Callie's Redemption (Callie's Secret Book 3) Read online

  "No. Walking will do me good, walking and thinking. Thank you, Callie, really."

  "See someone Ozzy, to help you through this. You're heading the right way, just keep trying. It never goes away, but it'll get better." She shut the door behind him and relocked it. Jenny stood at the top of the steps, her freckled cheeks covered in tears.

  "I love you Callie Fisher. Come to bed."

  Chapter Eleven

  The plane banked, making a slow turn to get lined up with the airport far below them. Danielle looked out of the window at the landing strip stretched out across the peninsula that created the big harbor Kingston was known for. Eleven and a half years ago, her grandparents had been in the plane that crash landed at the same site, breaking apart, and nearly falling into the surf. It was amazing that no one had been killed. But that was the start of it, her time with the Sisters.

  The years since had been a roller coaster ride, as Teresa tried to assert her dominance over the group. But she was gone now, and things were improving, becoming more organized and productive. Teresa had taken advantage of her, making her do a lot of the dirty work, and it had cost her a lot. It had cost her and Anna the forever they had planned so many years ago. Now they had a second chance, a new start. She wasn't going to let the Sisters take that away from her. A couple weeks in Jamaica and maybe she could start a new life. All she had to do, was stay alive.

  Callie's painting looked grim, and the scenery matched what might have been a ghetto in the backstreets of Jamaica. The girl lying on the ground had certainly been her. But the future was a hazy thing, and they had seen time and again, that the visions of the group weren't always what they appeared, that events could be changed. That was the whole point of the trip, save as many people as possible. She would have loved to cancel. Leaving Anna was next to impossible after their night of lovemaking. There it was again, her Gift, making her life harder.

  The others had volunteered to go, even Jennifer. But once they left the beaches, and the high-rise hotels, Kingston could be a very dangerous place. Strangers, tourists especially stood out, and were often targeted for pickpocketing, mugging, or worse. The Trench, the area of the city where Danielle grew up, was filled with crime and drug ridden. As a child, protected by the local inhabitants, she had wandered freely in the streets with no fear other than finding enough to eat. It would be different now. She would probably be recognized as an outsider, and there would be no street gang to protect her. She would have to be careful.

  She heard the landing gear bump into place and felt the plane slow, felt her stomach turn for a moment, wondering if they would fall from the sky like a rock. But the plane stayed in the air, settling slowly down closer to the water. The tires squawked briefly as they touched the hot asphalt, then they were taxiing up to the terminal. She waited patiently, then stood to help an elderly couple drag their carryon bags out of the overhead, pulling her own down as well. She didn't have any luggage. She would buy some clothes locally, something that fit the climate and would help her blend in. Looking like a native would help.

  She picked up her rental car, an ancient looking Subaru, and started finding her way from the Norman Manley airport to downtown Kingston. She felt like a stranger in the place of her birth. The Parkway took her around the harbor, past an area of Kingston she wasn't aware existed, a place of opulence and substantial looking, newer structures. Nothing appeared familiar, either from memory or from the numerous paintings Callie had created. As a child, she had seldom left the Trench, only venturing as far as her bicycle would carry her and her friends, into the older parts of downtown to steal food and panhandle change from the tourists. She had been chased home more than once by the local Constabulary, and would have probably found her way into an orphanage, and obscurity, if not for Constable Henry. She was looking forward to seeing him, but needed to check into her hotel first.

  It was a new three-story structure, with secure parking, a fountain out front, and a huge pool. No sign of poverty, plenty of tourist dollars. She studied her map, then called Lamar Henry. He was tied up, but finished work at five, and told her where to meet him. She used some of the time to study a map, trying to reconnect with what she could remember of the city. She checked the listings. There was a thrift store a mile away and she decided to walk to it. She left most of her cash in the room, threw her bag over her arm, and walked out into the warm afternoon. The store was west of the Hotel, and the area was older, less manicured. There were fewer tourists, more locals on the street. She took note of what the women walking by were wearing. Not much had changed. People dressed for comfort, sleeveless tops, and loose skirts or shorts. Her skin tone and height would set her apart a little, but the goal was to blend in, make people think she belonged. New clothes would make her look rich by island standards and she wanted to pass as a local whenever possible. She picked out a few shirts, shorts and one brightly colored skirt. The woman taking money was obviously Jamaican, and she stayed behind the counter the whole time while Danielle wandered through the store. Out of curiosity, Danielle tried out her Jamaican Patois, wondering if she could pass as an islander.

  "Mi ago lev today, need some cloth fuhta' go." Although she wasn't leaving, it was a good excuse for buying several outfits. The words sounded strange to her, and the cadence felt off. The woman glanced at her but didn't respond. Danielle caught her smirking as she turned away, and knew she'd been busted. The locals knew a tourist when they heard one. It would have to be enough to understand what they were saying. Given a month or two, the dialect would come back, but she didn't have that kind of time.

  Their best guess, between Callie and the Sisters as a group, put the event very near to the Jamaican Independence Day, just shy of a week away. She hoped to track down her grandparents' cousins in that time, as well as the boys she had called her friends as a child. They were all well on their way to delinquency when she had been yanked from the street, and she suspected some of them had continued on to a life of more serious crime.

  The biggest order of business would be convincing the Constabulary that there was an earthquake coming. It was the only way to have a chance of evacuating the areas of most risk. The older part of town had been badly damaged years before in a big quake, but many of the old structures had been rebuilt. There were dozens of three and four story stone buildings that wouldn't survive if the quake was as strong as the Sisters expected. Some of the old buildings served as office spaces, some as apartments. All were death traps. She hoped Lamar Henry was open minded.

  She was late getting to the open-air bar and grill where he had instructed her to meet him. She recognized him immediately, and threw her arms around him. The bartender laughed.

  "Lamar, you old dog. Who be this sweet woman? You are keeping secrets."

  "Lamar saved me, when I was a little girl. Then he sent me to a place so cold it would freeze your best rum." Danielle claimed.

  "Then to hell with Lamar I say, I will be your man instead!" Lamar waved him away laughing.

  "Go sell your booze to the tourists Eddie, Danielle and I have much to talk about." Eddie laughed and left them alone. "Not a care in the world, that one. So Danielle, you are thinking of finding some of the boys from the Trench?"

  "If it's possible. Leroy and Teddy, and of course Nigel."

  "Ah, I heard Teddy is no longer with us, killed in a fight. You might be able to find Leroy, they tell me he hangs around the Quad. It's an upscale club up on the north side. He stays out of jail, but I think he runs with some bad men. He fancies himself with the ladies, and he throws a lot of money around. Be careful, his friends aren't good people, and Nigel won't be there to protect you."

  "And what about Nigel? He was my brother on the streets, he kept me safe."

  "Still would, I am sure, but not with his fists or a knife. He has joined the clergy."

  "No! But I could see that, he had a good heart, he only stole to feed his family."

  "He found his way out of the Trench, and has done his best to help
the people there. Kingston is a better place than ten years ago, Danielle, but anywhere there is hunger, there will be trouble. So many have so much, and some have so little. It makes for anger."

  "I need to tell you something Lamar, and it will be hard to believe, it will sound like Obeah."

  "A few still believe in the magic, Danielle. I am not one of them."

  "What would you say, if I told you that I know that an earthquake is coming. I don't know it with my head, but I know it with my heart. There will be a lot of damage, and I fear the law will break down."

  "You have seen this, some magic vision?"

  "The people I work with, they have these visions. I have before, but not about this. We think it is coming very soon, but it is not always a sure thing."

  "That is often true, of prophets and soothsayers." He smiled shaking his head.

  "I would not lie, Lamar, not to you. I have seen many things come true that my friends predicted. They have seen it, and I came here to warn you, to try to save as many people as possible. I know, most people will not believe it, even you. I have an expert coming. No one can predict an earthquake exactly, but maybe she can convince you that it could happen soon, with her science." He looked serious, suddenly.

  "The beer, it moved." Lamar stared down at his glass, then realized it didn't make sense to her. "I was here the other day, and my beer moved, just a little, side to side, I thought it was the big trucks going by."

  "There's been an uptick in seismic activity lately Lamar, the woman who is coming said they have been aware of it for the last couple months. Will you talk with her? Maybe, the two of us, we can convince you. I have to get as many people as I can to listen, to try to be ready."

  "I'm not sure if I believe this magic, seeing the future. But I will help you Danielle, always."

  It was a small church, and an old one. The outside was brick and mortar, the roof a combination of clay tile and steel. It looked like the original structure had been added on to haphazardly. Danielle was no expert on building, but it didn't look like it would survive much shaking. It was late morning, and she walked up to the front and sat in a pew, wondering how to find her friend. After twenty minutes, a familiar figure walked out of a door on the left, bowed his head quickly, then turned toward her.

  "How may I help you today, are you here to worship?" The light inside was poor and Danielle knew that he was looking into the bright sunlight that filtered through the stained-glass windows.

  "If my old friend thinks there is any hope for this sinner." The voice was a dozen years older, but he knew it immediately. He stepped down from the pulpit to the main floor and rushed over to her, hugging her, and lifting her from the ground. Tall as she had become, he still had six inches on her.

  "Danielle, praise God, it's so good to see you. Did you finally realize Minnesota wasn't for you? Look at you, you are tall as I am, and full of muscles."

  "Nigel, not true! You are still a head taller than me, and you were always the strongest person I knew. You scared the men away from me, and you were only fifteen."

  "And you blackened my eye! Lamar was lucky I did not find him after he stole you away and sent you to Minnesota. He is lucky I have forgiven him."

  "My grandparents were wonderful people, Nigel. I missed it here, and you and the others, but I have a wonderful life now."

  "I do as well, serving the Lord. I am married, and blessed with a daughter. Can you come to dinner? I will call my wife, she has heard many stories about you. How about you? Have you a husband?"

  "I have love, Nigel, but not with a man."

  "The church here, we don't recognize such marriages, but they do in the United States, right?"

  "They do, but we're not married, maybe someday. Do you have time to sit? I need to tell you something, and I want you to take it seriously." She was vague, only telling him that she had very reliable information and that a major earthquake was coming, knowing that he wouldn't accept the idea of psychics. "Places like this, old stone buildings, they'll be a dangerous place, when it hits." He smiled.

  "We have had earthquakes before, and this is a house of God. We'll be okay."

  "But, Nigel, my information is that it will probably be bad, bigger than Kingston has seen since the beginning of the nineteen-hundreds. That quake flattened the city. This building is old. Close the church for a few days, stay at home, protect your family, please."

  "But where will people worship, Danielle? This is who I am now. If my time comes, so be it. It's not up to me, it's up to Pastor Davis, and I know he'll say the same thing. Churches must serve their parishioners, right? Don't worry. I will call Abigail, have her put out an extra plate for supper."

  She tried again, after having supper with his wife and child, but got nowhere. She was back at the hotel by eight, called Anna, then went to bed early. She planned to try to locate her relatives in the morning, see what their situation was, and hope they would listen to her.

  Her grandfather's first cousin lived in Hope Pastures, a suburb of Kingston. It was a beautiful, manicured community of older homes, plush gardens, and stone streets. There were few people walking the streets, just the odd jogger and a couple Constables, driving around keeping an eye on things. She pushed the buzzer and announced herself, then drove in as the gate swung open. Eldon Campbell and his wife Goldie met her at the door with open arms, literally. They eyed her curiously as they led her out on the patio where they had tea waiting at a glass table beside a large swimming pool.

  "What a beautiful home you have Mr. Campbell, it looks new, you must take good care of it."

  "It is one of the newer homes in the area, hurricane and earthquake proof as anything can be. You mentioned on the phone that you had information about a possible quake?"

  "Eldon, let the girl sit and relax a bit, you're being rude." Goldie handed Danielle her cup and filled it with scalding water. "I am so glad you called us. It was so tragic, when your grandparents both passed so close to one another. The family seems to be getting smaller all the time, I'm glad we have a chance to meet you."

  "I was hoping to connect with whatever family my grandparents had here on the island, since I would be related to them as well, however remotely." Eldon glanced at his wife, and Danielle caught the look of disapproval she sent him.

  "Goldie and I are almost the only ones left from our family. We never had children, and my sister, she was your grandfather's favorite cousin, she died about three years ago. She was never married, but she had a daughter." He glanced at his wife again, then continued. "Her daughter, Kendra, she lives over near Trench town, in a small house, a shack really, with her daughter." Goldie looked at Danielle and lowered her head, whispering.

  "Witch! She practices the old magic, the Obeah. Voodoo."

  "We have so much Danielle. Kendra is my niece, and I wanted her to come live here, but she will not give up her magic, and she will not allow her daughter to come either. I have sent her money, but she sends it back. If you go to see her, go in the day, it is not safe there after dark, especially for a pretty woman such as you."

  "I'll go see her, I am not afraid of dark magic, or the Trench. It's where I grew up. Perhaps I can convince her to talk with you."

  "She must renounce the Obeah, become Christian." Goldie exclaimed. "Then she is welcome."

  "Her daughter is seven, Goldie, yet she pays for her mother's sins. If they are in need Danielle, we will help them however we can. I don't fear the old magic, it is all nonsense. I won't let a child suffer because my niece and my wife are both so headstrong." Goldie didn't appear happy, but she didn't argue further.

  "I have friends in the geological field who say that a big quake is imminent. Of course, it's hard to say for sure, but they feel like it could happen any day. The area downtown, none of those buildings are safe. I'll try to convince your niece to call you. Perhaps you can compromise, for the safety of the child."

  "I haven't heard anything on the news. How can they be so sure?"

  "It is new
technology. I have a friend at the University of Miami, and it is her area of study." Part lie, part truth. "They may be wrong, but better safe than sorry. I would stock up on supplies, just in case." Danielle spent the rest of the morning chatting, telling and listening to stories about her grandparents. It saddened her, thinking about them, but it was good to talk about them with someone who had known them so well. Eldon gave her his phone number, and his nieces' address, and she was on her way to the Trench.

  It was neither as dismal, nor as exhilarating as she imagined it would be. Driving down the small back streets that she had bicycled as a child, brought a smile to her face, even if some of the shanties were in even worse condition than she remembered. But the sound of Reggae music found its way into the car, and she slowed down when she realized that it came from a group of young men standing on the street corner. Music was a big part of life in Jamaica, and she had forgotten just how much. When she slowed and rolled her window down, the group took a sudden interest in her, and she drove quickly away. They probably just wanted to flirt, but she wasn't sure of their intent and didn't have time to spare.

  She parked in front of the small squalid house at the address Eldon had given her. The house was tiny, but two stories tall, and there was a small deck on the second floor where clothes hung from a line that had been rigged to some scrap lumber. The roof had been damaged by the wind at some point, and was covered by scraps of galvanized sheet metal. It wasn't much to look at, but Danielle guessed it kept the rain out. It reminded her of the house she and her mother had lived in. She looked down at the two little girls sitting on the front step, wondering if Kendra made her living the same way her mother had.

  The girls were both seven or eight, shoeless, with dirty faces and bright smiles. They were playing with Barbie dolls. One of the girls looked up at Danielle. "Are you the woman from Minnesnota?"

  "Some people say it like that, because we have very cold winters, but really it's called Minnesota. What's your name?"