“Wow.” Lou looked impressed. “I’m glad you’re safe, but you’re right. You should’ve called me.” She rubbed her eyes, thinking. “All right. All right. And what day was this?”
“April 19th,” Reno said as he moved to stand next to Journey, placing a protective hand on her shoulder.
Lou made note of the date. “Reno, did you do anything unusual that day or the days leading up to the 19th?”
“Not really,” he told her. “I was at the ranch making preparations to travel to Waco to catch a stagecoach.”
At his words, Lou marveled at the thought. “Catching a stagecoach. Just imagine.” She reached over and pinched Reno on the arm.
“Ow!”
“Just making sure you’re real and I’m not dreaming.”
Reno frowned. “Well, pinch yourself next time.”
Journey couldn’t help it, she giggled. “Anybody want a muffin with their coffee?”
“I would.” Reno still looked grumpy.
“I’ll take another helping of that chicken and dressing,” Lou brightened, continuing to make notes. “What else can you think of, Mr. Black?”
“Well, I went to see my friend, Ela.”
“Ela. Spell that.”
“E L A,” Reno stated succinctly. “She’s an Apache wise woman who lives in a cave on Enchanted Rock.”
“Tell me about your visit with Ela.”
“I was telling her goodbye. Cautioning her to be careful while I was gone.” A shadow fell over his face, but he didn’t go where his thoughts took him. “She told me I reminded her of the son she’d lost. I told her she reminded me of my mother.”
Neither Lou nor Journey interrupted him, they just let Reno talk. “She said something a little odd. Like my mother had said years earlier, she told me I would be going on a long journey.”
“Do you think she was talking about a journey of a hundred and fifty years into the future?” Lou seemed to be considering what the possibility might mean.
“I don’t know. Maybe.” Reno was deep in thought, reliving the last time he’d seen his friend. “She told me to never doubt my destiny, even when things didn’t make sense, that sometimes our true path can’t be discovered without we first lose our way.”
“Do you think she possibly could’ve been psychic?” Lou asked, her eyes alight with interest.
Reno shook his head. “Sorry. I’m not familiar with that term.”
Lou explained, her hands moving as she spoke. “A psychic is someone who can sense things others can’t. Like the future. Or the past. Sometimes the gift is referred to as extrasensory perception. I’m certainly not an expert and it’s not a widely accepted science. However, the US military does utilize psychics in their remote viewing operation. That’s a good enough reference for me.”
“Ela was known as a wise woman,” Reno murmured, answering Lou’s original question. “I believe she did possess those abilities you mentioned. She was like my mother, I could never put anything past her.”
“Very interesting.” Lou was deep in thought.
Suddenly, Reno rose and looked out the window toward Enchanted Rock. “I’m not sure how this is helping.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Black,” Lou began, trying to reassure him. “I have to gather evidence before I can draw any type of conclusion.”
“Of course. I’m sorry,” he apologized, rubbing his tired eyes. “I’m just anxious. It’s critical that I return. If I don’t, people I love are going to die.”
“What are you saying?” Lou looked at Journey. “You mean we’re working with a deadline?”
“I’m afraid so,” she said. “This is very important to Reno. Going back, I mean.” She could see the pity in Lou’s eyes. Her friend must know how much it hurt for Journey to see him go.
“Well, all right. I’ll certainly do what I can.” She looked again at the big cowboy who was still staring out into the darkness. “Is there anything else you can tell me about Ela? Anything she said about the mountain? Or you?”
“Maybe. I’ll have to think on it.” He dry-scrubbed his face. “I’m sorry. This has been a helluva long day.”
“It has.” Journey glanced at the clock to see that it was after 11 pm. “Maybe we should call it a day and start again in the morning.”
Lou nodded. “Very well. There is some research I need to do to prepare my strategy.”
Reno turned around, holding one finger in the air. “I forgot one thing. Before I left Ela, she gave me a medicine bag to keep with me.”
“Oh, really.” Lou grabbed her notepad to make a hasty note. “What was in the bag?”
“I don’t know. She told me if I looked into it, the power would be released before it was needed. So, I didn’t look.”
“Where is the bag now?” Lou asked, the look on her face intense.
Reno exhaled a long breath. “I lost it. When I came home with Journey, the rawhide bag was gone from my pocket. It must have fallen out.”
“Damn.” Lou pushed her bangs off her forehead, letting out a frustrated breath. “I’m going to want to go out there in the morning. I want to see the place where you came through the portal.”
“A portal?”
