The Storycatcher (34 page)

“Like how? Something ain’t right with her. I think it has something to do with that girl on the marker, the one on her quilt.”

“Arleen Brown. Maybe.”

“Ain’t no maybe to it. That Arleen Brown has got a black soul. She be owning Miss Faith.”

I wasn’t never one to take up for Faith Dobbins, but I found a lot of firsts in Darien. “The real Miss Faith ain’t all bad, Ada.”

“Then tell me who this Arleen Brown is.”

“Some old girl back home on the mountain that died a few years back. I don’t know why she’s got Miss Faith other than she’s got unfinished business with the pastor.”

“What kind of business?” Ada asked.

I shrugged. “Don’t know that.”

She looked out the kitchen window one more time and shook off a shiver. “Let’s go get some fresh flowers for Miss Lydia. They be gone ‘exploring’ the town.”

“You don’t fool me, Ada. You like Miss Lydia.”

Her face softened. “She be a decent white woman.”

“Yes, ma’am.” And I realized that’s what she had become since leaving Pastor.

WE WAS IN THE FRONT
yard near the road gathering flowers from the beds. A car went by with a white lady driving—and that wasn’t no big deal—but I had to look twice.

“What you looking at this time?” Ada asked in a nervous way.

I shook off the willies. “I thought I knew that white woman, but it can’t be no one from Black Mountain down here. Wouldn’t be no reason.”

Ada looked at the car. “That be Pastor Harbor’s car. He’s the pastor of the white Episcopal church in Darien. He got him a new wife. She ain’t from here, but I can’t tell you where she’s from. She keeps to herself a lot. She’s young and pretty. Don’t want a bit of help. Does all her work herself.”

It couldn’t be Nellie Pritchard, the woman I worked for who murdered her husband, but it sure looked like her for a minute. Wouldn’t it be something if Nellie was living right there in Darien? If she only knew I still had my two hundred dollars. If I wanted I could go anywhere ’cause that was a lot of money. It was enough to help me live for a long time. If I wanted I could leave Black Mountain. But Nada would be left all alone. One child running off was enough.

“Make things right with Will. He be your only brother. And brothers are hard to come by.” Ada looked at me like she had read my last thought.

The air already felt like a furnace. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Ada stopped what she was doing. “Time ain’t your friend, girl. Clean up how you feel. This ain’t about you. It’s about Will and what
happened to make him leave his mama and home. Show him some respect. He’s showed you.”

I huffed.

“You think you don’t have to respect him? You got a lot to learn.”

The old woman spirit was standing near the house. “I got a job for you, girl,” she said.

“Lordy be,” Ada whispered.

“You got something to do for me before you go home. Get ready. You understand? You wasn’t protected all these years for nothing.”

“I can’t do nothing for you, ma’am. I’m not even from here.”

The old woman laughed. “You be silly. You be perfect because of where you came from and where you going.”

“Come on, Shelly.” Ada started walking fast.

“You can’t run away from me, Ada Lee,” the old woman called after her.

Ada kept moving to the back steps of the house.

“She be afraid of you because of that night,” I said. For some reason the old woman didn’t scare me.

“That girl’s been through a lot.” Then she looked at me. “I’ll talk to you soon. When we get done, you can go on back home.” And the old woman was gone.

“Get on back here!” Ada yelled.

I went to her.

“She be bad, Shelly. Something terrible going to happen. Get ready. And you be a part of it. What was she talking about protecting you?”

But I couldn’t speak. Mrs. Dobbins pulled back into the driveway. She was all smiles but she was alone. “Ada, the town is wonderful. I left Faith at the dock looking at the boats.”

Both me and Ada looked at each other.

“What she want with boats?”

Mrs. Dobbins frowned. “That’s a good question. She said she liked looking at them.”

“I just bet she does.” Ada frowned.

Z
ACH LOOKED UP
when I came into the office. “Well, what did you find out?” He put down his pen and took off his wire-frame glasses.

“I talked to Amanda.”

“You have my attention.”

“Amanda said the cross belonged to Charles Dobbins. She’s agreed to talk to you.”

Zach shook his head. “I should hire you.” He stood. “Come on. We have to go see her now.”

Life can change in a moment while waiting on a promise to be fulfilled. I never told him about the angel. I never told him about seeing and talking to a ghost. I kept these things tight in my chest. Had I told, maybe things would have turned out different.

I
WATCHED THE MISSUS DRIVE
away before I walked down to the dock. The old woman spirit that kept following Shelly around stood off to the side.

“I’m here to tell you, girl. You need to go back from where you came. That quilt won’t stop a thing ’cause you can’t be the one to use it. Don’t you know that? A spirit can’t harm a soul. We only start the telling of the story and watch, and it don’t matter that you be in that girl’s body. She can’t do a thing you want unless she wants it.” She cocked her head sideways at me and disappeared.

“Faith?” And there stood Will on one of the shrimp boats.

“So you’re what brought the change in Shelly.”

“I guess I am. Except she’s not really happy to see me.” He walked to the rail of the boat.

“Sure she is. She’s just being Shelly.” I looked away. I didn’t want him to know it wasn’t Faith.

He laughed.

“You’ve been here all this time?” I said this more to myself than him.

He stood on the deck of the boat called
Sweet Jesse.
“Yes.”

“What about your mama? She nearly died of heartache. I know this. I seen—” I stopped, knowing I didn’t sound like Faith at all.

Will looked hard at me. “Something is different. What’s wrong with you, Faith?”

I turned away from his hot stare. There wasn’t no use in trying to fool him. “I’m Arleen. I came back to clean up what you left behind. I came to catch this story gone all wrong.”

“Arleen?” He looked at me like I’d lost my mind.

“She couldn’t handle all your truth-telling. You men are all the same when everything is said and done,” I said.

He was quiet. “Arleen? How can this be?”

“Easy enough. You should know that, seeing how your mama’s a conjure woman, or has your new life made you forget the important things?”

He studied me. “I don’t know what to say, Arleen. What happened to you was wrong.”

A screeching sound went off in my head. “I don’t want to talk to you now.” I began to walk away.

“Wait. I need to talk to you and Faith.”

“Not today.”

“How about meeting me tomorrow?”

I turned around. Faith’s heart slowed. It was dangerous. She wanted out to talk with him so bad. “Maybe.”

“Go to the dock close to the Tyson house in the morning at sunrise. I’ll meet you there. We’ll talk, Arleen. I’ll explain what happened to bring me here to live.” He sounded like he was telling the truth. “And you can tell me how you ended up being Faith.”

“Okay.”

He smiled.

THE NEXT MORNING
I left out before Ada came pulling into the drive from town. The dirt road out to the dock was bumpy, and my driving wasn’t the best. Shoot, all I’d ever driven was Daddy’s old tractor in the field, but I managed ’cause there wasn’t a soul to be seen. Missus would be worried over Faith taking her car, but I’d settle that when I got back. As a strip of orange showed where the sun met the marsh and water, the putt, putt of Will’s boat let me know he wasn’t far off. The gray of morning was almost gone.

By the time he slid that boat up to the dock, I was standing there. The water lapped against the dock’s poles. “Now we talk, Arleen?”

“Okay.”

He sighed. “I had to leave. Faith knew that. Why are you stirred up? Why did you take Faith’s body? That doesn’t make sense. Faith knew the whole truth. I never lied to her. There was a lot more that caused me to leave besides what happened to you.”

“I got something in the car to show you.” I couldn’t help but smile. “I need to tell you what Faith was doing and why I took her body. I have to finish something and then I’ll let her back. I will.”

“If someone sees me with Faith, trouble will start.” He looked over at
Sweet Jesse.
“Why don’t you come on the boat and I’ll take you out for a while. We’ll ride.”

I looked at all that water and marsh. “I guess, but let me get something from the car.” If I had lived, I could have loved Will with my whole heart. I ran to the car and got my package.

Will held out his hand as I stepped onto the dock. “What have you got there, Arleen?” He helped me onto his boat.

“Something special I’ve been working on, the whole reason I’m here in the first place.” I kept the quilt against my chest. “So you live with Ada Lee Tine?”

“Yes.” He smiled.

“Lord, she truly hates me. I can tell by the way she watches me, so don’t deny it.”

He started the boat and began to pull it away from the dock. The floor rocked under my feet and the boat parted the water, spraying it up on my face.

“Hold on to the rail until you get your sea legs!” Will yelled over the engine. “Ada doesn’t hate anyone. She’s the kindest soul I know.” He nodded at my quilt wrapped in the old blanket. “She’s afraid of your charm quilt. Yes, I’ve heard all about it.” He smiled.

“What about your own mama, Will? Why did you leave her?”

He frowned. “It’s a long, long story, but sometimes mothers aren’t who they are supposed to be.”

I laughed. “Lord, Will, if I had lived, I’d be younger than you, and I know mamas aren’t perfect. Sometimes they be downright stupid, but everybody loves their own mama.”

“I love her, but well, lies have a way of driving people apart, Arleen. The bigger the lie, the further the distance.”

“Faith would love to have a mama like you have, and you just threw her away.”

“That’s not so.” His face became serious.

“This is why I took over Faith’s body.” I pulled up the skirt I was wearing and showed him Faith’s legs.

He looked away.

“It’s okay to look. You got to see what she did so you understand why I’m here.”

His face became still when he saw the scabs.

“This is what she started doing to herself. Ever since you left and told her all your truths, she lost her mind in bits and pieces.”

“Cover them.”

I dropped the skirt. “We both know how to twist and turn a story. Don’t we?” I laughed. “I had to catch it and turn it right. I had to think fast. See, I wanted to pay you back for helping me like you did. You
stood up for me even after I was dead and gone. I wanted to take care of her for you.” I unfolded my quilt. “See, you be here. Right here in the hem.”

He looked over to where I pointed. “I don’t see anything.”

“Of course not. You’re hidden in there. It’s your goodness that helps give power to this charm.”

“Arleen, I want to talk to Faith.” He gave me his soft, serious look.

Faith stirred, but I was boss. “Did you know that Faith is a quilter? Her quilts are special. She started sewing when you left, and she stole the sewing basket from your mama’s cabin. The gravestones are what makes her quilts so important. She adds them to her work.”

Will looked at the quilt. “But Ada says this quilt is bad.”

“A death quilt is for protecting one who has been wronged. Lord help the person who did the hurting, though. She be right about that. See, I got to tell my story. Me and Faith are telling it through this here quilt. Then I’ll be through and I can leave.”

He watched the water as we bumped across. “If Faith understands what needs to be done, then let her come back.”

“She’s too good, Will. I have to make sure the rightful owner gets this death quilt. I thought you’d be glad to see me. You of all people.” I smiled at him.