“Queenie is showing me that Mallory is close by.”
“Where?”
Madame Verdene opened her eyes. “Your grandmother is showing me a peach.”
What the hell does that mean? Rachel thought wryly.
Verdene dropped Rachel’s hand. “She’s gone.”
“Why couldn’t she just tell me where Mallory is?” Rachel said, feeling frustrated. She didn’t know whether to feel exasperated at the lack of information or comforted that Mallory was safe. Or entirely unmoved. Maybe Verdene was making the whole thing up.
“I’ll try to explain.” Madame Verdene got up and turned on the lights. “I’ve been able to see the spirits since I was a little girl. My grandmother had the same gift. It always seems to skip a generation in my family. At first, it scared me. I didn’t know what to make of it. I would go to school and all day long hear voices in my head. At night when I was alone in bed was the only time it was quiet. Pretty soon, I realized that every time I left my house and was in the company of other people, the voices would come back. I started feigning sickness and avoiding going out.”
Verdene got up and walked to the refrigerator, pulling out two bottles of water. She handed Rachel one.
“My mom was worried that something was terribly wrong with me,” Verdene continued. “We lived with my grandmother at the time, and she knew pretty quickly what was going on with me. One morning, my grandmother explained the gift to me. She taught me how to tune out the voices when I wanted to and how to make them come through stronger if I needed. You see, it takes a lot of energy for a spirit to come through, and they don’t always stay as long as they’d like to. Nor are they able to get across everything that needs to be said. This is the hardest part to understand. Sometimes they can’t tell us everything we need to know. In your daughter’s case, we know she is alive. Your grandmother was very insistent on that. But only you, Rachel, have the power to find her. It won’t take magic, exactly, but it will take persistence. You just have to open your mind. Trust your instincts. I can show you how if you are willing to learn.”
“I can’t believe I have some kind of psychic ability,” said Rachel.
Verdene shrugged. “Call it mother’s instinct if you want, instead. Does it really matter what it is as long as it helps you find Mallory?”
Rachel saw no point in arguing. Madame Verdene was right. She would go to any length to find her daughter. “What exactly do I have to do?”
Verdene sensed her reluctance. “It doesn’t involve chicken heads, blood, or any kind of weird stuff, if that is what you’re thinking.” She chuckled. “Opening up your mind is as easy as practicing daily meditation, tuning in to your higher self, and saying a bit of prayer.”
Rachel nodded. “Okay, I’m willing to try.”
“Before I show you some techniques on meditation and fine-tuning, we’ll need to clean and balance your chakras.”
“I thought we did that during the ceremony the other night.”
“We did. This is something you have to do once a week to keep your energy channels open and wash out any negativity that you may come across.”
“Okay, so weekly cleanses and meditation. Sounds too simple.”
Verdene smiled a toothy grin. “It is simple. You just have to practice opening your mind. I’ll give you some things to help you get started.”
Rachel followed Verdene into the shop. She watched as Verdene filled up a tote bag with various herbs, potions, and colorful rocks. Once Verdene was satisfied with the items, she led Rachel back into her office and showed her how to use them as part of her cleansing practice. With the tutorial over, Rachel began gathering her things to leave. She paused when she heard a familiar voice in front of the shop. She peeked around the door and was surprised to see Melinda talking to the cashier.
“Melinda O’Malley. Does she come in regularly?” Rachel whispered to Verdene.
“She started coming in with Erin. I see her every so often.”
“What does she usually buy?”
“The usual stuff. Candles, lotion, some herbal remedies.”
“Do you know that woman with her?” Rachel asked. A pretty brunette woman was standing beside Melinda holding a basket of stuff to purchase.
“No. I’ve never seen her before. But I can tell you,” Verdene said, lowering her voice to just a whisper, “I don’t like that Melinda. She gives off a bad vibe I can feel a mile away.”
Rachel nodded, taken aback that Verdene had the same instincts as her own about Melinda.
“I feel the same way. There is something about her that I don’t trust.”
“The bad energy that I was telling you about? The one that plagued Erin? I saw another person involved. I believe there was something sinister between the two of them.” Verdene motioned discreetly to Melinda and kept her voice at a whisper.
Rachel thought about the mystery man at Flora. Could Verdene have sensed the affair that Erin was having? What did that have to do with Melinda? Deep in thought about that, Rachel
followed Verdene to the front of the store, stopping to say hello to a surprised Melinda.
“What brings you out this way?” she asked Rachel.
“Just picking up some souvenirs for my staff back in Florida,” Rachel said, thankful for the bag of stuff that Verdene gave her. She didn’t want Melinda to know the true nature of her visit. “How are you?”
“Great. Alanna Brennan, meet Rachel Scott.”
Rachel shook the brunette’s hand.
“Rachel works with a search-and-rescue company.” Melinda dropped her voice down to a whisper. “She’s helping us find Matt’s kids.”
Alanna raised her eyebrows. “Tough job, huh?”
“Yeah, it can be sometimes,” Rachel agreed.
“Do you have a card?” Alanna asked.
Rachel dug into her purse and handed one to Alanna. “I have to get going. It was nice to meet you.” Rachel waved good-bye to Verdene and headed out of the shop.
“Hey, Rachel, wait up.”
Rachel turned to see Melinda waving to her, her blond hair blowing in the breeze.
“What’s up?” Rachel asked.
“There is something I wanted to tell you. I was going to call you later and see if you wanted to meet for a drink, but since you are already here…”
“Okay, go ahead.”
Melinda paused, like she was collecting her thoughts. “I don’t know if this will help with the investigation or not, but I thought you should know…there was a man named Gavin Beckwith. Erin was having an affair.”
R
achel walked down the block a ways before digging her cell phone out of her purse. She saw that she had four missed calls. All from Red. As she called him back, she stuffed the bag of voodoo trinkets in her purse.
“Rachel, finally,” Red answered, breathless.
“Sorry, I was caught up. Everything okay?”
“I’m still at Flora. I have two surprises for you. One, I think I found Erin’s mystery man.”
“And two?” she asked.
“You’ll have to see that one for yourself,” Red said. “Meet me over here.”
The Flora Gallery and Coffee Shop was a short walk from Verdene’s. As Rachel rounded the corner, she spotted the café and saw several tables with massive green umbrellas adorning the sidewalk. She spotted Red, walked quickly to his table, and sat down.
“Well, that was fast,” he said.
“I was just around the corner,” Rachel said, putting down her heavy purse. She looked around. All the tables were occupied with people enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery. “Where is my surprise?”
“Here it comes now. I took the liberty of ordering lunch for us.”
Rachel turned and saw a familiar face walking toward her.
“Stacy!” She hopped out of her chair to greet her best friend. Rachel had met Stacy Case while working in the Bahamas. Stacy had been employed as a reporter by the
Miami Sun
and was investigating crimes against cruise ship passengers. At first, Rachel had dismissed Stacy as just being a nosy journalist looking for a story. But Stacy proved herself to be invaluable while helping Rachel crack open the case of the missing Knowles girl. Together they discovered that the cruise ship in question was involved in several illegal activities. Stacy’s extensive knowledge and persistent attitude had won Rachel over. Stacy had recently left the
Miami Sun
to work as a freelance writer, and she helped Rachel with cases whenever her time allowed.
“Surprise!” Stacy pulled up a chair.
“What are you doing here? I thought you were working on a big story in California,” Rachel said.
“I wrapped it up yesterday. Last night Red called me to see if I could fly in and help you guys out. We decided to keep it a surprise.”
“Well, color me surprised. I didn’t think I would see you for another couple of weeks,” Rachel said.
She hadn’t seen Stacy since they’d been in Mexico together. Stacy had flown to Cozumel along with Mike Mancini to stay with Rachel for a few days after she’d first found out about the child abduction ring. Then Stacy had been forced to return to California to cover a story she’d already committed to, about the Mexican Mafia. When they’d said good-bye, Rachel hadn’t been sure when they’d see each other again. There was no doubt that Stacy’s sudden appearance was an unexpected surprise that lifted her spirits.
The waitress arrived behind Stacy with a tray and dished out glasses of lemonade and plates of food.
“So,” Stacy said, after taking a long sip of her drink. “Red filled me in on what’s going on with the O’Malley case. Crazy, huh?”
“Speaking of crazy, I just ran into Melinda. She and another lady were at the voodoo shop when I left.” Rachel told Stacy and Red about her encounter, leaving out the part about her personal visit with Madame Verdene. She knew Red wouldn’t approve, but luckily Stacy would entertain the idea of mediums and psychics. Rachel couldn’t wait to get her take on the whole thing.
“I wish you would stay away from that place,” Red said, before stuffing his grilled chicken wrap in his mouth. “Pure crap.”
“Tell me how you found Erin’s mystery man,” Rachel said, changing the subject.
Red pointed to the coffee shop. “Erin has some paintings inside. Very nice. You should take a look. I inquired about the artwork, speaking with the manager, and she had a lot of nice things to say about Erin.” Red paused and took a drink of his bottled water. “And, she told me that Erin was just in here the week before she disappeared. I asked the manager if Erin was alone and she said no. Erin frequently met with another man at the café. Someone the staff knows very well.”
Rachel asked, “Gavin Beckwith?”
Red looked shocked. “How did you know?”
“Melinda chased me down as I was leaving the shop and told me. She thought it might help with our investigation. She apparently has been trying to decide whether to report this to the police or not. According to her, she hasn’t even told Chris yet.” Rachel felt bad about taking the wind out of his sails. “What else did you find?”
“Well, he’s a local art dealer, for starters. The manager said that Erin and Gavin were having lunch that day and Erin seemed upset about something. They had a heated conversation outside, and Erin left without touching her lunch.”
“Did the manager report any of this to the police?”
Red wiped his mouth with a napkin. “No. She said she didn’t think it was relevant at the time. You have to remember, the FBI hasn’t released information about finding Erin’s arm. They are still waiting on official tests. The manager doesn’t know that Erin is possibly dead.”
“Still. Something like that could be important to the case,” Rachel said.
“I agree,” Stacy said. “But people around here tend to mind their own business.”
“How did Melinda find out about the affair?” Red asked.
“She didn’t really say. I got the feeling it was more speculation,” Rachel answered.
“Well, I think she was on to something. The manager said that Erin and Gavin frequently have lunch here…”
“And there was a heated argument. Maybe she was breaking it off with him. Having second thoughts about putting her marriage in jeopardy,” Stacy finished.
Rachel stabbed a piece of chicken and lettuce with her fork. “Sounds easy for us to find out. We can pay him a visit. Get his photo, show it to Matt,” she said, taking a bite.
“Just what I was thinking,” Red said.
Stacy pulled a camera from her backpack. “I just happen to have my camera on me.”
“I already got the directions to Beckwith’s art gallery. It’s just a few blocks from here. We can pay him a visit after we’re done.”
G
avin Beckwith’s art gallery was located near Jackson Square off Madison Street. They walked up to the two-story redbrick townhouse. Beckwith’s gallery was on one side, and an upscale clothing boutique claimed the other. There were two mannequins in the boutique window, wearing colorful caftans and beaded jewelry. Beckwith’s window displayed several watercolor paintings.
Stacy laughed, “Not exactly groundbreaking artwork, but very quaint.”
The doorbell chimed as Red opened the gallery door for Stacy and Rachel. “Ladies first.”
A model-thin woman who looked to be in her late twenties greeted them at the door. She tossed her long blond hair over her shoulder. “Welcome to Orleans Gallery. Can I help you?” she asked politely.
“We’re here to see Gavin Beckwith,” Red said.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Mr. Beckwith is out of the country,” she answered. “Can I help you with something? I’m his wife, Courtney.”
“I’m afraid this is something that I can speak only with Mr. Beckwith about.” Red dug out one of his business cards. “Can you please have him call me when you speak with him next?”
Courtney took the card, her smile faded, and a look of concern crossed her face. “What’s this about? Is my husband in trouble?” She looked back and forth between Red and Rachel. Stacy had made herself scarce, roaming around the gallery, looking at the artwork adorning the walls.
“Oh, no, ma’am. Sorry to worry you. I’d just like to speak with him about a personal matter,” Red said in a soothing tone.
“Okay.” Courtney didn’t look convinced. She set the card on the counter and then opened the front door, her gracious manner turning icy. “I expect him to call me tonight. I’ll pass along your number.”