Exousia (Karass Chronicles Book 4) Read online

  But, it wasn’t just running the Diner that was the miracle. It was all the people who came in to eat. It was all the people in the community that supported it. And most of all, it was the circle of friends that Pete had met and then introduced to her.

  Barbara had discovered something about herself. She was surprised and delighted to find out that she loved to be around people. All those years sitting at home taking care of kids, and waiting for Pete to come home from his latest trip, had made her think she was a loner.

  What a joke, she thought. Thankfully it wasn’t too late to use her newly found people skills. Now that she was an official member of the council, she was determined to engage with the council to the best of her abilities and then do the same with the community, and with every moment of her life. She wasn’t going to say no to new experiences. She would embrace them.

  “Wow, Grace, you weren’t joking about cooking tonight, were you?” Mira said, as she hung up her coat by the door. “That garlic bread smells heavenly.”

  “No kidding,” Ava added, as she and Emily filed in behind Mandy. “Thanks for letting us know so we didn’t stuff ourselves before getting here.”

  Grace bustled over to give a hug to Ava, and then Emily, who gingerly returned it. Grace knew that hugging would surprise Emily, but she wasn’t going to stop being a hugger just because someone hadn’t learned how to enjoy it yet.

  Sarah was last in the door. It was unlike her. But she was also finding her way back to being part of everyday life. Grace had noticed that Sarah was also too thin. That day in the church they had both agreed that they needed to snap out of it. This meal was another step in that direction.

  Because it was spaghetti, which could be messy, Grace had set the table for the seven of them instead of eating off of plates in the living room. For the next hour, they ate and talked about the small details of their lives. Sarah smiled, and touched Grace’s hand as she whispered, “This was such a good idea, Grace.”

  They both looked at Emily sitting between Mira and Mandy. At first, Emily had acted stiff and afraid, but the laughter and food had seemed to help make her feel more at home. She and Mandy had just succumbed to a giggle fit that had them both choking on their water.

  Mira looked up and caught Grace and Sarah’s eye. No words were needed. Understanding passed between them. Emily was now a sister and would be treated that way.

  After everyone was thoroughly stuffed, and groaning with pleasure, they moved into the living room. Grace and Sarah were hoping Emily would be more at ease in that setting.

  Emily, realizing that the time had come, started to close up again. But Mandy grabbed her hand and pulled her aside before they sat down.

  “I know you don’t know these women well, Emily, but trust me when I tell you that they will understand whatever you need to say to them. Nothing will change the way they treat you or feel about you.”

  Mira stepped up beside Emily and added, “No kidding. You wouldn’t believe what a mess I was a few years ago.”

  Emily looked at the two young women who seemed so in control of their lives and said, “Really? You aren’t just making that up are you?”

  “Heck no,” Mira said. “Seriously, someday soon the three of us will hang out together, and we’ll tell you our sad tales. Now, though, we want to be here for you.”

  “Okay,” Emily said as she came back into the living room and sat in the middle of one of the couches. “It’s time to tell you why I really came to Doveland. I don’t know if it has anything to do with the women on the hill, but I’m terrified that it does. I didn’t want to tell you because once I did, my fears would become real.”

  Emily looked at the six faces looking back at her, every one of them entirely focused on her and what she was going to tell them. All of them with kindness in their eyes.

  She sighed and began, “I came here looking for my Aunt Jean. She disappeared from Doveland sometime in the early Seventies.”

  The implications of what Emily said hit them all at the same time.

  “Okay, dear. Tell us the whole story. Let’s see where it takes us,” Sarah said. “No matter what happens though, Emily, we will be here to help you get through it.”

  She nodded. She was beginning to believe that with their help, she could do whatever needed to be done.

  Twenty-Seven

  The boys at Evan’s were in the middle of a particularly interesting discussion of the physics of the sport of curling when Sam got a text message from Mira.

  “Boy’s night is over for you, Sam. Come to Grace’s. Now.” He stared at his phone as if he wasn’t sure that it was his. Mira had never written anything like that to him before.

  “You look a little perplexed, Sam,” Evan said, “Something up?”

  “I guess you could say so. I’ve been summoned to Grace’s place. I don’t appear to have a choice.”

  “Maybe it’s something to do with the case. I know Emily was going to be at the meeting tonight. Do you want to use the truck? That way everyone else can stay.”

  Sam nodded yes. He knew where the keys were kept so within five minutes he was on his way to Grace’s house in Evan’s truck, having texted back to Mira: “Your wish is my command.”

  Mira met him at the bottom of the stairs, her face flushed. “We have something that we think you are going to want to hear.”

  Sam was glad Mira came up the stairs with him because on entering the living room he was completely overwhelmed by the energy and focus of all the women seated there. He had been hanging out with most of them for a few years, but in a moment of clarity, he realized he had been taking them for granted all that time.

  When they were in a social setting, they blended in with whatever needed to be done. Now, together, in this setting, they were women with a purpose. It felt like walking into a force field.

  It was so overwhelming that a part of Sam wanted to turn around and run out of the room. Maybe if he did, he could go back to not being aware that the women were chameleons. On purpose.

  But Mira had a firm grip on his arm, so he had no choice but to go forward. She steered him to an empty chair and then went back to her seat. All the women turned their full attention to Sam, scaring him even more. Get a grip, he told himself. I know all these women.

  However, they were so intense, and the energy in the room was so powerful he couldn’t think what to say. In all the years of his work with the powerful men at the FBI, he had never felt so out of his depth. Finally, he blurted out, “What?”

  Mira started laughing, and then the rest of the women joined in. Sam’s discomfort was so out of character they couldn’t help themselves. Finally, Sarah took pity on him and got him a glass of water. Putting her hand on his back as she handed him the water, she leaned over and whispered in his ear, “We are the same women you have known for years. Look again.”

  He took the water, amazed that his hand was shaking, managed a small smile for Sarah, and looked back at the room. There they were. His friends. The intensity had either never been there, or it had been withdrawn. Sam realized that if he tried to pretend that it had never been there he was a fool. He had seen something, and it scared him. At the same time gave him a feeling of hope he had not experienced before.

  If these women were on the side of good, and were willing to use that hidden power, and do it together, well, everything just might turn out to be not only okay but would be beautiful.

  Taking a deep breath, he said, “Okay. Thank you for asking me here, and giving me a taste of what you are all about, but that can’t be why I was ordered by Mira to get here, now.”

  Sarah answered him, “No. It wasn’t. Emily has something to tell you, and we think you will want to act on it quickly.”

  Emily went through her story as succinctly as she could, then she said, “We think you could test my DNA a
gainst the women buried on the hill. If one of them is my aunt, that would be a big step to finding answers, wouldn’t it?”

  Sam didn’t answer. Instead, he took out his phone and made a call to Craig. Could Craig get his friend in Pittsburgh to run a fast DNA sample if he got it to him either tonight or the first thing in the morning?

  While he waited for the answer from Craig, Sam went to speak with Emily. She was still sandwiched between Mira and Mandy on the couch, slumped back on the cushions looking exhausted. Mira got up to open a space for Sam to sit beside Emily. Mandy joined Mira in the kitchen with the rest of the women who were helping Grace clean up.

  Sam tucked one of his long legs up onto the couch so he could face Emily. He took one of her hands and whispered, “Emily, I know this is hard for you. But if it is your aunt, she will be so proud of you for having the courage to search for her and to face what you might discover. I thank you for coming forward and sharing your story.”

  Emily lifted her light blue eyes and stared at Sam for a long moment before saying, “No. I think I am the one who should be saying thank you. Looking for my aunt has brought me all this. So, no matter what you find, I am already better off than I was before.”

  They smiled at each other. Sam’s phone rang. “Yes,” Craig said. “If we get it to him tonight, he can run it before the office opens tomorrow.”

  “So, I need to go now?” Sam asked.

  “Yep. And I am going with you. We can stay over and wait for the results. I am taking everyone home. Meet me back here, in an hour?”

  Not having a proper DNA kit with him, Sam took samples of Emily’s hair and had her spit into a small glass jar. He hugged everyone and said, “Thank you,” saving his longest hug for Mira, whispering in her ear that he loved her.

  Just before going out the door, he paused and looked back into the room. They all still looked like his friends, the intensity gone.

  Maybe I imagined it, he thought. Halfway down the stairs, he thought he heard laughter as he felt a rush of energy on his back. Nope. I didn’t, he decided. It was real.

  Twenty-Eight

  Hank spent Saturday morning getting boxes out of Melvin’s attic. It wasn’t easy. The stairs to the attic was a ladder that pulled down out of the ceiling in the upstairs hallway. Hank had to repair the ladder before he was willing to go up it. Once he got up the ladder, he discovered that the light bulbs didn’t work. After he replaced them, he wished he hadn’t done it because the new light bulbs revealed layers of dust and a jungle of spider webs. Within minutes, Hank was sneezing and coughing.

  Hannah and Melvin had offered to help, but Hank told them absolutely not. Only one person needed to be this filthy and uncomfortable. Besides, Ava would not be happy if he brought Hannah back covered with dirt.

  Because it was impossible to discern what was in each box, they decided to take everything out of the attic and bring it downstairs. Melvin said it was time to put his affairs in order anyway, and he didn’t want Hank having to do it after he died. Neither Hank nor Hannah was happy when Melvin talked about his death, but they knew he was right. It was something that had to be done sometime, and it would be easier with the three of them. Besides, they wanted to find the picture that Sally took.

  At first, they thought they would bring the boxes out of the attic as they were but when Hank picked them up, they started to fall apart. Hannah came up with the idea of putting everything in big black plastic bags and handing them down that way. It turned out to be a brilliant suggestion, and once they got into the rhythm, it moved fairly quickly.

  Hank would drop the box with all its contents into the bag, step down the ladder part way and lower the bag to the floor, then head back up to get another box in a bag. Once the bag was on the floor, either Melvin or Hannah dragged it down the stairs into the living room. The bags were sturdy, so they weren’t worried about tearing them as they pulled them. They had to do it that way. Neither one of them could pick up the bags.

  A few hours into the project, Hannah came up the ladder and stuck her head into the attic and told Hank that she didn’t think Melvin should do any more dragging or going up and down the stairs. She hadn’t wanted to say anything in front of him to embarrass him, so could Hank give Melvin something else to do?

  The next time Melvin came up the stairs, Hank asked him to make lunch. They would take a break and then go back to it. During lunch, they came up with a new plan. Hank would continue to clean the attic and Hannah and Melvin would start going through the bags that were already down. Once the attic was empty of boxes, they would take the whole mess over to Hannah’s house where more people could help go through the bags with them. Otherwise, it would take forever.

  Hank checked with Ava. She said it sounded like a great idea. She would have her friends come over the next day for a bag party. For reasons Hank couldn’t understand, the words “bag party” made Ava start laughing. She was still laughing when she hung up the phone.

  Shaking his head in confusion over women and their sense of humor, he confirmed the arrangements with Hannah and Melvin, and they went back to work.

  By mid-afternoon, Hank had finished with the attic, and Melvin’s entire living room was wall to wall black plastic bags. Hannah and Melvin had managed to look through only a few of them. Now they had two piles. A pile of trash, and a much smaller collection of things Melvin wanted to save.

  It would have gone quicker, but Melvin kept finding things he wanted to tell Hannah about, and she was wise enough to let him. Besides, she loved his stories and learning about his life. While he talked, she had an idea and asked him if she could use her phone to record him. Melvin barely looked up from the pile of papers he had on his lap and mumbled, “Of course.”

  When Hank came down from the attic for the last time, Hannah told him her plan. She had asked her mom if Melvin could stay in the bunkhouse for a few days so that he could help with the search. Although the project had started out as a search for the pictures his wife took in the Seventies, it had turned into something more. Melvin was reliving his past, and Hannah thought it would be wonderful to collect his stories.

  Hank told Hannah it was a fantastic idea. Melvin liked the idea too. He packed a tattered suitcase with some clothes while Hank filled the back of the truck with black bags. What he couldn’t get in, Hank said he would come back for later.

  On the way home, they stopped at an office supply store and got see-through plastic bins for the papers and items that Melvin wanted to keep, and another big box of trash bags. Melvin burned his trash behind his house, but Doveland had stopped the practice so they would need lots of bags. The old-timers still snuck in a fire once in a while, but Hannah knew that Evan would not agree to breaking the town’s rules.

  By the time they got back to Doveland, it was late afternoon. When Ava saw how dirty the three of them were, she sent them off to the showers before they could sit down for dinner.

  While the three of them cleaned up, Evan started moving the bags and the plastic bins into one of the spare bedrooms in the house. They would bring them out into the living room as they worked on them.

  During dinner, Hannah told Melvin she wanted to continue to record some of his stories, so he wasn’t going to be able to go through the bags unless someone else was there with him, preferably her. But Hannah understood the need to find the pictures. So, while she was in school, would he make sure someone else was working with him to do the recording?

  Melvin reached across the table to hold Hannah’s hand. “You and your family have brought me more happiness than I thought possible,” he said. “The day your past-dad, Jay, walked into my yard my life changed. I have no idea why you want to hear an old man’s stories, but I’ll love telling them.”

  After dinner, Ava showed Melvin the little kitchen in the bunkhouse and told him he could stay as long as he wanted to. Then she hugged him a
nd told him to get some sleep. They had a big job to start in the morning. Those black bags weren’t going to sort themselves.

  Twenty-Nine

  “I thought Sam and Craig would be back yesterday,” Grace said. Hannah and the entire women’s council were sitting on the floor in Ava’s living room going through the bags with Melvin. Melvin decided that being the focus of seven beautiful women was the best thing ever. He hoped that Sally would forgive him for loving their attention so much.

  They had made some progress. Sarah had set up a system. All the plastic bins were labeled using blue painter’s tape and a sharpie. That way they could easily peel and stick until they had it right. There were boxes with just pictures in them filed by the year, and then there were boxes of things Melvin wanted to keep.

  There was a pile of things Melvin wanted to go to the Salvation Army and another pile of bags of trash. The women sorted as they worked. They only added items to the trash pile after they had Melvin’s approval. Once the original bags were empty, and everything was sorted using Sarah’s system, they could go through each plastic bin again if Melvin wanted to double check what he was keeping.

  As Melvin pulled out something that was important to him, they took turns asking him what it was, and either recording what he said or writing it in a journal. He couldn’t understand why they were making a fuss about his stories, but Hannah insisted on it, and he was going to do what she asked, no matter what it was.

  As Ava grabbed another bag, she answered Grace’s question. “They called yesterday and said they were staying in town for a few days. The DNA wasn’t ready. So, they decided to check in on the research being done on Grant’s past.”

  “Why Grant’s past? He’s dead. What more do they need to know?” Mira asked. “Just thinking about him gives me the creeps.”