Death Swipes Right, page 18
Talin looked up into Oshun’s inquiring gaze, then at Mama D’leau, to a soaked Palmer, and finally to where his friends waited. He gave a nod and said, “We save both.”
“Good luck with that, Talin,” Abbie said. “Mama D’leau’s not in a conciliatory mood.”
Talin turned back to the goddess. “May I speak to her?”
Mama D’leau crossed her arms. “Mind settled.”
“Stubborn.” Oshun bowed in challenge to Talin, extending her water-spray arm toward her unruly acolyte.
He took up the gauntlet she threw him and waded toward Mama D’leau.
Abbie watched him go with pride.
When he was within two meters of her, Palmer moaned and Mama D’leau, snapped, “Far enough, wizard-man.”
“Palmer killed my auntie,” Talin told Mama D’leau.
She nodded in agreement. “Evil. Ah make her pay.”
“No,” Talin said. “My job is to bring her to justice.”
“Ah do for yuh,” Mama D’leau said implacably.
“No,” Talin repeated. “I must do for me.”
“Ah harmed, ah punish,” Mama D’leau said. “Yuh go get a lover ta feed yuh, wizard-man. Yuh magga skinny.”
“One-track mind,” Abbie muttered.
Callum grinned. “I wish her good luck if she wants to fix Talin up. He has a mind of his own about his love life.”
“Like his uncle?” Abbie flicked him a curious side glance.
“Oh, I know who I want, lass,” Callum said.
“And who’s that?” she asked.
“None of our business, I would presume,” Robert said, from ahead of them, focused on the two conversing in the river.
“Love can be tricky,” Oshun whispered.
Talin said something in the gentlest of voices, and Abbie missed it. She stepped forward and Jimi followed her.
“I can’t see,” Nica whispered from behind.
Callum picked her up and sat her on his shoulder.
Robert’s backward glance was envious. Must hurt that his child had not lived long enough for him to do that.
“Abbie says you gifted her your grief,” Talin said.
Mama D’leau shook her head. “Nah gift. Meld meh pain ta hers.”
“Well, she released her pain and yours, too.”
Mama D’leau glanced over at Abbie. “How?”
“She’s my bestie and is pretty amazing,” Talin said with a small smile. “But when your grief lessened, it left an emptiness that your anger rose to fill.”
Mama D’leau nodded. “So?”
“You have a right to be angry,” Talin said. “Palmer wronged you. But you must not allow this new darkness to consume you as your grief once did. The grief blinded you to Palmer’s lies. This new darkness will also disguise truths.” Talin took a step closer to Mama D’leau. “You need to remain clear-eyed so you can recognize moments of joy.”
Mama D’leau snorted. “What joy?”
“Shahay is your friend. Does she not bring you joy?”
“Car-gyal happy,” Mama D’leau conceded. “Her man made her happy with his paintings.”
“Yes, Yousef did that because he loves her. He could do it because you saved him for your car-girl.”
“Ah did dat,” Mama D’leau agreed with pride.
“That feels joyful, doesn’t it?” Talin asked. “You enjoy seeing Shahay happy.”
“Yes.” Mama D’leau frowned, suspicious. “So?”
“More joy is coming your way. If you allow it in.”
“What joy?” Mama D’leau asked, deeply skeptical.
Chapter Sixteen
“Did you ask Abbie for help to get you home?” Talin asked Mama D’leau.
“Yes,” Mama D’leau replied with caution.
“Then you must make ready for the joy of homecoming. Because that long overdue wish is about to be fulfilled.”
“Yuh lying, wizard-man?” she asked, her gaze flicking between Abbie and Talin.
“A man arrived in the car park after you left. He’s come to take you to Trinidad.”
That was news to Abbie. There was only one person who could perform such a feat. Kiros. If his underwater sib had found the lost ocean liner.
Abbie’s heart beat with excitement and hope.
“Nah!” Mama D’leau cried. “Dis a trick. Yuh want Palmer.”
“Is it a trick?” Oshun asked, leaning toward Abbie.
Callum said with confidence, “My nephew doesn’t lie.”
“To leave this land and go home to Trinidad,” Talin called out to Mama D’leau, “you must first release your anger. At Palmer. Even at Goddess Oshun. At this land for trapping you. Or you will remain here, bitter, angry, and alone. Forever.”
Tears budded in Mama D’leau’s eyes at that bleak future.
Her sadness ached deep within Abbie.
Callum took her hand and simply held it. It was the most soothing gesture, pushing away that sadness.
“You must open your heart to a new life, Mama D’leau,” Talin said, “by letting go of your pain.”
Sounding broken, Mama D’leau said, “How, wizard-man?”
“If you’re willing and ready to release your anger,” Talin held out his hand, “I can help you do so.”
She stared at his open palm for five heartbeats. Then, hesitantly, she placed her hand in his. “Ah willing.”
Talin clasped Mama D’leau’s hand in his and, eyes closed, raised his other arm to work energy lines and swirls in the air. This time, he pulled dark bands of energy out of Mama D’leau as Hafgufa had done from Abbie.
It was fascinating to watch this process from the outside. He built a dark raging energy ball with what he extracted. Then he threw the energy ball high and shattered it.
“Oooh!” Jimi cried in awe at the light spectacle.
Talin drew more energy and built another energy ball, then another, flicking them up and bursting them into starlight.
Mama D’leau gasped each time, until finally, she dropped to her knees, her hand still in his. Her gaze was wide open and teary when they met his.
“Yuh nah lie, wizard man?” Mama D’leau asked. “Ah go home?”
Talin nodded. “A vehicle is waiting for you in the car park to transport you to the Dover port, where you’ll be taking the same ocean liner that brought you here back to Trinidad.”
She leapt up and embraced him. “Thank yuh.”
That hug didn’t frighten Abbie. This was an embrace that would gift him with nothing but happiness.
Even Oshun looked touched, a small wistful smile lighting up her beautiful face.
Callum and Robert stayed silent, appearing stunned by this turn of events.
“Let’s go,” the goddess said. With a sweep of her water-spraying arms, they were all back at the car park.
As Talin had said, a large black limousine was now parked beside the other three vehicles. Kiros hurried over from beside it, looking askance at Goddess Oshun. Yousef and Judith, who’d been chatting together, also joined them.
“Mama D’leau,” Oshun called to her acolyte.
Mama D’leau, clutching her small dripping altarpiece, turned to her goddess and bowed her head in supplication.
“I am sorry I lost track of you,” Oshun said in a gentle tone. “Will you accept this gift as my atonement?” There was a tiny seedling in Oshun’s palm.
“Oh,” Mama D’leau cried. “Meh new tree?”
“Plant it when you get home,” Oshun said, “with the bits and pieces of your old one beneath it to act as an anchor. They will sustain and help the seedling recognize you as its mistress. Do that and this tree will serve as your safe harbor for the rest of your days, guarding and protecting you from all enemies.”
Oshun then turned to Talin. “Have Nica call me when you are free of your obligations, Energy Spinner, and I will introduce you to my husband. He would love to hear about how you use energy manipulation to heal.”
The goddess finally turned to Nica. “Happy little one?”
“Yes.” Nica bowed. “Thank you for coming, Great Oshun.”
With a regal nod, Oshun vanished.
Shortly after she did, several police units stormed into the car park, lights flashing and two tones ringing.
One unmarked unit stopped right beside Abbie. Turner exited from it. “This park is closed. All of you are trespassing. How did you get in? We couldn’t get past the barrier.”
Abbie wondered if the goddess had been responsible for that impediment. She could have placed a shield around the park after she arrived to keep out further interruptions. Kiros alone had been able to circumvent it. Must have used his magic to do so.
Callum stepped around Abbie with a dripping handcuffed Palmer. “I came here with them to retrieve this woman. The Chipstead nick received an anonymous tip that she’d been spotted near here. Your presence suggests you received my notice about the tip. I’ve given her the caution, and she’s confessed to the murder of Niara Fisher and Mrs. Williams.”
“Why would you bring all these people along?” Turner asked with a skeptical expression.
“The credit for the arrest is all yours,” he said with aplomb and handed over Palmer, who was shivering and pale.
“Take her to the transit van,” Turner said to a nearby constable, “and get her a blanket and a cup of hot tea with plenty of sugars.”
Abbie stepped away, allowing them to talk in private, and hurried with her kids and Robert at her side toward Kiros.
The vehicle he’d arrived in this time was a beautiful, sleek limo painted in silver and a stunning Moroccan blue.
Kiros was holding the back door open for Talin, who assisted Mama D’leau inside.
“Did your underwater bro retrieve that lost ocean liner?” Abbie asked, still in shock that such a feat had been possible after all these years.
“Yes,” he said. Looking as stunned as Abbie felt, he asked, “Was that an African goddess?”
His question struck her as odd. “Have you never met one?”
It was his turn to give her a startled glance. “I didn’t know they were real.”
Abbie was unsure what to make of Kiros’s admission. He’d lived for centuries and didn’t believe in God? Truly?
Then again, she’d been an atheist, technically, despite her mother dragging her to church every Sunday. Until the night a dead woman’s spirit told Robert she’d prayed to God at St. Michael’s church to summon help for her imperiled kids.
Soon after, Abbie and Robert showed up at that church to rescue her kids: Nica and Jimi. Then they’d all formed the Standard Bearers’ club, along with the “three more” the mother had prophesied would come.
Of course, after meeting Kali, Abbie no longer had any doubts about the existence of deities. If Kali was real, why not others? Why not the Almighty God Abbie’s mother believed in, who was likely the one who answered the prayer of a dying woman at St. Michael’s church?
A more curious question was, did Kiros’s surprise about Oshun mean he wasn’t aware Abbie knew Kali? How interesting. He mustn’t listen to her podcasts.
“Oshun’s presence here is a long story,” Abbie said. She could hardly wait to spin that one for her listeners next.
“Please,” Kiros said, sounding quite sincere, “come along with us and tell me all about it. I’ll arrange for your car to be towed home.” He invited her into the backseat.
“All of us?” Abbie said, aghast. Yousef planned to follow them in Shahay, and Callum would do the same in his jeep. That still left a driver plus nine in one vehicle.
“There’s plenty of room,” Kiros assured her.
Abbie couldn’t resist accepting. Aside from having a love for storytelling, her brother Bran, a car freak, would be so envious when he heard she’d ridden in a Mulsanne Grand Stretch Limo. Which he would learn about once she texted him.
She entered the limo, and there was plenty of room. This vehicle came fitted with nine large seats in the back, four to a side facing each other, plus an extra one at the far end between the two rows.
On the drive, her kids chatted a mile a minute, with Robert adding an occasional comment, as they filled in Judith and Kiros about what had happened.
Talin and Mama D’leau sat quietly side by side. He held onto her altar while she held his hand with a white-knuckled grip, while protectively holding her seedling.
The drive to the Dover port took less time than Abbie expected and was as smooth as flying. This vehicle had wonderful suspension. As they drew closer to their destination, the air inside the limo grew quieter and heavy with expectation.
She didn’t quite know what they’d see when they arrived at the port. Would it be a broken-down cruise liner covered in marine fouling and dripping with seaweed?
What would be the port authority’s reaction to a vessel like that arriving at their docks? She kept checking her mobile news to see if there were any clips about an unknown decrepit vessel heading for Dover. Nothing.
“We’re here,” Talin said, checking out the window as they passed a sign that said they were entering the Western Docks of the Port of Dover.
Callum’s jeep and Shahay followed them to park on either side of the long limo.
Abbie exited and the first sight that caught her eye was a clock tower showing the time as half-past two in the afternoon.
Kiros led them toward a dock.
Talin dropped back to speak to Abbie.
“You did well today,” she said.
“Healing Mama D’leau felt good,” he replied and handed her a small box.
“What’s this?”
“I’ve unlocked the encryption on the computer key you gave me from your London friend. You should be able to read what’s in it without fear. I took a quick look to make sure it was safe. Seems innocuous. It’s a collection of recipes.”
As she took the box, he added, “I also checked how this reached you. Lila’s sister had put her late sister’s things in storage for the past year because she couldn’t bring herself to look through them. When she finally did and realized this was something her sister meant for you, she mailed it off.”
“Thank you,” Abbie said.
He nodded and waved before catching up to Mama D’leau.
It surprised her she wasn’t in tears. In the past, every time she thought of her lost friends, it hurt so much. This time, the thought she had something of Lila’s brought a fond warmth, like cuddling into a favorite blanket.
By removing the darkness festering within her, Hafgufa had moved Abbie past her grief and toward properly appreciating and treasuring her lost teammates’ friendships. It also left her open to forming new close relationships.
Lila’s recipe collection was the best parting gift for Abbie. Her friend not only had great recipes; she had been excellent at making the most complicated steps seem simple and easy to follow. Abbie wanted to become a better cook and make meals her kids would love to eat. Food that may not stack up to Granny Chan’s standards, but was good enough.
With a radiant glow, she tucked the small box into her jacket pocket and focused on getting Mama D’leau home.
They arrived at the dock, but no vessel was tied to it. Her heart squeezed with disappointment. Maybe it hadn’t arrived yet.
She was about to ask Kiros about the delay when bubbles erupted on the sea’s surface surrounding the dock. Then something rose out of the water.
They all backed away as waves splashed and spurted. An enormous vessel—must be at least five hundred feet long—emerged from the depths, tilting slightly to the right. Mussels and other marine life encrusted the ship’s hull, growing so deep that they would be impossible to remove, and there was a vast hole at one end of the hull.
That ship shouldn’t be able to float in this condition, never mind travel to Trinidad.
Mama D’leau gasped beside her. Had she come to the same conclusion?
“Maybe if I send an electric pulse,” Talin said in a worried tone, “it would break apart the stuff covering the ship.”
“If you do, the structure might disintegrate,” Yousef warned.
“I’m so sorry, Mama D’leau,” Callum said with deep sympathy. “I know you counted on this to take you home.”
Abbie put her arm around Mama D’leau. “Never mind. All we need to do is take what pieces of wood we can salvage from inside the ship that belongs to you and then we can fly you to Trinidad. I’m sure Kiros could arrange that, couldn’t you?”
She speared him with a pleading glance.
“Why would you not want to return home the way you came?” a familiar voice asked from behind them.
Abbie swung around to find Goddess Oshun standing there, looking like a perfectly ordinary woman in a beautiful yellow and white striped figure-hugging jersey dress with short sleeves, side pockets, and a drawstring at the waist.
“I left to fetch crew members to help us sail her to Trini,” the goddess said. She grinned at their stunned expressions and clapped her hands twice.
“Wow!” Talin said.
Abbie turned around to find, docked before them, a sparkling ocean liner with the words Empire Windrush emblazoned on its clean white side below a huge white anchor attached across the front railings.
“I added a few improvements to her machinery so she won’t sink while we travel,” Oshun said.
“We?” Mama D’leau asked.
Abbie moved aside as Oshun moved closer and wrapped her arm around Mama D’leau’s waist. “I think we need to spend some time together to become reacquainted. Shall we board?” Oshun glanced back at Abbie and her friends. “If you want to come and check out the vessel before we set sail, follow us, but be quick. We’ll be leaving within the hour.”
The others hurried to follow the two.
Callum held his hand out to Abbie, offering to tour the ship with her.
“Abbie,” a lady called from behind.
She glanced around and this time found an Indian lady wearing a beautiful blue embroidered sari waiting a few paces away. With the light behind her, it was hard to see her face.
“I’ll be right back,” she whispered to Callum.
Alerting her ring and cord to be ready in case of trouble, she headed over to meet the woman. Her features came into view and Abbie’s breath caught in her throat in recognition. “Goddess Kali!”
