Jared and Juanita were sitting at a table in the complex cafeteria, having their evening meal. Jared had picked at his salad, pushing the various vegetables in groups with his fork. He then proceeded to create an abstract design with them. Juanita took a bite of her salad and cocked her head to the side as she slowly chewed. “You’re missing an olive,” she said and placed one on his plate.
“Thanks,” he snorted and grinned. “Guess I’m not hungry.”
“Did you call your mother and let her know you were planning on staying?”
“Yep!”
“What did she say?”
Jared softly chuckled. “She already knew. She said, under the circumstances it was a wise choice.”
“Your mother knew?”
“Yes.”
“Did you talk to Beth, your daughter?”
“Yes. Beth was a little upset, but when I told her why I was staying, she was OK with it. She misses Donna terribly. I warned her that Donna and I may never be together again, but she still calls her Mommy.”
“You could be with her now, you know. All you would have to do is tell her.”
Jared frowned. “No. I can’t, sweetheart. I made a choice, and now I have to follow it through.”
Juanita pressed her lips together and shook her head. “You put an awful lot of faith in this destiny thing, Jared. I don’t know if I could be that strong.”
“You’d be surprised what you can do for someone you love. Having that special connection to her is what helps, and hurts at the same time.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, for example, take right now. Donna is fighting me – mentally. She’s extremely gifted, and she’s learning fast, but she’ll never be able to completely block me out of her thoughts.”
Juanita smiled. “I envy you and Donna that. It might have helped our relationship if Gary and I could have had that kind of connection.” Juanita’s cell phone rang. She glanced at the display and switched it over to VICi’s private satellite channel, so the signal would be scrambled. “Hello.”
“Dr. Walton, Juanita, it’s Kevin Wilson. I know you don’t trust me, but for the sake of your friendship with Donna, please listen to what I have to say. Are you alone? Can you talk freely?”
Juanita swallowed hard. “Not entirely. What did you want?”
“Is Dr. Thundercloud there with you?”
“Yes….”
“Are you still in the UK?”
“Yes….”
“Can Dr. Thundercloud be trusted?”
Juanita glanced up into Jared’s curious dark eyes. “Yes – more than you can.”
“You and Dr. Thundercloud got Missy out, didn’t you?”
“Yes, no thanks to you.”
“Dr. Walton…. Juanita, I know this is asking a lot of you, but you have to go back to the States. You have to go back to D’Netics. There’s something in my desk drawer – a book – that explains everything, evidence that Trip needs to bring Forrest to justice. That is unless he plans to take matters into his own hands. After he reads what’s in the book, I wouldn’t blame him if he did. I did what I did to protect Linda and to protect Donna. I can’t explain over the phone, and I doubt I’ll get the chance to explain in person. Forrest is not working alone. There’s more to him than meets the eye. An unseen hand, a powerful hand, is manipulating this game. Linda is sleeping, so I’ll have to be brief. Before you can get the book, you need to know the combination. It’s not what it seems to be. Before you can do any of this, you’ll need to shut off the security camera. There are two places to do this. One, is in Forrest’s office, the other is in his penthouse apartment. Forget the one in his apartment. Concentrate on the one in his office.”
Juanita’s mouth gaped. “You want me to break into Forrest’s office? Are you mad?”
“Juanita… I wouldn’t ask you to do this if there weren’t so much at stake. He’s coming after me – us, but at least we’ll go together. That book holds dark secrets, strong evidence against the manipulators of the game, and it mustn’t fall into the wrong hands. If Forrest or his minions were to get their hands on it, they would destroy it, and the game would continue. It has to stop. Too much has been lost and Donna will never be safe, unless the truth is brought to light.”
Juanita swallowed hard. “What do you want me to do?”
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Richard sat with Donna while they finished drinking their cans of cola. “Are you feeling better now, pet?”
“You did it again,” Donna groaned and collapsed her empty can.
“Did what?”
“Called me pet. Why do you keep calling me that?”
“Force of habit,” Richard grinned. “I’ve been doing it a long time – longer than you think.”
Donna frowned and studied his eyes. “What do you mean – longer than I think?”
“There’s something I need to tell you before we go and talk to the psychic.” Donna lifted her brows expectantly and waited. Richard cleared his throat, took her hands and continued. “I’ve lost my chance with you, so promise you’ll listen with an open mind?”
Donna inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. She studied his eyes. “You haven’t lost anything with me, Richard, but why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like this?”
Richard caressed the tops of her hands with the pads of his thumbs. “Donna… I knew you, long before Gary introduced us over Internet. In fact, before I came to Shreveport, the last time I saw you, was at your parent’s funeral.”
Donna’s eyes widened in shock. “Richard… that was almost twenty years ago. How could you possibly…?”
Richard looked down at her hands as he spoke. “It was raining hard that day – in fact, it was storming. Had been that entire week. A lot of the small creeks and streams in the area were out of their banks. Water was rolling across the road at the bend, on White City Road before you get to the level crossing. The road was muddy and slick. You and your grandparents rode with us to Prewitt Chapel. Your grandfather rode in the front seat. I rode in the back with you and Regina, your grandmother. You wouldn’t let go of my hand. You held it the entire time.”
Donna narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “I remember that day, but… that was Gary. Wasn’t it? You weren’t there.”
“Yes, I was. Mum had moved back to England, a couple of weeks before the night of the accident. Dad had a few loose ends to tie up with his business deal, so I stayed with him. I didn’t want to move back because I didn’t figure I would ever see you again, so I wanted to spend as much time with you as possible. You see…” he paused and chuckled; seemingly embarrassed and then continued. “I’ve had a crush on you for as far back as I can remember. We used to play together as kids. Our parents were close friends. We did lots of things together, and I know this is going to sound a little unorthodox, but I loved you back then. Well…” he scoffed, “…as well as a fourteen-year-old understands the meaning of the word,” he chuckled again.
“If this is true, why didn’t you tell me before now, Richard?”
“I was going to tell you, but then you got involved with…” he broke off.
“Why are you telling me now?”
“Because, the psychic may tell you some of these things, and I wanted you to hear it from me first.”
Donna grinned incredulously. “Oh – I get it now. You’ve set this up. What did you do? Give her a script? Make her memorise it word for word?”
Richard frowned. “Pet – I mean – Donna. What I’m telling you is the truth. I’m not making any of this up. Surely, you must remember some of the things that happened the day of the funeral,” he prompted.
Donna slowly drew her hands away. “No, Richard. I remember very little about that day. I remember it was storming, though. The lightning and thunder frightened me. But, Gary could have told you those other things.” She stood. “Let’s just find ‘Madame Lupu’…” she said, with marked sarcasm, “…and then we can find Sam and Joyce and go home.”
“Before we go back, will you just do one favour for me?”
Donna arched an eyebrow. “That depends on what the favour is.”
“Ride the Ferris wheel with me. If things hadn’t happened the way they did, we were going to go to the State Fair together, that October. As far as I was concerned, it would have been our first real date – with Dad, of course – along as a chaperone. Will you do that for me?”
Donna laughed. “I think we’re a little beyond our first date, Richard. Anyway… yes, I’ll ride the Ferris wheel with you. But, I can’t promise I won’t get sick, again. I may even throw up on you. Sure you want to take the risk,” she teased.
Richard laced his fingers with hers and kissed the back of her hand. “I’ll take the risk.” He motioned to a colourful tent next to what Donna recognised as a freak sideshow.
From the outside, Madame Lupu’s tent looked like a standard fortune teller’s exhibit. It was made from panels of shiny burgundy and purple satin. Inside it was dark, lit by what Donna assumed to be candle glow. The first room, a waiting area, consisted of a single row of folding chairs draped with more burgundy and purple satin. On the walls of the tent hung various astrology charts and other strange esoteric art.
The floor was covered with loose hay.
Between the waiting area and the room beyond hung more purple and burgundy panels. Over them, seemingly attached, were strings of rose coloured quartz, catching Donna’s attention. Mesmerised; she studied the various shapes. She recognised the wolf, the owl, the dragon and what she assumed to be a full moon, but the other two were unfamiliar; some kind of bird, with outstretched wings lifted high above its head, and a strange, oblong shaped spearhead. Richard’s voice snapped Donna back. Startled, she blinked.
“Sit here,” he said, helping her to one of the satin-draped chairs. “I’ll see if she’s ….”
“Pass through the veil from this realm and into the unknown, Donna,” a soft mysterious voice said from the other side of the curtain.
Donna looked up at Richard, smirked and shook her head. “Perfectly timed, Richard.”
Richard shrugged, smugly smiled and parted the curtain, allowing Donna to go through first. A firm hand on Richard’s chest forestalled him. “Not you, Friend,” she warned and motioned to the chairs. “This is for her alone...” her voice trailed off.
Richard glared at her and leaned close to her ear. “Don’t be so melodramatic, Daria. This is important. Stick to the script,” he whispered through his teeth.
Daria slowly arched an expectant eyebrow. “You may wait here,” she responded and disappeared behind the curtain. Richard stood and eased closer, so he could eavesdrop on their conversation.
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Eyes closed, Donna slowly inhaled. A sense of calm washed over her as the air seeped from her lungs between her slightly parted lips. She opened her eyes, gradually lifted them and studied the strange gold symbols above the woman’s head. “Guardian of the wolf?” she prompted. “Land of dreams - that’s Latin, isn’t it?”
Daria motioned to the chair in front of a round table. She locked eyes with her. “No, Donna. It is not, but your translation is correct. I am Daria, better known as Madame Lupu.”
Donna frowned. “What language is it, then?”
“I do not know. I know only what it means.”
Donna was sceptical; a slight grin turned up the corners of her mouth. “So… do you read palms, gaze into the crystal ball, use tarot cards, or a combination of the three?”
“For my normal customers, I have all the paraphernalia, but this is a special reading.” Daria moved the other chair and placed it in front of Donna. “Do not be afraid.”
Donna reached into her pocket. “Before we begin, let me turn off my cell phone, so we won’t get interrupted,” she said, her scepticism growing. “Has Richard briefed you on what to say to me?”
Daria held her arms up and bore her palms to Donna, spreading her fingers wide. “I need to touch you….”
Donna sighed. “So you’re going to read my palms, then?”
Again, Daria studied Donna’s wistful eyes. “Will you allow this?”
Donna’s eyes widened. She slowly nodded and cautiously offered her hands; her calm feeling starting to fade.
“Press the heels of your hands to mine.”
Donna frowned, again. There was something extremely familiar about this. Then she remembered why she’d felt so peaceful before; her eyes lit. The aroma coming from the scented candles were the same as the ones Jared had lit and placed in the crystal holders around their bathtub. Her eyes glossed.
Daria drew in a quick breath as their palms touched. She laced their fingers; Donna felt as if she’d been zapped with static electricity. She jerked slightly. “Do not speak. Close your eyes and open your mind to me, Donna. Breathe deeply and clear your thoughts. You must trust me. Do you trust me Seer?”
The voices on the other side of the curtain were growing quieter. Richard narrowed his eyes, concentrating, intently listening for Donna’s reply. “Yes…” she said. Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Donna’s trusting voice was the last thing Richard heard from the other side of the divider. For a few seconds more, he waited the silence, then gradually inched the curtains apart, being careful not to rattle the rose coloured crystals attached to the curtains. What he saw was baffling. The room looked to be filled with a thick white fog. Nearer the centre of the room, the fog glowed with pale blue light. Through it, Richard could vaguely make out the two shapes. He rolled his eyes, sighed and sat in one of the chairs. Shoving a hand through his hair, he leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling of the tent, dimly lit by the candle’s glow. “Daria has some new toys. She’s going to scare Donna off with her theatrics. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, after all,” he groaned.