women prepared to contact Thomas. Maybe this time the mystery surrounding his death would be solved.
Chapter 24
T
he women set up the table just as they had the night before. This time, however, rather than trepidation, all they felt was desire, the desire to get to the bottom of the mystery of Thomas's life, not just his death. If they were lucky, maybe this time Thomas would come through with enough information for them to get a better understanding of his previous message.
“Then it's settled. Tonight we will attempt to contact Thomas again. We'll use the psychic writing technique so we can get more detailed information. Ida, you'll have to be in a complete state of relaxation and just allow his energy to flow through you,” Sophie informed her.
Ida smoothed a hand over her already smooth pageboy. “If he is willing to come through again, I'm up for it. If it means he has to channel his energy through me, then I will do my best to handle it, no matter how frightened I become.”
Sophie nodded. “I agree with Ida. No matter how scary it may get, we need to give this our best shot. I'll admit I was a bit leery before about using our bodies to channel the spirit, but under the circumstances, I do not see any real alternative if we hope to achieve the result we want.”
Toots and Mavis remained solemn during this interchange between Sophie and Ida. However, it was hard to miss the skeptical expressions on their faces.
Each sat in her place around the table in the same fashion as before. They began the séance with the protection prayer, the same one they had used last time. “For good luck,” Sophie said.
“We're going to need more information. You must concentrate deeply and put aside all other thoughts and focus on channeling Thomas's energy,” Sophie reminded Ida.
In her calm, melodic voice, Sophie began her call to the spirits from beyond; only this time, as in the previous, the spirit had a name. Thomas. “We are here tonight to once again call on the spirit of Thomas. If you can hear me, once again, lend us your thoughts. We need to know more about the daughter you revealed to us.”
As before, the room's energy began to change. An immediate chill was felt. By now the women recognized this as the sign someone was attempting to come through.
“Thomas, are you here with us tonight?” Sophie intoned.
The nervousness Ida was feeling was evident by the sweat on her hand, which was causing her pencil to slip. She quickly wiped it away and started to focus her thoughts on Thomas. She grasped the pencil in her hand with a death grip. Ida began to scribble circles. Then the circles turned into letters and the word
Yes
became visible on the notepad.
In little more than a whisper, Ida spoke. “He is with us. I can feel his energy once again. Ask the questions, Sophie.”
“Thomas, the daughter you mentioned. Is she connected to your death in any way?”
All three women watched as Ida's hand scribbled furiously across the paper. Ida wrote the words
Murderer, Murderer, Murder.
Deep intakes of their breath could be heard throughout the room.
“Is she the one who poisoned you?”
The word
Yes
was written on the notepad, then circled violently, perhaps to indicate that was the reason Thomas had been trying to make contact with the women the entire time.
For once, Sophie was glad they'd all imbibed a bit too much. Her hands shook as she continued. “Thomas, this daughter. Do you know her name? Can you tell us when you first found out about her? Do you know how and why she poisoned you? Why she wanted to murder you? Please, Thomas, answer these questions so that we may bring closure and allow you to leave this world peacefully to go to the other side.”
The chill in the room turned icy cold.
“I can feel his energy leaving my body. It's not like the last time. I feel a warmth overcoming my entire body. It is as if Thomas has finally said what he wanted us to know. I think he's finished his business in this world and moved on to the next, knowing that weâ”
Before Ida could finish her sentence, Mavis let out a scream. “Oh my God! Look what she has written down!”
The paper was filled with scribbles, and between the squiggly lines was a sentence written very clearly.
“What does it say?” Sophie asked Ida.
In a weakened voice, Ida replied, “Nancy. Nancy. Nancy. Never knew her. Never knew her. Never knew her. Chicago. Chicago. Chicago. Money. Money. Money. Hate. Hate. Hate. Murder. Murder. Murder. Beware. Beware. Beware.” That was what the paper said.
“What's the significance of three words rather than only one?” Toots whispered.
Sophie held up a hand, shaking her head. “I'm not sure. Possibly this woman knew who her father was all along. She could've killed him for money, the oldest reason in the book.”
As fast as it came, the chill left the room. “He is gone,” Ida announced in a shaky voice.
The candles flickered, and the room temperature returned to normal. The women were silent, each in a semicatatonic state.
Sophie took the paper from beneath Ida's hand and read the words again. “And I thought Walter was a bastard. Ida, it sounds like this woman knew who her father was all along and quite possibly killed him, thinking she would inherit his money.”
“I need a cigarette badly. Let's go to the kitchen,” Toots said.
Mavis snuffed out the candles and pushed the chairs beneath the table. They trailed out of the room, into the kitchen. Toots and Sophie went out on the back porch to smoke.
“I'll make coffee,” Mavis said.
“I don't want any coffee. I think I need a stiff drink,” Ida said flatly. She found a bottle of scotch. She liberally poured a dose into a coffee cup, then added a splash of water. Maybe she would turn into an alcoholic like Sophie's Walter. At that point, nothing would have surprised her. She took her drink and joined Mavis at the table. A few minutes later Toots and Sophie stepped back inside.
Mavis was the first to speak after they'd all gotten themselves a drink and made themselves comfortable around the kitchen table. “I'm certainly not a detective, but it sounds like this daughter knew who Thomas was all along. Maybe she thought she would inherit his money.”
“That doesn't make sense. She wouldn't receive a dime. Ida would be the only person to inherit Thomas's money upon his death. She was either really stupid, or she didn't know he was married,” Toots said.
“I believe that's what Thomas is trying to tell us. This daughter murdered him for the money. When she found out he was married, she knew she wouldn't inherit a red cent. Could be that's what he meant by the word
beware.
Maybe she does know about Ida. Maybe she's going to come after Ida. Who knows? Ida doesn't have any kids or next of kin. Maybe she wants to get Ida out of the picture, then come forward as Thomas's daughter and collect all his millions,” Sophie said. “Of course, since she was ignorant enough not to know that Thomas was married, so his wife and not she would inherit, she might well be stupid enough to think that she can somehow get her grubby little hands on the money, even though now it is Ida's, and she and Ida are related to one another about as closely as Barack Obama is related to Sarah Palin.”
“This sounds like something out of a cheap dime-store detective novel,” Toots said.
“True. I believe this is why Thomas is coming through to us. He's trying to warn me that this woman could be coming after me. Remember, he only gave a first name. That makes me think he didn't spend enough time with her to get to know her last name. Maybe all they had was a chance encounter. He went to a medical convention in Chicago. When he got back, he got sick. And to think, the entire time we thought it was food poisoning. I never even suspected something like this could happen. Certainly not on a business trip,” Ida said, her voice becoming clearer with each word. Even though she was sipping scotch, it wasn't affecting her thought processes or her ability to communicate.
Mavis contemplated Ida's words. “But if he was poisoned in Chicago by this Nancy, how is it possible that he died days after getting home? Aren't most fatal poisonings usually within hours?”
“I'm not an expert, but I did spend thirty years working as a nurse. There are many different types of poisons that can kill someone slowly with just one dose. If we can find out what he was poisoned with, we could go to the authorities. Then they would exhume his body and test for it. I've seen stuff like this on TV before. It's nearly impossible to test for every type of poison, but if we can figure out what kind it was, they can test just for that and determine whether or not it was what killed him,” Sophie said, all traces of her hard, sarcastic self temporarily gone.
Ida lost it. “This is just too much for me to take in. First, I find out my late husband had an affair that might have led to a child. Then I learn that there's a strong possibility she murdered him.” She began to cry, heart-wrenching sobs. “I can't believe this is happening to me.”
“Don't you shed another tear. This bitch Nancy is going to get what's coming to her. Rest assured of that. If you take on one of us alone, you might be able to claim victory, but united, there's nothing that will bring us down. We have a bond that won't be broken by some murdering, money-hungry skank. We're here to support you, Ida, and we're not going to let you out of our sight. As far as Thomas's indiscretions go, I'm sorry, but most men are dickweeds. Not all, but most. I think he paid the ultimate price for his infidelity, and now he's trying to make it up to you and prove that even in death he's willing to look after you. I think that's why he's coming through to you so easily. He wants to warn you. Look at it this way. Not too many women can say their husbands came back from the dead to make sure they were protected. He made a mistake, and now he's trying to make amends. You could think of him as a ghost in shining armor.” Sophie reached across the table for Ida's hand. The others looked at her as though she were out of her mind.
“I didn't think you had it in you, Sophie,” Toots said.
“Had what in me?”
“The ability to show compassion.”
“Well, that just shows how much you don't know,” Sophie smirked.
In response to which, Toots flipped her the bird.