Buried Innocence - A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery - Book Thirteen (Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery Series)

by Reid, Terri

  “Bradley! Stop!” she screamed as they suddenly burst from the cornfield and onto the narrow bank of the river.

  Bradley turned the ATV sharply, sending a spray of muddy river water onto Mary. Her face splattered with drops of mud, she turned to Bradley, streams of water flowing down her face. “You knew exactly where you were going?” she asked. “So you planned this?”

  Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, he gently wiped the mud from around her eyes. She could see that he was having a hard time containing his laughter. “Would you believe I knew where I was going, but I just got there faster than I planned?” he asked her.

  “No,” she replied decisively. “I would not believe that.”

  He leaned forward and kissed her dirty forehead. “Would you believe I’m sorry?”

  Lifting her hands to the sides of his face, she held him in place as she leaned forward and rubbed her cheek against his, sharing her dirt with him. She leaned back and smiled. “Okay, now I believe you’re sorry,” she said.

  He reached up and felt the mud. “Thanks for sharing,” he replied.

  She grinned. “Anytime.”

  “Hey, are you okay over there?” a man’s voice called from the other side of the river.

  Oh, great, Mary thought, of course someone would be here to see me covered in mud.

  “We’re fine,” Mary called back.

  “Who are you talking to?” Bradley asked.

  Eyes widening, she looked at Bradley and then slowly turned and looked across the river. A man dressed in blue jeans and a muddy work shirt stood on the opposite bank. He was about six feet tall, had brown hair and a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. Mary grabbed Bradley’s arm with one hand and pointed to the man across the river with the other.

  “What the hell?” Bradley asked when he saw him.

  They climbed off the ATV and walked to the edge of the bank. “Hi,” Mary called. “Can we help you?”

  The man shook his head. “No, it’s too late to help me,” he said. “I don’t want to alarm you or anything, but I’m dead.”

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Mary nodded. “Yes, we actually noticed that,” she said. “How did it happen?”

  “I got shot,” the man shouted back.

  “Yes, I noticed that, too,” Mary replied, and then she turned to Bradley. “This is Police Chief Alden. Do you want to report a crime?”

  “You’re a cop?” the man yelled at Bradley.

  “Yes, I’m a cop,” Bradley called back.

  “Well, I’ve got some information for you,” he said. “Can you come over to this side of the river? I hate shouting because someone might hear us.”

  Bradley glanced at Mary, and they shared a sad smile. “Actually,” Mary said, “it might be easier for you to come over to us. Just think about crossing the river.”

  The man stared at Mary, his hands on his hips, and shook his head. “I’ve never been a water guy,” he said. “I don’t think—”

  Suddenly he disappeared and then just as quickly reappeared a few feet from the ATV. “Hey!” he cried, surprised. Then he gazed around. “Well, cool.”

  Disembarking from the ATV, Mary and Bradley walked over to him.

  “Hi, I’m Mary,” she said. “And, as I mentioned earlier, this is Bradley.”

  He held out his hand to shake, but unfortunately, it glided through Mary’s hand. He jumped back. “Whoa,” he said. “That’s creepy.”

  Mary nodded. “Yeah, it takes a little getting used to. So, who are you?”

  “Oh, sorry, I’m Bill, Bill Patterson,” he said. “I own…well, I used to own Patterson Construction in Dubuque.”

  “Hi. Bill,” she replied. “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you die?”

  “I got shot,” he said.

  “Yes, that’s what I thought,” Mary replied. “But perhaps you could fill us in on the details.”

  “Oh, yeah, right, the details,” Bill said. “Okay, well, we took this job over the river.”

  “Over the river?” Bradley asked.

  “Yeah, it was in Illinois, I’m a licensed contractor in Iowa, so, really, I’m not supposed to be working over the river,” Bill explained.

  “Okay, got it,” Bradley said. “So you took this job, and it was under the table.”

  “Yeah, it was a cash job,” he said. “No contracts, no invoices, nothing. Strictly do the work and get the cash. I even told the office we were going fishing in Wisconsin. I figured it was like Christmas money for the four of us.”

  “There were four of you?” Mary asked. “Are the other guys okay?”

  He shook his head and sighed. “No, they got shot, too,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “And I’m to blame. I got my buddies killed.”

  “How?” Bradley asked.

  He took another deep breath. “So, I’m redoing this barn for a minister and his wife,” he began.

  “Excuse me,” Bradley interrupted. “Did you say a minister and his wife?”

  “Yeah, but they didn’t look like church people to me, and they didn’t sound like church people when they spoke to each other,” he said. “I should have listened to my gut. My gut is never wrong.”

  “What did your gut tell you?” Mary asked.

  “That these two were up to no good,” he replied. “I mean why does a minister need a state-of-the-art sound stage with satellite hookups and everything out in the middle of nowhere?”

  “What did they tell you?” Bradley asked.

  “They told me they were going to broadcast their sermons worldwide and bring the good news to third world countries,” he said. “Sounded good at first, but then I got to thinking. What kind of third world countries got Internet hookups to watch sermons in the first place? Know what I mean?”

  “So, what happened to you?” Mary encouraged. “Why do you think you got your friends killed?”

  “So, we left for the night, and I’m nearly to the bridge when I realize I left my cell phone back at the work site,” he said. “I drive back and don’t want to bother nobody, so I turn off my truck lights when I get to the driveway and quietly drive back to the barn. I go inside and find my phone just where I left it, next to the table saw. So I pick it up and turn to leave when I notice there's a light coming from the other side of the room, the control room. I quietly sneak over there and I see the minister and his wife reviewing a film they’ve made. I figure it might be interesting to peek at the film, I mean the minister’s wife was not a bad looking woman.”.”

  He paused and looked back over the river. “What I saw,” he said, shaking his head in disgust. “What I saw the minister do to that little Hispanic girl. It was revolting. It was beyond revolting. I should have called the police. I should have reported him right then and there.”

  “But you didn’t?” Bradley asked.

  “I figured it was too late for the kid,” he admitted. “I could tell she was dead by the time the film was finished. So, I figured we’d all come the next day, get our gear, and then call the cops. You know, don’t leave any evidence that we were there.”

  Mary nodded. “Because it was an over the river deal.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Exactly. I thought I was pretty quiet when I drove out of there. I drove about a mile, then pulled over and barfed my guts up. I called the guys and told them that we were going to pull out the next day, but I didn’t tell them why.”

  “How did they find out?” Bradley asked.

  “Hell if I know,” Bill replied. “We show up the next morning, acting like nothing’s wrong, and the little lady comes out. She’s carrying a basket like she’s bringing us a treat, but it’s got a gun inside. She pulls it out, and she’s smiling. And we’re backing away, screaming at her. But she doesn’t even flinch. Bang, bang, bang, bang. Like shooting fish in a barrel, me and the guys are dead.”

  “And you never got to talk to the police,” Mary said, realizing the reason Bill hadn’t crossed over.

  “Yeah, I never g
ot a chance,” he said. “And I’ve been watching them. They’ve been doing more of that stuff. They got a bunch of graves back in the woods. They went out again today, and I think they’re trying to get another kid.”

  “Well Bill, you’ve just reported it to the police,” Bradley said. “And I have a friend in the FBI who has been looking for these two. Thanks, Bill. You may have saved a little girl’s life.”

  “You guys want me to show you the house and the barn?” he asked. “There are all kinds of secret panels and stuff like that inside.”

  Mary started to agree, but Bradley caught her arm and shook his head. “As much as we’d like to head over there and investigate, unless we get a search warrant and do this the right way, these two could get off on a technicality,” he said. “And I’m not willing to risk that.”

  Mary sighed. Bradley was right. “I have to agree,” Mary said. “But they don’t have any children there right now, do they?”

  Bill shook his head. “Naw, they went for a first meeting today,” he said. “If they follow their pattern, they’ll either bring the girl back tonight or go back and get her tomorrow afternoon. It don’t seem to take too long for whatever process they use.”

  “I’ll call my friend, and we’ll get back here as soon as we can,” Bradley promised.

  “You don’t mind if I stick around, do you?” Bill asked. “I could maybe help you in the raid.”

  Bradley, instinctively barring a civilian from being in on a raid, started to shake his head.

  “Bradley,” Mary whispered, interrupting him. “Remember, Bill’s dead.”

  Pausing mid-comment, Bradley shook his head slightly. “One of these days I’m going to get used to this,” he said and then he turned to Bill. “Yes, I would really appreciate your expertise on the raid.”

  “Okay, I’ll be watching for you,” Bill said, slowly fading away. “Thanks, Chief.”

  Chapter Thirty-five

  “Chris, this is Bradley,” Bradley said into his cell phone as he stood next to his cruiser in Mr. McIntyre’s driveway. “I have a…a trustworthy source that has identified the minister and his wife and the soundstage they use for web streaming.”

  Mary sat in a chair on the front porch watching his expression as he spoke.

  “Here you go, young lady,” Mr. McIntyre said, handing Mary a damp hand cloth. “That’ll take some of those mud freckles off your face.”

  Smiling up at him, Mary wiped away the remaining traces of mud and handed it back to him. “Good as new,” she said.

  He looked her over and shook his head. “Well, if you’re planning on going anywhere but home, I’d suggest you put a jacket over your blouse.”

  Looking down, Mary saw that the “mud freckles” extended all the way down the front of her shirt. “That’s the last time I let him drive,” she muttered.

  Mr. McIntyre chuckled. “There’s just something about men and ATVs,” he said. “Turns ‘em all into boys again.”

  He looked over at Bradley. “So, did you find what you were looking for?” he asked.

  Mary nodded. “And then some,” she replied. “And your help has been invaluable. Thanks for letting us search your property.”

  Bradley tucked his phone into his pocket, and Mary took that as a signal to stand up. “Thanks again,” she repeated.

  “No problem,” the older man said. “You just call if you need any other help.”

  Mary walked over to the cruiser while Bradley waved goodbye to Mr. McIntyre, and a moment later they were driving down his narrow driveway back to the road.

  “So?” Mary asked.

  “Chris is going to pull together a group using local law enforcement and some of the guys from the Chicago office,” he said. “He’d like to hit the house early in the morning before they leave.”

  “Okay, so where do we meet him?” she asked.

  He paused and just looked at her for a moment.

  “No,” she said before he could comment. “You are not going to ask me to stay home. I realize the danger; I’ve been on raids before. I’ll wear Kevlar if it will make you happy. But I am the only one who can communicate with Bill, and that could give us vital information to catch them.”

  Sighing, he nodded and looked forward, tightening his jaw. “I don’t like it,” he said.

  “Yeah, I know,” she replied. “But you mostly don’t like it because I’m right.”

  He nodded slowly. “Yeah, exactly.”

  “Sorry,” she said. “You can ask Chris to keep us together on the raid if that will make you feel better.”

  “Yeah, it will,” he said. “And I already did.”

  “Good. I was hoping you would,” she said, sliding her hand over to lay on his. “I want to lock these two up and throw away the key.”

  “Yeah, if there was ever a crime that warranted the death penalty, this would be it,” Bradley said. “But since Illinois is a no death penalty state, I hope they put them somewhere dark and deep and never let them see the light of day.”

  Mary sat up straighter in her seat. “Oh, that reminds me,” she said, quickly pulling out her phone and checking the time. “It’s still early afternoon, would you mind if we stopped in Galena?”

  “Sure, no problem,” Bradley said as he turned onto Highway 20. “Where would you like to go?”

  She smiled over at him. “My favorite place to spend an afternoon,” she said. “The police department of course.”

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Bradley and Mary stood in front of the building that housed the Galena Police Department. “Are you really sure you want to go in there?” Bradley asked.

  Mary nodded. “Yes. As difficult as this might be, I really need to get the search for Steve started.”

  “Well, I’m right here to back you up,” he said, placing his hand on the small of her back and guiding her into the building. “So, if they think you’re crazy, they’ll have to think I’m crazy, too.”

  She grinned at him. “That’s so reassuring, darling,” she said.

  They opened the door to the reception area, and the same officer that had panicked the last time Mary was in sat behind the desk. “Hi again,” Mary said. “I’m here to see Chief Chase.”

  The young officer looked beyond Mary to Bradley. “Have you taken her under custody, sir?” he asked.

  Bradley stared down the young man with the same look he used on young recruits in the service. “Actually, officer, this is my wife,” he said. “And I’m here to help her resolve an issue regarding one of the citizens of your town.”

  The young man swallowed hard and nodded. “I apologize, sir, ma’am,” he said. “I’ll call the chief right away.”

  A few minutes later they were both sitting on the other side of Chief Chase’s desk. “Chief Alden, Mrs. Alden, what can I do to help you?” she asked, sitting back in her chair and studying them.

  Mary smiled inwardly, recognizing the posture as a typical interrogation position. So, Chief Chase still wasn’t sure about her abilities. Well, that was understandable; it had taken a decapitated ghost and a haunting in her own home to convince Bradley.

  She leaned forward and smiled, another interrogation pose. Two could play this game.

  “If I were sitting in your chair, I would think the people sitting across from me were nuts,” Mary said. “So, I appreciate you taking some time out of your day to visit with us.”

  Chief Chase merely nodded but didn’t change her position. “Well, I consider it a professional courtesy,” she replied.

  Ouch, Mary thought. Well, let’s see how far that courtesy goes.

  “Well, whether you believe me or not,” Mary said, “I can see and communicate with ghosts. It began after a near-death experience when I was shot in the line of duty as a Chicago police officer. I’ve had psychological screenings and I can give you the personal phone number of the doctor who met with me. Her official report states that she does not feel that I have any psychological or physiological effects from the shooting, b
ut because of my new ability, I would be distracted while on the job.”

  She sat back in her chair. “So, we can take the time for you to call Dr. Gracie Williams and have her convince you, or you can, for a few minutes, have a willing suspension of disbelief and listen to what I’m going to say with an open mind.”

  Mary waited, watching the chief for any signs of agreement. Finally, with a loud sigh, Chief Chase sat forward, her elbows on her desk and nodded. “Okay, convince me.”

  “Earlier in the week I was in Galena on another case,” Mary began. “And I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. I ended up on High Street speaking with the ghost of Steven Sonn. All he could tell me at the time was his first name and that he was in a dark place.”

  “Like hell?” Chief Chase asked, not bothering to hide her sarcasm.

  Mary glanced up at the clock in the Chief’s office. “I thought I had at least a few minutes of suspended disbelief,” she countered.

  The chief raised her hands in capitulation. “You’re right,” she said. “Continue, please.”

  Mary nodded. “After doing a little investigation and with the help of your department, I was able to narrow down the possibilities of who he was. When he appeared in my office—”

  “He traveled to Freeport?” the Chief interrupted. “Did he use a broom?”

  Mary merely glanced back at the clock.

  “Okay. Okay, continue,” the chief said.

  “When he was in my office, I was able to show him the report, and he recognized his name,” she said. “Then we searched for his son on the Internet, and Steven recognized him. Well, actually he thought his grandson was his son. Then a portion of his memory returned, and he believes he fell down an abandoned mine shaft on his property.”

  “Mrs. Alden, don’t you think the property was checked for mine shafts?” she asked.

  Mary shrugged. “Well, I guess you missed it,” she said. “I know he’s down there.”

  “Okay, your few minutes are up,” she said. “I can’t get a warrant to search that property with only a request from you.”