Page 31 of Sapphire Nights
“I don’t respond to zanies anymore,” he told her. “Stay there or I’ll haul you in with cuffs.” He glared at Aaron and Kurt, who were looking belligerent. “She needs help. Stay out ofthis.”
“Zanies, nice,” she repeated in afulminating tone that might well lead toexplosion.
Walker checked to see that his gun was still inplace.
Mariah popped up like an evil genie, her hair braided with trinkets, making her look more a lunatic than any of the Lucys. “Find out about Cass,” she commanded. “That was her with us justnow.”
Even Sam stopped protesting tostare.
Mariah shrugged. “If you can’ttell, I can’t explain. Just go. She shouldn’t be on the astral plane thislong.”
Walker climbed in, shoved his sunglasses on, and turned the ignition. “Are you sure you want to stay with the LooneyTunes?”
Sam remained silent long enough for him to send the car rolling down the drive and away from theiraudience.
“I understood what she meant,” she finally said in a smallvoice.
“About the astral plane?” He almost ground his teeth. His late wife had always sounded perfectly rational when she’d talked about the voices in her head. He’d never known when Tess was referring to characters in the novels she wrote or the demons that controlledher.
“No, I know nothing of astral planes. But I felt another presence that wasn’t me, unless I really am crazy.I need to dig some plants, do somethingconstructive.”
“You need grounding,” he almost said in relief. People who realized they were thinking crazy weren’t really crazy, werethey?
She smiled weakly. “Right. Grounding. But I remember what Cass looks likenow.”
He almost slammed the brake. Instead, he drove straight through town, aiming for the main highway. “Describeher.”
“Tall and thin, like me. Classic roman nose, no makeup, blue eyes, silver hair pulled back tightly from Katharine Hepburn cheekbones.” She fell silent, as if waiting for hisapproval.
It was only as he recognized the description that he realized what she was really waiting for. “She resembles you. That’s why the Lucys took toyou.”
“You said she’s in her sixties. She couldn’tbe my mother unless she had me in her forties.” Her voicetrembled.
“What do you mean, yourmother? Your mother is Jade Moon. Her name is on all your records.” He’d been hoping against hope that she was sane and it was the town that was nuts, but none of thiscomputed.
“You didn’t look up my parents, did you?” She gazed out at the passing landscape. “You’d understand if you’d seentheirphotos.”
“My phone should start working when we pass the gas station.” He handed it to her. “Call up the images yousaw.”
She poked at icons as if she knew what she was doing. “Jade appears to be Chinese, Wolf, Native American. Neither of them look anything like me. And they must have looked horribly out of place in Provo. I researched the town where I grew up too. It couldn’tbe any more white if it had beenbleached.”
“Maybe they were Mormons,” he argued, even knowing that was graspingstraws.
He pulled into the gas station and took the phone when she passed it to him. The couple staring back at him possessed none of Sam’s classic—blond—beauty. They were handsome in their own way, but he could see what she was saying. Her mother looked more like himthan Sam. He scrolled down, read the article, then handed the phone back to her and returned todriving.
So chances were good that Sam had never been who she was raised tobe.
“What else are you remembering?” She’d been raised by a Chinese mother, as he had. What did that signify? Jia Walker had more superstitions than a house full of cranks, but she was completely, totally sane—almostpainfullyso.
Sam shook her head. Her hair was falling from the combs she’d used to hold it off her nape. Had Cass’s hair once had streaks of gold andash?
“Nothing, really. There are just these vague... shadows. I may be remembering the restaurant where I met her. I’m not certain. But my life before, nothing. Maybe I need the Lucys to chant over me.” She said thatgrimly.
He glanced over to be certain she wasn’t looking as if she’d like to jump out of the car. His late wife had led him to be wary of hysterical females. Sam seemed weary but calm, so he brought the conversation around to a subject that almost made sense. “Thank you for keeping the Lucys off my back and bringing Val down. She was giving us all the willies. Was that a signal fire that had her scramblingoff thatrock?”
“You don’t want to know,” she assured him. “But I’d take matches and lighters away from the lot of them if Icould.”
“I’ll agree with that, but even if I catch them on a no-fire day, all I can do is slap a penalty on them.” Remembering that flash of light, he resolved to investigate the ashes, but first things first. “Val has probably spread the word of the body’sidentity in her death goddess role, but she doesn’t know the details. If I tell you what I know, can you keepquiet?”
