Our Fifteen Minutes Of Fame: The Devine Intervention

Chapter One

     Sometime after nine p.m., in a racially mixed small wooded village, a misting rain fell. A weakened clap of thunder reassured the ending of an hour long storm. Several lightning bolts cracked brightening the skies in a thick wooded area where a man and a woman pointed guns at each other. As the lightning bolts light faded into the darkness, shots ran out which takes the story back twenty-four hours earlier.

     Twenty-three year old DeSander Jones, nicknamed Junior after her mother, sat in her family owned tattoo parlor and fortune-telling business talking to her twenty-five year old cousin Lucien Miller Jones, nicknamed Lucee after his mother. He and their grandmother Regina Jones ran the tattoo parlor while Junior and their grandfather Germaine Jones ran the fortune-telling side. They both read tarot cards and palms, but Junior did a little more. Being the liar that she was, Junior sometimes used the proverbial crystal ball as one of her parlor tricks. She also sold love, health, and wealth charms, removed spells and curses, and often boasted of her uncanny ability to speak with the dead. Even though they knew this was for entertainment purposes only, Junior and Germaine were truly wannabe psychics. They were good at reading people and telling them what they wanted and needed to hear. Since they preyed on the lost and desperate, Germaine referred to their business as 'soothsaying', which meant being able to tell the future, because this ancient sounding name seemed more authentic. Junior was use to being called a charlatan since she was one, but she still wanted to be respected and believed. She loved her work and wanted to be known as a world re-knowned psychic.
     "Get real Junior, that's not going to happen."
     "Now why would you say that Lucee? You know that I predicted the plane crash that killed our
                                                                                
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 parents." she reminded him.
     "It was only a dream Junior." Lucee reminded her.
     "A dream that came true," Junior said folding her arms. "But I truly believe it was a vision. Don't forget I also predicted that the man on death row would be freed."
     "That doesn't make you psychic Junior, anybody could have guessed that outcome." Lucee derided her as Regina took up for her.
     "Maybe not Lucee, but it gives her hope and the chance to try and pursue that dream....unlike my children who will never dream again God rest their souls." Regina said sadly as Lucee looked at Junior.
     "Now look what you did Junior," Lucee angrily said. "You made grandma Regina upset."
     Junior jumped from her chair. "There's nothing wrong with her grieving my parents and your mother."
     "But the mourning process is over. Bringing up something that happened five years ago is
unnecessary."  he said.
     Regina wiped her eyes. "Stop it Lucee. Junior is only trying to show you that she has the gift of fortune-telling. She had to bring up John and Lucille....and DeSander of course." Regina corrected.
     "That's right Lucee. Remembering my parents and your mom Lucille is a good thing. Now if I brought  up that bum of a father of yours who left when you were born I could understand your anger."
     Regina clapped her hands and sternly said, "Come now you two! Be quiet! Grandpa Germaine is still doing a reading in the next room."
     "Sorry grandma Regina. Lucee and I were done for the evening and had nothing else to do but do what comes natural to us, which is disagreeing."
     "She's right grandma and I am sorry too. How about you and I start closing up shop here since Junior has a date to keep."
     "A date? It's not with that Murphy Martin boy is it?" Regina frowned as an angry Junior struggled to smile a lie.
     "No grandma Regina, it's not him. Now I better get going." she said as a woman, name Z, walked in.

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     "No one is going anywhere until I find out who removed my curse." Z said eyeing Junior.
     "Why do you want to know?" Junior frowned as Z stared angrily at her.
     "So it was you! You made Ronesha believe that you removed the curse I put on her."
     "So what if I did?" Junior defiantly asked as Germaine accepted payment from his customer. They looked on waiting to hear Z's response as did Regina and Lucee. Z walked slowly up to Junior.
     "Then you would have to suffer the consequences, but you didn't remove the curse because you're a fake. This phoney backwoods business of yours is a sham." Z answered.
     "If we're a sham and she didn't remove your so-called curse, why are you here?" Lucee spat.
     Z folded her arms. "I'm here to tell her that she cannot predict the future and if she keeps playing around with the unknown she will get hurt."
     "So now you're threatening us?" Junior asked.
     "Take it as you like, but be warned." Z said.
     "Or what? You'll put a curse on us too?" Junior laughed as a concerned Germaine cleared his throat.
     "Get out of here witch right now!" he spat with a quivered tone as Z smiled.
     "I'll leave, but I just want her to know that she's good at fooling people. Ronesha believes my curse has been lifted, but it hasn't. It will run it's course, and so will you Junior." she laughed and left as the customer turned to Germaine.
     "You don't see her in my future do you?" he asked with wide eyes. Germaine smiled and shook his head.
     "No sir. Now you get on home, it's getting late." The man thanked him with a handshake and left as Germaine locked the door behind the man. Junior began to laugh as she put her purse around her neck letting it hang across her body.
     "Can you believe that woman? Storming in here and having the nerve to call me a fake. She's as fake as they come." she smiled.
     "Are you sure about that Junior?" Germaine asked seriously as Junior took her keys out of her

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purse and snickered.
      "Of course I'm sure. She only came over here to check out the competition. That wannabe now knows that I can blow her out of the water." she smiled and snapped her fingers as she walked towards the door.
     "Maybe it takes one wannabe to know one." Lucee smiled with folded arms. Junior sighed, unlocked the door and opened it with a chuckle.
     "Maybe it does, since she wannabe me. Later guys." she waved with her back to them.
     "Be careful." Regina called after her as the door closed. The smile on Junior's face disappeared as she stood by the door for a few seconds, sighed, and went around to the shed. It was several feet from the family home the three of them shared whiled Lucee had the garage apartment. As she unlocked the lock, she turned around quickly thinking that she heard a clicking sound. Not seeing anything or anyone, she took the lock off and went inside. She rolled a bicycle out of the shed, relocked the door, hopped on the bike and pedaled off into the sunset.

     Twenty minutes later the moonlight was her guide through the thick wooded area. Owls hooted and crickets sang as Junior saw car headlights in the distance. She smiled and pedaled faster towards the lights. She reached the car to find her lover Murphy Martin, a tall and handsome dimpled man who was a sheriff's deputy, leaning against his sports car smoking a cigarette. She jumped off the bike and ran to the man throwing her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. He hugged her tightly around the waist nearly lifting her off the ground as he passionately kissed her back. He reluctantly began to release her slowly pulling back as she tried to continue to kiss him. He finally pushed her away as he looked into her beautiful face and confused dark brown eyes.
     "What's wrong Murphy?" she asked as she looked up into his hazel eyes.
     "I'm sorry Junior, but this is the last time we can meet like this." he said as she smiled and

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put her arms around his waist.
     "Come on Murphy, you said this before and then met with me again the next day."
     "I know, but this time I mean it. I'm serious." he said gently guiding his finger down the side of her face following the black cascading waves of hair that framed her face.
     "What's different this time Murphy?"
     "She's pregnant Junior. Greer's having a junior for me." he smiled trying to joke as she pulled away.
     "Pregnant? She's lieing Murphy. She's too old to have kids isn't she? I mean she's pushing forty-five, or is she fifty?"
     "She's thirty-nine Junior."
     "And you're only twenty-six. She's trapping you with this lie Murphy."
     "Greer's telling the truth. The doctor confirmed it after a second opinion. She's about ten weeks along." he said as both of their eyes teared.
     "But I thought you two were using protection."
     "Most of the time we did, but mistakes happen." he said as she slapped him hard.
     "How could you let this happen? I thought you loved me Murphy. If you would have divorced her when I told you to this wouldn't have hapened!"
     "I know, and I'm sorry."
     "Well all is not lost. Threaten to divorce her if she doesn't have an abortion."
     "Abortion? I can't do that, it's my kid."
     "You don't know that. She could have cheated."
     "Maybe,...but I doubt it. I know my wife Junior."
     "And I know you Murphy. You love me."
     "Yeah I do, but I love my wife and child too. If I have to choose, I choose them." he said as Junior slapped him causing him to drop his cigarette. He grabbed her hands, pulled her to him and held her tightly as she cried. A faint sound of clicking joined the other sounds in the darkened woods. Several minutes later Junior pulled away from him and stared up at his chiseled features and wet sad eyes. She backed away slowly, turned, and went to her bike. She picked it up and got on.
     "Wait Junior! Let me drive you home!" he called after her as she pedaled quickly away trying to

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stop crying. She thought to herself how she wished that she was truly psychic and she would have seen this coming. This was when she realized that she was going the wrong way. She stopped and was about to turn around when she heard whimpering. She wiped her eyes and looked towards the area where the sound was coming from. As she neared, she saw a light shining from a small Church. She wondered what was going on when she heard a car door slam. She squinted to see a man carrying a medical bag walk towards the Church. Junior laid the bike down and swiftly walked towards the Church and reached it just in time to catch the swinging door after the man went inside. She slightly pushed it open so she could see what was going on. A woman, wearing a habit which led Junior to believe she was a nun, sat on the small stage next to the pulpit holding her stomach. She didn't seem very happy to see the man. He stopped a few feet away from her where he sat his medical bag on the first pew.
     "DayShawn the atheist, what are you doing here of all places?" she asked almost out of breath as he opened his medical bag not uttering a word. "You interrupted my prayer of forgiveness to the Lord." she winced in pain. "I don't know what you're doing there, but I haven't changed my mind. I'm still having this pregnancy terminated and it won't be by you or your clinic." she cried grabbing her stomach in pain with one hand while making the sign of the cross with the other. He put rubber gloves on and took out a bottle with a cloth wrapped around it. "Did you hear me DayShawn?" she breathed heavily as he looked at her and nodded. "I made other arrangments. Do you really believe that I would let you touch me again after what you did to me? It wasn't natural and it was wrong." she cried out once again in pain. He opened the bottle and took the cloth off.
     "You agreed to it." he muttered.
     "I didn't agree to be your research lab rat. I was only trying to help my sister."
     "And now I'm helping you sister." he smiled and  poured  the solution onto the cloth as she slid

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backward on the stage trying to get away from him.
     "You stay away from me. I've called an ambulance and it'll be here any minute." she screamed out in excrutiating pain which made her bend and double over.
     "Sister Lourdes, any minute is all the time I need to tell you that earlier today at the clinic my colleague Dahvee gave you the abortion you so desperately wanted while you were under anesthesia." he said as she looked up at him stunned with a tear smeared face not uttering a word. "Along with the multiple birth abortion we performed we administered other drugs which are causing what you are experiencing now. I have to make this look like you died from complications and this stuff here will help to do it." he said walking quickly over to her and forced the cloth over her nose and mouth. "I'm sorry sister, but I can't take the chance of you exposing my research." Junior heard him finish realizing that the nun never had a chance against the strong doctor. She watched sister Lourdes' struggling body go limp. He let her head go and she fell backward onto the stage lifeless. As he gathered his things, Junior let the swinging door close slowly and backed away. She ran to her bicycle and watched DayShawn leave the Church. He looked around after he reached his car. Junior peered through the trees as he started up his car. She jumped on her bike not thinking why, but knowing that she had to follow him into the night as an ambulance's siren was heard faintly in the distance.

     At the same time Lucee handed the woman named Z, who had called their fortune-telling business a sham earlier that evening, a crisp hundred dollar bill outside of his garage apartment.
     "Thanks again Z for the act you put on to teach Junior a lesson. It was worth every penny."
     "Anytime Lucee. I just wish my drama coach over at the theatre house could have seen my performance."
     "Speaking of good performances, I bet Junior is thinking twice now about pretending to be something she's not."

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     "Well hopefully she won't continue this charade and will treat the business as simply that, a business."
     "By the way Z, what made you choose to use the curse thing and how did you know about Ronesha? I didn't tell you about her." he said as she laughed.
     "Ronesha and I go way back and she believes in this crap. When she mentioned she thought she was cursed and had saw the local backwoods psychic, I took it and ran. What a coincidence huh?"
     "Yeah it is, but you better get going Z. I don't want us to be seen together." he said as she smiled and put her arms around his neck.
     "I'm in no rush to get home." she smiled and kissed his cheek.
     He blushed. "I'm flattered, but it's late and my grandparents may see us or Junior may ride up amd catch us." he said matter of factly as she smiled.
     "Although those excuses are true, we both know your not wanting to be with me is because of my gender." she said as he defensively shot back surprised.
     "What do you mean? I like girls."
     "And boys too. Goodnight." she smiled and walked off into the night as Germaine watched from his bedroom window. Lucee stood wondering how she knew he was bisexual.

     After a ten minute ride, Junior came to a stop and slowly got off her bike. She watched DayShawn get out of his car and go into a warehouse which was dimly lit by a flickering bulb over the door. Junior walked towards the warehouse which had no visible windows. She reached the door and turned the knob. She sighed heavily finding it locked. Junior backed away looking up above the door and read the name aloud. "The Devine Clinic and Research Laboratory." With that she smiled, went back to her bike and pedaled away in the direction of which she came.

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Chapter Two

     Junior had purposely spent the rest of the night on the downstairs sofa, once she got home, so she could hear Lucee come into the house that morning for breakfast. Once he did she put the plan she had put together hours earlier into motion. She jumped up from the sofa and slowly fell to the floor. Lucee ran to her and fell to his knees as he called his grandparents. He began to softly pat Junior's cheeks trying to revive her. Once she heard Regina and Germaine enter, she began to flutter her eyelids as if she were truly just waking up. She opened her eyes to see their faces. She blinked them quickly a couple of times and sat up with Lucee's help.
     "What happened?" she asked.
     "You fainted. Are you alright?" Lucee asked as she nodded.
     "I'm fine I think. My head kind of hurts." she said as Germaine grabbed her hand. He and Lucee helped her up and onto the sofa as Regina left to get her a glass of water. She returned and gave it to her. The three watched her take a few sips when she suddenly dropped the glass and screamed. "Oh my God! I remember now! I had a vision!" she lied as Lucee sighed an expression of disbelief. "I saw a nun," Junior cried. "Being killed!" Germaine and Regina looked at each other with terrified eyes.
     "What are you saying?" Lucee started. "You saw someone killing a nun?" he finished as she nodded.
     "And she had been pregnant." Junior threw in as the three looked at her in amazement.
     "That is crazy Junior. Nuns take a vow of celibacy, right grandma?" Lucee asked as Regina humped up her shoulders scared to answer.
     "Of course they do. Men and women of the cloth don't have sex,.....unless this nun in your vision Junior had had sex before she became a nun." Germaine tried to explain as Junior shook her head.
     "No grandpa Germaine, this happened after she was a nun."

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     "But you said she had been pregnant. Her baby died with her when she was killed?" Regina tried to understand as Junior shook her head again.
     "No. The nun, Lourdes was her name, had an abortion before she was killed." Junior said as Lucee stood up angrily.
     "I'm not buying this crap Junior! You're making this up!" he shouted.
     "No I'm not. I saw the vision clearly. It happened only several hours ago in the woods. It should be on the local news." she said as Lucee turned a nearby television on. He skipped a few channels, but stopped at the local news channel which was conveniently showing the breaking news story. They all watched in awe as the reporter gave sketchy and assuming statements about a Jane Doe who seemed to be a visiting nun who died from complications from a miscarriage or an abortion. A local midwife and the medical examiner were looking into the cause of death. The Archdiocese had no comment and was going to do its own investigation. The Pastor of the Church, where the nun was found, was cooperating with Sheriff office's newly appointed detective Murphy Martin. The three looked at Junior in amazement as she shook her head.
     "Junior I'm sorry that I doubted you. You were telling the truth." Lucee smiled relieved as Regina went over and hugged her. Junior pulled away and stood up. She grabbed her purse.
     "I have to go. They think she died from complications but she didn't."
     "But where are you going?"
     "To work with the police as a psychic detective! I have to let them know that Sister Lourdes was murdered by the doctor who made her pregnant." she said and left.

     Junior arrived and couldn't believe the media circus that was now camped outside of the small Sheriff's office. She couldn't believe that her dream of being a world re-knowed psychic had come true. Once she told the media, who'll in turn tell the world that she solved this case, she would use

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her fifteen minutes of fame to keep her name a household name. She squeezed through the crowds of onlookers and pro-life protestors and saw Murphy Martin talking. She  went over to him but stopped when she saw who he was talking to. She cleared her throat as Murphy and his wife Greer, who worked part-time as the office's photographer, acknowledged her coldly. Junior congratulated him on his promotion and told him that she needed to talk to him about the case, alone. This prompted Greer to kiss his cheek and told him to hurry back. They went into his new office where Junior fought her romantic feelings for him. She told him half of her vision and how he had to let everyone know that he was working with a psychic. It peaked his interest, but he expressed his credibility would be on the line if he agreed. Of course she didn't want to hear this and was ready to do whatever she had to do.
     "Both of us want something from this case and we can have it if we work together."
     "But I thought you told me that you were a fraud when it came to your psychic abilities Junior."
     "I thought I was too, but this vision was overwhelming and appeared on television. I'm telling you, Sister Lourdes did not die from abortion related complications,...she was murdered and I know who did it."
     "So who did it?" he asked.
     "I won't say anymore until you agree to tell the world that I'm psychic and I'm assisting you."
     "I can't. It's unethical and no one would take this office seriously. I could even loose my job Junior and you know I need it now more than ever."
     "I don't care about your baby or your stupid wife Murphy. I only care about me and you. Either you do as I say or I swear I'll not only solve this case before you by telling who killed the nun and why, but I'll tell the whole world about your and my affair and make up stuff that will ruin your life. I swear." she said as a quick knock was heard at the door and Greer entered.
     "Excuse me honey, but there are some visiting Catholic missionaries and an Archdeacon trying to get through the media and the crowd of onlookers."

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     "Excuse me Mrs. Martin, but Murphy and I are still in a meeting here." Junior told her.
     "Excuse me, but I don't care about your stupid little meeting Ms. Jones. Honestly, your time is up." Greer said matter of factly as Murphy quickly walked to the door and grabbed Greer's hand and lead her out. Junior angrily sighed when he suddenly poked his head back in.
     "Don't do anything stupid Junior, please." he said and left as she thought for a few moments, smiled and left as well.

     An hour later back at the tattoo parlor Regina, Germaine, Lucee, and a few clients watched Junior on television as she told the world how she and detective Murphy Martin knew secret details about the sensational case involving Sister Lourdes because of her psychic abilities. DayShawn Devine, who was a scientist turned doctor, and his assistant Dahvee, who was Haitian but grew up in France, watched the telecast at the same time in their basement of the warehouse clinic.
     Five minutes later Junior finished her speech for the surprise press conference by saying, "Sister Lourdes' death wasn't God's divine intervention, but a doctor named D. Devine's, spelled D-e-v-i-n-e, murderous intervention at his experimental research clinic." Reporters began to scream questions at Junior as DayShawn looked on and swallowed hard reallizing once the world knew he was doctor D. Devine, all of his illegal hard work would be found out.
     At the same time Mayor Boston, who was running for senator, turned his car radio off after Junior finished her statement. He angrily screeched the car to a halt as his banker Mr. Jacksyn, who sat beside him, sighed heavily. Mayor Boston turned the car around and sped off onto a road that led into the backwoods.
     Back outside the Sheriff's office, a taxi-cab pulled up. Teraysa Phillips paid the driver who had commented on the press conference they had listened to. She got out of the cab and watched Junior continue to answer questions.
     Twenty minutes later Junior waved off the press after telling them she was through answering

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their questions. She was more interested in watching Sheriff Cook angrily argue with Murphy about her and what she had done. She smiled and thought it served him right for picking his wife over her as she continued to ignore the onlookers and press until she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and nearly had a heart attack when she thought she was staring into the eyes of the nun. The woman introduced herself as Teraysa Phillips, the twin sister of Lourdes Phillips, the murdered nun. She told Junior that they had to talk. An estatic Junior couldn't believe her luck. She grabbed the woman's hand and agreed to talk to her for more information. Greer watched the two angrily as they disappeared into the backwoods.
     Junior and Teraysa walked along the rocky bank of a winding river as Junior finished telling her supposed vision of Lourdes' death. A grief stricken Teraysa began her guilt ridden tale.................. Her half Puerto Rican-half Brazilian librarian mother, Olivia Phillips, was raped thirty years ago by a white ex-con. Embarassed and afraid of what her husband may have done, she didn't tell him or report it to the police. Unfortunately nine months later she gave birth to twin girls and hoped to pass them off as her husband's. With him being black, he took one look at the golden blonde haired blue eyed twins and wanted a blood test. They weren't his so he divorced her not believing she had been raped, but had cheated. A devastated Olivia, who blamed the twins for her misfortune, went back to her father's hometown. With nowhere to go, since her parents had died years earlier, she found lodging at a convent where her parents had worked as teachers. There Olivia suffered a nervous breakdown and committed suicide. When the twins, who the nuns named Teraysa and Lourdes, grew to age eleven in the convent's orphanage, they were separated. Lourdes wanted to stay and become a nun while Teraysa wanted a husband and family. Teraysa was adopted which led to a tearful goodbye.
     The girls kept in touch until Teraysa married at eighteen and moved out of state while Lourdes travelled in and out of the country on religious charity business. Teraysa's husband began to

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physically abuse her which lasted for seven years until a car accident killed him and ruptured some of her internal organs. Lourdes stayed with her at the convalescent hospital for six months and another month at a retreat cottage there in the village. A neighboring nunnery sponsered the cottage, which was several miles down from where the two women were walking. A forester named Nigel Carmen walked into the still recuperating Teraysa's life as Lourdes went back to the convent. Teraysa and Nigel fell in love and married. When they decided to start a family Teraysa was devastated to learn that she could not carry a baby to term due to the car accident. When she realized that Nigel had a problem with this, she feared that he would divorce her. That's when she asked,...no begged Lourdes to think about carrying a baby for her and Nigel.
     After careful consideration and a plan of secrecy in place, Lourdes agreed. A happy Nigel suggested  a clinic he came upon while working in the forest which was secretive and experimental. Lourdes took a sabbatical from the convent and took up residence at the retreat cottage by the river. Doctor DayShawn Devine performed the invitro fertilization and Lourdes became pregnant. Everything was going alright until Lourdes realized something was wrong. She was two and a half months pregnant, but looked five months. She was sickly and bled believing that she would miscarry. DayShawn and nigel assured them everything was alright, but Lourdes had thought differently Teraysa remembered as she finished the tale.
     Junior reminded her that it wasn't alright because in her vision the doctor mentioned multiple birth abortion meaning more than one baby. Night had fallen as thunder roared and lightning cracked. This was when Teraysa decided to go question DayShawn and Junior followed.
     Around the same time detective Murphy Martin opened the door to the riverside cottage with a forensic team behind him. His cell phone rang and he listened to the medical examiner tell him that Junior's psychic tip on testing for specific drugs had led them to find that there was foul play. Minute traces of abortion pill RU486 and the poisonous sleep aid Bella Donna among various other drugs

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were found and were probably used to cover up a botched abortion. As Murphy closed his eyes and sighed heavily, raindrops fell outside.

     DayShawn Devine stood in the cllinic's basement in silence as his partners in crime argued murdering the nun wasn't part of the program. Banker Jacksyn financed the clinic's reproductive genetics unit research. Nigel was in on being a part of the implant and the decision to try and make Lourdes have a multiple birth pregnancy by switching her iron pills with fertility drugs. He was all for capitalizing off of a nun giving birth to four or more of his children. Mayor Boston only wanted votes for being a part of stem cell research, although he and DayShawn had their own sinister plan for the cells uses. Mayor Boston wasn't a stranger to scandal and controversy. When his teen son needed a heart transplant quick he supposedly encouraged euthanasia to an ill relative. Two days later the relative died and his son did too after his body rejected the relative's donor heart. Their last partner in crime was wannabe doctor Dahvee who was a medical school dropout who practiced medicine without a license.
     The raindrops outside had turned into a heavy downpour as DayShawn explained that Lourdes had found out about the fertility drugs. His plan was to see if she could spontaneously abort two of the embryos for possible DNA and cloning research while using the other babies stem cells once they were born. She said she would abort them all elsewhere before she would let him touch them and she threatened to expose him once she did, so he killed her. He killed her with Dahvee's help, with the bank's money that Mayor Boston authorized, and with Nigel's blessing to go ahead with everything that was necessary. Just then Teraysa stood in the doorway drenched and had heard just about everything they had said. She screamed Nigel's name in a disappointed cry as Junior walked in a few feet behind her on a cell phone. Regina was on the other end telling her that the media, the clergy, protestors, and hundreds of people stood in line waiting for her to get

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 back there and do a reading on them. It was a mad house, but business was great.
     An estatic Junior told Regina to put her on speaker phone and have the media put their mikes up to it so everyone could hear what was going on there at the clinic. Regina did what she asked as the media in turn had the conversion hooked up to the television and radio vans loudspeakers. Junior assured the people that DayShawn was the murderer and held the phone towards the six arguing people as they all implicated themselves, unknowningly. Teraysa slapped Nigel as the Sheriff and a deputy walked in with guns drawn. He told them they were all under arrest as Nigel panicked, pulled his gun from his pants and grabbed Teraysa around the neck. He put the gun to her head and threatened to kill her if they tried to stop him from leaving. He and Teraysa backed out as the deputy cocked his gun in the deafening silence causing Nigel to instinctively shoot the deputy in the arm as he dragged Teraysa out. The Sheriff cautioned the others not to move as he called for back-up.
     The rain had turned into a mist as Nigel and Teraysa ran through the dark woods hand in hand for several minutes until Teraysa purposely felll bringing Nigel down with her. She yanked away from him, jumped up and ran back towards the clinic. Nigel shouted for her to stop and shot her in the left shoulder. She stopped and yelled out in pain as he walked towards her with the gun still pointed. As he neared her, he told her that she was going to be his hostage and to turn around slowly. As she did, she pulled her own small pistol out of her purse. She pointed it at him.
     Several lightning bolts cracked brightening the sky and faded away as shots rang out from both guns. Nigel fell to the ground as blood streamed from the left side of his chest while his bullet grazed the left side of Teraysa's neck. Police sirens blared in the distance.

     Later, just as the sun began to rise, Junior stood in front of the tattoo parlor. She spoke into several microphones that were pushed into her face. She reminded the media, and the thousands who had gathered, that she was a psychic and it was because of her that this sensational religious and political saga was known about and solved.

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 Just then a reporter emerged from the crowd.
     "Ms. Jones, this reporter fairs to differ with your being a psychic. This whole vision story is a hoax! Proof tells that you're a deceptive, fraudulent capitalist who has fooled the world into believing that you saw a murder in a vision." the man shouted as a nervous Junior cleared her throat.
     "I have no idea what you're insinuating sir. I did see a murder."
     "Yeah you did, but not in a vision. I have pictures that show you at the scene Ms. Jones. You were a witness to Sister Lourdes' murder! You stood outside of that Church and watched Dr. Devine kill her and you did nothing to help her! You were only a witness to the murder---you're not a clairvoyant, a seer, nor a soothsayer! You're nothing but a liar and may have been in on Dr. Devine's plan to experiment on Sister Lourdes' selfless act of kindness for her sister Teraysa." he finished as Junior shouted that the reporter was wrong as Murphy walked over to her from the side with handcuffs.
     "Murphy, whoever gave this man that story is wrong. The murder was a vision I swear." Junior pleaded as he handcuffed her and recited the miranda rights to her. His wife Greer Martin appeared behind him with a camera around her neck and a mini video camera in her hand. She snapped a picture.
     "You had a vision alright, but it wasn't about the murder Ms. DeSander Jones Jr. The pictures are real because I took them and I video taped you too. I wanted to make sure I had proof that Murphy broke up with you so I followed you out there last night. Thinking he may follow you, I followed you on my own trusty bike to the Church where I got you watching the mad scientist Devine instead. After you two left, I stayed with sister Lourdes until the ambulance came. I didn't know you were watching a murder all of that time. I reported you and showed Murphy and the Sheriff the pictures and the tape. We all thought you were going to confess to witnessing the crime, but instead you lied like the liar that you are." Greer spat.

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     "I'm taking you in simply on suspicion Junior and you better not be a part of this thing." he said as Junior's family looked on in shame, especially Lucee as they watched Murphy lead her away. The crowd booed as Z looked on smiling and shouted out to her.
     "Hey Junior! They say be careful what you wish for because you may get it, even though yours would be considered your fifteen minutes of fame. So who's the wannabe psychic now huh?" Z called after her laughing as the media wrapped it up and the onlookers headed home.


     Several days later Teraysa kneeled in the Church graveyard next to Lourdes' grave after laying a rose on it. She prayed, made the sign of the cross, stood, and walked away.

                                                                            The End

                                                                                                                                                 DJPM