“Just what is Alistair capable of?” Ten asked, uncapping his pen, looking ready to take notes.
Endora sighed. “I’m not entirely sure. Some of the things he’s been able to do on-stage over the last twenty years or so have stunned me. What I can tell you is that Alistair has no gifts of his own. He was fascinated with me and my work. I’d find him with his ear to my tent during my readings at the carnival and he loved to dress in my clothes and model in front of the mirror. I didn’t think anything of it when he was a boy. Kids love to play dress up.”
“No gifts of his own?” Ten asked. “How is that possible? I wasn’t able to read him that night at the theater and neither could my daughter.”
“Ah, yes, Everly.” Endora wore a wistful smile. “She is one impressive young lady. I could feel her strength and love from the moment I arrived. I wished I could spend time speaking with her, but as usual, Alistair, had to mess things up.”
“You’re more than welcome to visit Everly. I’m sure she would love to speak with you. Be prepared though, if you show up in this outfit, she’ll lose her mind. Hell, I’m losing my mind over the quality of the silk.” Ten grinned.
Endora smiled. “I had a gentlemanfriendwho imported Chinese silk. He brought me the most beautiful robes, for a price of course.” She rolled her eyes. “If only it had been his wife who’d brought his gifts, but men want whattheywant, don’t they?”
“Unfortunately they do,” Cope agreed. “Getting back to Alistair.”
The wistful look in Endora’s eyes faded. “After his parents died in a car accident, he came to live with me. We spent half the year in New Hampshire and the spring and summer on the carnival circuit. Alistair was about fourteen at the time. I found it oddthat he spent all of his time in the back room of my tent, listening to my client readings, instead of making friends with the local kids who came to the carnival or with the children of other carnies.” Endora paused, looking as if she were trying to find the right words. “He was curious and bright, but stuck to me like glue. I wondered if maybe he was obsessed with me, like the men I entertained. What I realized later was that Alistair didn’t want me, he wanted tobecomeme.”
“That makes sense,” Ten says. “I can feel how gifted you are, but you said your nephew had none of your gifts at all? Are you sure? Our friends, Carson and Cole never came into their psychic gifts until they were in their twenties.”
“Yes, Bertha’s boys.” Endora’s face lit up.
“You know Bertha Craig?” Cope asked, stunned.
“I sure did. Bertha was one talented lady. I have to say, you boys have done one hell of a job expanding the business. Cassie’s muffins alone make me wish I was still alive. I used to come to Salem to visit her and the shop. We’d have tea and she’d read me. Unfortunately, I didn’t listen to what she had to say about Alistair. Bertha knew he was trouble and that he would be my eventual downfall. She was right. Alistair killed me.”
Cope gasped, even though he’d known what was coming.
“After his parents died, he became a troubled boy. He stayed out until all hours raising hell with the wrong type of boys, stealing cars, assaulting people, getting picked up by the police. After stealing and crashing a car, he was arrested and sent to a juvenile facility. Those were the most peaceful years of my life. Unfortunately that ended when he was released on his eighteenth birthday. I didn’t want to have him parole to my house, but he had no one else. Alistair was a changed youngman when he got out of juvie. I taught him to be a polite, well-mannered young man. They taught him to be a better criminal. I knew what he was up to, stealing cars and selling them for parts, but held my peace. I knew the cops would catch up with him eventually. One night I found him snooping through my personal papers, documents dealing with my bank accounts, life insurance, and my will. I’d named him as the sole beneficiary. Of course I did, there was no one else. Three days later, I was dead.”
“I hate to ask, but what happened? How did you die?” Ten’s eyes were watery as he spoke. He dashed the back of his hand over them and picked up his pen.
“I had been out shopping with friends. When I came home that day, Alistair was cooking dinner for us. That boy had never cooked a day in his life. He could barely make a bowl of cereal for himself. When I asked where he’d learned to cook, he said he’d been watching the food channel.” Endora shrugged. “Who was I to turn down his generosity? He’d made pasta and red sauce with blackberry cobbler for dessert. An hour later when I was doing the dishes, I started to feel dizzy. I remember falling to the floor and calling out for Alistair. He just stared at me with this triumphant look in his eyes. I begged him to call for help and he refused. Just before I died, I asked what he’d done to me. He grinned and told me he’d used belladonna, which grew wild in my backyard.”
“Endora, I’m so sorry.” Cope felt absolutely sick to his stomach. His mother, Elizabeth, grew belladonna in her medicinal garden. She’d made sure he knew how dangerous the plant was. It had never once crossed his mind to poison someone. If Alistair was capable of killing the only family member he had left, the man was capable of anything.
“I am too. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us.” Ten paused, looking a bit uncertain. “I hate to ask, but I have one more question.”
“Ask away, Tennyson. I’m dead, nothing can hurt me now. If what I’ve told you today can help you stop my nephew from hurting anyone else, including your family, then I’m happy to help.”
“You said Simon had no gifts of his own. If that’s the case, how has he been able to pull off his career? Until the other night, he had a stellar reputation in the psychic community. Hell, I bought tickets for his show the second I saw they were available. I know all the fake psychic tricks, reading body language and asking clients leading questions so they give you the information you need to give a convincing reading, but there’s no way Alistair could have built his career on that alone.”
“You’re absolutely right, Ten. I think he’s using someone to help him, but I’ve never been able to figure out who this person is. I wasn’t able to sense anyone at the theater the other night. I wish I could be of more help.”
“You’ve done so much for us, Endora, thank you,” Cope said, finding himself wishing he could hug the spirit.
“You’re both welcome. You’re not going to want to hear this, Tennyson, but Everly is the key to stopping Alistair for good.”
Ten snorted. “You’re right, I don’t want to hear that. My husband will want to hear it even less, but the one thing I’ve learned about my daughter is that she’s always ready and willing to use her gifts for good.”
“I saw that when she protected her friend, Aurora, who is also a very special child. She has a bright future ahead of her. I’ll bevisiting Everly and helping her understand what she’s up against with my nephew.”
“I appreciate that, Endora.” Ten offered a warm smile.
“Well, I’m off.” Endora stood and shook the wrinkles from her purple robe. “As Bertha would say, toodles!” With that, she vanished.
“Wow,” Cope said. “After we tell Jude and Ronan what we learned, I hope they can use this information to charge Alistair with her murder.”
“Me too,” Ten agreed, reaching across the table for Cope’s hand. “I was a jerk this morning. I know you were standing up for the entire Salem psychic community the other night. I should have been right behind you. We both know Everly was going to get involved in this case one way or another and I’m so sorry I blamed you for putting her in harm’s way.”
“You’re forgiven.” Cope felt lighter with the weight of his guilt off his chest. “What we need to do now is be as ready as possible for Alistair and whoever it is who’s been helping him out, no matter who he is.”
