by AJ Sherwood
She giggled, and it sounded watery, but there was mirth in it. “I’ve heard tales of him. We’re all dying to meet him, you know. I don’t have a lot of room in the new place, but I can open up a spot in the living room for you to bed down.”
“We’ll bring sleeping bags, sort ourselves,” I promised her. “You don’t worry about that. We’ll be there before you know it. And if something happens, at any time, you call me. I’ll walk you through what to do.”
“Okay. Bless you and that man of yours, Mack. I was beside myself with worry. You drive safe, text me as you get close.”
“Will do. Re-salt the room before you sleep tonight, okay?”
“I will. See you soon.”
I hung up and swore roundly, wanting to punch something.
Brandon turned in his seat again, mouth flat in anger. “I overheard parts of that. Something’s scratching the little girl?”
“Caliste,” I answered, giving her proper name. “We all call her Cali. Yeah, nightly scratches and her screaming in terror because, in her own words, a bad man was trying to drag her out of the bed.”
Donovan twitched in a full body shudder. “God, that’s horrifying even for an adult, much less a child.”
I nodded grimly. “Yeah, not too happy about that. Edmée says she’s got her room blocked off good, and Cali’s okay while sleeping with her. They’re going to re-salt the room tonight before sleeping. Brandon, cher, we got to get there quick. If this thing is strong enough and mad enough to be scratching someone nightly? I can’t let it get hold.”
He nodded, expression a match for mine. “We’ll speed the whole way. Let’s stop by a sports store on the way back, buy sleeping bags.”
“You can just use mine and Jon’s,” Donovan offered. “We’re not going camping in this weather, and it’s all stuffed in a closet. Mine will fit you, Brandon.”
“Yeah? That’ll save us time. Thanks, we’ll do that.”
I thought of the implications of Jon in a campground. “Does Jon like camping?”
“Adores it. Favorite vacation for him.” Donovan chuckled, low and long. “We do it as a stress reliever in good weather. I think he’d go hermit if he didn’t have to earn a living. Anyway, too cold to do it right now. You might as well use them.”
We pulled into the Chevrolet dealer’s lot and Don let us out at that point. I belatedly remembered the thing I hadn’t done and popped my head back in. “Don, I forgot that I have a load in the wash.”
Understanding dawned. “I’ll transfer it for you.”
“Merci.” I really did like him. He had the patience of Job, that one. How had I ever been afraid of or intimidated by him?
The dealership was on the verge of closing but Sylvia had done all the right paperwork for us in advance. We’d planned to get the SUV tomorrow, but needs must. The keys and such were handed over to us, and we drove away in the 2020 model with that lovely new car smell.
Brandon, of course, had it adjusted so he could fit comfortably, and he did look well situated. Finally, a vehicle big enough that he didn’t look like a giant trying to squeeze into a Mini. The seats were nice and plush and I appreciated that fact, as we’d be stuck in them for at least ten hours tomorrow.
“Mack, you’ve told me stories and stuff about home,” my boyfriend started with a wary glance at me. “Anything else you need to tell me about before we get down there?”
“It’s only fair to warn you,” I admitted with a grimace. “Most of the city won’t be hospitable, for one of three reasons. One, we ain’t straight.”
That got a snort.
“Two, we dabble in something that’s not God’s business. They’re mighty superstitious down there and anything to do with spirits is in voodoo territory. Not many are going to take me being a medium well.”
“Really starting to understand why you don’t want to go home,” he remarked, a sort of rhetorical statement. “Alright, what’s three?”
“Some history on three. Not many remember this outside of the South, but the government got it in their heads to eradicate the Cajun culture. From about 1930 to 1990 they did their best to destroy it. From about 1980 to 1995, they actively took Cajun kids and put them in foster care, adopting them into different families.”
Brandon had a mite of a temper, and I saw it flare now as his hands tightened around the steering wheel, hard enough to make the leather creak in protest. “Are you fucking serious?”
“It wasn’t good, cher. Even if you were half Cajun, you were taken. The parents had a real fight to get them back. Some of them never managed it. So the sight of Feds down there isn’t looked upon with any kindness.”
“That is completely and totally understandable, and in their shoes, I’d not be happy about it either. Damn, that’s only twenty years or so ago. Did this affect your family at all?”
“A branch of it, yes. It’s partially why Mama was so…slow, I think, to get me tested.”
“Ah. Okay, I’ll try to keep the Fed thing low-key.”
“Lay low with the fidgets, we should be fine,” I advised. “We’re only there for two jobs, we might be able to get in and out quick.”
Brandon shot me a look of horror. “Don’t jinx us that way!”
I crossed my fingers to ward off the bad luck. “Now, whether or not you can avoid meeting my family is the question.”
“I don’t actually mind meeting them,” he said with a benign smile I didn’t trust for one second. “I’m just going to have a little chat with anyone who isn’t kind to you.”
I knew him well enough at this point to ask him pointedly, “And will they survive this little chat?”
“That’s totally on them.”
My goodness lordie, what was I to do with this man?
2
We got on the road at barely five in the morning, for more than one reason. First of all, if you wanted to escape the early morning commute, you had to get out of Nashville early. Before six o’clock, as that was when the madness started. Second, Mack was very anxious to get to our destination as quickly as he could. In fact, he was so anxious that if I hadn’t hidden the keys, he might have left without me.
You always learn a lot about someone on a road trip. The road trip from Eureka Springs to Nashville had been great fun as I traded stories with Mack and learned more about him. I didn’t expect this ride to be as fun, as he was seriously stressed. For good reason, grant you.
I’d learned a lot about Mack over the past thirteen weeks of us living together. I’d learned he loved to read, would choose that over television every time. He was fascinated by gaming systems, having never tried one before he met me, and loved to play games with me whenever we got the chance. I’d learned other things, too, things that bothered me. Mack was very, very careful with what he had. Everything was always put in the right place, and handled so that it would last. Even when I’d ripped an old shirt, his first thought was to mend it, while I hadn’t hesitated to throw it out.
After so many years on the police force, I could always pick up the signs of a child who hadn’t grown up with enough. They ate carefully. Whatever was put in front of them, they finished and they were quick to catch any escaped crumb. I had to watch Mack because if someone put food into his hands that wasn’t safe to eat, he was likely to eat it anyway, partially out of manners, but mostly out of sheer habit. My cute Creole’s childhood had been rough in more ways than one.
With that thought in mind, I pondered what I was likely walking into. I didn’t want to be a burden to his family—and we would be, if they assumed the task of feeding us. Plus, Mack required special foods, things not found in most grocery stores. As we passed Murfreesboro, I asked him, “Should we pick up groceries on the way in?”
“Cher, that’s not a bad plan. We’ll pass through Baton Rouge on the way; that’s got a Whole Foods in it. Lafayette’s closer, but it means going the wrong way for a bit before turning around.”
“How far is Baton Rouge from Opelousas?”
&n
bsp; “About an hour.”
“So any perishables we buy should be fine, as long as we put them in cold bags.” I nodded, as that decided it for me. “We’ll stop there.”
He eyed me sideways as he said, “I’d like to buy more than just what we’ll need.”
“That’s fine. Big vehicle, it can take it.” I’d half-expected him to do so. Mack had casually mentioned to me once that he was glad the FBI paid so well. It let him help his mother. Mediums started out making $60,000 a year. I made the same as him, as I functioned as his ‘anchor.’ I knew part of his paycheck had gone to his mom at some point, although I didn’t know all the finer details.
When he didn’t get an argument or any questions, Mack relaxed into his seat. “You expected that.”
“I know you’re worried about your mom. And everything you’ve told me said she’s not living a plush life. So yeah, I expect you’ll help her as much as you can while we’re in town.”
He leaned over in his seat, putting his forehead to my shoulder. “You are a blessing to me, Brandon Havili.”
“You can’t tell me stuff like that while I’m driving,” I informed him, mostly kidding. “It makes me want to jump you.”
At that, he laughed, finally lifting his head to grin at me. Mack’s got the most infectious smile. I was never sure if I wanted to kiss him or just smile helplessly back.
Driving. I’m driving. Can’t do either. Dammit.
Eyes back on the road, I tried to redirect us to practical matters. “Did you text everyone that we’re on our way?”
“Ah, let me do that now.” He pulled out his phone and started tapping away.
“Is there anything else you want to pick up in Baton Rouge?”
He pondered for a moment, thinking hard. “No, I can’t think of anything. I wish I could get a new water heater for my mom’s house. She said it’s kicking on and off, not always heating up properly.”
“Ouch, cold showers? It’s alright, we can do that.”
Mack blinked at me as if I’d said something strange. “We can? Cher, I don’t know how to fix that.”
“Yeah, it’s okay, I do. They’ve got hardware stores in Opelousas, right? It’s not much effort to switch them out. As long as it’s really the water heater that’s acting up and not something else.”
“The casual way you say that makes me wonder. Just how comfortable are you with tools?”
“Pretty comfortable. Don and I broke a lot while growing up—part us figuring out our own strength, part wrestling in places we shouldn’t have been. We got to fix whatever we broke. And Dad’s always been the type to buy a fixer upper for cheap, then do the fixing up himself. We learned with him. Don told you how he renovated our grandmother’s house, right? I did the same to my place in Colorado.”
Shaking his head in wonder, Mack teased, “A man of many talents.” He hesitated strongly. “But this isn’t your responsibility to fix.”
I’d expected resistance on this and sure enough, bam, here it was. This was the other thing I’d learned about him. Mack was truly uncomfortable asking for help. It had been drilled into his head that he was a burden, that he shouldn’t be such an imposition. Those notions were hard for him to let go of. Part of the reason why he’d believed he’d never have an anchor was because of that. I think he wouldn’t have accepted me so easily if it weren’t for the fact he’s strongly attracted to me.
And he only accepts my help because I like him, because of our relationship. Trust me, I was very grateful he allowed it. And still very mad anyone taught this amazing man he was ‘too much effort’ and thereby undesirable. When I found the people who’d told him that, I’d break their jaws so they couldn’t say anything else stupid.
My mom had advised patience on this. It would take time and consistent love and support to get it through to Mack that he was always worth the trouble. And that I didn’t think anything he did was troublesome.
Before I responded to him, I took a breath and phrased the words in my mind. “Sweetheart, I really, truly don’t mind.”
“But that’s a lot of work, isn’t it?”
Be patient, be patient, be patient. “You know, I’m fond of your mom, too, even though we haven’t met in person yet. I don’t like the idea of her having to suffer through cold showers on a regular basis. I swear to you, it really should only take a few hours, as long as it’s a simple swap. I’d rather do it and know it’s been done right. Okay?”
My logic seemed to sell him as nothing else I could say would. He understood me at least on this point, that I liked to have things done right. His unease died down, and he gave me that sweet smile of his. “Alright. If we have time, I’ll mention it to Mama.”
“Good.” I offered not only to give his mind some ease but also with the hopes I’d get in good with Mama Lafayette. So far she’d sounded happy Mack had found a reliable work partner/boyfriend. But sometimes it was also easier to like things when they were at a distance. When faced with the reality, she might change her mind.
He must have read the thought off my face, as Mack assured me, “She’ll like you.”
“You sound very sure of that.”
“She already likes you,” he pointed out, amused now. “You’re protecting her precious son, polite to her on the phone, and text her pictures of me. All of that has landed you in her good books.”
Getting her phone number had been a flash of genius on my part.
“The rest of my family will be a harder sell, but most of them don’t even like me, so….” He trailed off with a shrug. “It’s fine. We do need to be careful what to say around her, though. She has a habit of misconstruing things to mean something other than what the speaker intended.”
“I’ve noticed she does that with you.”
Mack sighed, sounding done in already. “I’m not sure if it’s wishful thinking overpowering her ears, or what. But she only hears what she wants to until you put it so plainly she can’t take it any other way. I don’t expect much trouble, as we won’t be there long enough to stir up any. We’ll be in and out in a few days.”
“You say that, but we still haven’t looked at the other case.”
“Ah. Good point.” He pulled out his phone again, downloading the attached brief and looking it over with a sour grunt. “I stand corrected.”
“That doesn’t sound good. On a scale of one to ten?”
“Probably a six. I see now why Sylvia said to call in for backup if we need it. University of Louisiana at Lafayette has a ghost causing trouble in one of their dorms. It used to be friendly, the sort to just say hi and pull innocent pranks, but things have taken a wrong turn. One of the students was pushed down the stairs.”
“Uh oh. How bad?”
“Fortunately, not very. Sprained wrist, bruises, a light concussion. But still, it could have been very bad.”
I hummed, thinking it through. “Does that normally happen? Ghosts going from mischievous to bad?”
“No, that’s strange,” he said, still reading the case file. “When that happens, it means the ghost has taken a dislike to someone, or something’s radically changed. But it’s very rare, cher. Most of the time they stay true to their personalities.”
“So what’s your theory?”
“Something else has moved in.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“It should. Never a good thing when it happens. Now, I say it’s probably going to be difficult for two reasons. First, we’re likely not dealing with just one ghost here, but two or more. Second, the dorm is three stories and it’s a big building.”
“Ouch. That’s a lot of ground to cover with just the two of us. Is there an area the ghost prefers to hang out?”
“Unfortunately not. I’m checking now, but witness statements place the ghost all around the building.”
“Yeah, no. I can tell straightaway that’s not going to work. Why don’t we do a preemptive strike and tell Sylvia right now we want backup on this one. Especially since people are gett
ing hurt, we want someone on top of this sooner rather than later.”
Mack looked uncertain, biting at his lower lip. “You think we should?”
“Honey, she told us point blank to ask for help if we thought we needed it. And you don’t want to put the girls in danger by trying to do this on our own, right? Let’s use that good common sense Sylvia trusts we have and give her a head’s up we’d like support on this one.”
“Put like that…yeah.” He took in a breath and asked uncertainly, “You really don’t think they’ll mind?”
“I really, really don’t,” I assured him patiently. “And this is our first case out the gate. If we err on the side of caution, no one’s going to smack our wrist for it. But really, I don’t think two of us can handle a three-story building.”
“Yeah. No, you’re right. Okay, let me call Sylvia.”
I’d taken a second to connect both our phones to the car last night, so as the call rang, it came through the car speakers. She picked up in a single ring.
“I have literally a minute before I walk into a meeting, so make this quick.”
“Sylvia, we just read through the case file for the campus haunting,” I said, making this as concise as possible. “We both think it a bad idea to tackle a three-story building on our own.”
“I admit I had that concern. I was willing to let you try if you wanted, but I think another pair of agents should be in there at the very least.”
“Yeah, it’s too much ground to cover for just us. Can you request them?”
“I will, but I don’t know who I can immediately send there. You tackle the family case first. I’ll send you an update when I know who’ll meet you there.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“Keep me updated.” Click.
Mack let out a low breath. “You’re right, she really expected us to call in backup.”
“She’s got good sense, our boss. Fortunately.”
The phone rang again, and this time Mack looked at the phone with a sort of resigned smile. “Of course she’s calling. Hi, Maman.”
