Chapter 1

         Cushane's pov

  What the woman said was true I thought lieing on my back on the bed in the hotel room, I had to admit I was utterly surprise to see such a grand house and well kept yard but it was her that surprised me the most. She cannot be more than in her early twenties and she was absolutely gorgeous to look upon, though she was serious and had seriousness marked all over her- I was annoyed she was far from what I had been expecting.

  With my thoughts set on going back there the following day, I tried to sleep. I wanted to get answers and hopefully she will provide them. I've travelled all the way from Canada because my friend Ramario told me about her and he say that she was very good.

  How did Jenelia died with my unborn baby?

  Who really was the man she had been found with?

Why did she go missing for months?

  I took out the ring I had bought to engage her with and looked at it, I loved her so much and I was quite ready to start a family when she told me she was pregnant. She had looked sad and I had felt bad that she was experiencing discomfort, she had left the following day and never returned. I was shock when the missing report I put out reported to me that she had called to say she had travelled, then everything turned into a mystery when she was found dead months later.

  Tears trickled down the side of my face, I still can't believe she is truly gone and that I will never see her again or hold my baby.

Lamais's pov

  After boiling the noani and merengui together I set it aside to cool, it brought in a lot of my money as one of the leading remedies I bottled and sell. Shanty, who use to work with my grandma helps me out sometimes and I pay her on a weekly basis. She was just thirty-five years of age but because of her slight deformity men and people had only been using her, now with five children and no father, she works here doing whatever she can knowing I will give her money and some of the foods I receive as gifts.

  I labelled sixty bottles then got up to stretch my back, the 𝙏𝙖𝙣 𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙩 sells fast and I have to do atleast two hundred bottles for the week. I'm still thankful to my very first customer who came asking for help with his erection, after explaining to him that he should just relax his mind and perform how he can- he had insisted I should give him something to help with it. I told him to come back in three days and I told him to drink ceresee tea for three mornings and evenings straight, then drink a corkful of the bottle of remedy I was giving him- mornings and evenings until it is finished.

  He came back to praise me on how well it had worked for him and that he had wanted to purchase some more, he had told his friend who tells another friend and the news spread causing me to start making it. At three grand a bottle I had a fat purse in no time and it had only multiplied since then.

  "Madame, the foreign man that had came yesterday is here," Shanty said coming to stand in the doorway of the outside kitchen we use to make my bush medicines.

   "Ok, tell him I'll come to see him shortly, thank you," I told her.

  He can wait a while no one chase him away yesterday and the denial spirit he had clothed himself with will take much convincing. I finish labeling the rest of the bottles then went to the front of the yard where I had built a new wooden building for reading, with a small shop attached to it. In the shop was all kinds of homemade rubs, oils and remedies.

  I took up my red head cloth and tied my head, then proceed inside to the reading room. Without waiting for him to state his reason for visiting, I stare into his eyes and began to read him.

"𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧."

  "𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡."

  He nodded and I told him. "You need to pay double and I do not like people trying to judge me by my looks and age."

  He stood up to his full height and looked down at me, he sighed rubbing his hand through his thick slightly curly black hair. He wasn't too bad on the eyes, but he should fix his face out of the frown he was wearing- it made him look ugly, good thing I'm not easily scared.

  I pointed to the silver plate that was surrounded by garlic and four vase holding freshly cut mint, he silpped his hand into his pocket and counted out some money then dropped them in the plate. He looked at me and I looked into his eyes and shook, what the hell was that I wondered blinking and looking away.

  "𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭," my voice uttered before I could stop it.

  After he left I breathed a sigh of relief, I hope he doesn't come back I said in my mind. Something was unsettling with him and I don't work obeah as a lot of people wanted me to. With that thought I close the glass door and went back to the back to see if Shanty had gathered all the items I needed to make the 𝙍𝙪𝙣 𝙙𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙤𝙞𝙡.

"Yuh wash di pot?" I ask her.

"Yes ma'am," she replied.

  "A'right yuh can gwane a front just in case anybody come on," I told her.

  When she was gone I beat up the oil nut, pimento seed and lavender then put them to steam. Next I set on the guinea hen weed, arrow root and chestnut to boil to make my 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝘾𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙧 drink. My grandma says no one needs to know how I prepare my remedies, lest they steal it or go and run their mouths. She was right because I was making a fortune from the bushes that grew in my back yard and what I didn't have could be purchase in the market.

  Today being Tuesday was the day I made most of my remedies, it was sometimes a slow day and my busiest days are Fridays and Satudays. I went into my house and from the kitchen I took some tumeric roots, dry cinnamon leaf, cinnamon sticks, and basil leaf which I carried back to the outside kitchen to make my 𝘽𝙖𝙗𝙮 𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧 roots drink.

When I had finish, I cover them with the thin mesh cloth and locked up the kitchen leaving them to cool. I went to the reading room and Shanty began to name the big shots who were schedule to return today or tomorrow and at what time. I try my best not to make my clients meet up on anyone here, most of them want their business kept private and that was better for me.

"Officer Stevens have a case a court a mawnin' suh mi affi guh come up early come set him bath," Shanty said in a business tone.

"No, yuh can set it from all right now, just leave the somn dem a bathroom three. I can't duh a thing fi him if him murda di woman pickney innocently, a only God alone can save him," I said solemnly.

  "Ok, a hundred a fifty thousand dollars him fi pay?" she ask.

  A one thing wid Shanty she nah forget the amount of money I charge for certain things, she liked when I got those kinds of jobs- because I do pay her extra to scour the bath room afterwards. She left and went to set the bath water, all I have to do is connect the plug and heat the water before the officer arrives and pour out several different oils in some containers and leave for him.

  Shanty came back over and went into the shop, I heard her selling a bottle of 𝙊𝙞𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙚 then she came in with the money tray and emptied it in the large silver dish. She spun around and went to the gate to allow in female client who was returning for another reading.

"Ms. Leah, ma'am," Shanty informed so the lady could hear.

"Send her in," I told her and lit the blue candle on the table in front of me.

  I looked at Leah as she came in and greet me. "Pleasant afternoon priestess."

  "A blessed one to you," I told her then sat and stare straight at her.

"𝐇𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡. 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞. 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞- 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐭."

  I told her and got up, I went to a cupboard just beyond the reading area and took a packet of dried seeds and hand it to her. She dropped the amount of money she was told to take with her and went out.

To be continued..