“Do you happen to know a girl named Veronica?”

Part three Of
“The Ruler of The Twelfth House”
A mystery,
The true story of a search

The true story of a search I began my search for Veronica from the most likely place in which to find her: the Tracy, California telephone directory. I called long distance directory information the morning following the family reunion.

“Can you give me the telephone number for a Mr. and Mrs. Roger Simmons, please?” I asked.

“I am sorry Sir,” the operator answered. “There is no party listed under that name.”

“Would you please check for the name with the spelling of Simon, Simons or Simonds?” I asked. “There is no person in the directory under any of those spellings,” the operator answered. “Maybe he spell’s Roger with the letter ‘d’ placed before the letter ‘g’?” I asked hopefully.

“No Sir, I’m sorry but there are no person’s with the name of R. or Roger or Rodger listed in the Tracy, California directory. The only listings for a Simmons are for a Paul and then a Mathew Simmons. There is no listing for any person under the names of Simon or Simons whatsoever. Could either persons with the surname of Simmons be the party to whom you wish to contact?” she asked.

“I don’t think so, but could you please give me their telephone numbers just in case? Perhaps one of them will know the person I am hoping to contact.” I said.

“Certainly Sir, the operator replied as she furnished me their telephone numbers. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Sir?” she asked.

“Yes, please,” I answered. “Was there by chance a woman by the name of Veronica listed in your directory under the same last names?”

“No Sir, there was not,” she answered.

“And what about Lewis?” I continued. “Have you any persons listed in your directory with the last names of Lewis?”

The operator paused for a few moments and then replied, “There are three listings, Sir. J.P. Lewis, Todd Lewis and Jeffery and Diane Lewis.”

“May I please have their telephone numbers too?” I asked.

“Certainly Sir,” the operator replied as she furnished me with the information I had requested. I thanked her for her help and just as I was about to hang up she said, “I sincerely hope you find the party you are looking for?” I think that the operator had detected the sound of disappointment in my voice as she had read off the names to me.

“Thank you for being so kind,” I replied. “I appreciate your efforts. I think I will find the person I am looking for.”

Although my first attempt to find Veronica had failed, I was determined not to loose hope. However I could not help but wonder if my cousin Connie had lied to Marilyn and given her false names to mislead us from finding our half-sister. The following day I searched for the same names I had been given in the Modesto, Stockton, Merced, Manteca, and Livermore regions, which surrounded Tracy. Again I came to dead ends. I telephoned every person whose last names were Simmons or Simon, Simond or Lewis, but no person whom I spoke to knew persons by the names of Roger or Veronica. Despite my lack of good luck I ordered a Tracy, California telephone directory just the same so that I could further research should any new information come to me. I then went to a local book dealer where I purchased a book titled, “You Too Can Find Anybody,” written by a private investigator by the name of Joseph Culligan. The title of the book spoke for itself. Mr. Culligan’s book had a source of information on where to obtain records of births, death certificates, marriage certificates, adoptions records, adoption agency’s etc.

That afternoon I read this reference book from start to finish. Later that evening while I was relaxing in front of my television set, much to my surprise, Joseph Culligan was introduced as a guest on the interview program I was watching. I intently listened to what he had to say and was fascinated by several of his statements, “I am not a psychic,” he stated, “However I have discovered that detective work is somewhat of a psychic thing in that once I give my undivided attention to locating someone, everything I need to know seems to come to me in the days that follow. It amazes me how information regarding the party to whom I am seeking to locate comes to me. I suppose it is because my attention is focused entirely upon the person I am searching for and I omit all things that distract from that?”

Because I am a psychic I knew exactly what Mr. Culligan was trying to convey to his audience. I had known from the beginning of my lifetime the truth to the promise, “Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened to you.” Once a person becomes single minded and concentrates all his energies in one direction and makes a commitment to succeed in his pursuit, the universe will assist them. During the late 1970’s I had worked with both the police department and the mother of Steven Stayner to help investigate the seven year old boy’s abduction by child molester Kenneth Parnell. This sensational case became famous due to the 1989 television mini-series, “I Know That My First Name Is Steven.” At the time I was asked to help investigate this case, by using my psychic and astrological abilities, nothing was known about Steven Stayner except that he had been kidnapped and there had been no form of communication from him, or regarding him, since the day of his abduction. During a three party telephone conversation with police detectives and Steven’s mother I stated, “Steven was waiting for his school bus when he was kidnapped wasn’t he? Did this happen in December of 1972?” My questions startled the detectives because the information I had given was evidence withheld from the public. “I definitely feel that he is alive. I feel that Steven is being well cared for despite the fact that I regret to state that I believe he is being sexually abused and it is for this purpose that he was kidnapped. I do not think he remembers much from his past. I also feel that he will return to his family at the age of fourteen, and that his abductor will be prosecuted.” I gave the date in which I believed Steven would return to his family. I was only two days off from that exact day in 1979 when indeed Steven did return.

I quickly learned the possibility of danger that can occur with psychic detective work when on May 15th of 1981 I was targeted to be murdered by David Joseph Carpenter, the notorious Trailside Killer. In March of that year while being interviewed on KGO Radio San Francisco, Host Owen Spann asked me if I thought that there would be an end to the Trailside Killings? “Do you think the killer will ever be discovered?” he asked. I replied, “Owen, whoever this person is, I hope he will have the decency to either turn himself in or do away with himself.” Unbeknownst to me David Joseph Carpenter was listening to that broadcast. Angry at my comment he telephoned my office and scheduled an appointment with me for May 16th 1981. Thanks be to God, Carpenter was arrested the day prior to our scheduled appointment. According to the police, had he not been, in less than 24 hours I would have been murdered. Psychic detective work is neither fun nor profitable. There is great satisfaction at seeing the guilty removed from society but the risks of doing so can be personally and emotionally harmful to the investigator.

In October of 1993 I also psychically investigated the murder and kidnapping case of twelve-year-old Polly Klaas of Petaluma, California. The moment I saw her chart I knew she had been strangled. One of my clients, an incredibly gifted psychic named Katherine Rhea also worked on that case. It was she who accurately located the spot where Polly’s body would be found. Katherine’s psychic description of the man who had killed Polly (Richard Allen Davis) was chillingly accurate. Katherine’s gift works mainly towards locating missing persons and murderers. She works almost entirely with the FBI and police departments throughout the United States. One of the most uncomfortable cases I have ever worked on was the Ramon Salcido murder case which took place in April of 1989, just one mile from where my business office was located at that time. Salcido, a winery worker, went on a jealous rampage killing his wife, two of his daughters, his mother-in-law and her other two daughters, and a male winery worker. I did not sleep for three days until Salcido was arrested. I told the investigators “to look in a nearby garbage dump.” That is where Salcido’s children were found. I have worked on several other cases involving missing persons and crime. However I never enjoyed these investigations because I found it personally difficult and uncomfortable for me to emotionally become involved with the mind of a criminal. I would feel ‘stalked’ by the person whom I was seeking to identify. It was not in my nature to consider hurting or killing another person and so it frightened me to become involved with the minds of those who could think so dementedly. My favorite search cases involved helping people find the children they had given up for adoption, or those who had been adopted to find their biological parents. I had helped at least five of my clients do so. It gave me great personal joy to help in this manner. However I had never anticipated, during those cases, that one day I myself would be using my own psychic abilities to help me locate a half-sister I had never known existed!

After watching Mr. Culligan’s interview I retired to bed. Listening to what he had to say comforted me in believing that I would find Veronica, and I fell asleep mentally planning my next maneuver at locating her. However, it was during the unconsciousness of my sleep that my next attempt to find my missing half-sister was being planned. That night I dreamed of ‘numbers’ and of ‘days’ and of ‘dates’. I tossed and turned and awakened throughout the night with the recollection that the number 10 and the days of Tuesday and Saturday and the letters RRR kept tumbling through my head. 10 AM, 10. Tuesday. RRR. Saturday. None of my dream seemed to make sense. Although I knew full well the importance of dreams and their indications of premonition of events to come, the meanings were not always easy to decipher. I tossed the symbolic information out of my head for I had not the slightest idea as to what to make of it?

The next morning after breakfast I went to my office, sat at my computer and started preparing my clients charts for the day. While in the process of doing so I was suddenly struck with a possible interpretation of two of the sequences of my previous nights dream. I paused for a moments and then I looked at my client calendar and read the names of the six clients who would be coming to me for readings on Tuesday. I reached for my chart folder and removed the six client information sheets for that day. The moment I saw the birth data sheet for 10:00 AM on the following Tuesday I knew that I had been psychically directed by my dream and a shiver ran up my spine. That shiver always tells me that a truth is happening. The client’s sheet read; Barbara Meeks, Date of birth: Feb 11th, 1937. Time of birth: 3:22 AM. Place of Birth: Tracy, California. It was likely that Veronica was born in the year of 1937, one year and one half before the birth of my half-sister Marilyn. Could this person named Barbara Meeks have gone to school with Veronica? I could only hope that Mrs. Meeks had been raised in the town of Tracy and therefore may have known Veronica? It was also of course possible that she and her family may have relocated shortly after her birth. Her current home address was in Bodega Bay, California. I spent a restless three days waiting anxiously to meet Barbara Meeks.

Barbara was my first client of the day and I was pleased that she arrived for her appointment fifteen minutes early. I invited her into my office and began busily aspecting her chart while I cautiously pried her for information. “I see you were born in Tracy,” I commented. “Did you go to school there too?” I asked. “Oh, yes,” Barbara replied. “For how long?” I questioned. “Until I graduated from high school,” Barbara replied. “Do you happen to know a girl named Veronica Lewis?” I asked clumsily and then laughed. “What I meant to say is ‘perhaps you might have known a girl named Veronica Lewis back then. Naturally Veronica is a grown woman today and she would likely be your age.” “Oh, yes! Veronica and I went to both grammar school and high school together. She and her parent’s Alfred and Katherine lived just down the street from where my family and I lived. Veronica was the prettiest and richest girl in town. We were never close friends but we had a few classes together and we rode the same school bus everyday, except for during the fourth grade.” “What happened during your fourth grade?” I questioned. “I don’t remember exactly, but Veronica was out of school for that year. She was ill that year. I believe she had rheumatic fever?” Barbara answered. I will never accurately be able to describe the feelings that past over me at that moment. I became breathless and my hands began to tremble and I placed them under my desk so as not to embarrass myself in front of my client. Could it be that my half sister suffered from the same childhood disease that had so badly damaged my mothers’ health? “My mother still lives on New Jerusalem Road in Tracy in the same house I was raised in,” Barbara continued. “I go to visit her at least once a month. Mom told me that one of Veronica’s daughters got married last month. Mom said it was “a spectacular wedding and that it was a big ‘to do’ in the local newspaper.” “One of Veronica’s daughters?” I questioned. “How many children does she have?” “Four,” Barbara replied. “Veronica has three daughters and one son.” I recalled to myself that my notes had stated, ‘She likely has a large family. Perhaps three or four children?’ “Are her parent’s still living?” I questioned. “Her mother is,” Barbara replied. “Veronica’s father died last year. They were a very close family and very, very rich!” She exclaimed. I mentally recalled to myself that I had also noted, ‘She was probably adopted into a very wealthy family’ when I did my astro profile on Veronica. “Isn’t Veronica married to a man by the name of Roger Simmon’s?” I questioned. “Simas. Not Simmon’s,” she answered. “What a strange name?” I replied as I took a deep breath to control my surprise. How stupid of me not to have questioned other spellings of that name! “It’s a common Portuguese name,” Barbara continued. “Veronica and Roger were childhood sweethearts. They married right after they graduated from high school. Roger is a wealthy farmer and land developer. He owns tons of land and properties all over the valley. Veronica owns a flower and gift shop. She is so rich she doesn’t have to do anything. I guess she just runs that business to have something to keep her busy? I think that a couple of her daughters work with her.?” A chill ran up my spine when I asked, “She owns The Tracy Flower and Gift Shop doesn’t she?” “Why, yes, Barbara replied. “How did you come to know Veronica?” “I met her as a customer. I have bought flowers from her,” I lied. I excused myself for a moment and went to the restroom and splashed cold water on my face. I realized now, as destiny would have it, that Stephen and I had parked in front of Veronica’s flower shop the day of the reunion. I also felt certain that the middle-aged lady I had seen standing at the doorway was she. Because of my crossing paths with Barbara Meeks I now knew for a fact that Veronica existed. I bit my lip to hold back the tears I wanted to cry because of the joy and happiness this knowledge brought me. After pulling my emotions together I returned to my office. “How come you buy flowers from Veronica when you live so far away?” Barbara asked. “Oh, I bought them for a family reunion we had in Tracy last week. That’s how I met Veronica,” I answered quickly trying to cover my lie.

Four days later on Saturday an even more remarkable meeting was to occur. I was an invited guest at a birthday party for a friend, which was being held poolside at The Russian River Resort in Guerneville, California. The Triple R Resort, as it is called, is a summer vacation resort located in the beautiful redwood forest region of Northern California. Shortly after I arrived I changed into my swimming trunks and found a lounge beside the pool. I applied suntan oil to my body and just as I was about to lay back and relax I noticed the large neon sign attached high on the wall at the entrance to the resort. In large bold black letters with red neon inserted the sign read, RRR. Beneath the three R’s in smaller neon script read, Russian River Resort. I closed my eyes and lay back in amazement for I realized at that moment that something tremendously important was about to happen to me. The three ‘RRR’s and the day of ‘Saturday’ of which I had dreamed had materialized.

As I pondered what ‘that something tremendously important might be?’ I heard someone take a seat in the lounge chair beside me. “Hello,” a man said in a deep throaty voice. “I’m sorry to disturb you but aren’t you an Astrologer?” I opened my eyes, covering them with a hand to shelter my eyes from the glaring sun. “Yes, I’m an astrologer. My name is Walden Welch,” I answered. “My name is William Mattos. I met you here last year. Same time, different year, same place, same birthday party,” he replied with a chuckle. I looked at him closely while shaking his hand and said, “You look very familiar. Oh yes, I remember now. Yes, I remembering meeting you here last year. You work for The Bank of America in Stockton don’t you?” “No. I am vice-president of The Bank of Tracy. I live in Tracy,” he replied. The moment he mentioned the town of Tracy I took a very deep breath then sat up to face him. Perhaps he knew Veronica and her husband? They were very wealthy people. Tracy is a small town. It is likely he would know of them? Perhaps they even banked with him? We chatted casually for a few moments and then I asked, “You wouldn’t happen to know Roger and Veronica Simas would you?” “Indeed I do!” he smiled. “As a matter of fact, Veronica is my cousin. We are very close and have been since childhood. Our mothers were sisters. My mother passed two years ago but Veronica’s mother is still alive.” “Isn’t Veronica’s mother name Katherine Lewis?” I asked nonchalantly. Mr. Mattos cocked his head sideways as if to hear me better. “Did you say Lewis? L-e-w-i-s?” he asked. “Yes,” I replied. “Their last name is not Lewis. It’s Luiz,” he replied. “It is spelled L-U-I-Z. It’s a Portuguese name. Many people mispronounce it as Lewis. Katherine’s’ maiden name was Silva. My mother, Grace was her only sister. They also had a brother named Anthony Jr. who everyone called Tony but he passed on several years ago.” I see,” I replied. ‘How stupid of me that I had never considered other spellings of the name’s Lewis and Simmons,’ I thought to myself. “My maternal grandmothers name was Mary Lima who was to marry Anthony Silva, Senior,” Mattos continued. “I am quite the family historian. You might be sorry you asked me anything about Veronica’s roots,” he said with a laugh. I can trace things back before the time of creation!” I laughed at his humor while thinking to myself, ‘Could this be the link to the rumor that Veronica had been adopted by a family with the surname of Silva?’ “I heard that one of Veronica’s daughters married last month?” I continued. “Yes, I was at the wedding. The entire family was there. It was a spectacular event. Veronica’s eldest daughter Rochelle married a very prominent doctor. Veronica’s looked fantastic at the wedding! Isn’t she a beautiful woman?” he asked. “Yes she is,” I answered awkwardly. “How did you meet Veronica?” he asked. I quickly replied, “One of my cousin’s went to school with her.”

Little did I realize when I made that comment that in truth both my cousin Connie and her husband to be had attended the same school as Veronica. Fortunately Mr. Mattos did not question my rather senseless reply. I reached for my drink and took a much-needed swallow before asking, “Was Veronica’s fathers name Alfred?” “Yes. Alfred Luiz passed away last year. He was an extremely successful farmer who was born in Tracy and lived there all his life. Alfred owned hundreds of acres of farmland just as Veronica’s husband Roger does. Alfred and Katherine adored Veronica. She was their only child. When Alfred died he left Veronica a sizable fortune in both cash and property. It has been estimated that she was willed more than six million dollars all together. Naturally when Katherine passes away the bulk of her estate, which was also fifty percent of the family fortune, will pass on to Veronica.” “Wow!” I replied. “I heard she was wealthy, but had no idea she was that wealthy!” “Considering her husband Roger’s wealth too, Veronica is very wealthy indeed,” Mattos replied. The expression on his face changed for a moment and then he smiled and laughed as he stated,” Let me tell you…lots of family members were upset with the reading of Alfred’s will.” “Why was that?” I asked. “Because Alfred and Katherine adopted Veronica. Katherine was incapable of bearing children. Many relatives on both sides of each family felt that an adopted child should not have inherited the entire estate. Silly isn’t it?” Mattos stated.

For a moment I could not believe what I had heard. I set my glass on the table beside me, spilling my drink. This meeting was indeed the important event my dream predicted. I felt as if God Himself was present and had directed this man to give me the information I had hoped to discover. “Did you say that Veronica was adopted?” I asked as casually as possible. Mr. Mattos looked at me with a somewhat baffled look upon his face and said,” Yes, I said Veronica was adopted. Is there something wrong with that?” “Oh, no, not at all,” I answered quickly. “ I fully agree with you. I think it is silly that anyone could dispute an adopted child inheriting from his or her adoptive parents. I think adoption is a wonderful thing. I used to love the television program “Unsolved Mysteries” which often times located the birth parents of adopted persons. I still watch the reruns of this show. It is none of my business but would you happen to know if Veronica ever did a search to locate her biological birth parents?”

Mr. Mattos got a far away look in his eyes and then answered slowly, “Yes. Yes, Veronica did do a search to find her birth mother many, many years ago, as I remember. From what I recall she was very disappointed with her search because by the time she located the name of her birth mother the lady had already died.” “Did she find out anything about her birth mother at all?” I asked casually, trying not to show any emotion. “All I can remember her telling me was that her birth mother had lived somewhere in Southern California and that she had died shortly after having open heart surgery sometime back in the early seventies. She said that the woman had very serious heart trouble since early childhood. I don’t remember whether she did a search for her birth father or not? I doubt that she did or I would remember her having told me something about it. However it was so long ago I can’t really remember,” Mattos concluded.

I was so emotionally moved by William Mattos' reply that I was unaware that tears were streaming down my face. When I became conscious of the fact I picked up my pool towel and wiped my face. “It’s so hot that I am perspiring,” I lied to cover my embarrassment. I took a deep breath and then asked, “Did Veronica mention if she had any brothers or sisters?”

Mr. Mattos pulled the towel away from my face. He looked at me strangely and grabbed me by the shoulders. I nervously held my breath as I watched him meticulously study my features. He looked at me for what seemed to be a very long time and then he broke the silence and said, “Oh my God! What is going on here? What is going on here? You look just like Veronica! You are her brother aren’t you? That is why you are asking me all these questions? Oh my God! Oh my God!” he said as he released my shoulders and pushed me away. I looked into his eyes and saw that he too was crying.

“Yes, yes I think that I am, Mr. Mattos” I answered quietly. “Yes I am certain that I am Veronica’s half brother. I am sorry I have upset you. Perhaps it was wrong of me to have plied you with all these questions, but you see I didn’t know if Veronica knew that she was adopted or not until you mentioned it today. I came to discover that she was my half-sister only a few days ago. However I had no idea whether she was aware of the fact that she was adopted? Naturally I could not try and make contact with her had the truth of her birth been hidden from her. Now, thanks to you, I know she is aware that she was adopted and so I feel I have the right to contact her.”

I watched as Mr. Mattos trembling hands wiped the tears from his eyes. He looked me directly in the eye. A moment later his face reddened, as if he was struck with anger. “You keep me out of this! You keep me out of this completely!” he demanded.

Embarrassed by his outburst I said, “I will not involve her mother or her family with this matter at all, Mr. Mattos” I said sincerely. “I will write her a very private letter. I will make certain no one in her family is aware that I have contacted her.” I paused for a moment then continued, “Mr. Mattos, would you be willing to contact Veronica and tell her of our meeting and what has happened here between us? Perhaps it would be a simpler way of my making contact with her?”

“I want nothing whatsoever to do with this!” he repeated.

“Please Mr. Mattos,” I pleaded, “Please? I am desperate and I have no one else that I can ask to help me. Won’t you please see Veronica privately and tell her about our meeting and that you have met me and that I seem like a very nice and unthreatening person?”

“No! I cannot, and I will not!” he stammered as he angrily pointed his forefinger towards my face in a threatening manner. He then turned his back towards me and walked hurriedly away.

The End
Of
Part Three

Next
Part Four
“The Letter”