Secrets, p.15
Secrets, page 15
“I agree, but I’m also guilty of never stopping to catch my breath.”
Luna smiled. “One of the basic precepts of Zen is breath. Through deep breathing, one can clear the mind of anxiety, stress, anger.” Luna looked at Rita, hoping she didn’t lose her with the Zen thing.
“I totally understand the idea. It’s putting it into practice that seems to be the challenge.”
“Ah. There’s a word: challenge. Challenge is only our perception of the level of difficulty.”
Rita gave Luna a quizzical look.
“It’s a matter of perspective. If you believe something is out of reach, then it will be. Take tennis, for example. You look at Serena Williams and say, ‘I could never do that.’ But at some point in her life, she told herself she could. I’m not saying that wishing makes it so, but if you put limiting ideas in your head, you will be limited. If you think positively, anything can happen.” Luna patted Rita’s hand. “Take five minutes. Set your watch, clock, phone. Pick a time of day. Even if it’s the first thing you do when you get in your car at the end of the day. Before you turn on the ignition, sit back, close your eyes, and breathe in deeply. Exhale slowly. Do it ten times. Then start your car. It’s amazing what you can shed from the day’s work and stress just by tuning out for a couple of minutes.” Luna was about to write down a few words on the sketch pad. That was when she realized she hadn’t drawn anything when she was talking to Rita. She was drawing a blank. Maybe she was psychically fatigued. It was possible. It takes a lot of one’s personal energy to decipher someone else’s. She blinked a few times and began to write: Prosperity comes to me easily and effortlessly: physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, financially, and in all my relationships.
She tore off the page and handed it to Rita. “Read this as soon as you get out of bed, when you leave work, and before you go to sleep. It will help you focus and put positive affirmations in your conscious mind and your subconscious.”
“This is great. It will be enormously helpful. You are right. I need to do this. Thanks for the quick lesson.”
“It’s also called self-care. Too often people confuse self-care with selfish. ‘Put your oxygen mask on first.’” Luna parroted a flight attendant’s instructions.
They both laughed. “I wish I could tell you more about your friend. You said you have a photo?”
“Yes.”
“OK. Next time we get together, bring it along. Maybe I can pick up some vibes from it. But meantime, the idea that she has been on your mind may mean she’s thinking about you, too. Send out good thoughts. You never know where they will land.”
Rita grabbed Luna’s hand. “Thank you. I feel much better now. What do I owe you?”
“What do you mean?” Luna furrowed her brow.
“For the reading.”
“I didn’t do anything.” Luna made a frowny face.
“Not true. You reminded me that I need to give myself more oxygen.” Rita smiled. “I’ve gotta run. My daughter has a cooking class and is insisting I be her guinea pig.”
“I’m sure it will be delicious. It’s in her DNA.”
Luna walked Rita to the door.
“Thanks again, Luna. I owe you a caprese!”
“You’ve got a deal!” Luna waved, then dashed to where she had placed her earlier drawing and bolted into Cullen’s showroom.
“Do you remember where I put that drawing I did about the trunk?” She was almost out of breath.
“It’s on the worktable.” Cullen’s eyes followed his sister as she bounded toward the workshop in the back. Then he heard her squeal. He ran in to see if she was OK.
“What’s wrong?” He looked concerned.
“Check this out.” She flattened the two drawings on the table side by side. They stood in silence, comparing them.
“So, wait.” Cullen raised an eyebrow. “The one on the right is the first one you drew. Where did the second one come from?”
“Today. A woman who I had never met came to me. She’s having marital problems.”
Cullen stared at the two charcoal drawings. “The one on the right is flames with a little boy. The one on the left is flames with two people slightly taller than the little boy who is also in the same drawing. That’s strange, even for you.”
“Right? They must be connected somehow.” Luna’s mind was spinning.
“Not necessarily. You had the diary with you. Maybe some of the energy jumped the psychic fence?” Cullen wasn’t being facetious. Just his own way of dealing with the curiosity.
“I dunno, Cul. I have an odd feeling about this.”
“Odd? You?” Cullen chuckled.
She gave him a slight smack on the arm with the back of her hand. “Hey, be nice. Odd as in some kind of complexity.”
“Didn’t you say it was marital stuff?”
“Yes. That was her reason for coming here, but I think there’s more to it.” Luna squinted her eyes as if it would help her think harder.
“Do you think she was the one who sent the trunk?” Cullen was intrigued.
“No. Not her. But there is a connection somehow.”
“Well, I don’t know when you’ve been wrong about something intuitive.”
“That’s the whole point of intuition, dummy.” Luna shook her head and smirked. “But somehow there is a connection here.”
“Oh boy.” Cullen looked up at the ceiling. “What was her demeanor?”
“It was obvious she was nervous. She kept twisting her napkin in her lap. There was a sadness about her.”
“Aren’t most of your clients sad about something?” Cullen was being serious.
“True, but . . .” Luna got a wild look in her eyes. “The coffee cup.”
“What coffee cup?” Cullen was now talking to the back of her head.
“Be right back.” Luna ran to the sink where she left the coffee cups. She was relieved that for once she hadn’t compulsively washed each of them out. It had been a little hectic between Tori, the delivery, and Rita. She pulled the cup with the pink lipstick. Now, who could she get to run a DNA sample? She sent Cullen a text to come to the café and bring the drawings.
“What the heck is going on?”
“Here is the cup from Tori.”
“So?” Cullen was very confused at this point.
“So, what if we can match the DNA on the cup with fingerprints from the things that were in the box?”
“I’m not sure that’s how it works.” Cullen looked doubtful.
“Well, maybe the fine marshal can suggest something. He said he would help. Well, kinda. Sorta. But it wouldn’t hurt to ask him.” Her eyes lit up as she dug into her apron pocket. “And I have this.”
“What is it?
“A note she wrote.”
“So what of it?”
“More tools for my research.” Luna winked.
* * *
The weeks that followed, Luna was busy cramming clients into her schedule and making sure she ordered enough supplies. Sabrina was thrilled to cover for her at the café. Luna gave her specific instructions in case anyone asked for a reading. Take their first name and phone number and give them one of her cards.
She finally had an afternoon when she was able to sit down and go through the diary. The handwriting looked familiar. On one of her hunches, she pulled out the note the woman had left for her. Luna’s eyes almost popped out of her head. She would swear the handwriting was similar. She would have to show this to Gaines and get his take on it.
Luna went into Cullen’s workshop and asked for the box that was also wrapped in the blanket. She brought it back to her café and carefully took out the contents and spread them on the table. There were several movie stubs, but none had any specific information as to what theater they were from, but when she turned over one of the stubs, the word Others was scrawled on the back. It didn’t look like the same handwriting from the diary. Huh. Another piece of the puzzle, she thought.
There was something that resembled a dried daisy and a few coins that appeared to be used for game machines. Or rides, perhaps. There were two flyers from traveling carnivals. Both said Brinkley Entertainment, but neither had a year. Only the month. One was from July, the other August. She jotted down the name of the company. Maybe they could give her some information as to when the flyers were made. If she got lucky, maybe they could give her their usual locations for those two months. But for how many years?
She went over to the corner workstation, where she kept her laptop and printer. She carefully uploaded the images of the flyers and ticket stubs to her laptop and printed out copies.
When she finished, she looked up Brinkley Entertainment on the Internet. Up came a website with a phone number. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed.
A pleasant Southern drawl answered. “Brinkley Entertainment. Y’all bring the people, and we’ll bring the fun. How can I help ya today?”
“Hello, my name is Luna Bodman. I’m doing some research on carnivals and I came across two flyers with your name on them.”
“Are y’all looking to book something?” the gentleman asked.
“Well, no. As I said, I’m doing some research. The history of carnivals in the South.” Luna was surprised that she was able to conjure that lie so quickly. It just spilled out of her mouth. Although that wasn’t anything new, really.
“Do tell,” the man insisted.
“Do you have a few minutes?” Luna asked politely.
“I do. What can I do fer ya?”
“First, if I send you a photo of the flyer, do you think you’d recognize what year it’s from?”
“Can’t say until I see it.”
“Good point. Can I e-mail you a copy?”
“Sure thing.” The man gave her the e-mail address associated with the company.
“I’m going to send it over now. Meanwhile, if you don’t mind answering a few questions?”
“Go ’head.”
“How long have you been doing this?”
“Goin’ on forty years now.”
“Do you travel all over the South?”
“Mostly the Carolinas and Georgia now. But we keep busy.”
“How many people attend the carnivals?”
“That depends. Anywheres from a couple hun’red to over a thousand. Sometimes we’re the only family entertainment available to a lot of folks. Getting yer family to Disney World ain’t no free walk in the park, if you get my drift.”
Luna chuckled, thinking about the rambunctious kids who descended upon the center. “Yes, family vacations can be very expensive.”
“You ain’t kiddin’.”
Luna was getting the impression the man had much more free time on his hands than a few minutes.
“While we’re on the phone, can you check to see if my e-mail came through?” Luna did not want to drag out the conversation any longer than necessary. She feared he was going to tell her much more than she was interested in.
“Sure can. Hang on.”
Luna could hear footsteps in the background. Some clicks that sounded like someone was typing on a keyboard. Then footsteps getting closer to the phone.
“Yep. One says ‘Special Appearance by Wild Bill Harper.’ That had to be 2000, 2001, 2002, I reckon. He’s no longer with us. Thems were the two years he traveled with our troupe.”
Luna could barely contain her excitement. She had it narrowed down to two years.
“And do you recall where you had the carnivals?”
“Lots a places them years,” the man answered.
“Can you narrow it down a bit?” Luna crossed her fingers, hoping she’d get something geographical from him.
“Like I said earlier, mostly the Carolinas and Georgia. Usually started in Georgia and worked our ways back north. So, if I was goin’ to make a guess, I’d say Georgia was June, South Carolina would be July, and North Carolina would be August.”
“Do you have any records on file that could confirm those?” Luna tried not to sound too pushy, but she felt she was getting close to narrowing it down.
“Used to, but all the paperwork got flooded after Hurricane Matthew back in 2016.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Yep. It was a big mess for sure.”
Luna refused to be disheartened. “I imagine someone like you would have a memory like an elephant?” She giggled to try to spark his recollection.
“I have to tell ya, at my age, I’m lucky if I remember to put on my underwear.”
That was a vision Luna didn’t want to imagine.
She chuckled again. “Well, if you think about anything that might be interesting for my article, please let me know. My contact information is on the e-mail I sent. I really appreciate your time, Mr.?” She realized she had never gotten his name.
“They call me ‘Chief.’ Don’t know exactly how that came about, but I’ve been Chief for a coupla decades now.”
“Well, thank you, Chief, for all your help.” Luna was genuinely grateful.
“You are most welcome, missy. Y’all have yourself a good day, and send me a copy of that article, will ya?”
Luna had a pang of guilt knowing there wasn’t going to be an article. She thanked him profusely and promised to keep in touch. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so guilty. But she had accomplished something. Some things. Now she had to try to put the pieces together.
While she was musing over the carnival information, Ellie stopped in.
“Namaste, Luna!” She gave a short bow.
“Namaste,” Luna responded in kind. “Can I fix you a coffee?”
“No, thanks. Just wanted to say hi and ask you to thank Chris for his idea about the security guard.”
“Cool. Nathan seems like a really nice guy. Authoritative.” Luna winked.
“Yes, the evil plan is working. The Mommy Club Winos were flying solo without their children this week. All it took was one afternoon with Nathan staring them down, and they were too scared to come back. As long as the mommies keep spending their money and there is peace in the center, all is good.”
“I wonder what they did with the kids?”
“I honestly don’t care, and I certainly didn’t ask. Heaven forbid they think that I miss the little monsters.” Ellie chortled. She looked over at the table where Luna was working. “What do you have there?”
“This was the stuff that was in the box from the trunk. And guess what?” Luna was overjoyed to share her news. “I tracked down the carnival company and they were able to narrow down the time from 2000 to 2002.”
Ellie moved to where Luna was standing. “Let me see. I vaguely remember now. Wild Bill Harper rings a bell. He brought a bit of rodeo with him. Richard and I went one year.”
Luna’s eyes lit up. “So that almost confirms that the diary was written around that time. And check this out.” Luna showed her the note and the first page of the diary. “Do any of the letters resemble each other?”
Ellie squinted and pulled up the reading glasses she wore on a handmade crystal chain. She had a set for almost every outfit. “It’s hard to tell. The diary is in longhand, but the note is printed.” Ellie knew Luna was hoping for some kind of confirmation. “Where did the note come from?”
Luna recounted the brief meeting she had with a woman named Tori.
“How about this?” Luna unrolled the two drawings. “This one is from my first impression of the trunk.” She pointed to the other one. “This is from when I was speaking with her.”
Ellie gasped. “That’s a little eerie, don’t you think?”
“Creepy, too.” Luna stared down at her primitive artwork. “You know what else is odd? There is very little in this diary. Even the author admits there isn’t much in there except for the last entry. She sure sounded desperate. And young.”
“Let me look at that note again.” Ellie peered at the note, then at the diary entry. She frowned.
“What?” Luna asked.
“The diary is signed with a V. The note is from a woman named Tori.”
“Dang.” Luna twisted her mouth to the side. “I still think there is a connection here.” Luna chewed on her lip. “I’m going to bring these with me when I see Christopher. Maybe he can recommend a handwriting expert.”
“That’s not a bad idea. If you really want to go through all that trouble,” Ellie said.
Luna gave Ellie a look. “This is me, remember?”
“Right. Dog with a sock in his mouth refusing to let go.” Ellie chuckled.
“Bowwow,” Luna replied. Both women laughed.
“Are you getting excited about the weekend?” Ellie knew that was a rhetorical question, but she wanted to engage Luna in more conversation.
“I’m a wreck,” Luna admitted. “On the one hand, I’m really looking forward to spending some alone time with Chris, but I don’t know how much he is looking forward to it.”
“Oh please, don’t start that again,” Ellie huffed. “Truth be told, if it were up to me I would lock both of you in a room and not let you out until you had at least a heavy make-out session.”
“Ellie Stillwell! How crass.” Luna laughed out loud, knowing Ellie would take it as a joke.
“My dear. Life is short. And swift. Before you know it, another twenty years have dissolved into the mist.”
“Yeah. I get it. I’ve had that conversation more than once. I’m such a hypocrite.” Luna shook her head.
“No, not really. You understand the concept of enjoying life while you can, but too often we get caught up in the daily grind.”
“My gosh, you are starting to sound like me!” Luna smiled.
“We’re a good influence on each other, and if I can influence you into getting up close and personal with Chris, I will.” Ellie folded her arms.
“You are such a good friend.” Luna gave her a warm smile. “I appreciate your confidence in me. I wish I had more.”
“You know he is very fond of you, and you are of him. Don’t put any pressure on yourself. Just be the kooky, loving, warm, caring Luna that we all love.”
