Bad Karma

“But do you think they could’ve actually killed her themselves? Or hired someone?”

“I don’t know. It would take someone pretty monstrous to do that, but then again it would take someone pretty monstrous to abuse their own daughter, and probably no less monstrous to turn a blind eye to it for years and let it happen. It’s possible they’re directly responsible. I’m sure they were worried about Linda telling more people about what they did to her. Anyway, if the police dig deeper, they’ll know one way or another if they’re involved.”

“And if Gibson abused his other daughter?”

“Then at least they’ll be able to prosecute him. Unfortunately, the mother will get off scot-free in any case.”

The waitress brought over their pizza. Shannon was starting his first slice when he caught Susan eyeing his half of the pizza. Somewhat sheepishly she asked about trading slices. “Only because I don’t want you feeling self- conscious later about your garlic breath,” she explained with a straight face. Shannon sighed, took one of her slices in exchange even though he hated broccoli.

“You were going to tell me about that yoga studio?”

She finished a bite of the garlic and olive pizza, wiped tomato sauce from the side of her mouth with her finger and licked it. Shannon loved watching her eat. There was so much enjoyment there. It also amazed him how someone as small and slender as Susan could pack away so much.

“Emily and I were talking this morning and we both thought it would be a good idea,” she said.

“It figures.”

“Now don’t start up! You want to hear what I have to say or don’t you?”

Shannon sighed, nodding.

“Okay, then.” She stopped to take another bite of her slice. After she chewed it and brushed some crumbs from her mouth, she went on, “Emily tried joining first, but they wouldn’t let her. I figured that was because she came across as her normal, self-confident, blustery self. They told her that they couldn’t help her and insisted that she leave. When I tried joining, I made myself into a victim. I have no one, my life is falling apart, I don’t know what else to try, oh poor me. I even cried a few crocodile tears. You would’ve fallen over in your seat if you could’ve seen my performance.”

“How about another performance later tonight? Cheerleader and the tough guy detective? I’ll see if I can score you some pom-poms.”

“Dream on, hon. Anyway, for seventy-nine dollars a month they welcomed me into the fold. What a bargain, huh?”

“Hmmm,” Shannon said.

“That’s the second time tonight you’ve done that! What’s this hmmm about?”

“I’m not so sure that it was strictly your act that got you accepted and Emily the heave ho.”

“Heave ho, huh?” Susan remarked, smiling. “I think you’ve been watching too many Three Stooges shorts, buster!”

“Alright. Rejected, bounced, booted out the door, sayonara sister. I think you got in and Emily didn’t because you physically fit the mold of what they’re looking for, Emily doesn’t.”

“And what mold is that?”

“Petite and very attractive.”

“Emily’s attractive. And she’s younger than I am!”

Shannon didn’t argue the point-he knew the trouble he’d get into if he tried. Susan took another bite of her pizza, her eyes somewhat distant as she chewed. “There were only women there,” she said. “I didn’t think that was unusual for a yoga class. But now that you mention it they were all my size… and I guess all of them would be considered attractive.”

“That’s what I saw when I went there, and later when I went to True Light’s compound.”

“Why do you think that is?” she asked, but it was strictly rhetorical. He could tell by her tone and expression that she knew why. Shannon answered anyway. “Vishna’s taste in women for the harem he’s building.”

Susan sat there stewing, a darkness clouding her face. “What a despicable place,” she said.

“I agree. That’s why I don’t want you going back there. If for no other reason than it’s not good to be around that type of negative energy.”

“Oh, but I am going back there, my darling. Anything I can do to help you nail that place, I’m going to. Also, the great all-powerful Vishna is supposed to make a visit in the next couple of days. I’m dying to see the look on his face when I tell him off!”

Her eyes smoldered with anger, and while the passion made her more beautiful it also made her eat faster and with less awareness of what she was doing. Shannon watched helplessly as she tossed her remaining pizza crust on her plate and took the third and final slice of garlic and olive, too caught up in her emotions to realize what she was doing. He stared glumly at the two slices of broccoli pizza that were left for him before looking back at her.

“The place is freakish over there, hon,” she said, the words tumbling out of her. “The instructor, a girl named Luanne, had this glazed, zombie look in her eyes. So did her assistant, Debbi with an i, and the rest of the girls there weren’t much better. And the positions they put us through were not yoga. I think they were designed more to cramp and stress the muscle than to stretch it. Anyway, it was tiring, and while we were in those positions Luanne and Debbi with an i would walk around the room and put their hands on our backs and whisper stuff to us about how our chakras were all wrong, and how we had all this hidden sickness that needed healing, but that Vishna could bring us to peace and health. At least that’s what they were doing when they weren’t having us chant.”

“I heard some of that chanting when I was there. Something like: ‘Vishna the one true source’.”

“That was one of them,” she said, nodding. “Also, ‘Vishna will lead us all to peace and serenity’. And my favorite: ‘open your hearts and minds to the touch of Vishna’.”

“People there were buying it?”

“They seemed to be. I’m so furious a place like that exists. Those poor girls who go there have no clue what they’re being sucked into. And they’re so young! Other than me, I don’t think there was anyone there older than twenty.”

“Probably helped that you don’t look much older than that yourself, otherwise I don’t think they would’ve let you join the flock.”

“I had that thought also, so I lied on my application and put down that I was twenty-five. I figured if they were as out of it as they looked I could pull it off.”

“Even if they were bright-eyed and bushytailed you could pull off twenty-five.”

“Right.” Susan rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I’m sure the bad lighting there, along with the incense-induced fog, didn’t hurt. As bizarre as the experience was, it was kind of fun trying to figure out what homeopathic remedy types all those people were.”

“Did you figure any of them out?”

“Still working on it.” As she took another bite of her garlic and olive pizza slice, she stared down at it, puzzled- her outrage toward Vishna Yoga having calmed to the point where she could taste what she was eating-then gave an equally puzzled look at the rest of the pie. “Oh, hon,” she said apologetically. “I’ve been stealing your half of the pizza!”

“I didn’t even notice,” Shannon said as he avoided the chunk of broccoli on his slice.

“Sure you didn’t. I’ll make up for it later, maybe see if I can buy some secondhand pom-poms after all.” Her face brightened. “Oh, I haven’t told you some terrific news I got! I talked with my Stramonium patient-the one who works as a psychic for police departments-and he’s had a remarkable turnaround. His checkup today showed that all of his systems have improved greatly. His heart, kidneys and liver were all failing before. Now none of them are. His doctor’s completely baffled as to what’s happened, and had to admit to him that it’s looking like he’s going to fully recover!”

“That is terrific news,” Shannon said. “You gave him the remedy only a couple of days ago. Can it work that fast and dramatically?”

“It definitely can, hon, as he’s proving. I talked to him about you also and he’s willing to meet with you. He has no idea if he’ll be able to contact those deceased students-he’s never done that before, but he’ll give it a try if you’d like. He’ll need articles of clothing from them. That’s what he uses when he connects to the dead and near-dead children that he finds. His name’s Les Hasherford. It’s probably too late for you to call now, but I’ll give you his