Sixth Sense (A Psychic Crystal Mystery) (20 page)

“I told Jack this was my fight, my daughter,” Juliette explained.

“So I followed Juliette into the bedroom and walked in on his last, gasping breaths,” Jack said. “I wanted to put another bullet into that slimy bastard. Instead, Juliette and I together watched the life seep out of him. And did nothing to save him.”

Katherine flinched. “What will happen to Juliette?”

“Nothing, if I have anything to do with it,” said Jack. “She killed the reverend in self-defense, trying to protect you. She saved our lives. I’ve already called the local police and an ambulance. I’m going to fill them in on what happened and make sure everyone in town knows they were worshipping a false god. We have all the proof we need about your adoption, the bribes, the other girls he trapped in his web of lies, how he stole from the church, the missing masterpieces. It’s all documented in very detailed records he kept in the safe. He was fixated on you, Kate, and if Juliette hadn’t shown up when she did, I don’t even want to think what would have happened.”

Katherine looked up into her birth mother’s eyes—her eyes, in her birth mother’s face, so like her face—and smiled.

“Did he hurt you, child? Are you really okay?” Juliette asked, smoothing her hand over Katherine’s head.

“I am now, thanks to you,” Katherine said. “How did you know we were in danger?”

Juliette smiled. “That’s a funny question to ask a psychic. Call it intuition, but I felt the vibrations of his evil energy. He told me what he did to your parents. I believed he had the capacity to hurt you, and I couldn’t let that happen.”

“You were my avenging angel.”

“I don’t know about an angel, but I
was
seeking vengeance. Carter was an evil man. He lured me and many other women who stumbled on Casa Spirito into his dangerous web of evil with his trances and his sweet talk and his threats. He had to be stopped. The women of Casa Spirito will sleep easier tonight.”

“He said he loved you,” Katherine revealed.

Juliette sighed. “There was a time when I believed that, and maybe in his twisted way he thought he did. I was certainly in love with him. But Carter Coulter was only ever in love with himself.”

Katherine sat up against the headboard. “You have a beautiful home and shop. But when he treated you so badly, why didn’t you leave the reverend? Leave this place? Why did you stay in this town all these years?”

Juliette twisted her hands together in her lap. “It’s complicated. This place is my home, for one thing,” Juliette explained. “And this house, well I own the house now, but The Casa Spirito Church retains ownership of the land. And the church was owned and controlled solely by Carter. If I left, I’d lose everything I’ve built.” Juliette got a faraway look in her eyes. “Where I came from, who I was before—I had nothing to go back to.”

Katherine placed a comforting hand on Juliette’s. She was sure there was a story there when Juliette was ready to discuss it.

“But the main reason I stayed was because I hoped one day I’d find you. Carter said he knew where you were. He said he would tell me. That’s how he held me here. Then when I saw what he was doing with the other women, I couldn’t abandon them. For a long time after you were born, he was content with just me. He didn’t bother anyone else. It was just recently he started up again with his dangerous seductions. That’s when I knew I could never be with him in that way again. I threatened to go to his wife and to the Council and expose him, but he said I would never see you again, never know what had happened to you. I took care of the other women, comforted them when he took their children away from them, like you were taken from me.”

“So there are other children, like me, out there?”

“I’m afraid so,” Juliette said. “I’m going to work with the police, the FBI, to track them down.”

“What if they’d rather not know? I know this will hurt you, but I would have preferred to be kept in the dark. I was happy.”

Juliette sighed and nodded. “I understand.”

Sirens screeched, and Katherine could see flashing blue lights out of the front bedroom window.

Jack cradled a shaking Katherine in his arms. “Let’s go get you checked out, and I’ll take care of some of these cuts, and then we’ll go down to the police station and to the Council and make our statements. The FBI team is on its way to Florida to sort out all the ‘adoptions.’ The reverend kept very thorough records. Juliette is right. We will find those children and return them to their real mothers.”

“What a mess,” Katherine said. “What about the adoptive parents who love those children? How are they going to give up their babies?”

“They’ll work it out,” Jack assured her.

“I won’t stop until everything is put right,” Juliette agreed. “I should have gone to the authorities sooner. Maybe I could have prevented this, done something—”

Jack interrupted her. “Juliette, you would have risked your life if you did. Carter Coulter was a tyrant, an adulterer, and a murderer. He had too much to lose to let you expose him. No one would have believed you.”

“And Jack, all those children, they could be related to me,” Katherine said, anguish in her eyes.

Jack nodded. “It looks that way, honey.”

Juliette heaved a sigh and turned to Katherine. “There were so many times when I wanted to kill him, but I was afraid if I did I’d lose all chance of finding you, forever. I’m so sorry. I never stopped loving you. From the moment Carter ripped you from my arms, I’ve wanted to find you. And now, by a miracle, I have. Can you ever forgive me?”

Katherine put her hand on Juliette’s arm. “You saved my life. You have nothing to be forgiven for.”

“I murdered a man,” said Juliette calmly. “I have to suffer the consequences.”

Alarmed, Katherine looked up at Jack. “Please talk some sense into her.” She turned to Juliette. “You are not a murderer. You are not going to jail.”

“How can you be so sure?” Juliette asked. “Carter Coulter was very powerful in this town. They might not be so forgiving.”

Jack took Juliette’s hand. “When they hear the full story, see the safe with his papers and all his ill-gotten gains, this will be a scandal, no doubt, but the blame lies solely with the reverend, and nobody else.”

Chapter Nineteen

Jack and Katherine sat side by side on Psychic Juliette’s loveseat.

“Jack, Katherine, would you like some herbal tea?”

“I could use something stronger,” Jack said, laughing.

“That can be arranged,” Juliette said, reaching into her kitchen cabinet and pulling out a bottle of Jack.

“Your namesake,” Juliette joked.

“Tea will be fine for me,” said Katherine. “I need something to calm my nerves. Just promise me you won’t read the leaves. I think I’ve had enough adventure for one day.”

Juliette smiled, poured a cup of tea for Katherine, and filled a shot glass and handed it to Jack.

“Katherine, thanks for agreeing to see me. I was so sorry to hear about your parents and horrified to know that Carter was responsible. What a grievous loss.”

Katherine sipped her tea and paused. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over it.”

Jack was silent.

Juliette settled sympathetic eyes on Jack. “Jack, it’s been a while since your father died.”

Jack swallowed the glassful of liquor. “I was ten when it happened.”

Juliette folded her hands in her lap. “I feel his presence around you.”

“No offense, ma’am, but I don’t exactly believe in this stuff.”

“That’s understandable. Not many do. There are a lot of imposters who give our profession a bad name. But there is an aura hovering around you. It’s always been there. It was glowing strongly at Carter’s house when I first arrived and saw you tied up. A protective spirit? Call it what you will. Your father was watching over you.”

At a loss for words, Jack rubbed his chin, still not quite used to not having the beard he’d worn when Katherine first met him.

“He’s waiting for your mother. Oh, it’s not her time yet, but he will wait forever. Theirs was a deep love.”

“I never had much use for love,” Jack admitted, shaking his head.

Katherine looked at Jack. His last words to her as Reverend Coulter dragged her off to the bedroom were, “I love you, Kate.” Spoken in the heat of the moment. He obviously regretted those words. Maybe he didn’t even remember shouting them.

“Oh, I think you do know love, Jack,” whispered Juliette. “Love for your mother, love for someone else in this room. It’s so strong, the energy crackles. The spark is electrifying.”

Jack looked at Kate.

Juliette fixed her violet eyes—Kate’s eyes—on Jack. “Do you deny it?”

“I can’t,” he admitted.

Juliette smoothed her flowing black skirt. “When I did the reading for the two of you, I meant every word. You are destined for each other.”

Jack cleared his throat, looked away from Katherine, then started to rise. “Well, Juliette, we’d better get going. I’ve got to get back to my job. It was a pleasure to meet you. And thank you again for all you did for Kate and me.”

Juliette got up from her seat and shook Jack’s outstretched hand. “I look forward to seeing you again, soon.”

Jack doubted seriously his path and Juliette’s were going to cross again. Why would she say a thing like that? Oh, right, she was a psychic. Jack smothered a smile.

Katherine got out of her seat, hesitated and placed her hand firmly on Jack’s arm.

“I’m going to stay for a while. I have nothing to go home to. My parents are gone. I don’t have a job. I’m not ready to rattle around in my house alone. You need to get back to work, but there are a lot of things Juliette can teach me. A lot of things I want to learn. I might want to become a member, attend some development classes, become an official student of Mediumship, at least find out more information. And Juliette and I have a lot of catching up to do.”

Katherine didn’t have to be a psychic to read the disappointment on Jack’s face.

“Maybe I’ll see you around, Kate,” he said, pulling his hand out of Katherine’s grasp, inclining his head politely toward Juliette and walking out of the shop.

Suddenly, he stopped and turned. “Oh, Juliette, I almost forgot. I have something for you. He handed Juliette the scrapbook he’d found in the Reverend’s safe.

“What is this?”

“Reverend Coulter collected pictures of Kate throughout her life. It’s all there. He recorded every important date. There are pictures and newspaper clippings back to when she was just a baby. There’s even a lock of her hair.”

Juliette’s eyes lit up, and she flashed Jack the biggest smile. Her gratitude was evident in the tears that spilled down her cheeks. She clasped the scrapbook to her chest with a high-pitched keening sound. “Thank you, Jack.”

“I got the book out of evidence down at the police station. They’ve already dusted it for prints. They don’t need it anymore, and I thought you deserved to have it.”

Then he turned away and walked out the door.

Katherine’s hand flew to her heart.

“Your Jack is uncomfortable with emotions,” Juliette said, turning back to Kate and sniffling. “I missed so many years with you. Thank you for giving us another chance.”

Katherine reached for Juliette’s hand. “I’m here now. And you’re wrong. He’s not
my
Jack. I thought he would stay, but I guess I was wrong.”

Juliette shot Katherine a skeptical look. “I know what I see. Well, let’s talk about something else. What are your plans?”

“I plan to spend as much time as possible with you. I want to learn more about reading tarot cards. I want you to teach me everything you know.”

Juliette clutched Katherine’s hand as she hugged the scrapbook to her breast. “I’ll look forward to that.”

Katherine desperately needed someone to talk to about her life, her future path. And she felt close enough to Juliette to confide in her.

“I’ve been having these overwhelming visions my whole life,” Katherine began. “Sometimes they come crashing into my consciousness at all hours of the day and night. I can’t always make sense of them.”

“I can help you with that,” offered Juliette. “It’s just a matter of focus and control.”

“Sometimes I feel like I want to break something, that if I don’t, my head will explode. When my mother was alive, she used to call these episodes headaches. My premonitions, my visions, they were a bad thing, not to be discussed. She would give me aspirin and send me to bed to block out the pain.”

“The secret is to control it, don’t let it control you.” Juliette gave Katherine a knowing look. “I find that sex helps.”

“Sex?”

“Yes, it’s a powerful blocker, and a hell of a lot more fun than aspirin.”

Katherine laughed. This was not a conversation she thought she’d be having with her birth mother so soon in their fragile relationship.

“Is this your version of the birds-and-bees talk?” Katherine asked, and then the words tumbled out. “I haven’t had anyone to discuss my feelings with, until you. I would very much like to explore my—my sensitive side. I want to contact my parents. Is that even possible?”

“Anything’s possible, child. But are you sure you’re ready for that?” Juliette led Katherine back to the couch. “Come, let’s sit awhile. I’d love you to show me through the scrapbook of your life.”

Katherine sat side by side on the couch with her birth mother as Juliette opened the book to a page where Katherine stood in front of The Crystal Palace.

“My, this is some house,” Juliette said, her eyes widening.

“Yes. Atlanta’s been my home for so many years. Our house is too big for one person. There’s plenty of room. How would you feel about coming to stay with me for a while so we can get to know each other better?”

Juliette burst into another episode of tears. “Katherine, I would love that. Thank you.”

Katherine looked into her birth mother’s eyes. “If you can read the future, I’d like to ask you a question about Jack.”

“Have you and your young man not declared your love for each other?” Juliette asked.

Katherine hesitated. “I told him I loved him. And he told me, when he thought he was about to die, but...”

“Yet you just dismissed him like he meant nothing to you.”