Part 10 (2/2)
”No, it's azurite. Except for the larger crystal at the bottom. That's black tourmaline. I a.s.sumed it was a burned azurite crystal like the others, but it's not. Anyway, it's not letting me take out the azurite.”
”Not letting you?” she said.
”I told you that I felt strange about working on it. I know it sounds funny, but I just get the feeling that something other than the physical properties of this medallion prevents me from removing those stones. I have no other explanation.”
”Do you get impressions like this about other things you work on?”
”Sure. I sense energies, both good and bad, in many objects I work on. This one is different. The impressions I get from it are not subtle. They are profound.”
”Okay, I guess I'll look at other options. Thanks for everything.”
Ned tipped the carrier into his hand to pour out cut azurite crystals and showed them to Mara. ”If you can find someone who can do the work, here are the replacement crystals I cut.” He put the crystals and medallion back in the case and handed it to Mara. ”Sorry I couldn't be more help.”
Mara stretched out on the couch in the living room, reading a magazine while her mother sat in her lotus position on the round rug in front of the fireplace, meditating with a candle and several crystals placed in an arc in front of her.
”Why did you and Dad get divorced?” Mara asked.
Her mother opened one eye and looked across the room at her daughter. ”What prompted that? You've never asked before.”
”An article I'm reading, and it occurred to me that I didn't know.”
”As trite as it sounds, we just drifted apart,” Diana said, keeping her eyes closed. ”I became more engaged in my spiritual beliefs, and he finished his residency, started to get deeper into his career. He felt more pragmatic about life. I stayed more of a, well, a free spirit, I suppose.”
”You're always saying I'm like him, but he says I'm like you. He's not that thrilled about me working at Mr. Mason's shop and thinks I should just go straight into college.”
”I suppose you've got a bit of both of us in you,” her mother said, reaching for a demantoid, a l.u.s.trous green garnet. She raised the round crystal to the candle flame, gave her wrist a twist. A kaleidoscope of green hues spun throughout the room. ”You have many facets. You control which ones s.h.i.+ne.”
”That is so cool. You should do light shows at the planetarium.”
Diana smiled and slid back into her meditation.
”So you just woke up one day and asked for a divorce?”
”What?”
”You and Dad. You asked him, right?”
”You are a buzz kill, child. I don't remember. It was mutual.”
”Did you guys ever consider having other kids?”
Diana opened her eyes. She stared at Mara long enough without answering to make Mara uncomfortable. ”We did,” Diana said.
”You considered having more kids?”
”When you were almost two, I got pregnant. I went nearly full term, but when he was born, his lungs were underdeveloped, and he didn't make it.”
”Oh, my G.o.d. I'm sorry, Mom.”
”It was a long time ago, sweetie. It was a complication we didn't expect. After all, we had you, and everything went perfectly. I don't think your dad and I ever really recovered from that. He dived into his career, and I looked for solace in my own way. We eventually went our separate ways.”
”Why didn't you ever tell me?”
”You were too young to remember, and I suppose it just never came up when you got older.”
”Did you name the baby?”
”We named him Sam.”
CHAPTER 18.
BOHANNON PULLED INTO the circular drive in front of the beige stuccoed airport hotel and braked at the front entrance under a large overhang.
Suter walked out the hotel's front door and grabbed the pa.s.senger door handle. ”Head over to the hospital,” he said, slipping into the pa.s.senger seat. ”I left the NTSB contact info with the doctors, and Pirelli forwarded a call this morning from Peter Newsome's wife. You remember Newsome, right?”
”How could I forget?”
”Turns out his wife was on the flight, too, and she says they want to talk.”
”I don't recall seeing another Newsome on the list.”
”Kept her maiden name. She's Jill O'Donnell. They were sitting toward the back of the plane and apparently saw a tussle of some kind.”
Bohannon pulled out of the hotel driveway and headed west toward the hospital.
”Does the wife seem to think anything is odd about her husband?”
”Didn't say anything. Why?”
”If you were married to someone who laid an egg, wouldn't you think that was strange?”
”I suppose, but, you have to remember, she's probably a clone too. Who knows what these people think is strange? Anyway, it probably wasn't an actual egg. I'm sure it didn't have, you know, a little something inside waiting to hatch.”
”Lord, have mercy.”
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