The Wishing Well Curse
Copyright© 2023 by Lynn Donovan
Chapter 31
Zeke entered the house and disengaged the security system. He paused to start the check list sequence. Laundry, he visualized the first item on his “ta-da” list.
He chuckled. Ta-da list. It was what his mother called a To-Do list. When it was done, she would say, “Ta-da!”
His eyes swept the great room for scattered clothing. He went upstairs and gathered up clothes in the bedroom and the bathroom. On his way to the laundry room he slipped in and out of the gym. He scooped up a sweat towel and a t-shirt, and walked into the utility room. He opened the washer’s door and started to shove the arm-load in.
Something forced him to stop.
He stared at the bundle of clothes.
They are different colors. Should he separate them? There wasn’t enough to do separate loads. He could switch to “cold only.” That would solve the problem with the dark and light colors.
Still, he was paralyzed. Why?
He stared at the wad of fabric in his arms.
What was it?
He picked up the sweat towel and shook it out. Nothing seemed wrong. He threw it in the washing machine.
He pulled out the t-shirt. It looked okay, and he tossed it in.
He picked up socks, toss.
T-shirt, toss.
Boxers, toss.
Jeans. Wait!
The jeans felt heavier than they should. He squeezed them between two hands like wringing out a wash rag. Something hard was in the pocket.
“Oh wow!” The girl’s necklace. He had forgotten about it. He promised himself he would return it to her. Was she still in the hospital? Maybe Pastor James would know. He pulled his cell out of his pocket and laid it on top of the washer.
He reached into the pocket of his dirty jeans and pulled out the chain with the mud encased locket, or whatever it was. The dried mud was white-tan and covered the locket completely. He pulled the pocket wrong side out and let the dirt fall to the tile floor. He did the same with the other pocket.
He tossed the jeans in and poured soap in the trap door. Resetting the temperature and water level, he pushed, “start,” picked up his cell phone, and strolled into the kitchen.
He dialed the pastor’s number as he stepped up to the sink. He considered whether he could run water over it without ruining it, as he listened to the ringing tone for the pastor. It’s been in a river, Clay.
He ran the faucet. Warm water would soften the dried-on mud better. The pastor’s voice answered but it was his voice mail. He listened to the message while he held his hand under the warm water with the locket cupped in his palm.
He stared at the garden while he waited. Finally Pastor gave the command, “Leave a message after the beep.”
“Pastor, this is Zeke,” he began his message, “I just—”
His eyes glanced down at the necklace.
His heart skipped a beat. In fact, his heart stopped beating all together. His mouth hung open. The rest of his words wouldn’t come out.
He couldn’t breathe.
He stared at the amulet in his hand.
Mud still clung to the crevasses, but he knew this talisman. The turquoise stone, held in its gold setting by an Eagle feather across the top and three crosses at the bottom, this was Rosa’s amulet.
“Oh God,” he exclaimed. “How can this be...?”
Destiny, my son. The words flashed in his mind.
He remembered the pastor’s voice mail.
“Pastor. I have to talk to you, now! Call me back immediately.” Zeke disconnected and dialed the church number. The message machine answered. He disconnected and called Clifford.
“Law Off—”
“Clifford,” Zeke shrieked.
“What. What’s wrong?” Panic instantly rose in Clifford’s voice.
“The girl. Where’s the girl?” Zeke continued speaking too loud. He couldn’t help himself.
“What girl?”
“The girl we—rescued. Where is she?”
“Cañon City Memorial Hospital, I guess. Why?”
“I ... I’ve gotta find her.”
“Call the hospital, better yet, let me call the hospital and find out,” Clifford offered. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s hard to explain,” Zeke said. “Thanks man, call me right back.”
“I will, I promise,” Clifford assured.
Zeke disconnected. He touched the medallion and tenderly pushed the mud out of the creases of the gold feather holding the stone. He turned it over and continued washing off the mud. He held the chain in the stream of running water and let the warmth loosen the mud.
This was what he had forgotten. He no longer thought about his ta-da list. He had one thing and one thing only to do. Find this girl.
Irritation started to bubble in his gut. Where was she?