Unsettled Spirits (38 page)
Authors: Alice Duncan
I guess I should explain that last remark, but I'll save an explanation until lager.
"That's just it, Daisy. Johnny
can't
help her. He wanted to, but he can't."
Huh? Last I heard, the Salvation Army took in all the strays and orphans and drunkards and drug fiends and poor folk and immigrants and so forth that no one else would touch with a barge pole. "But Flossie, Lilian Bannister has clearly suffered a… a… Well, I don't know what happened to her, but she need medical help. I'm no doctor."
"She's been beaten almost to death," said Flossie, confirming my suspicion. "But Daisy, just listen to me, please. Unless you know a doctor who is absolutely true to his oath of privacy, we may even have to forego medical help."
"But why?"
"Her husband beat her to a pulp and then kicked her down the basement steps—concrete basement steps, Daisy—and locked her in. She barely managed to escape with her life. Fortunately for her, Billy and I were walking, and I spotted her nearly crawling down Fair Oaks Avenue, trying to get to Johnny's church."
"Her husband did
what
?"
"You heard me," Flossie said in a much harder tone of voice than I'd ever heard issue from her gentle lips.
Billy, by the way, was Johnny and Flossie's infant son. He'd been named after my late husband. That's probably something else I should explain later.
"But… But isn't that a crime, what her husband did to her? Can't he be prosecuted for nearly killing her?"
"He can be prosecuted for murdering her, which will probably happen if she's forced to back to him," said Flossie. "Until then, he's her husband in the eyes of the law and the church." Her mouth pinched up. "She's a Roman Catholic, and she once made the mistake of asking her priest if he could intercede and help her get away from her husband. The priest said it was her duty to abide by her solemn marital oath." Flossie jumped up from the dining room chair in which she'd been sitting and commenced pacing. "Oh, it just makes me
furious
! I've been in that woman's position, you know. Well, of course you know." She whirled around and faced me. "But I didn't have the obstacles Lily faces. I wasn't married to that horrible Jenkins man. I wasn't married to anybody! If I'd gone to the law after he'd beaten me up, they'd probably have arrested Jinx. But the law won't arrest Mr. Bannister. They'll send her
back
to him. So will her church! You
have
to help me help her, Daisy! You
have
to!"
"Can't Johnny do
anything
?" I asked in a small voice, wishing I knew what to do.
"Johnny has to abide by the law, Daisy. If he hides her somewhere, he's liable to be arrested himself! Oh, it's all just
so
unfair!"
"Yes. Yes, I can see it is." However, that didn't negate the fact that I didn't have a clue what to do for poor Mrs. Bannister. "But… Oh, but Flossie, I can't keep her here. There's no room. And besides that, I don't think my parents would like it. They don't like breaking the law any more than Johnny does."
Flossie glared at me and I held up a hand. "Honestly, Flossie,
I
don't mind breaking the law for a just cause, and Mrs. Bannister is definitely a just cause, but—"
The telephone rang. I do believe it was the first time in years I'd been glad to hear it, generally because anyone calling the house called to speak to me, and usually to engage my services as a spurious spiritualist-medium. Not that my clients didn't think I was for real. But never mind that. I'd just been saved by the bell! At least for a moment or two.
I walked into the kitchen, followed by Spike, who loved the kitchen because it contained food. I lifted the receiver from the cradle of the wall-mounted 'phone, and spoke my typical greeting, "Gumm-Majesty residence, Mrs. Maj—"
"Daisy!" cried a voice I recognized.
Joy and hope bloomed in my heart. "
Harold
!"
"Cripes, Daisy, don't yell at me."
"I'm sorry, Harold, but I'm
so
glad you called."
"I should hope so, because I'm going to take you out to lunch today and—"
"Harold, come to my house right this minute. It's urgent. It might even be a matter of life and death."
A pause on the other end of the wire preceded Harold's puzzled, "I beg your—"
"Oh,
please
don't argue with me, Harold! I need you now."
And Harold, bless his heart, said, "Be right there," and he hung up.
Turning to Flossie, I actually managed a smile. "If anyone can help Mrs. Bannister and us, it's Harold Kincaid. I'll bet Harold even knows a discreet doctor he can call upon to tend to the poor woman."
"I've met him, but I don't really know him," said Flossie doubtfully.
"Harold is the most kindhearted, useful man in the universe, Flossie. He's actually one of my very best friends. I tell you, if he can't help Mrs. Bannister, nobody can." I thought about the wilted woman on the living room sofa and said, "We'd probably better go see how she's doing."
"Yes. Yes. I'm sorry, Daisy. But when I heard what Lily told me, you were the only one I could think of who might be able to help her."
Lucky me. "I hope your faith isn't misplaced." I meant it.
Bruised Spirits
by
Alice Duncan
~
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Bruised Spirits
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Alice Duncan expressed her creative side by dancing and singing in an effort to avoid what she knew she should be doing with her life (writing sounded so hard). She belonged to two professional international folk-dance groups and participated in a Balkan women's choir where she sang the tenor drone. In her next life, she'd like to come back as a soprano.
Alice finally gave into writing in October of 1992 and sold her first title in January of 1994. That book,
One Bright Morning
, was published by HarperCollins in January of 1995 and won the HOLT Medallion for best first book.
In September of 1996, Alice and her herd of wild dachshunds moved from Pasadena, CA, to Roswell, NM, where her mother's family settled fifty years before the aliens crashed.
Alice's favorite part about writing is that she can portray the world the way it should be instead of the way it is. She hopes she can continue to write forever!
You can visit Alice at
www.aliceduncan.net
Table of Contents
Excerpt from UNSETTLED SPIRITS (A Daisy Gumm Majesty Mystery, Book 10)