The Tomb (Scarrett & Kramer Book 3)

by Neil Carstairs

  “I know.”

  They heard Emily returning and split apart. She danced into the room in a sparkly black dress. Pete tried to smile but it reached his face too late and Emily stopped with a frown. She looked from him to her mom, and said, “What’s happened?”

  Jane walked over to her. “Nothing,” she said. “You look lovely, doesn’t she, Pete?”

  “America’s Next Top model.” Pete put on his best ‘good cop’ face.

  Emily shook her head. “No,” she said. “Something’s happened. Tell me.”

  Jane sat down. “We’ve had a phone call. It was from Hannah.”

  Emily took a step forward. “Is she okay?”

  “Yes, she’s fine. She called because she had a question she wanted to ask you.” Jane gestured towards Pete. “Pete told me when we got home.”

  “So what’s wrong with that?” Emily asked. She seemed surprised the grown-ups were so upset by the idea.

  “We know what it will be about,” Pete said. “Your psychic abilities. What we don’t want is for them to ask you to take part in any... missions.”

  “We’re trying to protect you, honey.” Jane reached out and took Emily’s hand. “I made some decisions in the last couple of years that weren’t the best for you. I’m not going to make that mistake again.”

  “You weren’t to know,” Emily said. “But Hannah’s my friend. She saved my life. She wouldn’t do anything to put me in danger.”

  Wouldn’t she? Pete managed to keep the question to himself. He saw, from Jane’s face, that she thought the same as him.

  “Is Hannah going to call again?” Emily asked, too young to get any inference from her mom and soon-to-be stepdad that they didn’t want any call to take place.

  “I think we are meant to call her,” Pete said.

  “So let’s do it.” Emily hopped from one foot to the other in excitement.

  “What time is it over there?” Jane asked.

  Pete did the calculation in his head and said, “It’ll be getting on for eleven o’clock.”

  “She won’t want us calling now,” Jane said. “It’s too late.”

  “No it’s not,” Emily said as she ran and grabbed the phone.

  Pete took it from her and said to Jane. “Best get it done otherwise Em won’t be able to sleep tonight.” To Emily he said. “We will have it on loud speaker. Your mom and I want to be able to interrupt if Hannah asks you to do something we consider dangerous.”

  Emily nodded. “Fine,” she said in a way that told Pete she hadn’t listened.

  “Emily,” he put on his stern voice. “We mean it. These people put your life in danger before. I know they’ve also worked hard to keep you alive at times, but we want you to have some chance of a normal life for the next few years. Okay?”

  She met his eyes. “Okay.”

  Pete sighed, exchanged a glance with Jane, and scrolled through to the return last call option. He listened to the hiss as the trans-Atlantic connection was made. When the ringing tone started, he switched to speaker. They waited. Emily with a smile of excitement and Pete with a growing fear that this was the start and they were all going to be sucked back into another unholy mess.

  “Hello?” Hannah’s very English voice came out of the telephone.

  “Hannah? It’s Emily. Hi!” Emily shouted before Pete or Jane could speak.

  “Oh, it’s good to hear your voice,” Hannah laughed. “As loud as usual, nothing changes.”

  “I can be louder,” Emily said.

  “If you were any louder we wouldn’t need a phone, you’d go outside and shout, and I’d hear you all the way over here,” Hannah teased.

  “Shall we try?” Emily grinned at her mom.

  “No, please, no.” Jane put a hand up to stop her daughter. “Hi, Hannah, it’s Jane here. How are you?”

  “I’m getting better, thanks. My last operation was a month ago, and they seem happy with my progress.”

  “I know it’s late over there,” Jane said. “So I guess it’s best if we get on with the reason you called.”

  “Yes.” Some of the brightness went out of Hannah’s voice. “I’ve got Daisy with me. You remember her? She worked reception at Sheddlestone Hall when you were here.”

  “Of course we remember Daisy,” Jane said.

  More hellos were said, and after finding out that everyone was healthy it was Daisy who took over from Hannah.

  “I appreciate this is one call you didn’t want,” she said. “Emily, I need to ask you about dream walking. Is it something you ever did?”

  “Not really,” Emily said. “I get most of my visions when I’m awake. I know a few people who could do it.”

  “Did you ever meet one of our psychics, Alex, when you were over here?”

  “Yes,” Emily said. “He was nice. He was a friend of Connor’s.”

  “Alex did a dream walk for us and hasn’t returned,” Daisy said. “It’s like his body is in a coma so we think his spirit might be lost. Is that possible?”

  “I guess so,” Emily said slowly, a frown on her face. “Do you know where he was going?”

  Daisy’s hesitation told Pete all he needed to know. Yes, they did.

  Instead, he heard Daisy say, “No. It took us all by surprise.”

  “I’m sorry.” Emily looked at Jane. “Is there anyone we know who could help?”

  “I’ll have to think about it,” Jane said. “If anyone comes to mind we will let you know.”

  “Thanks,” Daisy said.

  The next few minutes were taken up with saying goodbye. When the call ended Jane sent Emily straight upstairs. Everyone was hungry, and she and Pete needed to start getting dinner ready. With her daughter safely out of the way, Jane said, “That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

  “No.” Pete put his arm around her. “We showed we are willing to help but couldn’t. Emily knows we don’t hide things from her. I guess it’s a win all around.”

  “Except for Alex,” Jane said.

  “Yeah, but I’m sure the Brits will think of something. They usually do.”

  Jane went on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Thanks,” she said. “Now let’s get cooking.”

  ***

  Four hours later Emily lay in her bed, listening to the hum of the air-conditioning. Her thoughts fixed on Hannah’s call. Alex was in trouble and needed help. Turning onto her side, Emily closed her eyes. She tried to imagine what it would be like to dream walk. She knew about the skill. Connor had been able to do it. That’s how she’d first met him and Alex when they ‘walked’ and appeared to her with a warning.

  That memory made tears fill her eyes. Hours later, death came to the cabin where they’d taken refuge. Always death. It seemed to stalk her. And for some reason, there were people who thought she was worth protecting. Even dying so she could live.

  She sat up. Why me?

  No answer. Since the move back to the States her psychic abilities had reduced. Maybe it was the new things around her. The city, her house, being with Pete, school, the new friends she was making. It all formed a background buzz like radio static, cutting out the signals from the spirit world. But she had to help Alex, that much Emily knew.

  “Connor?” she kept her voice low as she called out to her friend. Pete and Jane had super-sensitive hearing when it came to her night-time activities. “Connor, are you there?”

  She waited in the hope that the young English boy would appear to her. After five minutes and another couple of whispered calls, Emily gave up. She lay back down and squeezed her eyes shut.

  Seriously, how hard can it be? Just take control of your dream. Maybe fall asleep thinking about Alex and you will go to him.

  Emily tried to relax. She breathed slowly. She cleared her mind of everything but an image of Alex. It took minutes, maybe even an hour, but the drift came. The numbing of her muscles. Sleep.

  Emily waited. She sat in the gardens of Sheddlestone Hall. A storm approached. She could see the dark clouds of
f to the west, boiling on the horizon as lightning flashed with jagged brilliance. A fitful wind began to gust; she saw the trees dip their branches. Leaf litter and dust swirled with chaotic dance moves, driven by the ever-nearing storm.

  In the shadowed dark that lay beneath the first clouds she saw movement. Emily stood, uncertain now. The whole Hall seemed empty. Is this a dream?

  Three men stole towards her. She saw their naked bodies and their vile heads.

  In the dream, Emily screamed.

  ***

  Pete spotted the moment the atmosphere changed in the Emergency Room. He stood opposite Jane, across a gurney upon which the still and silent body of Emily lay, and answered the ER nurse’s question honestly.

  “I’m not a relation. Jane and I are engaged.”

  The nurse looked up from her clipboard as she filled in the patient details. Pete saw her eyes narrow. He’d gone from grandfather, or possibly uncle, to dirty old man in a heartbeat. The nurse finished her form filling as a paediatric doctor came into the cubicle. To Pete, the physician looked about twenty-four hours out of med-school.

  The nurse left the cubicle, and Pete watched her watching him all the way. By the time he turned back Jane and the doctor were in conversation.

  “We heard her scream,” Jane said, struggling to keep her voice calm. “We both thought it was a bad dream but when we reached her Emily was like this, and we couldn’t wake her.”

  “And you are?” the physician’s identity card showed his name as Berg. He wore his blond hair tied back in a ponytail and looked as if he would be more at home on a surfboard.

  “Pete Walsh,” Pete said.

  “Related to the family?” Berg asked. He moved to stand next to Emily’s head, gently lifting an eyelid, he shone a light into her eye.

  “Jane and I are engaged,” Pete said, as the first nurse returned.

  “So you’re not the father?” Berg tried the other eye.

  “No, but I’m planning on adopting Emily once Jane and I are married.”

  The nurse sniffed. “Only relations are allowed in the cubicle.”

  “I want Pete to stay.” Jane reached across to grasp Pete’s hand.

  He squeezed back in reassurance. He saw Jane force a smile on to her face and it made him love her even more. The strength she’d shown in her life since getting pregnant as a seventeen-year-old and being abandoned by the boy who was Emily’s father amazed him. And more so with the psychic talent that Emily started developing. Something like that may well have broken Pete, but Jane came through it. Sure she got emotional, who wouldn’t if their daughter was lying in hospital, but beneath the surface lay a strong woman.

  “Is the father contactable?” Berg asked.

  Pete almost laughed. “Jane hasn’t seen him since the day she told him she was pregnant.”

  Berg ignored Pete. “Do you have a way of contacting him?”

  “No.” Jane released Pete’s hand and gripped the side of the gurney. “He ran out on me twelve years ago. He’s no more Emily’s father than you are.”

  Pete saw Berg and the nurse exchange a glance. “What’s wrong?” Pete asked.

  “Emily seems to have entered a deep, catatonic state. We need to get her for both CAT and MRI scans. We’ll also set up an EEG to monitor brain functions. Has Nurse Valdez spoken to you about insurance?”

  “My insurance will pay for everything,” Pete said, he handed over his card.

  Valdez held the card as if it might be contaminated. “Walsh,” she said.

  “Correct.”

  “You still need to leave.”

  Pete sighed. “If Jane, as Emily’s mother, wants me to stay then I stay.”

  Another glance between Valdez and Berg before the paediatrician spoke, “You say Emily was in bed when this happened?”

  “Yes.” Jane seemed relieved that the question came from Berg and not the nurse.

  “Do you think she could have fallen out and climbed back in?” Berg asked as he began examining Emily’s head for evidence of trauma.

  “I don’t think so,” Jane said. “I’m sure we would have heard her fall.”

  “And do either of you use recreational drugs?”

  “No,” Pete and Jane said in unison.

  “How about friends? Could Emily have tried cannabis or other substances without you knowing?”

  “We’ve only just moved to the city,” Jane said. “Emily hasn’t had the time to make any friends.”

  “Alcohol?” Valdez asked. “Do you drink?”

  “Wine and beer,” Pete said in exasperation.

  “Do you think Emily might be upset at the move here? Could she have been drinking your booze in secret?”

  Pete stared long and hard at the short, round nurse. She met his gaze without blinking. Pete shook his head, “No.”

  Berg watched the monitor readouts that showed Emily’s pulse and blood pressure as he asked, “Does she have any history of seizures?”

  “No,” Jane said.

  “Has she ever been diagnosed with any psychiatric disorders such as ADHD?”

  “No.” Jane shook her head and looked ready to fall to the floor. Pete walked around the gurney to support her.

  “Any issues with her mental health?”

  Jane hesitated a fraction of a second before she said, “None.”

  But it was enough. Pete saw Berg frown, his gaze tracking from Jane to Emily and on to Nurse Valdez. The physician said, “I think we’ll call Emily a Code Three.”

  “Yes, Doctor Berg,” Valdez said and turned to leave the cubicle.

  “Code Three?” Pete asked.

  Berg seemed distracted, he frowned at Pete and said, “Just a code.”

  No, it’s not just a code, Pete thought. His arm lay around Jane’s waist, and he eased it free. Berg moved around to the opposite side of Emily. He put a hand on her forehead. Pete heard footsteps and voices approaching. Three people came into the cubicle, Nurse Valdez and two cops, one male and one female. Berg stood a little straighter now the cavalry had arrived.

  “What’s the problem?” the male cop asked. He looked huge in the body protector he wore, with all kinds of kit hanging from it.

  “We’re concerned about the health of this child,” Berg said. “The answers we’ve been getting from this couple do not seem to be honest.”

  “What?” Jane almost shouted. “She’s my daughter–”

  “So you say,” Berg interrupted. “You have already admitted that this man you are with is not related to Emily, now that these officers are here we can ask to see proof that you are her mother.”

  Pete grabbed Jane as she rocked back. To Berg, he said, “That’s a ridiculous thing to say.”

  “Is it?” the female cop approached. “We have to be careful when it comes to children.”

  “I appreciate that,” Pete checked her name badge, “Officer Waldon, but anyone can see how distraught Jane is.”

  “Doesn’t mean a thing,” Waldon said. She put a big hand on Pete’s arm and steered him to one side. “Ma’am, do you have any identification on you?”

  Jane shook her head. “I don’t think so. We came out so quickly with the paramedics that I didn’t bring my bag.”

  “You, sir?” Waldon directed the question at Pete.

  “My wallet,” he said. “It’s got my driver’s license inside.”

  “Slowly,” Waldon said, as Pete reached around to his back pocket. She took the wallet from him and opened it up. “Peter James Walsh?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And the doctor said you weren’t related to this girl.”

  “I’m not,” Pete said. He saw a crowd gathering outside the cubicle. More hospital staff in different coloured uniforms and a couple of women in street clothes. The women came in and introduced themselves as social services. Pete felt Jane begin to tremble as the discussion ran away from them. The medics, police and social services were there to protect Emily and already Pete saw that he and Jane were suspects.

&
nbsp; He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Male cop, Schwartz, according to his name tag tried to stop Pete leaving until he accepted the explanation of a visit to the restroom. Pete made one turn in the corridor before he stopped and pulled out his cell phone. The list of contacts wasn’t as long as it used to be. Most of his ‘friends’ took his ex-wife’s side in the divorce and made it clear they didn’t want to speak to him again. He scrolled to the name ‘Watch’ and pressed call.

  As the call connected, Pete checked the time. Almost eleven.

  “Watch Room,” a brisk female voice answered the call.

  “This is Pete Walsh, Watch number six-six-one-three.”

  “Go ahead,” the voice said, after a rattle of fingertips on a keyboard.

  “We need assistance,” Pete said. “We are at the Levine Children’s Hospital. The hospital authorities want to take Emily DeForrest into protective custody.”

  A pause, Pete glanced back along the corridor, expecting the police officer to appear at any moment.

  “I can get a team with you in twenty minutes, do you require medical assistance as well?”

  “Yes.” A nurse walked past, and Pete saw her eye him with suspicion.

  “A private ambulance and medical team will be there as well.”

  “Thank you,” Pete said with a rush of relief.

  “Stay in contact if we need to move things along.”

  “Yes.”

  He ended the call and walked quickly back to the bay where Emily still lay unmoving. The police officers had moved Jane out into the corridor, and she saw Pete with a shout of relief.

  “They want to arrest me.”

  “What for?” Pete asked.

  “Possible kidnap of this child,” Waldon said. She held onto one of Jane’s arms.

  “That’s ridiculous,” Pete said in a burst of anger.

  Waldon’s partner edged into Pete’s vision. “Best you calm down there, sir. We don’t want any trouble.”

  Pete bit back on the comment that the police were about to get more trouble than they ever expected. “Look,” he said, “I’m not going to cause trouble. We are concerned about Emily’s health. Jane is her mother. I’m going to be marrying Jane and applying to adopt Emily as my daughter. This situation has got all out of hand.”