“Lencha, this is for babies,” Josie protested, “and I’m beginning to stink.”
“Shh.” In Spanish she said another prayer and broke the egg into the water. “See, the albumen is milky and murky. The evil has been extracted. She made the sign of the cross. “Now, we’ve broken the spell.”
“Lencha…”
Lencha wagged a finger in her face. “Don’t scoff at the old ways. They work. This might be a little different, but it will work, too. Someone looked upon you with envy or malice.” Lencha touched her face. “How could they not? You’re so beautiful, just like my sweet Marie.” She took a seat and held Josie’s hands. Lencha was known for her healing remedies and Josie suspected that most of the time she made a lot of them up. Belief was a powerful thing, though. Lencha had told her that many times.
Josie glanced at Caleb. He didn’t seem surprised or shocked at Lencha’s methods. Just interested. After a minute, he spoke. “Maybe you can help us in other ways, too. When was the last time you saw Bell…I mean Josie?”
Lencha nodded. “Remember it well. I do midwifing when I’m needed. Lot of Mexicans here are illegal. The Garcia’s daughter went into labor and they called me. They’re illegal and didn’t want to go to a hospital, afraid of being sent back to Mexico. I was there all night. She gave birth about five and I got home around seven. Josie’s car wasn’t in the garage and I thought she was at work, but her room light was on and the door was open so I went in. A suitcase was on the bed with some clothes thrown into it and her gun and badge were on the nightstand. I thought that was peculiar so I called Eric and he said Josie left work yesterday to go visit with her grandfather and…”
“Who’s Eric?” The name created a mass of confusion inside Josie and she had to know. Or it could be the herbs were clearing her sinuses.
Lencha looked perplexed, then patted Josie’s hands. “Child, he’s your fiancé. Tall, blond, good-looking guy. Eric Hanson’s a lieutenant on the police force here. You two hit it off the moment you set eyes on each other.”
A fiancé? She was engaged to be married? To Eric…Hanson. She closed her eyes and tried to see his face, but all she could see was Caleb’s. The only man who’d occupied her mind totally. She gritted her teeth and forced Caleb away, but nothing was there. Why couldn’t she remember this man she’d loved and was planning to spend the rest of her life with? Panic took root and she slowly calmed herself.
“When was the last time you saw Josie, Mrs. Peabody?” Caleb’s soothing voice brought her back to the conversation. For a long time now, she thought of his voice like a glass of warm milk. When she was small and she’d have nightmares, her mother would give her a glass of warm milk and it would calm her and make her feel safe. That’s what his voice did—made her feel safe and secure. As a child, she needed the warm milk. As an adult, she needed Caleb. But soon that dependency would fade. She had to stop leaning on him and accept her life. Accept Eric.
“I saw her that morning before she left for work. She was happy, energetic and excited about finding a girl who was missing. She went to work and I never saw her again.” She reached out and touched Josie’s face. “Oh, child, I thought I’d lost you like I’d lost your mother.”
Even though Marie had never returned to Beckett, Lencha visited often and she’d been one of the reasons Josie had come to Beckett. She was the only link to her mother’s family and she wanted to be around someone who’d loved her parents, who had understood what she was going through.
“That old buzzard had something to do with this. I know he did.” Lencha’s voice turned cold and accusing.
After Boone had pressured Brett into a loveless marriage and Marie had left Beckett, Lencha and Boone had become bitter enemies. Lencha had put several curses on him, but her curses never fazed the indomitable Boone Beckett.
“Mrs. Peabody…”
Lencha held up a hand. “Please call me Lencha. Mrs. Peabody died when my husband did. I’m just Lencha now.”
“Lencha.” Caleb inclined his head. “You said Josie was excited about finding a missing girl. Do you remember the girl’s name?”
Lencha shook her head. “No. Josie never talked about her cases and she’s not one to gossip.”
Josie listened with a surreal feeling, as if they were talking about someone else. Nothing was ringing any bells. Except Eric.
She swallowed. “I was going to see my grandfather. What happened after that?”
“Eric said you had a big argument with Lorna and was very upset. You called him and said you were leaving Beckett and never coming back and that you’d call as soon as you reached Corpus. He tried to talk you out of it and asked you to wait until he was off duty, but you wouldn’t listen. You even called Dennis Fry, the police chief, and told him you couldn’t stay in Beckett any longer.”
Complete silence followed those words. Caleb looked at Josie and her olive skin was a sickly white. He wanted to stop the questions, but he couldn’t. It was time to keep the answers coming.
“I called your parents’ house in Corpus every day, sometimes three times a day, and there was never an answer. Finally the phone was disconnected and I knew something was wrong. You always kept up with the bills.”
“Did you do anything?” Caleb asked.
“You better believe I did.” Lencha snorted. “Eric and I went out to Silver Spur and confronted the biggest, meanest buzzard around. The type of buzzard who’ll pick your bones before you’re dead. Big Boone said Josie got a little upset with Lorna and in a few days she’d calm down and come back. When she didn’t, I filed a missing person’s report with Dennis, but never heard a damn word. I didn’t give up, though. Kept bugging the hell out of him.”
“And nothing happened?”
“Not until a few minutes ago when Josie walked in. All those potions and spells I’ve been weaving kept you alive and my precious child is back.” Lencha grabbed Josie and they hugged again.
Caleb stood, knowing nothing was adding up. If a missing person’s report had been filed, then it should have been in the system. They would have known who Belle was months ago. There were some shady dealings going on and he intended to get some honest answers.
“Do you remember the date Josie left?”
“Sure do. February twentieth.” Lencha pulled an old calendar out of a drawer and opened it. “See, I wrote it down.”
He stared at the date circled in red. They had the timeline almost correct. Belle had said it was very cold when she’d been taken to the cult’s compound. The area had experienced a freezing winter last January and February. She’d been with the cult until mid-April when Eli and the FBI had infiltrated the group. The time from the twentieth until the cult had found her was still a mystery. It couldn’t have been long, though—days at the most. It had been almost fourteen months since she’d been missing.
Time to find more answers.
While Lencha was fixing something to drink, Caleb pulled Josie aside. “I’m going over to the police station to see what I can find out, then I’ll head out to the Silver Spur Ranch.”
“No,” she said in a strong voice. “It’s time for you to go. I can sort out my life now and I have to stop depending on you.”
He saw that determined expression, the stubborn set of her jaw, but he wasn’t leaving. “No way.” He shook his head. “I said I’d stay until your full memory returned and it hasn’t. You know me well enough to know that I always keep my word.”
“Yes.” She bit her lip.
“I’m not leaving you until we know who tried to kill you. It’s not safe until then. Your memory is returning so that shouldn’t be too much longer.” He touched the frown on her forehead.