“Yes, I remember.” I grabbed her by the arms savagely, without thinking about bruising her delicate skin. I kissed her hard, my heart pumping like a conquering warrior in my chest. I wanted Vita—I would have her, and there was nothing she could do about it. Half brother or not, I would take what I wanted.
She kicked her feet in the shallow water and tried to break free from me, but I would not release her. “You want me, Vita. You always have. Together, you and I will make millions, darling! Time to forget Copper. Time to forget him completely. It’s you and me always.”
“But Magnus will be back in a minute.” Fear crept into her eyes and she gasped, no doubt surprised by my aggressiveness.
“No, he won’t. It’s just you and me, my Vita.” I brushed her wet hair back from her dark eyes. Those marvelous eyes that had melted my heart. So like a wild animal’s eyes, and she was wild, oh yes, she was wild! No matter how coy she played with me. I had never wanted anything more than I wanted her. I would not be denied. Not now.
I kissed her again, passionately, but she did not yield to me as I expected. She pulled away and began to scream, “Stop it!” Her struggling excited me, and I reached for her small, pert breasts. “Get your hands off me, Don!”
I let go and stared at her, surprised by her refusal. I watched her slosh around sloppily in her sheer black negligee, and I grew angrier by the second. I leaped toward her and grabbed her short black hair with both hands. She screamed in pain, but I did not release her. I turned her around to face me.
“Let me go! Let me go now!” she screamed. I thought to kiss her silent, but things had gotten out of control. She didn’t want me, that much was clear. She would never want me, and she never had. My anger turned black, and I plunged her face into the water beside me. She slapped her arms on the water’s surface and caused quite a stir. I shoved her farther down until her arms could no longer break the surface. It was quite easy since she was such a petite thing. I placed my foot on her back and thought I could almost break her. Perhaps I would.
“Vita,” I whispered with unexpected tears in my eyes, “I loved you.” I gripped her hair tighter and held her until she stopped moving. Bubbles emerged, the last of her air, and then she went still. I released my hand and watched her limp body float to the surface. I flipped her over to see her face. I half believed she’d open her eyes, change her mind and take me in her arms, but it was not to be.
My Vita was dead. Killed by her stubborn stupidity. I left her in the water and took a seat under a poolside umbrella. I was drenched from head to toe, but I’d had the good sense to remove my cigarette case from my pocket earlier. I reached for a smoke, lit it and wondered when Magnus would return with the champagne.
***
My heart sank in my chest as I moved my hand away from the painting. “Oh, Vita. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry that happened to you. You didn’t deserve it.” With tears in my eyes, I picked up the phone and called Midas.
Chapter Fourteen—Midas
“Hey, Cassidy. What’s up?” I patted my face with a towel. I needed that shower after cutting the grass; it wasn’t really that long, but it was a good excuse to get out of the house. As much as I pretended that I had made peace with Pete, I hadn’t, and I didn’t want to be around him any more than I had to. I thought about answering the phone in a playful, sexy voice, but I was glad I didn’t. I was never good at flirting. And after hearing Cassidy’s voice on the other end, I was doubly glad I didn’t.
“Midas, I saw Vita! He drowned her. Don Myrick murdered her in that pool, and then he…he…”
“Slow down, Cassidy. Where are you?”
“I’m at home. I just…I have to tell you what I saw.”
“I’m on the way.”
“No, don’t do that. Let me come to you. I need to get out of here for a while.”
“That sounds great. Come on.” She agreed and hung up. I dressed quickly in my usual uniform: blue jeans and a GCP t-shirt. When I stepped into the kitchen, I was surprised to see Pete wearing the same thing.
He nodded at me as he tapped furiously on his laptop. “Hey, I ordered some Mediterranean food. Should be here in about fifteen minutes.”
“Is it Demeter’s?” I asked as I leaned against the counter.
“Uh, no.”
“Then I’ll pass.”
Pete shrugged and said good-naturedly, “Fine, more for me. If you’ve got a second, I found something online that I think you’ll find interesting. It’s about Dixie House. Apparently, we aren’t the first paranormal team to investigate the place. Bienville Ghost Hunters hit it pretty hard about six years ago. They aren’t together anymore, as you know, but they were kind enough to leave their video and digital evidence up for posterity’s sake. Check out this EVP.”
Pete tapped on the keyboard once, and sure enough, faint jazz music began playing from the high-tech speakers.
“That’s what I heard,” I said.
“Is it exactly what you heard or just similar?”
I closed my eyes and listened intently as he looped it for me. “Not exactly, but similar.”
“Good. If it was exact, then we’d know there were some shenanigans at play. There’s more, though.”
“Great.” I sat down across the table from him and waited to see what else he’d discovered.
“Now, this video is pretty grainy, but you can…well, I’ll let you tell me what you see.” Pete and I watched the black and white footage. One paranormal investigator, a young man with a long black ponytail, walked down the basement stairs and paused. On the clip I could hear him swear and then report that someone grabbed his hand. “Isn’t that what happened to you?”
“Yeah. In that exact spot, too. I never saw this video. Or if I did, I have no memory of it.”
“There’s more,” he said with an enigmatic smile. “Now, keep your eyes on the right side of the screen.”
“Where was this taken?”
“Upstairs. Second floor.”
I watched as another investigator walked down the hallway and paused outside a door to investigate an unidentified shuffling sound. About the time I was ready to ask Pete what I was looking for, I saw it. A shadow emerged on the wall behind the investigator, but not just an ordinary shadow. It was the blackest shadow I’d ever seen. It expanded and then vanished, crumpling away before my eyes. It made my hair stand up, but I reminded myself that I wasn’t there. I didn’t know much about this group and had no reason to suspect them of any funny business, but even the best investigator could get duped from time to time. I couldn’t rule out other sources for that shadow.
As if he read my mind, Pete said, “Yeah, I know, but still. I think we need to set up something on that second floor tonight. Focus specifically on that spot. Maybe we can capture our own evidence and possibly help our investigator brothers prove what they saw.”
“Or disprove. I mean, that’s part of what we’re supposed to be doing, right? We’re supposed to find alternate theories. But I agree it is compelling footage.”
“You’re right, but that hand grabbing yours on the basement step…that happened twice.” Pete shook his head in disbelief.
What did he want me to say? Yeah, man. The place is haunted. I couldn’t make the official call until our investigation was over. I said, “So? It was a personal experience, but I had no thermal camera, nothing to prove what I felt.”
Pete sighed in frustration. “But this guy did, in a way.”
“If we had extra cameras, I’d say go for it. But I think Josh deployed everything, so we’d have to move a camera to the second floor.”
“It’s not like we haven’t done it before, but I have one, bro. It’s not as good as the Blue Image brand, but it’ll do.”
“Great,” I replied, trying not to sound too excited. “You made your plans for tomorrow? Tomorrow’s Friday, remember?”
Pete didn’t meet my eyes. He closed his laptop and began rolling up the charger cord. “Yeah, my sister wants me to come visit her.
I’m renting a car in the morning. Can I trouble you for a lift? It’s the rental office up by the airport. I know that’s a bit out of your way, but it was the only one available.”
“No problem. I’ll get you there.”
“Listen, Midas. I know I’ve said this before, but—” A loud bang on the front door interrupted us.
I said, “That’s either your food or Cassidy.” Strangely enough, it was both. “Perfect timing.”
Cassidy hugged me before stepping inside. “Hey, Pete,” she said with a nod over to him.
“Hey, Cassidy. Hope you’re hungry. Midas is a food snob, and I ordered a ton.”
“I’m always hungry,” she replied. I took her hand, which I noticed was shaking. I offered her a comforting smile.
Thirty minutes later, we were wrapping up our hurried dinner and I was trying to digest Cassidy’s vision. Pete took notes, and I begrudgingly split a gyro with Cassidy and even more begrudgingly admitted it was pretty good. My doorbell rang again, and I stared at Pete. “Did you order dessert too?”
“No, and I couldn’t eat another bite.”
“I’ll go see who it is, then.” I needn’t have bothered. Sierra and Josh let themselves in my house as if they lived here too. “Well, come on in.”
Sierra punched my arm gently and kissed my cheek. She looked much more at ease with her decision to bow out after this investigation. The truth was, she didn’t really like the actual investigation part of our job. I guessed that was okay since she was one heck of a researcher. Josh had his nose in a book called Turn-of-the-Century Séances in Mobile. Odd title choice, but hey, who was I to judge?
“What’s up, Josh? Did your parents close the laundromat yet?”
He stopped reading his book and sat down at the long dining room table. He was perpetually hungry and began foraging through the containers for food. “Yeah, the sale will be finalized next Tuesday. Kind of depressing, but that’s the way it is.”
“Sorry to hear that, man.”
“Me too.”
“I’m glad you guys stopped by. Cassidy was telling us about what she saw last night during her painting session.”
Sierra grabbed Cassidy’s hand. “What is it?”
For a few minutes, right until it was time to head over to Dixie House, we listened to Cassidy tell the horrible story of Cole’s desperation and Vita’s awful murder. I couldn’t believe what Myrick had done, that he could murder his own sister.
Sierra tapped her fingers on the table and with a proud smile announced that she had big news. “Midas, remember the other day I mentioned that I’d talked to Darren’s cousin?”
“Darren Carpenter?” Cassidy asked.
“Yes, and you won’t believe it. Darren is alive and well! He’s living in Atlanta now and has his own family and a great job. His mother abducted him from Dixie House…she apparently heard about the party from the mother of one of Darren’s classmates and was waiting there for him. Unfortunately, he doesn’t want to come back to Mobile. He’s ashamed of what his mother did, that she just came and took him like that, but he wants to be left alone.”
“Come on! You’ve got to be kidding me! If he’s alive, the police need to know about it. Darren was kidnapped. Someone has to pay for that. And poor Erma! Erma has no idea.” Cassidy was nearly in tears now.
“I know,” Sierra began, “but there’s no changing his mind. He just wants to forget the past, he says.” She glanced at Josh cautiously. He nodded, then she swallowed and said, “Midas, I want to do something bold tonight. I want to tell Erma that Darren is okay, and I want to ask her to help us lead Cole and Vita to the other side. Those two deserve to be together, and they need help doing it. Or else they would be gone by now.”
Cassidy looked confused. “Can you explain to her that he’s alive? What if she is a residual haunt and not an intelligent one? Will she listen? Can she actually help us?”
“I sure hope so. Think about it. It has to be Cole that’s causing all the ruckus at the house,” she said.
“I wish I could believe that, Little Sister. Don Myrick is a murderer. Guys like him would want to stick around to avoid facing his comeuppance—or karma, fate, God’s judgment, whatever you want to call it. We all know it will be coming for him. I’m more willing to believe that it is Don who’s present. And we have evidence; you guys have that EVP of the sounds of fighting. It could be that all three of them are there, and with Helen’s focused renovation on that basement…”
“Oh, yeah. That’s possible,” Sierra agreed, still tapping her fingers absently, “but that might be residual. Who was on the EVP, the one that addressed you, Midas?”
“That’s the million-dollar question,” Pete answered for me with wide eyes. “I agree with you, Midas, but maybe Beverly could help us communicate with them.”
“I’ll ask her to meet us at Dixie House. Speaking of which, you guys ready to ride? Time for night two. Little Sister, you good to go? Feeling okay?”
She smiled confidently. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“That reminds me, Josh. Pete is adding a camera to the setup. He wants to focus on the second floor. You tell him what you have in mind, Pete, while I gather up my gear. Cassidy, will you come with me?”
She looked surprised but followed me to my bedroom. I closed the door behind her and kissed her passionately. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Cassidy.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?” Her green eyes flashed, and she had a mischievous grin on her face.
“Absolutely. Just be careful tonight. I heard what Beverly told you last night, about you being in danger. I think we should consider our options.”
“You mean moving in together?”
“I want to keep you safe, whatever that looks like.”
She sat on the edge of my bed and suddenly looked small and uncertain. “I know you want to protect me, Midas. I admit that I don’t know what I’m doing, but I can’t run away from my life. I have to face it. I’m not going to let this gift take me down. I’m going to master it—it won’t master me.”
With that, I kissed her one last time, and we walked back out. I whispered in her ear once more, “Just think about it.”
She whispered back, “Okay.”
As we loaded into the SUV, Sierra squealed with excitement. “Oh! Gosh! I forgot something! Where are my notes, Joshua? Cassidy—you are never going to believe what I found out about Noelle. Noelle is a woman. Or she was…she died about ten years ago. But guess what I found?” She reached into her tote bag and pulled out a book with a burgundy cloth cover. “She wasn’t just a painter; she was an author, too. She wrote a book about her life, about how she began to paint and how she saw visions. I only skimmed it, but I thought you might find it interesting.”
“That’s wonderful! Thanks so much.” Cassidy accepted the book with a smile and ran her fingers over the worn edges.
I ducked into the kitchen to call Beverly and give her the latest about Darren. Coming back into the living room, I said, “No more time for chitchat, y’all. Beverly is going to meet us there.”
Ten minutes later, we were rolling out of the driveway, a strange, paranormal-seeking, caravan heading toward a haunted bed-and-breakfast. Who knew what this night would hold?
Chapter Fifteen—Cassidy
“Sierra, give me a read on the thermal. Is it acting squirrelly or what?” I had to admit I was lost when it came to the more sophisticated equipment, but I was doing my best to catch up on the technology.
“Hmm…let’s calibrate it. Sometimes it helps to flip the settings around. We prefer the full color spectrum, but black and white works well too. See? It’s just temperamental.”
I sighed. “I’m really technically challenged.”
“Well, whatever you do, don’t use Josh’s technique.”
“Which is what?” I asked, curious to hear some insider tips.
“Bang it on the table or drop it on concrete.”
I laughed despite the stressful circumstances. Sh
e did too. It was much-needed comic relief for both of us. The air felt thick here at Dixie House tonight, like there were too many people crammed in one room. The temperature had dropped since we arrived. I was glad I wore a sweater tonight.
“Yeah, weird, huh?” Sierra said. “I’m not a fan of that method!”
“Weird is right,” Beverly said. She’d crept up on us, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. “You ladies ready for tonight? I have it on good authority that we will see some serious action here at Dixie House.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, indeed. I’ve been in contact with Erma, Sierra. She has agreed to help us, but she can’t compel Cole and Vita to come forward. They have to do that themselves. My advice to you all is to engage them in conversation, have them step out of the shadows. If you can do that, Erma can help us.”
Sierra smiled hopefully. “That’s one thing this team is good at—provoking. I think we can get them to make their presence known. It’s not like they want to hide; we’ve got lots of evidence to the contrary.”
“Great,” Beverly said as she rubbed her hands together.
Just then, Midas walked up with a focused expression. I recognized it as his investigation face—he was all business when it came to GCP work. “Hey, there you are, Bev. Why don’t you come with me for the first go-around? Cassidy, you too. Sierra runs the show from command tonight. Pete, did you guys get that camera up? You want to take a walk around the pool first and then head upstairs with Josh?”
“Sure, sounds like a plan. We’re all set on the camera.”
“Great, let’s go. Oh, I’ll take the thermal, Cassidy. You grab a walkie-talkie and an extra handheld camera.”
I did as he asked, and Pete did EMF sweeps around Sierra as she slid her hot pink headphones over her ears.
“Oh yeah, oh yeah,” Beverly said, as if she were talking to someone invisible. Midas glanced at me over his shoulder, but I kept my eyes on the camera. It took a lot of practice not to wave the thing around like a crazy person. Haphazard recordings made for awful review sessions.
Haunted on the Gulf Coast (Gulf Coast Paranormal Trilogy Book 2) Page 19
