Celeste grinned. Maxine was so classy, refined and practical. Celeste had never pegged her as the type to throw spaghetti at the wall to see if it would stick, or marry a guy for his manliness. “Shallow? Because you thought the guy was hot and good in bed?”
“Goodness, Celeste. I never said any such thing.”
“Sorry. That was crude.” And stupid. She knew Maxine, but not well enough to discuss their sex lives.
“That’s okay, dear. You caught me off guard.” She cleared her throat. “He looked like Robert Redford and made love like an untamed barbarian.”
“Other than looking like Robert Redford, why did you marry him?”
“I just told you, he made love like an untamed barbarian.” She sighed. “It was heavenly.”
While she and John were just fine when it came to sex, this untamed barbarian style intrigued her. Maybe once she returned back to Chicago she’d ply Maxine with vodka or wine and find out what was so heavenly.
“Enough about that,” Maxine began. “Where were we? Yes, fishing. Did you catch anything?”
“A net, boot and a dead man.”
Maxine laughed. “There’s a tall tale.”
“Unfortunately, I’m serious.”
“What? Oh, no. Is that why you’re calling? Is the dead man trying to talk through you?”
“No,” she replied, then explained everything. She even told her what Barney had said about the orbs floating around the Everglades.
“You said you’d felt the man’s spirit embrace you?” Maxine asked.
“Not an embrace, more like a squeeze. But it could have been my imagination. It was hot and humid, and the Coast Guard was pulling a man out of the water. I’m sure anxiety could have been part of the squeezing sensation. If not, and it was the man, I’m hoping he’s able to move on from his physical life.”
“Yes, let’s hope so. Just in case, I want you to burn sage to cleanse your condo of any negative energy or unwanted spirits.”
“Already done. I took care of it when John and I first got here.”
“And the notepad and pen?”
When she’d first begun working with Maxine, she’d learned that scribbling had helped her to stay grounded and focused during a vision. But the visions weren’t what had Celeste worried. The trances scared the hell out of her. She still hadn’t learned how to control them or prevent them from happening, which had been why Maxine had gifted her with Ruth, a service dog. The black Lab had been trained for people who had epilepsy. She could detect abnormal electro-magnetic energy changes. According to her trainer, Ruth knew the difference between normal and abnormal movement and could even hear changes in her owner’s breathing patterns. Fortunately, Celeste hadn’t slipped into a trance since taking Ruth. Plus, she liked the dog, and loved how protective Ruth was of her daughter, Olivia.
“I’m all set with my grounding techniques,” Celeste said. “So what do you think about the orbs and me going into the Everglades?”
“Honestly, I’m not a believer. I’ve seen paranormal experiments conducted where a person will fluff a pillow and send dust motes into the air. The flash from the camera picks up on these particles giving the impression there are spirits in the room. I certainly don’t discount what your friend Barney told you. It’s quite possible there are restless spirits haunting the Everglades, but right now, I’m more concerned with the net you touched today.”
Now that she was talking with Maxine, her worry over the dead man seemed ridiculous. The connection with him had been quick, and she honestly couldn’t be certain if he’d touched her on his way to the other side. “I’m not. I didn’t feel anything negative.”
“You saw the man drown.”
“What I meant was that I felt no malice.”
“You hadn’t when you’d touched the baby blanket this past winter, and that nearly cost you your life,” Maxine said. “Celeste, if you’re not concerned by what you saw or felt today, then why are you calling me?”
Celeste rested her head against the chair. “Because I did panic when I first touched the net. I was worried about having trances and visions while being over a thousand miles away from you and Ruth.”
“Understandable, but I’m wondering if it’s more than being away from me and your dog. Obviously, you encountered a dead man. Was it his spirit that squeezed you, or the humidity? Better yet, was it your anxiety getting the best of you? Think about it, this is the first time you’ve left Olivia, it’s the first vacation you’ve had with your husband since you were married, and you’re hoping to conceive, correct? Oh, and let’s not forget that you just placed your condo on the market and are looking for a new home.”
Celeste let out a sigh. She’d cried during the first twenty minutes of their flight to Everglades Airpark. The guilt and worry over leaving Olivia with Ian and his fiancée, Cami, had chased her all the way to Florida. The stress of preparing to move while taking care of an eighteen-month-old and running a business still knotted her shoulders. This trip was also the first time she’d left the managers of her bakery in charge for longer than a weekend. Yeah, Maxine was probably right. Plus, it was almost ninety degrees when she and Barney were on the boat. The oppressive heat could have definitely been what had given her what seemed like a squeeze, not the dead man.
“I think you might be on to something,” Celeste said. “John wanted me to come here with him so that I could learn how to relax again.”
“You’re not doing a very good job,” Maxine said, amusement in her tone. “Pour yourself a glass of wine and lose yourself in a book while you wait for John to come home. Then talk to him.”
“We talk all the time.”
“No, I mean talk to him. Tell him about today and about the pressure weighing you down. He might see that you need to relax, but he can’t understand how much the stress you put yourself under affects your mental health if you don’t tell him. He’s a good man, Celeste. It’s okay to give up a little control and let him take care of you.”
Sometimes she wondered if Maxine was a marriage counselor in a past life. The woman always knew the right things to say, and always at the right time. “I definitely plan to tell John about the dead man. This is a small town. Having come from one, I know word will travel fast.”
“And the pressure you’ve put yourself under?”
She looked to the ceiling. “Yes, I’ll mention that, too. Don’t forget, John has his own stress. I know it’s not easy working for my father, and dealing with me. I’m sure he’d prefer to have a normal wife.”
Maxine chuckled. “I’ve had seven husbands. I wouldn’t even know how to be a normal wife. If you figure that out, let me know and I’ll think about husband number eight.”
“Only if you tell me what your untamed barbarian did that was so heavenly.”
Maxine laughed harder. “Maybe when you’re a little older. Enjoy your vacation and don’t let what happened today ruin your time with John. You both deserve to have fun.”
“I plan to. He’s only training the next three days, then after that, the rest of the week is just for us.”
“Perfect. In the meantime, if you need to talk, you know I’m here.”
Celeste thanked Maxine, then said her good-byes. Once she ended the call, she decided to take her mentor’s advice: have a glass of wine and lose herself in a book while she waited for John.
As she rose from the chair, the curtains billowed. She stopped and stared at them. Swore the fabric had formed into a shape—a human shape—before sinking back and framing the front window. There was no air vent by the window. There was no reason for the curtain to move.
Her skin crawled with unease. Her heart pounded hard. The room became hot, humid. She gripped the cell phone tight. Still staring at the curtain, she backed her way toward the kitchen. Had she imagined the moving curtain? Was her mind playing tricks on her? She’d connected with a dead man today. Her anxiety level had been high. She let out a shaky breath and shook her head.
“You’re
going to lose it if you don’t get it together,” she muttered, opening the fridge, then reaching for the bottle of wine she and John had opened last night.
“Your life?”
Celeste whipped the refrigerator shut, and slammed her back against it. Breathing hard, she glanced around the condo. The place was small and open. The kitchen led into the living and dining area, and straight for the front door. A small patio was off the kitchen, but with the tall fencing surrounding it, there was no way to escape from it.
Wait. What was she thinking? Maybe she hadn’t heard—
A masculine chuckle filled the room, her head and nearly stopped her heart. “No escape, sugar. You’re mine.”
Chapter 2
CELESTE STOOD WHEN John’s car came to a stop in front of the condo. She set the warm bottle of wine on the concrete, then brushed the light dusting of sand off her rear. Although a large palm tree shaded the front stoop, and it was now late afternoon, her body and clothes were covered in sweat.
“What’s wrong?” John asked as he exited the rental car, concern clear on his face. “Are you locked out?”
She shook her head. For the past ninety minutes she’d tried to figure out what she’d seen and heard inside the condo, and how to tell John. She’d tried to decide if the voice and moving curtain had been stress and anxiety playing with her imagination, or if there had been some thing in the condo. She’d called Maxine, but she hadn’t been home. Maxine lived with ghosts, but they weren’t malicious spirits, they were her ancestors and they appreciated her and what she had done to the family home. They also never left the premises. What she’d encountered in the condo hadn’t been there when she and John had settled in yesterday. Never once had she sensed the presence of anyone or anything aside from herself and John. No, she’d brought this thing into their home. Now she had to find a way to force it to leave.
She had to find a way to tell John without him going ballistic.
He looked from her to the wine bottle. “Did you find palmetto bugs in the condo?”
“I don’t know what I found.”
He looked to the closed door. “Barney stopped by Polina’s Paradise and told us about the body you two hooked. Does that have anything to do with why you’ve been sitting in the heat, sweating your butt off and using a bottle for protection?”
Polina’s Paradise was ATL’s headquarters, and named after the baby alligator one of the team members owned. “How’d the training go?”
“Fine.” He moved toward the door. “Are you going to answer me?”
She blocked him. “What did Barney tell you?”
“That you two found the body of a missing boat captain.” He searched her eyes. “Did you see him?”
“No, I had my back turned when the Coast Guard pulled him from the water.”
He plucked a strand of her hair from her cheek. “That’s not what I meant,” he said, his dark-brown eyes holding too much concern for a man on vacation.
“The vision vanished when I saw him drowning.”
He swore, then let out a harsh breath. “Another drowning vision. That’s awesome,” he said with heavy sarcasm. “What else did you see?”
“I thought he might have squeezed me when his body surfaced, but I couldn’t be sure.”
“And now?” When she didn’t respond, he gripped her by the upper arms. “What aren’t you telling me?”
She reached for him, noticed the sand coating her sweaty palms and fisted her hands. “I’m worried he followed me home.”
His eyes widened a fraction. “The dead boat captain?”
“I’m assuming it’s him. I didn’t stay inside long enough to ask.”
John’s forehead crinkled as he looked to the closed door again. “I don’t understand. Did you have a vision, or go into a trance?”
“No.”
“But he spoke to you?”
She nodded. “And moved the curtains.”
His grip grew tighter. “Are you telling me we have a ghost in our condo?”
The tears she’d been holding back finally fell. “I don’t get it. I burned the sage, performed the cleansing ritual and he still was able to find a way inside. I’d almost rather have him in my head than doing whatever he was doing.” Scared, and not caring if she dirtied his clothes, she fisted the front of his shirt. “John, he threatened me,” she said, then told him about the curtain and how the man claimed she was his.
John’s jaw tightened. “Did you call Maxine?”
“She’s not home.”
He let go of her and gave her the car keys. “Go in the car and get out of the heat. I’m going to pack our bags. We’re staying someplace else.”
She snagged his hand before he could open the door. “He’ll follow us.”
“How do you know? You told me Maxine’s ghosts never leave her house.”
“That’s because they’re drawn to the house, not Maxine.”
John’s face paled. The fear and worry in his eyes compounded the guilt and terror that had been weighing on her from the moment she’d fled the condo. Her gift was a curse. Her visions and trances had nearly killed her twice, and earlier this year, had put a strain on their marriage. They still did, especially where their daughter was concerned. She and John both worried she might slip into a trance while she was driving Olivia to school, or giving her a bath, which was why they’d taken in the service dog. While John had learned to accept the visions and trances, and had encouraged her to work with Maxine to find ways to control them, how could she expect him to now deal with the possibility of a ghost?
“You think he’s haunting you? How can you be sure?”
“I’m not.” She let go of his shirt, and wiped the sweat and tears from her face. “Look, this has to be the boat captain. Who or what else could it be? I touched the net that had dragged him under during the storm. I was there when his body was dredged from the bay.” She pulled her cell phone from her pocket. “What I need is to talk to Maxine and Barney. Barney said he knew the man, but didn’t like him. I’d like to know why and what I’m dealing with, or better yet, what his ghost could want from me.”
“This has to be one of the most ridiculous conversations we’ve had, and we’ve had plenty,” John said.
Her husband was all about logic and science. Since he’d witnessed firsthand what she was capable of, he believed in her psychic abilities. But ghosts were different. To a degree, she could control her visions and trances. She had no idea how to control a ghost, or how to rid herself of one.
She flinched when her cell phone rang and looked at the screen. “It’s Maxine.”
John leaned against the door. “Thank God,” he said, motioning for her to answer.
“Celeste, what’s wrong?” Maxine asked, her voice laced with panic. “I just listened to your message. You sounded terrified.”
When she’d called Maxine, she had been terrified, but hadn’t wanted to leave the reason why in a voicemail. “We have a problem,” Celeste began, then told Maxine what had happened. Once she finished, she put the phone on speaker so John could hear what her mentor had to say.
“I think you need to do as Celeste suggested, talk to Barney and find out more about this man,” Maxine said.
“Do you really think he’ll follow Celeste if we rent another room?” John asked.
“It’s hard to say. There are many who don’t believe spirits—human or inhuman—attach themselves to people. For example, I knew a woman who claimed a ghost was haunting her. She moved four times in less than two years trying to get away from it. But it kept following her. A paranormal investigator suggested she sell all of her furniture and buy everything new. Once she did that, the haunting had stopped. In other words, she wasn’t being haunted. Something she owned was—like a chair or desk. In my case, my ancestors are attached to the house, not me. But Celeste is sensitive to the dead. As we know, they love to turn to her for help. This spirit—good or bad—could need your help on something. If you could find out what it is, may
be then he’ll disappear.”
“Maybe,” John echoed, and wiped a hand down his face. “What if he doesn’t? Will he follow us back to Chicago? Could he hurt Olivia?”
“I can’t answer that, John,” Maxine said. “But, if I was in your situation, I’d do everything possible to rectify this before returning home.”
“Because?”
“Because I believe Olivia is sensitive, too. I wouldn’t want her exposed to anything that could connect to her, especially since she’s just a baby.”
Celeste’s chest filled with both anger and fear. Whatever she’d brought home with her would not know her daughter. She looked to her husband, who had avoided her gaze the entire time they’d been speaking with Maxine, and tugged the front of his shirt.
Without looking at her, he shook his head. “Do you think he’d follow me back to Chicago?”
Her anger suddenly outweighed her fear. John had once threatened to take Olivia away if she chose to continue down her psychic path. While his threats had been made because he had been scared and worried over both hers and their daughter’s safety, there was no way in hell she’d allow him to alienate her from Olivia’s life.
“Before you leave me in the Everglades, maybe we should go inside the condo and make sure what I saw wasn’t my imagination or anxiety screwing with my head.”
With a potent combination of shock and hurt, John stared at her. “I wouldn’t leave you here.” He took her hand, and hauled her close to him. “You don’t belong to him. You belong with me and Olivia. Let’s go inside, tell him he isn’t welcome here, then get on with the rest of our vacation.”
God, she loved him. If she wasn’t such a sweaty mess, she’d kiss him.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Maxine suggested. “That might only anger the spirit.”
“Other than calling Barney, what should we do?” Celeste asked.
Celeste Files: Unjust Page 2
