Lynn Osterkamp - Cleo Sims 03 - Too Many Secrets (7 page)

“I guess it is a little strange, but Brandi wants to
give Sabrina space to work out her relationship with Erik. She’s sure Sabrina
will be back soon. That’s all I know. Don’t ask me any more questions.”
She jumped up and headed off to her room with Gustav at her heels.

I drove down the mountain from Elisa’s house brooding about
the Erik situation. My head throbbed with possibilities jumping over each other
to be front and center. Should I confront Brandi to get the details of her
phone conversation with Erik? Should I share Maria’s information with the Moxie
members? Or could I, given that it was told to me in confidence? Should I try
to find Erik on my own? Maybe call his brother in Minneapolis? Or should I go
directly to the police? But if Erik knew the police were on to him, there was
no telling what he’d do.

I wanted to make a considered choice of action, rather than
jumping in impulsively and making things worse. Part of me longed to discuss it
with Pablo—especially since he knew Erik—but my sensible part
warned me not to tell him I was involved in another possible murder
investigation. I could hear his voice in my head reminding me, “Amateurs
shouldn’t get involved in police business. It’s way too dangerous. Yada, yada,
yada.” He’d pitch a fit if he knew I was doing it again. I didn’t want to
hear it. I already had enough on my plate being pregnant and trying to work out
my relationship with him.

“Yo, Cleo!”

“Tyler! Good grief!” I swerved sharply when I saw
the surfer-dude spirit floating in midair outside my window. “Can’t you
see I’m driving? You need to get inside the car before I crash and end up as
dead as you are.”

“Chill, Cleo,” he said as he drifted down through
the roof of my car and perched cross-legged on the passenger seat beside me.
“You’re not even wet.”

Easy for him to say. He’s already dead. But I decided to
forget about how he almost ran me off the road, and see if I could get some
advice. “Tyler, I don’t know what to do about Erik. Can you help me with
that?”

“Heavies are coming in. Don’t hotdog. You’ll get
pounded.”

“So you’re telling me to play it safe?” This was
strange. Usually I’m the one worried about risks and Tyler is the one telling
me to go for it.

“Sometimes it’s cool to surf with a buddy.”

“So I should get some help? Does that mean I should go
to the police?”

“Sometimes the best place to catch a wave is your home
swell.”

I mulled that over as I maneuvered around a sharp curve.
Amazingly Tyler didn’t float away while I was thinking. Then I got it. “My
home swell? You mean talk to Pablo instead of going to the Boulder
police?”

“Keep your leash attached to your board, Cleo. Don’t get
axed.” With that, he floated out the window, surfed up over the trees, and
disappeared.

§ § §

I called Pablo as soon as I got home. I got his voice mail.
Even though it was Sunday afternoon, he was in a training class. They don’t
take weekends off at these intensives. I left a message. “Hey, sweetie,
hope you’re having a good day. I need your advice about something, but it’s a
long story—too long for voicemail. I have a meeting this afternoon, but
maybe we can talk later? Can you leave a message telling me when is a good time
to call tonight? Love ya, bye.”

§ § §

My afternoon meeting was with Paige Mosier, the last of the
Moxie women. Looking back over my notes, I realized that Gayle’s email
introducing the women had said that Paige is also Rivka Ravenstar. That meant
Paige had organized the personal journey gathering where Sabrina had
disappeared. I wondered why none of the women had said anything about that when
I talked with them. I decided her Rivka role would be the first topic I would
bring up with her.

Paige had suggested we meet for tea at 3:00 at Boulder’s
Dushanbe Tea House. A pleasant sweet spicy scent of scented teas and Middle
Eastern food surrounded me as I entered the restaurant. I always enjoy going
there. The Teahouse—a gift to Boulder from our sister city, Dushanbe, the
capital of Tajikistan—was hand carved by Tajik artisans, shipped to
Boulder in pieces, then reassembled downtown next to Boulder Creek. The
ambiance is both stunning and serene. Vivid colorful carved panels are
everywhere you look—ceiling, columns, walls—and a central fountain
with hammered copper sculptures splashes into a pool surrounded by plants.

I spotted Paige right away sitting at an isolated corner
table with a squat black teapot in front of her. Hard to miss that striking mop
of curly red hair. As I approached, she jumped up to give me a hug, even though
I’d only met her the one time at Gayle’s. It’s the Boulder way. Despite her
slender willowy body, her arms and shoulders were strong, which reminded me
that she’s a yoga teacher.

“I hope you don’t mind that I already ordered tea,”
Paige said with a smile. “I got here a little early to relax and enjoy the
atmosphere.” Once again, I was struck by her lyrical voice, which drew me
in right away.

I sat and ordered a pot of tangerine herbal tea while Paige
got a refresher for the green jasmine she was drinking. She made idle chitchat
about the beauty of the teahouse until our server was done. Then she sat
quietly waiting for me to begin.

The teahouse was half empty and no one was close enough to
overhear us, so I got right to the point. “If I have this right, you set
up the personal journey gathering,” I said. “You’re Rivka Ravenstar,
is that right?”

She showed no sign of surprise at my question. “That’s
right,” she said. “Rivka Ravenstar is the name I use for my
business—teaching yoga and conducting wilderness journeys for women. It’s
my Wiccan high priestess name. Do you know much about Wicca?”

I poured some tea from my teapot into my cup and took a sip.
Sweet, spicy and delicious. I knew very little about Wicca, but I tossed out
what I could come up with. “Wicca is an earth-based religion that has
rituals and ceremonies outside in nature, right?” I said tentatively.

She nodded. “Yes. We Wiccans feel very close to the
earth. For us the soul of nature gives life to the universe.” I leaned
back and relaxed as the melodic quality of her voice turned her words into
poetry. “Wicca is what got me into taking women on wilderness
journeys,” she said. “It’s a way of giving modern women the
opportunity to connect with the natural world the way land-based people of our
past did. Dialoguing with nature in silence allows for inner reflection,
discovery, and new perspectives.”

Listening to her, I could hear that Paige was a natural at
leading these women’s journeys. I might become Wiccan myself if I listened much
longer. “Are the other Moxie members Wiccans?” I asked.

Paige smiled, her green eyes sparkling. “No, I’m the
only one. I’ve never tried to convert them. Wiccans don’t proselytize. But the
journeys aren’t about being Wiccan. That’s my framework, but the journey is
personal for each woman. They bring their own beliefs and inner rhythm to the
experience.”

Much as I was enjoying listening to her talk about Wicca, I
forced myself back to my plan to get some specifics about the gathering.
“Can you tell me a little about how you set up the event?” I asked.

“Sure,” she said. “I’ve told it to the sheriff
and other rescuers so many times that it feels like a memorized speech. We went
up to the Rainbow Lakes Campground in the Indian Peaks Wilderness on November
sixth. It was a Monday evening. No one else was there. We all brought food to
share in a community meal, and we had a big fire, and a ceremony where we
declared our intentions to renew our lives and our relationships through our
personal journeys. We shared positive feelings about each other, and each put
forward our hopes for new visions for ourselves. It ended with a celebration
circle with candles. Then we slept in our tents.”

“Then you went on the individual journeys the next
morning?”

Tears welled up in her eyes. “Yes,” she said, her
voice breaking. “Tuesday morning everyone gathered up their tents,
sleeping bags and all their stuff and we locked it in my van. We each kept only
our rain gear, a knife, water and some raw organic food bars. The starting
place for each woman was mapped out. We each went off alone into the
wilderness. I didn’t see or hear any of them until we reassembled at sunrise
Wednesday at the campground.”

“Did you all get back there at about the same
time?”

“Pretty much. Lark and Diana were there when I got
there. Then Gayle showed up, and then Hana. We were supposed to have a circle
gathering to share our experiences and personal insights, but we kept waiting
for Sabrina to show up before we started. After a couple of hours, we got
worried and started looking for her. We combed the area, calling and searching,
getting more and more frantic. When it got to be noon and we still hadn’t found
her, I called the sheriff.” Paige stopped and pulled out a tissue to wipe
her eyes.

I waited until she looked calm, then asked softly, “What
do you think happened to her?”

She shook her head. More tears ran down her face. “I
have no idea. Nothing like this has ever happened at one of my wilderness
journeys. I can’t imagine how she just disappeared. I’ve gone over and over
every minute of the time we were there. I’m obsessed. I blame myself.”

“Do you think someone might have picked her up in a car?
That maybe she went off with someone?”

“I guess someone could have picked her up, but she
wouldn’t just go off. Sabrina cared too much about being a good mom to leave
Ian without telling him where she was going. She’d never do that. She knows
what it’s like to lose your mom as a teenager.”

I didn’t feel comfortable sharing what Maria had told me
about Ian believing Sabrina had been picked up. Time to move on to another
topic. I sipped my tea and thought about how to bring up the Moxie mess. Again
I opted for the direct approach. “From my conversations with the other Moxie
women, I’ve gotten the idea that Sabrina wanted the Moxie members to go on the
personal journeys as a way of resolving some serious issues that had come up in
the group. Would you agree?”

She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and gazed
directly into mine. “That was certainly a big part of it,” she said,
softly. “But Sabrina also had some personal issues that she wanted to work
on. She was looking for a renewed vision—some kind of new direction in
her life.”

I kept the eye contact as I pushed on. “I know that’s
all very personal and confidential, but given what’s happened, I’m wondering if
you can tell me any more about what she was hoping for.”

Paige checked her teapot and found it empty. She picked up a
spoon, stirred the dregs in her cup, then placed the spoon carefully on the
table. Finally she responded. “Has anyone said anything about the
thirty-day plan Sabrina mentioned at the circle ceremony that night?”

Sabrina had a plan? Why was she the first to mention it? I
stifled my surprise and answered calmly. “No. No one told me about that.
What was her thirty-day plan?”

Paige turned her gaze inward. “I don’t know anything
specific,” she said. “Sabrina said she was feeling overwhelmed and
burdened by many people close to her, that she knew giving had been her pattern
in life, and that she felt that she was giving too much.” Paige stopped as
if a wall had come up in front of her. But she pushed through it and went on
slowly. “Apparently this all started when Diana told her she was an enabler,
which Sabrina said she thought was ridiculous at first. But she said she had
come to believe it and she wanted to change it. And she had a thirty-day plan
to do that.”

This sounded like some information that might help us figure
out what happened to Sabrina. I wanted to know more. “Do you know what has
happened to her plan? Sabrina’s been missing almost thirty days.”

Paige winced and her cheeks flushed. She cleared her throat.
“Well…um…I know a little,” she stuttered. “But I’ll only speak
for myself here.” Her eyes darted around the room, then returned to meet
my gaze. “I was part of the plan,” she said. “Sabrina lent me
some money a year ago so I could help my disabled brother. I haven’t been able
to pay her back, and she told me right before our gathering that I needed to
repay the loan in thirty days.” She rubbed her neck and looked away.
“I don’t really have the money, but I could get it if I had to. And I
would get it and pay her back in a flash if she were here.”

Tears filled her eyes as she continued. “I never meant
to take advantage of her. She said she had the money to spare. Now I so wish I
could give her back that money today. But I don’t know what to do except pay it
back to Ian or Sabrina’s estate when we finally find out what happened to
her.”

I could feel Paige’s pain. Grieving people who feel they have
failed a lost loved one in some way have a strong desire to rectify that, to
make amends. That can be very hard to resolve. When we said our goodbyes, I
gave Paige an extra sympathetic hug.

By the time I got home from my meeting with Paige, it was
nearly five o’clock, and the sun had already set at my house by the foothills.
The temperamental lock on my old front door is even trickier on a dark cold
evening, but I finally got it open. I pushed my way in, dropped my jacket on
the floor, and sagged onto my living room couch, wishing Pablo was sitting
there ready to wrap me in his comfy, warm arms, and hold me tight.

But what I had was a voicemail message from him answering my
voicemail. He said he’d be free at 6:00 p.m., so I could call him then. I used
the extra time to take a hot shower and change into a robe, which cheered me up
a little.

“Hi, hon,” he said, answering on the first ring.
“I hope you’ve been having as great a day as I have. This training is
turning out to be amazing—and it doesn’t hurt that we’re doing it in
warm, sunny southern California.”

It warmed me just to hear his voice, but I couldn’t match his
perky mood. Also, I needed to get his take on the Erik thing and I needed to do
it carefully. While I hated to keep Pablo at arm’s length, I needed to give him
just enough information to get his help—but not enough to give away my
level of involvement in the case.

“My day can’t match yours,” I said. “I did
have some great food for brunch at Elisa’s this morning, and we went for a nice
short hike after. But then I got a huge shock from Elisa’s daughter, Maria. I
found out that the mother of Maria’s boyfriend may have gone off with that
sociopath, Erik Vaughn. Remember him from last summer—the guy who scammed
people with that herb-growing business?”

“Erik Vaughn is back in Boulder?” Pablo’s voice
dripped skepticism. “Hard to believe that when he knows the police are
after him for that scam. But if he is back, please tell me you’re not involved
with him in any way, Cleo.”

Uh oh. Just what I figured he’d say. Fortunately he couldn’t
see me rolling my eyes. “No, no, he’s not here in town, at least not that
I know of. It sounds like he may have snuck in and picked the lady up without
anyone knowing. You remember that woman who went missing up at Indian Peaks
last month? Sabrina Larson? Her son is Maria’s boyfriend. And while searchers
have been looking for Sabrina everywhere, her son Ian and his aunt have
believed all along that Erik picked Sabrina up at the campground and they went
off together.”

“Why would she do that? And why wouldn’t the son and the
aunt tell the searchers what’s going on?” I heard even more skepticism.

I sighed to myself, but not in a way he could hear. It’s
complicated. Apparently Sabrina was involved with Erik last spring and summer,
probably right before we met him. They broke up and then he
disappeared—you and I know why—and she never heard from him again.
But apparently he called when Sabrina had gone to Indian Peaks and Brandi told
him where Sabrina was.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Who’s Brandi?” Pablo’s voice was
rising. “And why wouldn’t she have told the searchers by now if she thinks
Sabrina went off with Erik?” he challenged.

This story was getting complicated. But I was into it now, so
I had to go on explaining. “Brandi is Sabrina’s sister and the aunt of
Ian—Maria’s boyfriend. Maria said Brandi and Ian have some reason to
believe Sabrina wants them to keep it secret that she went off with Erik. But
they don’t know all that we know about Erik’s past and what’s happened to his
former wives. I’m very worried about Sabrina. Like his other wives, she has
some money, and I think that puts a huge target on her back where Erik is
concerned.”

“Cleo, just how involved are you in this situation? Why
is it your responsibility?”

I leaned back, closed my eyes and worked on staying calm.
“It’s not my responsibility, but if she’s with Erik, she’s in
danger.”

“You could be right. But there’s not a whole lot you can
do about it. She has a right to go off with whoever she wants to go off
with.”

“But should I tell the police what I know?”

“What do you really know? You don’t even know if she did
go off with him. She may have fallen and hit her head in some isolated part of
Indian Peaks. It’s snowed up there since she disappeared. Her body could be
covered up and they just haven’t found her yet. Her family may be hanging on to
the idea that she went off with Erik because they don’t want to face the fact
that in all probability she’s dead. I’ve seen that reaction a lot. People will
grasp at any straw to keep hope alive.”

“But shouldn’t I tell the police about Erik?”

“I doubt they’d do much. Missing adults don’t get anyone
very excited. There are way too many of them. The cops will figure she had her
reasons to run away and there’s no law against it.”

I sensed Pablo’s impatience with my continued questions, but
I couldn’t stop myself. I’m a Scorpio and when I have a question I keep probing
until I get an answer. “But wouldn’t the cops want to catch Erik?” I
asked.

“They might, but we know how accomplished he is at
disappearing. They couldn’t find him last summer and I doubt they could
now.”

“I can’t leave it that way, Pablo. If Sabrina marries
Erik and then mysteriously dies. I’d feel responsible if I hadn’t tried to stop
it.”

“I still don’t see why this is your responsibility,
Cleo. I want you to be careful. You’re pregnant, honey. You know what I always
say about amateurs and police work. But if you feel that strongly about it,
I’ll give the Boulder PD a call. They’re more likely to listen to me than to
you.”

I heaved a huge sigh of relief and ended the conversation
before he could make me promise to stay out of the situation from now on.
“Thanks, sweetie. I owe you. Let me know what they say, okay?”

§ § §

I was suddenly starving, so I fixed myself a grilled cheese
sandwich and a bowl of tomato soup. There’s something so soothing about comfort
food on a cold night at home. I turned on the TV, surfed around, and ended up
watching
Miracle on 34th Street
,
which seems to run nonstop in December. I love its uplifting message about
believing in more than we can rationally explain.

Part way through the movie, Gayle called. I know the movie
ending by heart, so I went ahead and picked up. “Cleo, I’m desperate.”
Gayle’s voice shook. “You have to help me! I need to contact Sabrina right
away before Brandi goes any further. Is there any way we can do it
tomorrow?” she begged.

“Why are you desperate to do it tomorrow?” I asked
calmly, trying to reel her in a little.

Her words rushed over themselves as her story tumbled out
with hardly a pause for breath. “I couldn’t stand worrying about Ian any
more, so I went over to Sabrina’s today to reason with Brandi about Ian. I
hoped if she understood I wasn’t after Sabrina’s money, she might back off and
let Ian stay with me until Sabrina is found. But Brandi screamed at me.
Wouldn’t even let me in the front door. Accused me of harassing her. Threatened
to call the police and get a restraining order against me. Said she’s filing
court papers tomorrow to be appointed the executor of Sabrina’s property and
Ian’s guardian.” Gayle finally reached a stopping point, panting and
gasping.

I thought she was overreacting. I doubted that Brandi had
this much power. I moved on to the bottom line. “Isn’t Ian old enough to
tell the court where he wants to stay?” I asked.

“He’s sixteen. I expect he’d have a say,” Gayle
said briskly. “But the problem is he likes Brandi. He’s a teenager and she
lets him do whatever he wants most of the time. Sabrina and Ian were having
some issues about his grades before she disappeared. All he cares about is
snowboarding and he’s been letting his grades slide. Sabrina was making him
spend more time studying. But Brandi doesn’t care about schoolwork. Ian knows I’d
push him like Sabrina was, so he’d probably choose to stay with Brandi. We
can’t let that happen!”

I wondered why Maria had never mentioned anything about Ian
and his mom arguing about his grades and how much time he spends snowboarding
vs. studying. But if that was an issue, I could see how he’d prefer Brandi’s
laissez faire approach to parenting over Gayle’s stricter stance. In fact he
might favor Brandi’s style over Sabrina’s. Enough that he was in no hurry for
Sabrina to come home?

“I guess that’s one of the problems with giving a
sixteen-year-old this sort of choice,” I said. “You can’t assume
they’ll choose what’s in their best interests. But what about Sabrina’s will?
Can Brandi get the court to make her Ian’s guardian when Sabrina has a will
making you his guardian?”

“Apparently she can,” Gayle said dolefully. “I
called my lawyer and he said that right now Sabrina is a missing person not a
dead person. The law presumes that a missing person is alive until the person
is proven dead. Unless her body is found, the courts won’t declare her dead for
five to seven years. Meanwhile the court can appoint whoever they choose as
executor and guardian. The fact that Brandi is living there with Ian and that’s
she’s Sabrina’s only relative is in her favor. So she’ll probably get
appointed.”

I thought about whether I should tell Gayle what Maria had
told me about Sabrina and Erik. But as Pablo said, I don’t really know
anything. Brandi could be lying or could be wrong. Sabrina might have died in
the mountains. Maybe Gayle is right about trying to reach her. If she did, we’d
at least have something to go on.

But is contacting a spirit proof that the person is dead? I
had no idea. Could a living person project their spirit into the apparition
chamber? I’d never thought of that, never tried to contact a living person
there.

“I called all the Moxie members before I called
you,” Gayle said. “They agree that the situation is desperate and
that I should go ahead and try to contact Sabrina as long as I report back to
the whole group right away. If we can have the session tomorrow, Moxie can meet
tomorrow night for my report.”

I had some time free Monday afternoon, so I agreed. But I had
a sinking feeling. Tyler had said I’m not even wet, but I was starting to feel
the water closing over my head.