Paranormal in Manhattan Mystery Box Set

by Lotta Smith

  “But, is that really…?” Jackie was tempted to continue with the word “possible,” but then she recalled the overwhelming force she’d felt at the previous encounter with the TV psychic. After that, she had to accept Tyler’s story. She was as scared of Aurora Westwood as Tyler was.

  “I apologize for feeding you and your friends false information,” Tyler said through gritted teeth.

  “No worries, it happens all the time,” Jackie reassured. “By the way, can you tell me more about the woman in the white car who took Julie away?”

  “Of course.” Tyler nodded and started talking. Jackie noticed the boy ghost’s voice was stronger than ever.

  CHAPTER 7

  “Ms. Meyer is talking with Ms. Westwood. No, I can’t interrupt their meeting for you,” replied the voice coming from an intercom on the wall of Aurora Westwood’s fortress. “I’m afraid you’re wasting your time. I suggest you leave.”

  “I suggest you let me in,” Rick Rowling countered. “No one has ever had fun times by obstructing law enforcement.”

  “Ms. Westwood is extremely busy, and she cannot meet with anyone without an appointment. I suggest you return another day, possibly with a warrant,” she said, and then the line went dead. Despite the seriousness of her words, the voice sounded somehow happy—as if she had found pleasure in rejecting them.

  Rick crossed his arms in silence. He didn’t say anything, but the bulging veins in his neck made his displeasure obvious. It had been over an hour since Mandy went into the fortress, and she wasn’t taking their calls or returning his texts.

  “Hey, what are you thinking?” Brian asked.

  “What am I thinking? I’m thinking how to destroy this building to ashes and rescue Mandy in a good shape,” Rick said sarcastically.

  “Come on, Rowling. Don’t be ridiculous,” Brian said. “Aurora Westwood isn’t just a phony psychic. She’s got pet politicians all over D.C. You have no idea how those old dudes get excited about fortune-telling. Compared to them, high school girls hanging at a fortune-telling café seem like total skeptics.” Then he looked midair. “Hey, it’s you, Jackie.”

  “Is she here? What does she say?” Rick demanded, squinting in the direction Brian was looking.

  “Hi, Brian, Rick!” Jackie said breathlessly, frantically flipping her arms. “Mayday, mayday! I went to see this boy ghost, Tyler, and he says Aurora Westwood forced him to falsely testify about Julie’s kidnapping.”

  After conveying the ghost’s words to Rick, Brian cursed. “Holy shit. I knew the evil witch employed some nasty, crooked tactics about her many predictions and exposing celebrities’ dirty laundry, but by enslaving dead people? Talk about crossing the fine line!”

  “Don’t tell me that Aurora kidnapped Jules just to drag Mandy into her house of horror,” Rick said through gritted teeth.

  “Don’t ask a question with an answer you don’t want to know,” Brian groaned. “Still, Aurora should know Mandy’s with the FBI, and I don’t think that old bat will go as far as killing her, but….”

  “She won’t get away with this. I’ll crash that devil before she attempts any dirty tricks on Mandy. It’s a promise!” Rick spat.

  “Oh my God, what do we do?” Jackie paced in the midair.

  “Chill, Jackie,” Brian scolded her.

  “Jackie.” Rick looked at the direction Brian was glaring at. “Go inside this fortress and tell Mandy to get the hell out of there. You can do that, right?”

  “Who? Me?” Jackie gasped. “Well… I mean… I’m not really comfortable getting close to Aurora Westwood, and I feel something like a shield surrounding the walls….”

  “Rowling, Jackie here isn’t keen on sneaking into the fortress of horror,” Brian informed Rick, who glared directly at Jackie despite his inability to see dead people.

  “For your information, Jackie”—the veins in his neck were not just visible but pulsating, but Rick’s tone of voice was deceptively calm—“if something happens to Mandy, she won’t be able to help you find your killer.”

  The ghost of a drag queen bit her lower lip. “All right, let me try.” She charged toward the wall but immediately bounced back.

  “Oh shit,” Brian muttered. “This building is protected by physical walls and spiritual walls. The spiritual shield deflected Jackie.”

  “Do something, Brian,” Rick barked. “That’s what you do.”

  “Why do I feel I’m being treated like a handyman?” Brian complained, but he took a little silver wand out of his jacket pocket.

  “Because basically everyone’s a handyman with their own sets of skills.” Rick shrugged nonchalantly. “Now get it done already.”

  Brian shushed him, closing his eyes. Holding the silver wand in his right hand, he directed it at the wall and moved his hand as if he were dowsing for water or something. “Oh… gotcha, but this shield wasn’t created by Aurora herself. Hmm… perhaps I can push the door open for a brief while. Rowling, Jackie, step down, ladies!” With a warning peppered with wisecrack, Brian put his hand in his jacket pocket again and took out a white paper craft and a lighter. The card-sized paper was shaped like a human. Brian struck the lighter, igniting the paper craft, and then he threw the burning paper at the wall.

  The paper flew in the air with an unexpected velocity, charging ahead like a soldier with its own will. Then the air was audibly buzzing, prompting Rick to take an additional step back and Jackie to shriek.

  “There you go, Jackie!” Brian turned to her. “Go inside while the gate is open!”

  “Are you serious?” Jackie squawked, looking pale and shaking.

  “Jackie, please.” Rick begged.

  “All right! I will!” Pumping her fists, Jackie charged into the building, screaming, “Geronimooooo!”

  * * *

  Back in the salon at Aurora Westwood’s dungeon, I sighed again. I had counted my sighs after they had reached forty-eight, but then I found myself depressed, so I ditched counting.

  Dasha, the security guard outside the salon’s door, accompanied my trip to the powder room. I couldn’t help wondering if she’d accompany me inside the bathroom. To my relief, she waited outside of the door, but having someone listening to me wasn’t very soothing, so I kept on flushing while I did my business. Knowing Aurora’s multimillion-dollar empire, my heart didn’t ache from shooting up her water bill. I tried to milk information about Julie by befriending Dasha, but unfortunately, she wasn’t in the mood to make a new friend.

  I checked the time for the umpteenth time, finding I’d been stuck there for over an hour. I seriously started thinking about leaving. The more time that passed, the more my stomach churned with the feeling that I was probably wasting my time. I wished Jackie was with me. In that case, at least, I’d have someone to talk to.

  Then, all of a sudden, a drag queen in flashy neon attire jumped in front of me.

  “Thank God you’re still okay, Mandy!” Jackie shrieked the moment she saw me, flinging herself onto me. Just like usual, her arms went through me without actually touching me, but that time, she seemed extra emotional.

  “Wow, I was just thinking about you! Did I just summon you here? Oh my God, I didn’t know I could do that!” I gasped. “How did I do that? Did I obtain some kind of a Pokémon master ability or something? I’m getting new skills like every day or what?”

  “Um….” Jackie cleared her throat. “Actually, it’s Brian who helped me into this godforsaken place of an evil witch’s cave. This building is shielded with her power, and he managed to crack a hole in it, and here I am. By the way, you have no idea how Rick’s been worried about you.”

  “Really?” My mood perked up inadvertently as she mentioned Rick.

  “Yeah, yeah. Anyway, Mandy, we have to leave here pronto!” Jackie said breathlessly. She should have known about her inability to touch me, but still, she tried to pull my arm as if she was desperate to lead me out of the building.

  “You know what? I stumbled upon the truth! It wasn’t
an old lady in a black Mercedes! Julie was snatched by a middle-aged woman driving a white car instead. Tyler had to feed us false information yesterday because he was threatened by Aurora Westwood to lie to us. Mandy, you were sooo right! Aurora is the one who’s been pulling the strings behind Julie’s kidnapping.”

  “Excuse me? So, did she use Tyler in order to mislead the investigation?”

  “Yes, but that’s only part of the story. Rick and Brian just reached this theory that Aurora Westwood kidnapped Julie in order to get you, and I can’t agree more with the boys.”

  Listening to Jackie’s explanation about the sequences of events outside of Aurora’s dungeon, my head spun with confusion. Okay, so I would never have set foot in this place if weren’t for Julie’s kidnapping. Then again, I had a hard time figuring out why the famed and celebrated psychic bothered to lure me to her home.

  “Jackie, you mentioned the middle-aged woman who took away Julie had no makeup,” I said, thinking. “I think I’ve met such a person lately, like… Paloma Seymour, Aurora’s assistant? Oh my God! If it’s really true that Aurora’s pulling the strings about everything, then I just can’t leave here, can I? You know how worried Julie’s parents are about her. I have to stay here and find—”

  “No way!” Jackie interrupted. She flipped her arms toward the door. “I know you want to help Dr. Meredith and her hubby, but you don’t understand. You’re in grave danger right now, and you should really stop dawdling. Aurora Westwood could come in any second, ready to manipulate you with some evil ghosts. Oh, don’t tell me you’ve conveniently forgotten about the time that engineer dude’s ghost took over you. I had to literally fly over to Brian and Rick for help!”

  “Well, well, well. That is quite a story, isn’t it?” Aurora Westwood interjected. Jackie gasped, and I jumped off the sofa. The celebrated TV psychic was emerging into the salon where I’d been kept waiting. I didn’t notice the door opening, mostly because it opened without a sound and Aurora didn’t bother with knocking. Just like on TV, she was clad in an all-black attire from head to toe, sporting crimson lips and lots of splashy jewelry. When she was on TV, she was totally ageless, but meeting her in person, I presumed her to be around mid-seventies.

  “Amanda, my apologies for keeping you waiting here,” the psychic said breezily, and then she looked at Jackie. “Oh, look at you, pretty ghost. Hello, dear, what’s your name?”

  “Um… my name is Jackie,” the ghost responded in a shaky voice.

  “Hello, Jackie.” Aurora stared at Jackie with an extreme intensity. “I like your necklace. You must be feeling very festive.”

  Jackie froze on the spot, her mouth in an O.

  “Jackie, you have to go,” I said, trying my best not to wobble while on my feet. “Ms. Westwood and I have something to discuss.”

  “But, Mandy—” Jackie attempted to argue, but I shushed her.

  “Just go. Please.”

  The ghost of a drag queen pouted, clenching her fists. “Sometimes, I totally, truly wish I could smack your stubborn hard head!” she spat, then disappeared into thin air.

  “You’re so protective of her, aren’t you?” Aurora commented.

  “What are you talking about?” I tried to sound nonchalant, though my voice was as shaky as Jackie’s.

  “You’ve just let her escape in order to protect her from me.” Flashing the scariest smile I’d ever seen, she looked me directly in the eyes.

  Instinctively averting my eyes from her gaze, I shrugged. “She’s fun to be around, but I’m here strictly for business today. No one needs distractions at a business meeting.”

  “I see. So, what’s your business about? Please feel at home and have a seat.” Aurora indicated the sofa with the palm of her hand as she sat on a Louis XVI-style chair. As if on cue, Dasha brought a tray with a teapot and two cups.

  We sat in silence while Dasha filled the two cups with hot liquid. Hibiscus tea, I assumed. The aroma was sweet yet refreshing, and the color was a strong pink, bordering on blood red. When she was done with serving tea, Aurora gestured for the female security guard to leave.

  “So, tell me about the business you were talking about.”

  “It’s about this girl, Julie Grey. I want her back with her parents. She’s missing, and I know you had something to do with her disappearance,” I said, trying my best to put on a confident look.

  “Do you have evidence?” Aurora tilted her head to the side as she took a sip of tea.

  I was intimidated by her blasé gesture, but I went on. “I know Ms. Paloma Seymour, your assistant, is the person who abducted Julie.” I had no evidence, but considering Paloma wasn’t a total stranger to Julie, the secretary had easier access, at least.

  “Oh really? Isn’t that terrible.” Aurora made a face as if she’d just heard the most terrifying thing, but obviously, her reaction was merely a façade. “If so, why don’t you arrest Paloma? I couldn’t care less,” she continued breezily.

  “Are you sure?” I asked. “In that case, this place will be thoroughly searched—and I mean every corner.” I tried to sound as bold and confident as my counterpart but I wasn’t sure if I did it right. I had expected a more dramatic reaction from Aurora, but so far, she was acting as if nothing irregular had happened.

  “Whatever. You can search every corner of this humble abode if you have a warrant.” She put the teacup back on the tray, a chunky bracelet with a ton of diamonds gleaming on her wrists.

  “Oh… really,” I mumbled in disappointment. So far, I’d been pushing hard, wishing she’d blurt out something about the kidnapping, but the celebrated psychic in front of me wasn’t fazed at all. She didn’t deny her secretary’s involvement, but at the same time, she didn’t admit anything. Then again, my gut instinct was screaming, “It’s her!”

  After a pause, I said, “Still, if your secretary gets arrested for kidnapping a little girl, you’ll be exposed to unwanted attention, possibly with some damage, I imagine.”

  “Why, Amanda, thank you so much for caring about me.” Aurora chuckled, sounding more like the cackle of an evil witch. “In that case, Paloma has to pay—with her own life, perhaps,” she continued like she was talking about her plans for replacing a carpet. She didn’t sound like she was joking or bluffing.

  I opened my mouth and then closed it, just like a suffocating goldfish. At that moment, I knew this famed psychic in front of me was capable of murder without a fraction of remorse. I had no evidence, but I just knew it. She might have even committed a murder or two, using means that couldn’t be prosecuted.

  Facing the old woman grinning like a cat licking cream—or an evil witch savoring someone else’s demise—I resisted the urge to pass out on the spot. I took a deep breath in an attempt to regain my composure. According to the cop shows, the most important thing about kidnapping cases was retrieving the abductee safely. I had to do something.

  “Um….” I cleared my throat. “By the way, Ms. Westwood, if we could have Julie back safe and sound, I can make an arrangement so that your name won’t be mentioned in regard to the culprit.” Okay, so I had no such authority, but I had to say something…anything…. I just couldn’t nod to her words like an idiot and leave with no clue about Julie’s whereabouts.

  “Oh my goodness! Are you trying to bargain with me?” Aurora cracked up laughing.

  “Excuse me, but that wasn’t supposed to be a punchline,” I pointed out, prompting the star psychic’s face to turn serious.

  “You intrigue me so much,” she said, looking into my eyes. “Look at the colors of your aura. Are you aware of your aura changing its color every moment, as if it’s revolving?” The old woman’s eyes flickered with a devilish gleam.

  “No,” I mumbled, trying to look away, but somehow my gaze was captured by her deep, cold, ice-blue eyes that sparkled with dusky shades of purple.

  After a somewhat lengthy staring match, Aurora muttered, “Fine.”

  “What do you mean?” I drew back from her, startled. W
hatever she was referring to, it shouldn’t have been “fine.”

  “I’m open to arranging that little girl—Julie?—to return home in a very good shape.” The words she uttered were something I wasn’t expecting.

  “Are you sure?” My ears and, of course, my mood perked up. For a moment, I regretted determining Aurora as evil. Perhaps she might have been nice, soft, and fluffy at the bottom of her heart.

  But then she continued. “Under one condition.”

  “Which is?” I gulped, feeling uneasy. Despite my previous regret, I hadn’t fully ditched the theory of Aurora Westwood being an evil witch, and in fairy tales most villains tended to demand a few decades of your life-span in return to what you want. Call me a self-centered egomaniac, but I wasn’t keen on trading my decades of life expectancy with the girl who didn’t even regard me as her friend.

  “Oh, don’t worry, Amanda. All you have to do is promise to work for me.”

  “Excuse me?” I frowned. “You mean, like, working as your maid?” Should I mention that I had a full-time job? I wondered.

  “Oh no. I already have the best people as my domestic help and I’m not recruiting for now. I’m offering you a position with much higher potential. You can keep your job with the FBI while working for me. If I’m truly satisfied with your work, I can even push you up to the director of the FBI,” the TV psychic said breezily. “Imagine becoming the first female head of the FBI.”

  My jaw dropped. I looked at her carefully, suspecting she was cracking a horribly lame joke. Obviously, Aurora didn’t know me. So far, I’d had offers to be promoted into a special agent from a special assistant, but I had declined all of them. Considering my track record of clumsiness, the chances of me passing the physical exams were nonexistent. Oh, did I mention I couldn’t read auras or exorcise the dead spirits? I could easily imagine Rick Rowling leading the FBI—though he tended to be a tad bit too adventurous and blasé for other people’s feelings, but he was improving!—but yours truly being mounted as the head of the FBI was the stupidest idea ever.