Celeste Files: Unjust

by Kristine Mason

  Lola shook her head. “It was late when Nick called me about it.”

  “Well?” Celeste asked. “Good news?”

  “Yep. Some of the men’s names you’d given Nick and Jerry, along with locations of the bodies, match what Denis had in the ledger. Once Nick and Jerry handed it over to the FBI, it didn’t take the Feds long to begin making arrests.”

  “That’s fantastic news. How many arrests?”

  “Blake Crewe, the man who killed Solana Aldez, is currently sitting in jail waiting to be transported to a Federal prison. So is his father.”

  “Thank God. I was worried there wouldn’t be enough evidence to hold them. Please tell me there’s more.”

  “Patience,” John said with a smile.

  “Some of the women Denis kidnapped are still alive,” Celeste said. “In this case, I have none.”

  Lola chuckled. “You don’t need much. Five other men have also been arrested, and Jerry said the Feds plan to arrest several more today. At the rate they’re going, every man in Denis’s ledger will be held accountable by the end of the week.”

  Celeste leaned against John. “I’m saying prayers that some of these arrests lead to rescue missions.”

  Lola nodded. “You’re not the only one.”

  John held his hand out toward Ryan. “We need to get to the airpark. Good seeing you again. Give my regards to Shane.”

  “He said he was sorry he couldn’t be here to say good-bye.” Ryan shook John’s hand. “He also told me to tell you that next time you’re in town, he’ll take you up in his Cessna and give you an unbelievable view of the Glades.”

  “All the more reason to come back for another vacation. When are you two planning a visit to Chicago?”

  “I think next month. Now that Ian and Cami finally set a wedding date, Cami’s anxious for Lola to go dress shopping with her.”

  Lola hugged Celeste. “Is there any way you can predict how crazy my mom is going to act over this wedding?”

  “You know I love your mom, so no offense when I say that I don’t need to be psychic to predict a high level of crazy.”

  Lola laughed. “Well, at least my mom has a good sense of style. She’ll probably drive us both nuts, but we’ll look good on our way to a psychiatric hospital.”

  After they finished saying good-bye, Barney drove them to Everglades Airpark, where the CORE jet waited—one of the perks of having a wealthy father who owned his own agency. She climbed out of Barney’s station wagon, then gave the man another hug. “I’m going to miss you.” During the past couple of days John had to train the ATL agents, so she and Barney had gone back to hanging out together. She’d loved sitting on his dock, fishing and talking, or lounging on his small patio sipping fresh-brewed sweet tea. The man had a lot of stories—half of which she was convinced were embellished or completely made up—but she loved listening to him.

  Barney kissed her cheek. “I’m gonna miss you, too, kiddo.” He shook John’s hand. “Take care of our girl. I’ll see you in a few months.”

  “Looking forward to it,” John said, then helped Celeste on the plane, while the pilot took care of their luggage.

  Once they were settled, and the pilot had the all-clear, the jet took off down the runway. Celeste stared out the window to catch a final glimpse of the Everglades and the Gulf. “I wonder what the average cost of a home is in Florida,” she said.

  John kissed her shoulder. “Don’t get any ideas. Chicago’s our home. Besides, your sister and brother would have a fit if you left, and I don’t even want to think about the crap Ian would give me.”

  “Ian’s a pussycat.” She sat back in her seat. “Then instead of investing in another bakery, maybe we can buy a condo like the one we just stayed in and rent it out when we’re not vacationing.”

  “Sure. Why not add more stress?”

  She chuckled, and leaned against him. “We can pay Barney to handle the renters and make sure the place is maintained.”

  “That’s not a bad idea. Wait, what did he mean when he said he’d see us in a couple of months?”

  “I invited him to stay with us. It’s my turn to play tour guide and entertain him. Actually, he saw a documentary on how the Ford Oriental Theatre is haunted, and was interested in visiting.”

  John shifted forward and stared at her.

  “I’m kidding,” she said, with a chuckle. “I think we’ve all had our fair share of ghosts.”

  For now…

  Epilogue

  Four weeks later…

  CELESTE SET AN empty moving box on the kitchen floor next to the one she’d just finished packing. She cracked her back, then began pulling baking supplies from the pantry and putting them in the box. Olivia toddled into the kitchen, carrying her favorite stuffed animal—the alligator Vlad had sent shortly after their vacation to the Everglades—and chatting away. Their dog, Ruth, followed behind, then flopped to the floor when Olivia stopped in front of a sealed box.

  Celeste grinned as she studied her daughter’s animated facial expressions. “That must be a serious conversation. Who are you talking to?”

  “Vad,” Olivia said, referring to the stuffed animal her daughter had named after Vlad, and showing the alligator to her.

  “You are? And what are you and Vlad talking about?”

  “Mama, sugar.”

  Celeste froze. Dread climbed up her spine. It couldn’t be. He was gone, the women had seen to it. “What did you say, sweetie?” she asked, keeping the alarm from her voice.

  Olivia pointed. “Sugar.”

  She slowly turned around, prepared to once again fight the bastard, then let out a deep breath. The bag of sugar she had yet to pack had slumped over, spilling on the pantry shelf. “You’re right. My sugar spilled,” she said, placing a hand to her chest to slow her racing heart.

  Since they’d returned from Florida, she hadn’t seen one ghost or had a single trance. But she and Maxine had met regularly to hone in on Celeste’s skills. Fortunately, and unfortunately, she and John had sold their condo and had purchased a house last week, so she hadn’t seen much of Maxine during the past few days, and she hadn’t been able to read through her mom’s journals like she’d wanted to. Once they were settled into their new house, an adorable craftsman in the Rogers Park neighborhood that they’d purchased for a steal due to its need of renovations, she would study her mom’s journals.

  “Daddy,” Olivia squealed as if John hadn’t been just down the hall all morning.

  He set a box in the hallway near the front door, then did a goofy walk toward Olivia, eliciting giggles from their daughter. “How’s my munchkin?” John asked, giving her a smacking kiss.

  Olivia pressed the alligator’s snout against John’s cheek. “Kiss Vad.”

  “Daddy doesn’t want to kiss Vlad.”

  “Kiss Vad,” she insisted.

  He looked over his shoulder to Celeste. “You had to let her name the toy, Vlad?”

  She shrugged. “Livy knows what she wants, and usually gets it.”

  “Sounds like her mother,” he said with a grin, then set Olivia on her feet. “What time do you want to head to Dante and Jessica’s?”

  “I told Jess we’d be there around three, after Liv wakes up from her nap. This way we can take a break from packing, then hopefully finish up tonight or in the morning.”

  “Since the moving truck is coming tomorrow afternoon, we have no choice but to finish. But other than the kitchen and the laundry room, everything else is packed.” He took a bottle of water from the fridge. “I forgot to ask how the new house looks.”

  Celeste had taken John’s advice and had hired someone to clean their condo. Maxine had recommended the crew who took care of her brownstone. Since their rates were affordable, she’d had them clean their new house so they weren’t moving in on someone else’s dirt. “The cleaners did a great job. Took care of all the windows, molding, fans. You should see the kitchen.”

  “See? For not a lot of money, you saved yourself
a week’s worth of stress and time. Now you can spend the extra time thanking me.”

  She grinned. “Is sex the only thing you think about?”

  “Who said anything about sex? But if it’s on your mind, let’s put Olivia down for her nap now.”

  “It’s barely ten, she’s only been up for a few hours. Sorry, you’ll have to wait until naptime.”

  He sighed. “One o’clock?

  She nodded.

  “Then we have a date—in our bedroom. One o’clock sharp.” He kissed her cheek. “Clothing is not optional.”

  “It’ll have to be a quick date. I need to shower before we go to Dante and Jessica’s.”

  “The baby won’t care if you’ve showered or not.”

  “I care,” she said, looking forward to holding the newborn. Since their vacation, her baby fever had returned with a vengeance. “By the way, has Dante said anything about how Jessica is doing? It was hard to tell when I talked to her earlier.”

  “What do you mean? I’m sure she’s tired.”

  “You know what I mean. I know it’s been almost eight years since Sophia was abducted, but I can’t imagine they’ve let go of the hope of finding her. Their new son has to be a reminder of what they’ve lost.”

  He sighed. “I don’t know. I wasn’t about to ask Dante.”

  “I get it,” she said, sadness settling in her chest. “You know, I could look into Sophia’s disappearance for them. I could work with Maxine and—”

  He stopped her with a kiss. “Don’t. You. Dare.”

  “But.”

  He pressed a finger against her lips. “Stay out of their business. I believe in you, but I don’t want you giving them false hope. Frankly, they might be better off not knowing what happened to Sophia.”

  “Wouldn’t you want to know?”

  He glanced to where Olivia sat on the floor, stroking Ruth’s fur and babbling to the dog in toddler-speak. “I don’t want to talk about it. Please promise me you won’t do anything. I don’t want you to try to find their daughter. What you find might devastate them.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” she said, not willing to promise anything and go back on her word. “Better get to work. Those boxes aren’t going to pack themselves.”

  “Your mommy is so bossy,” John said to Olivia, then after giving their daughter a kiss, he headed into the back rooms.

  “Find baby?” Olivia asked, once John left the room.

  “Daddy says Mommy shouldn’t, but Mommy doesn’t listen very well.” Celeste smiled at her daughter. “What does Livy think Mommy should do?”

  Olivia grinned. “Find baby.”

  Celeste scooped up her daughter and gave her a big hug. “Me, too.”

  The End

  * * *

  Kristine will raffle off one $50 gift card among all subscribers of her newsletter each month. To sign up for Kristine’s email newsletter please CLICK HERE.

  Find out what happened to Dante and Jessica’s daughter (Ultimate Fear—Book Two of the Ultimate C.O.R.E Trilogy) in…

  Celeste Files: Unforgotten

  Book Three of Psychic C.O.R.E.

  October 2015…

  Also Available by Kristine Mason

  Celeste Files: Unlocked

  Book One Psychic C.O.R.E.

  Some secrets should remain locked in the past…

  Celeste Kain hasn’t had a psychic vision in two years. After being brutally attacked while helping criminal investigation agency CORE stop a serial killer, her mind repressed her clairvoyant abilities. Married to CORE agent, John Kain, mother to their toddler, Olivia, and owner of an up-and-coming bakery, Celeste has been doing fine psychic-free. Only now the dead are using her body to tell their stories again…putting her new life and family at risk.

  Haunted by a murdered woman, Celeste turns to a psychic mentor to learn how to control her gift, protect her family and bring justice to the dead. But the more she digs into the dead woman’s past, the further she slips into the unknown, unlocking secrets literally worth killing for. As the body count rises, it becomes clear: someone in the dead woman’s family is deeply, violently wrong. And Celeste needs to be careful, before she loses something more precious to her than her life.

  Celeste Risinski, the heroine of Shadow of Danger (Book 1 C.O.R.E. Shadow Trilogy), is back with her own series. Join her as she learns how to deal with being a wife, mom, baker and…psychic investigator.

  Purchase for your Kobo

  See how John and Celeste met in…

  Shadow of Danger

  Book One of the C.O.R.E. Shadow Trilogy

  Beware of what lurks in the shadows…

  Four women have been found dead in the outskirts of a small Wisconsin town. The only witness, clairvoyant Celeste Risinski, observes these brutal murders through violent nightmares and hellish visions. The local sheriff, who believes in Celeste’s abilities and wants to rid their peaceful community of a killer, enlists the help of an old friend, Ian Scott, owner of a private criminal investigation agency, CORE. Because of Ian’s dark history with Celeste’s family, a history she knows nothing about, he sends his top criminalist, former FBI agent, John Kain, to investigate.

  John doesn’t believe in Celeste’s mystic hocus-pocus, or in her visions of the murders. But just when he’s certain they’ve solved the crimes with the use of science and evidence, more dead bodies are discovered. Could this somehow be the work of the same killer, or are they dealing with a copycat? To catch a vicious murderer, the skeptical criminalist reluctantly turns to the sensual psychic for help. Yet, with each step closer to finding the killer, John finds himself one step closer to losing his heart.

  Purchase for your Kobo

  Meet Lola and the Above the Law crew in…

  Perfectly Twisted

  Book One C.O.R.E. Above the Law

  What do you get when you mix a snake-handling reverend, a necrophiliac, a cop and an ex-con? Something perfectly twisted…

  Sound like the start of a bad joke? Not to Shane Monahan. The ex-con, former Army Night Stalker and newest recruit to the underground criminal investigation group, A.T.L. or Above the Law, has it bad for Collier County Deputy Beth Price. But ex-cons and cops don’t mix, especially when this particular ex-con is looking at going back to prison for his involvement with A.T.L.

  All Beth wants is a fun distraction from the stress of her job and law school. She thinks she’s found that when she meets Shane during an airboat tour through the Florida Everglades. But Shane’s a felon, a man who could destroy her career as a deputy, and jeopardize her future as an attorney. She doesn’t know what to do—until dead bodies start showing up around the county.

  When three abused corpses are found with snake remains inside them, the discovery brings a murderer out of retirement. The Reverend, as he calls himself, doesn’t like his kills being mimicked, especially by a man who abuses the dead—after all, the Reverend does have a reputation to uphold and a congregation to scam. Now it’s time to teach his copycat a deadly lesson…

  Purchase for your Kobo

  Other C.O.R.E. Titles Available by Kristine Mason

  Shadow of Perception

  Book Two of the C.O.R.E. Shadow Trilogy

  What happens when negligent plastic surgeons receive a taste of their own medicine…?

  Chicago investigative reporter, Eden Risk, receives an unmarked envelope containing a postcard ordering her to watch the enclosed DVD…or someone else dies. No Police. After Eden watches the DVD, a gruesome, horrifying surgery, she turns to the private criminal investigation agency, CORE, for help. Only she hadn’t expected that help to come with a catch. Her former lover, Hudson Patterson, has been assigned to the case.

  Hudson would rather have another CORE agent handle the investigation. Two years ago, he’d screwed things up with Eden…bad. And as more DVDs arrive, Eden and Hudson find themselves not only knee-deep in a twisted investigation, but forced to deal with their past, and the love they’d tried to deny.

 
Purchase for your Kobo

  Shadow of Vengeance

  Book Three of the C.O.R.E. Shadow Trilogy

  Welcome to Hell Week. You have seven days to find him…

  At Wexman University, male students will do anything to get into a top fraternity. They’ll prove their worth during Hell Week by participating in various physical, psychological and even juvenile pranks. But those shenanigans aren’t so funny when pledges start disappearing. What kind of evil has stalked this small Michigan university for the past two decades? Theories range from obscene scientific experiments to grotesque satanic killings…but they’re all wrong. The murdered boys serve a single purpose…the ultimate revenge.

  Rachel Davis, forensic computer analyst for the private investigation agency CORE, has been itching to leave her desk behind and work in the field. When her brother Sean, a student at Wexman, is found beaten and his roommate kidnapped during Hell Week, she gets her chance. Only her boss insists former U.S. Secret Service Agent, Owen Malcolm, helps her with the investigation. Owen is the last person she wants on this assignment. She’d been secretly half in love with him for over four years, until the night he’d crushed her ego and destroyed her hopes for any kind of future with him.