Deadly Decision by Regina Smeltzer Page B

me.
    “No, just wanted to see it again. I may be able to find out who he is.”
    We went to the kitchen. Betsy poured coffee into large ceramic mugs, part of a set she had bought last year when she and I had gone to Gatlinburg. I wasn’t sure how Betsy was going to take my information about Barbara. The last thing I wanted to do before going to South Carolina for the summer was to upset my sister. Sitting in my usual spot at the table, I grabbed an Oreo cookie from the opened pack that lay between us and picked up my coffee. As brown brew almost splashed over the rim, I put the cup back down, hoping Betsy had not noticed my shaking hand.
    “So her name’s Barbara?” Betsy asked, repeating what I had told her over the phone.
    “Barbara Thompson. I met her at the bookstore.”
    “She must be something special.”
    “She’s going to help me find out about the boy in the picture.” I filled my mouth with dry cookie.
    Betsy raised her eyebrows. “She’s a historian?”
    “Sort of. She’s a psychic.”
    I could hear the mantle clock ticking in the next room, another gift from Grandfather. The crunch of cookies in my mouth sounded as loud as boulders grinding beneath an earth mover.
    “You’re not serious.”
    “She’s a Christian, Betsy. It’s not like you think.”
    “It’s not like I think?”
    “Talking to spirits is a gift from God.”
    “Not my God.”
    “Listen, Betsy—”
    “No, you listen. I supported you when you told Dad you didn’t want to follow family tradition and go to law school. Everyone should follow his own path. But I refuse to support you here. I can’t believe you went to a psychic for help.” She pushed herself away from the table and looked toward the window. Her lips were almost lost in her tense face.
    “Our relationship is more than her psychic ability. I really like her.”
    Betsy turned toward me and reached across the table, placing her hands over mine. “This woman has bewitched you. It’s as old as man himself. Evil woman deceives innocent man—”
    “She’s not evil. You haven’t even met her.”
    “And I plan to keep it that way.” Icy eyes froze my heart. She pulled her hands away from mine and stood, feet planted and arms folded in front of her. “And until you come to your senses, you are not welcome in my house.”
    “Betsy…”
    “I mean it. I won’t tolerate evil inside my home.”
    “I’m not evil.”
    “If you stay in her company, you soon will be.”
    “You mean you’re going to let this come between us? I’m your own brother.” Betsy and I had fought, we had experienced differences, but she had never turned me away. Her rejection caught me by surprise.
    “I’m not doing this, Bill, you are. You choose. Give up this satanic practice or stay away from me.”
    Anger, and something else, etched Betsy’s face. Maybe fear?
     
     
     
     

10
     
    Emptiness accompanied me on the trip from Ashland to Darlington. I tried to shift the disagreement with my sister to the back of my mind, knowing she would come to her senses in a few days and call me. But my thoughts wandered back to our last words. Why wouldn’t she try to understand?
    The cellphone rested in the cup holder, just as it had on my last trip to Trina’s. Now its presence grew bigger than life. It would be so easy to pick up the phone, to place the call and end the emotional confusion that tethered me to Ashland. Little traffic shared the highway with me, it would be safe to place a call. I only had to push one button; her number was on speed dial. I released my tight grip from the steering wheel with my right hand and stretched toward the phone.
    No. I wouldn’t give in to her this time. If she didn’t call me first, I would call her. But not until after Barbara talked to Jimmy.
    Within an hour of arriving in Darlington, Trina had caught me up on all the news. Mrs. Roberts was now called Sandra. There had been no progress on Jimmy and, after prompting, I found out Mitch had not