Murder at the Bellamy Mansion (22 page)

That night we ate in the dining room while raindrops rolled down the windows. It felt cozy and homey. We feasted on Aunt Ruby’s Southern fried chicken which she bakes rather than fries – Aunt Ruby is very health conscious – cheesy grits, collard greens, and biscuits. Cam, who bakes to relax – Melanie could not believe her good fortune when she discovered this item on his list of accomplishments – had baked a four layer chocolate cake. And oh! was it ever good. How could I resist a second slice? I could not.

The talk was of the wedding and the parties leading up to the wedding.

“
We’re having the rehearsal dinner, followed by a party, at the lodge,” Melanie announced. “Since the wedding itself will be small, Cam and I wanted all of our friends to meet you, thus the party at our lodge. And especially now that you will be living here part time. I can’t wait to show you the house I found for you. I’ll pick you up first thing in the morning.”

“
And you,” I said, beaming in Kiki’s direction, “you and I have got to schedule some time out for a little session with the Tarot cards. You did bring them, didn’t you?”

“
Is the Pope Catholic?” Kiki asked, then howled. “Of course, I brought my cards. I never leave home without them.”

Melanie eyed Kiki as if she were an alien species from another planet.

I said to Kiki, “I thought we’d take you over to the mansion and show you the work Jon and I are doing to restore the belvedere. How would that be? That’ll give the house hunters time to look at the house before lunch.”

“
Sounds like a plan,” Kiki responded. “Cam, how about y’all slicing me a great big hunk of that incredible chocolate cake?”

“
Speaking of plans,” Jon asked, “where are you two planning to honeymoon? Ashley and I went to Pinehurst. Didn’t golf much but we had a good view of the links from our bedroom window.” He grinned wickedly.

“
We have to postpone the honeymoon,” Ray said. “Scarlett is in rehearsals for her show. And with the madness on Wall Street these days, I’m putting in long hours at my office.”

“
I’m hoping we can honeymoon right here,” Scarlett said. “Out at Wrightsville Beach in our new house. The first chance we get to leave New York.”

“
The flaw in that plan, Ray,” Binkie said, “is that this family will be incapable of leaving you alone. When you are in town, all of us, and I include myself, will want to spend every moment of the day with you.”

Ray gave Binkie a big smile. “As long as you leave us the nights to ourselves, that’ll work out just fine, Uncle Binkie.”

27

“
There’s Melanie,” I told Jon from my post at our bedroom window. Our bedroom was at the front of the house, overlooking Nun Street. The rain had stopped during the night and the sun shone brightly. I had a clear view down to The Verandas. I watched as Ray and Scarlett got into Melanie’s red Mercedes.

“
And here comes Kiki. She’s going to do a reading for me, and then I thought we’d take her over to the Bellamy and show her our restoration of the belvedere in progress.”

Jon finished buttoning his shirt, gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, and told me, “OK, you two can do your voodoo stuff up here. I’ll be working on the computer in the library.”

We had set up a computer station for him in my red library, but he was running out of space.

“
We’ve got to start some redesign work on our houses soon,” I told him.

I followed Jon down the stairs and reached my front door just as Kiki rang the door bell, which does not ring softly or melodiously, but makes a shrill, irritating noise that makes me jump. Still, it is historic and I like the authenticity.

“
Hey there, girlfriend.” Kiki came in and enfolded me in a gigantic embrace. Kiki is a demonstrative person. You are never in the dark about what Kiki is thinking or how she feels about you or anyone. She is completely unselfconscious.

She was dressed in one of her dramatic, voluminous outfits: a long swirling skirt in dark red, worn with tan boots. A paisley print cape in rich deep colors covered her massive bosom. She flung the cape off and tossed it onto the hall bench.

“
Let’s get at this. I did a spread first thing this morning and the cards are potent with foreboding, just about giving off sparks. Foretelling danger. What’s been happening around this burg? Something’s going on. Won’t do you any good to prevaricate with me, missy. Fess up. I know something bad has happened. The cards never lie.”

“
Oh, I give up. Come on back to the kitchen and I’ll tell you everything. Let’s get a cup of coffee, and we can spread out the cards on my kitchen table. Or we can go upstairs to the bedroom, if you like.”

“
Where’s the hubby? He want in on this?”

I raised my eyebrows. “Surely, you jest. He’s a man. He referred to our Tarot card reading as “voodoo’. So what do you think?”

We passed the library door, and Kiki called a hello to Jon whose back was toward us as he hunched over the keyboard, totally immersed in one of his architectural computer programs.

“
Hey, Kiki,” he called back. Then, “Close the door, will you, Ashley?” he requested.

I blew him a kiss and closed the door gently.

“
Kitchen table’s fine,” Kiki said, and dug into her big carryall bag and brought out the pack of Tarot cards wrapped in a special black cloth on which to spread them. She unwrapped the cards and shook out the cloth over the table while I fixed coffee for us.

I handed her a mug and settled down across the table from her. And told her the whole story.

“
And you are holding my brother’s wedding in that place?” she asked, eyeing me severely.

“
The police have arrested the shooter,” I replied defensively.

“
What about the tampered railing? Did he do that too?”

“
He may have,” I said.

“
And what about the lawyer collapsing and dying?” she asked.

“
We still don’t have an answer to that one. He was seriously allergic to peanuts. That might be the explanation. Elaine swears up and down that there were no peanut ingredients or peanut oil in the food. But that doesn’t mean that Brian had not ingested peanuts before coming to the party.”

I got up and paced around the kitchen. “Look, Kiki, the man is in jail. He’s one of those gun nuts, gone bonkers. You hear about them in the news all of the time. Some guy obsessed over his former wife or girlfriend, going crackers and shooting up a house full of innocent people.”

“
What this country needs is some sensible gun laws,” Kiki said.

“
I’m with you there. But the NRA is the most powerful lobby in Washington. And they jump in and shriek about how hunters won’t be able to go deer hunting unless they have ownership of AK47s. Well, heck to that, I say. The deer habitat has shrunk to the point there is no woods for them to hide in. You can go out in your backyard and just about feed them out of your hand. How is it sporting to shoot such tame creatures? Be like shooting a neighborhood dog.”

“
And since when do you need military grade weapons to hunt for a deer?” Kiki asked. “I’ve got a friend who is a cop and they are scared sugarless. Law enforcement is at the top of the list for those gun nut crazies.”

“
Right after school children,” I said with a grimace.

While we were emoting over our society’s inability to control the sale of automatic weapons and assault rifles, Kiki had shuffled the deck of seventy-eight cards and spread them in a fan shape, face down on the table.

“
OK, Ashley, you know the drill. Select ten cards, place them face down in their correct positions on the cloth.”

And so I did.

Kiki turned over Card One. “We call the first card the Significator because it reflects the situation you find yourself in at the present moment,” Kiki explained.

I had heard this all before, but being reminded was helpful. Plus, this was a part of Kiki’s presentation and she was a showman.

“
And here we have The Three of Cups. How appropriate,” she said.

The picture on the card portrayed the wedding of Eros and Psyche. They were standing on a rock, surrounded by water. Psyche was dressed in a bridal gown, flowers in her hair, clutching a bouquet of white lilies. Eros, her groom, was the radiant god of love. Around them water nymphs danced, each bearing aloft a golden cup.

“
Symbolically, the cards are celebrating your marriage, Ashley. This card indicates your present situation. Married and in love.”

She went on, “Position two is the Crossing Card, that which generates conflict and obstruction in your life. Turn it over.”

I did and we stared at the Chariot. Kiki’s expression turned sour. “Conflict and bloodshed. Just as you have described to me.”

The chariot, drawn by two horses, each pulling in the opposite direction, was driven by Ares, the god of war.

“
He is the image of aggressive instincts. The horses, pulling him in different directions, represent the conflicting animal urges within ourselves. Someone in your sphere is conflicted and filled with animal rage. You will come face to face with that struggle, Ashley. So be on your guard.”

“
But who, Kiki? I don’t know anyone like that.”

“
Let’s continue. The cards may offer a clue as to who this person is. Turn over the third card. Position three is known as the Crowning Card. It hangs over the Significator, in full view, transparent for all to see. And shows what is on the surface and immediately apparent in the seeker’s – that is, your – life.”

She laughed heartily as I revealed the third card.

“
And so we have the Knight of Cups. The Knight symbolizes heady and romantic love. That you and Jon are clearly romantically in love is apparent to all who see you. This love is the crown you wear, thus, the Crowing Card.”

We moved onto the fourth card.

Kiki said, “Now we have card four, the Base of the Matter. In other words, what is at the root of your present dilemma.”

“
Uh oh,” Kiki said. “Here we have betrayal and separation. Not you, Ashley, but someone in your sphere. Someone resentful over a betrayal. Someone who has faced separation from what they love.”

“
Kiki, I can’t think of anyone like that. Well, there is Scarlett who was separated from a life she loved when she was in the Witness Protection program. But she is not bitter. Nor resentful. She is grateful for the life she has found.”

“
It can’t be her,” Kiki said. “My brother has never been happier. I am thrilled that she is going to be my sister. And now, you and Melanie will be my sisters too.” She gave me a big grin. Kiki adores Melanie, but Kiki is the only person who intimidates Melanie.

“
And then we move on to Past Influences. This is what is passing out of your life. In the past, it had been important to you, but now has lost its potency. You have moved on to embrace your new life, and your future.”

As I turned over the card, Kiki threw back her head and cackled. “How many times have I told you ‘the cards do not lie’? For what could be more on target? Odysseus, the King of Swords.”

“
What does he represent?” I asked.

“
Odysseus is the image of the wanderer,” Kiki explained. “He is not rooted at heart, thus not rooted in his relationships with others. Still, he is attractive and dynamic – a leader among men. But he dissociates himself from his feelings. Well, we all know who that is. And why he is appearing as your Past Influence. So say goodbye to Nick, girlfriend, and move on.”

“
Oh, believe me, I have said goodbye to Nick, Kiki. Isn’t that obvious?”

“
It is rather obvious that you have embraced your marriage to Jon,” she told me. “Aha! Forthcoming Influences. That which is about to manifest itself in the seeker’s life.”

The illustration showed a beautiful earthy woman with rich flowing brown hair. She was standing in a field of ripening barley. Her dress was woven of plants, and she wore jewels around her neck. And she was very pregnant!

Pregnant? Pregnant? I asked myself.

As if reading my mind, Kiki said, “Now don’t go jumping to conclusions. The Empress represents an earthy phase of life. A marriage or a child. But the child may not be a real child, but the birth of a creative idea.”

“
Well, thanks a lot for dashing my hopes, Kiki. Do you know how much I want a baby?”

She grinned at me. “All in good time, Ashley. You are only twenty-six.”

“
Almost twenty-seven,” I said.

“
OK then, old lady of almost twenty-seven. When the time is right, it will happen.”

The next card showed a thin wiry man with long black hair.

Kiki stared at me over the cards. “This is not good, Ashley. He is Hermes. The magician. The Trickster. He is deceitful and ambiguous. The patron saint of thieves and liars.”

“
He looks just like the intruder,” I told Kiki.

“
What intruder? You didn’t tell me about an intruder? You’ve got to level with me, kid.”

“
I caught an intruder in the mansion’s third floor hallway. He was trespassing.”

“
You didn’t tell me about that. What else have you left out?”

“
Nothing. He was lurking around the mansion, peering into the storage rooms. He said he worked for the party equipment rental company, but that was a lie. He threatened me not to tell anyone I had seen him.