The Haunting of the Gemini by Jackie Barrett

the normal eye wouldn’t see. Couldn’t see. But I could.
    Everything was starting to make sense to me, and it was very frightening. I saw Joanne communicating with a powerful force who was able to appear only to her. Was it an earthbound evil spirit? Was it just a person who had passed on? Was it a demon trying to infect and infest? I had to figure it out to combat it. If it was the same man in black who had been stalking me, it was now trying to broaden its hunt to include my child. And I would not allow that to happen.

NINE

    Joanne and I kept working in the months that followed, even though it was more and more difficult for me to push Patricia aside. But my clients needed me. One day, a beautiful woman in her thirties called and begged Joanne for an immediate appointment. She had seen me many times before with issues related to buying and selling property and other times just to help keep herself on a spiritual path. She seemed to be in great distress, so Joanne squeezed her into my schedule.
    This lady had been living with her boyfriend for years, and they had been completely happy. But now her parents were pressuring her to get married. I, as usual, have definite opinions about that. I say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Marriage can destroy relationships—I’ve seen it happen many times. That one piece of paper can change people and make them think they need to fill a role outside of just making sure the other person is happy. Marriage doesn’t necessarily keep people faithful or keep them from being lonely. It’s all about what works for the individual couple.
    So my pretty lady comes to see me. She was absolutely frantic, which was completely out of character for her. We got her some water and laid her down on the couch in my office. I noticed perspiration on her bare feet as I sat in a chair next to her and waited for her to speak. She told me she was possessed and needed an exorcism. No sooner had she gotten the words out than she started thrashing around and babbling.
    Now I admit this looked like some wild shit. It was possible the devil could have snuck in without me noticing, but highly unlikely—especially in a client I knew well. I concentrated as she convulsed on my couch. There was no demon there.
    â€œWhat is this? Stop that head shaking! You’re going to work up a good headache, not to mention break my prized couch,” I said. “Enough!”
    She kept at it, growling and crying. I went into the bathroom, reached into the toilet, and scooped out a handful of water. I returned to the office and threw it right in her face. She arched her back and screamed that it was burning her. I wiped my hands on her dress and sat back down.
    â€œHey, sweets, that wasn’t holy water,” I said. She opened one eye and peeked at me. “That was toilet water, and the bowl hasn’t been cleaned in a good week.”
    She sat up and wiped her face off. “Yuck, Jackie, that’s gross.”
    â€œYup, it is,” I said.
    She stared at me and sighed. Then she explained. Her mother wanted her to get married and was laying on the guilt about it. She thought that if she was “possessed,” it would give her parents something else to focus on and worry about, and they would lay off the marriage pressure. She couldn’t just tell her mother how she felt.
    I shook my head. The things that people come up with. But now it was my turn. “You scrub the bowl and wash the bathroom floor,” I told her. That was the penalty for trying to pull a fast one on me. “And I’m calling your mother.” That was so I could sort out this mess.
    I got the lady on the phone and explained who I was and that her daughter was so worried about disappointing her parents that she would rather act like she was possessed by a demon. Her mother kept asking if the whole thing was some kind of joke. “Nope. I got your daughter right next to me. She can