THE SHADOWED ONYX: A DIAMOND ESTATES NOVEL Read Free Page A

screen. “Oh. That’s nothing to worry about.” She waved her hand hoping to brush off Bea’s fears.
    “Those are scary and ugly and not right.” She scowled. “God is telling me they’re not right.”
    Hmm. Beatrice was just a little girl in so many ways. Yet she thought she had an in with God that she could know when He was speaking to her?
    “It’s no big deal. Just research for school. Don’t worry about it.” Joy dragged her finger across the mouse pad, and then clicked twice to remove the images from the screen. One window closed, and the one behind it popped open to a YouTube video of a séance. No!
    Beatrice gasped and pointed. Her hand clamped over her mouth.
    “No. No. Don’t worry. Look. I’m closing it.” Joy shut the laptop.
    Beatrice dropped her jaw and shook her head. She backed from Joy’s bed toward the door.
    “Look, Bea. It’s fine. Don’t worry. Don’t leave.” Now what? Maybe Joy could distract Beatrice with food or something.
    “That stuff is bad.” Beatrice stared at the closed computer.
    Did she understand what she’d seen? She couldn’t possibly. If she didn’t really understand it, then where was her reaction coming from? Even with Down syndrome, Beatrice had always had an uncanny instinct about anything that had to do with Jesus or the bad guy, as she called them.
    “How about we just play the game? Okay?” Joy grabbed the stack of cards and separated them into two decks. Come on. Play along, Bea.
    Beatrice’s eyes brightened. “Yes. But first we have to pray.”
    “Okay … um … about what?”
    Bea clasped her hands together. She bowed her head and closed her eyes. “Dear Jesus …” She opened one eye and looked at Joy. Seeing Joy not in the accepted prayer position, Bea raised her eyebrow and waited.
    “Oh. Sorry.” Joy lowered her head and waited.
    “… please don’t let any bad stuff into this room or into Joy’s heart. And help me win UNO. Amen.”
    Joy fought back a smile. So insightful, yet so innocent. That was her Bea. Joy dealt the cards out between them and set the discard pile right in the middle. Hmm. What if it had been a Ouija board between them? What different scenes the two games created. Night and day—light and dark.
    “You first, Joy.” Beatrice stuck her tongue out one side of her mouth and clomped down with her teeth. Down to business.
    Joy put down a yellow six. All was forgotten. Beatrice simply must have been reacting to the scary pictures and the sound coming from the website. But then why the prayer?
    Her innocent cousin arranged her cards like it was the most important task she’d ever accomplish. Joy would bet anything they were lined up red, blue, yellow, then green—some things never changed. Beatrice glanced up and grinned a lopsided smile at Joy.
    Joy smiled back. No. Beatrice couldn’t possibly know there was anything spiritually questionable about what Joy had been doing. Could she?
    But then again, if Raven could hear from dead people, maybe Beatrice could hear from God.

Chapter 2
    W hy don’t you go on over to the coffee shop while I go to my Bible study class?” Mom sounded a little too hopeful as they left the sanctuary after making it through the sermon.
    Joy grimaced. She’d planned on sitting with Mom in her class where they got serious about the Bible. Joy wouldn’t have to talk. And no one would talk to her. Heaven.
    Before Dad left for the office that morning, he and Mom stood in the driveway talking. He flung his red tie over his shoulder and leaned in to kiss Mom on the cheek. He’d whispered something in her ear before climbing into his Cherokee, ditching church to go sell houses.
    Joy would bet good money that he’d whispered something about getting Joy to have some fun. She got it. They wanted her to relax and let loose a little. It had been awhile; they were right about that. But it wasn’t easy. The pressure to strike a balance between being her normal, happy self and simply existing in some