A Brady Paranormal Investigations Box Set

by Harper Crowley

  That seems to brighten Beau’s mood a bit, and he nods. “Good idea.”

  I whistle to bring Bear to my side, and we skid and skip down the side of the valley to the bottom. Yes, ATVs would be faster, and I probably wouldn’t fall on my ass as much, but I don’t want to run over a clue. That would be my luck.

  At the base of the valley, squat mesquite trees and a few large rocks dot the ground. Our flashlight beams skate across the ground, casting twisted shadows in their paths. Unfortunately, I don’t see anything that might point toward either man or extraterrestrial, nor do I hear anything unusual until Beau’s strangled shout rings out. Nearly dropping my phone, I rush to his side.

  Beau turns before I can reach him and grabs my arms. “Stay back.”

  “What’s going on?” I try to shake him off, but he’s too strong.

  “You don’t want to see this,” he says.

  “Yes, I do.” I duck and wrench my arms out of his grasp to shine the flashlight on whatever Beau is trying to hide. I immediately wish I didn’t.

  The body propped up against the tree is wearing blue jeans and worn leather chaps. A blue-and-white plaid shirt covered in a leather vest completes his ensemble. A dusty cowboy hat lies on its side at his feet, and one knee is bent more than the other. He almost looks like he’s sleeping, except for the round bullet hole and the thin line of blood trailing down the middle of his forehead. I stumble backward. Oh God, not again.

  Beau gently leads me away. “Let’s go back to the ATVs,” he says, his voice low. He glances back at the body as if imprinting the image onto his mind.

  Behind us, the roar of Jess and Russ’s ATV approaches. “I don’t want Jess to see this,” I tell Beau.

  He nods. “I get it.” Together, we turn and form a wall between the approaching ATV and the dead body, but inside, my mind is whirling with our next steps.

  Another dead body has ended up on our doorstep, almost literally, during our investigation. Eventually, it’s going to arouse some suspicion. Hell, even Ceri’s dad, the sheriff in Atopka, was suspicious over only one dead body in Georgia—not counting, of course, the two long-buried corpses we unearthed.

  This guy is pretty fresh. He wasn’t there when we set up our equipment. Russ would have noticed him when he drove through the valley to set up the other camera.

  Breathless, my sister hops off of the four-wheeler from behind Russ and rushes up to us, waving the GoPro in her hand. “They might have gotten the first one, but they didn’t get this one,” she says, triumphantly. “Did you find the other one?”

  “Yeah,” I say with a nod, “but they tried to destroy it. I won’t know if there’s anything salvageable on it until we get back to the ranch.”

  “Seriously?” Russ scrubs a hand through his short black hair, his dark eyes unfathomable. “Not again.”

  “Hey, at least we have that one.”

  Russ narrows his eyes. He must have realized that Beau and I are standing rather awkwardly together in front of the tree. “What are you guys hiding?”

  My shoulders stiffen. “Nothing. Why would you say that?”

  He arches one eyebrow at me. “Because you’re standing there like an idiot next to the cowboy.” He tries to crane his head around us, but I sidestep to match him.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I cross my arms defensively over my chest. “Why don’t you and Jess go back to the ATVs, and we’ll meet you there in a second.” Anything to keep them from seeing the dead body. We’ll have to tell them about it later, but if we can spare them the details, it’ll be better.

  Bear bursts from the brush behind him and zips past me, right toward our newest inductee in the it’s-not-an-alien club.

  “No!” I spin around, breaking ranks with Beau to lunge at my dog.

  “Seriously?” Russ exclaims. “Is that another dead body?”

  Under the pale moonlight and the secondary beam of the flashlight, Jess pales. “I think I’m going to be sick.” She stumbles off into the scrub, retching.

  Part of me wants to snap at her and tell her to get it together, but my sister’s been through more than any other seventeen-year-old I’ve ever known, so I have to cut her some slack. Russ, too. He didn’t sign up for this, either, and he’s been awesome so far. I have to think of my team.

  “Okay.” My eyes meet Beau’s for a second. “Yes, there’s a body. It wasn’t there when we set up our equipment, or you would have seen it. Right, Russ?”

  He nods.

  “And we didn’t see anyone on our way in and out, which is what we’ll tell the cops.” In fact, we should be good to go until they run background checks on us. Then we’ll be screwed, but until that happens, we’re golden. “Did you find the other camera?”

  Russ holds it up.

  “Good.” I flash Beau an apologetic look. “I think we should keep that a secret, for now. The police will want to confiscate the broken one, I’m sure, but we need to get any footage we can off of the good one before they find out we have another one. I doubt it caught anything, since it was pointed up at the sky, but if does, we’ll turn the footage in. If they preemptively take it, though, we’re down to one for both investigations, and we’ll be stuck using our phones again.”

  Jess and Russ nod, but Beau has a mutinous set to his jaw. So the cowboy has a conscience, which normally would be endearing, until it isn’t. And right now, it isn’t.

  “I don’t know about that,” Beau says. “I don’t feel right lying to the cops.”

  “We’re not.” I put my hand on his arm, hoping to share some of my earnestness. “I just want to get our footage off of the camera first. If they catch us, I’ll totally take the blame for it, but we can’t afford to buy more equipment right now.”

  His expression softens. “Fine, but I want to see the video too, regardless of whether or not you think there’s anything on it.”

  His distrust stings, but I can’t blame him for it. This whole situation is so far out of our realm, of anyone’s realm, that it only makes sense. I hold out my hand, pinky finger sticking out.

  “Deal.” The light-hearted action belies some of the seriousness of the situation, and a part of me recognizes that it’s wrong. We should be a lot more serious and afraid than we are. Maybe we’re probably having some psychological break from reality, due to all of the trauma we’ve recently experienced. If so, then I hope it’ll last a little bit longer until we get out of here.

  Beau’s lips twitch, but he curls his finger around mine and gives it a shake. “Deal.”

  Behind us, Jess groans. “Seriously? Someone died here, and you’re pinky promising to turn over evidence to the cops? Maybe I should go back to Detroit.”

  Beau chuckles, and my cheeks redden. He’s probably perfectly mature when we’re not around, but I tend to have that effect on people. I reach up to casually smooth my hair and flash my little sister the bird. She rolls her eyes at me.

  “If you guys are done,” Russ says, “can we please get out of here before whoever did this”—he gestures at the dead body behind us—“comes back and does the same thing to us?”

  That effectively sobers the mood. On the way to the ATVs, my flashlight reflects off of something shiny on the ground, something I didn’t see before because of the dead body. I tuck my phone under the arm that’s cradling Bear and pluck it from the ground. Its only after I’ve picked it up that I realize I probably should have waited for the cops. This could be evidence, and I could have just ruined it. But it could also be trash. I turn it over. It’s a brochure.

  “What’s that?” Russ trains the camera on what I found.

  This doesn’t make any sense. “It’s a brochure for the Tombstone Haunted Tours.” I turn it over and scan the text. It lists times, dates, shows, and everything one could want to know about going on a Tombstone ghost tour. “I wonder what this is doing out here.” In the margins, someone’s scribbled a set of dates and times for the next week. “It looks like someone used it to write down the
ir work schedule.”

  “I wonder if it’s a clue,” Jess says, crowding around us.

  “Jinx,” I say, shoving the brochure into my pocket. Beau opens his mouth to object, but I push past him and hurry to the ATVs. I’ll deal with it, and him, later. Already, my mind’s whirling. It can’t be a coincidence that we found a dead body here, along with a brochure for the other place we are investigating this week. “Let’s get out of here and call the cops before this dead body, like the last one we found, disappears."

  Chapter 5

  Back at the ranch, Beau calls the police, and we wait for them outside the main house. He puts the phone on speaker and sets it on the fence rail so we all can hear it.

  “Did you say there was a body at the Triple B?” the low voice over his phone squawks.

  “Yes, sir,” Beau says. “About a mile or two out on the range, in a little valley.”

  Silence. “Were you looking for those lights again?”

  Beau grimaces and turns away so I can’t see his face. “Yes, sir.”

  “Does Carlos know?” That must be his dad. It’s a small town. Everyone knows everyone. “I’ll send Johnson and Fredricks out.”

  “Um, yeah. Let me explain.” He strides away briskly to the side of the house.

  “Looks like we’re off to a great start to the investigation,” Russ says, a smile curving the corners of his mouth.

  “Shut up,” I mutter, shouldering past him and over to my sister, who’s sitting on the porch swing, typing furiously on the laptop.

  “Did you get anything off of the broken camera?” I ask.

  “Not my department,” she throws back without looking at me. “Ask the nerd who’s just standing there, twiddling his thumbs.”

  She has a point, but we only have one laptop. “So what are you doing?”

  “God, Mom. I’m updating the website. People are asking questions about the joint investigations, and I wanted to update everyone. That’s all. I’m not just screwing around on Facebook or anything.”

  I put my hands up in surrender. “Sorry I said anything. As soon as you’re done, I’ll ask Russ to see if he can transfer anything he can from the camera, in case the cops want it.”

  She snaps the lid of the laptop shut and shoves it toward me. “Here. Take it. I’m done.” With an audible huff, she gets off the swing and stalks toward the van. What in the hell crawled up her ass and died? I shake my head. I do not need to deal with her crap right now.

  Leaning against the porch railing, Russ fiddles with the broken camera. He must have heard my conversation with Jess.

  “Does it work?”

  He frowns. “I don’t know yet. The lens is cracked at least, so that’ll have to be replaced.” He scratches his head. “We’ve had the worst luck with these things lately. As much as it sucks, we might want to see if we can spring for military-grade cameras.”

  That sounds expensive. I bite my bottom lip. I don’t know if we can afford that, what with paying Jess and Russ, ransom money to my aunt, and squirreling some away for Jess’s college, if she wants to go. And then there’s gas, hotels, food, Russ’s Mountain Dew addiction, and everything else. Maybe we should charge more. But just as soon as the idea enters my head, I toss it aside. If we charge more, we’ll lose subscribers, and fewer subscribers means less money and fewer people we can help.

  About ten minutes later, a sheriff cruiser pulls down the long drive, followed by two state cops and a border-patrol SUV. Beau joins us and leans against the rail. He rolls his shoulders to relax and cracks his neck. “I told them it wasn’t the cartels or a migrant, but I don’t think they believe me,” he says. “Or they’re just being thorough.”

  “Has this happened before?” Russ asks. He shoves the broken camera into his pocket.

  “No,” he says.

  “What happened?” Either Russ isn’t reading the stony set to Beau’s jaw and the way his hands are clenched into fists, or he doesn’t care.

  Beau takes a deep breath. “A couple of years ago, a coyote brought a bunch of migrants over from Mexico. One of the cartels intercepted them, and...” He shudders. Even Russ knows enough not to ask any more questions.

  Poor guy.

  “What happened here was nothing like that. We knew right away those poor people were from Mexico. This man? I bet you anything he’s from around here somewhere, which should make him easier to identify.”

  “How so?” The hackles on Bear’s neck stand up, so I scoop him up. It won’t do us any good if he attacks the cops.

  Beau grimaces. “When people cross the border from Mexico, they leave their families, their homes, and everything they own. Those people we found shot dead on the ranch were never identified. The cops weren’t able to give them back their names or contact their loved ones. To this day, no one knows what happened to them, except my dad and me.”

  “I’m sorry.” For some reason, I yearn to reach to him, to comfort him, but an armful of squirming canine puts a stop to that.

  He smiles wanly. “It’s all right,” he says. “Listen, what do you want to tell the cops about what happened tonight? I still don’t feel right lying to them.”

  Of course, we get the boy scout of cowboys. “Then don’t. I mean, if you can forget how many cameras we had up, and the brochure, that’d be great, but you don’t need to lie. And like I said, if Russ finds anything that’ll help the cops, we’ll turn it over to them. I promise.”

  “Thanks,” he says, squeezing my hand. “Let’s get this over with so we can hopefully get some sleep tonight before dawn hits. Because if you don’t have anything planned, then I’ve got something your subscribers will love.”

  Well, now, that sure piques my interest. And since the only thing I was tentatively planning was to skulk around Tombstone and poke my nose where it doesn’t belong, then this sounds like a great idea. “Sounds like a plan, cowboy,” I say, forcing bravado into my voice where I don’t feel it. “I’m all yours.”

  Oh crap. did I just say that? My cheeks burn as a knowing chuckle rumbles from his lips. At least my foot-in-mouth comment distracted him from what’s going on. It’s a good thing I don’t have my camera on. I don’t need to give Jess or Russ any more ammunition than they already have.

  Chapter 6

  Dawn shines bright and early, its harsh white rays sending shafts of light through the cracks in the curtains. I know this because I’ve been up for an hour, my stomach in knots, waiting for a knock on the door. This is a bad idea. I never should have agreed to see Beau this early. I feel like we’re crossing a line that I haven’t ever crossed before, and part of it excites me, while the other part terrifies me. And just after seven, there it is. Three perfectly spaced knocks.

  I put the brochure for the Tombstone Ghost Tours on the small table in the kitchenette. The first tour’s at two. Jess and Russ should be up by then. I’ve got plenty of time to screw this case up with Beau.

  “Are you gonna get that, for God’s sake? Some of us are trying to sleep.” Russ’s muffled yell can be heard clear across the cabin.

  “Hold your horses. I’m going. It’s just Beau. Go back to bed. Don’t worry about it.”

  Russ slams his door. Jess buries her face in her pillow as whoever it is knocks again. God, I hope it’s Beau. If it’s the cops calling, then Russ won’t be the only unhappy camper.

  Bear pokes his head out of the sheets by my sister’s head and barks at the door. Then he hops down off of the bed and jumps at the door.

  “Chill out, dog,” I mutter, scooting him away. “It’s fine, honest.” Whoever it is obviously has a death wish, because they knock again, louder this time.

  “I’m coming, I’m coming.” I hurry outside before Bear can follow me, shut the door behind me, and slam face first into a light-blue button-up shirt, a strong whiff of evergreen aftershave, and brown eyes as deep as the mysterious red mountains around us. Beau. I take a deep breath, the smell of his aftershave sinking into my skin. Get a grip, Mer.

  “Oh, s
orry.” Face burning even hotter, I stumble backward, right into the door. Man, you’re smooth.

  Beau grabs my arms to keep me from falling. “No, it’s my fault.” He lets me go once I don’t look like I’m about to crash into anything else.

  “Why don’t we try this again?” I ask, brushing off my shirt.

  “Sure,” he says. “Good morning. Remember how I told you I had something planned for today if you weren’t busy?”

  Oh yeah, as if I would forget. “I think I remember you mentioning that.” I peer around his shoulder. There are a couple horses tethered to the post outside our cabin. Two horses. Both dark brown, one with white socks, the other with a white blaze. Does that mean what I think it means? My stomach churns in a good way. “Are we going riding?”

  He grins. “If you’re up to it. It’s a little harder than the ATVs, but I figured your viewers might get a kick out of going out on the range with us.”

  Oh. He wants me to video this. Not exactly the romantic interlude I was hoping for. “Well, the ghost hunting tour starts at two, so we’re free until then.”

  “Where are your teammates?” he asks.

  I jerk my head back toward the door. “Sleeping. They were up late uploading footage and checking the recordings we got.”

  “Find anything?”

  I lean against the door. “So far, no. We’ll see if any of the viewers pick anything up. They have better eyes than we do half of the time.”

  “So no alien lights?”

  “Oh, we got lots of those, but no little green men.”

  He smirks. “So there could still be aliens, right?”

  I lift one shoulder and drop it. “Yeah, if not for the guy with the very manmade bullet hole in his head.”

  Beau grimaces. “Yeah, that.” He leans closer, settling one hand on the wall next to me. “So, do you want to go for a ride? I have to check some fencing, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity.”

  I eye the horses skeptically. Should I admit to him that I haven’t ridden in ages, and even then it was at a fair with a pony barely any bigger than Bear? No, I don’t think that’ll help my case much. “Just me?”