Coalescence (Camden Investigations Book 1) by Gary Starta

invited this. She shouldn’t be mad. She just had to
reason with her mother. That was easier said than done.
    Her mother stood before her, arms folded. “I can be just
as stubborn. I know you’ve tried to block me. But I’m here for your own good, DJ. ”
    DJ didn’t fail to notice how her mother accentuated her
new name in a mocking tone. It was a reminder of the cold, hard fact that
changing her name had little to do with changing her circumstance.
    So how do we all just get along—if you refuse to
leave? DJ pondered.
    She decided to play along with her mother. “Is there
something I can help you with, Mom? I’ve come to realize I’ve been selfish. If
you’re still visiting me, there must be something you need. So, how about
telling me what that is, and then you can move on with
your . . . uh, existence.”
    “Ah, psychology, or wait, is that philosophy you’re
trying on me? In any event, you will make a great orator. So, one reason I am
here is to keep you remindful of that. I also need to encourage you to continue
on with another part of your life.”
    DJ frowned. How could her mother have heard her thoughts?
Was this what the dead did? Spy on loved ones . . . or, could it
be . . .?
    “Okay, I have been considering that. But this is supposed
to be about you, not me. It’s obvious you want us to remain together. But there
must be something else you need from me? Something that might help you resolve
your past? Is there anything I can tell Dad? He was just here today, visiting
Iris . . .”
    “What I need is bigger than the both of us, DJ. I need
you to help your sister. Go visit that ghost and find out what that object is.
I have a premonition it has substantial importance.”
    “How is that? You were never psychic? Why are you getting premonitions now?”
    “I don’t think the how is important. You need to find out
the why. Why did that boy find that object? There is a reason—I’m
sure of it. Besides, I’m not visiting you for sentimental reasons. I know I can
help you, that is why I am still here. I had a paranormal connection so to
speak before I met your father. I told Dan one day, and he just accepted it
like I was telling him it was going to rain. I know he hid many secrets from
us. But, in my death, I realize I withheld a vital piece of information from
you and Iris.”
    DJ thought about her dad. Was her mother’s premonition
manufactured from something in reality? Or, was her mother simply crazy. What
the hell was she referring to by paranormal experience? Because Dad supposedly
dealt in secret technologies, was this the reason why her mother felt this dial
might actually be something other than a toy?
    “Okay, Mom. I can see you’re not going away until
I act. Consequently, I will consider helping my sister’s investigation if you
help me. What do you mean by paranormal experience?”
    “I met a man before your father. When I interacted with
him . . .”
    “You mean had sex with him, Mom.”
    “Yes, when I had relations with him. I felt changed on
the inside. I started to think of things I never had reason to think about. I
saw images of these strange people who couldn’t have been from this earth. I
thought I was crazy until I finally realized what your father was up to all
these years in the desert. There is intelligent life out there. And a part of
it is undoubtedly scary but another part isn’t. And I loved this man. Because I
had interactions with him, I believe you were affected by him too when I got
pregnant by your father. So don’t worry, Dan is your dad. But also know you may
have some special attributes I just can’t account for but know are there. I
think these attributes will be important in your investigation. I don’t know
how yet. I just do.”
    DJ waited for her mother to explain, but she disappeared,
as if she were afraid DJ was going to rebel at the news. She was going to
bargain for her mother to leave her alone—for good. But now that her
mother