t e s s – chapter four

MARI BELEN, AN INVESTIGATOR WITH THE MADRID POLICE, ELECTS to pour a second cup of coffee from the office coffee pot. It is 8.15am. She is a member of a three-person investigative team which primarily focuses on cold or closed criminal cases. The little group has been discussing the five unsigned letters, and especially the fifth one, as regards to the staggering revelations of its contents. The contents of the letters prompted the officers to gather evidence, new witnesses, and interviews with suspects. Three of the cold cases have already been presented to the court for the purpose of the issuance of official arrest warrants and this has subsequently lead to solid arrests and convictions. It has been a busy few weeks for the team, as they have followed-up on each new letter, during a period of five consecutive weeks, this past October and November of 2013. Presently it is a Friday and it is nearly December.

The fifth letter has a return address of an apartment hotel in the Embajadores sector of Madrid. After allowing a second team to investigate the possible identity of the sender of the anonymous letters, it has been determined that the likely sender is a North American female, a Ms. Janneta Luna Russman, who is also known as Jannet Russman per her identification documents. The apartment hotel confirmed, only yesterday, that Ms. Russman has made a new reservation for the beginning of March. The investigation squad has elected to wait, until the upcoming March, in order to interview her in person.

It is early in the morning, the same Friday, when Jannet’s cell phone chimes. She ignores it although she is now, at present, more fully awake. Yesterday, Jannet’s spirit guide, Tess, incarnated into a bodily form, spent a scant hour walking and talking with Jannet, and then departed before sunset. Jannet also had the stunning experience of interacting with her source family in another reality. Dutifully last night Jannet called the apartment hotel in Madrid and booked a new reservation for the first of March, about four months from now. And this morning, it is early, her cell phone chimes again. She answers this time and it is Madelynn and friends, Terri and Jocelyn. They have conferenced her at 5.16 am.

“Hi Jannet, we know it early but we are a few hours later. We are in New York for a quick trip.” Madelynn intones apologetically. Terri and Jocelyn also say hello, in the background, while Madelynn is talking.

“No problem, I always get up at five in the morning.” She replies with a bit of fake sarcasm.

“We will be quick. Are you attending this Sunday’s soiree or are you going to pretend to be sick? Remember your last two no shows?” Madelynn questions in a hurried fashion.

“I will be there ladies. I promise and I will also be the first one there. I promise.” Jannet returns in an unwavering fashion.

“Great! We look forward to seeing you. Bye!” The three women chirp ‘bye’ at the same time and then the phone line goes dead.

There is a history between them, Jannet and Madelynn, dating back 13 or 14 years. They met when they both attended Portland State University, PSU, as undergraduates. They worked together part time at neighboring bars and restaurants during the four years of undergrad work because they were both from working class families in North Portland. Jannet left Portland for her postgrad work, a Masters in Mathematics in Colorado, and Madelynn remained at Portland State University for her Masters and her eventual Doctorate, in Economics. Madelynn married well, became an Assistant Professor and then a Professor at Lewis & Clark College in Portland.

Jannet, while in Colorado, at the University of Colorado at Boulder, met and became friends with a brainy and inspiring grad student named Elena Ronaldi. Elena, who is also a spiritualist, was instrumental in introducing Jannet to numerous new age activities and especially those connected with Naropa University in Boulder. In addition, Elena was obsessed with investments and started her own investment club, and Jannet became a member. The focus of the little investment club was currency futures. Five years ago, the group cashed-in on a particular major investment that they had held for a few years. The small group, mostly from Boulder, would normally meet once or twice a year to socialize and to discuss investments but these days these meetings have morphed into electronic Skype conferencing sessions. The proceeds from these investments, over a short period of years, has allowed Jannet a new freedom. She has a quite abundant amount of financial resources set aside separately for housing costs, long-term retirement, and other investments, and she has a comfortable amount of immediate working/living capital. It has allowed her to travel and to upgrade her lifestyle. She is a teacher by profession. She works when she wants, or not at all if she desires, but essentially she no longer needs to work full-time each semester, as she had had to do during the years prior to her more recent and beneficial financial windfalls. Normally, she teaches mathematics at one of the Portland area community colleges.

In her personal life, she prefers women as intimate partners although she has not been in a close committed relationship for 22 months. In general, Jannet maintains a dual life. She enjoyed an upscale lifestyle in which she intersects with Madelynn and friends. Clothing, housing, concerts, food, travel, and other aspects of her life have received an upgrade during the recent past five years.

She is committed, as well, to life as a type of mystic. This is primarily because of her considerable capabilities as an empath and synesthete, and because of her equally considerable psychic ability; she has developed a commitment to intersecting with other like-minded friends and acquaintances, as well. Her spiritual practice has been the ongoing deepening of her uncommon capabilities especially during the past several years. Most of her like-minded associates/acquaintances are all connected, indirectly or directly, to her friends Mark and Becka Sanchez. Mark and Becka are a married couple and they live in a wonderful NW neighborhood near Wallace Park. They are both teachers by profession; but on a part-time basis Mark is a clairvoyant and Becka teaches tai chi and meditation. They are part of a local mostly low-profile esoteric group of new age practitioners called PAG, Portland Alchemist Group. Every three months, this group hosts week-long events, for seven days, always during the week leading up to a solstice or an equinox. Jannet was an instrumental instigator for the start-up of the PAG and Mark and Becka, alone with others, were stout supporters of the initiative from the very beginning.

Jannet tries, sometimes with difficulties, to maintain a balance between the different divergent spheres in her life. Although she now senses that there has been a definite shift, and important change, in her life with the sudden appearance of Tess. However, she cannot identify what the change is or what the significance of the change might be. She images that a long-locked door, inside of her, has now been opened. In the meanwhile, she immediately goes shopping, after Tess’ departure, to stock up on the specific clothing, boots/shoes, and other articles that are similar to what Tess is currently wearing. There is now a little separate area made available for Tess, in the closets in her apartment, which includes many extra articles of apparel and other items.

Jannet begins a typical day in her life with a light breakfast and a train ride, the light rail train, to the Goose Hollow neighborhood which is between downtown and the West Hills. She has a membership at the prestigious and quite astounding MAC, the Multnomah Athletic Club. She was able to receive a membership through a recommendation from a legacy member Jocelyn, the close friend of Madelynn, and under the diversity admission program. Membership for a single individual is $5500 annually and the facility is 8 levels of magnificence. Jannet never takes the train back, after the athletic club, but always enjoys a long walk back to downtown. When not working, she enjoys to spend time with friends, or reading, and walking about. She travels to various Pacific Ocean coast resort communities, along the Oregon coast, for relaxation and solitude a few times a year.

Jannet usually works every semester for one of the schools in the area’s community college system but not this semester. Instead she had an extended stay in Madrid, Spain. She has committed to teaching 3 Math sections starting in January, afternoon and evening sessions, they would be sessions of 8 weeks’ duration and then she will travel to Spain again, for a few weeks stay, in March of 2014.