Chapter Fifteen
I would have liked to call it a day after learning about Bart and Sharon’s arrest. My mind jumbled with many thoughts and speculation regarding the next few days, but Isabelle Givens was not done with me. We stood outside the police station, the moon high in the sky, stars twinkling, and the streets of Summit’s Edge silent.
“I should get back,” I said but hesitated to wink out again in front of her.
“Not yet, Libby. Remember I told you I wanted to show you something.”
“You were going to give me an explanation.”
She groaned. “Let’s not get into that debate again. Can’t you trust me even a little bit for now? After all, I could have said something to my brother just now and I didn’t. I could have revealed your secret long before tonight.”
“And maybe revealed yours?” I pretended I had leverage where none existed. Isabelle smirked.
“Do you think so?” she teased.
I sighed. “Fine. Take me, but if you have plans to do something horrible to me, I warn you, I have my own abilities.”
Her gaze turned speculative in the glow from the streetlights and those shining out from the station. “I bet you do, Liberty Grace.”
I agreed to go with Isabelle with no questions asked, but I stayed on guard should she try anything. We drove toward the edge of town, and the farther we left the more populated areas behind, the more I worried. I sat stiff and straight in the seat beside her, blinking in and out of visibility. If she had any doubts I was not a physical being, she had none now.
At some point, she reached across as if to pat my hand but didn’t actually touch me. “Don’t worry so much, Libby. I promise, everything will be revealed soon. Or rather, everything I know. We have work ahead of us, but I’m sure we’ll find the answer.”
I looked at her and saw the determination in the set of her lips and the energy that burned in her eyes. For some reason, I began to relax. I had the feeling whatever Isabelle was up to, she wanted to help me.
When she pulled to the side of the road, I faded out and floated through the roof of the car. I joined her on the driver said, and we moved through the trees. Every now and then a rustle of leaves and a crackling of underbrush made me scan our surroundings. I hated being out in this area, trees on every side, nobody in sight, and just darkness. At least for the moment, the shadows didn’t reach out to me. Was it because Isabelle was there?
“I’m going to stay out of sight for a little while,” I said.
She didn’t appear startled by my voice. “That’s fine. I know you have to conserve energy.”
“I’m usually okay when someone is around.”
She stopped walking and scanned the area. “That’s because you can’t draw energy from me.”
“Are you…?”
She chuckled. “I’m human, if that’s what you’re wondering. Tonight I cast a spell to keep you from drawing my energy.”
I couldn’t help being offended, and she laughed again.
“It’s only so I can reserve as much as I can. I require a lot myself.” She pushed aside a few low-hanging branches. “It’s this way.”
I hesitated and then followed. We came to a small clearing with a massive tree in the center. The thick trunk curved to the right with a bough touching the ground. Now darkness did reach out to me, and I hoped I imagined it. I stepped back, but Isabelle forged ahead.
“I think we should go back, Isabelle,” I called out to her, but she kept moving.
“It’s okay. Nothing will hurt you here.”
“You said that…”
I remained at the clearing. She came to a stop at the edge of what I realized was a mound of dirt. The pile extended several feet wide but still close to the tree. Isabelle pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and pressed it to her nose. That’s when I figured out whatever lay in the dirt gave off a stench. I couldn’t smell it. Fear clawed at my throat. I floated another foot or two in retreat.
“What is it?” I asked but didn’t want to know.
“It’s a man.”
“Did you—”
“Certainly not!”
“Who is it?”
She knelt at the graveside and extended an arm, palm down and fingers splayed. Her head bowed, she whispered something and then sighed. “I can’t get any more than I already have. I don’t know who he is, but I’m sure he isn’t from Summit’s Edge.”
At last, a bit of my fear receded, so I approached her and the man. One could never describe a decomposing body with enough accuracy to convey the horror, and I refuse to try here. Just suffice it to say, the sight would take a long time to wipe from my memory.
To distract myself, I looked at Isabelle. “What do you mean by you ‘can’t get any more,’ and shouldn’t you just tell your brother about this right away?”
Isabelle, who had dropped to her knees, stood up. I appeared enough for her to face me and then faded out again. “I have every intention of showing Clark,” she said, “but I felt you needed to see first.”
“Why in the world?”
Excitement and expectation flashed in the woman’s eyes, and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why.
“Because from what I can tell, whoever this man is, Libby, he had a connection to you.”
My gaze was drawn to the man, but to combat it I floated away from the two of them. I shook my head side to side in denial. “No, that’s impossible. I don’t know him. I had nothing to do with him dying. I’ve never seen him before in my life!”
“Calm down, Libby.”
“No!”
“I’m not saying you killed him. I don’t know how he died.”
“Then what are you saying, Isabelle?”
She heard my panic, and maybe she sensed being there I couldn’t get control of myself. While I couldn’t smell the stench of death, I most certainly sensed and felt it all around me. An aura of evil surrounded the clearing so strong, and it seemed to my fevered mind it wanted to draw me in and never let me go. Then here was Isabelle saying I had something to do with it, or already had a connection? I would not believe it. I refused no matter what she said.
“I think we should go,” she said, and I jumped at the suggestion. Perhaps in my fear and confusion I missed the opportunity to tell this crazy woman I was going home. Instead, I let her convince me to come back to Clark’s house with her. “Clark won’t leave the station until he has gone over every scrap of evidence he has at least three times, so we won’t be disturbed while I explain.”
“I don’t know if I want to hear it.”
“You will.”
I followed her, and soon we drew up to Clark’s house. I had visited before when I possessed Clark, but I decided not to mention it to Isabelle. After parking in the driveway, Isabelle strode up to the door and unlocked it. She hesitated in the entryway and glanced back at me. I was solid just in case a neighbor was awake at that hour and looked out their window. No sense starting a rumor that Isabelle talked to herself late at night and held the door open for invisible visitors.
“Come inside, Libby.”
I frowned at Isabelle’s odd behavior, not understanding why she stared at me with such a pointed look, but I followed her anyway.
“I’m not surprised,” she muttered when I stood beside her in the hall, “ but I thought this time would do it.”
“What are you talking about?”
She didn’t answer but made her way to the kitchen. I followed, and she brewed a pot of coffee. “I plan to stay up studying, so I need this,” she explained. “I put up a barrier to keep out evil spirits.”
“I am not an evil spirit!” I bristled with offense.
“Evil and otherwise. I’m sorry. I wanted to test my skills, which aren’t very good with no formal training. My barrier wasn’t very strong.”
I sat down at the table when she offered me a seat. “I did feel a little resistance.” This time and the last time I had visited. Like she said, the barrier wasn’t stron
g, and I had had no trouble passing through it. Unlike Ian’s barrier, which stung me each time I tried to enter his home. “Maybe you should try talking to Ian. He’s good at it.”
My words were bitter, but I wasn’t very serious. Isabelle’s cup thumped on the table, sloshing the contents over the side. She leaped to her feet to grab a paper towel and mopped up the mess.
“You know about him, don’t you?” I asked, hesitant.
“I know what he is.” She didn’t meet my gaze, but neither of us pushed the subject of Ian. I expected her to warn me to stay away from him, but when she didn’t, I wondered if in Isabelle’s mind, I was no different than him—an enemy to be wary of. That led me to considering whether she knew about the curse of my possession, but then I decided she didn’t know. Isabelle had admitted to being somewhat ignorant in her training. Training for what?
“What are you, Isabelle?”
“I’m a witch.” She spoke the words with such simplicity, such self-assurance. “I have a gift, but I haven’t grown much over the years. If I were a part of a coven where I could learn from the others and be strengthened by being a part of a group, it would help. Unfortunately, there’s no opportunity for it in Summit’s Edge, and I don’t want to leave Clark behind to go find one.”
“You really care about your brother.”
Her cheeks pinked. “It’s not like that.”
“I didn’t think it was,” I assured her, amused.
“It’s just that as gruff as he is, Clark is…I guess you can say the farthest from spiritual enlightenment a person can be. It’s like he’s completely blind, and knowing what I do… He’s the only relative I have left in the world. I can’t leave him defenseless.”
Anguish gripped me. I faded from her view with no explanation, and Isabelle didn’t require one. We sat there in her kitchen, silent, each of us lost in our thoughts. When I regained control over my emotions, I appeared before her, and Isabelle continued.
“I’ve seen you many times around town. We said hello in passing, but I always knew of Clark’s interest in you, even back in high school.”
I groaned, and she smiled.
“Clark’s not good at hiding how he feels.”
“I remember.”
“Do you not like him?” she asked, watching me and making me squirm.
“Clark is a wonderful man. For obvious reasons, we can’t be together.”
“Then you said yes to that one date out of pity?”
Isabelle was a very astute woman. I elected not to answer, and she didn’t press. “I don’t remember when it was, but one day I saw you and I knew you were no longer in your body. You were a spirit. At first, I thought you had passed, but then I sensed you were alive.”
My interest peaked. “You sensed it? Can you tell where my body is or what state it’s in?”
Isabelle’s eyes turned sad. “No, I’m afraid not. I’m sorry. At least not yet. There’s always hope.”
I made a noise of doubt.
“I didn’t know what to make of you then, and I warned Clark to stay away from you.”
I recalled that day. I had thought Isabelle believed me beneath Clark’s notice. I had no idea she’d known then I was not technically alive. Who would want their brother dating a ghost? If I had a brother, I know I wouldn’t. I didn’t blame her, but this was me we were discussing, so I couldn’t fight the annoyance her admission brought on.
“Did you change your mind?” I ventured.
She smiled. “Not exactly. I decided if Clark was going to be stubborn, I needed to help you get your body back. Thus began my investigation.”
“Your investigation?”
“You sound doubtful, Libby.”
“I’m not,” I lied.
She leaned toward me, excitement gleaming in her countenance. “What if I were to tell you there was someone else at the hardware store that night.”
I froze. An inkling of light flickered to life in me, but I needed to be sure. “Which night are we talking about?”
“The night George Walsh was murdered.”
I burst from the chair I occupied and whipped around her kitchen, my version of pacing without solid form. “Impossible. Luis Riley confessed to killing George, and we learned why. He didn’t say anyone else was there, and I know he didn’t lie because—” I broke off, coming to a halt. I floated down to the floor and stood in front of her. “I just know Luis didn’t lie.”
“Okay.”
She blinked at me. “Isabelle, you admitted yourself your ability isn’t strong. I don’t know how you think you know someone else was in the store, but no, it’s not possible.” After all, if another vampire or some other creature had been present in the store, who then erased Luis’s memories, Ian would know. If there was anyone’s gift I respected for fear of my life, it was Ian’s.
Isabelle bristled at my continued denial and doubt of her abilities. “I assure you I am correct. What do you have to lose to hear me out?”
I settled down. “I apologize. Please continue.”
“I used scrying to—”
“Scrying?”
She harrumphed. “I used my speculum—ah, a black ceramic bowl—filled it with water, and scryed to see into the past. I did the ritual both at the graveside of that man in the woods and as close as I could get to the hardware store. Both times, without a doubt, I saw him inside the store.”
“That’s why you were on Main Street at night.”
“Yes, I was trying to get various readings that might lead me in the right direction. In my vision, I saw that man at the store, in the back. I couldn’t see much detail, but when I get a vision that strong, it is never wrong.”
I had a new thought. “Was he dead?”
Isabelle clapped her hands together. “Great point. No, he wasn’t dead. He was very much alive. At least, I saw him standing, and his eyes open.”
I nodded, thinking over what she had shared. I’d seen a lot myself in the last few weeks, so when Isabelle said she could use some method I had never heard of to look into the past, I believed it. Whether she was accurate in what she saw or in her interpretation, I didn’t know. I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt if only to gain a clue to my body’s whereabouts.
“There is a connection between you and that man, Libby.”
“But I’ve never seen him before.” I speculated on the possibilities. “Could he have hit me over the head and then hid my body somewhere?”
Isabelle’s eyes widened. “That might be why you haven’t turned up in the hospital. He’s passed on.”
“But where would he have taken it? Isabelle, I’m running out of time.”
“I know. I know, and I promise,” she assured me, “I’m going to stay up all night, looking through my books and searching the Internet until I figure out how to help.”
“Thank you so much. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Isabelle and I discussed the situation a little longer, and then eager to get to her studies, she suggested I go home and get some rest. I neglected to tell her I didn’t need it but took the opportunity to return home. Somehow we had to find the answers to our questions, but I took courage in knowing we had at least one clue. More must soon follow.
Chapter Sixteen
Clark stooped just before the body bag was zipped and stared into the face of the dead man. Somehow being there with the police made the experience less frightening. Of course keeping it secret that a body had been found in a shallow grave just inside Summit’s Edge’s border was impossible. The entire town seemed to have come out to watch, and keeping them back far enough so they didn’t trample into Clark’s crime scene proved a challenge, what with him being down a man. I had heard Bart managed to come up with the money to bail Sharon out of jail, but he remained behind bars. Some speculated he had gotten the money from city funds. I was of a mind that no matter where he got the money, Bart was still thinking of his unborn child more than himself. Despite his actions, I felt sorry for hi
m.
Clark’s only remaining officer strode over to him after he had appointed several concerned citizens as temporary deputies. “Who do you reckon he is?”
“Not a face I’ve seen before,” Clark said, straightening. “But we’ll find out soon. Dental records should tell us something. Unfortunately, it might be a wait because we have to send him to Raleigh.”
“How much do you want to bet they’re cringing every time they see our address on the paperwork now?”
Clark grunted. “We don’t have a choice.”
I watched until the crime scene personnel loaded the body into their vehicle. Clark had called them in, and they had arrived in a decent amount of time. After they had locked the body away, the investigators scoured the grave. Someone stepped into my line of sight, but I thought I’d seen something orange and white go into an evidence bag, but by the time I zipped through the person in front of me, it was gone.
When there was nothing else to see, I left Clark and his men, as well as the crowd and returned to my home. A short while after I arrived, Monica strode in. Her eyes were bloodshot, and from the heavy lids, she hadn’t slept well the night before. I had filled her in on everything, and now we were both on edge, waiting to hear news.
“That was a bust,” she complained, having come from the crime scene but taken the slow route home. “All I saw was backs and dirt. I had to fight against elbows and people jostling to get in front of me. Did you see anything?”
I shook my head. “No, not much. Clark said he didn’t recognize the man, and he said they should be able to find out who he is by his dental records.”
“From Raleigh?”
I sighed and nodded. “It’s a game of waiting.”
She sank onto the couch and dropped her head back, eyes closed. “Let’s think positively. We know he has something to do with you, so when we know who he is, we have a place to look.”
“What place?”
“Where he came from.”
I didn’t want to tell her how unlikely he had come to Summit’s Edge, knocked me over the head, and dragged my body back to whatever city or state he came from, and then turned around to come back and die in our town. None of it made sense, but I did my best to remember a clue meant progress.
Audrey Claire - Libby Grace 02 - How to Blackmail a Ghost Page 12
