CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“Have you lost your mind?” asked Hex. “That woman tried to kill you and instead cursed you for all time. Don’t you think she’ll just do it again?”
“I know, I know,” said Hezekiah. “But I’m already dead. She can curse me all she likes but it may not work now. She’s angry with me, or at least that’s how all this started. I just want to talk to her.”
“I think he’s got something,” said Parker walking toward them.
“I’ve been digging through all the books in the library, trying to find something that I read a long time ago.
The name Beryl isn’t very common. There was an entry from Matthew’s ancestor that they’d gone to the funeral of a woman named Beryl.
“Apparently the daughter attended and then left with a young man. She was going to be married now that her mother could no longer protest.”
“She married the Hymel man,” said Hezekiah. “He was a fisherman and her mother didn’t approve. He was a wonderful person. Quiet, kind, and deeply in love with Cressida.”
“Well, Grandma? Grandpa? You’re the experts in this field. What do you think?” asked Luke.
“It’s worth a try,” said Matthew. “Hezekiah is right. She cannot curse him in death. He’s suffered enough and we’ll be there to ensure that. But you may not like what she has to say. Whatever she’s done may not be reversible.”
“At least we’d know,” said Rachel. “I can’t for the life of me figure out what she’s done or if she did anything at all.”
“What do you mean?” asked Hex.
“I mean, it could have been completely natural. The hurricane, the algae, all of it. It could be one big natural mistake,” said Rachel.
“Parker? Does it say where she was buried?” asked Cam.
“On her property,” said Parker. “Apparently she wanted to die in the only place that ever gave her peace.”
“Then we have to go back out there,” said Rachel. “I know how you all feel about this but I need to know. I’ve never seen anything like this before and neither have the medical teams. That means we have two mysteries on our hands that could kill more people.”
“Alright,” nodded Luke. “Let’s head out there. But everyone stays together. Don’t wander the property. We’ll see if we can find out what our mystery witch has been brewing.”
“Now, Luke. That ain’t funny,” said Irene. “We don’t brew stuff. I mean, the occasional tea and things.”
“Grandma, it was a joke,” he smirked. “Come on. Let’s go meet Beryl.”
The drive back out was cold and windy. In the distance, it looked as if another storm was coming in and it instantly made everyone feel on edge. If this woman was a witch, powerful or not, she could be playing with forces she didn’t understand.
“She’s angry with me. Or she was,” said Hezekiah. “I’ll call out to her.”
Standing in front of the cabin, they all lifted their collars against the wind, only Irene and Matthew seemingly unaffected.
“Beryl! Beryl, I know you’re here,” said Hezekiah. “I know you’re angry with me and I know that you cursed me. Well, I’m out of that mirror and I’m here. Show yourself.”
Only the sound of the wind cutting through the trees could be heard. In the distance, the animals were sounding off, warning the humans of the impending storm.
“Try again, Hezekiah,” said Cam.
“Beryl? Come out you witch!”
“Shit. Did you have to say that?” asked Eric. Hezekiah shrugged and nodded.
“She likes confrontations. This might be my last.”
“You.”
They all turned to see the old woman walking toward them. She was in the same gown she was buried in, an old brown wool dress. Simple. Efficient. Inexpensive. Her brown and gray hair was twisted in a bun on the top of her head and she wore an amulet around her neck.
“I should have killed you when I had the chance!”
She started to walk toward him but Hezekiah didn’t move. Instead, the old woman stopped. Now blocking her path to the handsome doctor was a man that appeared to be glowing in the light of day. Not only him, but there were two women standing beside him.
“Don’t test me witch,” said Ruby. “I got my own powers and you’re no match for voodoo.”
She said nothing, just staring at the old woman and then looking to the smaller one.
“You’re not voodoo,” she said quietly.
“No. I’m much worse,” said Irene.
“And you?” she said pointing to Matthew. “You’re the most powerful.”
“Not the most but I’ll do in a pinch,” said Matthew. “You won’t hurt Hezekiah again. He was truthful with you and your daughter. Cressida didn’t want to marry him. She married the man she loved.”
“No,” she said shaking her head. “No!”
“She loved the Hymel boy,” said Hezekiah. “If you truly loved your daughter you’d be happy for her and happy that she found someone to love.”
“Why did you call me? Why am I here? Do you plan to punish me for what I did to him?” she asked staring at Ruby and Irene.
“No,” said Rachel stepping forward. “We want to ask you about the storm and what you did to the algae.”
“Algae?” she frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Everyone thought I created that storm but I didn’t. My power wasn’t so great.”
“Something on this property has spread and is killing people,” said Rachel. “I study the soil, the earth, and the only thing I’ve found is the tar and this strange algae that history says was red.”
“I didn’t do that,” she said shaking her head. “I’d claim it if I did it but I didn’t do anything like that. That storm came in and nearly killed everyone and everything around it. I think I died shortly after that.”
“She did,” said Parker holding a book in his hands. The old woman just stared at him, shaking her head.
“This ain’t 1831 is it?” she whispered.
“No, Beryl,” said Hezekiah.
“Beryl, did you have a kitchen or garden house where you kept herbs, potions, things that you worked on?” asked Irene.
“Of course. I had lots of herbs and things I used to make money. It was out back. The storm took that from me.”
“Was there safflower or madder root in the house?” asked Ruby.
“I had both,” nodded the witch.
“Why did you ask that?” asked Luke.
“They’re both natural plant dyes,” said Rachel. “They produce a red color but if they were poisoned, tampered with in some way, the waters could have spread the poison into the soil or into the tar and created this mess that we’re in.”
“No one had access to my greenhouse except myself and my daughter,” said Beryl. She looked at Hezekiah and frowned. “I was angry with you. I got angry a lot back then. I’m sorry for what I did. Doesn’t help you now I suppose.”
“No, it doesn’t,” said Hezekiah. “Beryl, I explained to you that your Cressida was lovely. She was young and needed a younger man. More than anything, she wasn’t in love with me and I wasn’t in love with her.”
“Mothers do strange things for their children,” she muttered.
“Hold on,” said Parker. “Did you and Cressida argue before that storm?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “We argued about her wanting to marry that Hymel boy. I told her I forbid it. If she tried to marry him, I’d make sure he didn’t live through the honeymoon.”
“Beryl,” said Irene shaking her head. “We all want to protect our children but don’t you think you went a step too far?”
“I suppose I did,” she nodded. “But it seems like she got what she wanted. I hope she had a happy life.” Parker stared at everyone and then back at Beryl.
“Or maybe her happy life was a planned one.”