Page 52 of Deadly Deception
“Necromancer Boone, I assume.” Tabitha didn’t hold her hand out by way of greeting, but she didn’t offer it to Franklin either.
I wasn’t sure if I should call this woman by her title or not. I decided to hedge and said, “Yes. And you’re the medium, Tabitha Clark?”
“Guilty as charged,” she chuckled warmly. “I hear my services are needed.”
I glanced up at Franklin, but his expression was carefully blank. “I hope you can help,” I said. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”
“Nonsense.” Tabitha waved me off. “I am always happy to offer aid where I can. Spiritual contamination can be verydisruptive. I was fortunate. I come from a family where thesighthas been passed down for generations. No one thought a thing about me talking to the invisible guest squatting in our home. I have one granddaughter and a nephew who show a lot of promise as well. I’ll admit, I’ve never worked with a necromancer before. Is there anything I should know going into the situation?”
We headed for our rental and Tabitha followed. I asked, “Would you like to follow or ride with us?”
“I’ll ride with you if that’s all right. That will give us more time to discuss the situation.” Tabitha immediately went for the back door, climbing into the seat with the agility of someone half her age. I’d bet she had some decent pain charms of her own.
Franklin drove again. Considering we were adjacent to his old stomping grounds, I’d never thought to ask if I could drive. Honestly, I didn’t want to, especially if we were headed back towards Chicago.
Twisting in my seat, I finally answered Tabitha’s earlier question. “I’m not sure what I should say.”
“Why don’t we start with why you believe your friend needs my services.”
Was Navarre a friend? Probably not. Maybe one day, but for now I let the moniker stand. “It’s hard to explain. It’s a feeling mostly. I can kind of hear them too, although I can’t make out any words. Navarre can. I think he can hear and see them. It’s difficult for him to tell who’s alive and who’s dead.”
“And that’s different from what you can do?” Tabitha asked. As the saying went, it wasn’t what you said, but how you said it, and when Tabitha questioned my abilities, it was with a note of curiosity, not condescension.
I shook my head. “No. I need a physical body, or some part of the body, to connect with the soul. I bring them back, and if they still have a physical body, they speak through that. If not,then I lend them enough of my energy that they can form words. I can’t make them very corporeal, or if I do, I can’t for long. But again, I’ve got to have something of the body. Even if it’s just the cremains.”
Tabitha’s eyes scrunched, deepening her wrinkles. “That sounds very impressive, Necromancer Boone.”
“Erasmus,” I said. “Please call me Erasmus.” I hooked a thumb in Franklin’s direction. “You’ll soon notice that Franklin mostly calls me Boone, but he addresses nearly everyone by their last name. Not sure why.”
Franklin’s eyes were trained on the road, and he didn’t seem inclined to enlighten us the situation. Maybe he didn’t know why he did it either.
Again, Tabitha’s smile was kind. “Thank you, and please call me Tabitha. Of course, Franklin is free to call me Clark if he so choses.”
Franklin checked his rearview mirror, and I had a feeling he was making eye contact with Tabitha.
Inhaling, I forged ahead, laying out my theory. “I think the spirits are attracted to Navarre because he’s a necromancer, but he doesn’t have the ability to do anything about it. He can’t actually help them.” I shrugged within my coat. “Right now, I think he’s just collecting souls that weren’t able to move on.” They were more than the spiritual remnants I often heard while walking through a graveyard. These were whole souls. “If I had a body, I could help him. I could push the soul back inside and then release them into the afterlife. But without a body, I’m useless.”
Tabitha leaned forward and placed her worn fingers over mine. Tabitha’s skin was remarkably soft and warm. “Not useless. After all, you brought me here, didn’t you? I doubt anyone else could have accomplished that minor miracle.”
She patted my hand before leaning back into her seat, her purse resting comfortably on her lap. “We’ll see what can be done when we get there. Hopefully the souls haunting your friend are like you say and desire aid in moving on. If that’s the case, then this will be easy-peasy. Not so much if they’re more reluctant. Either way, we’ll figure it out.”
I swallowed hard and expressed a fear that had been relentlessly taunting me. “And what then?”
Tabitha blinked, her head cocked to the side in confusion. When her lips parted, I knew she grasped my meaning. “Others will come.”
I nodded. “I think that’s fair to assume.”
“Hmm…that is a pickle.” Inhaling, Tabitha squared her shoulders. “One step at a time. That’s all we can do. Let’s see if we can clear Navarre’s aura of unwanted squatters and go from there.”
One step at a time. Despite all our planning and scheming, that’s probably all any of us could manage. It was a humbling truth.
Chapter
Eighteen
Franklin
I’d been to Tompkins’s home a handful of times over the years he’d been my police captain. There had been a smattering of cookouts, a misguided Christmas party I’d rather not remember, and the occasional time I’d dropped him off or picked him up. The house looked exactly as I remembered. It was well-tended. The cold winters had done their damage, but Tompkins religiously battled back Mother Nature’s efforts year after year.
