Meagan's Marine (Halos & Horns) (8 page)

He turned and headed for his truck.

Almost
.

CHAPTER 12

Empaths
and Accidents

Unsure of what to expect, Meagan opened the
door cautiously and peeked around the edge at eye level. Her gaze traveled up a
good twelve inches to meet the other woman’s gaze.

The six-foot-if-she-was-an-inch tall
woman with skin the color of cocoa powder stood looking down at her.  

“Sweet Pea, were you expecting
Tangina
Barrons
?” She cracked a
huge grin, revealing straight teeth so white they seemed to glow in her dark
face…all except for her two gold front teeth.

Meagan stepped backed and straightened
as she opened the door. “Excuse me, but who?”

The woman put her hand out about waist
level. “
Tangina
…you know, the little psychic lady
from the
Poltergeist
movies?”

“Oh! No—no—I’ve never seen them.”

“Really? Ooh child, you ain’t lived till
you’ve seen Poltergeist. The sequels are mediocre at best, but number one is
phenomenal!” She adjusted the brightly colored turban on her head that gave her
the appearance of even more height, then offered her large-boned hand. “
Elvinia
LaBeau
and it is a pleasure
to make your acquaintance, honey.”

Meagan gave the woman’s hand a tentative
shake. “Meagan Hutton. Nice to meet you, too.”

After an uncomfortable moment,
Elvinia
cleared her throat. “Um, I’m not sure what you’ve
been told about me but I’m not of much use at porch readings. Is there a
possibility I could actually set foot inside the house?”

Meagan pulled the door open wide and
waved at her guest to enter. “Oh…oh, God! I’m so sorry! Please come in, Ms.
LaBeau
. Honestly, I’m not normally this
throwed
-off
but truth is, I just don’t know how to act. I’ve never done this kind of thing
before.” She twisted the rings nervously on her fingers.

“
Throwed
-off?” 
Elvinia
passed a skeptical eye over her. “You aren’t
from around here, are you girl?”

Meagan felt the blush creep up from her
neck to her ears. “No ma’am. I’m from northeast Texas. I’m trying to lose my
accent, but when I’m nervous, it rears its ugly head.”

The larger woman patted her hand,
reassuringly. “Don’t you dare! There ain’t nothing wrong with flying your own
flag, just as long as it’s right next to the stars and stripes. We’re all
Americans, aren’t we?”

Meagan lifted her chin, deciding the
woman was right. “You’ve got a point, Ms.
LaBeau
, and
thank you for that.”

“Please, child, call me
Elvinia
…and before you ask, my father’s name is Elvin and
my mother was Virginia. I never could get them to admit to anything, but I
strongly suspect they were high the day they named me.”

Meagan sent a smile in her direction. “I
think it’s a lovely name, and quite unique.”

“Well, you’re a sweet one for saying so.
I don’t know about lovely, but I’ll give you unique.” She looked around the
tiny room and shook her head. “I don’t get any readings at all in this room.
Take me to the room where you’ve had the occurrences.”

Meagan took a step and faltered. “What
exactly has
Niki
told you about all this?”

“She said your little boy is seeing
someone. That’s it, and to tell you the truth, it’s not all that unusual.
Children don’t have preconceived perceptions of the spiritual world. They don’t
show fear so they are approached more often.” She leaned in closer to Meagan.
“Sometimes those
imaginary
friends aren’t imaginary at all.”

Meagan wiped at the chill bumps on her
arms and nodded toward the hallway. “Down there.”

Head held high and straight-backed,
Elvinia
turned on her tall platform heels and headed down
the hallway. She stopped two feet from the first door on the left and raised
both hands in the air. She faced Meagan, as her right brow lifted curiously.
“Oh my, my…” she whispered, pointing at Buck’s open doorway. “Bingo in the
Anchor Room!”

Meagan shook her head. “I’m sorry, is
that supposed to mean something to me?”

Elvinia’s
deep chuckle resonated in the narrow space. “Not unless you spent your teenage years
sneaking into the Lake Shore Club dances in Lake Erin, Louisiana as a
teenager.”

“Oh…No ma’am,” she drawled in her all
too prominent twang. “I haven’t been here long enough for that.”

Elvinia
put back her head and laughed. “You don’t say!” Her laughter seemed to lodge in
her throat as she stepped into the room’s portal.  “Oh…Hello there.”

Meagan let her gaze take in every corner
of the room. “Do you see something?”

“Nothing but residue, just yet, but its
resilience leads me to believe what you’ve all been feeling is a strong
presence. Major shifts in temperature, for instance. And…” she turned to face
Meagan.  “It’s not just the boy who feels him. You sense him too…the
man…the soldier.” Her eyelids drifted heavily closed. “Such a profound sadness
about this one. And anger…he’s angry at all he missed out on.”

“Is it my fiancé?”

“Was he in the military?”

Meagan didn’t know how long she stood
there, shaking her head. “Marines.”

“He died overseas?”

“Yes, in Afghanistan.”

Elvinia
walked over to the picture frame, lying face down on the dresser and picked it
up to study it. “Did you place it face down?”

Meagan erupted in laughter, hinting at
her state of near hysteria. “I don’t touch it anymore. Sometimes it’s face
down, sometimes on its back, and sometimes the darn thing is throwing itself
across the room.”

“Seriously?”

Meagan nodded, surprised the woman’s
eyes could possibly look any larger than they already did. “It throws itself
right up against that wall, right there.” She pointed at a spot on the opposite
wall marked by scuffs and scratches.

Elvinia
stared at the spot indicated then reached out for the photo. Before she could
touch it, however, it scooted to the far end of the dresser.  In seconds,
the room temperature dropped from comfortable to downright chilly.

Meagan held her breath, waiting for her
guest to run screaming from the room.

Instead,
Elvinia
spoke in a voice that suggested admiration, even a reverence, rather than
fright. “Oh, he’s a sensitive one, isn’t he?”

Meagan’s jaw dropped.  “You’re not
scared?”

“
Pfft
…of what?
A spoiled child?” She rolled her eyes. “He’s the one who’s scared and confused.
But he’s not dangerous, although he may be a little annoying.”

“Is it Christopher?” Meagan was almost
afraid to hear the answer.

“Is that your
fiance’s
name?”

“Yes, Christopher Buckley Martin.”

Elvinia
reached slowly for the picture. “Christopher,” she whispered. “I mean you no
harm. I’m only here to help Meagan understand what’s going on. We just want to
help you.” She lifted the frame, still missing its glass, and flipped it to
stare at the picture. She placed her hand over his face and closed her eyes.
After several moments, her eyes flew open.

“What’s wrong,
Elvinia
?”

The black Amazonian-like woman stared
down at Meagan, one single, fat tear trailing down her smooth, brown cheek.
“He…he’s…it almost breaks my heart.”

Meagan gave her a slow nod. “Welcome to
my world.”

****

Mitch had already knocked several times
before Meagan finally pulled the door open, looking slightly flustered and wide
eyed.

“Is she here? Is that her car?” He
pointed to the minivan parked in the drive.

“Yes, and I just want to warn you, she’s
a little…”

“Unconventional?” he finished for her.

“She’s that too, but I was going to say
tall. She’s a real tall lady and her skin’s the same color of my maw maw’s
homemade brownies.” She opened the door wider. “She’s real nice. Come on in and
meet her.”

Mitch followed her into Buck’s room and
halted at the door, glad that Meagan had taken the time for a quick
description. Even knowing what to expect didn’t quite remove the shock of
coming face to face with the woman. “Hello,” he said. “I’m Mitchell Hebert.”

The instant he spoke his name,
Christopher’s picture took a nosedive to the floor, as the temperature dropped
another several degrees.

The three adults stood there staring at
it, until Mitch reached down for the portrait of the man in his dress blues. He
straightened, arranging it carefully on the surface of Buck’s dresser in an
upright position.

The woman placed a hand on his shoulder
and turned him slightly toward the door. “Let’s go out there and talk, shall
we?”

Mitch placed a hand at Meagan’s lower
back as he followed her into the living room. “How are you, Meagan?”

She ran her hands up and down her arms
and nodded. “I’m fine, thanks.”

“Mitchell?”

He turned to face the other woman. “Yes,
ma’am?”

“I’m
Elvinia
LaBeau
, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He shook the gentle hand she offered and
smiled into chocolate eyes at the same height as his own. “You also, ma’am.”

She placed her left hand over the one
she held and closed her eyes. “Mm...mm…another one filled with
regrets…determined not to let someone he loves down.” She gave his hand a pat
and winked at him. “Don’t you worry, man. Your sister’s
gonna
be just fine. She’s right where she’s supposed to be with a man who cherishes
her.”

He stared at her, a little surprised
that she possessed knowledge of his sister. Not that long ago, he would have
balked at something like that, insisting it was some kind of trickery. However,
his recent experiences with the unknown had opened his mind as nothing else
ever had. Finally, he gave her a nod. “Thank you, that’s good to know.”

“Anyone else want coffee?” Meagan headed
for the kitchen.

The psychic gave her another toothy
grin. “Yes ma’am, I surely would. Just a little cream, I’m sweet enough.”

“I’ll take some also,” Mitch said,
turning to see
Elvinia’s
gaze locked on him. He gave
her a self-conscious smile. “So, is it her ex haunting the place?”

A sudden roll of thunder accompanied her
reply. “I believe it is, but he’s not dangerous.”

He nodded, staring out the window as fat
droplets of rain began to pelt the room’s large plate glass windowpane. He
turned back to find her gaze still pinned on him. “Is there something wrong?”

She shook her head slowly. “No…nothing
wrong. But I want you to know that you won’t let her down.”

“I’m not worried about my sister. She’ll
be okay from here on out.”

Elvinia’s
deep chuckle echoed in the room. “I know she will, but she’s not the one I’m
talking about.” She reached out to place her large hand on his chest, right
over his thudding heart. After several seconds, she leaned in close to whisper.
“You’re in love and you don’t even know it yet.”

Mitch couldn’t manage more than a
wide-eyed stare as she threw her head back in jubilant laughter.

Meagan entered, carrying a tray with
three cups and set it on the ottoman. “Did I miss out on a joke?” She handed
out two of the cups and took the third one for herself as she waved her hand at
the sofa and chair. “Sit, please.”

Elvinia
sat with a flourish. “You didn’t miss out on any joke. It’s only that the truth
is hard to swallow for some people.”

Meagan glared at Mitchell. “You weren’t
making fun of her abilities or anything, were you?”

Mitch opened his mouth to protest. Before
he could say anything,
Elvinia
jumped in.

“Not at all. I was only teasing him, and
he was being a good sport about it.” She gave him a wink before raising her cup
to her mouth.

The three of them sipped their coffee in
silence for a moment before Meagan cleared her throat. “
Elvinia
,
is there anything you want to know about what’s happened before? How
Christopher died or anything?”

The psychic blinked twice, her heavily
mascara coated lashes fluttering like two large, velvety butterflies with
perfectly synchronized wings. “No.”

Mitch stared at Meagan, waiting to see
if she had some kind of comeback. Realizing she didn’t, he turned his attention
to
Elvinia
.

“What are you going to do?” he asked,
more than a little curious.

“Well,” she said, before sipping her
coffee and settling back on the overstuffed chair. “I’m going to enjoy this
delicious coffee…and wait.”