appreciate it. If it doesn’t work out, we can make some excuse and leave without too much trouble.”
Sarah agreed and said, “When? Can she wait till the weekend?”
“I got the feeling: not so much. I don’t start till noon tomorrow, so how ‘bout then?”
Sarah considered. “Okay. I’ll see if I can rearrange my schedule here and come in late. They owe me a little time.”
“Thanks, Sweetie. You might like her, you never know,” Kelly said with a wry grin.
Sarah snorted and said, “I’ve got a lunch break in a few minutes if you want to get something?”
“Sorry, Love,” Kelly said regretfully, “I’m working through lunch today. But I can be home early if I don’t get any late walk-ins.”
“Okay, see you then,” and Sarah hung up. Almost on cue the next client came in the door, and Kelly slipped her phone into her bag and greeted him with a smile.
Sarah put the handset back in the cradle thoughtfully. The uneasy, something’s-coming feeling she’d had for the last few days settled into place like a compass needle finding north. She got up to stretch and water her plants to settle her mind before resuming work on preparing for the afternoon meeting.
As the self-proclaimed caretaker of Maple Hill’s spirits, she monitored the interactions between the living and nonliving residents of the town, and she felt personally obligated to intervene if someone needed her. Whenever she had a feeling that something was going on, she was on heightened alert until she knew what it was, and it either resolved itself or she stepped in.
The spider plant on top of the filing cabinet had sent out another few sprigs on their long, droopy stems and needed trimming again. In the meantime, she watered it and gently steered it away from the avocado seed she was coaxing into life on the windowsill.
There were many skeptics among the living, some of whom considered her a downright fraud. If she had to talk to a known skeptic, it was usually because a deceased relative needed her to relay a message. Sarah did her best to be polite and nonthreatening, but sometimes the recipient took the news hard. She’d been accused of spying or lying more than once. Sometimes the opposite had happened, and the surviving relatives of a newly deceased person begged her to hold a séance so they could talk to the dearly departed. Sarah knew when a spirit was still present and when they were gone, and she had to break the news gently but firmly that she didn’t do séances. The one thing she never did was take money in exchange for the use of her skill.
Her day job was very important to her. The law firm’s partners, Dan Smith, Arnold Wolgust, and Hank Brown, were tolerant of her sideline partly because she never told them all that she did. She was also fortunate that each partner had a personal reason to believe in the paranormal. Dan had a grandmother who conversed with spirits. Arnold had a cousin who had an uncanny ability to sense structural damage no one else was able to detect. And Hank had never told her why he believed, but she gathered he’d had an unpleasant encounter with something supernatural. She’d utilized her talents on behalf of the firm a couple of times, and they’d recognized her value. Lucky for her, they were also the premier law firm in town and considered very respectable citizens. So, when gossip made its rounds, they firmly squashed it.
There had been a few so-called psychics over the years who had set up shop in Maple Hill. The first time Sarah had gone eager to find another person who could do what she did. Madame Z had been full of airy-fairy nonsense about crystal balls, séances, and card reading, and Sarah had been bitterly disappointed. When she realized that the phony psychic was also defrauding the people of Maple Hill, Sarah threatened to expose her. It didn’t hurt that one of her spirit friends had put in an appearance and scared the bejeezus out of Madame Z during a fake
Sarah agreed and said, “When? Can she wait till the weekend?”
“I got the feeling: not so much. I don’t start till noon tomorrow, so how ‘bout then?”
Sarah considered. “Okay. I’ll see if I can rearrange my schedule here and come in late. They owe me a little time.”
“Thanks, Sweetie. You might like her, you never know,” Kelly said with a wry grin.
Sarah snorted and said, “I’ve got a lunch break in a few minutes if you want to get something?”
“Sorry, Love,” Kelly said regretfully, “I’m working through lunch today. But I can be home early if I don’t get any late walk-ins.”
“Okay, see you then,” and Sarah hung up. Almost on cue the next client came in the door, and Kelly slipped her phone into her bag and greeted him with a smile.
Sarah put the handset back in the cradle thoughtfully. The uneasy, something’s-coming feeling she’d had for the last few days settled into place like a compass needle finding north. She got up to stretch and water her plants to settle her mind before resuming work on preparing for the afternoon meeting.
As the self-proclaimed caretaker of Maple Hill’s spirits, she monitored the interactions between the living and nonliving residents of the town, and she felt personally obligated to intervene if someone needed her. Whenever she had a feeling that something was going on, she was on heightened alert until she knew what it was, and it either resolved itself or she stepped in.
The spider plant on top of the filing cabinet had sent out another few sprigs on their long, droopy stems and needed trimming again. In the meantime, she watered it and gently steered it away from the avocado seed she was coaxing into life on the windowsill.
There were many skeptics among the living, some of whom considered her a downright fraud. If she had to talk to a known skeptic, it was usually because a deceased relative needed her to relay a message. Sarah did her best to be polite and nonthreatening, but sometimes the recipient took the news hard. She’d been accused of spying or lying more than once. Sometimes the opposite had happened, and the surviving relatives of a newly deceased person begged her to hold a séance so they could talk to the dearly departed. Sarah knew when a spirit was still present and when they were gone, and she had to break the news gently but firmly that she didn’t do séances. The one thing she never did was take money in exchange for the use of her skill.
Her day job was very important to her. The law firm’s partners, Dan Smith, Arnold Wolgust, and Hank Brown, were tolerant of her sideline partly because she never told them all that she did. She was also fortunate that each partner had a personal reason to believe in the paranormal. Dan had a grandmother who conversed with spirits. Arnold had a cousin who had an uncanny ability to sense structural damage no one else was able to detect. And Hank had never told her why he believed, but she gathered he’d had an unpleasant encounter with something supernatural. She’d utilized her talents on behalf of the firm a couple of times, and they’d recognized her value. Lucky for her, they were also the premier law firm in town and considered very respectable citizens. So, when gossip made its rounds, they firmly squashed it.
There had been a few so-called psychics over the years who had set up shop in Maple Hill. The first time Sarah had gone eager to find another person who could do what she did. Madame Z had been full of airy-fairy nonsense about crystal balls, séances, and card reading, and Sarah had been bitterly disappointed. When she realized that the phony psychic was also defrauding the people of Maple Hill, Sarah threatened to expose her. It didn’t hurt that one of her spirit friends had put in an appearance and scared the bejeezus out of Madame Z during a fake
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