Dead Famous

by Kate Allenton

  “Sounds like the story of her life…no offense.”

  “None taken.”

  “Did she ever show you the diamond? I hear it was pretty remarkable.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “If she showed it to anyone, it was probably her sister. They were extremely close.”

  I rose from my seat. “Thank you for your time. I’m sorry I had to ask those hurtful questions.”

  They walked me out the door and to the living room, where Charlie met my gaze. He excused himself from the daughters and their husbands and met me across the room.

  “Thanks for having us, Will.” He shook Will’s hand and kissed Peggy on the forehead.

  “We’ll see you next Sunday?” Peggy asked.

  “I wouldn’t miss your cooking for anything in the world,” Charlie added and gestured me to the door.

  “Come back anytime.”

  Chapter 13

  Charlie waited until we were pulling down the driveway before he asked, “Did you learn anything?”

  “Calinda was allergic to red wine, and she was in tears in a restaurant the last time William saw her.”

  “I wonder who she was meeting.”

  “He didn’t have any idea. Maybe it was her killer.”

  “Too bad it was so long ago. They could have pulled surveillance. Did they know anything about the diamond?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. William suggested I talk to Calinda’s sister.”

  Charlie pulled out of the gate, and I spotted the motorcycle off in the distance in a different spot beneath trees as we passed. I waved again.

  “So what’s your next move?”

  “Talk to the sister and try and get information out of the therapist. Have you had a chance to set that up?”

  “I’m working on it.”

  I watched the waves crash against the shoreline as we took the scenic route back to Butler’s home. Not once did I bother to check and see if motorcycle woman was still behind us. It was getting late, and for once, I didn’t care.

  The more I thought about it, the more the prince was sounding like a douche, and what did that say about West since they were best friends? Did they take some class in prep school that taught them to treat women like accessories, discarding them like injured fantasy football players to bench after playing a bad game?

  Charlie dropped me off and watched as I unlocked the door and walked inside. The Durands hadn’t been what I was expecting. I’d always assumed the rich and famous lived lavish lives that included butlers and maids and never doing anything for themselves. That family wasn’t like that. That family was simply normal. No talking work on Sundays. Hell, that was more normal than my own family. My father never sat down for Sunday dinners.

  I waved goodbye and shut the door behind me, locking it as I made my way back to the kitchen. Being in an unfamiliar town and unfamiliar house was making me a wee bit homesick. I felt like I was starting to lose a piece of who I was. My baking was no longer priority, and my best friend had to carry the weight of the business. Something needed to give, or I wouldn’t be able to keep up.

  I flicked on the kitchen light and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Tendrils of sleep tugged at my body, making me sluggish. I’m sure it was that instead of coming down from the sugar coma from eating extra desserts.

  I walked into the guest bedroom. Sleeping in the master where Butler would lay his head just felt weird and God forbid he decided to come back and needed a place to crash. In the guest bedroom, the lights were soft, the bed comfortable, and there were no sounds of singing ghosts or annoying crickets to keep me awake. I took a quick shower and changed before crawling into bed. A good night’s sleep was exactly what I needed if I was going to figure out who killed Calinda.

  I closed my eyes and relaxed into the covers and let slumber carry me away.

  ****

  I don’t know what woke me. My heart raced as I lay in bed staring at the unfamiliar ceiling overhead. I strained to listen. It was quiet, not even birds outside the window. The alarm clock read 3 AM. It was that time of night when spirits liked to play.

  I slowly sat up in the bed, wiping the sleep from my eyes. “Either show yourself or I’m going back to bed…with earplugs.”

  I didn’t expect any ghosts to appear. It wasn’t as though they ever followed my instructions. If they had, I wouldn’t have even had to leave home and Calinda would have just given me a name and location. I wasn’t that lucky. I’d never be that lucky.

  Calinda appeared at the end of my bed, her lips slanted into a frown. “I miss this place. It has so many special memories and hidden secrets.”

  I let out a long sigh. “You want to reminisce at three in the morning? Can’t we do this later after about another six hours of sleep?”

  “I was an early riser.”

  She beamed with pride like that made her unique and special. In my book that was just downright crazy talk.

  “That was the only time I could exercise.”

  “I don’t exercise, so why are you waking me up?” I grumbled as she floated to the dresser in the corner.

  “I’m glad the new owner hasn’t changed it much.”

  “You know he eventually will, and you better not haunt him. He’s a good friend of mine.”

  She floated back across the room. “A love interest?”

  “No, just a friend.” I shook my head. “Not that it’s any of your business. Besides, I thought you guys already knew everything. Isn’t there some type of collective conscience wherever you are?”

  “There is.” She smiled in that sly way my Grammy would when I asked about Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and time travelers, my preferred career of choice.

  “There is something off balance about this house. I didn’t notice it when I was alive, but I do now. The negative energy pulsates. Even now, it makes me sad.”

  I was starting to get the same vibe. The same depression that she must have been feeling had started to rattle me only hours ago. It needed a good saging and clearing, and I made a mental note to suggest to Butler he should have it done. “Who killed you Calinda?”

  “I loved him.”

  “Who?” I asked again. “Give me a name, anything, something. I want to go home.”

  Calinda disappeared and reappeared seconds later. “Where is your prince?”

  “That’s not answering my question.” I slid out of the bed and headed for the kitchen to start some coffee. I was going to need caffeine for this conversation. “Not all of us girls have a prince.”

  She appeared in the living room and sprawled on the couch like it was her most favorite place in the house and she was posing for a magazine. The dramatics ran deep even in the afterlife. “That may be true, but you do. He’s like a hard-boiled egg. You just need to crack the shell to see what’s inside.”

  “Some eggs are rotten.” And have trust issues. I hit the button on the coffee pot.

  “And some eggs turn into beautiful birds when allowed to be born and nurtured. All he needs is a little TLC. That’s the problem with you. You see the flaws instead of the beauty.”

  Was she right? I saw the truth no matter how gritty or unwanted. After the cold cases I’ve worked and searching for killers, I wasn’t some naïve little girl. I knew what the world was full of. With every bit of light, there was an equal amount of darkness. Beauty? There was only one beauty I was searching for.

  “I’d like to see the beauty in your diamond. Care to tell me where to find it?”

  She sighed. “If I do, he’ll leave, and your course will be altered.”

  “If he leaves, then he was never truly meant to stay on my course,” I countered. I could use logic, some days. Maybe not all the time, but considering the time of day, I thought it made perfect sense.

  “When you go to retrieve it, you might be harmed.”

  “And if I don’t find it, then your prince and his family will lose the crown. You must care about him, about his happiness. Isn’t the afterlife supposed t
o be all love and light? Show him some love and light the way.”

  She seemed to be contemplating my words when she rose from her spot. I poured my coffee and waited for the magic to kick in.

  “No,” she said, catching me off guard. “We live to experience life, and I had a beautiful life. This is your quest. Your mistakes and achievements to make.”

  “You were sad,” I countered. “Depressed, looking and longing for a love that didn’t exist.”

  “And you’ll end up the same way if you don’t see this through. If I tell you where the diamond is, then it will alter your destiny.”

  “Maybe it’s my destiny that you tell me and let the cards fall where they may. Just maybe…he’s meant to leave and I’m to grow stronger from the experience.” I shrugged.

  “You’re wise, Cree Blue, but still wrong,” Calinda announced.

  “West is a passing fling. You should understand that. If he’s not meant to stay, I won’t try and stop him.”

  She floated in front of me and rested her cold hand on my shoulder. With every second she held it there, I felt the bite of chills going to my core. It was a similar feeling to the way I felt when using Insight.

  “You say that now.” She closed her eyes. “You might not agree if you knew your future like I do.”

  She lifted her hand and floated toward the entryway. She glanced over her shoulder once more before staring at the painting. “Do you know why I adored this painting?”

  I moved to stand beside her to view the art. There was something tantalizing about it that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Maybe it was because it was so out of place with the other more modern pieces in the house. This one just didn’t quite fit.

  A field of vibrant-colored flowers was depicted, with one single white rose standing out among a sea of yellow daisies.

  “You like flowers?” I guessed.

  “No.” Her voice turned somber. “It reminded me of how alone I felt.”

  “You liked it because it reminded you that you felt alone.” I took a sip of my coffee. “And people call me weird.”

  She sighed, so I tried to follow her logic. Aggravating her wasn’t about to get me the answers only she had.

  “If you were the rose, you had to see the other flowers around you. You weren’t alone. You were unique.”

  She turned her gaze to mine. “So are you.”

  “Just like the diamond, I assume. Tell me where you hide it so I can judge for myself?” I asked.

  “Is that all you care about?” Calinda tossed up her hands. “Diamonds don’t bring happiness, especially not that one.” She gestured to the painting. “In all of my packed-away possessions, that diamond is the last thing I desired.”

  “Tell me where it is and let me be the judge.”

  “There will be another death if I do.”

  “Whose?”

  “Yours,” she said before vanishing into the wall behind the painting.

  “You underestimate me,” I yelled at the painting.

  Chapter 14

  I never much liked three in the morning. Nothing useful ever happened at that time, unlike now. The door handle jiggled, breaking the morning silence. My gaze shot to the hardwood door. I stood motionless in the foyer, unable to move my bare feet. The warm coffee I’d sipped did little to stop the goosebumps spreading up my arms.

  There was no peephole, no way for me to check who was on the other side. I slowly backed up until my waist hit the table behind me. The vase tilted, and I barely had time to grab it before it fell.

  I eased my coffee cup onto the table as the door handle jiggled louder. Maybe this was why Calinda had woken me up. Maybe she knew someone was coming. I wouldn’t be a dead nude body lying over a tub. Uh-uh, no one I didn’t authorize was looking at the cellulite on my lily-white behind.

  I pulled the flowers out of the vase and cupped it like a baseball bat, unsure if I had time to run and get my gun. Quickly I moved behind the door just as someone pushed it open. I didn’t wait to see who it was. I swung with all my might, hitting the vase over the intruder’s head until he crumpled to his knees.

  “What the hell was that for?” West reached for the back of his head and rubbed at the spot. The vase was still intact, unbroken.

  “You broke in and scared the bejeezus out of me. This vase sure is sturdy. I need one for my house,” I said, setting it back down on the table.

  “It should be. It’s lined with copper, and as for what I’m doing here, I was checking on you.”

  “At three in the morning? I guess it would be easier that way to see I’m okay when I’m asleep and unable to yell at you about that sneaky detail you put on me. How is that you slipped by bunhead? Does that mean she’s not a cyborg and actually sleeps?”

  He rose to his feet, still rubbing the back of his head. “She sleeps when she’s off duty. Randall is currently watching the house, and I slipped the gatekeeper some coffee to let me pass. What are you doing awake at three a.m.?”

  “Calinda…or this house…or both. Not sure what woke me up, but Calinda and I had a talk.”

  “Did she give you any answers?” West asked.

  “Sort of, but not really.” I picked up my coffee cup, headed back into the kitchen and then poured him a cup of the fresh brew. I ordered him to sit, and I stepped between his legs.

  His hands landed instantly on my waist, and he pulled me closer. “You missed me?”

  I started running my fingers slowly through his hair feeling for any anomalies. “I’m checking for brain damage.”

  He chuckled. “I have a very hard head.”

  “So I’m learning.”

  “What did Calinda tell you?”

  I shook my head and stepped out of his reach. “You first. Tell me about the last psychic.”

  He took a sip of his coffee. “What do you want to know about Mya?”

  “Did you love her?”

  “That’s not relevant.”

  “I think it is. Not in a you’re my boyfriend and I need to know all your secrets because I’m jealous girlfriend kind of way, but more of a…I need to know where your head is at. I’m not her. I’m not going to die, so get over it kind of deal.”

  “I know you’re not her, and I won’t let you die, especially not solving this case,” he said, meeting my gaze.

  I let the question drop. “How far did you and she get into the case? Is there anything you aren’t telling me that you might already know?”

  “Yes.”

  Goosebumps. Finally, he was telling me the truth.

  “What haven’t you told me?”

  “We spoke with Calinda’s sister years ago.”

  “And?”

  “Calinda showed her the diamond. She described it, and she thinks that Calinda gave it away, along with other things. She claimed she was cleansing him from her life.”

  Calinda giving the diamond away? Was it even possible? I started pacing the floor. “If she was ‘cleansing’ her life”—I used my fingers, making quote marks—“that means she wasn’t killed for the gem if she got rid of it.” I stopped pacing and met his gaze. I guess William Durand was right. Calinda wasn’t very materialistic.”

  “You spoke with him?”

  “I had dinner with Charlie and the Durands last night. Well, a couple of hours ago. They seemed genuine when I asked the hard questions.”

  I started pacing again and sipped my coffee. “Do you mind if I use Insight now that all of your secrets are out? What about if I limit the number of attendees?”

  “I still can’t risk it,” he said, shaking his head.

  “Why? What is it that you don’t want me to see?”

  West lowered his gaze, and I moved to stand in front of him. I lifted his chin to look at me. “I promise you I can keep secrets.”

  He let out a lengthy sigh. His gaze bore into mine. “If I tell you this and it gets out, there’s a chance really bad things could happen.”

  “Trust me. Just this once, let me really hel
p you.”

  “Phillip has no alibi for the murder.”

  “But I thought he was on the plane with you and Katherine.”

  He shook his head. “Paperwork was manipulated to make it look like he was.”

  Well, capital H. E. double hockey sticks. It was starting to make sense. “Did you ask him where he was when she was killed?”

  “Yeah.” His voice turned somber.

  “And…” I asked.

  “He told me he just needed some time to be alone. I think…”

  “You think what?”

  “I think he really loved her.”

  “So you guys fabricated his alibi?”

  “Yes.” He rose from his spot and washed his coffee cup out in the sink. His inability to meet my gaze told me everything I needed to know.

  West Archer

  Chapter 15

  The entire house rumbled and shook, waking him instantly from a dead sleep. He grabbed the gun from beneath his pillow and sat upright, pointing the weapon around the empty dark room.

  “What the bloody hell?” he whispered, jumping from the bed and hurriedly putting on his jeans. Quietly he opened the door to slip down the hall. His heart raced with each step he took. His finger flexed around the trigger.

  The house was quiet. Too quiet. The living room and kitchen were both empty. Nothing. He rounded the corner into the foyer and couldn’t believe his eyes.

  Cree had removed the flowered picture from the wall. A vaulted door was standing wide open with stairs that descended into darkness. A secret passageway that West never knew existed.

  Cree was standing in front of it.

  “Either you’re doing some early morning redecorating, luv or we just had an earthquake?”

  Cree turned her gaze to his. “She loved this picture. She was saying she wanted me to have it.”

  “So…you were just going to take it home with you?”

  Cree’s brows furrowed. “No. She’d disappeared, and it was something she said to me early, about all of her packed-up memories and belongings. She pointed to the picture.” Cree glanced at him. “None of her things are packed up. This house and the contents aren’t packed. I had a gut feeling, and I never ignore those. It’s all starting to makes sense now.”