by Delores Fossen, Rachel Lee, Carol Ericson, Tyler Anne Snell, Rita Herron
Again, not much. Again, Steve waited.
Then Ben’s eyes snapped open. “Over here,” he said, and promptly walked along the hall to Vivian’s bedroom.
“Here,” he said firmly. “He likes this room. People in here might hear his voice.”
That caught Steve’s attention. Unless the Castelles had been telling others about this, it might be important. He’d have to ask after Wittes left.
Wittes closed his eyes again, and genuinely looked as if he were listening intently. “A dog senses him. The woman is here, too, still angry but she says nothing. Not that people might hear. She doesn’t want to talk.”
Ben turned and looked at him. “She was killed here.”
All right, Steve felt a little prickle at the base of his neck but refused to give in to it. With the stories that had once floated around this town, the statement was meaningless.
“The woman likes a little girl. She wants to protect the child but doesn’t know how.”
Finally, Steve broke his silence. “Protect her from what?”
“The shouting man. The mean man.”
Ben fell silent once more, appearing to listen intently. “He wants to shout louder because his words aren’t being heard.”
Not quite true, Steve thought. A voice was being heard, but the words weren’t making sense. Or weren’t audible enough to be understood.
Ben turned to look at Steve. “He says he didn’t do it.”
“Didn’t do what?”
“Kill anyone.”
“Most perps say they didn’t do it.”
Ben’s lip curled upward. “Doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it. He believes it.”
Point taken.
Wittes shrugged slightly. “Others are here, but I’m not sure they’re attached to this house. They come to me from all over.”
Sure. “How do you do this, Ben?”
“They talk to me. Because I can hear them. I’m done. I’m tired. Can I come back tomorrow?”
“I’ll see.”
As he watched Wittes leave, all Steve kept thinking was that the man had run out of material. What had he done to exhaust himself? Listen to nothing? Or try to act?
Steve made his way back to the kitchen. The first thing he saw was Vivian. She was pale, ignoring the cocoa in front of her.
“What’s going on?” he asked her parents.
Annabelle answered. “I don’t think she likes that guy. Not that I can blame her. I could smell him across the kitchen.”
“Pretty ripe,” Steve agreed. “You two ever tell anyone around here about what you’re experiencing?”
Two heads shook negatively. “We even told Viv not to mention it at school.”
Then Steve squatted beside Viv’s chair. “Something wrong, sweetie?”
Her face started to clear and she reached for a spoon to pull out one of the small marshmallows. “Not invisible,” she said.
Then she would say no more.
* * *
STEVE PROMISED THE Castelles he’d be back later to check his equipment and prepare to spend the night.
“I’ve got a sleeping bag I can offer,” Todd said. “It’s going to be chilly whichever room you’re in.”
But the ride back to town with Candy was silent until they approached the sheriff’s office.
He was the first to speak. “Did you notice anything about Vivian while I was out of the room?”
“Only that she looked uneasy. Anyone would look uneasy around that man, especially a child. Nothing else, though. Once he was out of the room she sat at the table for her cocoa.”
He nodded, thinking. Ben wouldn’t appear to be the friendliest man, but he also didn’t appear especially threatening. Still, for a child...
“What she said?” Candy asked. “About not invisible.”
“That’s bothering me,” Steve admitted. “God knows what it meant.”
“Did you learn anything useful?”
“Not really. Nothing he couldn’t have pieced together from local lore. We’ll see what he has to say tomorrow. I just hope I catch something tonight.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ll take anything that can convince those two parents that their daughter isn’t nuts.”
“I can agree with that. Well, I need to get back to my computer in the hopes that I can learn something about Ivy Bride. How often do people just vanish?”
“You’d be surprised. It’s more common than most people think.”
“Sometimes I’ve wished I could do that.”
Candy’s comment was nakedly revealing. It jerked his attention back to her, and he wished like hell he knew what to say or do. He offered lamely, “I’m glad you haven’t.”
“At the moment, so am I. More Wittes tomorrow?”
“It appears so. But I want to do something else.”
“What’s that.”
“I’m bothered by the fact that there’s nothing below Vivian’s room. I want to take a close look at that foundation.”
Oh, yes he did. And he wanted to call Etta and tell her that Wittes wasn’t going to look good on screen. Not at all.
If Etta wanted to try to clean him up, let her.
* * *
THEY PARTED WAYS at the office, and Candy went back to becoming an online researcher. She supposed she ought to be grateful that she didn’t yet have to paw through dusty stacks of files.
To her pleasure, the database had spit out two matches: Ivy H. Bride had married James Flannery. And an Ivy Bride had changed her name to Ivy Cain. Candy made a note to add that to her search.
Hoping there was more, Candy resumed waiting. She didn’t want to interrupt the search at this stage. Not yet. She could check on these names when no additional information popped up.
She hoped it would pop up soon, because she’d made up her mind to accompany Steve to the Castelles’ house.
Because she wanted to judge for herself exactly what he was doing.
Suspicion kept gnawing at her. The psychic had increased it just by being called in. What if it hadn’t been Steve’s producer who had introduced Wittes? What if it had been Steve himself?
Then there were all the questions about the Castelles. The whole thing was getting awfully murky.
Chapter Thirteen
Steve was surprised, but not annoyed, when he found Candy parked out in front of his motel room in her official SUV.
Well, well, well, he thought as he joined her. Was she becoming interested? Or just answering her budding cop’s instincts that something other than a ghost was going on?
“What did Wittes tell you?” she asked.
“Oh, some stuff about an angry man hanging around and a woman who was mad because she’d been killed.”
Candy sighed. “Sounds awfully familiar.”
“Yeah. But he gets another bite at the apple tomorrow. If he has no more to add that doesn’t fit in with what Tate told us, he’s out. As it is, my producer would have to run him through a car wash and a barbershop and buy him new clothes.”
“Would she?”
Steve chucked quietly. “She’d have to. Think of audience reactions if he appears looking like he came off skid row.” Then he paused. “Guess that’s unfair to homeless people.”
“It is,” she agreed. “Many are vets, to begin with. Then there’s the fact you can only sink so low before you have no chance at a job anymore.”
Steve knew that to be true. In his job he’d dealt with many homeless people, like one guy who worked six days a week as a dishwasher in a restaurant. Not enough money to get an apartment, but he wasn’t at all what people thought of when they thought of the homeless. He’d heard too many stories like that.
“Are you planning to stay all night?” Steve asked her.
“Believe it.”
He let it go. He was sure she had her reasons, but equally sure he wouldn’t like some of them. Better not to know. Hell, she was probably suspicious of him again. She’d started there, so why wouldn’t she finish there?
So much for his sense that she was coming to believe he wasn’t running a con. Maybe Wittes had something to do with that. Well, he was wondering if Wittes was a con, too.
Some people, he reminded himself, just wanted the attention.
The Castelles welcomed them pleasantly enough and said the three of them were going to their bedroom for the night.
“No TV,” Steve admonished them.
“We get it,” Todd replied. “Can one of us at least read to Viv until she falls asleep?”
“Sure,” said Steve. “Before it gets really dark, which is soon, I want to check out the foundation around her room. I’ve got some good light with me, so maybe we’ll check out the barn, too.”
“Be careful of your footing out there,” Todd warned. “The floor is uneven and old.”
Then the family disappeared into the back.
“The foundation?” Candy asked.
“Everything. It would make this easier if you’d shine a light from the far side as I go. I want to see if there are any openings at all.”
“For rats or mice?” she asked humorously.
“For loose stones that might make a man-sized opening if they were moved.”
He could see that she approved. Good. He was no fly-by-night who’d overlook something that obvious.
Then the barn, which could be a good hiding place since the Castelles rarely went out there, if they even had since they bought this land.
Barns. There were lots of spooky stories around them. It would please his fans to see him investigate a derelict outbuilding, not that that was his reason. Nope. He wasn’t in the business of skipping over possibilities.
An hour later, the two of them sat on the cold-hardened ground, leaning back against the foundation.
“Something isn’t right,” Steve said.
“How so? We didn’t find any light shining through anywhere.”
“And that’s what’s wrong.” He realized that he was sitting on a stone and lifted himself a bit to pull it away. “One stone. I always find it when sleeping in a tent.”
She laughed quietly. “Me, too.”
“Anyway, as to what’s wrong. Does that foundation look like it’s sagged anywhere?”
She thought for a minute. “Actually, no.”
“Well, it should have, if it’s sitting on bare earth. There must be a slab of some kind under that room.”
“That tells us what?”
He stared toward the darkened hulk of the barn. “Maybe nothing. I couldn’t see anywhere that it was open, and I sure didn’t see anything in Viv’s room that looked like even the smallest door. Besides, how would anyone get in there without becoming stuck for fear of discovery? I’ll have to think about it.”
“Yeah. I will, too.”
“Anyway, tomorrow the barn.” He’d changed his mind about doing it tonight. It was so dark he wasn’t sure the few lights would be enough for the close search he wanted.
Even in the darkness he could sense her looking his way. “How could that possibly be involved?”
“I don’t know. That’s for me to find out. Come with?”
“Sure. I’m starting to enjoy this. What’s next?”
That was good news, he thought. In a way it was like a treasure hunt.
“Let’s go back inside. I’m planning to stay in Viv’s room tonight to see if I can hear anything. I’m mostly convinced that some sound is traveling through her wall, either up or down. Or it could be a sound bouncing off the wall. I hope I get to hear it.”
“And me?”
“I’d like you in the attic, close to that wall. Maybe you’ll catch something.” He paused. “I hope I can find something rational tonight, just to put that kid out of her misery.”
“Let’s go. It’s getting cold out here.”
“Yeah.”
The house was warmer by far, however much he’d been warned that it would be chilly. From the sounds, everyone was asleep now. Good.
“It’s going to be cold up there,” Steve said.
“Some of the house’s heat will get up there. Anyway, I’m dressed for the outdoors.”
“I hope you can get comfortable.”
But there was nothing he could do about that. Maybe one of the lingering pieces of furniture would help with that.
First, he climbed to the attic to make sure all the equipment was working.
“Since we’re listening for sounds, you can keep the lights on. Anyway, the mind tries to fill in the darkness.”
“I’m familiar with that.”
He supposed she was. Then he headed down to the basement and checked everything. If there were any noises down there, the recorders should catch it.
Then back to Viv’s room. He debated whether to lie on the bed, then decided he could sit on the floor with his head against the wall.
Settled against the wall, he listened to a house as quiet as any could be. The heat kicking on, rattling the floor vents just a little. Wind against the windows.
And nothing that sounded remotely like a voice.
He settled in for a long, uncomfortable night.
* * *
AT ABOUT FOUR in the morning, he heard it. A faint voice, as if it came from far away. Too faint to make out words, but with the rhythms of speech.
Annoyed that he couldn’t just start running upstairs and down, he hoped it wasn’t too faint for the recorders to pick up. It shouldn’t be.
Then the sound stopped. A few minutes later, Candy came down from the attic.
“Steve,” she whispered. “Sorry for deserting my post, but I heard a faint voice.”
He stood, bending and twisting to work out the night’s stiffness. “Me, too. Well, we know it’s there. And now we know it’s traveling through a wall. Either we have a wandering spirit or we’ve got something with a real cause. Let’s close down for the night and let the recorders do their work.”
“Then?”
“I’m going to think hard about where that sound could be coming from and what could cause it. Because something sure as hell is.”
* * *
CANDY WAS A bit shaken by having heard the voice. She hadn’t expected to hear anything at all. Not a thing. She’d wanted to believe this was a wild-goose chase, even though they needed to help Vivian.
But how could they go to the parents and say that Vivian was hearing something real, but they couldn’t solve the problem?
Although, according to Steve, he’d done that before. But she didn’t believe that simply saying it was no threat would make Vivian feel any better. She was too young for that.
As they drove back to town, she glanced at the time. “Too late to try to sleep,” she said, although she wanted to desperately.
“Same here. Maybe I’ll go to the truck stop and load up on caffeine and an early breakfast.”
“Mind if I join you?”
“I’d like that.”
And he definitely would. “Your computer still searching?”
“It was when I left the office. Two possibilities. I want more.”
“I can sure understand that. Maybe we can brainstorm our problem a bit.”
Any excuse, she thought. She was strangely reluctant to leave Steve. Man, this was getting complicated, and about more than the Castelles.
She gave up. Changes were afoot inside her, and she didn’t know how to stop them. She was just going to have to live with a hole deep inside when he left town.
The prospect was gloomy.
* * *
THE DINER WAS warm enough, but not hot. Long-haul trucks filled the
parking lot, growling as drivers let them run. Maybe some were sleeping in their cabs. They might find it easier to drive on dark roads, but sleep made demands, too. Plus, they probably couldn’t drive more than a certain number of hours at a stretch by law.
The diner, as well as warm enough, was busy. No doubt this was the time when the business made most of its money. They were surrounded by drivers digging into hearty breakfasts.
Which was exactly what Steve intended to do. Two sides of ham, for one. Four eggs. Four slices of toast, and something called a cheesy potato casserole.
Candy wasn’t far behind in her order. Apparently being up all night made her hungry, too. She spread marmalade on her toast while he was content with the butter.
“Any ideas?” she asked. “We haven’t discovered any way that a human could get close enough to that house to make that voice.”
“It’s bothering you, huh?”
She frowned at her scrambled eggs. “Yeah, it is. I don’t believe in woo-woo. That was...”
“Like woo-woo,” he agreed. “I’d suggest a speaker of some kind, maybe automatically timed. But I think I’d have found something like that in the basement.”
“Or in the wall?”
He shook his head. “I’m finding it hard to believe that a local electrician would have anything to do with that. Besides, they had the work done in their office. No joint wall with Vivian’s room.”
“That room kind of sticks out into nowhere,” she remarked. “For myself I think I’d have used that for an office and given Vivian the office space.”
“That’s an idea. Maybe I’ll suggest it if we can’t find an answer.” Now he frowned. “I can think of one person who might have put a speaker in a wall, and it’s not an electrician.”
“Todd.”
He sighed and reached for his ham, beginning to slice it into mouth-sized pieces. “I’ve seen too much, Candy, but this is one I don’t want to believe even though I’ve seen similar situations in the past.”
“I hear you.” She absolutely did. “Maybe we should have checked the office for the sounds.”
“I’m certainly going to get around to it. At this point, though, I’m more worried about another agent. Now that could be a significant physical threat.”
