Shadows of the Past: A Supernatural Suspense Mystery (Shadow Slayers Stories Book 1) by Nellie Steele (read aloud .txt) 📗

She repositioned the note so he had a better view. “As you are now known? Yeah, looks like Celine is you, at least that’s what they think. Piece of your past…” He continued to read bits and pieces out loud. “Was this yours as a kid?”

“Not that I remember. I’d remember something like this, right? I mean you’d think I’d remember something like this, but I don’t remember this at all.”

He looked at the necklace and jewelry box. “Yeah, I think you would. I don’t remember it either. Nothing about this is familiar?”

“No. Well…” She paused.

“What?”

“The music seemed familiar. But I bet I just heard that song somewhere along the line.”

“I don’t recognize this song? I’m surprised you do; it’s not any well-known song that I can remember. Anything else about it?”

“Nope. Nothing.” Josie was puzzled, not understanding the note or the object it accompanied.

“Try asking your mom.”

“Yeah, good idea. She may know something. Here I’ll take a picture, hold the box up,” she said, opening her camera app on her phone. “I’ll text her.”

Josie attached the picture and typed: Hey Mom–Found this on my front porch with a weird note that called me Celine and said it was a piece of my past? No signature on note, don’t remember this at all. Any idea???

“Okay, sent!”

Damien had moved on to studying the necklace. “I don’t know much about jewelry, but if this is a fake, it’s an awesome looking fake.”

Josie took the necklace from him. “Wow, this thing is heavy. It’s beautiful! Here, put it on me!” She handed the necklace back to him and swept her hair up, turning her back to him. After he clasped it, she spun around. “How does it look?” Without waiting for an answer, she headed toward the entryway mirror to admire the jewelry.

“Looks… big and fancy,” Damien said as she made her way over.

“Yeah, wow, it’s really something. It’d be crazy if this thing was real. No one wears anything this extravagant, right?”

“Yeah, it’s really something. If that thing was real, it would cost a fortune!”

Josie’s phone chirped to life, informing her of a new text message. “Oh, I bet that’s your mom answering you, Jos,” Damien said, carrying her phone to her.

Josie was still admiring the necklace in the mirror. She rubbed her hand across each jewel as she eyed it on her neck, her other hand still holding her hair up. Damien held the phone out for her. “Josie, I bet this is your mom, wonder if she knows anything.” His efforts garnered no response. “Josie? JOSIE?” he almost yelled, poking at her arm.

“Huh? What?”

“Geez, obsessed much? Stop admiring yourself and check if this message is from your mom?”

“Oh, I didn’t even hear that come in, thanks!”

Josie unlocked her phone and checked her messages, finding one from her mother: Never saw that before. You sure it’s for you? Wrong address? Sounds like it was for someone named Celine.

Josie answered her: The note has my name too. And box is addressed to me. She sent a picture of the note and the address on the box.

Her mother answered almost immediately: No return address?? Some kind of joke?

Josie answered: Nope, no return address… no postage either so someone hand-delivered… Yeah, could be a joke. Then she let the subject drop. Her mother knew nothing about either item.

“So, she doesn’t have any ideas either, said she didn’t recognize the jewelry box and was wondering if it was a prank or a joke, but I noticed that there’s no postage on this, so someone hand-delivered this to the house, D,” Josie said.

“Oh, well, that doesn’t help us. The hand-delivery might narrow it down. Who would do this as a prank? And why?”

“No idea. It says something about bringing me back to someone? Might be an ex? Michael?”

“What ex of yours would do something so weird, do you really think Michael would write a weird note calling you Celine? I mean unless you guys had some weird role-playing nicknames or something like that.”

Josie laughed. “No, he never called me Celine for any reason at all, ever, so no. And none of my exes ever called me Celine. I’ve never heard that name mentioned before today.”

“Okay, so your mom doesn’t recognize it, you don’t think an ex would do it. Anyone else with a weird sense of humor?”

“You?”

“Me?!?” he cried, his face incredulous. “I didn’t do it, why would I do this?”

“No idea, why would anyone do it? This is just bizarre.”

The pair of them studied the box and necklace, which Josie had now removed and replaced in the box but they weren’t able to come up with any answers. After about a half hour of further discussion, they packed the jewelry box carefully back into the package and set the package aside, giving up on solving anything for the moment, turning their attention to unwinding before the start of the week with some T.V.

Before they headed to bed for the night, Josie was sure to check all the locks twice. “Paranoid?” Damien asked her, watching her jimmy the door to be sure it was locked tight.

“I’m just getting an uneasy feeling. Someone brought that box with the weird note right to our door. I mean, who does that? Some crazy person who thinks I was named Celine or am Celine or whatever was literally standing three feet from where I am right now. It just gives me the creeps a little.”

“Why not text some other people? Someone may have a clue? Might settle your nerves?”

“And what if they all answer no? Then I might feel worse. The only one I could imagine might do this and it’s really a stretch is Michael. You said he wanted to get back together, and the note says something about bringing us back together.”

“So, text him now, maybe you’ll sleep better.”

“Okay,” Josie said, grabbing her phone. She sent a text to her ex, Michael, saying: Hey, super weird question for you but did you leave anything on