Five years ago, Katteya Gray's best friend, Gentle Fawn, died a violent death, and her case still remains unsolved. Katteya, a well-known shaman and psychic, has acquired some pretty strong investigative skills, assisting in criminal cases around the world. Now she has decided to put those abilities in action to discover the real reason for her friend's brutal murder. Her family estate, Moonbow, waits for her. Katteya not only must face the facts of her friend's untimely demise; she also has dramatic ancestral issues to work out. The Gray family clings tightly to its secrets, and perhaps, as Katteya seeks the killer of Gentle Fawn, she may also solve some mysteries from her own shadowy past. Encountering her old mentor and past classmates, Katteya navigates her home town and gets closer to the violent truth. Her mind is somewhat muddled by a newfound love interest, and the truth seems to be buried deeper and deeper beneath decades of mountain lies. Will Katteya solve the murder of Gentle Fawn, or will the secrets of Moonbow be her ultimate undoing?
My Secret (Scarata Mia)
By Hélène Lapaire Justus iUniverse, Inc.
Copyright © 2012 Hélène Lapaire Justus
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4759-6035-8Chapter One
The express train came to a halt, and as Katteya (Kat-tay-ya— nicknamed Katt) Gray stepped down onto the platform she realized how much she had missed her home. The beauty and majesty of the mountains were still as intoxicating as ever.
There are no words to fully describe the beauty of the mountains. The rugged majesty of the silent, gigantic sleepers seem unattainable by any life form, human or otherwise. The high peaks with halos of cloud showed no evidence of such to the naked eye.
Each mountain displayed its own character. One range was covered with mist, having semblance to a mirage, ghostlike in appearance; some were more domineering than others; a few stood alone in full regalia, formidable and unreachable; some had ledges forming row upon row of white snow rings, even during the summer seasons; others exposed their whole face to the summer sun and winter snow; some feigned to have a topping of marshmallow, soft and light; and some were absolutely bare. Razor-sharp edges formed steep slopes with tapered summits stretching far into the blue, and others had flat tops resembling a fortress wall. Perhaps here the eagle, the hawk or any other bird of prey made their homes permanently.
The mountains were only partially separated by deep gorges forming vertical valleys with suspended meadows. The crevices on the mountains gave way to the imagination—that of a giant snowplow hollowing a path of ridges for animals to walk the slopes or that of a giant fork tines horizontally cutting deep crevices filled with fine granulated white powder, making ready for the meandering or hibernating of the bear or any other creature existing deep in hidden caves.
Katt noticed the rays of the sun forming a golden crown around and over the huge pinnacle her hometown had named Owl Mountain. The mountain was double peaked, and the pristine white caps glistened and shone like two "mother of pearls" leaving an eerie feeling that you were being watched by two huge owl eyes, ergo—Owl Mountain.
Here too among these giants boulders stood the dark assortment of kingly pine, the tall thin alpine fir, the trembling aspen, the lonely popular, the white birch and ever-present Tamarac. The coarseness and ruggedness of the land seemed foreboding and mysterious to anyone who did not know or understand it. But for Katteya Gray it was home and she loved it. The forest had been her refuge for many years and the mountains had been her protectors.
Creeks, rivers, large and small waterfalls meandered throughout this paradise. The spectrum of the rainbow colors dancing in, above and around the waters was unceasing. The cerulean sky flaunted its color on both the water and the mountains. Chances were that the blue of the sky would eventually host a grouping of clouds that would open up and give the mountains showers of light warm raindrops in the summer and huge white snowflakes in the winter. It was a rehearsed cycle that Katt found mystical.
She had nearly forgotten all of it. It was easy to do when you stayed away for so long and lived in a concrete jungle of pavement and people. But she had returned. She was home and it felt great ... for the moment.
Five years. Had it been that long? She had lived five years in the big cities of the world making a `name for herself' forgetting completely at times the comfort of the home fires and the people she had left behind. No, she had not forgotten everything but she had forgotten the rush the mountains gave when you live in harmony with them. Why had she been away so long? When she had first entered the city life she had missed Moonbow, her home estate, a great deal. Five years is a long time and the human mind and soul have a way of hiding and forgetting the past but memories have their way of making their return.
She had left to join the University mass. She had worked hard and spent many hours at the U working for a major degree in Criminology and a minor in Psychology. Her career now expanded the globe as a `Special Agent' to the police forces throughout the world. Her forte was unraveling difficult `unsolvable homicides' with the use of the degrees and parapsychology. She had received a psychic gift at birth by the Creator. Through cultivation, meditation and understanding she had acquired the knowledge of how to use this special gift from various persons during her growing years. She was always told and reminded that it was given to her for the betterment of herself and others.
She had just finished such a case when she got a phone call. Aunt Efie had called to see how "Katt was" and had also mentioned reading about "Katt's involvement in the apprehension of a serial killer in England". She had also insinuated that Katt sounded tired. The soft maternal voice had said that if Katt needed "time to relax she surely would be welcomed home." And then Aunt Efie had volunteered information without Katteya asking about the state of affairs at home.
"It's been long enough now, dear. It is time to come home," she had said. Katteya had given it some thought and made the decision that she was right. It was time to face the past. Besides she had heard in her Aunt's voice, an urgent plea for her to return. Katteya knew that Aunt Efie was not prone to emotional outburst but Katteya had picked up a slight tremor in the voice. Katteya remembered her words, "We can't talk on the phone, dear. If you could come home for a week or so it would be wonderful," adding, "everyone would like to see you."
Katt also remembered the delivery of the envelope that had come in the post within a few days of Aunt Efie's call. She remembered the jolt of `heated' sensation as she had grabbed her mail from the mailbox. Her hand had stopped in mid-air. She had known the message inside was malevolent. One rather small plain envelope, 3 x 6 size, had fallen onto the floor. She had bent to pick it up. She remembered the spontaneous trembling that had caused her to drop it a second time. She remembered leaning against a wall and waiting for a few minutes for the trembling to cease, but it had not done so.
At the third attempt she became more focused and knew what to expect ... when she had bent down to pick it up, the pain returned and she had nearly dropped it for the third time, but with sheer determination and control she had held on to it. Hands shaking and her mind repeating "drop it" she had torn it open and in doing so the small card had floated out and settled onto the floor. The words bounced off the card at her ... Scarata Mia
Decision came swiftly and decisively.
She was home.
Had she done the right thing by coming home? Could she be of any help now or was she too late?
She spotted Aunt Efie not far off. Aunt Efie—Efie Brannigan. When she was growing up she had always called her Aunt Efie even though they were not related. She had been Katteya's surrogate mother. Her height and her weight did not amount to much, small boned and thin, she stood probably five-foot nothing. She had a pleasant disposition but when crossed, she would never hesitate to speak her mind. Discipline was just and punishment always fair; she made sure that the one receiving the punishment understood the reason for it.
Katteya smiled to herself. She remembered well ...
Mrs. Brannigan had managed Moonbow ever since Katteya could remember. She had been hired as a servant but quickly became the mistress of Moonbow although the estate belonged to Katteya's...
