Neptune's Ring (33 page)

Levi frowned when she remembered that she had
forgotten to check the computer before she left the house. She was
in such a rush, she had totally forgotten. She would be home soon
though, and that would be the first thing she did.

Cat paid for their meal and they drove back
to town.

“Thanks for another great meal,” Levi said as
they walked toward the boat.

“Thank you for allowing me to treat you,” Cat
said.

“You are spoiling me,” Levi teased.

“Everyone deserves a little spoiling now and
then,” Cat said with a wink.

“You are so right about that,” Levi said with
a smile as she dropped down into the boat. “I will see you Friday
morning.”

“Travel safe,” Cat said.

She waved as Levi left the boat slip and
guided the boat back toward the island.

As soon as Levi secured the boat in the boat
house she pulled out her cell phone and called Vanessa. She walked
over to the cart and sat waiting for Vanessa to answer.

“Hello, Levi,” Vanessa said at last.

“Are you busy baby?” Levi asked.

“No, I was in the shower and had to rush to
catch the phone,” Vanessa said.

“Now that’s a nice visual,” Levi purred.

“One you shall see for real very soon,”
Vanessa said with a chuckle. “How was dinner?”

“Cat took me to a great steak house just
outside of town and we want to return when you and Cass arrive,”
Levi said.

“That sounds fine to me. I am sure we won’t
have any difficulty convincing Cass either,” Vanessa said.

“I don’t think there will be any problems,”
Levi said.

“Where are you now?”

“I am still sitting down by the boat house,”
Levi said. “I have just returned and wanted to call before it got
too late.”

“It is so good to hear your voice. I miss you
so much, baby.”

“I miss you too Vanessa. Do you have another
seating of guests to welcome?” she asked.

“Yes, the late group at nine,” Vanessa
said.

“And you just got out of the shower?”

“Yes, I am sitting here in nothing but a
towel,” Vanessa said.

“Oh, you tease. You had better get a move on
or you are going to be late,” she chided.

“Yes ma’am, I will get moving. I will call
you in the morning,” she said.

“I will be waiting,” Levi said. “Goodnight,
my love.”

“Goodnight, Levi, sleep well.”

Levi drove up to the house and went inside,
walking directly to the office. She turned on a light and went
directly to the computer. When she moved the mouse, the screen came
to life and Levi read the message Celeste had left her,
“Seemenitegartin.”

She walked into the bedroom and pulled a
sweat shirt out of a drawer and slipped it over her head. The
nights were growing cooler and she had no idea how long she would
have to wait for Celeste to appear. Levi walked back into the
kitchen and opened a drawer to find a flash light and then left the
house.

The full moon was just beginning to rise as
she made her way down the path to the garden. She found a spot near
a tree and sat, turning off the light so her eyes would adjust to
the darkness. The night was quiet except for a slight breeze
blowing across the island. The night time chorus of insects and
birds had not yet started, so Levi sat in the silence and
waited.

The moon seemed to triple in size as it shone
down upon the clearing and Levi was glad for its light. She stared
up at it, concentrating on the craters and dark spots until she
heard a rustling ahead of her. Levi relaxed her eyes and allowed
her ears to locate the direction of the sound. When she was certain
where the sound was coming from, Levi watched an area at the far
side of the clearing. She smiled when a small rabbit hopped out of
the underbrush to nibble on the sweet clover that was mixed in with
the grasses of the clearing. She sat quietly as two other rabbits
hopped out into the moon light to join in on the feast. When they
moved out of her sight, Levi looked down to check her watch. It was
after ten and she now regretted not making a thermos of coffee.

She leaned back against the trunk of the tree
and relaxed. Her thoughts returned to Van Buren’s diary and it made
her wonder if she was sitting under the same tree where he had
raped and murdered Celeste. The thought gave her a chill and Levi
raised her knees and tucked her arms around them. It was such a
tragic waste of life and a horrific way for someone so young to
die, she thought.

A shiver ran down her spine and Levi knew she
must concentrate on more positive thoughts. The sound of Vanessa’s
voice flooded back to her ears and Levi began to relax. On cue, the
night time insects began their concert and in the distance, Levi
could hear birds calling to one another. Several times she heard
the flutter of fast moving wings and looked up in time to catch the
flight of a bat as it preyed upon insects in the night sky.

Hours passed and Levi’s eyes began to grow
heavy. The night had grown cooler and Levi checked her watch again
to find it was after two. A dense ground fog had rolled in off the
water and was hovering a few feet of the ground, making visibility
more difficult for Levi.

What happened next to Levi she would carry
with her for the rest of her life. Levi felt the hairs on her arms
rise and the temperature seemed to be dropping quickly. Her breath
was visible on the air, something she thought odd for a late summer
evening. She shivered with the chill and stood to move about a bit
to get her blood circulating to bring some warmth to her body.

A flicker of bright light flashed in the
corner of her eye and Levi turned toward the small garden. Her eyes
grew wide with excitement and a touch of fear as the fog seemed to
be gathering. Levi watched as the mist swirled into the form of a
young woman, dressed in a flowing white dress. Levi took a step
toward the image and froze in her tracks when the mist disappeared
and Celeste stood in front of her eyes. She remained translucent,
but her form was solid enough that Levi knew exactly who she was
looking at. Celeste had appeared just as she said and she turned to
see Levi.

Her beauty was stunning and Levi felt the
warmth in her eyes as Celeste smiled at her. Levi took a tentative
step toward Celeste who nodded her head.

“Can you hear me?” Levi asked.

Celeste nodded her head, “yes.”

“Can you speak to me?”

Celeste’s smile turned into a frown as she
shook her head “no.”

“That’s okay, we have made it this far and I
am sure we will finish this tonight,” Levi said.

Celeste’s smile returned as she watched Levi
approach.

“I have read through his diary and I am so
sorry you died like that,” Levi said.

Celeste nodded her head.

“You have been very clever and leaving me
your medallion was brilliant,” Levi said. “Roberto recognized it
immediately when he saw it around my neck. He loves you dearly
still and wears your memory around his neck in the form of your
medallion,” Levi said. Levi watched the tears form in Celeste’s
eyes, making them shine even brighter in the moon light.

“Will your spirit rest once your body has
been located and given a proper service?” Levi asked.

She smiled as Celeste nodded her head,
“yes.”

“Can you show me where?”

Celeste, nodded, “yes,” and made a move to
turn away from Levi.

“Celeste,” Levi said.

Celeste turned to face Levi again.

“Can you wait for me while I go get a
shovel?”

She nodded.

“I will be right back and please don’t
leave,” Levi said.

Celeste smiled at Levi. Levi took off for the
house at a run and switched on the flash light to make her way to a
small shed which held a few tools. She shined the light around the
room until her eyes fell upon a shovel hidden in the back of the
room. Levi’s hand grasped the handle and she pulled the tool from
its hiding space. The handle was cold to her touch and Levi
instinctively knew this was the tool Van Buren had used to dig
Celeste’s grave. She shivered from the thought and pushed it from
her mind. She would make things right for Celeste she vowed as she
closed the door and ran back to the clearing.

Levi turned off the flash light and allowed
the moon light to guide her back to the clearing while her eyes
adjusted to the darkness. When she reached the clearing, Levi
choked back panic when she did not see Celeste. A dark cloud had
moved in front of the moon and when it passed, Levi breathed a sigh
of relief when she saw Celeste standing at the far end of the
clearing.

She walked quickly toward Celeste who
gestured for Levi to follow and they moved out of the clearing. She
followed Celeste down the path she had walked the previous weekend
and Levi remembered the chill she had felt along the path.
Celeste’s form turned away from the path and Levi parted the brush
to follow. A small branch slipped in her hand and whipped Levi
across her cheek causing a small scratch as she moved further away
from the path.

Celeste stopped moving and pointed to a small
rock lying on the ground.

“Is this the spot?”

Celeste looked very sad as she nodded her
head.

Levi took the shovel in her hands and
carefully began digging. She looked up at Celeste from time to time
as she dug to see the expression on her face begin to change from a
look of sadness to a brilliant smile. Levi continued to dig and
stopped when she heard the tip of the shovel make contact with a
solid object. She knelt down and gently removed more soil with her
hands until she felt the hard object. Levi took the flash light
from her pocket and turned it on before shining it into the shallow
grave. Levi had uncovered the bones of Celeste’s right hand and she
breathed a sigh of relief that they had found the grave.

Levi looked up and nearly fainted when her
eyes came to rest on Celeste.

Celeste was no longer a translucent form.
Celeste’s body was as solid as her own and Levi stared at her in
disbelief of the transformation she had made.

Celeste lifted her hand and wiped the trickle
of blood from Levi’s cheek as a trail of tears flowed down her
own.

“I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to
go home,” Celeste said with a weak voice.

“I am happy to be able to help you,” Levi
said. “You deserved the chance to go home.”

“I have waited so long for you to come to set
me free,” Celeste said. “No one else before believed enough to
help.”

“I admit, I thought I was just imagining
things, but when you left the necklace, I knew you were still here
and needed my help.”

“Would you do me the kindness of one last
favor?” Celeste asked.

“I will do anything I can,” Levi said.

“I assume you will call for the authorities
soon,” Celeste said.

“Yes, I don’t think it would be appropriate
for me to disturb your body any further,” Levi said.

“Before you call them, will you contact
Roberto and ask him to come to the island so I can see him one last
time? Only you will be able to see me until my body is removed and
I then I will fade away into a memory. I cannot speak to him, but
would like for you to tell him that I love him and always
will.”

Tears were flowing down Levi’s cheek as
Celeste made her request. “I can do that,” she said as she took her
cell phone from her pocket.

“Cat, this is Levi,” she said when Cat
answered her phone.

“Levi, is everything alright?” Cat asked.

“Yes, Cat. I am sorry to call so early, but I
have found Celeste and I need your help.”

“What can I do?” Cat asked.

“I need you to bring Roberto to the island as
quickly as you can. I will explain it all later, but I need you to
do this quickly,” Levi stressed.

“We will be there as quickly as possible,”
Cat said.

“Thank you, Cat I will meet you at the
dock.”

Levi closed the phone and looked at Celeste
who was smiling broadly. “She will bring him as quick as she
can.”

“Thank you, Levi.”

“You are most welcome.”

“What happened to Van Buren?” Celeste
asked.

“He was murdered by the husband of one of his
mistresses,” Levi said. “It is a shame he will not be made to pay
for your death,” she added.

“Have faith he is paying very dearly where he
is now,” Celeste said.

“That makes me feel good to know,” Levi said.
“He must have been a real bastard.”

“He had his nice moments when I first began
working for him. Roberto begged me to quit, but he paid well and I
wanted us to have a good start when we got married,” Celeste
said.

“I will have to leave soon to go meet Cat and
Roberto,” Levi said. “You won’t disappear on me will you?”

“No, I will remain in your vision until my
body is uncovered,” Celeste said.

“So, how long do you want me to wait to call
the authorities?” Levi asked.

“You can call once Roberto gets here. I know
it will take a little while before they come.”

“Will I be able to communicate with you once
Roberto gets here?”

“Yes, you and I can talk, but he won’t be
able to hear me,” Celeste said.

“Why don’t we leave Cat to wait for the
authorities then and Roberto and I will join you on the front porch
so you can have a private goodbye,” Levi said.

“Thank you for being so kind, Levi. I wish we
could have met when I was alive. I think we would have been great
friends.”

“I think we would have been too,” Levi said.
“I will never forget you,” she promised.

“I hope you and your friends will make
Neptune’s Ring a place of beauty and love,” Celeste said.

“We will,” Levi said.

Levi could hear the hum of a motor on the
water and she knew her time with Celeste was coming to an end.

“Will you walk to the house with me?”