The Madness of Mercury (4 page)

“Best invitation I’ve had. What can I bring?”

“Nothing. Just bring yourself. Cheryl wants to do everything. She’s having an attackus domesticus. You and I can get pleasantly buzzed and watch her run around the kitchen. It’ll be fun.”

I laughed. “You’re on. I’ll give you a call later this week.” We said goodbye and made girlfriend kissy noises through the phone.

Wizard had curled into a fetal position on top of a fuzzy throw close to the fireplace. The wind was buffeting the windows so hard the rain sounded like gravel being thrown against the glass. The logs were blazing and I thanked my stars I could snuggle inside tonight with Wizard and work.

Samantha had forwarded about fifty emails from the newspaper to my private
AskZodia
email address. Since it was a weekly column, there was space for only three or four questions and answers, but now Les was considering running
AskZodia
as a daily feature. I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle that kind of volume, but I was sure other astrologers might be open to filling in and perhaps even taking over if I became too busy. I wanted to choose eight emails from this batch, just to make sure I was ahead of my deadlines. To keep the column interesting to as large a group of readers as possible, I like to pick a range of ages and problems.

My first pick was a letter from an older man forced into retirement.

Dear Zodia

I’ve worked as a bookkeeper in the corporate world my entire life. I’m 65 and my company forced me to retire. I’m in decent shape financially. I have a good pension and savings, but I don’t know what to do with myself. I’ve tried to find part-time work but no luck. I’ve never felt so lost and useless. Do you see any kind of work on the horizon for me? My birth date is May 4, 1944 at 10:43 p.m. in Baltimore.

—Discarded

Poor guy. Worked his whole life and now shoved aside. The man’s birth chart showed Venus as the oriental planet—that is, the planet rising first before the Sun, a position that can sometimes offer a strong clue to the profession. This man was a natural artist, perhaps a craftsman, with his Mars in Virgo. He was someone with artistic yearnings and capable of patient, detailed work.

Dear Discarded:

Your
true
artistic abilities have never been recognized, much less nourished. A whole new world can open up for you if you pursue some form of craftsmanship to produce beautiful things. Jewelry design, working in precious metals, is just one possibility that comes to mind. Please take some classes, perhaps at a local university extension and try your hand. I think you’ll be amazed at your abilities and imagination. Believe me, you won’t look back.

—Zodia

I opened a few more emails and moved a bunch into a folder to consider later. Ones that I felt were not terribly interesting, I set aside to be returned to Sam for her form letter referring the writers to other astrologers. I worked through several more questions and responses and then saved them all. This was hardly a perfect way to practice astrology, but hopefully my quick judgments and answers would be spot on and help someone head in the right direction. I clicked back to the inbox and realized three more emails had arrived while I was working.

I didn’t recognize the various senders. I’d set up my
AskZodia
address only for Samantha, but these new emails weren’t from her. My private clients use
Julia.Bonatti
, and my friends use
JuliaB
. None of them would even know of my
AskZodia
address. I hesitated. I’m a hopeless non-techie person but rely on my computer for business, so I’m very fearful of viruses. I clicked to open the first email and scrolled down. A jolt of fear shot through me. The message read, “
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”

T
HREE

T
HE OTHER TWO EMAILS
were along the same Biblical lines: “
In my name shall they cast out devils
. Luke 16:17,” and “
Neither shall ye use enchantment nor observe times
. Leviticus 19:26.”

A cold knot formed in my stomach. Someone very crazy had figured out my
AskZodia
email address. Someone who wasn’t Samantha. I reached for the phone automatically and then realized how late it was. The
Chronicle
office had closed hours ago and I didn’t have Sam’s home number. I’d have to wait till morning.

My knowledge of Biblical lore is really nonexistent. I had no clue about the context of these quotes; however, the message was clear. Someone considered me a witch and thought my work was the work of the devil. I wondered if the newspaper had received similar missives that Sam hadn’t passed on. Crazy letters along these lines might have come in but she hadn’t wanted to tell me. I’d ask her tomorrow. She might have thought they would upset me, and she’d be right. But this was different. This was my own personal email.

Should I delete them? Should I save them in a folder? Block them? Had someone sent me a virus? Something very hateful had invaded my home via computer. I finally decided to delete them from my inbox and trash. I shivered involuntarily. What creeped me out was the fact that they came from different senders. I stared at the blank screen. Maybe I’d done that too fast. Maybe I should at least have made a note of the senders’ addresses.

I heaved a sigh and closed my laptop. I put Evandra’s notes in her folder and straightened up the living room. The fire had turned to embers and Wizard was still curled up on the throw. I made sure the front and back doors were locked and bolted and padded down the hall to bed. I shed my clothes, slid under the covers, and turned on the electric blanket. The rain still drummed heavily outside. Wizard followed me and climbed onto the bed, curling up in a ball next to me. I picked up my new book on eclipses and managed to read a paragraph before I went unconscious, the lamp still lit.

The next morning I woke, groggy, with a crick in my neck. The events of the day before came flooding back. I tried to push the image of Luis’s body being raised from the cliffside out of my head. It wasn’t working. Groaning, I climbed out of bed and rummaged in the closet for my leopard print flip-flops and my thrift shop Chinese robe and stumbled out to the kitchen, desperate for coffee. I know. I’m an addict and I really don’t care. I put the pot on to boil, thinking I should probably break down and buy one of those coffeemakers that can be set up the night before. The problem with that is I’d have to remember to fill it with water and coffee and push the button. A big assumption. Wizard circled my legs and waited patiently while I scooped food into his dish. When the coffee was ready, I filled a mug and added some half and half. I needed caffeine. I had more work to do and a new client coming today.

I peeked out the window above the sink. The rain had stopped, but there’d be more. The temperature had dropped radically during the night and the steam from the boiling kettle had fogged the windows. Wizard climbed onto my lap as soon as I sat down and, stretching his paws, kneaded furiously at my robe as I downed my coffee. The thought of returning to the Gamble house depressed me, but I had promised Dorothy and Evandra I’d come back.

When the caffeine finally hit, I gently urged Wizard off my lap. I pulled my mop of unruly hair up with an elastic band and jumped in the shower. After dressing, I straightened up the apartment and shut the damper in the fireplace to keep the heat from escaping.

The emails from the night before still preyed on my mind. I checked the clock. It wasn’t nine yet, but Samantha sometimes arrived at the office early. I dialed her number. She answered on the first ring.

“Julia! Hi. What’s up?”

“Listen, Sam, you didn’t give my
AskZodia
email address to anyone, did you?”

“No! Of course not. No one at all. Why do you ask?”

“I got a few really strange emails last night.”

“Strange? What did they say?”

I repeated the Biblical phrases as best I could. “I didn’t write down exactly what they said. I just looked at them and then I deleted them.”

“Creepy!” She sighed.

“More than one. All three came from different addresses.”

“Did
you
give your address to anyone?”

“No. I only use it for you, for the column.”

“I don’t know what to say. We have your contact info in the Payroll Department, your home address and phone and your
AskZodia
email, but I don’t imagine anyone there would give it out. The emails I send to you are all forwarded from the
AskZodia
address at the
Chronicle
. The only thing I can think of is that someone took the words ‘Ask Zodia’ and tried different service providers till they found one that worked.”

“You screen the emails that come in. Have you seen anything similar before?”

“No. Nothing threatening or strange at all. A lot of them are meandering and don’t really have a question. I just send the standard response. You know, ‘We receive many more requests than we can possibly answer, but are happy to refer you to … blah, blah, blah.’”

“Well, I just wanted you to know. Hopefully the only thing they have is my email address.”

“Maybe you should set up a new one for me to use.”

“Good idea. I’ll do that. I don’t want to use the one I give to my regular clients, though. Do me a favor and don’t write it down anywhere, okay?”

“I promise. What’s it gonna be?”

“How about
astrochat
. Same service provider. Don’t use the word ‘Zodia’ anywhere.”

“I’ll remember. So, everything I send you will go to
astrochat
from now on.”

“You can tell Les, but no one else, and I’ll cancel the
AskZodia
account.

“Maybe you shouldn’t do that, Julia. If this becomes more of a problem, the police can trace the emails. It takes a while, but I know they can do that. So maybe it’s better to keep it active. Just don’t read any of that crazy stuff.”

“Easier said than done. But you’re right.”

“Julia, I’m really sorry. I don’t like the idea there could be a leak from our end. Stay in touch, though, and let me know if you get any more.”

We hung up and I placed a call to Don at his office next. It was too early to expect him to be there, but I left a message for him to call me as soon as he arrived. I made another cup of coffee and settled back in to work. There were all kinds of freaks in the world. I couldn’t let them get to me.

I hoped to squeeze a few more letters in for the column before my client arrived. I skimmed through and finally chose some others that offered a good range of problems.

Dear Zodia—

I hope you can help me. I was born at 3:15 a.m. on October 3, 1978. My husband was born March 4, 1976. We were married only last year. Over the last few months, his behavior has changed, and the last few weeks, it’s much worse. He’s threatened suicide and I’m worried sick. What should I do?

— Panicked in Petaluma

I groaned.
Panicked
shouldn’t be wasting time writing to Zodia! She needed to find a shrink in a big hurry.

Dear Panicked:

Threats should be taken very seriously. Immediately speak to your doctor or your local hospital about getting help for your husband. Also, talk to anyone at the suicide prevention hotlines. They might be able to give you some guidance. This is a time for intervention. His natal chart shows very adverse aspects to his Sun sign, indicating a lack of parental support in childhood, possibly even abuse. He’s suffering from feelings of worthlessness. He needs immediate help! Following are several names of organizations and 800 numbers where you can get help.