Yeah, I gasped. Albert was Mr. Delaney’s older son That was not at all what I’d expected to hear. “You mean Al Delaney? The state representative?”
“He was jealous of his brother. Apparently he’d been having an affair with Brenda as well. He’d already stabbed Richard Kell, and now Brenda was on the floor dying. I don’t think he really saw me at that moment as he turned on his brother. I screamed when he pushed Jackson up against that painting.” She closed her eyes. “And he stabbed him so many times.”
I put my hands to my face. “Oh my stars.”
“I thought he was going to kill me too—but apparently Mama had called Mr. Delaney. He appeared like an avenging angel and stopped his son with a shot to his arm. After that, everything was cleaned up. The sheriff swept it all under the rug, content to blame the missing husband.
“No one seemed to miss Jackson. So unless someone asked, the story of his running away wasn’t made public. Only those who questioned it knew.”
“Why did he let you live?”
She smiled. “Because Delaney loved my mother. They’d been having a relationship for decades. And they were happy. He wasn’t going to touch me. And then after I came home from New York, Mr. Delaney gave me a job at the Historical Society, and I’ve been there ever since. My mom had her dream home, the one I live in now. She died in it. And as long as I protected the secret, I could keep my life. I could afford anything, do anything and go anywhere. As long as I kept that secret safe.”
“The picture, the one called The Cat Jumped Over the Moon,” I said, “it’s got evidence on it. Breaks in the painting where the knife could have hit it. Probably Jackson’s blood.”
Beverly didn’t comment on it. “Before she died, Mama told me more about that rhyme that stuck with her. How it had changed where Mrs. Kell had written it in that book.”
“Mrs. Kell? She knew Brenda wrote it?”
“Yes. She said she recognized Brenda’s handwriting. Said she knew it was a message from Brenda. She just didn’t know to whom. I’d already noticed Nichelle Corvis’s comings and goings in the library, but I had no idea what she was looking at. I’d already looked in the detective’s obituary and never found anything. She must have moved the case file this trip. Either way, I knew she was going to make a big deal of the murder and bring it all back. So I did what I’d been doing ever since that night.” She shook her head. “I protected the family secret. I made sure no one would ever learn about Albert’s crime.”
And then she had a gun. I didn’t see her pull it from the purse. Hell, I wasn’t even sure that’s where it was. All I knew was there was suddenly a gun on me and she was standing in front of the only exit in the room!
I raised my hand, but she stepped forward. “No magic, Ginger. I’m aware of what the Blackstones are capable of when they’re pushed. Melody may act the fool, but she’s also one of your mother’s most powerful.” She pointed it at me. “And I’m also very much aware—” she said as I watched her squeeze the trigger.
A shadow blocked my view just as the gun fired. I screamed like a little girl just as something slammed into me from the right. I landed on my backside, on the other side of the table, and realized Max had just knocked me over. I put a hand on him where he stood beside me on the floor. “You okay?”
“Yah, but he’s not.”
He?
I looked up to see David standing exactly where I’d been standing. He was very still, his arms out. I heard something dripping on the carpet as it splashed on my hand. When I held it up and looked at the back of it, I saw blood.
“That your vampire would always be close by, regardless of how much I pushed Harper at him,” Beverly continued. “She wanted him, and I suggested she go after him, since your family didn’t approve of him.”
I pulled myself to my feet by grabbing the back of a chair.
“Stay down!” David said.
“You’re bleeding!” I said.
“So I armed myself with silver alloy bullets.” She fired again and struck him in the chest. He staggered, but didn’t fall. “Silver is too soft a metal to actually make into bullets. But the ratio of silver is higher in these. Had to have the gun specially made.” She aimed at him again. “I think three should do the trick to fatally poison him, unless he’s some kind of super vamp—”
Growling stopped her from speaking. In the blink of an eye, David had transformed, no longer the tall, handsome doctor. Instead, a wolf the size of a bear stood in his place. It growled and snarled at Beverly.
She tried to fire the gun again, but this time the shot went wild as David leapt over the table and landed on her. He snapped and growled at her, but by the time I got to her, Beverly was out cold. David had only scared her into a dead faint.
Everyone came out of the woodwork at that moment. Phil, Danvers, Deputy Perrin, Peewee, Melody and Mama D. And, to my surprise, Dr. Helena.
David transformed again and abruptly collapsed to the floor. Helena went right to him and tore his shirt off. I bent over him and grabbed his hand. Two bullet holes in his chest oozed blood, sizzled and festered. They looked as if someone had tossed bottles of peroxide on them.
“I have to get the bullets out,” Helena said, just as he started convulsing. Blood came from his mouth and I freaked out.
“The silver’s poisoning him,” Mama D said as she knelt on the ground next to me. She grabbed my hand out of his and placed it on his chest. “Talk to him. Go to him and hold him to his body.”
“What?” I looked at her as if she were crazy. “I’m not that kind of witch. I’m a Hedge Witch, not a healer—”
“Hedge Witches are healers, Ginger,” Melody said where she stood near David’s head. She moved in close and cradled his head in her lap. “You use your magic like you would with your plants. You feel them. Hear them. See them. Max knows.”
I looked at my familiar where he sat beside me—and suddenly he wasn’t a cat anymore, but a young man dressed in black, with black hair and green eyes. He put his hand on mine and guided it over David’s heart. It was just like we’d practiced.
You look…
I’m your familiar. I can look any way you want me too. This is easier for you. Now, do like we did with the ivy. Close your eyes and touch David’s soul…
I closed my eyes and tried to quiet my mind like I had in the shop. I thought about David, about his smile, how he made me feel, how he made love and how he put his mark on me—
And suddenly, he was there with me, in the dark. Only he looked different. It was still him, but I knew he was human. The human he’d been before he was turned. I couldn’t place the differences. I could only sense them, as subtle as they were.
He saw me and smiled. You’re okay?
Yes, but you’re not. Don’t leave me, David.
I’m not sure I can win this one. Silver is deadly to a shifter.
And then it made sense. I’d always thought vampires were immune to silver, because that was shifters. But he was a shifter! And what was it that cured shifters from silver?
“I got one of them out!”
I had no answer to that. All I knew was that blood cured vampires. And he was also a vampire.
You need blood.
You can’t feed me like this, my love. He smiled. I just wanted to make sure you were safe.
Don’t you leave me!
“That’s two! Wait…what are you doing?”
I love you!
And abruptly we were entwined and shooting for the stars, a twin comet racing heavenward to oblivion.
SIXTEEN
I don’t remember much after the stars exploded in a what I could only call the big bang. There were voices, and crying, and there was hissing. And then someone was holding me. It didn’t feel like David, but their body was warm and safe, and I leaned into them.
It wasn’t until I fully woke up in my bed that I wondered who that had been. I remembered the beautiful young man guiding my hand and sat up. Max stirred on the corner of my bed and
blinked at me. “You’re awake.”
“That was you.”
“Who?”
“That guy. That was you.”
“Mebbe,” he said as he got up and then stretched his front legs. “I’m not sure what you mean.” And then he daintily moved over the covers and curled up in my lap. “Some secrets are best kept quiet and not talked about.”
I knew that was the best I was going to get from him. And that was fine.
And then all the memories came flooding back. “Where’s David? Is he okay? Did he stay?”
“Stay?” Max yawned and then smacked his lips. “He’s downstairs with Mama D and Melody. I’m afraid I just couldn’t handle being around Twinkle anymore. Damn, what a bore that fat cat is.”
I dislodged him as I jumped out of bed, then lost my footing and sat down on the floor rather fast. My head was spinning and I had hold of the bed when my door opened and David was at my side. I grabbed hold of him around the neck and didn’t let go. So he picked me up and we sat on the bed together, with me in his lap, my legs around his waist. In any other situation, this position would probably be awkward.
But I didn’t care. I never wanted to let go of him.
He held me tight as well, until he gently pushed me back and put the back of his hand on my forehead.
“I’m fine.”
“Ginger Blackstone,” he said, assuming his doctor voice. “You suffered a concussion yesterday, and, while still under a doctor’s orders to get rest, confronted a killer bent on shooting you down. You also expended a hell of a lot of your energy to keep me from dying.” He locked his eyes on mine. “And I owe you, and your sister, my life.”
He was pale. I really took a look at him and saw the dark circles under his eyes. And he was shaking.
Wait… “My sister?”
“Yeah, me,” came Melody’s voice from my door. We turned our heads to see her standing there with Mama D. Burt flew in and flopped on the bed next to Max. He held out his wings and made his way to a pillow, where he settled in and watched.
Melody looked paler than usual and had bags under her eyes. She was also wearing a mid-length sleeve, and I saw the bandages around her wrist. I looked at David. “What happened?”
“You kept my soul anchored,” he said as he put a finger to my cheek. “And Melody healed my body.”
“You gave him blood?” I stared hard at my sister. “You said you didn’t like him. You said not to trust him. You said he had a dual nature.”
“All are true.” Melody shrugged. “But when I saw what he did—jumping into your place to take those bullets, not knowing they were silver-based—and then how he used what little energy he had left to shift…” She put her hands to her face. “I saw what you see. And when he fed from me, not knowing it was me, I saw how he looks at you. And I know that he’ll protect you, no matter what happens.”
My gaze moved back to David, and he kissed me. And then we hugged again.
“Can we go back downstairs so I don’t think you guys are gonna go porno at any minute?” Mama D turned and disappeared from the doorway.
Laughing, we followed her downstairs, where David had heated up more soup, and I had a bowl of it. It was four in the morning and a lot had happened while I slept.
The recording equipment Peewee installed did the job and recorded Beverly’s confession, and her attempted murder of me and David. Of course, the stuff that happened afterward wasn’t kept. The missing case file and the book were recovered at Beverly’s house, where they also found the van that hit me hidden in an old barn on her grandmother’s property.
The painting was recovered from Patrick Delaney’s office, and the knife cuts were found, though someone had tried to hide them by taping them shut from the back with duct tape. Danvers sent the painting to test for blood and was assured they would get the results back within a week, and with reassurance to Miss Chase and the rest of the Historical Society that the painting wouldn’t be harmed any further. After all, it was an original painting by one of the Castles of Castle Falls.
The rhyme was still a mystery, because no one really knew if the reworked words were a clue written by Brenda Kell or not. They didn’t have much hope in finding Jackson’s or Richard’s bodies, since Patrick Delaney lawyered up the moment Danvers showed up, and getting to Albert Delaney, though difficult, would be something Danvers was going to work toward. Justice wasn’t always as swift as it was in the movies.
The things that worried me most were all the little pieces I couldn’t find places for. There were red herrings everywhere. Cass and I talked about that over coffee two mornings later. She had finally recovered and told me how Beverly attacked them both.
“I’d just settled in to look at the logs when Beverly said she thought she heard something. She volunteered to check in the hallway. I heard her yell out, so I ran to the door and something hit me across the face.”
This was evident from the bruise across the bridge of her nose. Both of her eyes were bruised now, even though she tried to hide it with makeup. She’d taken a few days off to get past it all.
“When I came to, the logs were gone and Beverly was knocked on the floor with me. The whole room was filled with smoke.”
“Yeah, Danvers said the attacker used a smoke bomb.”
Cass made a rude noise. “That’s what Beverly told him. I never saw a smoke bomb till I woke up. To think I let that woman fool me like that.”
“She fooled all of us.” I sipped at my coffee and looked out the window. We were sitting inside the new Starbucks near Melody’s store. Mavis was furious it was here, but I doubted she’d lose much business to it. After all, Mavis had her chocolate pies.
“So…” Cass stirred her white mocha. “The state representative…”
“Yeah?”
“Aren’t you and David worried about him?”
“No. Not really. I think he’ll keep fighting it until he runs out of money. The truth is, unless those tests come back with some kind of DNA evidence of Albert Delaney being in that room, the case against Albert is pretty weak. All circumstantial. And it hinges on the testimony of Beverly.”
“Is she willing to testify?”
“No. She’s got some serious New York lawyers on her side now, which I am sure are being paid for by Albert Delaney.” I sighed. “I’m just not going to think about it.”
“Way to channel Scarlett there…” She put her hand on the table. “Wait—no one’s talked about the Ghost Watchers. What’s up with them and their episode? Last thing I heard was they were going to sue.”
“They can’t.” I smiled, having received the good news last night. “It seems after the Kells’ murder, the house went into probate, since it had been legally sold to them. The society had no claim to it, so they couldn’t sign a contract for the show to use it.”
“Damn…so who owns it?”
“One of Brenda’s third cousins or something. They found out what happened and stopped it all. Apparently they hate the show. She did give the society permission to continue using the house for events, like Halloween. But she wants five percent of any income the house generates. To pay the taxes she didn’t know she owed.”
Cass laughed. “So, did Peewee update the grid?”
“He did, and as far as I know, the house will open next week on the twenty-ninth. David and I are going. Wanna come?”
“Maybe…” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
“Oh…what’s this? Has Cassandra Walker met someone?”
“I have. Maybe. Not sure. He came into the library yesterday. Tall, handsome and British.”
“I’m sure that accent is enough for you.” I smiled. “Details.”
“Well, he’s visiting a friend in town and he wanted to get a feel for the local history. He’s an architect, like your dad was.”
“Groovy!” I said, and then cringed. Where did that word come from? “And he asked you out?”
“We’re meeting for dinner tomorrow night to discuss Castle Fall
s history. He wants me to show him a bit of the local flavor. Oh, Ginger, is it okay for me to be hopeful?”
I thought of David and felt warm inside. I remembered his voice in my mind as we sailed amid the stars, our souls tighter.
I love you!
“Yeah, I think it’s perfectly fine to be hopeful. We’ll be hopeful together.”
EPILOGUE
October 31
David shut the door to Ginger’s room. She was fast asleep, the festival beer kicking in. He’d also helped her relax after their therapeutic run through the Haunted Delaney House attraction. They both believed it would help them move past events. He’d been shot with silver before, but it had been a long time ago. He remembered nearly dying then too, and he would have, if his sire hadn’t pulled him through.
Just as Ginger had pulled him through.
The real surprise had been Melody. He was going to have to watch himself around her. Be nicer. And be friendlier. There was hope there that he could get past the older sister’s misgivings. Now he just had to meet the older brother, the sister-in-law and the little sister.
He’d faced bigger challenges before. Like Ginger’s mood when Cass and her new boyfriend didn’t show up tonight. Frequent calls to Cassandra’s number produced nothing but frustration. Hence the beer and sleep.
Mama D had turned in hours ago, and Max was curled up on the pillow above Ginger’s head.
But David couldn’t sleep. Something had been nagging at him for nearly a week. He couldn’t put a finger on it, though it had the familiar feeling of something scratching at the back door. Only when he went to look out, there was nothing there.
With a sigh, he went down the stairs to the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. As he stared out the window that he thought he saw something move past. His preternatural abilities turned to high, David moved with vampiric speed to the door of the shop and looked out. No light shone from within, so it was easier to see outside.
The wind had kicked up and a storm produced lightning in the distance. The ambience of the impending rain had added atmosphere to their turn in the Delaney House. But while he was there, he felt…watched.
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