CHAPTER NINE

 

Cassandra Syndrome—a classical myth and dilemma of epic proportion. In Greek mythology, Cassandra was the unheeded prophetess who predicted the fall of Troy, but was, well…unheeded.

Since that time, it has evolved into a shorthand for the predicament of someone who can foretell the future and wants to warn others of the dangers to come. But because no one at any time in human history has believed in this possibility, anyone who claims to be able to see the future will be deemed crazy by all of society.

Martine didn’t need to be told that her visions of doom couldn’t be shared with anyone, not even Morgan. Especially not Morgan. No one would believe her, and everyone would question her sanity. So, if she were to go to the Beaumonts and tell them that Anchor should not go out fishing on this big major trip, it wouldn’t stop him from going. It would, in fact, only make the Beaumonts question whether this nutcase really ought to be welcomed into their family.

And while the Beaumonts were her primary interest, this was going to be a devastation for dozens of families, if not hundreds. The storm was to take people unaware and cause widespread, heartbreaking loss of life. But no one was going to listen to her. Because if she told anyone, that would just make her Crazy Cassandra.

Again, Martine turned in desperation to one of the few people who knew that she wasn’t crazy—Delphine. Delphine’s lovely jewelry boutique was empty of customers on this particular occasion, and they were able to speak freely.

“I can’t let this happen. It would devastate Morgan. It would devastate me. I like them all so much, and this will absolutely destroy their parents. It’s Anchor! And Piper! They’re such good people. Please tell me what to do. I have no idea what to do.”

“Oh, my dear. You face a dilemma that I have never been confronted with. Foresight has never been one of my talents, and I have always been glad of it. I do not want to see what is ahead. I like to be surprised by the nice things, and I don’t want to be consumed with worry over the bad things. But I do have the understanding that bad things will happen. I’m simply content to wait until they present themselves.”

“I can’t wait. Then it will be too late. It will be the worst thing, I think the worst thing that ever happened to me. Even worse than a wheelchair. Even worse than losing my parents, because I was too young to feel it. If Anchor and Piper die, I just won’t be able to bear it. And neither will Morgan. He will never have another happy day again in his entire life. Even if we do . . . even if we do marry, there will be such a cloud of sadness over our lives. I have to stop it. Tell me how.”

“What you should be telling her is that she expends far too much energy on the drama of commoners she is barely acquainted with. People die. And unfortunately, so do witches. Death by natural disaster is nothing to get worked up about. It is simply to be accepted. But natural death, through malice and the dark arts—that is worth turning her attention to.

“The demise of this family could very well be a blessing in disguise. They would have consumed her attention and her loyalties, which runs counter to my agenda. I know that her foresight has great potential to uncover the identity of my killer. Do your best to pull her away from these emotional diversions.”

“Lilith. I thought that you were selfish in life. But compared to your afterlife, you were Mother Theresa. While I believe you’re entitled to justice, the needs of the living take precedence over the needs of the dead.

“Perhaps it is too late for you to develop any compassion, but you can be sure of one thing. If Martine loses her friends—this family—she will never be whole again. She will care about nothing. And that includes you and your agenda.”

“Hmmph. Then make her whole. Make her fit to be of use.”

“Perhaps I could disable their boats,” Martine rambled on. “I could sabotage them. Except I know so little about boats. And even if I could break their boats, it doesn’t stop the problem of so many other families going out into the storm. So many other families.”

“Have you spoken to your young man? I know it is a difficult thing for the commoner mind to wrap around, but if he is to be a partner in life, then he must eventually know about this part of you. The other transplant patients—yes, there have been quite a few others—eventually, they were able to share their special abilities with that one person in their life. Perhaps you’ll be able to do the same with your Morgan.”

“How did they go about revealing such a crazy, unbelievable thing?”

“I believe that they simply demonstrated their new abilities. Seeing is believing. Even if what one is seeing was previously considered impossible.”

“But to demonstrate that I’m right about this means I have to tell him what is going to happen, and then he’ll believe me after it has happened.”

“I see your point.”

“But I do need to talk to him. I need to give him some rational, real-life explanation for something that I shouldn’t have any way of knowing about. That’s all. I can do that. I play fast and loose with the truth all the time. After all, I am a hacker.”

And with that, Martine ran out the door.

*****

Morgan waited nervously for Martine on the pier. She had sounded so urgent, so desperate, so tense. Perhaps she was having second thoughts about joining the Beaumont clan. Maybe showing her those house blueprints was a little too much. As he saw her approach, his questions continued. She looked so grim and serious.

“This big fishing trip that your father and your brother are going to go on? I need you to talk them out of it. I need you to tell them that it is going to be too dangerous. Because if they go, they are going to run into the worst storm of their lives. It’s actually a combination of three different storm fronts, all crossing paths—this ugly perfect storm scenario. And they won’t survive it. No one will survive it.”

Actually, Remy would survive it. His boat would be so loaded down with fish that he was going to come in early and miss the storm. And Anchor’s boat was going to stay out two more days and continue fishing. Remy would be saved, by luck and chance. But his son would not. And his daughter would go after Anchor in a fatal rescue attempt. All of this was way too much detail, very specific Crazy Cassandra detail. Best to stick to the broad strokes and to the plausible explanation that she had come up with to explain her prediction.

“So, I’ve been glued to my computer for the past two years, and I learned a ton about meteorology. I’ve gotten very good at forecasting the weather. Precipitation, tornadoes, hurricanes. In fact, storms are my specialty. And I understand that this is something that other broadcasters might have missed. I’m asking you to believe me, and I’m asking you to trust me, just for the sake of your family. Don’t let them go on this trip.”

Of all the things that Morgan had expected to come out of Martine’s mouth, this would have been last on the list. Meteorology! Who studies meteorology? It couldn’t be nearly as lucrative as hacking. And even if Martine had gotten some kind of online degree, that still didn’t make her a professional. How could she possibly know better than those who had done this for a living for years?

Another disturbing possibility presented itself. Ever since he had seen Martine talking to psychiatrist Dr. Emily York, it had been nagging at the back of his mind whether his dearly beloved was suffering from any mental issues. And now, he had to wonder if he was finally being provided with some incontrovertible proof.

“You know, there’s this weather broadcast that all of the fishing boats use. And even the Coast Guard uses it. It’s state-of-the-art, rock solid, as good as it gets forecasts about how the weather is going to be right off the coast. And it’s the best. I mean, it’s okay. I check it myself all the time. Any time that I know my family is going out, I check it. I know they do as well, but it makes me feel better to see that things are clear. And believe me, for this trip, I checked.

“You’re right that there are a few nasty storms out there, but they’re not coming in our direction. One is going to head down southeast, one due east, straight out to sea, and the other, northeast, straight to Greenland. They’re not going to get anywhere near Oyster Cove, and they’re not going to cross paths. They’ll rage out there for a little while, and then they will fizzle out. So, I do really appreciate your being worried about my family. But you’re a little off on this one. Way off. Don’t give up your day job.”

Martine took a deep breath. “You say that there’s a weather service that everyone uses before they go out fishing? Okay, show it to me.”

She pulled out her laptop and waited expectantly. Morgan saw no reason not to humor her. In fact, maybe this would help bring her back to her senses as long as she saw an official report that said everything was going to be fine.

“See. Here’s the forecast for boats heading out tomorrow, and they got the all-clear.”

“So they did. This is, uh . . . a really useful service. And you say everyone uses it?”

“Everyone. That’s how reliable it is. So how about some pizza?”

“That sounds really good. But I’ve got to finish up one job first, and then I’ll meet you over at Stone Hearth. At one o’clock?”

“You got it.”

After Morgan’s departure, Martine was able to find a comfortable seat and settled down to the job of hacking into the favorite weather channel of the local fishing industry.

*****

By early evening, the town of Oyster Cove was buzzing with the danger of the impending perfect storm. How had the forecast changed so quickly and so treacherously? It was an awfully good thing that the report had been updated before a lot of clueless people had blindly wandered into a killer storm.

Morgan stopped by the family home to wish them good luck and was greeted with the news that their fishing trip was sadly going to have to be postponed. Probably for a few days, just to be on the safe side. This looked to be the worst storm of the last ten years.

How could this possibly be? This was exactly what Martine had predicted. Was she some meteorology savant who could put the local forecasters to shame? Was she a jaw-dropping genius who was going to set the world meteorology on fire? Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Or was she a hacker, who he had just assisted into breaking into this very influential forecasting station and had changed the information in it to match her nutty and ill-informed predictions?

Absolutely furious, Morgan made out immediately for Martine’s apartment.

*****

But Martine knew better than to be waiting for him. She knew Morgan was going to want to have a word with her, and she really thought she wanted to delay that as long as possible. So, she was hanging out in the part of town that was not close to her apartment, not close to his boat, and not close to the Beaumonts’—in short, she really didn’t want to run into anyone she knew.

No such luck. Because walking down the street in her direction was not only one person whose face was familiar to her, but two others whose faces were familiar, simply because they all had the same face. They were triplets. It was the woman in black that she had bumped into at the grocery store and her siblings. They stopped right in front of her, blocking Martine’s path.

“What are you sorry about?” one of them demanded.

“Sorry? Sorry? Am I sorry?” Martine asked in confusion.

“When you touched me in the grocery store, you saw a vision, didn’t you? A premonition. Yes, we know who you are now. You’re one of the commoners who has brought Lilith Hazelwood back into our lives, if only one small slice of her at a time. You have her foresight. And you saw our future. What did you see?”

Witches. As if this wasn’t already going to be a difficult week, with an unsolved murder, a frightening contractor, a threatening con artist, and the boyfriend who was going to be really, really angry at her. Did she really need witches on top of all that?

“Sometimes, the future is so sad that it’s best not to know about it. Like Delphine said, it would just consume you with worry, and you still wouldn’t necessarily be able to avoid it. So best to take life as it comes, good or bad, don’t you think?”

“No, we don’t think. We want to know. And you’re going to tell us.”

“I guess that means you all can’t see the future. Delphine can’t either. Lilith must’ve been unusually talented.”

The trio grimaced at the mention of Oyster Cove’s most powerful menace.

“Lilith has no need for anyone to praise her now. What we have need of is to know what darkness lies ahead for us.”

Martine had gone to such great lengths to try and avoid fatal disaster for the Beaumonts, because they were a family that mattered to her so much. Well, here was another family before her. And she had no bond with them, and she certainly couldn’t relate to them, but weren’t they just as entitled to try to protect themselves and their future as anyone?

“I did see a really sad scene from your future. Two of you were attending the funeral of the third. So that’s what I was sorry about. I’m sorry for your loss. Your future loss. I hope that you . . . whichever two of you remain . . . are able to give each other the comfort that you need in such a difficult situation.”

It was sobering news, frightening, enraging news. And it wasn’t nearly enough.

“Give me your hands,” one of them demanded to Martine. “Give me your hands and tell us everything.”

They were a formidable group. The sooner Martine complied, most likely, the sooner they would let her off the hook. She reached out to hold the outstretched hands. The same funeral scene appeared before her.

“The two who survive are frightened for their own future. One of them says, ‘Her vengeance reaches from the grave. And now she will pick us off, one by one.’”

“One of us was killed by a spirit on the other side? Who is seeking vengeance? There’s only one person that could be. What are we going to do?”

This was the best thing that Lilith had heard since her own demise. Martine’s powers of forecast had finally led her to her killers. But somehow, she was going to be able to strike back at them. She was going to kill one of them. And because the strength of their powers was dependent on one another, the remaining two would be in such a weakened state that they could be easily finished off.

Even though she didn’t know how this glorious vengeance would come to pass, right now, it was enough to know that revenge and satisfaction were her destiny. Now that the Hatch sisters had become aware of their doom, she could enjoy their fear and suffering as well.

Martine listened to the Hatch sisters’ angry agonizing and slowly backed away.

“Sorry for the bad news. Gotta go.” And she scurried away, well aware that they could have stopped her had they been of a mind to. Fortunately, they were otherwise preoccupied.

*****

It was a confrontation that couldn’t be avoided indefinitely. Particularly since Morgan was camped out on the front steps of Martine’s apartment building. Perhaps she should have thought of staying in a motel.

“Tell me that you did not do what I think you did,” Morgan began.

“What do you think I did?”

“I think that you hacked into the weather forecast service that I showed you, and then you took away the proper, accurate, scientifically sound forecast for tomorrow and substituted your wild, unfounded predictions about this mega-killer storm.”

“That’s precisely what I did, and I hope you’d understand why. If you saw people you care about walking into danger, wouldn’t you do something to prevent it?”

“Sure, if it was based on reality. But not crazy amateur meteorology. Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Not just to my family, which is huge. But the whole fishing industry up and down the coast. This was a really big trip. It wasn’t just a daytrip. It was an overnight five-day major haul, and they were going out deep. And my father and brother were going to come back with enough fish to pay for four months’ groceries and college funds for the little ones. It was a big, big trip.

“And now, that is a huge chunk of money that they’re not going to have. Do you know how tight things get in the winter for fishing families? They’ve all got about six or seven months of income that has to cover twelve months of living, and that extra five months—keeping food on the table for that extra five months—that’s a big part of what these big-haul trips are all about.”

“Morgan. I hope you know how much I care about your family. I already love them. I do. So much that I was willing to do anything to keep them out of harm’s way. I know it’s hard to see that right now. But you will. By tomorrow night, you will. Now, I know you’re still mad, but it’s late, it’s been a really long day, and I have an appointment in the morning, so I really need to get some sleep.”

“An appointment? With Dr. York?”

“How did you know about Dr. York?”

“She was my mom’s psychiatrist after my uncle died. Mom really went off the deep end. Not just grief—it was almost like she went crazy. So, she was in therapy for a year before she really started coming back to normal. And I know it’s none of my business—although it kind of is—but I saw you with Dr. York, so I know you’re in some kind of therapy. I’m just wondering . . . I’m just asking you to consider whether you’re seeing things clearly right now or whether you’re—”

“Crazy?” Martine demanded to know.

“Confused.”

Even though part of her understood Morgan’s limitations in making sense of her actions, Martine still did not appreciate being called confused.

“Good night,” she said through gritted teeth, storming into her building.

Morgan made his way back to this boat that night in a very agitated mood. His girlfriend was a nutcase and his family was going to be broke.

*****

So far, Martine was none too impressed with Dr. Emily York’s insight. Of course, she was handicapped by her lack of knowledge of all things witch-related. And with that void, how could you possibly make sense of what was happening in Martine’s life?

“My boyfriend is so mad at me. I think he may break up with me. Which is so depressing and so unfair. I was only trying to look after his family.”

“How were you trying to look after his family?”

“I had a premonition. You’re one of the only people I can talk to about them, even though you don’t believe in them. But I saw that a terrible killer storm was coming and that two members of his family were going to die. So I hacked into the weather forecast service that all the fishing families use, and I put in a forecast about the storm and told everyone to stay home and stay safe.”

“Martine. I know that you have a very large imagination, so I’m not entirely sure whether this hacking into the weather system is another one of your visions or if it is a reality, but that seems so unlikely. How could you possibly know how to hack into this private broadcast station?”

“Uh . . . because of a hacker. Because it’s what I do. And because I’m very good at it. I can get into schools. I can get into stores. I can get into banks. And I can get into the police station. This weather channel? Piece of cake.”

“How can you be so sure that you’re not projecting an appealing scenario that you would like to be true?”

Martine pulled out her computer, pulled up her file on Dr. Emily York, and maneuvered her way right into the doctor’s bank account.

“Yesterday, you spent forty-two dollars at the hardware store, a hundred and twenty dollars for vitamins online, and fifteen dollars for Mexican food on your way home from work.”

Dr. York’s mouth dropped.

“I’m a hacker. Say . . . this is all privileged information, isn’t it?”

The doctor regained her composure. “You did do this. You went into this private website that people rely on for information to keep them safe, and you changed it. That was a terrible thing to do. You know, I have cousins in the fishing industry. This is something that affects so many Oyster Cove families. Martine, this is seriously criminal behavior.”

“But still privileged, right?”

The doctor glowered at her.

By the time Martine left the doctor’s office, there was already a blustery breeze going through town, and a light rain was beginning. It was the calm before the storm. Hopefully, her warning had been heeded. All she could do now was wait.