Dead Sure?: A Paranormal Mystery (30 page)

Chapter 25
Tuesday August 4
th
, 2007

Tuesday August 4
th
, 2007

Jack grumbled to himself as he finished getting ready for work.
Jack come save me, I’m stuck at some cemetery, hurry!
The voice in his head was a rather sarcastic mocking tone.
Sure, and then I drive around for hours only to get a message from her later that Sam picked her up and not to worry. Well, maybe Sam can just keep her. Rene is turning into a real headache. A lot of the fun- loving personality I thought I saw in her from the beginning seems to be gone.

Come to think of it, none of my luck with women has been that great lately. After all of last night’s craziness, I never did get Shelby’s last name or phone number. She was kind of fun, perhaps a little spooky. She did lock the place up when she left, but it sure looked like she might have been snooping through some of my stuff. Nothing was missing though; maybe I’m just being paranoid.

If I run into her again, and hopefully not literally, I’ll be sure to get her number. Then again, I might still have that cute waitress’s number on the napkin from yesterday’s lunch.

A scowl crossed his face; thoughts of Rene had pushed their way back to the forefront of his mind.
I feel like I’m destined to help her and that stupid journal has to be the key. It sure triggered quite a reaction in her last time. Enough about this crap already, the real world is calling and I’d better get my ass to work.

*    *    *

Rene walked into Shelby’s office feeling much less trepidation than she did the first time. The big airy office didn’t feel so cold and daunting anymore. This time it had some familiarity. This time Rene felt calm, like she knew what she was in for.

Shelby was already sitting in one of the paisley wing chairs. She motioned for Rene to come join her. If Jack had seen Shelby today, he would not have recognized her. She was dressed in a light-grey business suit with her long jet-black hair pulled tightly back in a tidy braid. Any trace of her wild side was currently hidden deep down underneath her professional persona. “Rene, I’m concerned, what was so important that you had to see me today? We were scheduled for Thursday, but you sounded so distraught in your message.” Shelby did her best to feign a look of concern, her real emotion a feeling of good fortune at this turn of events.

“I had a very strange episode last night. It was terrifying and so confusing,” Rene was trying to tell the story in a detached way as if she was just a mere bystander. It worked for a sentence or two before emotion overcame her, and she began to sob. “I just want my old life back,” she managed to gasp out between sobs. 

Oh great, I hate this mushy crap. I should probably give her a hug.
“There, there, Rene, it will be all right,” Shelby said, softly moving over to Rene and hugging her gently.

It felt foreign to her, but Rene squeezed back and continued crying into Shelby’s shoulder.

Shelby patted Rene’s back gently, trying to sooth her sobbing patient, cringing at the thought of what Rene’s tears were doing to her thousand-dollar suit. “What could be so horrible?”

Gasping for air, Rene tried to momentarily regain her composure. “I, I, I came out of my blackout in a cemetery, and, and I tried calling Jack,” she began to cry again, only softly this time. She was slowly wearing herself down.

“You just go ahead and cry it out. You’ll feel better shortly.” Shelby continued to pat Rene’s back, rubbing in small circular motions.

Ten minutes later Rene lifted her head from Shelby’s shoulder. She pulled a tissue from her purse and proceeded to dry her eyes. “I must look like quite the mess. I’m sure I have a great set of raccoon eyes going.” Then Rene looked at Shelby’s suit-coat. It was soaked with tears, and had black streaks of mascara running down it. “I’m so sorry,” she said pointing to the mess. Being overcome with emotion and tiredness, Rene began to laugh uncontrollably. Gasping out between breaths, “Sorry, but it looks like I’m not the only one that’s a mess.”

Shelby looked disdainfully down at her jacket. She tried to smile, although she doubted even a good dry cleaning was going to fix the situation. “Yes, I guess I’m a mess as well.”
Whatever Rene has to say better be damn good. Stay positive, it will be worth far more than this suit.

Rene continued to laugh for several minutes, a different kind of tears filling her eyes now. Finally she regained her composure. “I think a good cry followed by a laugh is just what the doctor ordered. I feel much better, thank you for being so understanding.”

“My pleasure, Rene, I think that’s exactly what you needed. Now tell me about your recent experiences.”

“I remember a little bit more than usual this time, well sort of anyway. Usually, I don’t remember how the episodes come on, but this time it’s clear. I was getting ready to go over to Jack’s house when the phone rang. I went to answer, and as I walked over to it, I felt a strong feeling of dread. Something smelled a little strange, sort of smoky.”

Oh, this is sounding real good so far. Hang in there, suit coat, you may not have died in vain.

“When I picked up the phone there was the faint sound of jazz music. Before I could make much out of it, I heard a voice behind me. It said something like “Its time.” Quickly, I turned around and was engulfed by smoke right before my vision went black. Does this make sense? Have any of your other patients ever described anything like this to you before?” she said, grasping for some shard of commonality.

“Let’s just focus on you for the time being. Obviously you blacked out at that point, so what’s the next thing you do remember?” Shelby tried to keep her tone slow and steady, even though she felt excited and wanted to know everything now.

“This is where it gets creepier. I came out of the episode and it was dusk. Gradually my vision came back into focus, and I could hear somebody speaking to me. No, more like speaking at me. He was a scary looking old man with long white hair flying in every direction. He had a faded black patch over one eye, with this hideous scar that seemed to enter the patch from his forehead.”

“Do you remember what he was saying to you? It could be very important,” she said looking on now with great intensity on her angular face.

“Yes, it didn’t seem to make sense, especially because I was so confused from finding myself in a cemetery sitting next to a strange man. The old man was saying something about destroying a medallion or recovering it or something like that.”

“Then what happened, did he say more?”

“He grabbed me by the shoulder; he had a crazy look in his eye. He uttered something like, it’s me Lefty, it’s me. I was terrified, and pulled loose with a jerk from his grasp. I began to run nowhere in particular, just away from him. I ran for several minutes in a complete state of confusion. I wasn’t sure if I was going deeper into the cemetery or out of it. Tripping, I fell next to a grave stone.” Rene began to cry softly again.

“What is so significant about the grave stone?” said Shelby, her eyes fixated on Rene.

“It had my father’s name on it. Only the last name was wrong and the dates couldn’t have been right. According to the stone, he died a long time before I was ever born. The marker read Tim Landers Bartington from nineteen-hundred to nineteen-twenty nine.” She paused to take a deep breath. “I would have been convinced it was someone else’s if it hadn’t been for the inscription, which read:

To my loving daughter Rene Melissa, I will never stop missing yo
u.
The Key to success is to start at the botto
m.
”

“That does seem very coincidental. However, it could just be that someone else had similar names.”

“I really doubt it,” Rene replied, getting a little defensive. “My dad disappeared when I was just a little girl. What are the odds that happened to someone else with the same name? It just doesn’t make sense, if he lived close by, why I never saw him again.”

“Just because he is buried locally doesn’t mean he lived nearby,” Shelby offered up, trying to be comforting. “Wait a minute, now you have me agreeing that it’s your lost dad’s headstone.”

“I’m sure it is, and I’ll tell you something else. I’m almost positive that the journal Jack has belonged to a Tim Bartington from the nineteen-twenties,” Rene finished the sentence resolutely.

“Well now, that is an interesting twist if it’s true. I take it you have not yet recovered the journal from Jack, based on your statement.”

“No, he won’t even speak to me. I was just about to go see him when this whole episode started. I called him from the cemetery to ask for his help. I could hear another woman in the background. So, before I gave him all the details, I just hung up. I hope that bastard drove around all night looking for me and feeling miserable.” A pained look crossed Rene’s face, suggesting she didn’t really like the way things were going.

*    *    *

Across town, Steve was taking his morning run. He had diverted himself into the park and soon spied Ron waiting for him. Ron was sitting on the instructed bench right on time at ten-fifteen am.  Steve liked this spot in the park; it was rather remote and peaceful. Not a lot of prying eyes or ears. “Good morning, Ron,” Steve said a little too jovially for Ron’s liking.

“Good morning, Steve,” he replied, thinking it came out just a little too informal.

“What’s the scoop you have for me? I have a feeling it will be good.”

“It’s good all right, well at least most of it is. I’ll just dive right into it. I know you are a busy person. I was watching Jack’s house last night and I had a radio scanner with me. I managed to pick up on Jack’s phone signal, and was able to listen to an incoming call. A very interesting phone call, I might add,” and here Ron paused to let Steve’s interest build.

Steve quickly picked up on the pause added for his benefit, “Ron, I’m in a good mood, so quit teasing me and get on with it.”

“The caller was Rene. She mumbled something about an episode and having come out of the thing in a cemetery. She wanted Jack to go find her. Although, before she could tell him where she was, she heard a woman in the background at Jack’s. At that point Rene got really angry, hanging up on him.”

“Would that woman happen to be anyone I’m acquainted with?”

“Acquainted with, that’s a funny way to say it. Sometimes you talk so old-fashioned like. Yes, that’s the bad news, it was Shelby. She seemed to be really enjoying her chance to get to know Jack.”

“What do you mean by that?” quipped Steve, his brow wrinkling with displeasure.

“Only that through the sheer curtains, I could see her sitting on his lap with her shirt off and the two of them making out like rabbits.”

“Is that all they were doing, or did they go further?”

It was obvious to Ron that Steve was trying hard to control his increasing anger. The good thing was, he didn’t have to lie. “Yes, they didn’t get past that before she went to make drinks and the phone rang.” Ron paused for a second, thinking about how best to distract Steve from his thoughts. “Oh, and Rene mentioned something about an old man in the cemetery babbling about a medallion of some sort.”

A shocked expression appeared on Steve’s face. “A medallion, are you sure, are you really sure that’s what she said? I need to know now!”

“Yes, I’m positive about it.”
Man, he almost looks crazier now than he did before I mentioned the medallion.

Steve bent down and grabbed Ron’s shirt with both hands, pulling him swiftly up off the park bench. Their eyes were only inches apart. “You’d better not be fucking with me on this. Now think very carefully, what happened next, and don’t leave out a single detail.”

Ron swallowed hard, trying to keep his composure. Sweat was beginning to form on his balding pate. “Jack came running out of the house and jumped in his damaged car. The fender was rubbing on the wheel as he peeled out of there. Then I tried to decide if I should follow him or Shelby. I chose him. He led me all over town, one cemetery after another. He’s really devoted to that Rene girl.”

“Yes, that’s great, but did you see anything else of interest?”

“No, after a couple of hours of driving around, he just gave up. He really looked pissed.”

“So there’s nothing else to report. Just great,” Charles uttered sarcastically.

“I want you to follow Rene, and I’ll make it really simple for you. No matter who else comes along, stick with her and only her!” He let go off Ron’s shirt, simultaneously pushing him back down on the bench. “Don’t utter a word about any of this to anyone, and if Rene should come across a medallion of any type, take it even if you have to kill her.”

*    *    *

“Rene, I feel strongly that you need to recover that journal. Perhaps your friend Sam could help you get it back.”

“I guess I could ask Sam. I don’t really feel comfortable doing that, but then again Jack’s seeing other women, apparently.”

“That’s the ticket. What’s really important here is doing whatever it takes to get you healthy again. I’m going to give you a prescription for some pills I think will help you suppress your episodes.” Shelby got up and walked around to the back side of her cold-modern- looking desk. Opening one of the drawers, she pulled out a small bottle of pills and a prescription pad. She began to scrawl something out in almost illegible handwriting. “I think it is vital that you take these for your safety and the safety of others. Your episodes are getting dangerous and out of control. I’m giving you some samples to take while you get the prescription filled. Take them twice daily and don’t drive after you take the first one.”