Elizabeth Basque - Medium Mysteries 02 - Silver Lake (13 page)

“
I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re delusional. Garrett’s father is dead.”

“
And I bet you know just how he died,” Julie spoke up. “But he’s not gone.”

“
You’re crazy, the both of you,” Lana declared. She turned from us and reached into her purse on the mirrored table. She pulled out some lip gloss to cover up what she was really getting from her purse. Either she was stupid, or she was too nervous to think straight. It was probably the latter. She forgot I could see her in the mirror as she also pulled out a small pistol and held it behind her back.

Chapter Twenty-three

My gaze never left her, but Julie started glancing around for some kind of weapon. Anything. I sent her a strong telepathic image of the knives stored in a wooden knife block back in the kitchen. Julie flinched, and I could tell she’d gotten the message. She started backing away slowly toward the door behind us.

I moved to the side to distract Lana. She saw Julie moving away, but chose to focus on me.

“
Define crazy,” I said. “Is it crazy to believe in spirits, to communicate with them? Or is it insane to kill someone just for their money?”

“
It really doesn’t matter,” Lana answered with an air of arrogance. “All that matters is proof, and who can provide more facts. I can have you locked up and put away for the rest of your life.”

“
Oh? I’ve broken no laws. Can’t say the same for Bella, now can we? Or you, I should imagine.”

Julie slipped out the door and I knew she was headed toward the kitchen for a knife.

Lana took a step to the side, and I did likewise. We faced each other, slowly moving around, almost dancing in a circle. I tried to keep my thoughts off the gun in her hand, off the deadly hatred in her eyes.

“
I can prove how Bella killed Mack,” I found myself saying.
Another lie.
Somewhere in the back of my mind came the reminder that certain Native American tribes believed it was all right to lie if you had to protect yourself. “And I’ve made the link from Bella to you. What do you think a judge would say about that?”

“
You can prove
nothing
,” she hissed. Suddenly, she stopped, seemed to try and get a hold of herself. “I’ll give you one chance,” she said softly. “You can walk out that door, and leave with your friend. Leave me and Garrett alone. If you truly know what Bella is capable of, then you’re a fool to come here. Surely you see the logic in that.”

The matron of honor took a step back, as if she’d made a decision.

Lana continued her fake negotiating as she looked for an opportunity to shoot both of us. “Or, I can prove that you’re a psychotic woman bent on stalking Garrett and me. I’ll tell the police that you think you talk with spirits, and they tell you what to do.”

“
You won’t go anywhere near the police because you have too much to hide. You and Bella. I’m assuming she’s your step-aunt by marriage or something distant like that.”

Now Lana looked scared.

“Look at you!” she blurted. “And look at me. Do you honestly think I’m going to let anyone or anything ruin my wedding day?”

“
Honestly?” I repeated. “I really don’t know what’s going on inside that head of yours, Lana. But I’m not afraid of you. You’re not thinking straight. I know you have a gun in your hand behind your back. You’re not going to use it. That would most certainly ruin this day, ruin everything. I guarantee you, if you pull that trigger, the wedding will not take place, not today, not ever.”

My certainty gave her pause. Obviously, she wasn’t the brightest young woman and was easily manipulated.

Where was Julie? Lana and I continued slowly circling each other, but I stopped near the doorway.

“
I’m going to talk with Garrett now.” I took a step back. “This is not your wedding day, Lana Costa.”

“
Shut
up
!” the older woman said to me.

I tore my gaze from the gun in Lana’s hand and looked intently at the older woman. I noticed how youthful her face looked, compared to her aging hands. At first glance, her facial skin was taut, shiny, perfect. Not even a pore showing. She’d obviously had a lot of work done. She had her hair in an up-do and I saw plastic surgery scars behind her ears—thin white lines. I also noticed that the makeup artist had not yet finished covering the woman’s recent scars from a chin job, a nose job, and maybe even a cheekbone job. The parts, viewed separately, were beautifully done, however, as a whole, her face did not go together. It looked like she had asked to be transformed into a combination of Jessica Simpson and Katy Perry, something to totally change her appearance. And suddenly, I understood
everything.

I dared to say to the older woman, “So,
Bella
. What’s your cut from this fiasco?”

The older woman screamed in shock and
that
was when Lana raised the gun and shakily pointed it at me. She was cruel, cold, yes. But she was also sweating now, nervous. That was more dangerous than anything else.

“
You’re going to shoot me?” I braved. “I don’t think so.”

“
Think again,” Lana threatened and her finger hovered over the trigger.

“
What designer are you wearing?” I asked, to buy us time.

“
It’s a Vera Wang original. It hasn’t even been on the runway yet. It’s…
borrowed
,” she said with a sneer.

I talked fast. “You’re too pretty for such a mess. And the resulting blood-spatter pattern on your wedding dress would convict you. Not Bella.
You.
”

Hopefully, her need to return the purloined designer gown without bloodstains and my limited forensic knowledge from watching the TV show,
CSI,
were assets in this situation.

Just then, the door burst open. Lana jumped, turned from me toward the door and fired. She must have thought it was Julie coming back—Julie who would take the bullet. I dove to the side, and I saw Lana’s expression transform from hatred to surprise and fear.

Garrett fell forward onto the floor.

Chapter Twenty-four

“
No!” Lana cried. She dropped the pistol and knelt next to him “Garrett! Garrett!” she sobbed.

Julie had been right behind him. She screamed when she saw what had happened. Mack appeared as well, and the horror of seeing his son bleeding on the floor chilled me to the bone. His mouth fell open as somehow, he recognized Bella through her disguise and ran right through her body to Garrett.

I bent down over Garrett, put my fingers on his neck. He had a pulse.

“
Call 9-1-1!” I yelled. “Get an ambulance. And the police,” I added.

Everything hit Lana at once. She glanced to the gun on the floor, then at me, then down in shock at the ruined designer gown. Just as I had warned her, there was blood spatter all over it.

A crowd of people gathered in the doorway, and one of the men was already on his cell phone giving the address to the 9-1-1 dispatcher.

Lana kept looking at the gun, indecision on her face.

“Don’t even think about it,” I said, indicating the gun. I got up and picked it up with a rattail comb the hairdresser had left behind, so my prints wouldn’t get on it. “Julie, get a towel or something! Maybe we can stop the bleeding before the paramedics get here.”

What broke my heart was Mack. No one could see him but me, and probably Julie. He was on the floor, his hand over his son. He focused on nothing else.

Julie came back with some towels and we turned Garrett carefully to his back. He was unconscious and pale. The bullet had entered his upper right chest. I hoped it had missed his lung, but I was no doctor.

I pulled Lana away and pushed her down onto the chair at the vanity table. I didn’t know the handful of people now crowding into the room, but they regarded her with dismay. The guy who was apparently the wedding photographer started snapping photos. I was sure he was going to make a bundle from these photos. The makeup artist and the hair stylist were screaming and crying. It was pandemonium in the room as more people crowded in to see what the hell had happened.

Everything happened quickly. Julie pressed towels onto Garrett’s wound, but he was still bleeding. Then I remember the paramedics arriving, and they began working on Garrett. Mack didn’t speak to me; he never left his son’s side. Julie had the sense to find out what hospital they were headed for. She left, presumably to bring her car up.

The police arrived, and they handcuffed Lana. She was clearly humiliated. “You’re going to be very, very sorry,” she snarled, and then she actually spat on me.

Mack’s neck turned, and he was at Lana’s side in an instant. She didn’t see him, but it was obvious that she felt something. Like a flash of lightning, he zoomed up to the light hanging from the ceiling and drove his hand into it. The bulbs exploded, and he materialized. Not everyone saw him, but I did.

And Lana did. Her face was filled with terror, but she couldn’t move with the cuffs on.

Mack whipped back to Lana’s wrists behind her. I knew the energy from the lights would only last so long. But she froze when she felt his hands on her, undoing the catch. The bracelet fell to the floor and I put my foot over it, but kept all my weight on the other foot.

“
You have the right to remain silent…” the officer stiffly reminded Lana.

I looked around wildly, but did not see Bella.

In all the commotion, she had slipped away.

Chapter Twenty-five

We arrived at the hospital and Julie got the information about Garrett. We walked down the halls, following the yellow line that led to a waiting room for surgeries.

I was a bit woozy. I tried several times to shake myself out of it, and I wondered what was wrong with me.

“You’re in shock,” Julie said. She’d picked up my thoughts.

“
I don’t know why,” I murmured as we took two empty seats in the small room. “I wasn’t hurt.”

“
Not physically,” she said quietly. “Don’t beat yourself up about this, Pauline. Mack knows you never meant for Garrett to get shot.”

That was it. Mack. Where was he? I realized he was probably in the operating room, watching the surgeons work on his son. That had to be gruesome. I shuddered, and realized that tears were falling from my cheeks.

Julie handed me a tissue from a box on a nearby table. “It’s going to be okay,” she told me. I didn’t know who she was trying to convince more, me or herself.

I thought about the crazy events of the day. How could I have handled it better? Was Mack angry with me? I couldn’t bear the thought of it. The tears continued until I felt dehydrated.

We waited. And waited. Julie checked at the nurse’s desk a couple of times. I knew that the longer the surgery, the more complicated Garrett’s wounds probably were.

I tried to call Mack in my mind but came up empty. I knew he wouldn’t leave his son. His son that he’d just met again.

I was thinking about how much I hated hospitals. The vibes, I felt them more than others did. I could feel a constant tenseness in the air. Hospitals always smelled like a mixture of sickness and the antiseptic meant to battle illness.

Julie had gone down to the cafeteria to get us some sandwiches. They were horrible, but I gobbled mine. I hadn’t even realized I was hungry. It took a lot of energy to keep my mind off Garrett. Not knowing was hard. And Mack, I knew he needed comfort, but I also knew it couldn’t come from me. Not just then. If Garrett died, perhaps not ever.

Julie patted my arm, as if she were reading my mind again.

The waiting room door opened and a doctor walked in. He approached Julie, who had taken the reins with the whole situation.

“He’s alive,” the doctor said in a detached tone. “The bullet punctured his lung, and shattered his shoulder. But he’s in recovery now. You can see him in about half an hour.”

That was all I needed to hear. Julie asked a couple of questions, but I paid no attention. I was so relieved. I kept taking deep breaths to calm myself. I wanted so much to see Mack.

Only then did Julie and I take turns going outside to have a cigarette. I snuck two, but I smoked them so quickly they made me feel dizzy and a little sick.

Back in the waiting room, I watched the minutes tick by on the clock on the wall, the second hand making a full circle and then the minute hand clicking forward.

Finally, a nurse came for us. She led us down a couple of hallways and into a dark room. We entered quietly, stood at the foot of the bed.

Mack floated over a chair, sitting next to Garrett. Garrett had an oxygen mask on, but at least he didn’t have a breathing tube down his throat. Mack had his hand over one of Garrett’s, the one with the IV inserted into it.