Uncharted Territory (An Angela Panther Mystery Book 3)

by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

  "But I didn't do that," Tevin said. "I wasn't interested in her."

  I hadn't noticed that Tevin was back. "Tevin didn't even like your girlfriend. Didn't you even think to ask him? He was your friend."

  "Homie don't got no friends. An we don't axe no one nothin'. We take action an dat's wat I did. I pushed him off dat bridge an showed him who's boss."

  "Did you get all of that?" I asked Mel.

  "Every bit of it."

  I glanced at Tevin. "I'm so sorry."

  He shook his head. "Don't be. I remember everything now."

  We heard the sound of sirens heading in our direction.

  "Did you call them?" I asked Mel.

  "Nope."

  "Then how?"

  Tevin smiled. "I had your son call him for me."

  Three hours later, after a long lecture from Aaron, a quick check from the EMTs, and the confiscation of Mel's cell phone for the confession, Mel and I headed home.

  Jake was waiting for me when I pulled up.

  "Aaron called you, didn't he?"

  He nodded.

  "Am I grounded?"

  "Oh babe, you are so much more than grounded," he said and pulled me into a rib-cracking hug.

  I melted into his embrace and bawled like a baby.

  ***

  The next morning I drove back to Trevana Hoover's apartment with Tevin floating in the seat next to me. Aaron assured me he'd be there later to give Trevana the details of the night before and wanted me to wait but I didn't think that was fair to Tevin. He needed this time with his mother so he could move on to the other side.

  "You realize once you've said your goodbyes, you'll go to the other side, right?"

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "I need to tell you about Tiffany first."

  "I know what's happening with Tiffany."

  "You do?" I nodded. "Of course you do."

  He nodded. "You're very close. You will find her."

  "I will?"

  "Yes, ma'am. You will."

  "Well, thank God you told me. My mother hasn't said a thing and I've been going crazy."

  "I like your mother."

  "I do, too."

  "She really watches out for you. Don't give her such a hard time."

  I'd just been put in my place by a dead teenager.

  "I won't. Maybe." I tapped the steering wheel. "So, you ready?"

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "Okay, then. Let's do this." I got out of the car and race-walked to his mother's apartment. When I knocked, one of his little sisters answered the door.

  "Hey there, little one" Tevin said. "I've sure missed you."

  The little girl stared up at her brother's energy.

  "Do you think she can see me?"

  "Yes, I think she can."

  The little girl pivoted around and ran back into the apartment, leaving the front door wide open. "Momma, Tevin is here wit' 'dat white lady again."

  "Yup, she can see you all right."

  Trevana approached the door. "Is my boy wit' you?"

  "Yes, ma'am. He is. And we have some news for you. May we come in?"

  "Uh huh."

  Trevana and I sat across from each other in the family room of the apartment while the girls were scooted off into the other room.

  "But I wanna see Tevin," one said.

  "Me too," the other said.

  "Just git now, ya hear?" Trevana's voice was tense. She rotated in my direction. "Girls gone be da death of me. I swear."

  "They'll be okay," Tevin said. "They'll even go to college."

  I snuck a glance at him and raised my eyebrow.

  He nodded.

  "Tevin says you needn't worry about the girls. They're going to be fine."

  "How come they can see my boy but I can't?"

  "I'm not really sure, but I think it has something to do with their innocence."

  "Do he remember his momma?"

  I nodded. "And we've come to tell you that you were right. Tevin didn't jump. The police have made an arrest in his death and the person they arrested admitted to pushing him."

  "Who it be?"

  "Detective Banner will have to be the one to tell you that but I'm sure he'll do so soon. I'm here now because Tevin wanted to see you. I think he's got some things to say to you."

  She sat up straighter and pushed her backside toward the edge of the chair. "Okay. I'm listenin'."

  "I want her to know that I remember everything. I remember what she did for me. How she worked long hours and then stayed up with me, helping me with my homework and making sure I practiced my times tables. I remember how she would read to me at night. We only had a few books so sometimes she'd make up stories and tell me them."

  "He said he remembers everything. He remembers you helping him memorize his times tables and making up stories to tell him. He's grateful for all of that because he knew you were tired from working so hard."

  She rubbed her eyes and wiped away the tears. "He always did like a good story. His favorite was da one 'bout goin' on a bear hunt. I used to tell him we be huntin' bears down by Centennial Park. They always scared da momma in da stories but da boy, he always save da momma, an da bear an he become friends." She smiled. "Dem good memories."

  "He thinks so too."

  "Tell her I've got a box up in the closet in the bedroom behind the records. In that box is my artwork. Things I've drawn over the years. Tell her to take them to the art gallery I used to go to. The one where I have a small drawing on display."

  "He said he's got some drawings in a box in the bedroom closet and he wants you to take them to the art gallery where his piece is on display."

  "And they'll buy them. She can get a lot of money for them. Enough to put my sisters in private school and get her out of this place. It won't be much at first, but the money will come."

  I would be forever fascinated at spirit's ability to predict the future one minute and zip their lips the second. I relayed Tevin's news to his mother, who squealed with joy.

  "My boy be famous. I knew he had it in him. I knew it."

  "That light is incredibly bright," Tevin said, gazing up at the ceiling.

  "It's for you, kiddo."

  "Is it Heaven?"

  "I think so."

  "Will you tell my mother and my sisters I love them?"

  I nodded. "I will."

  He hovered over to his mother and brushed a kiss near her face. Trevana noticed the shift in energy and pressed her palm to her cheek.

  "I love you, Momma," Tevin said, and then he shimmered away.

  "He's gone," I said, but he told me to tell you and your daughters he loves you very much.

  Trevana buried her face in her hands and bawled.

  I cried, too.

  ***

  "I got the cutest outfit for my date with Aaron," Mel said.

  I'd called her to fill her in on Tevin's departure. "So you made a plan? When's the big event?"

  "Tonight."

  "What? When did this happen?"

  "About fifteen minutes ago. Aaron called and asked. I accepted."

  "Oh."

  "You said you were okay with this."

  "I am. It's just, I don't know, weird, I guess."

  "That sounds confident."

  "No, it's fine, really. I'm just a little sensitive at the moment."

  "Because of Tevin?"

  "Yeah and because I still haven't found Tiffany."

  "You will. You're the super psychic medium sleuth."

  I did sort of like the way that sounded. "I hope you're right. So, where's he taking you?"

  "We're meeting at Pure for a dinner and drinks."

  "Sounds yummy." My voice cracked. I hated when it betrayed me like that.

  "I'm not going."

  "What? Of course you're going."

  "Angela, your friendship is more important to me than a date with a hot detective. I'll call and cancel."

  "Don't. I'm fine. Seriously."

  "Are you sure you're okay w
ith this?"

  "I. Am. Fine. Just go, have a good time, and text me the details when you get back. Unless you have sex. I don't need those details."

  "Party pooper."

  "I have my limits."

  "I love you, you know."

  "Right back atcha."

  ***

  I spent the rest of the day and night at home piddling around the house, picking up after my family and doing all of the boring, banal stuff stay at home mothers did. It wasn't exciting but there was a certain kind of comfort in the mundane activities, plus it gave me time to over-analyze Tiffany's whereabouts. Emily was at work, and Josh and Jake went to see a late movie.

  I called Detective Price and left him a message. "Just checking to see if there's anything new on the girls. Please call me when you can." I left him my number.

  I turned off my phone and set it on the nightstand, telling myself I wanted to get a good night's sleep without any interruptions. Five minutes later I was back in bed, turning my phone back on. I turned off my light and stared at the dark ceiling.

  "Thank you."

  I sat up and flipped on the light. Floating at the foot of my bed were Tiffany and Caroline.

  "What are you thanking me for?" I asked. "You're dead and no one knows where your remains are."

  "That's not true," Tiffany said.

  "We've been found and it's because of you. You convinced Detective Price to look further and he did. He found us."

  I sat up. "He found you? Where?"

  The black blur flashed behind the girls. It grew to twice their size and wrapped itself around them.

  "Father, stop it," Caroline screamed. "It's over. You have to let us go now."

  A loud moan shook my bed and I pulled the covers up over my legs for protection.

  "Daddy, please. It's okay. I'm not mad and neither is Tiffany. I love you, Daddy. Please stop this. Please."

  The black blur released its grip on the girls and backed away from them. It shrunk in size and warped from an unknown shape into the shape of a man. I watched as the black morphed into Tom Saunders.

  "It was you," I said. "You were at the cemetery."

  He nodded.

  "Daddy moved my remains from my tomb and put them in the shed next to his new house," Caroline said.

  "And he kept me there too," Tiffany said.

  "But why?"

  "I killed my daughter," Tom Saunders said. "It was an accident."

  "Yes, it was an accident but abducting Tiffany wasn't. She was your niece. Your sister's daughter. Why did you take her?"

  "We were close," Caroline said.

  "Yes, they were close," he said. "And I didn't want Caroline to be alone in that tomb. That cold, dark place. I wanted her to be with someone she loved. I didn't mean to take Tiffany, it just happened and once it did, I couldn't change it."

  "But you left her there to die," I said. "You let her die, too and now her family is suffering because of you, because of what you did."

  "I know."

  "You can't fix that. You've killed two people now. Two young girls who had so much life ahead of them."

  Saunders' energy lit up like a wild fire, turning burnt orange and then fading back to black again. He warped from a man into the blur and shot up through the ceiling and disappeared.

  "Oh, crap," I said. “That’s not good.”

  "He's very angry with himself," Caroline said. "He needs to find peace."

  "Do you have peace?" I asked.

  "Now that there are answers and our remains have been found, I have some, yes."

  Some wasn't exactly the answer I wanted.

  "And you?" I asked Tiffany.

  She shook her head. "My parents are struggling."

  "I can talk to them if you'd like."

  "Not yet," she said.

  "We need to help my father first," Caroline said. "When he is at peace, our families will find peace, too."

  "Okay," I said.

  "Thank you," Tiffany said. "For helping me. When the time is right, I will return and I'd like to talk to family then."

  "Okay but where are you going?"

  "To help my uncle," she said, and then they both shimmered away.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  THE NEXT MORNING I had three voicemail messages from Price, each one telling me to call him ASAP.

  "Why didn't you call me last night?" he asked.

  "Because it was night and I was sleeping."

  "I have news."

  "You found the bodies in the shed of the rental property Saunders was living in."

  "You read minds now, too?"

  "No, Price. I talk to dead people, remember? They tell me stuff."

  "Did they tell you he left a note, too?"

  "No. What'd it say?"

  "It explained everything. Why he took Caroline from the tomb. Why he kidnapped Tiffany. How things got out of control. He didn't mean for any of it to happen. He realized that, went inside, wrote the note, brought it back to the shed and then went back in and hanged himself from the top of the stair railing.”

  "Oh God, that's horrible. No wonder he's such a wreck."

  "Excuse me?"

  "His spirit. He's a bundle of negative energy."

  "Oooo-kay. Whatever that means."

  "So what happens now? With the bodies? For Tiffany's family? I can't even imagine how her mother is going to feel, knowing her brother did this to her child. And their mother, I'm so sad for her, too."

  "None of this should have ever happened. That accident destroyed a family and the destroyed another family, too. If you'd like, I can introduce you to the Starks. You can, you know, talk to them about their daughter."

  "I'd like to do that but Tiffany isn't ready to talk to them yet, let alone go to the other side. She and Caroline want to help Saunders find peace and cross over with him."

  "Is that normal in your, uh, area of expertise?"

  "If you think I'm an expert at this, you're wrong. I don't have a clue how this stuff is supposed to work. All I know is he's a seriously distraught spirit and they think they can help him. Tiffany said when she's ready to talk to her parents, she'll be back."

  "Do you want to wait then?"

  I ran my hand through my hair. "I think so. I can't really offer them anything more than you at this point. I could tell them that she contacted me somehow while she was still alive but that might just be torturous for them. What do you think?"

  "I think you're probably right. No sense leaving them worried about her spirit now, too."

  "I’m glad you found them. I still can't figure out what the angel reference was though. It makes no sense to me."

  "There was an angel in the shed, Angela. Just like the one at the cemetery. Looks like Saunders had two made, though he didn't reference that in his note."

  "That's odd."

  "Yeah well, I've seen some crazy stuff in my career and really, that's nothing. When you're ready to talk to the Starks, let me know and I'll make it happen."

  "You're not gonna tell them about us going into their house are you?"

  "I should, but no, I'm not. They've got enough on their plate right now. The cat was Tiffany's since she was a toddler."

  "Oh."

  ***

  "So he's like a demon?" Mel asked when I told her about Tom Saunders. "I told you they're real." She pounded her fist on the table outside of Starbucks.

  "No, he's not a demon, he's just confused and in a lot of pain."

  "Sounds like me when I found out about Nick cheating but I didn't kidnap anyone and leave them to die."

  "Ouch."

  "Well seriously. He was an adult. He knew better."

  "He accidentally killed his only child, Mel. I think he deserves to be cut a little slack, don't you?"

  "You're right but he's gotta get over this and move on so his daughter and niece can, too."

  "I know."

  "So whadda you gonna do to help?"

  I sipped my latte. "Me? What can I do?"

&nb
sp; She flicked her head to the side. "I dunno. You're the psychic medium. I figured you'd know."

  I swirled my latte and watched the foam swish against the sides of the cup. "I think you're on to something."

  "I am?"

  "Maybe if I can get Tiffany's parents and Caroline's mother together, I can get the girls and Saunders and they can all have some kind of closure."

  "Sure, if everyone's not completely pissed at Saunders, that's a great idea but if they are, it could totally backfire."

  I sank in my seat. "You're right."

  "You could always approach the subject with the parents first. Maybe they'll be open to it."

  "I guess so."

  "We could bring Price and Aaron with us so you've got some credibility behind you."

  "We?"

  "Well, duh."

  "You just wanna be around them both so you can enjoy them fighting over you."

  "Absolutely, but that's not the only reason, obviously. Besides, I'm not gonna go out with Price and he knows that now."

  "You're not? Why and how does he know?"

  "No, I'm not. He seems like a great guy but I have a feeling you'll work with him again and I don't want to drag my dating life into all of your professional relationships."

  "I call BS on that. It's because of Aaron, isn't it? What happened on the date?"

  Her mouth curved into a smile so big it closed her eyes. "Okay, fine. It's because of Aaron. And the date was amazing."

  "And?"

  "And what?"

  "And what else? What happened? Did you kiss? Are you going out again? Did you sleep with him? Oh, God, don't tell me that. I don't want to know."

  "No, we didn't have sex. What do you think I am? Geesh."

  "Is that a rhetorical question or am I supposed to answer it?"

  She kicked me under the table. "Nice."

  "Well, you've been pretty clear about wanting to get some lately so…"

  "That's true but I'm playing hard to get."

  "So you didn't kiss him then, either?"

  "Oh hell yes, I kissed him." She fanned her face. "And lemme just say, he's got an incredible tongue. Can you imagine what he can do with it when we—"

  "Oh no, don't even go there," I said, cutting her off. "Do not put that image in my head, thank you."

  We both laughed.

  "So what's he like when he's not being a detective?" I asked.

  "Charming and a little shy, actually. He pulled out my chair at Pure. He let me try his burrito. He told me about why he became a cop. Do you know that story?"