Page 23 of Stronger Than Blood

Chapter twenty-one

Rory

Iliked Mrs. Ida Jamison the moment I met her.

She scanned me with a critical eye as I walked in, and I knew she was assessing my worth.

Under most circumstances, I’d have been offended, but I knew Mrs. Kennedy had been in contact because I’d heard her tell Mick on more than one occasion.

I also believed Mrs. Kennedy was playing matchmaker between me and Mick.

Not that I needed any encouragement. If Mick would have let me, I’d have already made a move in that direction. At some point, I think I must’ve passed muster, as my grandparents used to say, at least enough that she could focus on Madam Bellamy.

“Thank you for letting us come by,” Madam said.

“Oh, I appreciate your willingness to meet me. I got my hair washed and combed out by this worthless staff because I told them I had company coming. Otherwise, I’d probably not have had any help at all.”

Madam smiled. “You do look quite lovely,” she said.

It was true. The older woman looked elegant in her nightgown and perfectly coifed hair. “So, what’s all this about?” she said, getting right to the point.

Mick sat down next to her and took her hand. “He’s been coming after me, even in my apartment.”

Mrs. Ida closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them, she looked at Mick. “I’m so sorry. I just don’t know what else to do.”

“Can you tell us what you’ve done?” Madam asked.

She nodded. “You all can sit down on the bed and in that chair over there. Ain’t no need in you standing, and I don’t especially want this discussion to get out to others. I don’t think these old folks are above burning me at the stake.”

Mick gave his great-grandmother a pointed look, but she refused to make eye contact with him.

As soon as we were seated, she began. “After the shooting, the police took the dead man, Preston Garrison, out of the house, and eventually, I was left alone dealing with the loss of my daughter. My granddaughter and little Mick were gone as well. I had to clean the blood off the walls and furniture myself. Of course, I had to throw most of it away. Once you see your child’s blood splattered all over…

well, you don’t want to have that stuff in your home any longer. ”

She closed her eyes and took a moment. I could tell it was hurting her to relive the events.

“Once I’d disposed of all the bloodied furniture, rugs, and even my curtains, I had Joann take me into Nashville, where I bought all new stuff.

At first, it was as if my sweet Abigail was there with me.

” Granny Ida looked at Madam and said, “Abigail was my daughter’s name.

She was there with me, comforting me as I cleaned out the destruction.

Then one day, something changed, and the spirit of the place got darker.

I knew it was him, and he was chasing my sweet Abigail out of the house, away from me.

At first, the man scared me, but then I got mad.

So angry that I took a sledgehammer to the furniture that was still sitting out behind the house, waiting for a dumpster company to pick it up and haul it off.

I beat that stuff to a pulp, and when I was done, he didn’t seem as strong.

Still there, and Abigail wasn’t, but he didn’t bother me much any longer. ”

She turned to Mick, whose mouth was agape, and apologized.

“I’m sorry, Mick, I told your school counselor that you weren’t crazy, that I’d felt that old son of a bitch myself, but she told me I shouldn’t share that with you.

She said I’d just be encouraging your illusions, and that could get you admitted to the state hospital.

It could also get you taken away from me.

I was an old woman raising a teenager. I think she wanted to have you taken away as it was, but Joann kept her under control. ”

He shook his head. “All this time, I thought it was just me.”

She reached over and took his hand. “No, but once the lie had started, I didn’t know how to pull it back. Damn that old counselor. It ain’t uncommon for Southern folks to see ghosts, especially ones that’ve done horrible stuff like that one did.”

“But,” she said, “I would gladly lie if it meant keeping you safe.’

“Is that all you did?” Madam asked.

Mrs. Ida shook her head. “No, there was a man who lived down by the river. Had to be about ninety himself by the time I approached him. He used to give spiritual readings to all the ladies. He was wrong as much as he was right, but he was so mysterious with his coal-black eyes and piercing stare. Anyway, he gave me what he called a mojo bag and told me how to use it.”

“Can you remember what you did?” Madam asked, her eyes bright as she took in all the information.

Mrs. Ida nodded. “While Mick was at school, I took a piece of his hair from his comb and dropped it into the bag to make the bag just for him. To protect him from the jackass. Then I went around the room where the murder happened and chanted. I don’t remember the exact words, but it was basically lock him down or lock him up…

binding him. Then I smeared my own blood on the bag and cursed the spirit.

I was so angry at him. I hated him with all my heart for taking away Abigail, not once but twice.

Physically and then spiritually. Then he was harassing Mick.

The poor kid had been through so much with his mom, the murder, now…

now a ghost? So, I cursed him. Virgil, the man by the river, didn’t tell me to do that, but it felt right.

Virgil had told me to find a hiding place in the living room where I wanted to keep him confined and to hide the bag there. ”

Madam nodded. “Is the bag still there?”

“Last time I looked. Virgil’s gone some ten years or so now, but I think his spirit helps bind the ghost to the house.”

“His energy does, for certain.” Madam looked at Mick and asked, “When will your granny be getting out of here?”

He shook his head. “She’s supposed to be here for recovery, but they’ve not given me a timeline.”

“’Cause they plan to keep me in here forever, at least until I die,” she said belligerently.

Madam stood and looked out the window before turning back to us.

“I think there are several things at play here. One is that you stopped talking about your daughter. Abigail was stronger than Preston Garrison’s spirit, or he would’ve been there from the beginning.

So, you should fill your home with her name and stories about her. ”

Mrs. Ida looked down. “It was hard to talk about her after—”

“And that gives the entity power.”

The old woman sighed, and I saw the sadness overcoming her.

“The second issue is the curse. Fire brings about more fire. You thrust your hatred at a hateful being. So, we have to undo that, and the only way I know is to destroy the mojo bag. We can create a new one that isn’t associated with your anger and curses, but the one that currently occupies your home is just enabling it further.

Finally, I think the entity fears you. Not only did you stop him from his evil plans of murdering everyone, but you encased him in the main living room of your house. He is getting braver with you gone.”

Mrs. Ida nodded. “I’m not sure what I can do from here,” she said and looked around the room.

“Then stop being here.” She turned to Mick. “I spent a decade working as a nurse in the intensive care unit, then onto hospice before I left nursing and became a full-time psychic. If your great-grandmother would allow it, I’d be willing to stay with her until she transitions.”

Mrs. Ida stared, her mouth open. “You’d do that? Why?”

“Because I think without your involvement, your grandson will never be free of the entity.”

“I’m not sure we can afford you,” Mrs. Ida said, but Madam Bellamy walked over and took her hand.

“I’ve just been given a windfall. I won’t need your money, but I won’t pretend this will be easy, and you won’t be able to go up and down stairs, so part of the first floor of your home will have to be used as a bedroom. Can you handle sleeping in the room where the murder occurred?”

Mrs. Ida nodded. “Yeah, I used to sleep in there often before Mick moved in, hoping to feel my Abigail again.”

“Mick, are you okay with this?”

“Um, don’t you need your physical therapy and stuff?”

His great-grandmother shook her head. “Son, I’m a ninety-year-old woman who just had a stroke. How long do you think I have left?”

“I… well… I’m not ready…”

Madam Bellamy walked over and put her arm around him.

“No one is ready to face this sort of transition, but we’ll all be here with her and with you.

And there’s no need for all this to happen inside a nursing home, especially when I’m trained and know how to help her be at home for as long as she can. ”

Mick nodded. “But we best talk to Joann and Brenda. If they put their foot down—”

“Pssh,” Mrs. Ida said. “I’ll tan both their hides if they interfere. I might be old as Methuselah, but I’m fully capable of making my own decisions, and if this lovely nurse,” she said, emphasizing the word, “is willing to sit with me, then that’s my business and not theirs.”

When we were done, I could tell Mrs. Ida was getting tired, so we quickly took our leave. Madam made sure that everyone understood she wasn’t a licensed nurse any longer and told Mick to make sure they set up home health care too. Palliative care was what he needed to request.

We followed him to his apartment because Madam said she could cleanse the space to give him some protection, at least temporarily.

His apartment really was the smallest I’d ever seen. But it was clean as a pin—another of my grandparent’s old sayings—and cute. I’m sure I never would’ve been able to make that tiny space so livable.

Madam asked us to stand outside as she did whatever she did to protect the space.

When we came back in, there was a red X on the window, and I assumed she’d used her lipstick to make it.

“Leave that there,” she demanded. “It’ll keep things calm, at least temporarily, until we can get your Granny Ida back home to begin the process of taking back power from the entity. ”

“Are you sure it’s safe for her to be home?” Mick asked.

Madam Bellamy had a sad expression before putting her hand on his arm.

“Your uncle isn’t haunting his building.

He told me he’s here to bring his sister with him.

I felt another sibling too. Although I didn’t see her, I’m guessing they are both here to help her cross over.

I’m sorry, Mick, but it’s not going to be long now, and I know your granny would prefer to be at home instead of that sterile nursing home. ”

Mick sucked in a quick breath, and I could tell he was struggling with that. “I… she’s all I have left.”

“And she will still be here for you, just in here,” Madam said as she touched his heart. She turned to me and asked me to come over. “We need to do this too,” she said and took my hand, placing it over Mick’s.

Mick’s eyes grew large, and he went to pull his hand back. “Shh, no need for that. What you experienced was a one-time thing and a rare occurrence at that. It’s unlikely there’ll be a transference again, and if there is, it could happen with anyone you touch, Mick. Not just Rory.

“Let him comfort you. I can tell he wants to, and I’m assuming you want that from him as well.”

Mick swallowed hard but didn’t pull his hand away again. “Now, I saw a nice little coffee shop that was open when we came in. I’m going to go get myself a tea. Rory, you come down and get me when you’re ready.”