“That sounds like a great idea,” Bri comments. “Since my father didn’t bother to tell me anything about the curse and didn’t leave anything behind to help, we are kind of starting from scratch here. So documenting everything sounds like a really good idea.”
Matthew cuts in, “Yes, I agree, but I would like to suggest that since we need to keep all of this under wraps and out of other’s earshot,” he narrows his eyes at Crystal, “I think it is best if you do your documenting in the study when I’m present. We can keep it locked in the safe so no one else can access it without our knowledge.”
“Yes,” Bri agrees.
“Yes, that is a good idea,” Crystal also agrees. “I would like to get started right away if that’s okay.”
“Sure, I have more studying to do anyway. Why don’t you meet me down there in a few minutes?”
“Okay.” Crystal gets up and starts walking to the door.
“Crystal?” Bri calls to her. “So did you have any questions about anything you…overheard?”
“No, not at the moment but if I do, I’ll let you know.”
“Okay.”
Crystal leaves the apartment, closing the door behind her.
Bri shakes her head back and forth, “That girl never ceases to amaze me.”
Matthew chuckles, then changes the subject. “So let’s make a plan for getting Travis to spill.”
“Yes,” Bri agrees. “Travis’s birthday is this Friday. I will tell him that we have plans to take him out to celebrate and tell him where we are going is a surprise.”
“That sounds good, Mom. Hopefully, he hasn’t made plans yet.”
“Well, I’ll ask him, and if he’s made plans for Friday night, then we can do it on Saturday or vice versa. Either way, I will tell him I want one of those days free for us to celebrate.”
“Good,” Matthew agrees. “I’m going to head down to the study to help Crystal.”
“Okay. I’m going to go talk with Travis quickly and then go see what Rose is up to—see if maybe she wants to do some baking.”
“Sounds good. I’ve noticed her mood has been getting better and she’s started to sing more upbeat tunes.”
“Yes, and I’m so glad. I was beginning to worry there for a bit. She mentioned that there was a school talent show coming up. I’m excited that she decided to try out. I just love listening to her sing.”
“Yeah, me too,” Matthew replies.
Bri and Matthew stand and then head out of the apartment. When Bri descends to the next floor, she hears movement in Travis’ room. A room that he once shared with Lucas now screams Travis the minute you walk in. All of Lucas’s belongings have been moved to storage until Bri can find the courage to go through everything. Now the room is decorated in primary colors, mostly blue and red, with anything and everything related to NASCAR; posters, models, and bedding. He has a full-size Captain’s style bed with nightstands on each side, a desk to the left, and dresser on the right.
Bri approaches his door.
(Knock, knock)
Travis opens his door. “Hey Mom, what’s up?”
“Hi honey. How are you? Did you sleep well?”
“I’m good, and yes, actually I did. How about you?”
“Yeah, actually I did sleep well. My nightmares seem to be getting less frequent.”
“That’s good. So, did you need something?”
“Yes. Have you made plans yet this weekend for your birthday?”
“Yeah, well, Friday Jake and I were going to go out to a movie with a couple of girls from school, but Saturday I’m open.”
“Oh? Is one of them someone special?” Bri smiles.
“It’s not like that, Mom; we’re all just good friends.”
“Oh, I see.” Bri smiles again. “Well I’m glad you're free on Saturday; we would all like to take you out to celebrate.”
“Oh? Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise,” Bri smirks.
Travis chuckles, “Okay Mom.” He smiles; they hug and then Bri turns to go find Rose.
As Bri walks down the next set of stairs, she hears singing coming from Rose and Crystal’s room. The door is open as she approaches and Rose is inside, facing away from Bri, looking out a window while she is singing and dancing with her headphones on. Their room is large, with canopy beds on each side. Crystal’s side is decorated in a pink spectrum of color with white accents, while Rose’s side is decorated in royal purple and seafoam green. They each have a dresser, vanity table, nightstands, and a desk. When Rose turns, she’s startled, jumping with an audible squeak when she sees her mom.
Bri chuckles and looks at her with sympathy. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, sweetie.”
Rose bursts out laughing. “It’s okay, Mom. It serves me right for leaving the door open and putting my headphones on. If I wasn’t awake before, I am now.” (still laughing)
Bri smiles and laughs with her for a moment.
“Well, I stopped by to see if you would be interested in baking some cookies with me?” Bri asks after they both regain their composure.
“Sure! That would be great, Mom.” Rose beams. “Any special occasion?”
“No, I just thought it would be something nice for us to do together.” Bri smiles.
“Okay.” Rose shuts off her iPod and sets it and her headphones on her nightstand.
They both head downstairs to the kitchen. Later that evening, about a half hour after dinner, David shows up right on cue. The doorbell rings.
Chapter Eight
Surprise
Bri opens the door. “David, hi. Come on in.”
David is a burly man in his early fifties, weighing in at 250 pounds and standing five feet eight inches tall. He has long, sandy blond hair hanging past the bottoms of his shoulder blades, always worn back in a ponytail, but he also has a comb-over just as long to try and cover the fact that his head is so bald on top you could see your reflection. Bri has only ever seen him in his work scrubs and glasses. The night he showed up to take Lucas’s body away, he was wearing his scrubs with a professional white medical coat over them. Tonight, however, he is sporting a black T-shirt with a black leather jacket over it, dark blue jeans, black boots, and a black and red bandanna around the top of his head, covering up the loss of hair completely. He must be wearing contacts because his glasses are nowhere to be seen.
“Hi Bri, long time no see.”
Bri closes the front door behind him. “Why don't we go to the living room and I will get you a drink.”
“Thanks, that sounds great.”
They both make their way to the living room and see Matthew and Travis heading down from upstairs.
“Matthew, Travis, you both remember David don't you?” Bri introduces.
“Yes. David, nice to see you again.” Matthew greets him with a handshake.
“Yeah, hi David. What brings you by?” Travis greets with a much stronger handshake and questioning look.
David smiles at them both and nods.
Bri answers before David can. “I've asked him to bring by some information about Grandma and Grandpa Edgewater. I'm working on our family tree and writing a family history and want to have as much detail as possible.”
Travis tilts his head in surprise. “Oh. I had no idea you were doing that...cool. I would be interested in seeing that when you're done. If that's okay.”
“Sure,” Bri responds in surprise.
“I'm heading out, going to Jake's, but I'll be back before eleven,” Travis informs them.
“Okay, be careful this time,” Bri says.
Travis looks at her with confusion and a twinge of guilt.
“Don't trip on anything in his garage,” she clarifies.
“Oh yeah. No, I won't.” He has a small smile, looks at Matthew with that all-knowing, keep an eye on him around Mom look, and then turns to leave after Matthew nods his acknowledgment.
Bri looks at Matthew with an I wonder if that's where he's really going l
ook before turning her attention back to David and smiling. “Shall we?”
David nods.
“We are going to the living room to have a drink while we look over the information David has brought me,” she says to Matthew.
“Oh, okay. Do you mind if I join you both?” Matthew asks.
“Not at all,” Bri says. David just smiles.
The three of them make their way to the living room and Matthew goes to the bar to pour them all drinks; then they all sit on the sofa and David places both autopsy reports on the coffee table.
“Are you sure you want to look at these, Bri?” he asks.
“Yes, I need to.” She sighs and reaches forward to grab her mother’s report first.
“Okay, but before you open that, can you tell me what you already know about your parents’ deaths?” David asks.
“Sure. Well, my dad worked in landscaping, and my mom was a beautician, but on the weekends, they both worked as park rangers at Summit Lake Park in Denver. It was a Saturday night when they were heading back down from Mount Evans. What the police told me was that their car was found at the bottom of a ravine because a drunk driver ran them off the road. They both died on impact.”
“Hmm. That’s interesting,” David responds.
“Wwwhhy…is that interesting?” she asks, confused.
“Well, because as you will notice in the reports, both of your parents had arsenic in their systems.”
(silence)
Matthew speaks up. “Who poisoned them and why?”
“I don’t know,” David says. “But I might know someone who can help answer more questions for you. I have a friend who works at the Idaho Springs Police Department, which covers Mount Evans; his name is Detective Roman Vasilie. He works the overnight shift too, so that should be more convenient if you want to help your mom, Matthew. You could probably schedule an appointment for after you get off work. I believe his shift starts at eight o’clock.”
“Yeah, sure, anything Mom needs.” He turns to Bri. “If you want to call and make the appointment, Mom, just let me know when and what time and I’ll go with you, if you want me to.”
“Yes. I would like that. Maybe I will give him a call later tonight.”
“Okay, great. Here, I’ll write down his number on the inside of the folder for you.” David reaches for a pen from inside the leather jacket he’s wearing.
“It’s kind of warm out for a leather jacket, isn’t it?” Matthew smirks.
“Oh, I always wear leather when I ride the bike,” David answers.
“Bike? You ride a motorcycle? What kind?” Matthew inquires.
“My Hog? Oh, it’s a Harley Davidson Softail Fat Boy; just got her this year. I had a Heritage before that, but my brother totaled it. That’s the last time I loan my baby to anyone. I’m really liking the Fat Boy more anyway, so I guess that went in my favor since he paid for it,” David chuckles.
“Oh! Is your brother okay?” Bri asks.
“Yeah, he got thrown from it but landed in a snow bank. I told him not to drive it up in the mountain range, but he’s stupid and didn’t listen.”
“Motorcycles make me nervous,” Bri confesses.
“They’re fine as long as you’re smart when you ride them and pay attention to your surroundings,” Travis comments from the entryway.
Everyone turns to look in his direction.
Bri looks a bit startled. “I thought you left,” she says as she wonders how long he’s been listening in.
“Yeah, I got out to the garage only to figure out that I left my keys up in my room. I was heading up there when I overheard the word Hog, and it piqued my interest.”
Bri rolls her eyes. “Don’t even think of it, mister. I worry enough about you as it is.”
Matthew turns to Bri with wide eyes, and Travis looks at her, confused and a little panicked, afraid that she might know what he’s really been up to.
“Why do you worry about me?”
Bri quickly recovers. “Oh, ever since you were little you talked about nothing but wanting to race NASCAR, and just the thought of you doing that makes me nervous. I mean, what if you crash or someone else crashes into you? Now the thought of you on a motorcycle just scares me even more,” she admits and hopes that he will take this opening she’s given him to ‘fess up and tell the truth.
If you only knew, Travis thinks. “I love you, Mom, but you need to trust that if I ever do race or ride, I will be smart enough to have the proper training beforehand and use my common sense.”
Bri just smiles, a little disappointed, and decides not to push for fear that she might say something she’ll regret later. Besides, she doesn’t want to air their issues in front of David.
“Well, I better head out. I need to go pick up my date, and I don’t want to be late,” David announces.
“Date?” Bri looks surprised. “I didn’t know you were dating. Anyone I know?”
“Yeah, Nancy from Neurology.”
“Dr. Chase? Really? When did that start?”
“Just recently. This is our third date, and I think it’s going pretty good. She’s amazing, and we have so much in common. She definitely gives me a reason to chase her. Ha, ha, ha!” He bursts out with a deep belly laugh that shakes his whole body.
Bri rolls her eyes. “Oh my God, you are such a dork,” she laughs. “But seriously, that’s great, David. I’m so happy for you.” She smiles, and both Travis’s and Matthew’s shoulders visibly relax as everyone begins to stand.
“Here, let me walk you out,” Bri says.
Travis interjects, “I’ll walk him out, Mom. I’m on my way out anyway, and I’d like to see his bike.”
Bri cocks her head and gives him a disapproving look but concedes and says goodbye to David. Travis smiles and then they head for the door.
When they’ve left, Matthew turns to Bri. “I can’t believe Travis didn’t ‘fess up right there; you gave him the opportunity.”
“I know, but either he’s not ready or he didn’t want to say anything in front of David, which is fine…for now.”
“Yeah, I guess. We’ll get it out of him when we take him out for his birthday. Did you mention us taking him out to celebrate?”
“Yes, he says he’s going out on Friday night, but he will be available on Saturday, so that’s when we are taking him out.”
“Okay, that works for me. So on this other issue—do you really want to call Detective Vasilie or were you just saying that in front of David?”
“Actually, I think it’s a good idea, but I would like to get your dad’s opinion first.”
Jared appears. “Hi,” he says.
Matthew jumps. “Geez, can you warn a guy before you do that?” They all chuckle.
“Sorry,” Bri says sympathetically. “Summoning him seems to happen almost immediately now as soon as I think his name.”
“Yes, your mother and I have a very strong connection. I can hear her thoughts now that her power is stronger, and I can hear any conversation going on, so I’ve just heard everything that was discussed between all of you here tonight,” Jared informs them, “but don’t worry, if you’re in front of someone who doesn’t know about her powers, I can’t appear.”
“Thank God for that,” Matthew says.
“It’s all part of your mother’s power,” Jared adds.
“I see. So since you heard everything, what do you think? Should we call and set up an appointment with the detective? I know you mentioned before that we shouldn’t get one involved, but I don’t think we are going to have any other choice.”
“It’s not a bad idea,” Jared concedes. “Just be careful, though. You don’t want him trying to dig too much. Remember, we need to keep the supernatural a secret.”
“Yes. We’ll be careful,” Bri states. “I’ll give him a call now.”
“Sounds good. I’ll talk to you both again soon.” Jared smiles and disappears.
Bri makes the call and is connected to Detective Vasilie after a few
minutes. She introduces herself and tells him that David referred her to him and explains her interest in getting more information about her parents for her project. She would like to request an appointment with him to pick up and possibly discuss the accident report. He agrees, sets a date and time with her and they disconnect the call.
“He says he can have the report ready by tomorrow night. We are to meet him at the station at nine o’clock.”
“Wow, that’s fast.”
“It is. It kind of surprised me, actually. I thought it would take longer to get the report ready. He also seemed a little overly intrigued to meet with me. It took me by such surprise that I forgot to mention that you would be with me.”
“Huh, that is strange. Well, maybe I can get a better read from him when we’re there.”
“That’s a good idea, and I’m glad you're going with me and helping me with all of this. I really do appreciate it.” She hugs Matthew.
“It’s not a problem, Mom.”
Just then Rose comes running into the room. “Mom! Matthew! You won’t believe it!” she screams.
Bri and Matthew jump at the sound.
“Rose, what is it?” Bri asks.
“I just got a call from Capitol Records! I sent in a bio and demo, and they called me back! They actually called me back! They want me to come in and meet with them! Can I, Mom? I told them I had to talk to you and I would get back to them.”
Bri and Matthew’s jaws drop open, and their eyes go wide.
“Mom!” Rose tries to snap them out of it.
“Ah… Wait, aren’t they located in California?”
“Yes, they are, but pleeaasse, Mom. Please, please, please. This could be my big break.”
“Hang on. I know you’re excited, honey, but let’s just take a moment to talk about this. When did you say you would get back to them?”
“I didn’t. They told me to take some time to talk to you about it, and I could get back to them by Friday.”
Loved Ones Lost (Edgewater Curse Book 1) Page 6
