“In the following years, did you hear your mother or Rex mention Aunt Pearl?”
“No.”
“Have you ever returned to her home in Abita Springs, and if so, when?”
“Yes, the spring after I got my driver’s license I took mama’s car and drove to Aunt Pearl’s house. It was empty and looked as if it had been empty for a long time. The garden was overgrown with weeds. The kumquat tree was heavy with fruit and leaning over the tall fence near the garden.” Her body tensed as she struggled with emotion. James spoke calmly, bringing her gently back.
“In a few minutes you will come back into your normal waking awareness. You will remember all conversations, insights and scenes you accessed during this session. You will feel calm and grateful. You now have useful information concerning your Aunt Pearl.”
Lilly opened her eyes, took a deep breath and sat up. She looked at James with tears in her eyes, “I always thought they lied to me. Now I know, with certainty, they did. She didn’t die.”
James agreed “Yes, it was a ruse to keep you away from her. Your Aunt’s power and her loving heart threatened their need to control.”
“You’re right, James. I still don’t know why she agreed to disappear but I am going to find her.”
Chapter 46
Psychic P.I.
The next evening Claude knocked on Lilly’s door. He had the thick New Orleans Yellow Pages in his hand. “Let’s find a private eye, ok?” Lilly brought the phone with its long cord from her bedroom and sat next to Claude on the couch. Claude ran his finger down the lists of Private Investigators. He stopped suddenly and exclaimed, “Here he is!”
“Which one,”
“This guy here, Vic Benton, Psychic P.I.”
Lilly sat back on the couch and laughed, “A Psychic P.I.? I didn’t know such a person existed.”
“One way to find out,” Claude said as he picked up the receiver and dialed Vick Benton’s phone number.
~
Vic Benton Psychic P.I.’s office was located on the wrong end of Magazine Street above a junk shop next to a dive bar. Lilly knocked timidly on the frosted glass door. Claude and Lucky stood on either side of her. A strong voice, invited them in. They introduced themselves and sat on wooden chairs in front of Vic’s battered desk. Immediately Vic’s attention focused on Lilly. “You are the one searching for a relative, correct?”
Lilly nodded and decided to say nothing more. Let’s see how much he can read without my giving him a verbal clue, she said to herself.
“It is a female relative, someone who’s been missing for many years,” Vic said with a note of inquiry at the end of his statement. Lilly nodded. Vic leaned back in his chair, smiled and said, “So, tell me everything you know and I will see how I can help you.”
Lilly spent the next few minutes telling him the story of her Aunt Pearl. She finished with her visit to the empty house in Abita Springs.
Vic took notes as she spoke. After she had shared her story, he had a barrage of questions. “Do you know her birthdate? Was she married, was McAllen her married name? Does she have children?”
Lilly answered the questions easily. “Aunt Pearl was my father’s sister so her birth name was LaCouer, the same as mine. Her married name had been McAllen. Her birth date was June 9. She and Uncle Liam had a son, Evan, who is grown, in his thirties by now. He didn’t live closeby. We saw him on Christmas and other holidays. I have no idea where he lives.
What type of person was Pearl? Did she have a lot of friends? What were her interests?
“My Aunt Pearl was a healer, gardener and herbalist. Everyone loved her. She had lots of friends. I have spoken with her neighbors and friends and no one knows where she went.”
Vic rocked back in his office chair and nodded. He closed his eyes and Lilly saw him sigh deeply. She thought he had drifted off to sleep when he sat up and spoke, “I’m seeing mountains when you speak of her and her son. Her husband has passed away?” Lilly nodded. “Do you know if your Aunt Pearl or her son had any relatives or friends in the mountains?”
“Oh,” Lilly said sitting up straight, “she did have a friend in the mountains. They spoke on the phone sometime. Aunt Pearl often said she would like to go visit her. I don’t remember her name.”
Vic took out an empty folder and wrote Pearl McAllen on the tab. He looked at Lilly and quoted his fee. Lucky reached in his pocket, pulled out his checkbook and made a generous deposit to Mr. Benton. Taking the check he responded, “Thank you, I’ll be in touch, I have your number.”
Lucky, Lilly and Claude were smiling broadly as they came out into the late winter sunshine on Magazine Street. “Let’s celebrate,” Lucky said. Soon they were in the van headed to the West End for lunch at Fitzgerald’s.
A week passed and Lilly had to restrain from calling Vic Benton again to inquire about the investigation. Sabine, Jolene and James urged her to be patient and visualize a positive outcome. Easier said than done, was her inner response.
Several weeks passed. Lilly was working in the shop, silently worrying that Lucky had paid Vic Benton for nothing. She was waiting on a customer when the door between the shop and Jolene’s kitchen opened. She heard Lucky talking in excited tones. Her hands shook as she hurriedly wrapped her costumers newly purchased crystal ball, placed in a box and collected payment. “Of all the times to have a chatty customer,” Lilly thought, as the young woman lingered, obviously wanting to talk. Lilly walked to the front door of the shop, opened it and had to refrain from tossing the girl out. “Thanks for coming in,” she said politely signaling the young woman it
