Page 15 of Stronger Than Blood

Chapter thirteen

Rory

Transference. I’d heard Madam talk about it to people in the shop, but I’d never had it happen to me. I could tell it had never happened to Mick either. I’d had the feeling we were supposed to connect when Mrs. Kennedy had thought of him, then again when Elias had introduced me to him.

But what happened when we touched pretty much confirmed it. If Madam Bellamy thought I should be in my past and saw a man… well, I’m guessing Mick was him, and I was also guessing the evil man, now ghost, who’d shot Mick’s grandmother, was the one she’d warned me to watch out for.

I’d need to make a phone call, though, and confirm all that with her.

For now, Mick was looking better, and his breathing had returned to normal.

He was also beginning to smile at the people in the café with us.

Not a fake smile either. The guy’s expression gave him away, and I could tell he cared about the people around him.

We ate in companionable silence. He was likely still processing what’d happened earlier, not to mention being hired by his cousin.

That was a lot to take in. “So, I thought I’d drive around and see the sights before I head back to Memphis.

Do you think you might have some time off once you’re done with your uncle’s place and all? ”

He swallowed the bite of cobbler he’d just taken and sighed. “I’m not sure. I’m sorry, Rory, but my life is… well, I have a lot going on right now, a new job, Granny in the hospital, I’ve barely done anything with her garden, and if I don’t at least get the tiller on it, there’ll be nothing left.”

“Garden? Tiller?” I asked.

He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m taking care of my great-grandmother’s garden as well as cleaning out her brother’s nasty store. Now, I’ve got a new job, and she’s in the hospital. In fact, I’m going to have to go soon to get there—”

I nodded, not wanting to chase him off and assuming he was still freaked out from earlier. “I grew up on a farm. I’m happy to help if you need me.”

Mick stared at me for a long time before sighing. “What’s really in it for you? I mean, you’re helping me clear out the store, and now you’re offering to help me work a garden in this heat?”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly as I considered my words.

“Listen, it’s like I told you earlier, I was sent here.

I didn’t know where ‘here’ was until I arrived, but the woman I work for had a vision of all this, even saw the man who”—I lowered my voice to protect his privacy—“who’s been haunting you.

I think I’m supposed to be here to help you. ”

“Why, though? What would you possibly have to gain? You should know we don’t have any money. We’re barely scraping by.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I have plenty of money, so that’s not my motive.”

I took another bite of the incredible cobbler and thought about how to explain it.

“So, I’ll just be as honest as I can. I thought maybe I had some skill as a psychic, at least hoped I did.

I found out I don’t. At least, not consistently.

I asked the woman I was working for, Madam Bellamy, who runs a spiritual center in Memphis, to help me find some direction, and when I did, she said I needed to find my past if I was to know what my future held.

My past led to here… to Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy. ”

“But that makes no sense. What do I have to do with it?”

I thought, then asked, “How did you feel when you first saw me?”

Mick’s face blushed before he said, “I felt a warm glow, but not unpleasant. Something felt strange but good.”

“When Mr. Kennedy introduced me to you, I felt like someone had embraced me with a hug.”

“Really?” I asked then smiled before I could help myself. I paused a few moments before I continued the difficult conversation about why I was here.

“Remember, we didn’t shake hands, at least not that day. We didn’t touch until… well, when all that happened.”

He sighed and used his hand to push the hair back off his forehead. “I don’t know how to react to that. I… Like I said earlier, nothing like that ever happened to me before.”

“Me neither, if I’m honest, but I’m almost sure they call that transference. It’s when the spirit transfers images from one person to another. I’ll need to talk to Madam Bellamy to be sure, but I’m convinced that’s what happened.”

Mick swallowed hard. “Will it happen again? I mean, if we touch again?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m going to call Madam when she’s finished work and see what she says. She can guide me through all this, especially since she’s the reason I came here. But in the meantime, I recommend we don’t touch without her here to help or at least be available for advice.”

“I-I’m sorry,” Mick said. “But I’ll never be ready to do that again, not now, not ever. It’s taken me years to get past everything that happened.”

My heart went out to him, and I had to resist the urge to reach over and take his hand. “Yeah, I get it, and no, I don’t blame you. But as far as helping out, I’m here. I don’t have any plans. You seem to be part of my journey, so if you need my help, put me to work.”

Mick studied me for a moment, not smiling, but finally sighed and agreed.

“Um, I need to work at the farm tomorrow morning, then I want to get back here and try to get as much of my uncle’s place cleaned out as possible.

The goal is to get all the trash out so I know what I’m actually dealing with in there. ”

I nodded. “Okay, where’s this farm? I’m good at running a tiller, and I’m sure someone has to pull or hoe the weeds between the plants. We could trade off and get the work done sooner.”

Mick laughed. “Okay, you’re a bit of a glutton for punishment.

I’m going to be at the farm around five in the morning.

I don’t have any desire to be doing that in the heat of the day, and the sun rises about then.

So, come over when you can,” he said as he took my phone and typed in the address of the farm.

Again, I had to resist the urge to touch him.

I sure as hell hoped the weird transference thing wasn’t ongoing ’cause the more I got to know Mick, the more I wanted that touch.

Maybe a kiss would be nice. Not that he’d ever let me get that close again.

Shit, why was it my skills had come into play now, and in a way that totally kept me from getting to know a very handsome and overall nice guy?

After Mick left, I went back to the hotel and showered. Then I crashed out on the bed before calling Madam Bellamy. I told her what’d happened, and she actually gasped.

“You’re right. It’s transference. That’s rare, Rory, and it’s not safe either.”

“Yeah, it didn’t feel great.”

“You know the Bible even talks about it, about transferring an evil spirit between souls. Do you feel possessed? Can you feel something different?”

I paused and considered what she was asking. “No, not really. It’s more like for just an instant, I could see what happened, could feel the entity that was harassing him. It’s an evil dude, Madam, real nasty.”

She sighed. “Well, don’t touch him again, at least until I can get out there to meet him. Try to learn as much as you can about this spirit and what happened. I’m going to need to have a clear vision of what I’m working with before I try to take it on.”

“Really? You’re willing to come all the way here to help?”

“Rory, what a strange question. Of course, I’m willing to come and help. This is what I do… my calling. I thought you understood that.”

I chuckled. “Don’t get mad at me. It’s a long way from Memphis, and I didn’t expect you to come all this way just for me.”

“Aah, you’re not feeling worthy again. Well, that’s another conversation we can have when I get there. You know, dear Rory, you’re worth other people caring about you. We’ve had this discussion before.”

“Yes, Ma’am, and I do believe that.”

“Okay, well, I’m going to go have a beignet and some tea before I go put my feet up. You know I’m working my butt off without you here.”

I felt sad for a moment. I missed her too. She was like my auntie or something. I’d grown much closer to her than a boss or mentor relationship normally would’ve been. “I miss you too, Madam Bellamy.”

“Okay, prepare your man for my arrival this weekend. You do all the due diligence you can before I get there,” she reminded me.

My man, indeed, I thought, but one thing I’d learned from working a year with the woman was she only repeated herself when she wanted to ensure I understood the importance of something. So, I steeled myself to get as many answers as possible before she arrived.

The first line of defense was to search the local paper’s archives. Serial killer should be an easy search for a small town on this side of Chattanooga. I couldn’t imagine they’d had many of those through the years.