Disorder in the House [How the West Was Done 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read Online Free PDF Page A

all! No, sirree. I can testify that this has not once happened to me, Mr. Colter. I was just as shocked as you probably are. Of course I thought I might be as crazy as a run-over possum, but once the entire letter started making sense, I started to believe there might be something in it. Of course I wouldn’t approach you unless I thought there was some sort of veracity to it.”
    Maybe because he’d used the word “veracity,” Levi finally exhaled, too. Maybe he started to somewhat trust Garrett. Levi looked at the letter again and shook it. He said quietly, “I’ve heard about this sort of thing happening before.”
    Garrett held his breath. “You have ? Because if you have, please enlighten me. It would ease my mind greatly if I knew this sort of thing had been known to happen.”
    Levi picked up his unlit pipe. “I used to work for a newspaper in Chicago. One day, some odd books came across my desk, The Spiritist Codification . Of course I thought the entire thing was a joke until I started reading them. Apparently the author had observed some mediums who could go into trance and communicate with spirits, sometimes writing down what the spirits commanded them.”
    Garrett was so stunned it felt as though his brain was bleeding. He had so many questions they all stumbled across his tongue at once. “But how—who—who has done that?”
    An amused smile played over Levi’s lips. “Rest assured, dear fellow, you’re in good company. Or,” he added thoughtfully, “at least in the company of other cracked eccentrics with a screw loose.”
    One question asserted itself in Garret’s head. “Would these mediums be in trance or aware of what they wrote?”
    “Some were aware. The writing simply flowed from their pens. Others went into a trance, which it appears you were capable of. They were completely surprised to see what had been written when they awoke. I believe they called this practice ‘psychography.’”
    Garrett leaned so far forward on his chair it tipped up. “And did any of what they wrote turn out to be true?”
    “Yes. Quite a bit of it, if I recall correctly. Apparently a select few mediums have highly developed abilities in this area, and some eventually become able to control it.” Levi chuckled reflectively then, as if fondly recalling something humorous someone had done while pickled, like slipping on a rotten apple. “I remember this one medium who went into trance and wrote about some fellow’s true love for a chambermaid. She was so astonished she didn’t know what to make of it and left it on her desk. The next day, a new client appeared at her door, wishing to know if her husband had been faithful. The client saw the psychography, and…Well, you guessed it. The names and places matched exactly.”
    When Levi chuckled, Garrett was finally able to exhale. He rose, swinging his arms about and pacing the small room. “So you do believe me, then!”
    “As far as you writing this, certainly. As far as a new Indian agent arriving, anyone could have known that.”
    Garrett was so carried away with emotion, he actually snatched the letter from Levi’s hand. He’d written it, after all. It belonged to him. He read aloud, “‘The new Indian agent with the tattoo on his neck will arrive, in love with one of Simon Hudson’s daughters.’” He flung his arm wide and cried, “How on earth could I have known that ? And don’t try to tell me it’s wrong.”
    Levi stood now, too, nervously relighting his pipe. He paced, too. “You could have heard about Simon Hudson and subconsciously written that down. He’s the biggest merchant in town. You could have easily heard that he has several daughters.”
    “And that you’d be in love with one of them?”
    Levi stilled. He cranked his head slowly to face Garrett, and his look was deadly. Instantly, Garrett wished he had never said that. He now saw that Levi Colter had many layers to him. Like an onion, one had to be careful how slowly one