Chapter Sixteen of "Samuel Light, Spiritual Detective: The Shasta Caper," is now posted on www.johnpirillo.com

Samuel Light, Spiritual Detective: The Shasta Caper
by John Pirillo
Chapter Sixteen

Samuel felt this gentle pressing against his forehead, cool, soothing, reassuring and gentle. Like the hand of an Angel gentling his soul. He wanted it to go on forever, but like most good things, it came to an end.

"Open your eyes, handsome." Sherelle encouraged him.

Samuel's eyelids fluttered open. He felt like he had just been put through a meat grinder and spit out as a hotdog, which for him, was not so bad at all. Her eyes were staring into his, when he looked up. Indeed an Angel had found him.

All that shattered when Jimbo pressed his face into view,  hogging the space that Sherelle had just inhabited. His face was thick with whiskers.

"Don't you ever shave?" Samuel asked a bit grumbily.

Jimbo's lips curled into a smirk. "Sis, I think we got a launch."

He stepped back out of view, and Samuel felt his back being eleveated. Soon he realized he was laying on a lawn chair inside the living room of their home. Jimbo came back around and smiled at him. "Closest thing to a hospital bed we have here."

"I'll take it." Samuel quipped back.

Sherelle stood up next to Samuel and let go of his right hand, which he hadn't realized she had been holding, until she let go. It was like a light switch had been turned off. He felt totally at a loss for several seconds. She smiled. "I do that to guys,  you know. Light them up."

Jimbo almost broke into rib splitting laughter. After he recovered he looked at Samuel, who was blushing a deep red. "Sis sure knows how to pour on the pig poo, Sammie."

Sherelle punched him on his right arm, but he shrugged it off. He patted her on her butt and scooted her towards the kitchen. "Now go be a good little annoyance and scramble us some eggs and bacon for breakfast."

She went into the kitchen and a moment later a frying pan came flying out at Jimbo's head. He caught it expertly, then winked at Samuel. "It's a little game we play. Big brother, little sister." He went into the kitchen and Samuel heard Sherelle shriek angrily, then burst into giggles.

He smiled. He sure had missed being with his family. Though not his physical family, he was closer to them than his own, who were...well gone.

He threw his legs off the lawn chair, then noticed he had a thick Serape over his legs. He lifted it off and folded it up. It was Jimbo's. He never shared it with anyone. That made  Samuel realize that  his condition must have frightened his friend. And he could understand why. He had been having these pastlife experiences a lot lately and it was taxing his system.

"Breakfast is served." Came Jimbo and Sherelle's voice in unison.

Samuel got up the rest of the way. He hadn't realized he had been dozing off again. He wiped at his eyes and went into the large kitchen. It was the pride of their home. All hand burnished wood brought in from the Redwoods of California. Cabinets, floor, walls, ceiling, even the kitchen table and chairs. All hand crafted by Jacob and put together.

Samuel sat down at the far end of the table, and Jimbo slapped down a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon, with a heap of toast slathered with butter and fresh raspberry jam and a plate of whole wheat pancakes and sausage, and a large glass of orange juice and a mug of coffee.

Sherelle brought in a plate of rolls she had baked, along with some doughnuts that Jacob had made. Jacob rolled in a few minutes later wiping at his face with a towel. He had just finished shaving.

"Where's Twain?" Samuel asked between bites. He was mostly a vegetarian, but at times like this, when he was so weak he knew his body need more protein and nourishment than simple grains and nuts could provide.

Jacob sat down and began heaping his empty plate with pancakes from the center of the table where they were stacked on a clay platter with Sioux Indian bird symbols. He slid half a dozen sausage off the plate next to that, snatched a handful of crisp bacon and dumped it unceremoniously into his mouth and began crunching it.

Sherelle punched him. "Mind your manners, little brother."

Jacob snorted. "I'm at least a foot taller than you, sis."

"And big guys fall further." She snapped back with flashing eyes.

He snorted again. "That'll be the day."

So their conversation went through most of the breakfast, with Samuel loving all the fancy play on words and silliness they played out for him and themselves. There was no mistaking the love these people had for each other. He still wondered where Twain was though.

Jimbo recognized that and finally finished shoveling sausage into his mouth between gulps of orange juice, wiped his beard and lips, then leaned on his elbows and looked at Samuel. "Your color is coming back. Twain is in Tibet."

Samuel's eyes widen.

Sherelle finished her coffee, got up and poured some more from a sparkly pot on the antique stove that sat in the back of the kitchen.  "He's got this notion of becoming a Buddhist Monk or something."

Jimbo tittered. "Yeah and last year, he went to stay with those meditation hoppers so he could learn how to fly."

Samuel smiled. He knew that group. He had taught them how, then their Master had acted as if he had known all along and began selling the technique for money. No one flew after that, just hopped. You had to have pure motives to fly.

Samuel never flew. He knew better. He had no radar, and his intuition told him that he had better stay on the ground. Also...

He turned to his right and Al and M were seated on the kitchen counter watching, their eyes dancing with approval. Also his friends in the Light disapproved. Al told him that Angels flew to help humans learn to believe in God, but man flew only when he had to save himself or another. And Samuel had to be careful to use his powers wisely, or they would be taken away, like it is from many psychics who misuse God's gift.

Samuel didn't miss flying. He did plenty of it in his sleep, and that sufficed.

"You never know, it might happen." He commented.

Sherelle laughed. "Always the optimist, Sammie."

"So now what?" Jacob asked. "Your job's done here."

He looked at Jimbo. "Still hot for a little cave exploring?"

"You bet. Long as I can bring my Mickey Mouse flashlight and..." He unholstered his huge Texas Colt Special..."This!"

Chapter Seventeen Sherelle gave him a big hug and kiss as he got ready to board Flight 999 for California with Jimbo. "Sure you can't hang around a few days more, I could show you some of the more fancy spots abouts here."

Samuel's heart fluttered. It always did when she did that. But Al and M were both already heading for the passenger door. Al stopped and looked back and shook his head.

Samuel was not destined to be with Sherelle. Not now. Maybe not ever.

Jimbo didn't understand it, but he respected Samuel's respect for his sister and not hurting her as he might have, should he have hesitated.

Samuel took her hands in his and pressed them warmly. "I promise I'll be back soon."

She smiled with a glint of evil in her eyes. "You always say that and vanish for a long time. At least let my little brother come back once in a while."

Jimbo grunted. "I'm at least two feet taller than you."

Sherelle glared at him. "And that's two feet more you can fall two, you big slab of ham!"

She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight and he kissed her forehead, then pressed away gently. "Love you."

"Love you two." She returned. She looked at Samuel, but said nothing. Her eyes said it all. He felt this incredible desire to stay, to tell her how much he cared for her, when he felt this pressure on his right shoulder. He turned that way and Al had his hand on him and shook his head. He was smiling.

Samuel sighed, then gave Sherelle a quick kiss on the lips and headed for the exit to the plane.

She turned to Jimbo. "You keep that silly man safe, you hear?"

"Oh, I can do that all right, but who's going to keep me safe?" He said with a lighthearted tone, his eyes dancing with amusement, as he gave her one last long hug, then ran after Samuel, who was greeting a Hostess at the jet's passenger door, then entering.

Jimbo's heaviness at leaving melted away when he saw it was the same Hostess that he had seen on his last flight. He muttered to himself. "All right, Jimbo. Let's see if that Texan charm is still working."

He reached the door and gave her his brightest smile. "Doll, I don't know why heaven keeps putting you in my path, but I'm thanking God for it tonight."

She laughed and took his ticket, then followed him with her eyes as he went down the long aisle towards the seat where Samuel was seating himself.

"Oh yes." Jimbo laughed inwardly. "There is indeed a God in heaven!"