by Gerald Lopez
To my surprise, the front gate of the old Kennedy estate had no security code box, something I hadn’t noticed when I first saw the place with Jimmy. Hopefully he and his Frankie had reached their destination safely. We had to stop so Alex could jump out and open the gate the old fashioned way—by hand.
“Before you ask, there are a lot of visitors who stay in the mansion,” Alex said. “We’d be giving out the entry code to so many people it wouldn’t make sense to have a security gate. Besides, the reputation of this place keeps most people away.”
* * * *
We walked up the well lit front steps of the mansion, which were flanked by two large concrete planters that held leafy green plants.
“I could live on this verandah alone,” I said. It was wide and had rattan furniture with an oversize sofa that had overstuffed cushions. The wood shutters on either side of the floor length windows just added to the southern gothic feel.
“It is nice out here, isn’t it?” Alex said as he opened the tall wood and glass front door that was under a shallow arch.
Everything on the outside, including the shutters, wrought iron, and door were painted white. Normally, I hated painted wood, except on this house it worked. My preference had always been for stained wood, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
“Welcome to the mansion,” Alex said, flinging open the door onto a wide, long entry hall.
There was a crystal chandelier illuminating the hallway. After all the white outside, the color inside was a surprise. The walls were painted a deep red and there was a matching red runner on the wood floors. I was stunned by the red, but the woodwork was all painted white like the outside.
“Some people refer to the color as blood-red, vampire-red, or bordello-red,” Alex said.
“And what do you call it?” I said.
“Scarlet. I thought you’d want to be in something more private so I had them prepare one of the corner rooms upstairs.”
“Do you have that many people come by and stay?”
“My sisters do. I’ve never had any real friends to come visit.”
There was a very slight hint of loneliness and sadness in Alex again. I wanted to reach out to him but instead changed my focus. Looking up, I noticed that while the fancy crown molding was painted white, the ceiling was as red as the walls. Lowering my gaze, I looked at the family portraits on the walls between the mirrors, antique chairs, and tables.
“Some of them always looked to me like they were an interesting bunch in their day,” Alex said.
“I’ll have to give them a closer look later,” I said, following him up the wood stairs at the end of the hall.
* * * *
The room he’d picked for me was small, but well appointed. It was angular and painted the same red as the hall with white crown molding. Against one wall was a queen-size bed with a royal-looking red and gold tapestry comforter. To the right was a window with gold tapestry curtains. A television sat on a small gold table to the left of the window. I walked into the room and sat on the bed. The black metal four poster frame rattled a little.
“Comfortable, but what I really love is this accent wall.” I went and placed a hand against the brick wall directly across from the bed.
“I’ll be in my workroom on the lowest level if you need anything,” Alex said. “Do you need any help unloading the car?”
“No thanks. But am I gonna have to sleep up here all alone?”
“If you’re scared I may sneak up here. For now I’d prefer not to let the nosy bunch—my sisters and Monique know about us. They’ll start following us around and asking a million and one questions. We’d have no time to ourselves. Since I have a workroom here, it’s no big deal for me to stay. They know I have a bed in there too. I’ll have to go back to the other house tomorrow, my sisters don’t like me around when they have company.
“Then you’ll have to spend the night with me to keep the ghosts away,” I said, then smiled. “If you get scared of any ghosts while you’re down there working just holler.”
“I’ll do that, Layton. But I don’t expect to see any ghosts until later tonight when I’ll rush up here to keep you safe. Feel free to explore the house, just keep in mind that one of the bedrooms is set up for my sisters’ guest. And don’t forget, the guest is probably here somewhere. Happy sleuthing, I’ll see you later. Maybe I’ll even come tuck you in bed.”
I watched him leave before walking to the window and pulling back the curtains. I had a view of a corner of the courtyard with high trees on two sides. My attention then turned to unloading the car. Once I’d unpacked, I changed into shorts, a T-shirt, and flip-flops. Time to explore, but where should I start?
* * * *
The frozen face of the original owner of the homestead stared back at me from his portrait in the hall.
“What more can you tell me, Jamison Kennedy? What did you really think of this grand house on your land?” I felt silly talking to a silent painting, but his eyes seemed to reach out to me as if they had something to say… if only I could draw it out.
The portrait was of a simple, honest man. A life filled with hard work was etched into the lines of his face. I was making a lot of assumptions about a man I’d never met, but faces said a great deal about people and it matched the impression I had of him from the diary which Alex had let me hold on to. His bride’s portrait seemed the complete opposite. She was a grand lady. You could tell by the way she held her chin slightly upward and her eyes downward. Her face looked haughty compared to Jamison’s, which seemed much humbler
The sound of raindrops on the roof snapped me out of my deep thoughts. Before continuing, I decided to go back to my room and grab a notepad and pen in order to take some notes.
The rain was steady, but didn’t sound hard. My curiosity got the better of me, so I pulled open the curtain and looked out my window. Quickly, I closed them and reopened them just enough to look out without being seen. There was a naked woman dancing in the rain almost directly below my window. Her pale body was slick and wet from the rain. By the softly glowing outdoor light I could see she had long dark auburn hair and a nice figure. She must surely be the other guest Alex mentioned. But there was something familiar about her—she was the woman who’d run out of Mother Watkins’s home that rainy night. I thought I caught her looking up toward my window. No—I know she looked up my way. An invitation perhaps? What would she do if I decided to go downstairs and join her? There was only one way to find out.
* * * *
I found a back door easily enough and walked around the verandah. If I walked straight to the woman I’d get soaked. I stripped down and left my clothes on the verandah then walked barefoot to the trees beside her. She wiped rain water off her large breasts and began twirling and dancing in the rain.
Steeping out from behind the trees, I approached her.
“Hello,” I said, in a low voice, trying hard not to scare the woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties.
“Hello, Mr. Shayne. Isn’t it wonderful out here in nature, dancing naked in the rain? Come join me!” She smiled and held her hands out to me.
I took her hands and we swung each other around, laughing like children. She opened her mouth to take in some rain and spit it out again. I did the same before twirling her around again.
“You have me at a disadvantage, Miss. You know my name but I have no idea who you are.”
“I’m Noelle, but you can think of me as your ‘book of knowledge’.”
Her answer made me stop in my tracks, but then I smiled. “A friend of Miss Lucy’s I assume?”
“No, actually not, but I have run into her while doing my work. We have a mutual employer in Mrs. Carter. I spotted you the rainy night I was checking in with Mother Watkins letting her know who I was.” She twirled again before continuing. “I’m so glad you’re comfortable being nude. I’d expect no less from a soldier. Though I wasn’t sure you’d come down and join me.”
“You mean because it’s not in m
y nature to dance in the nude with a beautiful woman. And aren’t you taking a risk that Alex Kennedy would see you?”
She pushed wet hair back from my forehead then held my face gently with both her hands. “You do have beautiful eyes, like I’d heard. To answer your first question, I thought you might be leery of joining me. To answer the second question—there are no windows on the lower section of the home which overlook this part of the courtyard. And, if Mr. Kennedy had seen me, he’d have thought nothing of it. His sisters and their guests are all nudists. At least those coming tomorrow.”
“And what other knowledge do you have, Noelle?”
“Why don’t we discuss this on the verandah out of the rain?” she said.
We walked around the corner up the stairs to the verandah where I put my shorts back on. Noelle disappeared inside and emerged seconds later wearing a short, dark green robe. I was leaning over the rail between the columns, letting my hair get wet when Noelle came up behind me and spoke.
“I’m an expert on ancient religions, cults, and spiritual power.”
“Spiritual power?” I said, turning to face her.
“As in blue lights. I believe you’re familiar with the blue light, Layton. May I call you—?”
“Layton’s fine, in fact I’d prefer you call me that. What are the blue lights?”
“Energy,” she said without missing a beat. “Pure energy manifested from spiritual activity.”
“What about sexual energy?”
“Perhaps. There are some cults that use sexuality in their religious practices. As a matter of fact, that’s what I’ve been invited to speak on while I’m here—sexuality in religion.”
“Mrs. Carter must be using our real backgrounds, so as not to bring suspicion. Tell me more about the connection between sex and blue light energy.” I turned back around to look over the courtyard and land in the distance, while Noelle continued speaking.
“It’s actually more about the absence of sex. Once the sex act has been committed, the energy produced by the bodies involved is drained and diminished.”
“Hold that thought,” I said, having spotted a hazy blue light in the distance. Catching Noelle’s attention I pointed to it. “That light doesn’t look as strong as the other blue lights that I’ve seen.”
“Maybe not,” Noelle said, excitedly. “But it could be just what I’m looking for. It could be the source.”
“Are you in the mood for a treasure hunt in the rain, Noelle?”
She smiled. “You bet!”
I reached for her hand and we walked out into the rainy night. The moonlight gave us enough light to see by as we ventured off in search of a treasure, a ghost, or who knew what?
Chapter 20
Source Material
I’d left my shirt and flip-flops back on the verandah—the flip-flops would be no good in this rain or soft swampy land anyway. Noelle’s sheer robe clung to her body. Like me, she was also barefoot, but she had no trouble keeping up. We were headed toward some trees near the bayou.
“The light is coming from the graveyard, Layton.” She pointed ahead toward the center of the trees.
Through the rain I could see a metal fence and gate. The blue light helped me see the faint outline of gravestones and a mausoleum surrounded by trees. My next step had me in mud halfway to my knees. Noelle reached out and gave me a hand. She laughed as she helped wipe the mud off.
“I thought it was the woman who always fell in these scenarios,” she said, smiling.
“Looks like I made the right decision in trusting you,” I said.
“How so?”
“Well, you could’ve left me stuck out here in the mud and swamp.”
“Maybe, but you would’ve gotten out eventually. A little more muddy and sore, but you would’ve survived.”
As we got closer, I automatically positioned Noelle behind me. I was on the lookout for any others who might be out here. But I neither saw nor heard anyone.
“I’m guessing that no one needs to be here to activate the source,” Noelle said. “It looks like we’re alone.”
I pushed open the rusty gate and we walked into the graveyard. The blue glow was coming from a raised, round mausoleum with columns in the front. Motioning for Noelle to stay back, I walked slowly up the steps and peered inside before waving her over. When she got to the mausoleum we both walked inside.
“That is without a doubt the power source,” Noelle said.
In front of us was a small ring of neatly placed bones with skulls on top. In the center was a pile of bones stacked higher than those composing the ring with more skulls on top of those bones.
“So, this is what everyone’s after?” I said. “But what do we do with it?”
“Nothing,” Noelle said. “If we touch it they’ll know we were here. Besides, that’s not the job either of us were hired to do.”
“You’re right, Noelle. I was hired to find the true heir to this place. But what exactly is your job here.”
“To do a lecture on sexuality and spiritual energy while taking notes on the nature of this particular religion in Shelby. But while I know the textbook explanations of the two energies and how they relate directly to some religions, I’m not at all sure how it relates here.”
“If this is the source, then it must get its power from somewhere,” I said.
“Yes, but from where? Once the energy is gathered here, it can probably be routed to wherever the user desires. You’ve seen the blue energy in action, Layton, I’ve only seen pictures and read reports. How strong is it?”
“I’ve seen it in action a couple of times now and it’s strong enough to make dust out of a young woman, a car, a house and several men.”
“Then it’s very important that you do your job well. After that, we’ll have to hope for all our sakes that the heir is someone who can be dealt. We need to have complete access to these bones and anything else that may be relevant.”
“Dealt with by whom? Who are your people? What is this really all about?”
“I’m sorry, it’s not my place to say. I’m just an employee like you working for a watchdog organization. They exist to keep an eye on groups like this one… religions that gain too much power. Do your job and you may learn more.”
“Can you give me some direction about where to look?”
“Not with what I know. What have you learned so far… it might help?”
“Nothing much really,” I said. “You’re the religious expert, what does it mean that the Kennedy family has statues of goddesses all over their home.”
“Not much if they were purely decorative.”
“They aren’t. The ones I saw were used as altars with flowers and candles around them.”
“Were they all one specific style or religion?”
“No. One looked like a Greek goddess, the other an Indian one. When I talked to the older sister, she spoke about great female gods who were beside the male gods, but were now overlooked by today’s society. Maybe this is a female based religion. One that would have the estate left to a female leader. But there are two wills; each leaving the estate to a different sister, besides the third will leaving it to Alex. Could it be that they’re trying to keep the true leader of the cult and the estate’s heir a mystery?”
“I wouldn’t assume that the cult leader and the heir are one and the same, Layton. Look, the blue light is growing dim. We’d better head back to the house. If you’ll come by my room I’ll show you my credentials.”
“Do you use that line on all your hunt partners?”
Noelle smiled. “No. And I haven’t had any other hunt partners. This is my first case.”
We walked outside, then silently back to the house.
* * * *
Noelle’s room was on the same floor as mine, but significantly larger. Her room had pale green walls and green velvet curtains. A high, king-size bed with steps to the side of it filled a lot of the space. An armoire with a television stood between two windows, an
d there were papers on the marble table to the left of the bed. Noelle went through the papers and showed me one that was signed by Mrs. Carter. She then showed me her driver’s license. Her last name stunned me.
“Leticia Carter is my mother. I can have her give you a call if you want.”
“Not necessary,” I said. “It would probably be good if we both showered and got cleaned up though… separately.”
“Good night, Layton.” Noelle said with a smile.
“Good night, Noelle.”
It was a surprise to discover Noelle was the boss’s daughter. Still, I didn’t feel like she was there to keep tabs on me. Back at my bedroom I checked out the attached bathroom, closing the door behind me. The white pedestal sink and matching claw tub were nice. I stepped into the tub and used the handheld showerhead to rinse my hair. My eyes were closed when I heard the bathroom door open.
“It’s just me,” Alex said. “May I come in?”
“Of course. It’s your house and I’m your man.”
Alex walked over to me barefoot and dressed in a loose tank top and shorts. He took the handheld showerhead from me. “I’ll get your back. You have leaves and dirt on it.”
After he rinsed my back, I felt his hands linger on my ass and legs.
“I was wondering where you went, Layton. Did you decide to take a hike in the rain?”
“More like a treasure hunt with a friend.” I turned to let him wash off my front. His hands felt so good on my chest that I grabbed one and kissed it.
He passed me the handheld showerhead. “I’d better let you finish. I’ll wait for you in the bedroom.”
I finished rinsing off and wrapped a large white towel around my waist before going into the bedroom. Alex was sitting in a chair to the right of my bed with his feet on the ottoman in front of the chair.
“You didn’t ask me to join you and your friend on your walk in the rain.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, kissing him before sitting on the edge of the bed. “The friend was your sister’s guest speaker, who got my attention when she was dancing nude in the rain.” I looked at his face. He was genuinely surprised and I was genuinely happy at his reaction.
