The Spiritist: A Aerilyn Mathew Novel (Aerilyn Mathew Novels Book 1) Read online

  He was a committed, dedicated, and hardworking man. His loyalty towards Joan was exemplary. He was definitely going way beyond his duties as an employer, and kindness impressed Aerilyn.

  Damn it! She was falling for him hard.

  Satisfied with the appearance of the office, she went looking for Joan. She found her in the kitchen pouring coffee in two white mugs.

  “I was just about to call you. It’s time for a break,” she said and offered her a mug.

  “The office is done. I could stay behind and help you with the bedrooms, Joan?” she proposed as she added creamer and sugar to her coffee.

  Joan poured creamer in her cup. “No need, dear. My daughter is coming tomorrow. I’ll do it with her. You’ve already done enough.”

  After dropping her at Joan’s, Cole had left. He would come back in the evening before they did the séance. Joan and Aerilyn had cleaned Thomas’s room first, hoping to find some clue regarding his roommate and the elusive Robin. Nothing had been found. Then Joan remembered that she’d stashed some of his cartons that arrived from his dorm after his death in the family storage unit. Too distraught to deal with his private stuff, she had asked her older son, Joe, to put them in storage for the time being. Joe had gone to pick up those cartons.

  Aerilyn was hoping to find something informative amongst Thomas’s belongings before she talked to him again. She took a sip from the hot coffee and wandered over to the large pane-glass window that looked out to the backyard. Nothing elaborate was done to the yard but she knew how much effort it took to maintain the rose bushes, the patches of flowers, and evergreens that were carefully planted around the edges of the garden. A swing sat outside on the porch.

  This had been a home. A wonderful home. No doubt, a happy home – but now shadows of grief and despair clung to each wall and corner.

  Joe came in through the kitchen door. He was a taller version of his brother; the same straight, blonde hair, angled cut of the jaw and blue eyes. Every time she saw him, Aerilyn was startled by his resemblance to his deceased brother. He was carrying a medium sized carton. “There are six more,” he said.

  “I’ll help you,” said Aerilyn as she rose to go outside. Joe and she lined up the cardboard boxes on the kitchen floor when they were finished.

  Joan left her coffee on the counter. Using the scissors that hung on a hook next to the sink, she cut open the tape on the first box. “Joe, why don’t you go upstairs and put your room in order?”

  Her older son frowned. “I could stay with you while you go through…Thomas’s things.”

  Joan ran a hand over the edge of the box. She didn’t look up. “No, dear. Aerilyn and I can do this.”

  “Ok, sure.” After giving Aerilyn a cautious glance, he obeyed his mother without question. From what little Aerilyn knew, he worked in a law firm and lived downtown, but had come home to help his mom clean up.

  For the time being, Cole and Joan had decided to keep Joan’s children out of the loop. It was as much for their safety as it was to maintain the secrecy. Until they had something more substantial in hand, there was no point of informing Thomas’s siblings about this latest development.

  Aerilyn watched the older woman run her hand over the box. Joan’s fingers trembled. Sympathy welled in her heart. “If you’re not ready, Joan, I can do this on my own.”

  “No. I want to do this.”

  Joan opened the box. It contained clothes; sweater, jeans, shirts and caps. Joan ran a loving hand over a blue cap. A tear escaped her eye. “He used to collect caps. Even as a child, he had many.”

  As they both methodically inspected each item, Aerilyn checked each pocket of every garment to make sure no important scrap of paper was left inside. She found a visiting card, one college library ID card, and a couple of bills and loose papers. Thomas’s books, notebooks, and folders were carefully checked. Joan broke apart once when they found a stack of his pictures. A handsome young man, he was seen smiling cheerfully in each and every one.

  “That’s his girlfriend, Cally.” She pointed at a young brunette, her arm wrapped around Thomas in one candid picture. “She was pretty torn up after his death even though they had split earlier. Took a semester off but she is going back soon. And that’s Simon.” Joan showed her another picture.

  While Thomas was radiating good health in each picture, Simon was gaunt, with black circles under his eyes and pale, waxy skin. “He was an addict?” Aerilyn commented as she ran a hand over the edge of the picture.

  “Thomas told me…let me think, it was in February that he suspected Simon was doing drugs. He wanted to move into another apartment. He’d even seen a few, but they were either too far away from college or not good enough for his liking. I told him not to worry about paying a higher rent, but he was always careful with money. He told me he wanted the right place at an affordable price. And then suddenly, he dropped the idea of moving out. Two months later, Simon died.”

  “Did Thomas get a new roommate after Simon’s death?”

  “No. People get spooked by death. I think the owner was having a hard time finding someone who wanted to rent a room where someone died. To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t happy about Thomas staying on after Simon’s death – but I never told him that. Thought he would laugh at his mom’s insane worries. If only…”

  Aerilyn put her hand on Joan’s shoulder. “Hindsight is a curse. Don’t let yourself be grabbed into the vicious cycle of what-ifs and if-onlys.”

  Joan sighed. “You’re right. It’s just so hard.” She opened another carton while Aerilyn went about the task of organizing everything. She stacked everything in order. Books in one pile, notebooks in another, and clothes and shoes were put in a separate corner. Joan wanted to give them to charity. The last box contained Simon’s laptop, phone, and tablet.

  “The police went through all these things after his death but found nothing of interest.”

  The batteries were dead so Aerilyn put everything on charge. She booted the laptop and went through his folders and files. The hard disk was filled with assignments and reports. Nothing out of the ordinary jumped out at her.

  “Did he keep a journal or diary?”

  “Not that I know of. I never saw him writing anything down. If there was one, the police would have found it.”

  “Would you mind if I read his email?”

  “Sure, dear.” Joan was riffling through one of his notebooks. “But I think the police must have gone through it.”

  She found it highly intrusive to go through the boy’s email, but Aerilyn searched through his folders. Nothing significant showed up. He seemed to be one of those rare people who kept few old emails in his inbox. Most of the emails that were there had come in after his death; many of them were newsletters and subscribed stuff. His sent box contained regular emails to his mother, brother, sister, and a few friends. There was no mention of Simon or Robin.

  If he were bothered about his roommate’s death, wouldn’t he have mentioned it to someone?

  Aerilyn picked up the tablet. She swiped to open it and surveyed the various apps and folders. Nothing interesting. She noticed one of the icons. It was the same app that she used to make her journal notes for ongoing séances. Was it possible that Thomas used it for his notes?

  She clicked on the app. A pass code appeared. “Do you know what pass code he used?” She showed the screen to Joan.

  “No. I’ve no idea.”

  Aerilyn didn’t want to try random pass codes and lock the app or the tablet. She put it aside for now.

  Joe came down. He looked surprised to see that everything was opened and neatly organized. “I’m going out now. Mom, are you going to stay here tonight? Why don’t you come with me to my apartment?”

  “No. I will stay with Rachel.” She was the neighbor who had called to inform Joan about the burglary. “Don’t worry about me, dear. I’ll be fine. Sarah is coming down tomorrow to put the house in order with me. We will be fine.”

  His gaze flickered to
his brother’s stuff. “Do you want me…to take care of all this for you?”

  Joan ran a hand over Thomas’s old jacket. “I’m going to give his clothes and shoes to charity. It’s the least I can do.”

  Joe hugged his mother. Aerilyn could sense the concern and love the boy had for her. “I’ll come after work tomorrow to help you. It will be nice to see Sarah again.”

  Joan went out with her son to say goodbye. She came back a while later and sat with Aerilyn on the kitchen table. “Now what? It seems this Robin person doesn’t really exist.”

  “He exists. We just have to find him,” Aerilyn mused. She was disappointed that they hadn’t managed to find anything related to Simon’s death or the elusive Robin. In her heart she felt that both deaths were connected in some way. Simon died of a drug overdose. Robin was his supplier. Both of these facts had something to do with Thomas’s alleged suicide - but what? Only Thomas could answer these questions, but either he didn’t know or was not able to connect the dots for them.

  “We’ll do another séance and ask Thomas. Let’s write down the questions we need to ask him.”

  They both worked to write a list of questions that would require Thomas to give short answers that would help them understand the situation more.

  Aerilyn reworded one of the questions. “Just remember that although he can give us his opinions, they can be wrong. He doesn’t know it all.”

  Joan put her hand on her brow as she sipped her now cold coffee. “I wonder what it must be like for him to not know who killed him. Wouldn’t that make him angry?”

  Aerilyn shook her head. She twirled the pen in her hand. “Spirits don’t worry about the past, Joan. Your son is happy. He is free of all pain, all worry, and all the worldly concerns that torment us. We need answers. He is already in bliss. He lives eternally in a state of happiness, wonder, and peace.”

  Joan nodded. She blinked away the tears that crept into her eyes. “I’m glad I found you, Aerilyn. It gladdens me to know that my boy is in a good place.”

  Would Joan still be happy if Aerilyn couldn’t find any of the answers she was looking for? What if they never could find the truth behind Thomas’s death? By opening this can of worms had she put Joan permanently in a state of miserable confusion?

  Was seeking the truth more important than letting it go?

  The bell rang. “That will be Cole.” Joan went to open the door.

  Aerilyn remained seated. Her emotions regarding Cole were very mixed. It was hard to deny that she was attracted to the man, but even more complex were her feelings regarding his involvement with Joan and the progress of this case. Aerilyn wasn’t afraid to admit that she needed his help. He’d been the one to prove that Thomas’s claim regarding Robin was within the realm of possibility. He had connections. He knew how to get this work done and he could be instrumental in unraveling the mystery surrounding Thomas’s death.

  And yet, she was weary of trusting him too much. It wouldn’t do to forget that he had started off by being firmly against her. No matter how helpful he was, he would never be able to understand her connection with the spirit world. No one could. Her gift made people think of her as an oddity.

  And he was no exception.

  Cole entered the room. His quick glance took in the neat piles and the empty boxes. “Nothing?” he asked.

  “No mention of Simon or Robin,” said Joan with a weary sigh.

  “Did you go through his emails, notes, and journals?”

  “Zilch on the emails. And his journal on the tablet is protected by a pass code.”

  “I’ve asked Damon to talk to the police about Robin. See what else he can come up with. He is also going to locate The Plazza, the bar Thomas mentioned. Although a quick search on the internet revealed no bar, restaurant, or club of that name in New York but we will still keep trying.”

  “Who is Damon?”

  “He leads a team of investigators who do research as and when needed.”

  Cole picked up the tablet. He swiped it and looked through the apps and folders. “I wish we had treated it as a suspicious death right from the beginning. Since the police investigation and our own study didn’t reveal anything irregular, we let it go.” There was deep and genuine regret in his voice.

  Joan put a comforting hand on his arm. “No one knew or suspected anything. If it wasn’t for Aerilyn, we would never have known. Now, at least, we have a chance to catch the murderer.”

  He put the tablet down and ran a hand through his hair. “And we will not fail.”

  Aerilyn was glad he had the means to help them with this mystery but she wondered how far his patience would run. Would he see it through to the end or would he get disheartened by the constant setbacks and go back to calling her a fraud? What if they never found any evidence to back her claims?

  “What’s you plan now?” He interrupted her train of thought.

  Aerilyn handed him the paper on which they had written the questions. “We will do another séance.”

  He stood. “Fine. Let’s do it now. Where do you want to do it?”

  “It would be better to conduct it in Thomas’s room. I know it’s going to be hard on you, Joan, but I need you there.”

  Joan squared her shoulders. “Nothing can stop me from finding out the truth. Let’s do this.”

  Minutes later they were seated in Thomas’s room. The room had been a mess; everything was thrown on the floor. The mattress had been removed and thrown to one side. Joan and Aerilyn had fixed it as best as they could.

  Joan sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard. “I don’t know why the thief found it necessary to search every nook and cranny. It’s not like I would have money stuffed under the beds or in the walls.”

  Aerilyn sat facing Joan. Above the headboard was a large poster of a boy band that she didn’t recognize. “But this is the only room where the mattress was taken out of the bed.”

  Joan frowned. “Yeah, funny. I didn’t notice that.”

  Aerilyn exchanged a glance with Cole. Joan might not have noticed the significance of that observation, but they both knew what it meant. Someone had specifically gone through every place in Thomas’s room. What were they searching for? Had this entire burglary been a ruse to get access to Thomas’s room?

  Cole sat on the couch that stood against one wall. “Was anything missing, Joan?”

  “My jewelry is gone. A few gold pieces and one diamond ring. The police have the details.”

  Cole leaned forward. “Let’s begin.”

  Aerilyn cleared her throat. “Before I begin, I want to confess something.” She had thought long and hard about it. Aerilyn abhorred secrets. Morally. Ethically. They were all involved in this, and she didn’t want to keep them in the dark. There were no skeletons in her closet. “A few years ago, I had a séance in which a spirit claimed that he was murdered. I went to the police. Nothing happened. I was laughed out of the police station. Unfortunately, I was unable to hunt up the evidence they needed.”

  “I know about it,” Cole admitted.

  Aerilyn gaped at him. “You…?” Understanding dawned. “Right. Of course, you would have had me investigated.”

  “It wasn’t anything…personal.”

  “You were looking out for Joan.” She wasn’t insulted. Or angry. Merely surprised. She should have realized he would have done something like it.

  Joan put her hand over hers. “I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t know that Cole would do it.”

  “You’re lucky to have him by your side.” Aerilyn smiled.

  “Yeah, I am.” Joan glared at Cole. “I suppose.”

  “I only told you so that you can be prepared for the possibility that this may not work out as you have envisioned,” Aerilyn told them.

  “Don’t worry, dear. I know you will do your best.”

  Aerilyn cleared her throat again. She was overwhelmed by Joan’s immense faith. Her glance met Cole’s, and she was surprised to see a wealth of understanding in his deep, dark ey
es. Her heart thudded loudly. Startled, she looked away.

  “Shall we begin?” she asked Joan. “Close your eyes and focus on your last memory of Thomas.”

  Conscious of Cole’s gaze, Aerilyn closed her eyes. With little effort, she found the center of her power. She drew it out, expanding it until it encompassed her entire body. The veil appeared as before. It wasn’t something visible she saw. Her gift sensed it, gave shape to it, as to make it easy for her to pierce it. The veil was always around. Ubiquitous. Everlasting. Eternal.

  If only people knew how close they were to death all the time.

  The veil billowed. Thomas stepped out, a shadowy figure, a silhouette. Slowly, he came into focus. Aerilyn opened her eyes. He was standing to her left, his arm nearly touching the headboard. “Hey, Thomas.”

  “Tell my mother that I love her,” he said.

  “I will Thomas, but not now. It will disturb her concentration. That’s what keeping you here,” she said. “Please tell me, Thomas, was your death connected to Simon’s?”

  “Yes.” Thomas said. “I think so.”

  “Why do you think that your death was connected to Simon’s?” This question was a risk. It asked for his opinion. Would he elaborate?

  “Simon died of a drug overdose. Robin gave it to him, deliberately. I found out.”

  “You found out that Robin gave Simon a deliberate overdose?” Her pulse quickened. Finally, they were getting somewhere.

  “Yes, that is correct.”

  “Were you investigating Simon’s death?”

  “Yes.” He nodded vigorously, looking happy. Perhaps she was asking the right questions.

  “Do you think that the reason you died was because you were investigating Simon’s death?”

  He paused, not sure. “I think so. It might be so.”

  Aerilyn was getting desperate. She wasn’t really getting any solid answers. Was she destined to fail in this task?