Uncharted Territory (An Angela Panther Mystery Book 3)

by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

  "Is he the only one with a cap on?"

  "That's the thing. They all got 'em. They're all dressed like that. In red and black and with them ugly caps on crooked. Like they're some club or somethin'."

  "Gangs have colors and from what I've seen on the news, they wear their colors all the time." I filled Mel in on what Ma said.

  "Yikes, that's scary."

  "Is he any different than the others?" I asked my mom.

  "He's the one with the big, spankin' BD tattooed on his—" She put her right hand up to her left shoulder and then dropped it. "On his left shoulder. He's never gonna get a job where he has to wear short sleeves."

  "I don't think he's thinking about his future a whole lot, Ma." I glanced at Mel. "He's got a tattoo of BD on his shoulder."

  "A tattoo? Is he over eighteen?"

  "Beats me but I'm guessin' he got it from someone who didn't care about his age anyway."

  "He'll probably end up with Hepatitis C or something from a dirty needle."

  "Look at you, all medically knowledgeable and stuff."

  "I've been researching for a freelance article about health safety standards."

  "Uh, hello? You gonna get with Detective Cranky or what? I got stuff to do," Ma said.

  "Oh, crap. I got distracted. Lemme text Aaron." I typed out the text and hit send. "Ma, go back over there and tell me when he gets it."

  "You gotta pay better attention. Geesh." She shimmered away.

  "So, I was thinking I'd try one of those millionaire dating websites," Mel said. "Doesn't seem like Match and Plenty of Fish are going to get me far. At least not with the kind of men I'd like to date."

  "I didn't see anything wrong with the ones you showed me," I lied. "What kind of men do you want to date?"

  "The really rich, really old, and really sick kind."

  "Nice."

  "Hey, last time I married for love and look what that got me. Maybe if I marry for money I won't get screwed."

  "I thought you weren't interested in getting married again?"

  "I could be persuaded if the price was right."

  "You couldn't have sex with an old man."

  "I could. It would be hard but I could."

  "Probably it wouldn't be hard."

  "Then your point is moot. Besides, it's not about the sex. It's about the money."

  "A, you like sex too much to marry and not have it and B, you're not that kind of woman so why pretend?"

  "You're right but sometimes I wish I was that kind of woman. It would be so much easier to not be emotionally involved."

  "I doubt that but I can see how you'd feel that way."

  "I'm still thinking of trying one of the rich men sites, just because."

  "Might be worth a shot."

  "Who knows, maybe I'll meet a decent guy and can get rid of my battery operated boyfriend, Vinnie. Or, I dunno, at least give him a break. Poor thing's been workin' overtime."

  "TMI, Mel."

  "Well, it's the truth."

  I shifted my body toward my friend. "Can we skip the intimate details pertaining to you and Vinnie the Vibrator? I don't want nightmares. But dating a real live human being is a great idea. I'm not sure you should jump into anything serious just yet, but it's definitely time to dip your feet in the pool, so to speak."

  "I've got a pool that needs some dipping in to."

  "You may have mentioned something similar a couple billion times."

  "Well, seriously. Vinnie's great and all but can't snuggle, and sometimes a girl wants to be held after she—"

  I held up my hand. "Uh, uh, uh. Don't." I pushed my hand close to her face. "I do not need to hear any more."

  "Prude."

  I shook my head. "I'm just a very visual person and I don't need that particular visual stuck in my head."

  "But it might give you some ideas." She didn't even try to hide the grin on her face.

  "Remember when you were worried that the last time Nick gave you a…" I pushed my fist at her, twice. "You know, that it was the last time you'd ever have one? But it wasn't 'cause now you've got Vinnie."

  "Vinnie may be one hundred percent accurate one hundred percent of the time but he doesn't count. I mean sure, he's satisfying and all but he does the same thing, over and over and over." She raised her left eyebrow. "Come to think of it, Nick was like that too. Except his accuracy sucked."

  We both busted up laughing.

  "Me and Jake are pretty consistent in how we do things, too. I think people just get into a groove, get comfortable."

  "It's called a slump and it's boring."

  "Well we're not in a slump. We've found something that works, so we've stuck with it."

  "Actually, that wouldn't be so bad as long as he had a warm body, and I didn't need to run to the store at midnight to get him goin'."

  "You did not seriously do that."

  "Desperate times," she said.

  "Wow, that sucks."

  "Yeah but I don't have to, so I guess I can't complain."

  It took a second for that one to compute. "Good one."

  "I'll be here all week." She bent her elbow across her waist and did a little bow. "But seriously if I'm going to start dating again, I would prefer to do it through a site that caters to a clientele more appropriate for my needs."

  "You mean your wants?"

  "No, my needs."

  "What is it that you need that you can't get on the other sites?"

  "Someone whose wardrobe doesn't include wifebeaters for starters."

  "They are a fashion faux pas."

  "I can't date someone who thinks an undershirt is acceptable public attire."

  "I can't really argue that."

  "And maybe a guy with a little extra cash to lavish on me so I can have an incredibly superficial lifestyle."

  "So you can shop at Whole Foods instead of Publix?"

  "Exactly. So who knows? Maybe I'll meet someone." She gazed out the window. "Or maybe I'll end up with that tasty piece of man meat."

  Aaron tapped on my car window, and I jumped. When I realized Mel had just referred to him as a tasty piece of man meat I turned back to her and stuck my finger down my throat.

  "Uh, you might wanna roll down the window," she said, pointing to it. "He doesn't appear very happy."

  I twisted back toward Aaron and grimaced at his scowl. I rolled down the window. "Hello Detective Cranky. How's it goin'?" I smiled.

  He didn't smile back. "I thought I told you not to come to the park?"

  I shook my head and feigned innocence but prepared for a verbal assault. "I'm not at the park."

  His scowl grew. "This isn't a soccer mom kind of area, Angela."

  "Well then it's all good because I'm a lacrosse mom."

  Mel piped in. "No soccer for my kids, either."

  Aaron stood with his back to the car and leaned into the window like officers I'd seen giving tickets to speeders. "What're you two doing here?"

  "We're not doing anything, my mother is. She can identify the kid who said that stuff about Tevin, so we figured if he's at the park, she could tell us and then we could tell you."

  "And you couldn't do that from your house?"

  "That didn't cross my mind."

  "Jesus." He dropped his head on the base of my window. "I suppose it was her that threw my cell phone into the bushes, then?"

  "Huh?"

  "My cell phone. It flew from my pocket and landed in the bushes. Scared the living daylights outta the boys and half of them went running. So your mother was very helpful." His tone was one hundred percent sarcastic with that last sentence.

  "I didn't tell her to do that and that's probably why she's MIA right now, too."

  "Rut roh," Mel said.

  He showed me his phone. "My screen's cracked. Tell her she owes me a new screen." He stuffed the phone in his pocket. "And tell her to be a little less obvious next time. I wasn't done talking to the boys."

  Mel snorted. "That's like telling the Pope not to pray."


  "Yeah, my mother is about as inconspicuous as a nun in a whore house."

  "When you look up the definition of obvious in the dictionary, Fran's face is next to it," Mel said, laughing.

  We high-fived each other and laughed.

  Aaron narrowed his eyes and straightened his lips into a line. His nostrils flared as he breathed.

  Mel nudged my arm with her elbow. "That's not attractive."

  "That's Detective Cranky's angry face," I said.

  "How old are you two?" he asked.

  "I'm younger than her," Mel said. "So I have an excuse."

  I smacked her on the leg. "Rude."

  "Ouch. I might have to call the police on you for that. Oh, wait. There's a kind, attractive one with us now. Silly me."

  Aaron shook his head but I caught the left side of his mouth twitch upward.

  "Seriously, I'm sorry. I didn't know she was gonna do that. All she was supposed to do was make sure you read my text. I'll have a talk with her about proper notification techniques."

  Mel chuckled.

  "I had it on silent and the vibration isn't enabled."

  Mel mumbled under her breath. "Seems like a waste of a good vibrator."

  I snorted.

  "What'd she say?" Aaron asked.

  Mel broke out in laughter again.

  "She said it seemed like you wasted a good vibrator."

  Mel's face turned blood red. "Oh my gawd!"

  I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe.

  Aaron covered his mouth with his hand, but his smile stretched out past his fingers. "Next time I tell you to stay away from something, I need you to do it. Got it?"

  We both nodded, little snips of giggles creeping out as we did. Mel pinched me on the thigh, and I pushed her hand away.

  "But did you talk to the right kid?" I asked. "Did you find out anything?"

  He leaned in closer and nodded. "I believe we know which one is DeShawn Johnson now, yes. And if my gut is right, I don't think Tevin jumped. At least not voluntarily."

  "Oh no, that's horrible. So you think he was murdered?" Mel asked.

  "I'm not sure what's going on, but we're going to look at this as a potential homicide." He straightened and scanned the area. "Now I want you to follow me outta here, and no more coming to this part of town, you got it?"

  I saluted him. "Yes, sir."

  Mel saluted him, too. "Got it, sir." She winked at him.

  I threw up a little in my mouth.

  Aaron tipped his head toward us. "Good day, ladies."

  Mel smacked me on the leg again. "I can't believe you threw me under the bus like that?"

  "I did no such thing."

  "You just told him I use a vibrator. There goes any chance of hookin' up with the hottie detective."

  "No, I said exactly what you said and it had nothing to do with you using a vibrator, though probably he assumes that now. And besides, who says you're hooking up with my detective anyway?" I wondered if my mother was giving me a hint about Mel and Aaron when she mentioned it earlier.

  "My detective?"

  "You know what I mean. The last thing I need right now is for you to hook up with someone I'm working with."

  "It might be the last thing you need, but it's tops on my list right now."

  "Can we talk about this later? I don't want to puke."

  "Oh, fine." She twisted her fingers together. "Pretty funny, what your mom did, huh?"

  "She's a character, all right."

  "Wonder why she didn't come back and tell us?"

  "Probably because she knew I'd be mad."

  "Can't imagine Fran being scared of you."

  "Why not? I can be scary when necessary."

  "Not really."

  "Thanks for your support."

  "Any time." She flipped down the visor mirror and studied her left eye. "I bet she's lovin' all this though."

  I nodded. "The celestial super sleuth? Oh yeah, she loves this stuff. Keeps asking if she can go and terrorize Nick and Carrie, too."

  Mel flicked the visor back up. "I'm totally up for that."

  "I'm goin' with no on that one."

  "You're no fun."

  "You're not the first to say that."

  "And I won't be the last, I'm sure."

  "So rude."

  "We each have our gifts."

  "Oh yeah? What're those?"

  "You're a gifted psychic medium and I'm a gifted smartass."

  "I don't feel very gifted these days."

  "Why the angst and trepidation?"

  "I've got a ghost that doesn't know who he is and some girl in a white gown that's got me totally baffled. And I can't seem to help either of them."

  "So what're you gonna do about it?"

  "Beat myself up and berate myself for my inadequacies."

  "Sounds like you've got a plan."

  "Thanks for your support."

  "That's what friends are for."

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  I DROPPED MEL OFF, drove home, changed into my running clothes, and then hit the park for a run. I ran the entire path, a three-mile loop, once. The scenery calmed my raw nerves. Mini-football players resembling bobble heads with massive helmets ten-times too big vied for the ball, crashing into each other, forming one heaping pile of boy stink. Future lacrosse players tumbling around the field with sticks twice their size, tripping over each other to grab a tiny ball and toss it into a netted goal but more often than not missing their target. It reminded me of Josh's first few years playing lacrosse and how quickly time flew. So much had happened in the past few years and I'd just begun to catch my breath when the next upper cut came out of nowhere and smacked me in the face with a new challenge and another layer of my gift I didn't quite understand. I'd learned a lot since first seeing my mother as a ghost, the most important thing being that most things didn't come with an explanation and it was pointless to search for one. Sometimes I just had to let go and go with the flow, a tough task for the likes of me.

  The run was hard and I chastised myself for letting my health take a dive on my list of priorities. Even though I'd run at Josh's lacrosse practice the other day, I hadn't paid proper attention to my body or the signals it sent and I needed to if for no other reason than to relieve stress.

  Cooling down, I walked over to the wooded area of the park where Matthew Clough died. Trails of sunlight lit the wooded area, and rocks glistened and sparkled. Standing there, listening to the distant sound from the ball fields and remembering the innocent persistence of Matthew, I had an inexplicable need to feel close to him. Even in death the boy was a bright spot in my life and I needed to feel some of that specialness again.

  The area didn't hold the energy of the violence that ended Matthew's life. Instead it was peaceful and calm. I hadn't been back in a few months and in that time friends of the Clough family purchased a wrought iron bench and stone plaque in Matthew's honor and placed it in the spot where he took his last breath. The plaque read,

  Where a special angel found his wings

  Love will remain forever

  I brushed the leaves off the bench and sat, smiling at the memorial to Matthew. A mix of emotions overwhelmed me—anger, sadness, and happiness. No five-year-old should ever have to die but especially not at the hands of a trusted nanny. I was proud of my involvement in getting to the truth of Matthew's death. I'd learned the true value of my gift and gained the courage to work with Aaron. I was scared at first but working with Aaron wasn't what I'd expected and I hoped the next round of changes my gift presented would be as easy as the last.

  I closed my eyes and watched a mental movie of the day I'd told Matthew's parents how their little boy died. Their desire to tell the police, my monumental anxiety attack, the unexpected and much desired visit from my dead father and his encouragement that gave me the strength I needed to do the right thing. Something I thought would be horribly life-changing turned out okay and the Clough family had the closure they needed to at least begin to heal. I
wanted to give that kind of closure to Tevin and his family and the girl in the white gown but that felt like a pipe dream.

  An image of Pam Ryan flashed through my head. I pushed it out but it popped right back in. The universe had a sneaky, annoying way of dropping hints and I knew her face was one, but like always, I didn't understand. Maybe I understood but just refused to acknowledge it. Pam Ryan was part of the next step in my psychic medium journey. She was just a step I would have preferred skipping.

  "Hi." Matthew appeared next to me on the bench, floating with his legs crossed Indian style. His sweet innocence made my insides tingle.

  "Matthew? Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be with your grandpa on the other side?" I knew some spirits traveled between the two sides but I thought Matthew had crossed over and stayed.

  "I come back sometimes 'cause I like to see my mommy and daddy."

  "Oh. Well, if your energy around them is as strong as it is right now, I'm sure they know you're there."

  "They do. Mommy smiles a lot now and Daddy doesn't sit in his chair all day anymore."

  "I'm glad, Matthew. Really glad."

  "And when my brother comes they'll be more happy."

  "Your brother? Is your mom having a baby?"

  "Yuh huh. And I got to meet him, too."

  "You got to meet him? Wow. That's pretty cool."

  "Yuh huh. All the babies waiting for a mommy and daddy are in this special place and they hang from big hooks, sorta like swings, and when they see the mommy and daddy they want, they swing real high and get dropped into the mommy's tummy. It looks like fun. They said I did it too but I don't remember."

  A hook?

  "So you saw him on the hook?"

  "Yuh huh. They told me to show him my mommy and daddy because he would like them, so I did. But I didn't get to see him drop down. I wonder if he was scared?"

  "Probably not. I don't think they make things scary up there."

  "Yeah, I'm never scared now."

  "I'm really glad to hear that." I wiped away the sweat that had built up on my forehead.

  "Don't be sad," he said. "Alo says you are gonna do great things."

  "You spoke to Alo?"