Down a Bad Road

DOWN ABAD ROADREGINA BUTTNER ©2023 by Regina ButtnerAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publishers, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a newspaper, magazine or journal.The author grants the final approval for this literary material.First Digital VersionThis is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.ISBN: 978-1-68513-188-3PUBLISHED BY BLACK ROSE WRITINGwww.blackrosewriting.com For R & B CHAPTER 1Lavender took a bottle of white wine out of the fridge, poured herself a big glass over ice, and dialed the psychic’s number. “Thanks for agreeing to do this over the phone,” she said when Penelope answered. “I was afraid to go out with that snowstorm coming.”“Phone readings aren’t ideal, but I’ll do my best,” Penelope said. “I see you texted me some photos. Is that the new boyfriend you told me about the last time you were here?”“Yes!” Lavender’s voice bubbled with happiness. “That’s Ron Burley. He’s actually my fiancé now, he proposed to me this morning. Got down on one knee and everything.” Holding her left hand up to catch the fading afternoon light, she admired her sparkly new engagement ring. The princess cut diamond was gorgeous. Burley must have blown the last of his savings on it, hoping to impress her with his devotion. Well, it had certainly worked.“You’ve filed for divorce then, I take it?” Penelope said, like the prim old granny that she was.“Of course I did. Clint and I split up months ago. Anyway, I sent you those photos because—”“Hold on, don’t tell me anything else,” Penelope said. “I’m feeling something coming through from his image. Give me a few seconds to concentrate.”Lavender drank more wine and tapped her periwinkle fingernails on her glass, wondering what kind of flowers to put in her wedding bouquet. Tulips would be nice, or maybe a big bunch of peonies in different shades of pink.“Hmmm,” Penelope said after a moment.Lavender shook herself from her flowery daydream. “What is it?”“You told me once before that your ex-husband had a temper,” Penelope said, “but this man may be even worse.”Lavender giggled, already buzzed from the wine. “That’s ridiculous! Burley’s the sweetest, most laidback guy you’ll ever meet. I’ve never even heard him raise his voice.”“Just you wait,” Penelope said darkly. “He’s going to explode one of these days.”“Yeah, right.” Lavender twisted a lock of her long blonde hair around her forefinger. “I seriously doubt it. Never mind that, anyway. I have an important question about him and the woman in the second photo I sent. Her name is Marta.”Penelope made a grumbling sound in her throat. “This is why I try to avoid phone readings, especially when it’s a complicated situation like this one.”Lavender frowned. “What do you mean, complicated?”Penelope hesitated before answering. “There’s a lot more to this than you realize. I’d much rather sit down with you in person, it would be easier to explain things that way.”Lavender huffed in annoyance. Why couldn’t the damn woman spit it out? “What’s there to explain? Marta was a childhood friend of Burley’s, they grew up together. All I want to know is if there was ever anything romantic between them.”“Wait a second while I study her picture.” There was a moment of silence, then Penelope spoke again: “He’s definitely not in love with her.”“Obviously not, since he wants to marry me. Besides, Marta’s dead now.”“Dead?” Penelope said. “I don’t think so.”Lavender choked on her wine. “Yes, she is!” she sputtered. “She literally died of cancer a few days ago.” And not a moment too soon.Penelope chuckled. “Who told you that?”“Burley did.”“I’m not so sure his information is accurate. There’s an aura surrounding Marta’s image, and the color is a vivid green. Green symbolizes life and strength.”Lavender gasped. “But wait, how is that even possible?”“I don’t know, I’m just telling you what I see. There’s also a gray area within her inner aura, which is often a sign of fear or paranoia. My sense is that she’s alive and her body is perfectly healthy. It’s her mind that’s sick.”The wine glass clanged against the coffee table as Lavender sat up straight. Was Penelope out of her freaking mind? “But I’m certain Marta’s dead!” she said. “Burley told me so this morning. You must be confusing her with someone else.”“When a spirit crosses over to the afterworld, messages do occasionally get mixed up,” Penelope said. “This is an art, you know, not a science. But the vibrations coming from this woman’s photo are very strong, which means her soul is still dwelling on the earth plane, and I believe it’s entwined in some way with your fiancé’s.”Auras? Vibrations? Earth plane? Lavender screwed up her face in bafflement. Maybe consulting a psychic hadn’t been the best idea after all, and she should have listened to her friend Shayna, who had told her to trust her gut. Despite what Penelope seemed to be implying about Burley’s trustworthiness, Lavender had no doubt that he was a good, honest man who would never, ever lie to her. Raising her hand, she gazed at her ring again. Judging by the size of the glittering rock, her darling, hardworking Burley was absolutely gaga for her.Enough of this nonsense! The purpose of the consultation with Penelope was to put her concerns about Burley and Marta to rest, not to go off on this preposterous Marta’s-got-a-green-aura tangent.“All right, whatever,” Lavender said. “Let’s assume Marta’s dead, okay? Since that’s what Burley told me. So what I’m really asking you is if they were ever involved in a sexual relationship.”“Let me look at that last picture you sent,” Penelope said.The third photo was a candid shot of Burley and Marta,