by CC Dragon
“We’ll get him. I’ll set up a time to talk to the judge. I can get the warrant now. But you said Darren keeps moving. It might not be enough.”
“True. He’s still driving. He’s not even staying at a motel or with friends. There’s no logic or consistency to his patterns.”
“He is crazy. Our best shot is to try to find out who else got the dolls. I’ll get in touch with the parents. Probably better you stay out of that.” Matt gave me a stern look.
“Fine.” I didn’t really want to meet the twins’ parents anyway. Maybe if Darren had gotten better help with his grief earlier, he’d have handled it better. “I’ll let you know if I get anything on the next victim. He’ll be stalking the next girl as soon as he buries this one.”
“How is he finding out who got the dolls?” Matt wondered out loud.
“No idea.” I put the articles back in my purse. The phone rang on Matt’s desk and I knew it wasn’t for him.
“Detective Weathers,” he answered.
The voice on the other end was frantic and loud. I could hear it was Ivy.
“Calm down, she’s right here.” Matt handed me the phone.
“Ivy, what’s wrong?” I could feel the chaos instantly. It could be a fire or something worse. Damn Warren, he was playing tricks again. I pushed harder, forcing myself to see what was going on in my house.
“They’re all loose. Get here now,” Ivy shouted.
I concentrated on the house and knew immediately what was loose. Someone let the haunted objects out of the storeroom.
One guess who. I’d get Warren if it killed me.
“Call Greg and see if he can help. I’ll be right there.” I slammed the phone down.
“Need any help?” Matt offered.
“Thanks, but the police will only get in the way with this problem. I think this is more of a job for the psychics and believers.”
I left the station driving faster than when I came. Had Gran been trying to warn me Warren was up to something before I left? Did Warren think this would scare me off?
All I knew was that this meant something. It wasn’t just a loose lock or a haunted and determined teapot. I needed to get control of my house.
I really needed to get control of Warren before he decided who he wanted Darren to kill next. Four dolls, four girls but that wouldn’t be enough, if he succeeded. Warren wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted, or we got Darren back in a secure place.
For now, it was one crisis at a time. My house was apparently filled with evil objects on parade. I pushed the gas pedal to the floor and kept one eye out for Warren. If he killed me, he’d probably end up getting everything he wanted and more.
Was Warren unable to kill his sister for revenge, or did he have Darren do it to be closer to his twin? And then a very important question popped in my head as I raced home.
Could a ghost kill me?
Chapter Thirteen
Flying up the steps of the house, I pushed open the door and a chaotic vibe of evil and stress hit me. Noises came erratically from the area of the kitchen, but no human screams.
At least not so far.
I closed the door behind me and carefully walked toward the kitchen. I didn’t need to make it that far. The door to the storeroom under the stairs was wide open and the top hinge was broken. I flipped the light on inside. It was mostly empty.
If I hadn’t known what was housed in there, I’d have thought nothing odd about the dank storeroom filled with cobwebs and a few boxes. This room, however, was supposed to be sealed with haunted objects behind the heavy door.
Something caught my eye in the corner near the door of the storeroom. A box of white candles, a large container of holy water and a sack of salt sat untouched by the objects. Must be reserves.
I pulled the supplies out of the room, just in case I needed them. Behind the holy water was a small bucket and sprinkler wand just like the priests used. I got the impression all of this stuff should be behind a case marked “in case of escape, break glass” because I’d need it.
Filling the bucket, I headed for the living room first. I wanted to make sure Gran’s ashes were undisturbed. Everything looked quiet and calm but I flung droplets of holy water from the wand over everything just in case.
Nothing said the objects couldn’t play dead. An etched hand mirror I’d never noticed before sizzled on an end table but only quivered slightly. I grabbed the mirror and felt it resist me. Finally, I forced it in the holy water until it stopped struggling.
I took it to the storeroom and threw it in. There was no crash or even a thud. Whatever spirit had that mirror was strong.
Next, I went to the kitchen where the noises were becoming more constant. I walked in to find complete insanity.
Two daggers were dueling with a real suit of armor in one corner. At the opposite end of the room, jewelry and hats were doing an odd dance along the counter.
The inmates had control of the asylum and they weren’t getting along. I hoped that meant I had a chance of them not ganging up on me.
“Get back in the storeroom.” I started with the holy water and activity slowed as the air sizzled. A few smaller objects went quietly. A small pillbox hat broke loose from the group and hit a lever on the coffee machine before I got it with more water. Coffee spilled everywhere but I stuck with the objects until the small group herded into the storeroom.
Returning to the kitchen, I heard the sound of praying in Spanish coming from the pantry. The daggers and the suit of armor were now after the pantry. Ivy had to be in there. “Get in the storeroom.” I threw holy water on them and the daggers began to relent. The suit of armor was more stubborn and stronger.
Just then a long ruby-encrusted hatpin whizzed by my head like a wasp. It was darting around, which only made it harder to spray holy water on it. The pin was sharp, long, and very dangerous-looking.
“What the hell?” Greg was in the doorway of the kitchen, looking stunned.
“Apparently they got loose. Help me.” I swatted at the hatpin but only after dipping my hand in holy water. I didn’t want to go to the hospital and try to explain how I got impaled by a hatpin.
Greg left and returned with a spray bottle of holy water. We double-teamed the suit of armor and the hatpin into submission. Though the hatpin still tried to drill a hole in the bottom of the bucket.
“I’ll put these in the storeroom. Talk Ivy out of there. Then we have to go room by room. I think we’ve got the worst of them, though.” Greg took the bucket and nudged the suit of armor with the wand.
I kept the spray bottle and opened the pantry door to reveal a now shrieking Ivy. “It’s okay. We got the ones in here.”
She gasped for breath, clutching her purse to her chest. “They were everywhere. Just came flying out.”
“It’s okay.” Once she was out, I sprayed the pantry and every surface in the kitchen.
“Missy,” I called.
The maid appeared and looked distraught. “Put them back,” she pleaded.
“I will. Can you look upstairs and keep an eye on any? It’ll help if we can identify them without drowning everything in the house.”
Missy nodded but looked reluctant as she disappeared.
“Come on, Ivy, I need you to guard the storeroom.” I tugged her arm.
“Why me?” she asked.
“Greg and I are going to get them but we need to make sure they don’t re-escape until we can reseal the door. All you have to do is throw holy water at whatever comes out.” I led the way to the storeroom.
Ivy put her purse down and took the bucket from Greg.
“I got the second squirt bottle.” He handed her the wand. “Kitchen clear?”
“Appears to be. Ivy can stand watch while we go. I have Missy checking upstairs.”
“Okay, you take the upstairs and I’ll finish up down here. Then we’ll lock them back up. I wish I knew how they got loose.” He headed for the second parlor.
I had a pretty good idea
who’d cause trouble in the house. I still wasn’t sure why Warren would let the haunted objects loose. Unless he was just being rotten to make my life hell.
I wouldn’t put it past the kid. I headed up the stairs, with a light mist of holy water going over everything.
Missy met me at the top of the stairs. “Your room is safe. All the rooms here are fine, except...”
“Except?” I pressed.
“It’s not an object, but something is terribly wrong in the library.” She pointed to the end of the hall.
I heard faint laughter and rattling. “Okay. Double-check all the rooms. Be sure. I’ll handle that.”
That little brat! I ran down the hall and opened the door to the library to find a librarian’s worst nightmare. Papers, books and even maps strewn everywhere. “Noah? Are you okay?” Not sure what a ghost could do to another ghost.
Two snaps came back to me.
“Are you alone?” I knew the answer but wanted to make sure. I didn’t see Warren, yet.
Silence was the answer this time.
“Warren, I know you’re in here. Show yourself now.” I didn’t want to ruin the papers by spraying them, so I walked around until I spotted him. He was tossing papers out of the flat drawers of the newspaper chest. “Stop that!”
“Where are they? What did you do with them?” he demanded.
“My house, my stuff. Now put all of this back and clean up my house.”
“Ha ha. Your objects got loose.” He hopped on top of the chest and did another funny dance. “I got what I wanted anyway. The articles are stupid. The new ones will be better. Four murders. Two down and two to go!”
“What you wanted? What were you after?” He had nothing in his hands. I looked around and spotted a doll. Another doll, it was one of the four. I froze for a second, not believing my eyes. “Was that in my storeroom?”
“Duh. You’re so smart, but you didn’t know you had doll number four. That means Darren will come for you last. Maybe my twin and I will let you bleed to death. Breaking your neck would be too kind and quick.” He kept dancing and smiling.
I took a minute to process the info. Gran must have taken the doll off someone it was tormenting. Clearly Warren had been a busy little boy. “Why break the doll out of the storeroom? Why not just leave it so it’s a surprise when you try to kill me?”
“This is more fun.” He kept dancing like a crazy leprechaun. “Besides, we have to bury the doll with you. Darren couldn’t handle those objects. You did the hard part for us.”
I sprayed the doll and grabbed for it. Warren’s little face scrunched into a snarl and he lunged for the doll. “Mine!”
“No, mine.” I sprayed him too but it didn’t have much impact. His hands went through mine but he had a grip on the doll. A strong grip. I held my own but my strength wasn’t supernatural.
I sprayed him again and again but it only made him angrier. The doll wasn’t fighting me. It was strictly Warren. “Noah, a little help please?”
I felt him approach and smelled rosewater again. It was stronger than it’d ever been. A force threw Warren back against the wall and held him there. His little legs kicked but he couldn’t move.
The library filled with the scent of rosewater until I thought I couldn’t breathe and Warren was gone in a blink. As quickly as it happened, it was over. The doll was on the floor in front of me.
“You okay, Noah?”
Two snaps.
“Thanks for the help.” I picked up the doll and sank into the nearest chair.
The vacant black yarn eyes of the doll stared at me as I adjusted her pink and white dress over her cloth body. Karen had loved these dolls and now they were a link to pain and death. The random factor that had led to Little Cel’s and Tina’s deaths.
“Noah doesn’t help everyone like that.” Gran appeared in the mess.
“I’m real lucky. What the hell happened?”
“Warren.”
“No kidding. I meant what’s with the rosewater? Is that you?”
“No, that’s Noah. When he’s protecting you. It’s a long story.”
“Protect me? Then why won’t he talk? Or show himself? That’s disconcerting.”
“That’s for him to tell you. When he’s ready. I’d say you have a good protector here.” She smiled so hard it almost looked like she was beaming.
“Well, I’m sorry I ever commented on your supply of holy water. I might need more.” I exhaled slowly.
“First seal the storeroom. As long as Warren doesn’t decide to break anything else out of the storeroom, it should be fine.”
“Good to know I wasn’t weakening things around here.” I pulled myself out of the chair, cradling the doll so it didn’t get lost in the tossed library. I did my best to find a path where I wasn’t stepping on paper or books. “What a mess.”
“I’m sure Noah can put it all back.” Gran looked up, as though she knew exactly where he was. Two snaps answered her.
“Thanks, Noah. That’d be great. Missy will be busy with the kitchen. Coffee is everywhere.” I rested my hand on the doorknob. “Hopefully Greg’s had a bit better time downstairs.”
“Good luck.” Gran vanished.
I escaped the library and found Missy on the other side of the door. “Nothing up here,” she said.
“Good. The kitchen is a wreck, when you can get to it. I have to go help Greg make sure they don’t get out again.” I took the stairs two at a time down with the doll tucked under my arm. No sounds of panic came.
I found Greg and Ivy at the storeroom door. They were replacing the hinge. Men were a good thing to have around for minor household repairs. I had two little brothers but they were back in Chicago. Greg had his uses. “Everything okay?”
“It quieted down once you got upstairs. Found a few escapees looking for their freedom from the house, but all are back in and it’s quiet.” Greg slipped in the pin through the new hinge and the door stood straight again. “Does that doll need to go in too?”
I shook my head. “No, it stays with me.” I tightened my grip. Warren was unpredictable.
Greg closed the door and locked it with a key. Then he put holy water along the doorframe and did the same with the salt while muttering prayers. He handed me the bag of salt. “Pour some along the floor at the door.”
“What do I say?”
“Nothing. Just concentrate on containing them.” He stepped back.
I slowly poured the salt and focused. If only I could get Warren in there. He really belonged in the attic, but wrangling evil ghosts wasn’t a lesson I was up to just yet.
Handing the salt bag back to Greg, I clutched the doll and rested my chin on its head.
“That looks like the other doll.” Greg leaned in for a better look.
“It’s the fourth one. It was in the storeroom. That’s what caused all of this.” I gestured to the house.
“At least it wasn’t me.” Ivy collected her purse and ran a hand over her hair. “I’m going to go, if you don’t mind. I need a sedative and a big drink.”
“Bye, Ivy, thanks for helping and for being here.” I walked her to the door and made sure she got safely into her car.
Once she was gone, I leaned against the front door and closed my eyes. “That was so fucking weird.”
“That’s putting it nicely.” Greg came closer. “What happened up there?”
“Long story.” I waved it off. “Thanks for helping. I’m sure you have to get back to class. I should go help Missy clean up.”
“No, I think you should go lie down. You look like all of the energy was sucked out of you.”
“Probably was. Okay, as long as you’re here to make sure nothing escapes just yet. Give me half an hour to rest and I’ll be fine.” I trudged up the stairs with the doll. Until I had Darren in a mental hospital and Warren firmly on the Other Side, the doll was staying with me. In the wrong hands it could be even more dangerous.
I sank onto my bed and put the doll in the bottom drawe
r of the nightstand. My eyelids felt heavy as my head hit the pillow. Warren was a lot of trouble for such a little brat.
But he hadn’t won yet.
Chapter Fourteen
I startled awake when I felt movement in the room. Instantly I was on guard for Warren but it wasn’t him. It wasn’t even Missy. Greg had set a glass of water on the nightstand next to the bed.
“What are you still doing here?” I half sat up and looked around for Warren.
“It’s only been ten minutes. Missy has most of the mess cleaned up down there and I didn’t want to get in the way. You okay?” He sat on the edge of the bed.
“I wish it was all a dream and over.” I didn’t want to deal with Warren, or Darren, or victims, or ghosts. I wanted it all to go away.
“The stuff is all back in the storeroom. That’s done. They shouldn’t get out again.” He brushed a strand of hair out of my face. I hadn’t seen much of Greg since the night at the drag club. I’d convinced myself he’d just been proving he was straight.
I sat up and folded my legs under me. Burying my face in my hands, I tried rubbing away the numbness I was feeling. “I suck.”
“No, you don’t,” Greg whispered.
“Yes, I do.” I let my hands fall into my lap. “You don’t know how messed up I am. I can’t sleep without ending up on the Other Side, I can’t catch the killer, I can’t keep this house together, and I can’t handle that I can’t do any of that. This was a mistake. I’m not fit to take over for Gran.”
He stared me back right in the eyes, absorbing everything I was saying. “There are no mistakes. There is always a plan. Would you be happier in Chicago? Taking a job you can tolerate but having to ignore this side of you—not talk about ghosts or haunted things?” Greg took my hand and the sensation sizzled on my skin.
“I don’t know. It was easier.” In some ways it was. When I was teaching, no one was trying to turn my house upside down or kill me. Warren had threatened my life. Not that I could report it to the police or anything. There was nothing they could do about it.
