Many Blessings

Chapter Five

Mandaline felt grounded and at peace by the time Sami and Matt arrived five minutes before ten. Today marked a week since Julie’s death.

All morning the shop had been busier than usual, people who’d heard about Julie but not able to make yesterday’s wake paying their condolences and leaving cards. And then there was the phone practically ringing off the hook ever since news of Julie’s death got out, including calls from the media, Julie’s friends, a couple of hate calls from evangelical nutjobs who thought they were cat-sacrificing Satanists, and a spate of hang-up calls reported by the staff.

Mandaline thought she might have to escape to the sanctuary of the apartment, but every time she glanced at Julie’s urn she felt calm settle over her again.

Mandaline greeted Sami and Matt with hugs before leading them back to the smaller reading room where she’d talked to Ellis and Bradley the day before.

Sami never released Matt’s hand, even as they took their seats. She looked drawn, aged.

Hollow.

He looked more concerned about Sami than he did consumed by the grief she knew he felt.

Mandaline had gone through Julie’s notes about the case. She’d also played the EVPs they’d picked up at the Corey house.

Julie’s notes ended the night before she died, but it gave Mandaline enough of an insight about what Julie had been dealing with to feel even better about what she wanted to do.

Mandaline wasn’t sure where to start except to dive right in.

“I know this is very difficult,” she quietly said, “but I need to know what happened that day.”

Matt started to speak, but Sami squeezed his hand. “No,” she softly said. “It’s okay.” Sami took a moment to compose herself before, in almost-whispered tones, she related what she could of that day. Matt filled in only a little, the parts he’d experienced firsthand, toward the end.

When Sami finished retelling the events, she took a deep, hitching breath. “It wasn’t Steve,” she said. “I know what the police report reads. I know what my own damning witness statement says. I also know you are one of the very few people who can absolutely believe the truth. George Simpson killed Julie and attacked me and Matt. He was using my husband’s body, but it wasn’t my husband who committed those crimes.”

Mandaline nodded. “Julie believed George Simpson was possessing your husband the way he’d possessed her great-grandfather.” She pulled her iPhone from her pocket and brought up the camera roll. Quickly scrolling, she handed the phone over to Sami. “That appeared in the little zen garden we keep on the counter. It appeared…that afternoon. Around…” She took a deep breath. “Around that time. And I also saw a vision or premonition or whatever you want to call it of Julie. This is why I really need to finish what she started.”

Sami returned the phone to her. “We’re going to completely gut the house,” she said. “Strip it down to the studs and renovate it.”

“That’s good,” Mandaline said. “It’s probably better for your peace of mind. Why don’t we hold off on doing the cleansing ritual until the demolition is complete? That way if any energies are stirred up, we can take care of them then. Although I do want to do a walk-through when I’m out there, just to make sure you both are safe.”

“Whatever you think is best.”

“I’ll do another house cleansing for you once construction’s finished, before you move in. Do you have a preference for when we perform the ceremony for your husband?”

She shook her head. “I’m just really grateful you want to do it. I felt bad about not doing anything, but the thought of holding any kind of public ceremony for him feels…wrong.”

Mandaline reached across the table and gently squeezed Sami’s free hand. “It’s all right. I understand. Then if you’re okay with it, let’s wait and do it next Thursday. Hopefully the media frenzy will have died down by then and we won’t have to worry about someone stumbling across us while we’re doing it. Okay?”

Sami nodded. “That sounds good. Thank you again.”

“I meant it when I said I hope we see you both around here after all this is over.”

Matt spoke up. “We’re going up to Ohio in a couple of weeks. After we…this. She wants to empty the other house. I’m in the process of making some arrangements to get that handled as quickly as possible.”

“You’re not staying in the house here, are you?”

“Hell no,” he said. “Not until we get it…until it’s ready. Sami bought a travel trailer. We were at the hotel there by the park for a couple of days. No privacy. At least in the park we can kick people off the property. No one waiting outside our hotel room to take pictures.”

“Are we doing the right thing?” Sami asked. “By moving here. Do you think…do you think she’d be okay with it? With us living there after what happened to her?”

Mandaline smiled kindly. “I think Julie would be pleased to know you’re moving forward. That house was part of her history. Now it will have a happy future for a change. I think she’d like that a lot.”

Sami nodded as another round of tears robbed her of speech.

By the time Mandaline walked them out nearly an hour after they arrived, she’d finally gotten a tentative smile from Sami. She hugged the woman, pouring as much light and energy into her as she could. She knew from what Julie had told her and from her own observations that something else was troubling Sami.

“He would want you to be happy, too,” Mandaline whispered in her ear. “He loved you. He loved both of you. Be happy together. That’s the best way to honor the man whose heart you truly knew. He’s finally at peace and would want you both to be, too.”

Sami nodded as she stepped away. Mandaline watched as Matt rested his hand in the small of Sami’s back as he walked her toward their car.

Sachi joined her by the door and leaned in. “You know, I thought you were the bad kind of nuts at first. But I watched you with them just now. Their auras looked different when you three came out. I don’t say this often, but I was wrong and you were right…boss.”

Mandaline smiled and looked up at Sachi. In bare feet, Sachi was only an inch taller than her, but she loved wearing high heels and wedges. “Boss” had been her playful nickname for Julie.

“Why, Sachi Wolowitz. I think my feet just got frostbite.”

She grinned. “Yeah, hell just froze over. So sue me.”

Mandaline hugged Sachi. Yes, they would all be okay, in time. In their own ways.

They just had to hold on while they worked their way through their grief.

Grover had changed into a suit for their hearing. He’d pulled strings and called in favors somehow to get them an emergency hearing with a probate judge in his chambers.

The judge shook hands with both of them before indicating they should take a seat in front of his desk. “This isn’t your usual bailiwick, Grover,” Judge Carter said as he sat. “We always tangled in criminal court, didn’t we?”

“Favor for a friend, Tom.” He handed him the emergency order he’d prepared. While the paperwork Julie had left helped make some things immediately available to Mandaline, the long probate process could cause problems other ways. “Decedent had no family, no next of kin. Properly signed, witnessed, and notarized will, powers of attorney, and bank signature cards. She left everything to Mandaline. We need a blanket emergency order from the court filling in the gaps until all the probate paperwork goes through. She’s got a business to run and employees depending on her.”

The judge looked it over before turning his attention to Mandaline. “I liked Julie,” he said. “Knew her from when she was a little girl. Her father and I were drinking buddies years ago.” He looked at the paperwork again. “I’m real sorry we lost her. Especially so young and so tragically.”

“Thank you,” Mandaline said. She’d thought she was doing okay, but now she felt an energy crash drawing close. She did need some alone time, and fast, to recharge her emotional batteries.

He addressed his next comment to Grover. “I’m guessing you’re handling this all the way through?”

“It’s officially going through Pete Boyle’s office. He agreed to rubber-stamp everything for me, pro bono, for Mandaline. I’m doing all the prep. But yes, I’m the one walking it all the way through.”

He nodded, then signed the several copies of the order. “Then let’s get this recorded for her so she can get on with what she needs to do.” He handed Grover the paperwork. “I wish all the lawyers made my job this easy, Grover.” He shook hands with him before offering another smile to Mandaline. “Again, I’m sorry for your loss. I know you were very close to her.”

“Thank you, your honor.”

She followed Grover as he handled the filing process at the clerk’s office and got certified copies of the order for her. Then he walked her back across the street to the store.

“You have my number,” he said. “Call me if you need anything before the next hearing, all right?” He laughed. “Hell, you know where to find me five mornings a week.” He pointed at Libbie’s bakery. “Come on over.”

She hugged him. “I can’t thank you enough for everything.”

“No worries.” He grinned, flashing teeth. “Just keep your daily orders coming and keep Libbie busy.”

“I will, don’t worry.”

Inside the store, she found six people queued up and waiting to place orders at the counter while Sachi, Paige, and Mina scrambled around handling other orders. There were at least twenty people in the store, some already having been served, some browsing. Mandaline quickly left the papers on the desk in the office and grabbed an apron to help out. By the time they got caught up, and Sachi was in back doing a private reading for a customer, it was nearly two o’clock and Paige had a chakras class starting in ten minutes.

Mina wiped down the counter. “You came back just in time. We were starting to panic a little.”

“I can’t believe it’s still this busy on a weekday.”

“That was nothing. You should have seen it while you were gone. It’s like everyone and their brother is coming in today. I’ve seen Saturdays that weren’t a fraction this busy.”

“Oh, no! I’ve got to walk poor Pers!” She found the little dog waiting at the bottom of the steps when she opened the door to the stairwell. She scooped him up and raced toward the back door. “I’m so sorry, puppy.” She grabbed his leash from its hook by the back door and snapped it onto his collar. He nearly dragged her to his favorite strip of grass behind the store where he spent a minute relieving himself.

Something else she needed to get used to. She was now a dog guardian, as well as being owned by a cat.

She knelt down and waited for him to finish. “Sorry, Pers. I promise I’ll get better at this.”

When he finished, he walked over to her and put his tiny paws up on her knee, stretching his body to lick her nose. Apparently all was forgiven on his end.

“Thanks.” She spent a moment loving up on him, letting him sniff along the strip of grass behind the store. The employees all parked behind the building, where a large alley separated it from the block of buildings to the west of them. Those buildings also had rear parking areas, leaving plenty of open area between the buildings.

Mandaline stared at the empty parking space behind their building where Julie’s Honda Element would usually be parked. A purple and green sign on the building marked the space and read, Witches Only—All Others Will be Toad.

She scooped Pers up and fought the urge to burst into tears again. The mechanic where Julie’s SUV had been towed had called two days earlier to say that it was fixed and ready to pick up. Steven Corey had disabled the vehicle, as well as the two of his own, on that afternoon to prevent their escape.

Correction, George Simpson had made him do it.

She looked at her twenty-year-old Chevy. Part of her didn’t want to drive Julie’s SUV. It felt wrong somehow.

But she knew Julie would gently chide her for those feelings. Especially since she now owned it.

She felt the crash, which she’d pushed back upon seeing the packed store, creeping up again with a vengeance.

“Let’s take a nap, Pers. What do you say?”

He licked her on the nose again.

She returned inside, leaving his leash on the hook by the door. She had almost made it to the stairwell doorway when she remembered she couldn’t leave Mina alone to watch the counter when they were that busy.

“Rain check on the nap, sweetie,” she said. She set him down and shooed him up the stairs, closing the door behind him. Then she walked around to the counter. “Okay, I’m back. Sorry about that. How are we doing?”

“Pers isn’t the only one in need of a bathroom break,” Mina joked as she removed her apron and hurried down the hall.

I need to take them all out to dinner when we get through this.

As she took the order of a couple who came in shortly after Mina headed back, Mandaline noticed for the first time the burgeoning pile of envelopes stuffed into a small plastic crate tucked under the counter where the register sat. She quickly averted her eyes from it and focused on not screwing up the customers’ orders.

Cards. She’d have to handle those sooner or later. Maybe ask Sachi to stay late and help…

No. I can’t do that. She came in so early. I’ll have to suck it up and do it.

Mina returned and had started to ask Mandaline something about creating a replenishment order for the coffee and drink supplies when the front-door bell tinkled again.

Goddess! Mandaline turned, a practiced smile ready, to see Bradley Sawyer walk in. He looked around hesitantly before spying her and heading her way with a sweet smile on his face.

Beside her, Mina let out a soft whistle. “He is a cutie, isn’t he?”

Mandaline didn’t answer. She stepped around the corner and extended her hand. “Hi, Brad. Nice to see you again.”

When his hand connected with hers, it felt like she’d grabbed hold of a live electric wire. White heat pinballed throughout her body, centering squarely between her legs. She felt herself falling into his sweet brown eyes.

“Can we talk?” he softly asked.

She wordlessly nodded and led him to her office, where she closed the door.

She turned and looked up at him. His body felt so warm, so strong pressed against hers. She found her arms draping around his neck. He pulled her close and backed her up against the desk, grabbing her hips and effortlessly lifting her onto it. His lips slanted over hers and he tasted like sweet chocolate, his breath buzzing through her. She wrapped her legs around him, which hiked her long skirt up past her thighs. Then she was rubbing herself against the large bulge that had grown in the front of his faded denim jeans.

She softly mewed when his tongue breached the seam of her lips, flicking against hers even as his hips took up a rhythm matching hers. So close, she felt so close—

The tinkle of the doorbell made her blink. She still stood there next to the counter, her hand engulfed by Brad’s.

His eyes had grown wide. “I really think we need to talk,” he whispered. “Alone.”

She nodded as she reluctantly pulled her hand from his. “I’ll be right back,” she said to Mina in a shaky voice.

“Are you okay?” Mina asked.

“Yeah.”

She’d started to head for the office, then veered down the hallway to the back door.

Public. Need to stay public. Her legs felt shaky. She could still taste the chocolate on her tongue from his kiss.

She knew her panties were soaked from almost having an orgasm while standing right there in the middle of the store.

When they were standing out back with the door closed behind them, she took a deep, cleansing breath and stretched her arms skyward in an attempt to slow her racing pulse.

When she refocused on him, he still intently stared at her.

“On your desk?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

She nodded as her eyes involuntarily dropped to his zipper. Yep, he looked hard.

And big.

She forced her gaze up again. “You ate chocolate recently?” she asked.

He nodded. “I ate a chocolate bar on my way over.” He ran his hands through his hair as he slumped against the building’s back wall. “What the hell was that?”

She felt relief to know he’d experienced it, too, whatever it was. “Where’s Ellis?”

“He’s at work. He doesn’t know I’m here.”

“How’d you get here?”

“I walked.”

“That’s…” She remembered their address. She’d looked the house up on Google to see the property from satellite view. “That’s like six miles.”

“I know.” He finally looked at her again. “I’m not crazy.”

She nodded. “I know. I know I’m not crazy, and I know what just happened between us.” She tried not to smile as he reached down and adjusted the bulge in his jeans.

“We can’t tell Ellis about this,” he said. “He’ll want to take me to the VA right now and get me another CAT scan.”

“What did you want to talk about?” She needed to get this conversation back on track, and fast. She couldn’t even begin to try to process the freaky little psychic love fest they’d just experienced. She’d left poor Mina alone behind the counter.

And I need a fresh pair of panties.

“Julie talks to me.”

She blinked, now not so certain how she felt about the cutie. “What?”

His smile faded. “It started while we were down in Tampa. On…” He cleared his throat. “Last Thursday afternoon.”

Mandaline didn’t know how to respond to that.

“She’s not the first one,” he said. “I’ve never said anything to Ellis about this, either.”

“He told me you can’t lie.”

He nodded.

“Then how’d you get around not telling him about that?” She felt her voice rising in agitation.

He shrugged. “He didn’t ask. He asked me what I see in the house and I told him. I didn’t even know it was Julie’s voice I keep hearing until yesterday when we were here. I thought her voice sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it until I saw her…her memorial.”

He meant the urn.

She turned away from him and tried to get her thoughts in order. She felt seriously torn between believing him and calling his friend to come get him and take him to the VA right then.

“She said to tell you about the zen garden.”

She wheeled around, her mouth agape. No one knew about that except herself, and now Matt and Sami.

He slowly nodded. “She said she was the one who wrote in it. ‘It’s not his fault.’ She said that’s what she wrote.”

Mandaline took an involuntary step back. She held a hand up to him. “I didn’t tell anyone else that.”

He thought about it. “She says you told Matt and Sami.” He frowned. “Who are they?”

She clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her cry. She stared at him, at his sweet brown eyes. After a moment she let her hand fall to her side and she straightened. “Why did you come here today?”

“I told you. I wanted to talk to you. Alone.”

“What did you do to me in the store back there?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t do it. It happened to me, too.”

“Are you trying to get me into bed with you?”

His face turned beet red. He jammed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, his gaze on his feet. “I’m attracted to you, yes,” he mumbled.

“Is that why you came here today?”

“No. I wanted to tell you about Julie. Because I knew you’d believe me and that you won’t tell Ellis.”

She turned away from him again. She felt faint, dizzy. She squatted down in the gravel of the parking area and closed her eyes as she took several deep, slow breaths. “You…you said you’ve heard other voices?”

“Yeah. It started after the accident. When I was in the hospital. I never believed in psychic stuff before. I’m not claiming I am psychic. I just…hear things. Sometimes. People. Not all the time. Sometimes certain voices sound louder than others. Like I’m on a different wavelength than everyone else now.”

“What did Julie call my cat?”

“Damien.”

She let out a sob and clapped her hand to her mouth again, her eyes squeezed tightly shut against the flood of tears she wanted to cry.

There would be one surefire way to prove it beyond all doubt. “What happened to her rings? The police didn’t include them in her personal possessions.”

She looked over her shoulder at him. He frowned, then looked at her with his head cocked in confusion. “She says you know full well she never wore rings. But she says her crystal pouch is on the bedroom floor, under a nightstand. He ripped it from her neck and the police didn’t find it.” He hesitated. “And that if Sami wants it, it’s okay to let her have it.”

“What was her favorite stone in it?”

He cocked his head again, as if listening. “A piece of fluorite you gave her three years ago for her birthday.”

She fell back onto her ass as she stared at him in shock. “Julie?” she whispered.

An afternoon thunderstorm had built west of town, moving toward them. A distant rumble of thunder broke the silence as a few drops of rain pattered down on them.

He held out his hand, palm up, and stared up at the sky.

“She says you like to dance in the rain but that Mina needs you right now.”

The back door flew open. Mina appeared. “Mandaline, I’m sorry to interrupt you, but I’m slammed again and the others are still busy.” Mina disappeared into the store, leaving the door open.

Mandaline sat there and stared up at Brad as he walked over and extended his hand to her. “It’s okay,” he quietly said. “I’ll wait. I have all afternoon.”

She took his hand, relieved and disappointed that there wasn’t another sexy flash, and let him help her to her feet.