Dusk had fallen on the city of angels, but the lights in the roadside motel room had been left off. A cream-colored cloth was spread out over the cigarette-stained carpet, and on top of it Jasem had arranged six candles, white and purple in color. The aromas of burning cinnamon, frankincense and sandalwood sweetened the musty air. Jasem carefully unfurled the fragile scroll and arranged it on the cloth in front of him. Beside it he placed a piece of paper and a pen. He sat on his legs, resting his hands on top of his thighs, left palm down and right palm up. He closed his eyes.
‘I call to the spirit of Ruby McCallum; I wish to speak to you here. Hear my voice. Come to me; I call you now, Ruby McCallum.’
Jasem lifted his hands forward and picked up the pen, pressing it to the paper.
‘Can I confirm that I am speaking with the spirit of Ruby McCallum?’
Jasem opened his eyes to view his writing. On the paper, he had scrawled ‘Yes’. He closed his eyes again.
‘Can I confirm that you are no longer here on this earthly plane with us?’
Yes
‘Can you tell me how you came to pass to the other side?’
The writing was nearly illegible.
Murder
‘Who caused you to pass to the other side, Ruby?’
Peter Atkinson
‘And where does your earthly body reside?’
Jasem’s clothes were laid out on the floor nearby; he slipped on his shirt and trousers, and shrugged on the dark suit jacket. On his head he placed the charcoal grey porkpie brimmed hat. Outside, he sat down in the driver’s seat of the car, turning the engine on and speeding off down the road.
Thanks for reading these excerpst from my July Camp NaNoWriMo work-in-progress, Bedouin Boy! I hope you have enjoyed the posts. Bedouin Boy will be published on Halloween, Saturday October 31st 2020! Be sure to subscribe to my blog for alerts on new releases!
