Aunt Dimity Goes West (29 page)

Herald
in which he claimed to have special powers.”

“Like Amanda’s?” Toby hazarded.

Aunt Dimity Goes West

245

“Just like Amanda’s,” Rose confirmed. “Ludo an-

nounced that he had, indeed, sabotaged the mine, but

that he’d done so with mind power alone. In other

words, he’d
willed
the mine to collapse.”

“That must have gone over big in Bluebird,” I said

sarcastically.

“They couldn’t arrest him for the illegal use of

willpower,” Toby pointed out. “What happened to him,

Mrs. Blanding? Did the townspeople take the law into

their own hands?”

“I’m sure they would have, if they could have got-

ten to him in time,” said Rose. “Fortunately—or un-

fortunately, depending on your point of view—the

Herald
’s editor arranged for Ludo to be spirited away to an asylum near Denver before the interview appeared in the newspaper. I suppose he didn’t want

Ludo’s blood on his hands.”

“What happened to Ludo’s wife?” I asked.

“She had relatives in Ohio, but she chose to stay on

in Bluebird. I imagine it was easier for her to stay

here, where the story was already known, than to con-

fess the awful truth about her husband to her family.

There was a great stigma attached to mental illness in

those days.” Rose sighed as she returned the group

portrait and the newspaper clipping to the archival

box. “A year to the day after the mining disaster, her

body was found floating facedown in Bluebird Creek.

The coroner ruled her death accidental, but I suspect

that he was being kind. Suicide would have barred her

from being buried in the cemetery.”

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Nancy Atherton

“And the child?” I asked.

“He was sent to an orphanage. As for Ludo, he was

never seen in Bluebird again. He died two months af-

ter he entered the asylum.” Rose replaced the lid on

the box. “It’s been said before, but it bears repeating: Gold fever is sometimes a fatal illness.”

Toby and I stared down at the archival box in

somber silence, but our thoughts were interrupted by

the doorbell.

“Three times in one day?” I said, astonished. “I’m

going to have to hire a social secretary.”

Toby must have been hoping for a return appear-

ance by James Blackwell because he ran to answer the

door before I could make a start toward it. A moment

later we heard him bellow angrily, “What are
you
doing here?”

Rose and I exchanged alarmed glances and has-

tened into the great room, arriving just in time to see

Amanda Barrow, in full gypsy regalia, sweep in from

the foyer with Toby hot on her heels.

“I did not come here of my own volition,” she de-

clared. “I was
summoned
!”

Twenty-one

“

didn’t summon you,” said Toby, eyeing

Amanda contemptuously.

I “Nor did I,” I said.

“You misunderstand.” The bangles on Amanda’s

wrists rattled as she spread her arms wide and gazed

toward the ceiling. “I was summoned by no earthly

power. I responded to a call beyond the reach of hu-

man hearing.”

“Like a dog?” Toby said scathingly.

I didn’t even try to disguise my hoot of laughter

with a cough. I had no idea what had brought Amanda

to the Aerie, but her timing couldn’t have been worse.

The baleful influence she’d exerted on young Tammy

Auerbach was still fresh in my mind and although

I couldn’t bring myself to send her packing, I wasn’t

inclined to give her a warm welcome.

Toby, on the other hand, looked as though he

might take a swing at her, so I hurried over to place

myself between them.

“Amanda,” I said, “what can I do for you?”

“You can do nothing for me,” she said, lowering her

arms. “But
I
can do something for
you.
”

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Nancy Atherton

“Thanks, but we’ve already washed the dishes,”

said Toby, in tones of withering scorn.

Amanda spared him one disdainful look, then fo-

cused her attention on me. “I do not, of course, refer

to a mundane chore.”

“Pity,” said Toby. “The mudroom could use a good

scrub.”

“Good afternoon, Amanda,” Rose said, crossing to

join our merry group.

“It is afternoon, Rose, but whether it be good or bad

I cannot yet tell.” Amanda sidled past me and began to

prowl around the great room with her eyes half closed

and her arms stretched at full length in front of her.

“If you want to see the Aerie, we can schedule a

tour,” I said.

“I do not wish to see the Aerie,” said Amanda.

“Then what in heaven’s name
are
you doing?” Rose demanded. “Playing blindman’s buff?”

“I am allowing myself to be guided,”Amanda replied,

continuing her circuit of the room. “I sense your hostility, Rose, but you and I are not so very different.”

“Aren’t we?” Rose said skeptically.

“We both believe that the supernatural plays a role

in everyday life.” Amanda paused to wave her palms

over the rustic cabinet, then moved on. “We believe in

a power greater than ourselves. We believe in revela-

tions, prophecies, and the continuation of the spirit

after death.”

“I
don’t
believe in using fear to intimidate innocent children,” Rose said tartly.

Aunt Dimity Goes West

249

“Yes, you do,” Amanda countered evenly. “You be-

lieve in hellfire and eternal damnation, and you use

those beliefs to intimidate children in every Sunday

school class you teach.”

“I beg your pardon,” Rose began heatedly, but I de-

cided to redirect the conversation before things got

out of hand. I didn’t want the pastor’s wife to take a

swing at Amanda, either.

“Sorry,” I said firmly, “but my guests aren’t allowed

to discuss religion or politics under my roof, even

when I’m only borrowing the roof. Since you’re an

uninvited guest, Amanda, the rule applies doubly

to you.”

“But I
was
invited,” Amanda insisted, moving her hands in a circular motion over the dining room table.

“I was summoned soon after you left me yesterday.

Your unwillingness to accept the orb’s insights made

me hesitant to respond to the call, but ultimately

it became irresistible. Ahhhh . . .” She let out a hair-raising moan and glided toward the foyer as if an invis-

ible force had seized her by the wrists and pulled her

there.

“Good,” said Toby, standing aside. “The exit’s to

your right.”

But Amanda didn’t turn toward the front door.

Before anyone could stop her, she plunged through

the foyer, up the stairs, and into the family suite corridor. Rose and Toby stood rooted to the spot, as if they

couldn’t believe what they’d just seen, but I tore after Amanda, half afraid that the invisible force would take

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Nancy Atherton

her straight to Aunt Dimity’s blue journal. I didn’t

want the inner eye that had “seen” Cyril Pennyfeather

to get anywhere near the journal’s pages.

“Get back here, Amanda!” Toby roared, finding his

voice.

I heard scurrying footsteps behind me and knew

that he was on his way, with Rose Blanding bringing

up the rear. I would have knocked Amanda down with

a flying tackle if she’d attempted to enter the master

suite, but she didn’t. She allowed herself to be dragged along until she reached the boys’ room, where she

stopped so suddenly that I had to hop sideways to

avoid running into her.

“Here,
” she whispered loudly. “The vibrations em-anate from
here.
”

Rose collided with Toby, who collided with me, and

before we could sort ourselves out, Amanda was off

and running again, with her bangles rattling, through

the boys’ bedroom and on into the playroom. By the

time we caught up with her, she was standing stock-

still in front of the freestanding tent. Her stillness was so absolute, her concentration so razor-sharp, that instead of ordering her to leave the room, as I’d in-

tended, I found myself hushing Rose and Toby and

motioning for them to keep back.

“The curse lingers in the very fabric of the build-

ing,” Amanda intoned.

She raised her arms slowly, lowered them inch

by inch until her palms faced the floor of the tent,

then snatched them back, as if they’d been scalded. I

Aunt Dimity Goes West

251

jumped, Rose clucked her tongue irritably, and Toby

scowled.

Amanda inhaled deeply, then closed her eyes and

addressed the ceiling. “Dark things abide here.”

“I’ll have you know that my
sons
sleep here,” I said, bristling.

“I see darkness, I see flames, I see a hate-filled heart seeking to destroy.” Amanda pivoted on her heels,

raised a hand to point at me, and cried, “A full moon

rises tonight. Heed my warning! Escape while there’s

still time!”

My companions’ furious gasps made me hope that

Amanda would heed her own warning, but she didn’t

move.

“Amanda Barrow,” Rose said awfully, sparks of

hellfire dancing in her eyes. “I’ve never in all my life seen such a revolting display of cheap theatrics. Your

circus act may impress fifteen-year-old girls and ine-

briated acolytes, but I can assure you that it does not

impress us.”

“Actually, I thought she did it pretty well,” I mur-

mured, but Toby talked right over me.

“Listen up, Amanda,” he said coldly. “If you ever

mention the curse to either one of Lori’s sons, I’ll

throw your crystal ball
and
your rune stones
and
your entire stock of tarot cards into Lake Matula.” He raised his arms and wheeled around slowly until his palms

were facing the corridor. “Hey, look, Amanda, you’ve

been summoned again! A voice beyond the reach of

human hearing is telling me it’s time for you to leave.”

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Nancy Atherton

“I will go,” said Amanda, drawing herself up with

great dignity. “I have done my best. I can do no more.”

“I’ll walk you to the front door,” said Toby and fol-

lowed Amanda out of the playroom like a prison guard

escorting a fractious inmate.

“Well,
really
. . .” Rose released an indignant

breath, then turned to me. “I feel as though I should

apologize, Lori, though I don’t know why I should.

We’ve always exercised tolerance toward Amanda and

her band of followers, but it looks as though she needs

to be reined in. It’s completely unacceptable for her to march into a private home and carry on in such an

appalling manner. She’ll be disrupting church services

next.”

“No, she won’t,” I said soothingly, hoping to head off

a witch hunt. “She won’t invade the church or the par-

sonage or any other house in Bluebird. Don’t you see,

Rose? The Aerie holds a special attraction for Amanda

because of the so-called curse. She simply can’t resist

performing on such a ready-made stage.”

“What if she drops by while your sons are here?”

asked Rose.

“Maybe I’ll let her conduct an exorcism,” I said

with an easygoing shrug. “It’d be worth it to get her

out of my hair.”

“You’re more generous than I am,” said Rose. “The

nerve
of the woman . . .”

“Let’s not let her spoil the day.” I nodded toward

the corridor. “Why don’t we cool our tempers with a

couple of tall glasses of iced tea?”

Aunt Dimity Goes West

253

“I’d love to, but I can’t,” said Rose, looking at her

watch. “I have to attend a Gold Rush Days committee

meeting in less than an hour. Besides, I don’t want to

overstay my welcome. I’ll just collect my box and be

on my way.”

We met Toby in the foyer, where he was keeping

an eagle eye on Amanda’s car as it disappeared down

the twisting drive. After she’d gone, he fetched the

archival box from the library and stowed it in the

trunk of Rose’s car.Annelise and the twins joined us as we waved good-bye to Rose.

Neither Will nor Rob had discovered any fossils,

but they’d found enough rusty nails, railroad spikes,

and leftover bits of mining machinery to make me

thankful that their tetanus shots were up to date.They

lovingly arranged their finds on the hearth ledge in the great room, then asked if they could go to town with

Toby, who’d volunteered to pick up dinner at the cafe.

Toby didn’t believe that anyone on vacation should

have to cook two big meals in one day, and I agreed

with him, but before giving the twins the go-ahead, I

took Toby aside.

“I need to speak with Annelise,” I said quietly. “Can

you handle both of the boys on your own?”

“Sure,” said Toby. “They’re great kids. I won’t have

any trouble with them at all.”

“I hope not,” I said and gave my sons the thumbs-up.

Toby and the twins headed for the van while An-

nelise and I settled down on the breakfast deck with

glasses of iced tea, to discuss her reasons for keeping

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Nancy Atherton

the boys away from the Brockman Ranch. I was a bit