In Sickness and in Death (7 page)

Through the brilliance, he saw the image of his father approaching him. Arms wrapped around him and he was enveloped in a giant hug. It was no image at all, but a very real being.

“Oh, Dad, I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you and your mother too. But, you know, son, you really shouldn’t be here.”

“Here? Where’s here? I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“You are now in the world of spirit, son. You have left your physical body behind.”

“You mean I
died
! But I don’t understand. How did this happen?”

“It was nothing you did, son, at least not directly. I have been watching you or should I say, keeping a watch over you. I had great hopes that you would be able to turn that girl around, but it seems not to have worked that way. You see, when you became involved with her, I did some checking of the records. It seems that she
intended
to work on her previous problems of greed and selfishness this time around. But obviously she didn’t make much progress. In fact, what she did to you will, no doubt, set her back hundreds of years.”

“What do you mean? What did she do?”

“Don’t you know?” Brian shrugged. “She used you and your position to enhance her own personal status among her friends and coworkers. You helped create a material façade that she was a prosperous, and thus superior, person.”

“I know I let her manipulate me into buying a bunch of stuff that I knew we couldn’t really afford. But I thought I could make her happy.”

His father slowly shook his head. “She will probably never be happy – at least not in the near future. But then you tried to put a stop to it with that cruise business.”

“I tried. But look where it got me.”

“The worst mistake you made was letting her talk you into buying that big life insurance policy and naming her as the beneficiary. That was just asking for her to remove you from the picture.”

“But what did she do?”

“Well, first she tried using psychology, telling you how bad you looked and insisting that you were working too hard. When that didn’t work by making you ill, she resorted to more physical methods – the herbal ‘vitamins’ that were actually
poison
to your kidneys. From there, it was just a matter of urging the deterioration further by increasing your dosage of those vitamins and feeding you a diet high in protein and saturated fats. The final straw was when you were apparently recovering. She had to do something quickly, so she induced a chilled dialysis solution much too rapidly.”

“But how could she do such a thing? I
loved
her!”

The older man shook his head. “In the physical world, people get so involved in achieving materialistic goals that they forget all about what they went there to achieve. A shame really, since it’s much quicker to accomplish what we want when we have to face the physical temptations. If you
really
love her, you can try to influence her to change her ways while she is still there. You can’t really force anything, however. It all has to be done of her own free will.”

“But what can I do?”

“I don’t know what to advise you. Maybe the best thing for her immortal spirit would be to get caught and have to face the earthly laws and whatever punishment they come up with.” He shook his head. “I just don’t know what’s best. I’m still only learning myself.”

“How do I get back there to find out what’s going on?”

“Just think about the person you’re concerned about and you will instantly be with them. Of course, they won’t know you’re there. They can’t see you or hear what you say. The only influence you can have is through their dreams or as
thoughts
you suggest to them.”

“I’d better hurry and get back there. I’ve been gone a long time already.”

“No. Relax. You’ve got plenty of time. Remember, time doesn’t work the same way for us as it does for those of the flesh. Come on. Let’s get together with the rest of the family. You can meet the grandparents you never knew, and reunite with others who have previously crossed over here.”

So, Brian spent a long period of time walking through beautiful meadows lit by a crystal clear light. When he met his unknown grandparents, he felt as if they were friends he had known for years. At length, his father turned to him.

“I think it’s about time you checked things out,” he said.

Brian thought about Adrienne and immediately found himself hovering alongside as she walked down a corridor of the medical center. He thought of Dr. Harris and found that he was looking over his shoulder as he filled in
his
Death Certificate. He watched as he wrote ‘Kidney Failure’ in the Cause of Death blank. A light tap on the door and Adrienne swept through it.

“Ah,” Dr. Harris said, “I was just about to call you. I’m just finishing up Brian’s Death Certificate.” He signed the document with a flourish of the pen, made a copy of it on his desktop scanner and handed it across the desk.

Adrienne’s eyes went directly to the Cause of Death space. “Perfect,” she said. “Now, Dr. Harris, I need to find out about another thing. You see, Brian hadn’t written a will, but I
know
he always wanted to be cremated—”

“I did
not
!”

“—and I need to know how to go about such a thing.”

“Well,” Dr. Harris said slowly. “Disposal of the body, either burial or cremation, is usually a decision for the next of kin. Didn’t Brian have any living relatives?”

“He’d never been married. No children. I know his father’s dead and his mother . . . I don’t even know where she is. They never saw each other and I don’t think they’ve even spoken in years.”

“That’s not true!” Brian protested. “We were close. We talked all the time! Even when you didn’t know about it.”

“I know he doesn’t have any siblings and any other relatives . . .” She let the sentence die away. Then she smiled brightly. “He made me the beneficiary on all of his insurance policies. That should count for something, shouldn’t it?”

“Doctor,” Brian shouted. “Order an autopsy. I’m sure they’ll find something suspicious.”

“I suppose so. I haven’t had any other inquiries about him. Have you?”

Adrienne shook her head. “Not one. I’ll have to notify his boss. He’s been working at home most of the time, you know. But that’ll get done all in due time.”

“Okay,” the doctor said slowly. “I’ll make arrangements with a crematorium. There’s one just across the street that our patients’ families frequently use.”

“Yes, I’m familiar with it. That’ll be fine. I just want to get all this behind me.” She took a tissue from her purse, dabbed at her eyes and then rose from her seat. “Thank you, Dr. Harris, for everything. You’ve been such a big help.”

Brian thought of his mother and, instantly, he was beside her in her living room. A daily quiz show was on the television in front of her and she was enthusiastically playing along.

“Mother,” he said urgently, “you’ve got to listen to me.” Then, more urgently,

“
Mother
!”

But the show played on and she showed no indication of acknowledging his presence. For the rest of the day, Brian hovered nearby and repeatedly tried to get her attention, but to no avail. Then he remembered that his dad had said he could send dreams. Maybe that was the route he should try.

Brian thought of Mr. Harrigan and moved to his office. Cindy, Brian’s secretary, tapped on the door and Harrigan glanced up from the contract he was reading.

“Oh, yes, Cindy, is there something I can help you with?”

“Well, it’s Mr. Forrester, sir. He hasn’t answered any of my e-mails today and that’s not like him. I tried to call a minute ago and got the answering machine. I’m getting worried.”

“It’s probably nothing. Maybe he’s just in the shower.”

“You really think so?”

“Probably. If it’ll make you feel any better, I’ll stop by his apartment this evening.”

“Oh, yes, sir. I’d feel much better.”

Mr. Harrigan nodded curtly. “Very well.” He watched Cindy turn away from his doorway. “Probably just undergoing a treatment,” he muttered to himself. Brian whiled away the afternoon revisiting some of the places he had most enjoyed. He roamed through the park where riotous summer blossoms adorned every bed along the numerous walkways. He went to the forest where he had wandered as a boy, watching the birds and squirrels move from branch to branch, tree to tree. When twilight began to darken the sky, he thought of the apartment and found himself in the living room. Adrienne sat on the sofa leafing through a stack of travel brochures. It appeared as if she were planning a trip. Was this how she was going to spend the insurance settlement?

What about all of the debts they had piled up? Surely she wouldn’t just walk away from those. The doorbell rang and Brian followed as she went to answer it. Mr. Harrigan stood outside as Adrienne opened the door only slightly.

“Hello, Adrienne. I wonder if I might speak with Brian. It seems he’s not answered his e-mails today and Cindy, his secretary, is worried. I promised her I’d stop by to check on him.”

“Well, Mr. Harrigan, he has been feeling a little under the weather today, but I’m sure it’s nothing serious. He’s asleep right now and I really don’t think I should wake him.”

“Oh, no, no. Of course not. Let the poor man sleep. I’ll reassure Cindy. Thank you, and I’m sorry to have disturbed you.”

“That’s quite all right, Mr. Harrigan.”

“Well, you take good care of our boy now, okay?”

Adrienne nodded. “Good night.”

Adrienne eased the door closed and returned to the couch.

Brian shook his head in wonder.
How could she play it so cool? One would never
believe that she had deliberately murdered him.
He thought of his father and the information he had given him and immediately he was beside him as he meditated under a huge tree on a hillside.

“Well, son, what did you find out?”

Brian shook his head. “You wouldn’t believe it. My Death Certificate has been filled out to show that I died of natural causes. Adrienne is lying to everyone – my boss, Dr. Harris, everyone. She told my boss that I was sleeping without the least bit of sarcasm. She told Dr. Harris that I had no siblings and that Mom and I hadn’t spoken in years –

said she didn’t even know where she was.”

“I was afraid of that,” the old man said, shaking his head.

“Dad, how do I send dreams?”

“You have to concentrate really hard and think of the pictures that you want to send –

and hope that their subconscious mind is tuned in to the same wave-length.”

“Okay, I’ll try. I want to send one to Mom. I want her to find out about the cremation and stop it before it’s too late.”

“Why don’t you try meditating for awhile before you try it? That should help increase your concentration.”

Brian nodded. He leaned back against the tree and the two men let their minds drift into oneness with the universe.

In the early hours of the morning in physical time, Brian roused from his meditation. His father stirred beside him.

“Do you feel stronger?”

“Much. I think it’s time now to go see if I can get through to Mom.”

The older man nodded. “Remember, send pictures, not words. I’ll see you later.”

With the thought of her, Brian found himself in his mother’s bedroom. The clock on her nightstand read 3:05am. Mrs. Forrester was sleeping peacefully.

“I hate to disturb your rest, Mom,” Brian said. “But I really need your help.” He considered for a moment what picture would best conjure his feelings of helplessness. He envisioned himself gagged and bound from head to toe. Two threatening shadowy figures were struggling to get his body over the edge of a deep fiery pit. The flames licked up around him and his eyes widened in horrified panic. Concentrating on the picture, defining it, clarifying it, he began to project it to his mother’s mind. Suddenly, with a muffled cry, she sat straight up in the bed. “Oh, my God,” she panted. “Something is wrong with Brian. I just know it!”

Brian smiled. He had apparently gotten through after all. He watched as his mother threw back the covers, got out of bed and went to the window. He watched as she paced back and forth, around and around. He followed her to the kitchen where she put a cup of water in the microwave and took a teabag out of the cabinet. When the timer beeped, she removed the cup, dropped in her teabag and walked to the table in the breakfast nook. Staring out the window at the waning moon, she muttered to herself. “What could have happened? He looked fine at Christmas. Of course that was several months ago, but he hasn’t said anything about any problems since then.”

Brian struggled to send her a picture of Dr. Harris and to urge her to call him. The doctor had apparently believed what Adrienne had told him and only if his concerned mother showed up at the office would he be convinced that Adrienne had been lying. Brian sighed. But he had never mentioned going to Dr. Harris to his mother. That had all been Adrienne’s idea and he hadn’t wanted to worry his mom when the news had not been so good. If she checked with his regular doctor, she would learn nothing. The sky was beginning to brighten and Brian transported himself to the rooftop to watch the sunrise. He somehow never tired of the beauties of nature. As the sun peeped over the horizon, purple, pink and golden clouds reflected its splendor. Why must people let greed blind them to all of the glory that surrounded them? When the sun blazed in its entire splendor in the azure sky, Brian returned to his mother’s side. She had the phone to her ear and was tapping her foot impatiently while she waited for it to ring. “Adrienne,” she said. “I’d like to speak with Brian, please.”

Brian pictured Adrienne at the phone and was instantly at her side. “Oh, Mrs. F, I’m sorry he isn’t here. He left for the office early this morning. Something about a
crucial
meeting he had to get ready for.”

“How long ago did he leave?”

“Oh, it hasn’t been long. I doubt that he’d be there yet.”

Brian flitted back and forth between the two women.

“Well, alright, I’ll try him there in a little while.” With a worried frown, Brian’s mom replaced the phone in its cradle. “It’s almost as if he disappeared from the face of the earth,” she murmured.