Morning arrived, and Jason was the first to wake. Making coffee, he waited for Sally to come downstairs. After ten minutes, she walked into the kitchen.
“Morning Sally. What do you have planned for today?” He asked as he drank his coffee.
“Oh! And who was it that called you last night?”
Sally made sure she avoided eye contact with her father.
“Morning dad. It was Jackie who called last night. She invited me to stay overnight at her house so we can go over some school work together. I can go right?” She said.
“Yes of course you can. I will be working late anyway. Have you prepared your things?”
Sally replied, “yep, all in my backpack,” she said.
Jason kissed his daughter goodbye and left for the office. Danny was already there when he arrived.
“Jason! The chief wants some answers. We have two cases, and no leads yet. Helen is nowhere to be found, and all we got is Sarah Masters diary and that so-called confession about taking their souls. What is going on for Christ sake?”
Danny was not the kind of guy to get so jumpy, but these two cases are clearly getting to him.
Jason sat down at his desk.
“Last night I took a good look at the diary again. First, we know a guy is involved, and secondly Sarah mentions she took some classes in spiritual phenomena. We could start by checking where, and who holds that kind of class. It might give us a lead, and about Helen, well she seems to have vanished from the face of the earth.”
Jason decided to give Kate a call, hoping she might know something about spiritual phenomena classes.
The morning passed by quickly, and it was late afternoon when Sally arrived at Jackie’s house. She was shaky and was about to back out at the last minute. It was Jackie who calmed her down, persuading her to go along with meeting the spiritual medium.
They talked about what they would say to her mother if she did somehow make contact with her. They also thought about what would happen if the whole thing were a hoax.
Jackie said, “well at least it won’t be stuck at the back of your mind that you didn’t try. Give it a shot and see what happens. Who knows, maybe he is for real this friend Travis knows.”
The time had come for them to meet Travis outside Miami university, where they found him waiting in his parked car.
Travis signaled for them to follow him. After half an hour of driving, they parked outside Tony’s house. The girls took a few minutes to gaze at the old building that looked kind of odd standing between two modern built houses. The architecture seemed old English style. To the girls it looked kind of spooky also.
They got out of their vehicles, and then followed Travis across the never ending pathway leading to the main door. While waiting for Travis to open the door that was left unlocked, they heard deep growling sounds but could not make out from where it was coming.
Travis said, “don’t worry. The dog is locked up. It won’t hurt you.”
As they entered, Carlos came to greet them, who had agreed to stay on longer for a hefty paycheck. Sally and Jackie cautiously walked around Carlos intimidated by the size of the man. He led them into the kitchen area where they were then greeted by Tony.
Travis did the introductions.
“This is Dr. Tony Barrette, who will be performing the calling.”
Tony extended his hand.
“Pleased to meet you both,” he said.
Jackie was the first to speak, “I’m Jackie, and this is my friend Sally.”
Tony shook Jackie’s hand and then Sally’s, which he held onto longer than he did Jackie’s. He felt something that he hadn’t felt for a long time. Her blood seemed to be racing around her body at an unusual rate, yet her heart was beating at a steady pace. He felt the life beating within her body. Within seconds, her energy passed from her hand to his. Unaware of what was happening within her body, she quickly withdrew her hand away from Tony’s.
Travis stepped between them.
“Sally wishes to make contact with her mother who passed away a few years ago.”
Tony looked at her and said, “so we shall my dear. Please follow me to the basement where we shall begin.”
Jackie whispered to Sally, “my god! The doc is gorgeous! If he weren’t so much older than me, I would….”
Sally cut her words short, “Jackie! Shut up, will you! He might hear you.”
They were led down the flight of stairs and entered the medium room. Every piece of furniture looked so ancient, made of dark mahogany dating back to the last century. Hanging on the walls were pictures and photographs almost going back two hundred years.
Jackie noticed that some of the pictures were just like she had seen in the university hallways.
She said, “these pictures and photos are a replica of what we saw at school.”
“Well, Travis and I have known each other for some time now, and we share the same interests. It was I that made the replicas and donated them to the university. What you are seeing are all originals,” said Tony.
Jackie didn’t stop there.
“How did you acquire these originals?” She asked.
Sally then spoke, “they must be worth quite a lot of money I guess.”
Travis stepped in and quickly changed the subject.
“Hey! We didn’t come all this way for a lecture or class. What do you say we get started?”
The girls took their seats around a solid oak table, not too large, but just right so all four persons could reach out and join hands. Sally and Jackie sat opposite each other while Tony sat to the right of Sally, and Travis to the right of Jackie. The lights dimmed, and candles that were previously lit gave a warm, comfortable feeling in the room.
Tony asked everyone to join hands and not to break the bond under any circumstances. He then asked Sally a few questions before he began.
“Your mother’s name, please?”
Sally replied nervously, “Anne Mallock.”
“Do you have anything in your possession that belonged to your mother?” Asked Tony.
“Yes, I have this locket and chain around my neck.”
“Excellent. That should be more than enough. Now please do not speak unless I tell you to,” said Tony.
He then closed his eyes and dropped his head slightly forward. Next he began speaking out in a tongue that both girls could not recognize. It seemed ancient Indian and sometimes sounded like Latin. At first he started out slowly, just able to hear his voice, and then out of nowhere he would shout out loud. At times, the name Anne could be heard in a tone of voice that sounded commanding. Jackie and Sally looked around the room for anything out of the ordinary. After a while, they noticed the candle flames were giving off a bright light, but nothing else seemed different. Sally was about to break the bond when suddenly she saw a dim light hovering behind Tony. Jackie saw it too, and she squeezed Sally’s hand tighter.
Tony spoke out, “Anne! Show your presence, reveal yourself to us, reveal yourself to your daughter Sally. Appear before us.”
Sally continued to stare at the dim light, remembering things about her mother, the talks they had and the fun they had together. All of a sudden the dim light she saw was now turning into the shape of her mother’s face. Jackie began to tremble; she had never seen anything like it before. Sally kept calm; she couldn’t believe she was seeing her mother after all these years.
Tony spoke out to Sally, “you can now ask what you wish Sally, but your mother will reply only through me.”
Sally wanted to ask so many questions, but the only thing that came to mind was.
“Why did you leave me mother? Why did you leave when we were so happy together?”