Page 6 of A Charming Touch of Tarot (The Gin & Tarot Club #2)

6

The Star

Stop who?

Better yet…why?

I was truly lost in thought, reimagining my life, and basking in the joy the changes brought. I clearly remember jotting down the feelings connected to each pillar, but I have absolutely no memory of writing stop him repeatedly.

The words are haphazardly scribbled between my vision board thoughts, and if it weren’t so clearly my own handwriting, I’d question if someone else had written them.

Could I have been possessed? I mean…stranger things have occurred in the past couple months. And if that is the case, something needs to be done about it.

Possession is where I draw the line.

Corinne and Natalia, her mother, have both made it clear that poltergeists are not entities I want around, and it’s becoming clear why.

Unfortunately, our night of vision boards might have to be cut short so that we can begin to investigate this ghost and help her on her way.

When I make it back into the family room, the girls are already well into gluing their visions on their boards. Lanie and Corinne are finishing up the last of theirs, and Nina isn’t far behind them.

“Looks like I’ll be completing mine another night,” I say to the group. “I got a little…bewitched.”

Lanie looks up. “What does that mean?” Her eyes are narrowed in on me. “What have you been doing?”

“Journaling. And let’s just say it went a little sideways.”

She smiles. “That’s a good thing, Alyssa. Take your time with this. It’s not the new year yet. You have time.”

“It’s not all good, but we’ll discuss that in a moment. Right now, I need a stiff drink,” I say, heading toward the gin.

I pour a double and slam it before pouring another.

“Whoa there,” Nina says, coming up beside me. “What’s with the gin guzzling? That position within our friend group is firmly reserved for Lanie.”

I offer a half smile, trying hard not to allow my hands to continue shaking.

“Are you going to start clipping pictures?” Nina asks, and I shake my head. “I think I’m going to sit with my journal for a couple days. I’m not sure what words are mine in that thing.”

Her eyes squint, and she’s about to say something when Lanie addresses the group.

“Corinne is done with her board. How about you, Nina?”

She nods. “Mine is done.”

Lanie claps. “Good. Will you share yours with us?”

Nina scoots closer to me. “What’s wrong, Ally? Your hands are shaking.”

I plan to tell all of them, but I need a minute to collect myself. I’m not even sure what to say. I’m seeing a ghost, and I think she’s able to use me like a marionette?

“I’ll go first,” Corinne says.

We follow Corinne into the room, taking our seats as she walks to the front, facing the couch.

“My main objective this year is to hone my spirituality and build my career around it.” She points to a section that says Third Eye .

“My goal is to understand the gifts I have and how they work,” she says.

As she walks us all through, I’m surprised by how thoughtful her vision is. We’re getting to see a different side of the typically sarcastic, moody woman Corinne presents to the world. She’s radiating excitement as she explains how she’d like to utilize her gifts to help others.

It makes me think about my plans for my business and how I could really use another medium or someone who has gifts of their own. I stuff that away for another day. The time will come when I’m ready to involve others in my dream, but not now.

“Eventually, I want to open an entirely different type of spa. A place that focuses on healing.”

“That’s amazing, Cori,” Lanie says. “Are you getting Reiki certified?”

Corinne’s nose wrinkles. “Hell no. I’m not touching strangers. I’m hiring a Reiki expert.”

“That’s…great,” I offer, not having a clue what that means exactly.

I’m still very new to this whole spiritual world, and that’s yet another thing I tuck away—the need to research and learn more.

“What’s with the stretch limo and seventeen handbags?” I ask, since nobody else does.

Corinne stands up taller, looking haughty when she says, “I want a driver. I absolutely loathe driving, and Darian said he’s done being my chauffeur.” She huffs. “And the bags are a necessity to my happiness.”

“The driver seems far-fetched, and you could manage happiness with half those bags, but I digress,” Lanie says. Corinne looks prepared to fight for her dream, but Lanie speaks up. “Nina’s next.”

When Nina doesn’t move, Lanie repeats, “Nina, you’re up.”

Nina turns her board around, and my eyes widen. The others’ eyes are narrowed in, trying to make out what they’re seeing. Apparently, Nina came here tonight prepared to spill her guts to the collective.

She points to personal development . “After the last year, it’s become painfully clear that I don’t know who I am. That my identity has revolved around Richard and what he expected of me.” She straightens her back. “This year, I want to find myself. To truly know me.” She points toward the board and an image she’s duplicated multiple times. “The mirrors represent that. When I look into the mirror, I want to know the woman looking back at me. I’m a multifaceted person, and I don’t expect to be one-dimensional. I want to have layers.”

For a moment, we all sit here, staring at Nina’s board, speechless.

Of course, Nina is the insightful friend. She’s the one with fancy terms to explain all our quirks, but it’s rare that Nina has the spotlight on her issues. She’s a private woman. She grew up that way, taught to not show the world her hand. Tonight, we’re getting Nina uncut.

“That’s…very deep, Nina. I’m proud of you,” Lanie says, with a hint of awe.

Nina bows her head slightly and continues.

“The woman who looks like she’s teaching represents my interest in expanding my coaching services. I’d like to mentor and coach women who are in similar circumstances as me. I want to help them rebuild all areas of their lives.” She glances at me and smiles. “Help them with their second chance.”

I suck in a breath. I had no idea that Nina was interested in leaving the school behind forever. The way she talks about this dream doesn’t make me think it’s a backup or second choice plan. She’s excited about it.

My eyes scan her board, words jumping off the white background in bold colors. Red, yellow, and vivid shades of blue letters pop, and I’m not sure where to look first. I read the words several times.

Service.

I am more.

Find myself.

I belong.

My stomach twists with each phrase I read. Knowing just how lost Nina has felt is like a knife in my gut. How could I have missed her pain all these years? It was plain as day that she wasn’t happy with Richard, but this goes so much deeper.

She wasn’t happy with herself.

“The last image is a therapist. I want to seek help for the damage that has been done to me over the course of my life. From Richard, yes, but from my mom and her husbands as well.”

Lanie’s eyes snap to me—clearly about to speak—but I shake my head. I know what’s to come. The secrets that Nina is about to share will clear up Lanie’s confusion.

Nina moves to the next pillar.

“This year I want to focus on all areas of me, and one of the most neglected parts has been self-care. You can easily see on the board that my goal is to feel better about myself. To work out, get a new hairstyle, have someone teach me makeup tricks and tips, and lastly, to pamper myself at the spa, something I haven’t enjoyed in quite some time.”

“I’m in,” Lanie says, raising her hand. “Let’s do all the pampering.”

“Me too,” I say, raising my own hand.

Nina smiles. “I figured I could count on you two.”

She peeks over at Corinne, who’s looking down at her black-painted nails. “What the hell…I’m in too.”

This pillar is a much-needed break in seriousness before Nina shocks Lanie with the secrets she’s been keeping.

She moves on to the next. “I’m sure you two are looking at this part more than a little baffled.”

“You could say that,” Lanie drawls, eyes narrowed in on Nina’s board. “Does that say spirituality ?”

Nina nods. “I have a secret to share with you,” she says, baring her teeth. “The night that Billy showed up, well…” She glances toward me, and I nod. “Alyssa wasn’t the only one impacted.”

Corinne’s head snaps to Nina, eyes wide and mouth agape.

“After that night…I began experiencing a phenomenon. One I haven’t enjoyed at all,” Nina says, sighing heavily.

“When you touch someone, you see things about them,” Corinne says, and now all eyes snap to her. Mine included.

“How do you know that?” Nina asks, eyes narrowed in on the brunette.

“I’ve been experiencing that same thing. The night we went to see my mother, I touched you and…”

“That’s why you were odd with me,” Nina says, mostly to herself.

Corinne nods, pulling her hair into a high ponytail and securing it with a black rubber band that she’s had around her wrist.

“I saw you curled up on your bed, weeping like a baby. You were cradling a raggedy teddy bear.” Corinne shrugs. “I didn’t know why you were upset, but I saw it plain as day.”

Nina swallows, bobbing her head.

“I’m so confused,” Lanie says, exasperated.

Nina turns toward her to explain further. “When I touch people, I see private things about their lives. For instance, I touched a woman in the grocery store this week and saw her having an affair with a married man. Yesterday, the postal woman touched me when handing me my mail, and I saw that she’s been battling cancer.” Nina takes a deep breath, collecting herself. “I touch people and see things I shouldn’t, and apparently, Corinne siphoned that ability too.”

“I didn’t siphon anything. It transferred to me,” she bites out. “And for the record, you won’t be touching me,” Corinne says, pursing her lips and crossing her arms over her chest.

I make a face at Corinne, but Lanie just continues to stare at Nina in wonder.

“Wow, Nina. That’s…”

“Sucky?” We all turn toward Nina with varying looks of surprise.

Sucky is not a word that Nina Dunbar uses.

“I was going to say awkward , but sucky works too,” Lanie says.

“Sure is.” Nina chuckles darkly. “And that’s not all,” she confesses. “I realized this was happening because I touched Richard and learned of the secret he had on me.”

Lanie gasps. “Wait…are you saying you truly didn’t know?”

“I had my suspicions, but I didn’t realize he had uncovered something that I wanted to remain unknown. Something my mother went to great lengths to keep hidden.”

Lanie’s head tilts, and her eyes turn to mere slits. “What secret, Nina?”

She takes a deep breath and spills.

“I had a baby.”

She tells the whole story, and nobody says a word through the whole thing. Even Corinne is quiet and melancholy. Lanie is clearly equal parts speechless and shocked. Her mouth has hung open the entire time, and the creases at the corners of her eyes tell that she’s struggling to rein in her emotions.

“Which brings me to my travel pillar. I need to go to Providence. To search for Ian,” Nina says, leaning forward. “To ensure he’s alive. I’m ready to find out what happened to him.”

“What about your son?” Lanie asks, practically choking on the word. “Have you searched for him?”

“I haven’t, but now, I’m ready. I want to know that his parents were there for him in ways I couldn’t have been.”

Lanie nods, and Corinne bobs her head too.

“I don’t want to interrupt his life,” she continues. A tear slides down Nina’s cheek, and she doesn’t bother swiping it away. “I only want to know that he’s okay.”

“I’ll be right beside you,” I promise.

“Ditto. You had to know we were gonna help, right?” Lanie asks, sounding skeptical.

Nina’s quiet for several moments, chewing on her bottom lip, but eventually she looks up and nods.

“I’m ready for all the help you’re offering.” Another tear slips down her cheek, and Lanie and I rush her, throwing our arms around her.

Every time I hear the story, it just gets sadder. It’s clear that Nina never wanted to part with her son, or Ian for that matter. But she’s the first to admit that at that time of her life, she wasn’t responsible enough to care for another human being.

None of us would’ve been.

“You know, we don’t have to wait to ensure Ian’s alive.” We all look to Corinne, who’s picking at her nails, attempting to appear unaffected and failing miserably.

“We could do a séance right now,” she says, and my breath hitches.

It only takes one glance at Nina to know that’s exactly what’s about to go down. She’s wearing the same expression I must’ve worn the night of my birthday when the mention of a psychic came up. Determination. Hope.

This could go terribly wrong.

“Let’s do it,” Nina says, looking to me as if she can sense my unease. “Please.”

Lanie catches my eye, and I know she’s thinking what I’m thinking. Nina isn’t in a great place currently. She’s yet to find a therapist, which means whatever happens, the onus will fall on us to care for Nina.

I can only hope that Ian doesn’t show up, because if he does, it might just break Nina completely, and I’m ill-equipped to handle that.

Within a half hour, Corinne has my kitchen transformed and ready to go for our impromptu séance.

Three tall candles flicker in the middle of the table. Their light dances around the dark room in a mesmerizing show.

Corinne has removed a leaf from the oval table, making it round and easier for the four of us to join hands. I found a dark tablecloth to cover the light wood, recreating the night at Cori’s Nail Spa as close as possible.

The last time we did a séance here, Charlie Dunbar appeared before being thrust back into his body, ultimately surviving his wounds. He possessed Corinne in order to speak with us, and with my latest issue with the poltergeist, I’m not so sure I want to open any of us up to a hostile takeover.

Positive thinking. No ghost shall enter my body.

“Leave it to Alyssa to assure her backside is protected,” Lanie quips, and I crease my nose.

“What the heck is that supposed to mean?” I fire back curtly.

Nina chortles but doesn’t agree or disagree with whatever Lanie is implying.

“It means you’ve conveniently chosen the only seat that backs up to a wall, leaving the rest of us exposed. And might I add that you’re the only one who can actually see spirits.”

“So…” I drawl, not getting her point.

“ So it would’ve been grand of you to give one of us the safe seat,” Lanie explains.

I make a face. “Don’t be an idiot. I’m actually saving you.”

I’ve come a long way, but I haven’t completely left the ranks of chickenshit, and knowing a spirit could manifest itself, I likely did subconsciously position myself in this seat. But I am sure as hell not going to admit that to these girls. I’ll never live it down.

One of Lanie’s eyebrows lifts skyward.

“Think of it this way,” I start, determined to make it sound like I thought this through. “I’ll see them coming…you won’t. I make the most sense to have a clear view of the open spaces.”

Nina grins, Lanie rolls her eyes, and Corinne shakes her head, clearly not buying what I’m selling.

“Are you ready? I don’t have all night,” Corinne barks, getting into position, placing both hands on the table with her palms facing the sky. “Besides, it’s nearing midnight, and that’s when we’re most likely to attract wayward spirits that we don’t want to encounter.”

“Cranky Corinne has come out to play,” Lanie jests, but Corinne doesn’t open her eyes or make a face. She ignores Lanie completely, getting prepared.

“I’m with Corinne,” I say, placing one hand on top of hers and the other on top of Nina’s. “No wayward spirits tonight, ladies.”

They all murmur their agreement and get into place.

We are all connected in a circle, and I know what’s coming. Another show worthy of Broadway, by Madame Corinne. Except it isn’t a show. The combined energy in this room is more than capable of truly summoning spirits.

Corinne takes a deep breath, and then blows it out before launching into her over-the-top monologue, calling to gods, goddesses, Mother Earth, and about ten additional deities, before finally finishing her outreach to the spirit world and going silent.

All I can hear is our intermingled breathing and Nina’s foot incessantly tapping against the wood, a sign of how nervous she is.

“I call upon Ian Whalen. If your spirit can hear me, follow my voice. Join us. I have a friend here who’s been looking for you,” Corinne calls out, eyes remaining closed.

She’s quiet for several moments, and we wait, but nothing happens. She peeks one eye open, looking around before closing it again and falling back into her deep breathing.

“I call upon Ian Whalen. Ian, come to me.” Corinne shouts this last request, and I jump but manage to keep my hand in hers.

Again, a few quiet moments roll by, and no spirits or noises are to be heard.

I’m about to call this a bust and celebrate with Nina that he must be alive when the television in the great room turns on.

“Guys,” I say. “Something is here.”

All heads snap to me, and I tip my head toward the family room.

Nina’s breath hitches, and Corinne groans. “Great. Another poltergeist. Alyssa, why, pray tell, do you always seem to attract the angry ones?”

“We’re working with a feisty spirit?” Nina attempts to appear calm and casual, but her voice shakes, giving away her fear.

“Yes…and let me tell you…it’s not what I wanted to deal with tonight,” Corinne grumbles, obviously missing the anxiety pouring off Nina.

The television stops on the Lifetime channel. A body is being dragged out of the water and placed into a bag.

“That’s morbid,” Lanie says, and I shiver. “Should we be worried, Cori?”

I’m shaking, not from the image on the television, but from the woman who flashes into existence right next to the mantel. The dark-haired girl that I’ve been seeing turns her head, which is the first time I’ve seen her move any part of her body. She’s angled toward the television as if to point out something that’s important to her case.

“What are you trying to tell me?” I ask, leaning toward her.

“Who are you talking to?” Corinne whispers, but I ignore her, focusing on the woman.

The TV channel switches again, stopping on the ID channel. There’s a girl that looks a lot like the spirit, closing out a tab at a bar and saying goodbye to her friends. She walks out to a dark parking lot, where her car is parked in a far corner away from the lights of the bar. A man comes up from behind and grabs her.

I run through all the things that I’ve been shown since her first appearance to me. It seems plausible that the ghost is using the images to detail how she died. I begin to spit out guesses, hoping that she can convey when I’ve said something accurate.

“You were murdered by a strange man.” She blinks out of sight and then returns.

I’m not sure if that’s confirmation or not, since she’s played the disappearing act every time I’ve seen her.

“It happened while leaving a bar?” Again, she flashes away.

“Your body was tossed in the bay?”

She doesn’t return, and I wonder if she’s departed when the volume flicks off mute and the word dead blares through the speaker. Everyone but me shrieks, ducking their heads.

“No shit,” I deadpan. “Kinda guessed that.” I inhale through my teeth and try once more, running through the possibilities. “You were murdered by a man, leaving a bar, and dumped in water.”

A piercing noise that sounds like something a banshee would produce echoes through the house. Our hands fly to our heads, but as quickly as it started, it stops.

The television shuts off, and the woman blinks in and out one final time.

“What the hell was that?” Lanie yells, jumping up from the table, head spinning around the room, searching for something that she’ll never find.

I blow out a breath, lips flapping at the force of air. “Sit down,” I instruct, and she does. “I guess it’s my turn to make a confession.”

Corinne narrows her eyes on me.

“Christmas Eve, I saw a woman across the street, wearing a sparkly red dress. No shoes. I deduced by her appearance that she’s spent some time in a body of water. Her hair was wet and matted to her head.”

“You mean Char was right?” Lanie says, sounding amazed.

“It would appear so,” I say. “I knew pretty quickly that the woman was a poltergeist. There were many similarities between her and Jenna Cruz.”

“What similarities?” Corinne asks, kneading at her head.

“Just the way she presents herself. She never talks. Hardly moves aside from flashing in and out.”

“That’s…creepy,” Lanie says, shoulders shaking.

I nod. “I’ve seen her a couple times since then, but more recently, she’s been seemingly using the television to try to communicate with me.” I glance over at the table where my journal is sitting. “Tonight, I believe she possessed me to send a message in my journal. I wrote stop him hundreds of times with no memory of it.”

“That’s…not good,” Corinne muses, eyes narrowed as she appears to ponder this development.

“Do you know who she is?” Nina asks.

I shake my head. “I haven’t gotten that far. Like I said, she’s not come around much. With Ava around, I couldn’t really investigate.”

“Good call. We don’t need to freak Ava out,” Lanie says.

“I planned to bring it up tonight, but Lanie came here with a very specific plan in mind, and I kind of forgot.”

“You kind of forgot about the poltergeist?” Corinne’s mouth is wide, and she blinks several times, looking at me as though I’m the world’s biggest idiot.

“What the heck is wrong with you? Those are not entities that you want to mess with,” Corinne barks. “Help them and send them on their way.” She throws her hand up into the air. “At the very least, cleanse your space and see if you can just get her to go away on her own.”

“I know that. And I have been taking precautions,” I snap.

Okay, so…maybe I haven’t really taken any precautions, but the woman doesn’t exactly scare me. Aside from looking creepy, she hasn’t done anything that gives me the impression she will hurt me.

Aside from possessing my body.

“So far, the poltergeists I’ve come into contact with have been frightening, but not harmful,” I explain.

“But that is not every poltergeist situation, Alyssa. Have you never seen Amityville Horror ? Or Poltergeist for that matter?”

“Well…no…”

“You should, because you need to know what you’re dealing with. They’re not entities to mess with.”

“You’ve said that,” I say, and she cuts me off.

“They’re angry, and anger fuels rage, and rage is how a human ends up hurt. If not worse. You could end up dead…killed by the dead people.” Corinne’s hard eyes stare into mine as if she’s trying to burn her words into me.

My head falls back with a moan. “Okay. I got it.” I huff. “I will look into it as soon as possible, but right now, I think that something great just happened, and nobody seems to have noticed but me.”

“What good possibly came of that?”

“I’ve got to side with Cranky Corinne,” Lanie says, making a face. “Poltergeist does not equal great.”

I look to Nina. “It’s good, because Ian didn’t show up, which means he could be alive.”

She blinks several times, and then a smile extends from one side of her face to the other. Her brilliant white teeth shine against the dark backdrop of the room.

“Oh my god. You’re right, Ally.” The relief is instantly visible. The color comes back to her face, and the creases at the corner of her eyes have diminished.

“That is great news,” Lanie says, bouncing her head. “That I can agree with.”

“So if that’s the case, where do you go from here?” I ask Nina, not bothering to concern myself with whatever nonsense Corinne is going on about in the background. She’s been harping on the poltergeist, and while I get the urgency to move the spirit along, right now, I just want to celebrate this win with my best friend.

“I head to Providence,” she says. “I start my own investigation. If he’s alive, someone there should know how to locate him.”

“Why Providence?” Lanie asks. “If he’s no longer a TA there, isn’t it likely he’s gone?”

“That’s the place he was last known to be. I’ll start there because I don’t have any other leads,” Nina says.

I take a deep breath. “I’m coming with you,” I say. “Ava’s leaving to head back to school. I have plans with Nick for New Year’s, but any time after that, I’m good to go.”

Nina nods, looking to Lanie.

“Nins, you know that I would, but I can’t cancel all my classes on such short notice. If you think you’re gonna be there for a while, I can try to cancel the following week.”

Nina shakes her head. “No. Don’t do that. There’s no reason for all of us to drop everything to go on a wild-goose chase.” She sighs. “We have no idea where he is, or what he’s up to. I don’t want any of you to put your lives on hold to help me with this.”

“I have nothing else to do,” I say. “I’m coming, and that’s all there is to it.”

She smiles. “I’ll be happy to have you with me.”

“Good luck, you two,” Corinne says. “I’m with Lanie. I can’t ditch my clients.” She taps her chin. “But we can help from back here. If you stumble across anything, and you need me to read cards or perform another séance, all you have to do is call.”

“Thank you; I appreciate that,” Nina says.

“Now…about that poltergeist,” Corinne starts, scowling over at me. “Let’s look and see if there are any missing persons in the area that match your ghost.”

“I’ll grab us all another round,” Lanie says, popping up from the table and heading toward the kitchen.

“How old do you think she is?” Corinne asks, and I purse my lips.

“Early twenties, maybe.” I think about the woman and the details I paid attention to. “Based on the dress she was wearing, it looks like she had been at a party. I don’t know if the scene on the ID channel completely matches her situation, but the girl had been at a bar. So, let’s assume that she’s at minimum twenty-one, and at the oldest, I would say twenty-five.”

Corinne pulls out her laptop and starts it up. “What does she look like?”

I search my memory and recall as many details as possible.

“Long brown hair.” I suck air through my teeth. “Her eyes were black pits, so no clue on eye color.” A shiver runs over me as I remember the most disturbing fact about her.

“When she was up close, it was obvious she had been in water. I don’t know if she was drowned or dumped in afterward, but her skin was wrinkly, and her hair was soaking wet and sticking to her face.”

“You mentioned the wet hair earlier, and that’s actually very helpful,” Corinne says, typing quickly. “That pretty much narrows it down to bodies of water. Based on how you’re describing she was dressed, I can narrow the search down even further.”

She continues to type away, not elaborating.

“What are you thinking?” I ask, when it becomes clear she has no intention of sharing yet.

“I think it’s safe to assume she was at a bar or club close to the city. So I’m looking for missing persons around the harbor area. Feels like it would be a good start.”

I don’t ask any more questions, agreeing with Corinne. I allow her to work, utilizing her sleuthing skills to search the web for missing persons, while Nina, Lanie, and I concern ourselves with pouring more drinks.

It’s going to be a long night for the Gin and Tarot Club.