Rachel greeted me and pointed to the coffeepot. “Made some fresh. Get it while it’s hot.”
Just the idea of drinking coffee made me queasy, and she must’ve seen the expression on my face. “What? I thought you loved my coffee.”
My hand flew to my stomach, and I nodded glumly. “I do love your coffee, but my child? Not so much.”
“Oh my God! Are you serious?” Rachel ran around her desk and put her arms around me. “I’m so happy! I’m going to be Aunt Rachel! When is he due? Or she due? Do we know what we’re having?”
I laughed at her excitement. It felt good to tell my secret. “Not yet, but I’m sure we will find out soon enough. I have another appointment in a couple of weeks. Maybe by then they can do the ultrasound and we can see something.”
She hugged me again, and before I could get to my office the front door opened. A very happy-looking Henri and Detra Ann walked in. “Hey, guys.” I greeted them with a smile.
“Is this how you always start your workday, with a group hug?” Detra Ann laughed and hugged me too.
Before I could say anything, Rachel blurted out, “It’s so wonderful! Carrie Jo is going to have a baby.”
“I heard! I’m so happy for y’all!” Detra Ann hugged me again.
Henri put his arm around me. “I had to tell her. You and Ashland will make wonderful parents. Congratulations again, CJ.”
“Thank you. It is pretty wonderful. So what brings you two by? Not that I’m not glad to see you for any reason.”
“Actually I came to talk to you about Lenore.”
Thinking that Henri would want privacy I said, “Let’s go to my office. Rachel made some wonderful coffee if you’d like some.”
“I think we’re good.”
I sat behind my desk and invited them to take the two seats in front of me. I tossed my purse in the bottom drawer and turned my attention to my friends. “You should know she’s gone. I mean, she left this morning before Ashland or I got up. She mentioned something yesterday about getting a job as a housekeeper. I didn’t ask Doreen this morning, but I think she plans on talking to her.”
Detra Ann leaned back in her chair and glanced at Henri. He said, “Lenore has always walked to the beat of a different drummer, even before Aleezabeth disappeared, but her behavior has gotten worse since. I am grateful that you allowed her to spend the night with you, but that is not a solution. I cannot put you guys in the middle of her mess, especially with a baby coming. I am not sure what she’s capable of.”
“I agree that Lenore is…quirky. But I’m not sure she’s dangerous. Then again, you know her better than I do.”
“I think I have a way to help her. What if, somehow, we could find out what happened to Aleezabeth? I mean, I would never ask for myself, but…she needs to know or she is never going to move past it. That’s why I am here, Carrie Jo. I know you and Ashland both have skills in this area. What if we could solve the mystery, find my cousin and bring her home? I think that would…” Just then, my phone rang. Despite my attempts to ignore it, Rachel poked her head in the doorway.
“I hate to interrupt, but that’s Desmond Taylor on the phone. He’s on a cruise. I’m not sure when you could call him back. Do you want to speak with him?”
I didn’t know what to say to Henri. Was he asking me to dream about Aleezabeth? “Forgive me, y’all, but I have to take this. Just give me a second.”
“We can talk later.” Henri stood, and Detra Ann just stared at him.
“It’s not that you guys aren’t important to me. It’s just that—”
Henri raised his hand and gave me a dismissive wave. “I should never have asked.” He walked out of the office; I could hear the front door chimes, and I sat staring open-mouthed at Detra Ann.
“What did I do?”
“Don’t worry about him. He’s just worried about Lenore. And no matter what he tells you, he’s not over what happened to Aleezabeth. Tell you what—why don’t we meet you for dinner and then we can talk.”
“That sounds great. Why don’t you guys come over about six? I’m really sorry, Detra Ann.”
“Nothing to worry about. You leave him to me. We will be there.” She walked out of my office in her shiny taupe heels.
“Okay!” I called after her, still puzzled by what just happened. I picked up the phone.
Desmond Taylor might have been on a cruise, but he was certainly in work mode. He had a slew of questions, and I did my best to answer them. After the thirty-minute call ended, I couldn’t help but worry about Henri. It was not like him to be short-tempered with me—I knew something was seriously wrong.
The day dragged by, but finally five o’clock came around and I waved goodbye to Rachel as I headed home. Doreen had graciously agreed to cook for our dinner guests, and my stomach was grumbling. I found Ashland in my office using my computer. I dumped my purse and briefcase on the side table, slid my arms around his neck and kissed the top of his head.
“Whatcha doing?”
“Just checking on a few things. You know, I never did give you my anniversary present.” He turned the wooden chair around and patted his leg playfully.
“You’re right.” I slid into his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck. “But unfortunately your gift is going to have to wait. We have dinner guests coming, remember? I texted you earlier.”
He smiled wickedly and said, “This will only take a minute.”
I blushed and scolded him, “Ashland.”
“It’s not that, and I’m pretty sure that those kinds of gifts take a little more than a minute.” I smiled back at him and punched him playfully on the arm. “Open the browser,” he said.
“What?”
“Open the browser on the computer. I want you to see this.”
I reached over and pulled up the browser window he had minimized. It was a website featuring historic Mobile landmarks. I had to admit that I was puzzled. “Okay, so this is Widow’s Row. I have seen this before. What am I looking for?”
“Tell me about it.”
“This house was originally part of Widow’s Row. It was housing for Civil War widows—there were quite a few of them. But there was something of a scandal there around the turn of the century. At the end of this street would have been the Southern Market. Right here.” I pointed to a map that showed the layout of the old city. “One row of houses ran east, and the second ran west, that way. Of course, the county courthouse was across the street back then. It’s a shame that most of those houses are gone.”
“Not all of them are.”
“Really?”
“A few have been wonderfully restored, like the Murray House, but there is one that’s kind of been left behind. It’s on Eslava Street.”
“Eslava…it runs parallel to Virginia Street, right?”
“Yes.”
“So what am I looking for?”
He reached around me and clicked on another screen. A tiny house, sometimes called a “shotgun” house, popped up on the screen. “It’s yours. I thought it would make the perfect office for your new business. You could restore it and really show off your talents. And of course, you’d be restoring a patch of Mobile. What do you think?”
Tears welled up in my eyes. “I think it’s wonderful.” I put my arms around his neck again and hugged him. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“And I didn’t get you anything.”
“Nonsense. You gave me the best gift of all.” He nervously touched my stomach. I nodded and put my hand over his. I kissed him, feeling so grateful not only for the wonderful gift but for the fact that I had someone as wonderful as Ashland in my life. What a fool I had been to make such a big deal out of his stupid dreams! I felt blessed beyond belief.
I heard voices in the hall. “Oops. To be continued. Our guests have arrived a few minutes early.”
With one last kiss I scooted out of his lap, and together we walked out of the office holding hands like two teenagers.
; “Hey, guys!” I called to them. “Glad you could make it. I’ll check with Doreen on dinner. Be right back.” Ashland squeezed my hand, and I went to see if I could help in the kitchen. As expected Doreen was a whirlwind of activity; a sauce pot on the stove filled the kitchen with delicious flavor. She slid the pork roast out of the oven and set the pan on the stove top before she spun around and gasped.
“Mrs. Stuart! You almost gave me a heart attack.” She pushed her eyeglasses back to the bridge of her nose and gave me a goodhearted yet disapproving scowl.
“Sorry,” I said sincerely. “Thank you for going the extra mile tonight, Doreen. Smells delicious.” I stuck a spoon in the sauce before she could object. “Can I do anything?” The sauce was delicious. Not like Bette would have made, but I couldn’t wait to dig in.
“No, ma’am. I have this under control. Dinner should be ready in about twenty minutes. I think your guests are a bit early.”
“Yes they are, and we aren’t in a big rush,” I said as I stole a warm yeast roll from the covered basket on the bar.
“You never said if you wanted me to serve. Did you want this buffet style?”
“Buffet style is perfect. We can wait on ourselves.” I resisted the urge to hug her. Doreen didn’t enjoy being touched—or surprised. I seemed to always do both. Leaving dinner in good hands, I went to join my friends, but Detra Ann caught me in the hallway and waved me into the bathroom. I giggled as she closed the door behind us.
“What’s going on? Are you dying to tell me the details?” I asked teasingly. Her distressed look made me change my tone immediately. “Detra Ann?”
“I thought about calling you after we left this morning, but I didn’t know what to say.”
“You should have. I’m sorry about that phone call.”
“You must think I’m a horrible person. I mean, I never meant for this to happen with Henri. It just sort of happened.”
I grinned at her. “What? You must be the only person who didn’t see this coming. And of course I don’t think you’re horrible—this is the way it should be. Nobody expects you to mourn forever, Detra Ann. This isn’t the 1800s.”
Sitting on the side of the tub with her head in her hands, she whispered, “I just don’t know. I don’t know if this is right. I don’t know if this is what I want. That’s horrible to say, isn’t it?”
I sat on the floor next to her and waited for her to look at me. Sitting this close, I could see the dark circles under her eyes that she tried to hide with expensive concealer. She hadn’t been sleeping and was much thinner than she had been last year. She didn’t have any extra weight to begin with. “I think it’s time for you to think about yourself. Not your mom. Not Henri. Yourself. It’s okay to take care of you. And if you’re not sure how you feel about him, then slow down. No one will fault you for that.”
“I’m leaving, Carrie Jo. I took a job in Atlanta.”
“Oh wow.”
“He thinks last night changed everything, but it didn’t. He doesn’t understand what I’ve been through. I mean, I know he knows—I’ve talked about it plenty of times—but he doesn’t know how I feel. It’s just too soon. It’s too much. I just can’t. And there’s this other thing.”
“What?”
“Lenore is right. I am a shade, a ghost. I think I am marked. I think—no, I know—that something bad is going to happen to me.”
Instinctively I grabbed her hands and said, “No! Don’t listen to her. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. We beat those ghosts, and it’s over. End of subject. Lenore is crazy—I caught her talking on the phone to nobody last night. There was no one on the other end.” No way was I telling Detra Ann what Lenore said or what Ashland saw.
Her beautiful eyes widened, but she continued, “You and I both know that with that house it’s never truly over. I can’t pretend that I understand why all of this happened. I still don’t know why Bette had to go and why Terrence is gone. What was the connection—what made me so special that I escaped? It’s not fair, and I think I just got lucky. But my luck is wearing out. If I don’t leave, if I don’t make a run for it, well, then I’m going to join them. I hear things. I see things. Dark things. If I sit still for too long shadows creep in. I can’t even close my eyes for very long. Something is coming for me, CJ.”
I heard Ashland call me from the hallway, and I scrambled to my feet and opened the door. “Right here. Be there in just a second.” I didn’t offer any explanation other than that. He’d have to wait. I closed the door and sat next to Detra Ann.
“Listen to me. If you decide to leave, that’s fine if that’s what you need to do. But if you’re leaving just to run away from some phantom, then you should stay. We can fight this, Detra Ann, and we can do it if we stick together. That was the mistake I made the last time. I took off half-cocked into that hospital room, and look where it got us. Bette is gone.” A sob escaped my throat. “And that’s on me. TD’s gone. And that’s on me. They had no idea what I was doing, and I put them in a horrible situation. You are not alone, and I’m not going to let you fight this by yourself. Let’s go in there right now, tell them what’s going on and get everyone on board so we can come up with some sort of plan. Enough with working behind the scenes—we need to be honest and put everything out in the open.”
“I can’t do that to Henri. He is so broken up about Aleezabeth and Lenore. I don’t think he can handle one more thing right now. And let me remind you that you have a baby to think about. I can’t have you fighting Death on my behalf. I won’t do it. I just wanted you to know that I value your friendship. I am glad I got to know you.”
“Me too, but don’t talk like I’ll never see you again.”
“I want you to promise me something.” I didn’t like the sound of this, but I nodded. “Promise me that you will look after Ashland. If anything were to ever happen to me and you ditch him, I will come back and haunt you.”
“Of course I will. But don’t talk like this. We’re sticking together, remember?” Before she could protest, there was a knock on the door.
“What’s going on in there? Carrie Jo are you okay?” When did Ashland get to be so nosy?
“Yes. I was just feeling a little sick. I’m okay now. Coming right out.” Detra Ann and I hugged, and I emerged from the bathroom with my hand over my stomach. “Must be evening sickness.”
Soon the four of us were chatting, but it was impossible to really have a conversation with Doreen coming in and out. She insisted on waiting on us even though we’d agreed on a more informal buffet style. Thirty minutes later, she waved goodbye, and I gathered the supper plates and quickly carried them to the kitchen. I’d tidy those up later, but I had something to do. No way was I going to lose another friend. I decided it was time to take charge. I meant what I’d said about no more secrets. Wiping my hands on the kitchen towel, I marched back into the living room and stood with my hands on my hips. I didn’t give a hoot about what they were talking about. I spilled my guts.
“Detra Ann needs our help, y’all. I know that you have something to say, Henri, and I am sorry about this morning’s interruption. But this is a situation that can’t wait.”
Detra Ann scowled at me. “Carrie Jo…stop.”
“Nope. You might be mad at me forever, but at least you’ll be alive. We have to tell them. So tell them already!” Ashland and Henri stared at me like I had two heads. “I’m not kidding. You tell them or I will.”
Detra Ann shot to her feet and glared at me. “I didn’t want you to say anything, CJ!”
“Well, I did, and I refuse to lose another friend! You can hate me later, but tell them what’s going on.”
She slid her hands into the pockets of her fitted sweatshirt and paced the carpet in front of the big window on the side of the house. The streetlight was on out front, but the side of the house looked dark and gloomy. After a few moments, she leaned against the windowsill and stared out into the darkness with her back to us. “Lenore is right. Something is fo
llowing me. I knew it the day I left the hospital. At first I thought it was the pain medicine. God, that stuff is awful. That’s why I prefer drinking. Booze doesn’t make my skin crawl or cause me to hallucinate. Pain medication makes me loopy big time, but that wasn’t it. At first it only happened once, maybe twice, a day. I was walking down the sidewalk in front of my mother’s house on Palladium Drive, and I passed that big oak that stretches almost into the street. You know the one, Ashland, the one we used to climb. As soon as I stepped into the shadow, I heard it groan, like it wanted to devour me.” She shivered, turned around and leaned with her back against the window, her hands still in her pockets. “By the time I got into Mom’s house I was shaking so bad I thought I would pass out.” She began pacing again.
“Then the shadows in my house began to groan whenever I came close to them. You can’t know what it’s like having to leave the lights on 24/7 like you’re a four-year old! I don’t dare turn a light off because the shadows don’t just groan now—they call my name!” Detra Ann’s voice rose in fear. Henri reached for her, but she raised her hand and shook her head. “No. Let me finish.” She took a deep breath and continued, “A month after the hospital event, I was in the shower when the light went out in my bathroom. The bulb blew—that’s what I told myself anyway. There I was in the shower, naked and soaking wet, just waiting to die. The groans grew louder and louder—I could feel the darkness gathering. I tripped out of the shower and crawled to the bathroom door. A slimy hand grabbed my foot and pulled me back, but I kept struggling to get away. Finally I remembered the Lord’s Prayer. I said it, like you did the other night, Ashland. I said it, and it let me go. I reached the door handle and turned it, and I was free. Then I called Henri to change the light bulb for me.” She reached out and squeezed his hand. “You have been so good to me. I don’t deserve you.”
Henri’s dark eyes sparkled with tears. “Don’t say that. I am the lucky one. I love you, Detra Ann.”
“I know,” she said sadly. She turned back to the big window. Nobody said a word; I sure didn’t know what to say. “Even now, if I stepped into the yard and stood under that tree where the shadows are the darkest, it would take me and I would never escape.” She peered out the blinds, and my skin began to crawl.
The Stars We Walked Upon (Seven Sisters Series Book 5) Page 12
