As the call had progressed, the others picked up on the substance from my side of the conversation. When I finished they turned to me for a summary.
"You're going to tell us Howie isn't a virgin anymore, aren't you?" Betsy said as Quinn glared at Martha. She looked away. I nodded and filled them in. While I suppose we were pleased Howie was moving on, we dreaded the possible ramifications.
When Howie arrived an hour later, I told him he'd received a call from Julie or Rita or Tamara and she had his cell phone.
"Who are Rita and Tamara?" he asked, thereby identifying his mystery amour. He thanked me and went about his daily business.
Martha's pending due date was an incentive to Betsy. Now that we were financially settled, she let it be known she too was ready to embrace motherhood. I agreed and we committed ourselves to starting a family. In spite of the aforementioned snags, life was a proverbial bucket of roses. Our success with missing persons continued to grow. Through Brennan's subtle urging, the authorities, ultimate recipients of our tips, were learning to deny them outright or down playing their importance. They understood giving any credibility to a hint of the existence of a psychic tipster adversely affected their ultimate chance for a conviction. Nor would most authorities offer any help in a search to find the source of their tips when they were forced to admit to them. We were a valued resource they weren't about to rock that boat, much less sink it.
One of us chatted with Merrill Cooms weekly, simply keeping in touch with our benefactor. It was my turn this week. I broached the subject of Howie, seeking his opinion. I didn't mention his blossoming love life, but expressed concern over his serious problem of nightmares.
While Merrill Cooms knew there were five of us and had spoken to each, we'd never identified which one of us held the gift. We were gender general when mentioning that person. He may have harbored suspicions but he'd closeted his curiosity.
"This person needs the counsel of a psychiatrist. Would he or she go along with the suggestion?"
"Maybe even welcome it, provided there was absolute confidentiality."
"This goes beyond a simple patient-doctor relationship but I think our friend needs to pour out everything that's troubling. What about sessions totally conducted by phone? The doctor would learn he or she was treating the so-called psychic tipster but nothing else about the person's identity. Give the matter some thought and discuss it. I'll try to locate an appropriate doctor if you wish." Once more, Merrill Cooms was an invaluable asset to us.