The Prophet

Chapter Thirty-Five

I headed south the next day into Beaufort County, the garnet ring glittering on the tip of my pinkie. Even after a few hours of sleep and a morning spent clearing brush in Oak Grove Cemetery, I was still reeling from the knowledge that Shani had found a way into my home. The heart on my bathroom mirror had been her first attempt, I supposed. And now if she could get in, others could, too.

Since childhood, hallowed ground had been my one foolproof protection. My only escape. That was gone now. Shani’s manifestation had punched a hole in my illusion of a safe haven, and now, without Papa’s rules, without a sanctuary, I had nothing standing between me and the ghosts.

My only hope was to help her move on before she led more spirits to me. And my only clue of how to find her was the garnet ring. She had brought it from her grave and placed it in my hand, so the logical place to start my search was in Chedathy Cemetery.

But I had other business to attend to in Beaufort County before I drove out to the graveyard. Shani wasn’t the only ghost to whom I’d promised my assistance. Robert Fremont was still out there somewhere. He was keeping his distance for whatever reason, but I had no doubt he would materialize one morning on the Battery or next to my car at Oak Grove Cemetery expecting answers.

I wondered if he even knew about Tom Gerrity’s murder. Was that the reason he’d sent me to the private detective’s office? He’d felt very strongly that I should go there. Maybe he’d had a vision or a premonition. Like his memory, his prophecies seemed to come and go, but then he was dead, after all. I supposed I should cut him some slack.

My first stop was the Beaufort County Coroner’s office. I hadn’t yet figured out how to finesse my way into Garland Finch’s good graces, but I had the card from Regina Sparks in my pocket. I was fully prepared to pull it out if need be, along with a spiel about South Carolina’s open records law. But as it turned out, I needed to do nothing more than introduce myself.

“Amelia Gray,” the woman behind the front desk mused as she scratched her head with a pencil. Her beehive was a thing of beauty. I might have thought it a cutting-edge fashion statement if I didn’t have the feeling she’d worn that same style since the sixties. “I have a note about you around here somewhere.” She scavenged through the papers on her messy desk to produce a manila envelope with a pink Post-it note attached. “Ah, here we are. You’re picking up some records for Regina Sparks. Garland said to give you whatever you needed.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.” I perked up. This was going to be so much easier than I’d anticipated.

The woman gave me a reproachful look over her glasses. “You didn’t need to make a special trip down here, you know. I could have emailed the reports to the Charleston County Coroner’s office.”

“I had business in the area, anyway.”

“Well, here you go, then.” She handed me the envelope.

I took it reluctantly. “What’s this?”

She lifted an overplucked brow. “The reports? That is what you’re here for, isn’t it? Check and make sure everything is in there before you leave. Be a shame if something is missing after you came all this way.”

“But how did you know what I needed?”

“Garland told me.” She eyed me curiously. “Is something wrong?”

“No, I just…no.”

I opened the flap and glanced through the pages, stopping cold when I saw the names. Now I understood. Regina had assumed the friend I’d referred to was Devlin. The autopsy reports she’d requested were for Shani and Mariama.

“There seems to be one missing,” I said. “Didn’t Regina also request the report of a man named Robert Fremont?” I held my breath, hoping I hadn’t set off an alarm for her.

“Garland didn’t mention him, but I guess it could have slipped his mind. He’s no spring chicken, although he’s not about to admit it.” She tapped a few keys on her computer. “Robert Fremont, you say? Why do I know that name?”

“He was a Charleston cop who was killed down here a couple of years ago.”

“I don’t remember the particulars, but that name sure rings a bell. Has something new turned up on his case?”

“I don’t know. Regina didn’t discuss it with me. I’m just supposed to collect the postmortems.”

She studied the computer screen. “You may as well take a seat. We’re slow as molasses today. Now, is that F-r-e-e-m-o-n-t?”

“One e.”

“All right, hold your horses.”

I was afraid she would have to check with the coroner before she released the records or, worse, verify with Regina. But instead, I heard the whir of a printer, and a moment later, she handed me a single sheet of paper.

“This is just the summary,” she said. “If Regina wants the full report, she’ll have to submit a formal request. But she knows that.”

“I’m sure this will be fine,” I said, as I stuffed the page in with the others. “Thanks again for your help.”

“No problem. Y’all take care.”

I hurried out of the building and climbed into my car before anyone had a chance to stop me. Pulling out the reports, I scanned all three, then read back through them more carefully. Something niggled but I didn’t know why. Everything seemed to be in order. Nothing leaped out at me, so I put them back in the envelope and set it aside for the time being.

Chedathy Cemetery—and Shani’s ghost—waited for me.

On my way to the cemetery, I stopped at the bridge where Mariama’s car had gone over the guardrail. I’d been there once before when Shani had first appeared in my garden because I thought I might find answers in the place where she’d drawn her last breath. Back then the heart on my window and the garnet ring had been our only communication. Now I knew that she wanted me to come find her and I dreaded what that might entail.

I had no idea why I’d come back to the bridge, but the compulsion had been too strong to resist. Something or someone was trying to direct my actions, be it my instincts, the universe or my spirit guide. These impulses didn’t happen out of the blue, and according to Clementine, I needed to pay particular attention to whatever meaningful coincidences might be headed my way.

Parking on the side of the road, I got out and walked up the incline to stand at the railing, gazing down at the water. It was a still day and the sun warmed my face. I could smell brine from the marshes and pine from the forest. The leaves of the hardwoods had already turned, painting the landscape in brilliant shades of russet, crimson and gold.

It was very peaceful here. I’d noticed that on my previous trip. I wouldn’t have been surprised to sense some disturbance remaining from the accident. If a house could harbor the emotions of previous residents, then surely a place could capture a scream.

I heard nothing.

In that quiet setting, I thought of my conversation with Isabel. Devlin had remained with Mariama because he’d been afraid for Shani. It must have been a horrible situation, one I could hardly imagine.

With his money and clout, he could have taken Mariama to court and sued for full custody. And if granted, he could have taken every precaution, installed the best security system, hired a full-time guard. But nothing would have kept Mariama away if she’d been bent on revenge. Nothing could keep her away now.

I took out my phone to check for messages in case Devlin had tried to call, but I couldn’t get a strong enough signal to connect with my voice mail. As I stood there contemplating the water, a patrol car from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s office eased alongside me.

My first thought was those autopsy reports in the front seat of my car. The woman at the coroner’s office must have caught on to my deception. But then I remembered that, technically, autopsy reports were a matter of public record. Surely I’d done nothing to warrant an arrest.

“Everything okay here?” he asked through his open window.

“I’m just enjoying the scenery,” I tried to say casually.

“Thought you might be having car trouble.” He nodded to the phone in my hand. “You won’t get a signal out here. Have to drive up the road a piece.”

I turned to stare out over the bridge. “What about on the water?”

“Nah. I ran out of gas not too long ago and had to wait all morning before anyone came along to give me a tow. Not enough towers in the area,” he said. “You’re out in the boonies.”

“Well, thank you for stopping to check on me.”

“I wouldn’t hang out here for too long,” he cautioned. “These swamps are full of meth heads. They’d knock their own mama in the head for a buck.”

Suppressing a shiver, I nodded. “I’ll remember that.”

He drove off slowly, and I tried the phone from both ends of the bridge before climbing back into my car. I sat there for a moment, staring at the guardrail as I dredged up Ethan’s account of the accident.

According to him, Mariama had contacted 911 and then Devlin from her sinking car. How had she managed one call, let alone two, without a signal?

A little while later, I pulled around to the back of Chedathy Cemetery where I’d parked on my last visit. It was early afternoon, but the eerie tremolo of a loon tapped an icy tattoo down my spine as I jumped the ditch of brackish water and set out through the cemetery.

In the Gullah tradition, personal mementoes decorated the graves, along with seashells and broken pottery. Every now and then the sun shone down through the heavy canopy to catch a mirror just right, and the flash of light simulated a spirit in flight. I loved these old seacoast cemeteries. Everything that had been left upon the mounds—lamps, clocks, bits of porcelain and glass bottles—was an acknowledgement that life did not end with death.

I knelt beside Shani’s resting place and cleaned away leaves until I uncovered the seashell heart. The antique doll that I’d seen Devlin place on the grave last May had been taken away, probably having been ruined by inclement weather. I slipped the garnet ring from my finger and placed it inside the heart just as I had done before. Then I covered it back over with leaves to wait for Shani.

It was only three-thirty, too early for her ghost to appear, so I decided to take a walk by Essie’s house. I wouldn’t call on her unannounced, but if she happened to be sitting on her front porch, I could stop by and say hello. Maybe even work the conversation around to Darius. He was her grandson, though, so I’d have to be very careful not to offend her with my questions.

The sun was still warm on my shoulders as I walked down the gravel road toward the small community of clapboard houses. Birds sang from the treetops, and I could hear the distant laughter of children. It was all very tranquil until my gaze was drawn to one of the houses where several men stood around a hole that had been cut in the siding. As I stopped to watch, a draped stretcher was passed through the opening into their waiting hands. That the sheet covered a body, I was certain. A hearse was parked in the dirt drive, and I could hear weeping from inside the house.

As I gazed upon the bizarre scene, a girl of about sixteen ambled down the road toward me. She carried a baby in her arms while she shepherded a small child on a tricycle. Like me, she stopped to watch the house, and I turned to nod an acknowledgement. She was tall and gangly with high cheekbones and dark, luminous eyes. I thought her vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place her.

Resting the baby on her hip, she eyed me with open curiosity. “Did you know old Mr. Fremont?”

Fremont. My scalp bristled as every instinct warned me to pay close attention. Here was yet another of those meaningful coincidences. “Mr. Fremont?”

She nodded toward the house. “He died this morning. They’re carrying him down to the funeral home now to get him ready.”

“I never met him,” I said. “But I did know another Fremont from this area. His name was Robert.”

“That cop? He was Mr. Fremont’s grandson.” Despite the time of year and cooling weather, she wore flip-flops with her jeans. I could see a flash of hot pink toenail beneath the tattered hems. “How did you know Robert?”

“We met in Charleston.”

“He was a friend of yours?”

“Yes, I guess you could say that. Such a tragedy what happened to him. His death must have been a blow to the community.”

“Mama said the old man never got over it.”

We stood watching the strange proceedings in silence for a moment. “Why didn’t they bring the body through the door?” I asked. “What’s the significance of the hole in the wall?”

“In case he comes back,” she said with a shiver. “Once that hole is closed, his spirit won’t be able to find its way into the house.”

“I see.”

She shifted the baby to her other arm. All three stared at me with those dark, shimmering eyes. “You have folks around here?” she asked doubtfully.

“No. I was just visiting Chedathy Cemetery.” And just like that, it came back to me where I’d seen her before. “I know you,” I said. “Your name is Tay-Tay.”

She glowered. “No one calls me that anymore. I’m Tamira. These are my brothers.” She bounced the fretting baby to quiet him. “This one here is James and that’s Marcus.”

I said hello to all of them. “I’m Amelia.”

“How do you know me?” she demanded.

“I walked past your house once with Essie and Rhapsody Goodwine. We saw you on the porch.”

Her eyes widened, and I could have sworn I saw a flicker of fear. She called down the street to another girl chatting with a group of friends. She looked only a year or two younger than Tamira. “Timberly, you get your butt over here right now!”

The girl rolled her eyes and said something to one of her companions, then sauntered over to Tamira. “What do you want?” she asked sullenly, bending to scratch behind her knee.

“I need you to carry the baby home and give him a bottle. Take Marcus with you.”

“Why can’t you do it?”

“Because I can’t,” Tamira snapped imperiously. “Now you do as I say or I’ll tell Mama you been sneaking out at night to meet up with that old Peazant boy.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Oh, yes, I would,” Tamira threatened. “And don’t give me no more lip about it, either.”

The girl took the baby and plopped him none too gently on her scrawny hip. “I’m never having kids. They ruin everything.”

She trudged off with Marcus in tow, and Tamira turned back to me. “You come to see Miss Essie?”

“No, I told you. I’m visiting the cemetery.”

“You got people buried there?”

“I’m a cemetery restorer. I take care of graveyards,” I said vaguely. “Chedathy is one of my favorites.”

“That old place?” She turned to stare down the road toward the cemetery. “I reckon that’s where they’ll plant Mr. Fremont even though they wouldn’t bury his grandson there.”

“Why not?”

Despite that earlier flash of fear, she looked to be enjoying herself now. Her eyes gleamed with self-importance. “Because of the wudu.”

“Wudu? You mean magic?” I asked.

“Black magic.” She leaned in. “She was very powerful, they say. Powerful enough to come back from the dead. His people were afraid she wouldn’t let him rest in peace and they didn’t want him coming back. So they buried him someplace else.”

“Who wouldn’t let him rest?”

“Mariama Goodwine.”

I felt the chill of a ghostly breath down my collar even though it was hours until twilight. “Did you know her?”

“I used to see her in the bone-yard sometimes. She went there to meet him.”

“Robert?”

She nodded.

“You saw them together?”

“Lots of times. You want me to show you something?”

“I…sure.”

She led me back to the cemetery, pausing outside the lichgate to make the sign of the cross over her heart. Then we walked deep into Chedathy where the thick canopy all but blocked the sun.

“See this?” She pointed to a carving in a tree trunk. “This is where they used to meet. They cut these initials in the bark when they was just kids.”

“What does that symbol mean?”

“Love everlasting.”

I thought about Robert and Mariama’s history. They’d been together as teenagers. He’d both loved and hated her, and then he’d moved to Charleston and discovered there was a world beyond her. And yet, he’d allowed her back into his life.

“When was the last time you saw them here?” I asked.

“The day he got himself shot. I stood right over there behind that tree and listened to every word they said.”

I knew I should stop her, but I was spellbound and morbidly fascinated. “What did you hear?”

Her eyes rounded, and she waved her arms theatrically. It was almost as powerful as having been there. “She kept grabbing his shirt, like this.” Tamira demonstrated with her own T-shirt. “She clung with both fists, begging him to run off with her. She said he was the only man she’d ever loved and she didn’t want to live without him. He just laughed at her, and said she’d never really loved anyone but herself, and the only reason she’d come back to him was to taunt her husband. It had been a mistake to start things up with her again and even if he had been in love with her, his job was too dangerous to take on a family. He had no room in his life for a wife, much less one with a kid.” She finished with a dramatic flourish, shivering a bit as if overcome by the memory of all those emotions.

“You remember all that?” I asked in awe.

“I never forget a thing. Just ask Timberly.”

“I believe you.”

“You want to know the scary part?” She leaned in with a conspiratorial whisper. “I think Mariama comes to me in my sleep sometimes and tries to mess with me. I’m the only one that knows the truth about her and she don’t like it.”

“What truth?”

Tamira made a production of glancing over her shoulder. “She told Robert he would be sorry if he left her and the very next day I saw his body right here in the exact same spot where they’d stood talking. It was like she put a root on him or something.”

“You found him?” I asked in surprise.

She nodded proudly.

“But Robert was shot. Mariama couldn’t have done it because she was already dead.”

“If she came back as bakulu, she could have made somebody do it for her. That’s what they do. They make slaves of the living.”

“Tamira, listen to me. Were you in the cemetery the night Robert was murdered? Did you see what happened?”

Her eyes bulged suddenly, and her hands flew to her throat. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. I thought at first this was just more of her theatrics, but then I followed her gaze.

Rhapsody Goodwine stood between two graves, the resemblance to her father, Darius, so uncanny in that eerie setting as to raise goose bumps on my arms. She lifted her hand and pointed to Tamira.

“Tie your mouth, Tay-Tay!”

Beside me, the girl began to choke.