by H. P. Bayne
“He doesn’t strike me as the partying sort,” Dez said.
“I’m sure he isn’t anymore. Probably any drinking he does now, he does alone—mostly because few people other than Lonnie were able to tolerate him in large doses.”
“Did Lonnie stop spending time with him because he knew you didn’t like him?”
“Perhaps in part,” Carlene said. “But it was more than that, I think. As I said, Lonnie grew up. He had a wife, a home, responsibilities. The kids were both under three at the time and a real handful. Larson didn’t have those things at that point. He met his ex-wife somewhere in there, but it didn’t last long. They had their son and he couldn’t handle the strain of being tied down, so he left them. That’s the sort of person he is, and Lonnie understood that.”
“But Lonnie started spending time with him again.”
Carlene blanched. “When?”
“Uh-oh,” Bulldog muttered.
“Sometime after the kids were born,” Dez said.
“Who told you that? Was it Larson?”
“I take it you didn’t know.”
“No. I didn’t.” She pursed her lips, and Dez didn’t step into the silence. Thankfully, Bulldog kept his mouth shut, too, allowing her a moment to process as she turned her glare on a row of beautifully done custom cabinets. At last, she returned her attention to Dez. “It probably shouldn’t surprise me Larson managed to worm his way back into Lonnie’s life, and that my husband didn’t tell me. That would have ended in an argument, and he tried to avoid those where possible.” She sat forward, eyes widening as she regarded Dez. “You didn’t come here to ask about Larson because you think he had something to do with Lonnie’s disappearance, do you?”
“I didn’t say that,” Dez said. “But what do you think? Would Larson have reason?”
“No, he wouldn’t, but he might think he had. Put it this way. If the two of them had gone back to drinking the way they used to, and they started arguing about me, anything could have happened. Larson’s a big man. He might have hurt Lonnie. It’s just possible. Lonnie was in a bad place before he went missing. He was more argumentative with me and the kids. He might have been with his friends too.”
“Was there anything else between them? Any bad blood?”
“I don’t know. Jealousy maybe. Lonnie told me Larson had wanted me too. Maybe that was the reason.”
“Don’t get too hung up on homicide as an answer to all of this,” Dez said. “I’m looking at all the angles here. I have no evidence at this point your husband was the victim of foul play.”
He went through the photos in his hand, picking out one of Nora.
“How about this one?” he asked, sliding it across to Carlene. “Do you recognize this woman?”
Carlene peered at it. “No, I don’t. Should I?”
“Just poking around for any possible connections. There might not be any. She’s a missing person, too, disappeared shortly before Lonnie did.”
“You don’t think…. I mean, you aren’t suggesting Lonnie might have run off with this girl, are you?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you’re thinking it.”
“They weren’t exactly in the same league,” Dez said. “We have no evidence the two of them even knew each other.”
“So why ask me about her then?”
The real answer wasn’t one he could provide. How did you tell someone the reason you were looking into a possible connection was because a ghost had exposed one?
“Like I said, the two of them disappeared close to the same time, and we’re checking into her case too. It was a long shot, but I wanted to check it out anyway.”
Carlene didn’t appear completely placated, but her easing posture told him she’d let it go all the same.
Dez tucked the photos back into his pocket and stood. “I think that’s all for now, Mrs. Debenham. Thanks for answering my questions. We’ll show ourselves out.”
Dez headed for the front door, Bulldog behind him when he was interrupted by Carlene. “Mr. Braddock?”
He knelt to put his boots back on, but faced her to allow for conversation. “Yeah?”
She knelt in front of him so they were nearer to face-to-face. “Um…. Listen, there might be one or two things I…. I might have some things I’m more comfortable sharing with just you. Just you. Do you know what I’m saying?”
Oh, he knew, all right. He knew he was grateful Bulldog was standing next to him, a modern-day chaperone. “Thanks, Carlene. But I’m a happily married man, like your husband was. It wouldn’t be right for me to come back here alone.”
She nodded, smiled. “I understand. Pity, though.”
She stood as he did, staying at the door as they left so she could close it behind him.
“Quite the lady,” Bulldog said as they walked toward the SUV. “I can see why you were worried. But honestly, though, who would cheat on her?”
“She wasn’t exactly nice to you.”
“She didn’t toss me out on my ass either. Given the right circumstances, I’ll bet she’d warm up to me.”
Dez smirked as he unlocked the vehicle, saving his reply for when the two of them were sitting inside.
“Sure, she would. If you were on fire.”
21
Sully had already seen this episode of House Hunting 101, one where an obnoxious executive-type and his wife—a woman who dressed like she wanted desperately to fit in among the Beverly Hills set—picked apart every house they entered.
He could only imagine their horror if they were shown Dez’s apartment as a prospective home: “Nice closet. Where’s the rest of it?”
Sully was relieved when Dez returned.
He clicked off the TV as his brother plopped down next to him on the pullout and gave Pax’s head a rub.
“How was your talk with Hackman? You’ve been gone a long time. You didn’t kill him and bury him in the woods, did you?”
“Thought about it. But no. He’s still in one piece. You should be proud of me.”
“What did he say?”
Dez filled Sully in on his meeting, adding in details about his subsequent visit to Carlene.
“So what do you think?” Sully asked. “Did Lonnie have anything to do with Nora’s murder?”
“No idea. It seems like a bit of a stretch. I mean, yeah, both of them went missing in the same area and close to the same time. But that’s not necessarily unusual in and of itself. On any given day in KR, the police department receives at least a couple of calls about missing people.”
“Sure, but most are found pretty quickly, right?”
“Yeah. Most don’t turn into full-blown, long-term files. Look, I’m not about to toss out the possibility the two cases are connected. I just don’t want to get hung up on that yet, and neither should you. The Faceless Flo legend runs that she goes after any guy out there who’s alone. That can explain Lonnie and Emory. It can even explain this possible ancestor of yours.”
“Only we know now our current ‘Faceless Flo’ is actually Nora.”
“So what happened to that Oliver guy? Nora wasn’t even close to being born yet when he disappeared.”
“Maybe he just fell somewhere or had a heart attack, and no one ever found him. There’s no reason to think he fell victim to a spirit. People like to blame things on ghosts. It’s easier than accepting there’s not always an explanation for bad things happening, or that they screwed something up themselves.”
“Fair enough. But let’s not jump too quickly into the Lonnie-Nora connection yet, huh? Keep an open mind. That’s what Dad always said.”
“I remember. You’re right.” With plenty of time on his hands tonight, Sully had been thinking, and he kept coming back to the same place—one Dez wouldn’t be happy to explore. “Hey, D? I’m wondering if maybe we shouldn’t go back to Hollow Road, see if—”
“Why do you keep doing this to me?”
“We should have another look around, see if we can find someth
ing other people have missed. I mean, Nora led me to Emory when I asked her. I just thought maybe, if she did have something to do with it, she might lead me to Lonnie too.”
“Can I remind you of something? She led you to Emory so she could get you in there with him. She wasn’t trying to be helpful.”
“I know that. But I’ve got my eyes open now. And I’ll have you with me. If she starts to affect me like she did the last time, I’m hoping you can hold me back.”
“I’d like to skip the in-between steps and just hold you back right now. You’re crazy, you know that? Most people avoid things that almost killed them. You run right back toward them.”
“It’s been thirty years, and no one’s found Lonnie or Nora, despite massive searches. Maybe the reason is they couldn’t see the one thing that would have given them their answer.”
“Nice,” Dez said. “Nice, man. Can’t you try to see, I don’t know, gentle grannies? Why do you always have to see ghosts who want to lead us into something that damn near kills us?”
“I don’t get a choice in who I see. They show themselves to me, and I have to do the rest.”
“Yeah, yeah, okay. But do we have to go tonight?”
“No. Tomorrow’s fine. Time of day’s never mattered in terms of when I see them. Anyway, I’m not stupid. I don’t want to risk us falling into another gaping hole in the ground.”
Dez’s shoulders visibly relaxed as he heaved a breath. “In terms of ghost chasing, that, Sully, is probably the first intelligent thing you’ve ever said.”
Sully was up first, and while he wanted to get started as soon as his brother emerged from his spot on the pullout, Dez wouldn’t be going anywhere until he’d been fed.
Sully wasn’t much of a cook, but he managed some scrambled eggs, toast and bacon while Dez went through the initial phases of getting up.
“Smells good,” came a muttered compliment from the direction of the couch.
“Rise and shine and you can have some.”
One more groan and Dez rolled himself out of bed, then padded wordlessly to the bathroom. Sully buttered the toast while Dez took a quick shower.
Five minutes later, the two of them were at the table, Pax drooling next to Dez as he eyed the plates.
Dez unsuccessfully directed Pax to shake a paw, but tossed the dog a piece of bacon anyway.
“You’ve never bothered to teach him any tricks,” Dez said.
“What’s the point? He listens to me when it counts. He knows when to come, when to stay and when to attack. The rest is unnecessary.”
“Sure, but it’s fun.” Dez didn’t pursue the matter, switching topics to the issue Sully expected was actually on his mind. “You haven’t, by chance, rethought going back out to Hollow Road, have you?”
“No choice, man. You can come or not.”
“Like I’d let you go back out there by yourself again. I’m coming. I just wish you’d reconsider, that’s all.”
Reconsidering wasn’t an option. A few minutes later, breakfast dishes done—Dez’s insistence—the two of them, along with Pax, headed out in the SUV.
Sully half-expected to hear Dez’s phone go off with the day’s instructions from Lachlan but, so far, his boss was leaving them in peace. They made it to Hollow Road without a call or text, nothing to distract them from the mission Sully had laid out for them.
If Dez was disappointed, he kept it to himself, remaining a silent figure at Sully’s side as they drove along the road, Sully’s eyes glued to the woods for any sign of the ghost.
He could see the break in the trees ahead, indicating they were near the old town, when another scan returned the sight he was seeking.
“Stop,” he said. “I see her.”
Dez said nothing, simply braked and pushed the stick into park. Sully turned, just long enough to inspect his brother before returning his eyes to Nora.
“You okay?” he asked Dez.
“Ask me later.”
Sully stepped out of the vehicle and opened the rear door for Pax while Dez shut off, exited and locked the SUV. Sully waited until Dez was at his side before starting to make his way toward the spirit. So far, she hadn’t moved. Facing them, her features were obscured, as usual, behind a layer of clumped and dirty hair.
“I know who you are,” Sully called out as they closed the distance. “Who you really are. Nora Silversmith, right?”
Her head twitched, her yet-invisible face lifting so he could make out the tip of a nose poking from between strands of hair. The revelation she did indeed have a face beneath the hair and shadow gave him some extra courage to continue questioning her.
“I know someone killed you. My brother and I are trying to find out who did this to you so we can bring them to justice. It’s been thirty years, but that’s not too long for someone to face a charge. But I know you weren’t alone. You had a baby.”
Sully blinked. Opened his eyes to find Nora directly in front of him, shadowed face not two feet from his.
He took an involuntary step back, a strangled exclamation on his lips as he collided with Dez.
“Jesus, what?” Dez demanded.
Sully took a breath, then another, convincing himself he was okay. “Nothing. It’s all right. They just move fast sometimes, that’s all.”
“Where is she now?”
“Right in front of me.”
“Shit.”
Sully put Dez’s anxiety out of his mind, honing in on Nora instead. He had her attention, all of it, and he needed to make the most of it.
“Your baby’s name was Ben. He was a month old when you were killed, but he’s not with you. I’m guessing you’ve been looking for him. Do you know for sure he’s dead too?”
Sully knew the answer, of course. He’d seen the baby’s tiny spirit near Nora’s that day he’d revealed his ability to Lachlan. But what he knew didn’t matter. It was what she knew, or at least suspected, that counted. It could form the basis for her motivation to remain here, trapped in this world, threatening the men who came here.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t revealing her secrets. Not yet, anyway. He hadn’t lost her; she was very much focused on him. But he suspected this was more a case of her sizing him up, as if gauging the strength of an enemy.
He tried again. “I can help you. It’s what I do. People who have been murdered come to me to find justice and peace, and I can do that for you too. But I need you to help me. Do you know where to find your body?”
No response.
“How about Lonnie Debenham? He was a young guy who came out here thirty years ago too. His car was found on this road, but no one was ever able to find him. Do you know anything about that?”
Nothing. Her hair shifted slightly, as if caught in a gentle wind that existed only within her own reality. On Sully’s side, everything was still, not even a light breeze from the overcast sky.
Dez had apparently reached the end of his limited patience. “What’s going on?”
“I’m trying to get her to communicate.”
“She won’t? Why not?”
“I can’t exactly answer that now, can I?” Sully said through a smile, one he forced for Dez’s benefit.
“I remember you saying something once about how some ghosts aren’t aware of anything outside their own world or dimension or whatever. Maybe that’s what the problem is.”
“No, she’s aware of me. She’s focused on me. But I’m not getting anywhere.”
“It’s been thirty years. If she’s spent all that time with one goal in mind, it might be kind of jarring, having you turn up, asking her to change course.”
Sully’s eyebrows lifted. Sometimes, despite Dez’s dislike of ghosts, he came up with a nugget that revealed he understood them better than he realized. It was a great point. If Nora had spent three decades with her sole aim to take revenge upon any vulnerable male she happened upon, it was a lot to ask her to alter her thinking now.
They could get partway to an answer, though—and could make tre
mendous strides toward concluding Dez and Lachlan’s current paid job—if they could find the body of the missing banker.
“Do you have a photo of Lonnie?” Sully asked.
He listened as Dez rifled through his clothing and accepted the photo his brother pressed into his hand. Sully lifted it, holding it where he hoped Nora could see through the hair.
“This man. His name’s Lonnie Debenham. I think you might have seen him a couple of months after you were killed. You led me to Emory a couple of nights ago. Maybe you can take us to Lonnie now. Can you do that? It’s important we find him, not just for him or his family, but for you too. I think it might help us to help you.”
It was crap. He knew it. He couldn’t think of a single way their locating the banker’s remains would help Nora find peace, but he’d use any ploy he could at this point.
For some reason, this one seemed to be working.
As unexpectedly as she’d appeared in front of him, Nora vanished from his space. Sully visually searched the area, finally spotting her a short distance to the northeast.
“I think she’s going to show me,” Sully said for Dez’s benefit. “Don’t lose me, all right?”
“You’re moving pretty stiffly this morning. Keeping up to you shouldn’t be a problem.”
“If she draws me in the same way she did that night, I won’t even remember my shoulder.”
“I won’t lose you. Let’s get this over with.”
As the last time, Sully started off with a light walk, but found he had to increase his pace to a jog as she began to move more quickly through the woods. Finally, a couple of minutes into this, she led him into a run.
