Karen showed up at the office at about two that afternoon. Mort was just leaving Lowell’s office when she entered.
“Karen Sweeney, this is my associate Mort Simpson. Karen’s with the LAPD. She’s here to investigate the death of her uncle, the detective from L.A. that I mentioned to you. Apparently Dr. Williamson was one of his last clients, and Karen’s trying to establish if he had a role in her uncle’s murder.”
“Hey, Mort.” They shook hands.
“Nice to meet you,” said Mort, as he exited.
Karen plopped on the couch, a bottle of Poland Springs water in hand, and looked through her notebook.
“I went out to Queens this morning.”
“Did you uncover anything?”
She sipped her water. “My uncle had been to Astoria, I guess that’s part of Queens, and I went to the address that I found in his notes. Thanks for having Andy drive me. That’s some car you’ve got.”
“Did you find anything useful?”
She shook her head. “A guy named Christo lives there above a deli. I spoke to him briefly. Swears he knows nothing about my uncle. I’d like to tail him later today.”
“I hope you do a better job than you did with me.”
“Yeah, and I don’t think following him in a limo would work too well. I guess I’ll take my car out there tomorrow.”
“Do you have a GPS in your car?”
“’fraid not.”
Lowell tugged on his ponytail. “I have several cars garaged near my home. I think it would be better if you used one of them. They’ve all got GPS. I’m afraid you may get lost. Andy will drive you up there.”
“Thanks.”
She picked up the notebook and stood.
“The sooner I get started the better.”
Lowell picked up the phone and dialed. “Andy, I’m sending Karen down to you. Please take her to the garage on Ninety-second Street and get the Volvo for her.” He was about to hang up. “Oh, and Andy, maybe you should let her follow you back to Astoria. Then she’s on her own.”
He hung up. “You’re all set.”
“I’d also like to go to my uncle’s apartment later and check his mail again. It’s on East Seventh Street and Avenue B. I went there when I first got to New York, but I get lost in this city. I know it’s downtown, but where exactly?”
“Alphabet City.”
“You’re kidding, right? It’s really called that?”
“Yep. Avenues A, B, and C in the East Village. I think I’ll accompany you when you go, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” She stood and looked at the time on her phone. “Let me see how this goes with the tailing. How about if I call you when I’m done?” She programmed Lowell’s cell number into her phone and left.
A few moments later Mort returned.
“What do you think of our guest? Any psychic feelings?”
“Karen?” Mort furrowed his brow. “I think she’s just what she appears to be. A hard-nosed cop with an attitude. I think she’s a straight-shooter, don’t you?”
Lowell nodded. “Yes, I agree. She seems down-to-earth, at least as far as her work goes. And Samuels in L.A. spoke highly of her.”
Mort raised his eyebrows. “So you’re wondering if she might be onto something with Williamson.”
“It’s hard to ignore the inconsistencies in his story.”
“Let me see what else I can dig up about him.” Mort turned to leave.
“Oh, and Mort, see what you can learn about her uncle Mickey Broad.”
Mort turned back. “The PI from L.A.? Okay. I already gave you his birth info. Anything else in particular?”
Lowell tugged on his ponytail. “Find out what kind of a detective he was. Was he any good? Did he solve most of his cases? That kind of thing.”
Mort nodded. “I’ll do a workup on him. Have you looked at his chart?”
“Not yet,” admitted the astrologer. “I’ve been too busy with the embezzlement case. Let me put in his birth information.” He turned to his computer screen.
“Okay, Boss. I’ll do that workup on the uncle. I’ll check in with you later.” He left.
Lowell worked for a while but about an hour later started to lose his concentration.
It was eerily silent in the office.
Lowell sat on the couch, lost for a moment in the calm. He knew that the Moon had gone Void of Course a few minutes before, a time of disconnection. Bad for worldly events, but very good for spiritual ones. Lowell wasn’t a particularly patient man and preferred action whenever possible. But sometimes you had to wait for the information to come to you.
He got up, buzzed Sarah four times to let her know he wasn’t to be disturbed, took off his shoes, sat on the couch, and drew the forefinger to the thumb on each of his hands. Then he closed his eyes and began to meditate. Tranquility engulfed him and his heart rate and pulse slowed to a fraction of their usual speed. He rode the gentle sea of his consciousness atop his mantra, momentarily serene in the oneness of the universe. After about twenty minutes he slowly opened his eyes and allowed his breathing to increase, a little better prepared to deal with the realities of the conscious world.
He got up and walked to the window. He always felt better after a TM session, more relaxed and hopeful. He fed Buster and Keaton and chatted with them for a while.
***
About an hour later Melinda came in.
“Hi, Dad.” She kissed him on his cheek. “I came by to see how things were going, since I’m officially your attorney.”
“Good. There are a few things I need to go over with you.”
He told her about Karen and Luigi.
“You let a strange woman stay at your townhouse? Dad, that’s so unlike you. The dog I can understand, but a person?”
“If you saw the state she was in when I met her you’d understand. They were sleeping in her car parked on the street.”
Melinda frowned. “She’s lucky she wasn’t questioned by the police.”
“She’s convinced that Williamson had something to do with her uncle’s murder and refuses to leave until she finds out the truth.”
“So what are you going to do with her?”
“I’m going to help her find her uncle’s killer as fast as possible and send her back to L.A.”
“Do you think she’s right about Williamson?”
“I don’t know. But I think you may earn your fee before this is all over.” He turned to the computer. “I was just about to look at the charts of Williamson and his wife again.”
He printed out a handful of charts, and handed Melinda her own set to peruse.
She looked at them for a few moments. “The comparison is interesting and shows a lot of interaction.”
“Yes, but do you see anything unusual about those connections?”
She scrunched her face up. “They’re mostly involving connections to the outer planets: Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Dr. Williamson’s Uranus and Pluto are conjunct Gloria’s Moon, Sun, and south node. While his Moon and Mercury oppose those planets in her chart. In their composite chart Venus opposes Neptune. These aspects have more to do with how they relate to the collective than the individual.”
“Right. What else?”
“The Sun opposes the Moon in the composite chart. That’s the only personal aspect I see, and a Full Moon is usually very difficult in a relationship.”
Lowell smiled. “Exactly. Usually in a marriage chart it is the inner planets, especially the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars that are positively connected. That allows the couple to interact successfully on a day-to-day basis. Here the only connection between the personal planets is that Sun-Moon opposition, and it won’t help much.”
“So wouldn’t the lack of constructive and affirmative personal aspects imply that they would have difficulties relating to each other?”
“I would think so. And what Gloria has told me about their marriage certainly makes the point. With outer planet aspects, the marriage would have more of a “fated” sense about it, rather than an easy romantic bond or friendship. Most likely one would try to dominate the other and use the relationship for his or her own personal gain.”
Melinda pointed to the charts. “And with Williamson’s chart so obviously one of power and manipulation, we can assume he was the one in control.”
“That a girl.”
Melinda felt like a little girl getting daddy’s approval, but smiled despite herself.
“So,” said the student, “this wasn’t a very pleasant connection, especially for the wife. Perhaps there is a karmic connection through their children.”
“Perhaps. Let’s see where this path leads.”