Matthew suddenly appeared beside her, his light and warmth immediately changing her posture and coloring.
“It’s time, Clementine,” he said holding out his hand.
“Will I be going to h-hell?” she asked. Matthew smiled at her, still holding his hand out.
“Take my hand, Clementine. All will be well.”
In a cloud of shimmering dust and glaring golden light, Matthew and Clementine were gone. Luke stared at Nathan and Joseph, all of them smiling, shaking their heads in disbelief. It never got old.
“That’s two down now boys. We’ll start working on these last two souls. I have a feeling they’re going to be much more difficult.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Mario Pucci agreed that he would not tell his children what happened with their mother. Instead, he told them a story of her sadness and wanting to do more for her children. Although they were still hurt, still confused, they seemed satisfied with the response. At least for now.
“So, Pucci wasn’t hurt?” asked Cam.
“No, he was fine. They weren’t hurting him, they just wanted the chips back and they figured if the woman was dead, he’d found them. I have to say, they even offered him compensation for the confusion,” said Luke.
“No shit,” muttered Eric.
“Yep. Put up twenty-thousand each for the kids in scholarship funds. I think they were worried that after taking Mario and scaring the shit out of the kids, they’d sue the casino. They didn’t need that kind of publicity.”
“So, now we have Edie and Morgan to figure out,” said Eric staring at the window at the two ghosts just hanging out. “It’s a bit weird that they keep showing up wherever we are.”
“They know you can help them,” said Gabriel.
“Hey Uncle Gabriel. How are you?” said Luke.
“I’m well, how are you boys?”
“We’re good. Confused. If there’s anything you know that we can do to help them, it would be great to hear your perspective.”
“You’re doing what you should be doing,” smiled Gabriel. He walked toward the table where his wife and brothers were seated, joining them for the evening meal.
“Did you catch a glint of gold around him?” asked Cam.
“Brother, I think there’s a hint of gold around everyone. I swear, there’s so much magic here it feels like we’re in a fairytale most days,” smirked Luke.
“Hi,” said Jean walking toward the table with Ella and Charlotte.
“Hey, Uncle Jean. Any word on all those bills from Ms. Rose?”
“That’s why we’re here. We should have been able to get to them last week and we were swamped with an IRS audit,” he said rolling his eyes. “Everything is good, all clear now. We’ll be able to get to those tomorrow and should have something for you soon.”
“Thanks, Uncle Jean,” said Luke nodding.
“Just who I want to see,” said Cassidy. “I finally got hold of the last customer who was out of town. They’re back now and want to see me tomorrow. The portrait they commissioned was for their seven-year-old son. I asked if it would be the whole family and they just said it would only be the son and they’d explain everything tomorrow.”
“Alright but take-“ Luke started. Cassidy held up her hand, smiling.
“I know, I know. Take my husband with me. He already knows and is fine going with me.” The men all smiled at her, giving a quick nod as well.
“What about the other paintings?” asked Joseph.
“Ela and Brit are taking those and the customers were thrilled that we were able to finish the paintings. It feels like all of this is taken care of but she’s still hanging out,” said Cass pointing to the window.
“Same blank stare. Same pained face,” said Cam. “I hate this. It must have been what Alec felt when he first met Keith. Thank God he knew sign language. It must have been horrible for that kid.”
