Chapter Fourteen #2
Sarah wasn’t done.
“She’s also not thrilled to be stuck with him. Oh, and that’s because he remarried multiple times. She is PISSED about the woman he remarried, and that she abused you. She’s not upset about the man. Not at all. That was water under the bridge.”
That hung there.
NO ONE said a word.
Oh, but they all stared at Elizabeth to see if she lost her shit. Finally, Ethan went there.
“Move on from that, please,” he said. “My wife’s childhood trauma isn’t for public display, or I’ll be breaking my rule about manhandling women.”
Sarah got it.
It wasn’t like she was having the time of her life. The woman was screaming in her head, and her spirit guide was unable to shove her back out.
Someone was very strong and had been dead for a while.
Elizabeth was curious.
No one knew about Abigale and her abuse, except the people in her family. This made her want to ask questions to test this woman.
“Can I ask you when they were moved originally?” she asked. “The remains.”
The woman listened, and when she looked up, she shared.
“Almost two years ago, she was taken, and then a year later, your father was taken. It was in the cover of night.”
Yeah, that tracked.
They’d suspected Devon Slater had dug her and Charlie up a while ago, and that was something NO ONE would know about. They’d not told anyone, and unless this psychic was in the cemetery, helping Devon, she had connected to her mother.
Well, apparently, this woman was the real deal.
“Hey, Mom,” Elizabeth said, not making the woman answer any more questions. “Welcome to my home.”
The woman laughed.
“She said, that was too easy. She said, where is the conniption fit? Where is the skepticism? Oh, and she wants to know if you hit your head?”
She actually laughed.
Yeah, that sounded like her mother.
“One would think, but again, I’m not anti-psychic. My best friend is one, and I trust her completely. I just had to make sure you weren’t a grifter. No one would know they were removed from their graves. I didn’t know up to a few days ago.”
Sarah knew who she was speaking about.
“Your mother tried to get your best friend to help her talk to you, and she wouldn’t. Catherine thinks that was rude. Your best friend has red hair, and an annoying brother?” she asked.
Ethan snorted.
Well, she nailed that.
Trey was the epitome of annoying. You hadn’t lived until you had to play twenty questions with your phone when he was haunting it.
“Well, she’s more than legit. No one would know that about Tori’s brother.”
That was the truth.
“Okay, Sarah, tell me what my mother wants me to know, and then, we can call it a day. Because while I’m all about giving people a chance, I’m not one to like psychics. My best friend is one thing, because she was my best friend BEFORE she started channeling.”
Sarah got it.
The spirit said that Elizabeth walked a thin line between death and the living, and it made her uncomfortable to talk to the dead. Likely because of her Catholic upbringing.
“She said you needed to know that you’re a good mother, and that it’s okay to take a break. She said that she and your father love you, and you did the right thing. Sometimes, you have to make hard decisions.”
She said nothing.
Why?
She’d also been thinking about her father, and if he’d still be proud of her after what she’d done. While she lost her mother young, Charlie had raised her, and he’d been instrumental in who she became.
Disappointing him…that was a hard pill to swallow for Elizabeth.
Sarah tipped her head, and it was clear she was listening to someone.
“Yes, he is proud of you.”
Jesus.
H.
Christ.
Someone needed to get the hell out of her head. This made her uncomfortable.
Like REALLY uncomfortable.
“Okay,” Elizabeth stated.
Sarah wanted to make this woman understand this wasn’t about hurting her.
“Your mother loves the rosary you wear. She said your husband, Callen, did an amazing job of having it made for you. She said, he chose the gemstone color because it’s your mother’s birthstone. She wants you to thank him for her. She sees your family, and she’s proud of you.”
That was one more thing that no one knew.
“I’ll tell him.”
Sarah touched her hand.
“She wishes she was there, and that she’s incredibly jealous that Christopher’s mother and Duke’s mother get to play grandma. She would give anything to hold your little girl,” she said, staring at Ethan. “She’s her mother’s daughter, and she’s going to change the world.”
Elizabeth knew who she was talking about.
While they all shared kids, she and Ethan only had one biological daughter.
Charlie.
“I hope so. She’s one of my greatest joys.”
Sarah was to the point.
“She said you are the mother she always wished she’d be had she had more time, and she said, yes, she knew. She knew about the affair.”
Elizabeth’s heart skipped.
When she saw the curious look from Gabby, Elizabeth explained.
“My father had a one-night stand with Caryn,” she admitted. “Duke was born from that. They had an argument, my father got drunk, and he slept with Caryn. I was a baby at the time.”
“Oh,” Gabby said.
That she knew…
Elizabeth couldn’t imagine how that had to hurt. It devastated her when Chris cheated on her, and he’d only made out with the woman.
“She forgave him, but your father had many secrets. She wants you to know that secrets destroy, and that a marriage has to be based on faith and trust.”
She glanced back over at Ethan.
“That was for you, in case you’re curious. She said you would know what it means.”
Oh, he did.
He’d alluded to his wife, he lost faith in her.
That was anything but the case.
“I’m aware of what it means. Catherine, it won’t happen again,” he said, talking to the spirit.
Sarah smiled.
“She knows. You made it right, and that is the one thing that matters more than anything else,” she admitted. “Her little cupcake has a big heart. It’s her biggest asset and greatest downfall.”
Yes, yes, it was, and Elizabeth knew it too.
Looking around, Sarah looked confused.
“Why is she back?” she asked, and they weren’t sure who she was talking about.
Then, she gasped.
“Oh, you’ve got a spirit infestation again. She’s back from being at peace. What happened?” she asked.
Graham snorted.
“Shouldn’t you be telling us that?” he asked.
She finished his sentence for him.
“You’re the psychic,” she said as she rolled her eyes. “They never get original, do they?” she asked. “You found her heart.”
That had everyone’s attention.
“We think we did,” Gabby said.
Sarah didn’t mince words.
“It’s the first step in ending the curse. You’re going to need to put her heart where it always belonged. Then, she will break the curse so that everyone can be at peace.”
Well, that was good to know.
Except for one thing.
“Where is it?” Elizabeth asked. “Because we figured out what her heart is, but not where it’s located.”
The woman appeared to be listening to something, and when she focused back on Elizabeth, she was to the point.
“In a grave. In his grave. You need to return it to the original owner.”
Well, that didn’t tell much. They weren’t sure who that would be.
Hell!
They didn’t even know where it was. They were going to dig up remains to find out.
“Duncan?” she asked.
The woman shook her head.
“Cathal. I’ve never heard that name before,” she said. “But it feels…Irish.”
Well, they all knew that Ceit was from Ireland, and her father married her off to Duncan to get money and an alliance. They might have to go back to that moment in Ceit’s past to see if something came up.
Not far away, Gabby was making notes on her phone, and she was hanging on every single word from Sarah’s mouth.
It was clear she bought into this.
Now, though, Elizabeth was curious.
“Since you’re tapped into Ceit, can you ask her where her heart is?” she asked. “We suspect we know, but we aren’t sure. ‘In his grave’ is kind of vague. Can you give us more?”
It would save them time if she could tell them.
Then again, Elizabeth was still going to dig up Oison because there was no way on God’s green earth she was taking the word of a psychic as law.
NOT.
HAPPENING.
Sarah was curious, and before she answered that, the ghost with her wanted more time with her daughter. Only, Elizabeth was giving her the, ‘it’s over’ vibe.
“First, you don’t wish to talk to your mother?” she asked. “Because she is still here if you want to.”
Elizabeth was honest.
“My mother died a long time ago. What I remember of her is far and few memories between. Yes, I miss her, and I love her, because she was my mother, but I don’t have anything to say to her.
She’s been gone a long time. I’ve moved on, and I want her to be at rest. I’m going to put her and my father some place safe, and then, she can be at peace. ”
Sarah could hear both the woman and the spirit, and they wanted the same thing.
Still...
“You’re an odd bird. You feel like you’re surrounded by the dead, and you walk with them, but you don’t want to talk to them.”
Elizabeth didn’t argue that.
She was an odd bird.
Unfortunately, she had to be around the dead. That was what happened when you solved homicides for a living. She waded through bowel and blood on a daily basis.
That was her curse to bear.
“That’s my job. Now, though, I’m focused on something else,” she said, as Ethan ran his thumb over her wrist, comforting her.
He knew that she didn’t want to deal with this, and that it was something that hurt her more than helped her. Elizabeth might look tough on the outside, but her heart…
It was tender.
“I suggest we close up that avenue of conversation,” Ethan stated. “Move on, Sarah.”
It was sternly said.
“You will make the right decision,” she said to him. “You know what you need to do.”
Oh, he did.
It was protect his wife and family for a change, and not make her carry the burden or his demons. If that meant giving up his dream of carrying on for Timothy, so be it.
He’d rather be Elizabeth’s husband than a Shaman to people who hated him.
“I do,” he admitted.
And that was all he said.
“The dead should stay dead,” Elizabeth stated, thinking back about the case that brought her here.