(aka Bike) Part 1734 by Angharad Copyright © 2012 Angharad
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James called me that evening, he’d met Gareth so he was equally puzzled about the death–especially as it had happened after Stella and the girls moved in. Coincidence or what? He was impressed with Trish’s perspicacity particularly in seeing the residue on the piece of metal. I agreed to send to up to him by courier the next day. The photos, he admitted, so far just showed damage by explosion not the cause.
I told him I’d given some to the plod, and he sniggered, “What do these guys do to earn a living?”
“I assume they just want it to be a tragic accident.”
“It’s sounds as if it’s anything but, and if they were after Stella and her kids, who are they and why?”
“I have no idea, but questioning is out of the question at the moment, she’s recovering from CO poisoning and once she finds that Gareth has been killed, who knows what her mental state will be.”
“Yeah, she’s had some problems that way hasn’t she?”
“I feel so badly for her, a second chance at happiness for her taken by person or persons unknown. I want them known and I want them convicted of murder, and I don’t care what it costs. Gareth was a nice guy and he’d have done all he could to make her happy. I want them brought to book for it.”
“Your word is my command–as long as you’re paying for it; but just in case the accident was just that–let’s not jump to conclusions, eh?”
“D’you honestly think it was an accident, Jim?”
“No, but let’s see what the lab brings up with the residue.”
He rang off and I packed up the small item and left a message on a courier service ansafone to collect it first thing tomorrow. We use them in the uni, so they’re quite reliable.
In bed, I informed Simon of what I’d done. “You’re playing with fire again, Cathy.”
“What if they were after Stella and her girls, it might be us next?”
“And if it was just a tragic accident?”
“We’ll know that in a couple of days.”
“I suppose we ought to increase our vigilance, just in case.”
“I’ll get Maureen to check out the gates, the lights and the cameras.”
“I keep forgetting we’ve got all that.”
“I’ve also ordered a thermal imager.”
“What for?”
“Nominally for use with small furry things after dark, but as I’m paying for it, it will stay with me.”
“Biology has gone high tech, what happened to cutting up worms in the lab for fun?”
“They still do that, some of them are less than a millimetre long, so it’s clever stuff.”
“What? Earthworms are bigger than that, aren’t they?”
“These are parasitic nematodes, they cause diseases in fish amongst other things.”
“I shall never look at my cod and chips with the same sort of affection again.”
“The sea is full of all sorts of things, many which will likely have become extinct before we ever see them.”
“Like pleisiosaurs, you mean?”
“Pleisiousaurs–what are you on about?”
“Well they became extinct before we ever saw them.”
“Yeah, by about a hundred million years or so–not even primitive mammals like politicians had evolved then. Australopithecus and Homo erectus had millions of years to wait before they appeared. I mean the chalk that surrounds us was laid down in that period, Jurassic, when we were under a tropical sea.”
“Yeah, now that is global warming I could cope with.”
“Except this house would be under water.”
“You can’t have everything,” he sighed.
“Oh, I don’t know, you manage with most things,” I joked at him. “Who’s going to tell Stella that Gareth is dead?”
“Dad, that’s why he went in to see her today, to speak with the doctors and assess when the best time would be.”
“That is going to be one hell of a job.”
“I know, which is why Dad agreed to do it.”
“Are we going to invite her to come here again?”
“Well as she isn’t probably entitled to Gareth’s estate, she’ll have nowhere to go.”
“She couldn’t live there anyway, the place blew up, remember?”
“Oh yes; perhaps she’ll want to go back to London, with Dad and Monica.”
“Or she could buy somewhere of her own–she’s hardly short of money is she?”
“No, she usually spends mine.”
“Why d’you let her?”
“I’ve done it for years, even when we were in school, I used to sub her–only to learn she saved hers.”
“She’s played you for a sucker all these years.”
“Unlike you of course.”
“I don’t take advantage of you, Simon, and I do fund my own projects too.”
“Yeah, I know, babes.”
“I’m tired, so I’m going to sleep now.” I kissed him and rolled over onto my side. I had barely closed my eyes when the phone rang.
“Who the...” swore Simon as he picked up the handset. “Hello?”
I could only hear one side of the conversation.
“Yeah, how is she?” Obviously Henry.
“She knows? How does she know? She saw Billie in a dream who told her Gareth was with her. How long? Okay, see you tomorrow, night.” He put the handset back down on its charger unit.
“That was Henry, I take it?”
“Yeah, Stella had the same dream you did.”
“And Trish.”
“But she doesn’t usually believe that sort of stuff.”
“Her gassing probably reduced her filters–she’d have normally screened it out like you do road noise, unless it’s very loud or you’re wanting to cross.”
“With you, I can accept the weird...”
“Oh thanks,” I said sarcastically.
“Let me finish; I can accept it with you because of the blue light business...”
“Which doesn’t seem to work anymore.”
“Do you mind if I finish? Thank you; now–oh yes, weird things happened when you were doing all that, but as it saved lives, including my own, I’m not complaining. With Stella, she’s just so conventional as a weirdo, so this is really weird.”
“A conventional weirdo? You have such a way with words, husband mine.”
“Yeah, my English teacher said so.”
“Did he?”
“Yeah, he said, ‘Mr Cameron, you have such a way with words, as to make it seem that English is a second or third language.’”
I burst into laughter and had to go to the loo, which I only just made in time. “Don’t pull the flush,” he called gently, and then occupied the loo as I left it.
“I hope you lifted the seat,” I said as he came back to bed.
“Yeah, I left it up to prove it.”
“So, what’s happening with Stella?”
“They’ll put the seat down for her.”
“Simon, behave–what is happening with Stella?”
“They’ve sedated her and will evaluate her tomorrow. Dad’s staying at the hotel, he’ll ring tomorrow–oh, he said Monica will have the girls if it’s too much for us.”
“It hasn’t been before, has it?”
“Hey, I’m only the messenger.”
I turned over again and it took me ages to sleep, I kept wondering who could do that to Gareth or Stella and how fortunate the girls were.
Comments
Billie is like their guardian spirit
She so loves her family so much and Cathy does not realize what an important thing she does for them.
Cathy has a lot of redeeming qualities but her inability to swallow her philosophical pride and accept the reality of her spiritual link is a big black mark to me.
Kim
Actually...
...given that both Trish and Stella also saw the dream, I think Cathy's given up on trying to rationalise it away... for the time being at least. Note that Cathy said that Stella probably saw the dream because her 'filters' were down, as opposed to the CO making her imagine things that couldn't possibly have happened because there's no mundane scientific explanation for them. Maybe, for the time being at least, Cathy's own filters have reduced.
Meanwhile, it looks as though Cathy's going to gain temporary custody of Puddin' and Fiona. Perhaps once Stella's physically recovered enough to return home, her rehabilitation can include learning some basic household chores - if only to give her something to do to take her mind off wallowing in tragedy - after all, she is now a double widow and even once more-or-less rehabilitated, will probably avoid the dating scene again lest tragedy strikes a third time (or more likely, extended anguish followed by tragedy, since she became pregnant by both partners, and each time had a bout of depression close to the births).
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
Not Weird but Gifted.
Stay with me please,
1] Everything we hear see smell taste touch, are electrical signals generated by biological sensors in our body. Then transmitted to the brain via our system of nerves to our brain where they are processed and interpreted. All of this is a very complex system and is realy first rate.
2] Our reality is virtual in that we do not have the smell taste or other inside of our brain, but depend on our senses to tell us whet is there and we accept that it is really there. Due to all the things that can go wrong our programing by culture or personnel belief can add a layer of filtering or processing into the data stream allowing us to function in less than Ideal situations. I use my sense of smell and touch to trouble shoot electronics by locating overheated burned out or dysfunctions. I still use the gadgets we have but i can not count how many times I personalty freaked out coworkers with my unorthodox but effective methods.
I navigate the same way but it is even stranger. I have the ability to sense when I am off course in my travels. Waking up in a car once to tell the driver my friend we were on the wrong road in the dark in a state I never traveled in. I was correct and a highway sign validated that just 1 moments later. Another time I found a cave I was looking for walking at night in the rain in a Pennsylvanian wooded area I never been in before, we walked right into the mouth of the cave we were looking for where we spent the night. GPS was not available then.
My point is that when open to it we can receive other information outside of our normal senses, we have abilities outside of what the average person allows them selves to use. We can upgrade our selves if we drop the shields just a bit and trust that the universe is more complex and wonderful than the church men have allowed our minds to learn about.
3] Catherin as a person is blinded by science and having to protect her fragile world inside of her mind by needing physical proof. Some times circumstantial evidence is by far more available and deals with that we HAVE NOT LEARNED TO MEASURE, example radiation, or orderless gas they existed long before we learned to detect them and the circumstantial evidence was staggering before physical evidence was gathered.
I my self am classically trained in science I was trained in Oceanography but that in and of its self a multiply disciplined subject, it took me until I was in my late forties before I was able to accept my extra senses, that some how nature has chosen me as her mutant test subject to receive this gift. It happened on the night the porch of the house trailer I lived in caught fire and burned to the ground. We got out unharmed because from a sound sleep I was shown a vision of the porch completely engulfed in flame, I then found the one way out. So Catherin needs to accept from the preponderance of experiential data the blue light and her Goddess does exist, and that Catherin has been found worthy and special by nature her self she has chosen Catherin as her vassal here and to accept the gifts is a necessary part of CATHERIN'S LIFE.
4] I SURRENDER MY SOAP BOX TO TH NEXT GIFTED ORATOR.
With those with open eyes the world reads like a book
We'll ...
We'll just have to wait and see. It's getting a bit dangerous to be around Cathy though I'm surprised she has any enemies left. Still lovin' it though.
OXOXOX
Bev.
Easy As Falling Off A Bike pt 1734
Maybe now Stella has the blue light
May Your Light Forever Shine
Stella and the blue light?
Bonzi, you twisted cathor (cat + author)! What are we going to do with you? Well, nothing really, as what does anything that a human does or think affect a cat of your stature?
Stella and the blue light could be an interesting intersection on this journey. But when has it been suggested, other than that she has been exposed to it, that the blue light could be transferred to her? Can or will, Stella be the catalyst that brings Cathy to admit to the Things That Have Been Obvious To Her, or will she continue to believe her way is the only way, and if you dont agree, then forget you?
The way the story line is going, I am FORCED to believe that Cathy will change her view of the spiritual aspect of the universe, (I reference prophecies told early in this excellent tale). but how long will that take?
Don't let someone else talk you out of your dreams. How can we have dreams come true, if we have no dreams?
Katrina Gayle "Stormy" Storm
Sometimes the best way to
lift someones spirit's is a little laughter... And with the immortal line of “Yeah, he said, ‘Mr Cameron, you have such a way with words, as to make it seem that English is a second or third language.’†Simon provided it, Sad to say though, Laughter i think will be in short supply for the next few days...
You cannot help but think that Cathy and Simon will have their work cut with Stella, Just how she will cope with the loss of Gareth remains to be seen but given Stella's fragile mental state the road could be a long and difficult path... Maybe she will surprise us all but this latest setback for her may prove to be just a bridge too far :(
Kirri
Wonder if Stella
will get to see Garath often. It would help, a lot. I got to visit some of my family when they died, it did me. Of course, it was dreams, but I tend to believe.