Phoenix and the Dark Star Read online

  “Okay,” Danny said in an uncertain tone.

  “I’m telling you because you are giving me a curious look,” Ellen said.

  Danny slightly grinned before saying, “I was curious about what you two were talking about, but because of it being none of my business, I wasn’t going to ask.”

  “I have no problem with you knowing,” Ellen told him.

  Danny shut his locker while saying, “Okay, well, I’m going to class. You two can now get back to what you two were doing before I came.”

  Ellen amusingly grinned before saying, “I need to get to class too.”

  “I’ll walk you to class, Ellen,” Everett said while shutting his locker.

  “Okay,” Ellen said as her grin changed to a delightful one. As Danny was walking away, Ellen had a thought. “Oh, uh, Danny.” Danny stopped and faced Ellen. “What’s the uncle’s name?”

  “Cole Middleton,” Danny said.

  “Thanks,” Ellen said.

  Danny nodded before walking away.

  As usual, Jessica had beaten Ellen to class, and when Jessica sensed Ellen’s presence as Ellen was walking into the classroom, she turned to face Ellen. When Jessica waved to Ellen, Ellen waved back with an unreadable expression on her face, and as Ellen walked towards Jessica, Jessica’s cheerful expression changed to a confused one.

  As Ellen stepped up to Jessica, Jessica questioned, “Is something wrong?”

  Ellen shook her head before saying, “Harris’s second cousin Blaire and two of her… associates are visiting us from London.” Ellen glanced towards the student next to Jessica. Jessica also glanced towards the student. “They knew what Eleanor Thorne was referring to, and I’ll fill you in on it later.” Jessica nodded in agreement. “Blaire and her associates also have a proposal for you, Karla and me.”

  “What kind of proposal?” Jessica asked curiously.

  “I was told about it, but I was also asked that I would allow them to pitch their proposal to you and Karla.” Jessica gave Ellen a curious look. “It’s nothing bad. In fact, I think that their proposal might be something worthwhile.”

  “And you won’t tell me anything about it?” Jessica asked.

  “I was requested not to, and I feel that I should honor that request.”

  “Alright,” Jessica agreed. “Once we get to our gym class, we’ll let Karla know that she and I will need to go over to your house tonight.”

  “I have my doctor’s appointment after school, so you may want to wait an hour or so after school before coming over to my house.”

  “Alright,” Jessica agreed.

  Ellen gestured towards her seat while saying, “Okay, well, I should take my seat.”

  When Jessica nodded, Ellen turned towards her seat and stepped away.

  Hours later, Lance and Everett sat in the waiting room as Ellen followed Dr. Pendell into his office.

  Dr. Pendell’s office was a twenty by twenty foot center office. The door to the office was on the north wall and centered.

  The south wall had two five by five foot pane glass windows, separated by a three-inch wide muntin bar. The muntin bar was also centered.

  The medium tan curtains, which drew back on both sides, were open. Dr. Pendell would open them each morning and then close them before leaving for the day or on request by one of his patients.

  The walls and ceiling were a light tan color and it blended in with the tan and green patterned carpet.

  Hanging centered on the west wall was a fifty-two-inch wide by thirty-eight-inch long painting. The theme of the painting was about Native American villagers of the Great Plains going about their daily work routine.

  Barely pulled out from the west wall was an average size green couch that faced the east wall. There was no coffee table, but there were two end tables—one on each end of the couch. A box of tissues was setting on each of the end tables. An armchair sat five feet from the couch while facing the couch.

  Hanging on the east wall were several doctor diplomas. Barely pulled out from the east wall was a sixty-six-inch by twenty-four-inch by twenty-nine-inch credenza, and on top of that were nick-knacks and family pictures. Three feet from the credenza was a seventy-two-inch by thirty-six-inch by twenty-nine-inch desk.

  Arranged neatly on the desk were a desk pad, a few photos and in-and-out trays filled with neatly stacked papers. On top of the desk pad was a closed laptop computer attached to a docking station.

  In the southeast corner of the room was a tall filing cabinet that faced the west wall. Along the north wall between the door and the northeast corner of the room was a ceiling-to-floor bookshelf, which was filled with medical books, small statues and knickknacks.

  Next to the window, between the desk and the armchair, was a birdcage that caged two finches.

  When Ellen stepped into the office the finches became more active and vocal than usual, which immediately caught Ellen’s attention.

  “They normally don’t make that much noise,” Dr. Pendell began. Ellen gave him a polite grin. “So try to ignore them.” Ellen nodded. Dr. Pendell then gestured towards the couch. “Anyway, have a seat.”

  When Ellen went to sit down on the couch, she bluntly said, “Just to get something straight, I’m only here because Mr. Delaney is insisting that I talk to you.”

  “Don’t you mean Detective Delaney?” Dr. Pendell questioned as he went to sit down in his armchair.

  Ellen grinned before saying, “He’s my boyfriend’s dad, so to me that trumps his police rank. But sure, I’ll call him Detective Delaney for your benefit.”

  “Okay,” Dr. Pendell began in an unreadable tone. “Detective Delaney had informed me that in self-defense and to save Karla Harman, you and two others—Harris Bradley and Karla’s sister Jessica—had killed Karla and Jessica’s grandfather.”

  “True,” Ellen said simply.

  “Detective Delaney tells me that the details of how the act was committed were declared classified; however, I would like to hear about your feelings about what had happened.”

  “Before, during or after?” Ellen questioned.

  “All three if they’re different.”

  “Okay,” Ellen began before taking a breath. “Before, my only thoughts were on surviving. As far as my feelings… being scared was the only feeling that I can think of having. During the act, my thoughts and feelings were the same, and after the act, I felt relieved that we had survived and bothered that I had helped to take a life.”

  “Are you still bothered by it?” Dr. Pendell asked.

  Ellen slightly nodded before saying, “I am. I keep trying to think of ways… or scenarios that we would have survived the incident without anyone dying. I can’t though. I strongly feel that if Jessica, Harris and I didn’t kill Karla and Jessica’s grandfather, that their grandfather would’ve killed us.”

  “How are you sleeping at night?” Dr. Pendell asked.

  Ellen gave Dr. Pendell a confused look before saying in an uncertain tone, “Okay.”

  “Any nightmares over your ordeal, or are you having problems getting to sleep?”

  Ellen took a breath before saying, “During the first two nights afterwards, I did have problems getting to sleep, but I’m getting to sleep easier now. And I did have a couple of disturbing dreams. One I’m certain was related to the ordeal.”

  “What were your dreams about?”

  “I really don’t remember enough of them to discuss them,” Ellen lied while trying to sound convincing.

  With an unreadable expression across his face, Dr. Pendell made a notation within his notebook.

  “Your brother Michael and sister-in-law Tanya were killed last month in an auto accident.” Ellen stared slightly resentfully at him as he continued with, “I would like to hear about your feelings on that as well.”

  Ellen’s eyes teared up as she said, “I miss them. I miss my mom too and there hasn’t been a day that had gone by that I haven’t thought of them.”

  While going off his notes Dr. P
endell questioned, “You had lost your mom back in June from a brain tumor, correct?”

  Ellen wiped the tears from her eyes while saying, “Correct.”

  “How did you feel when you learned of your mother’s tumor?”

  Ellen thought for a second before saying, “Blown away.”

  “Can you describe your reaction to the news?” Dr. Pendell requested.

  “My mom had broken the news to me at the doctor’s office and in front of the doctor,” Ellen said as tears rolled down her cheeks. She wiped them away with her fingers as she continued with, “I had definitely wanted a second opinion, but my mom assured me that the current doctor was actually the third doctor who she had seen about her condition. He was a specialist, in fact.”

  “There are tissues on either side of you.”

  Ellen looked towards the box to the right of her, and after a short hesitation, she reached for it. After grabbing it, she took a couple of tissues from it and then set the box next to her on the couch.

  As Ellen wiped the tears away with the tissues, Dr. Pendell asked, “What was your reaction when you learned that the doctor at the time was the third doctor who had examined your mom?”

  “I wanted my mom to see even another doctor, but my mom explained to me that seeing another doctor would be a waste of time and money. She was dying and ten different doctors’ opinions weren’t going to change that. Once I had accepted that another doctor’s opinion would be a waste of time, I cried for a good ten minutes in my mom’s arms. The doctor just sat there and allowed it without saying a word. Finally the doctor told my mom and me that he had another patient coming in. By that time, I had pretty much cried myself out, and when we left, we went home. After we got home, we watched home movies. Three of my brothers and my sister had died before I was born and I had learned a lot about them that day.”

  “Detective Delaney had told me about the tragic accident that took their lives.”

  “My dad’s dad was killed in that accident too,” Ellen added.

  “Okay,” Dr. Pendell said while making a notation. “What are your feelings about what had happened?”

  Ellen took a breath before saying, “Cheated and pissed off.”

  “According to Detective Delaney, your dad was trying to evade the law at the time of the accident that had killed your siblings and grandfather.”

  “Yes,” Ellen said simply.

  “What are your feelings on that?”

  “Pissed off,” Ellen replied.

  “Pissed off at what? The cops who were chasing your dad or…?”

  “I’m pissed off at my dad,” Ellen interrupted. “He should’ve known better than to have listened to that psychic.”

  “Your dad was trying to outrun the law because he was instructed to do so by a psychic?” Dr. Pendell asked in a confused tone.

  Ellen shook her head before saying, “A psychic had told my dad that his kids were in mortal danger if his kids would remain in the house that they were living in at the time. My grandpa was with my dad at the time of the psychic’s warning, and when my dad and grandpa had warned my mom, my mom thought that they both had lost their minds. According to my dad, he was desperate to keep his kids safe, and so he kidnapped his kids in an attempt to do so. And as you apparently know, it had backfired on him.”

  “And you believe that your dad should’ve known better than to have been taken in by a fraud?” Dr. Pendell questioned.

  “Oh, the psychic wasn’t a fraud,” Ellen assured him, “and the vision that he saw was genuine…”

  “I’m confused,” Dr. Pendell interrupted. “If you believe that the psychic wasn’t a fraud and his vision was genuine, then why do you believe that your dad had made a mistake by listening to him?”

  Ellen glanced towards the finches before gesturing towards them and saying, “I’m the reason why your birds are so active, Dr. Pendell.” Dr. Pendell gave Ellen a curious look. “They want to come to me, but being that they are locked in a cage, they can’t.”

  “You believe that those birds want out of their cage and to go to you?” Dr. Pendell questioned.

  “I know for a fact that is what they want,” Ellen assured him. “Birds, animals and rodents are attracted to me, my dad and his brother… and my uncle’s kids. Before the accident, they were attracted to my grandpa, my brothers and my sister too. Anyway, the psychic’s vision was about certain types of birds that were flocking around my dad’s house, and the psychic had mistakenly taken his vision as a bad bird omen. So my dad’s… and even my grandpa’s mistake was thinking that bird omens applied to our family without considering the fact that we naturally attract birds.”

  “You honestly believe that you and your family attract birds?” Dr. Pendell questioned.

  “Again, it’s a fact; not a belief, and if you want proof then open the door to the birdcage and see what happens,” Ellen said before gesturing towards the exit. “Detective Delaney and Everett know that about me too, so if you don’t want to open the birdcage then go ask them.”

  Dr. Pendell stared skeptically at Ellen for a short time before standing. He shot a thoughtful look towards the door before turning and walking towards the birdcage.

  “Normally I wouldn’t indulge such claims, but your claim definitely has me curious,” Dr. Pendell said as he stepped up to the cage. “And it will be easy to prove or disprove.” Dr. Pendell then went to open the birdcage.

  The cage door was barely wide enough for the finches to get out when the two squeezed through the small opening and flew directly to Ellen. One landed on Ellen’s right shoulder as the other landed on her right leg at the knee.

  “Well I’ll be!” Dr. Pendell uttered in an impressed tone.

  Ellen grinned. Her expression then turned serious before saying, “I’m pissed off at my dad because my dad should’ve known better than to believe that bird omens applied to us.”

  Dr. Pendell nodded in an understanding manner before asking, “How difficult will it be to get these birds back into their cage?”

  Ellen thought for a second before saying, “Let’s find out.”

  Ellen cupped her hands beneath the finch that was on her leg and scooped it up. The finch responded comfortably to being picked up by Ellen, and while holding the finch in her cupped hands, Ellen stood up.

  The finch that was on Ellen’s shoulder just shifted its balance over Ellen’s movements, and as Ellen walked towards the birdcage the finch continued to shift its balance.

  Once Ellen stepped up to the birdcage, she gently put the finch that she had in her hands into the cage. The finch went into the cage with little protest. Ellen then went to scoop up the finch that was on her right shoulder with her left hand. As with the first finch, the second finch responded comfortably to Ellen, and had gone into Ellen’s left hand before being scooped up.

  Dr. Pendell was watching Ellen’s every move and the finches’ reactions to it, and once the finches were back in their cage, with the cage door close, he said, “If I didn’t know better I would swear that you had those two birds trained.”

  Ellen just shot Dr. Pendell an amused grin.

  Dr. Pendell then gestured towards the couch while saying, “Anyway, we should continue.”

  Ellen nodded before turning and walking back towards the couch. After reaching the couch, Ellen hesitated to sit while looking at the painting on the wall.

  Dr. Pendell saw what she was looking at and shared, “My son painted that picture.”

  Ellen shot Dr. Pendell a grin while saying, “That’s a nice painting. Your son is talented.”

  As Ellen and Dr. Pendell were retaking their seats, Dr. Pendell said, “He is talented, and I’m very glad that he had refused to listen to me on what he should’ve majored in at the university.”

  Ellen gave Dr. Pendell a curious look while saying, “I’m guessing that he had studied art and that you didn’t want him to.”

  Dr. Pendell was noticing that the two finches were quieter than before while saying, “At the
time when he was studying art, I thought it was a waste of time. I told him that art was a hobby, and I’m happy that he had proven me wrong. And while on the subject of people proving things to me, I have to admit that the birds seem calmer after being allowed to go to you.”

  Ellen glanced towards the finches while agreeing, “They do. I had even enjoyed that.”

  Dr. Pendell grinned before continuing with, “Anyway, to get back on track, let’s talk more about your dad.”

  “What more is there to talk about?” Ellen questioned.

  “Other than you being angry at your dad for him thinking that bird omens would apply to you and your family, how is your relationship with him?”

  “Better since my brother’s funeral, but still not like most father/daughter relationships.”

  “Describe your relationship with your father,” Dr. Pendell requested.

  Ellen took a breath before saying, “He loves me, and he would spend time with me if I would request time with him. However, I’m always on guard when I’m around him, so I try not to spend that much time around him.”

  “Why are you always on guard around him?”

  Ellen thought of her answer for a moment before saying, “Before I was born, my dad had worked for a crime lord in Kansas City, Missouri. Four years ago he had decided to share his life story with me. His life story had frightened me and that was when I decided that I want very little to do with him.”

  “Does your dad still work for that crime lord?”

  “No,” Ellen replied while shaking her head. “He went to prison over the deaths of my siblings and when he got out thirteen years later, he went straight. He works at a warehouse in Independence, Missouri.”

  “Do you talk with him at all?”

  “I haven’t spoken with him verbally since I had moved here to Savannah, Georgia, but we do send each other Emails. And currently, corresponding by Emails is really the only comfortable relationship I have with my dad.”

  “Okay,” Dr. Pendell said while making a notation in his notes. “Getting back to your mom, what was your relationship with your mom like?”