Table of Contents
PRAISE FOR UNSTRUNG “In Spinella’s wrenching tale of love and loss, one woman must come to terms with her past and the decisions that have shaped her life. Spinella has filled her incredibly emotional novel with multifaceted characters, and nothing is as simple as it seems in this true page-turner.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review “Every character is a work in progress, which makes this tale extremely realistic.” —RT Book Reviews “In Unstrung, Laura Spinella orchestrates a brilliant, multilayered story about family expectations, forgiveness, and whether we can truly love ourselves and others just as we are . . . an honest and raw exploration of one woman’s journey as she learns to embrace her talents and the goodness life has to offer.” —Kerry Lonsdale, author of the #1 Kindle bestselling novel Everything We Keep “A darkly quirky tale in which nothing is quite as it seems, Unstrung is about family legacies, dark secrets, one volatile violinist who sees her gift as a curse, and three
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ALSO BY LAURA SPINELLA Ghost Gifts Novels Ghost Gifts Other Titles Unstrung Perfect Timing Beautiful Disaster Writing as L.J. Wilson Clairmont Series Novels Ruby Ink The Mission
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Text copyright © 2017 Laura Spinella All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Published by Montlake Romance, Seattle www.apub.com Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake Romance are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates. ISBN-13: 9781542046749 ISBN-10: 1542046742 Cover design by Faceout Studios
For Grant, because he understands “You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.”
CONTENTS PROLOGUE CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE CHAPTER THIRTY CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PROLOGUE New Paltz, New York Carnival Days Aubrey Ellis was five the first time life turned upside over, like a somersault in deep seas. Her parents were dead, and she was sent to live with her grandmother—Charlotte Antonia Pickford Ellis Heinz Bodette, carnival mistress deluxe. The woman’s hodgepodge troupe and a traveling life were Charley’s soul, though Aubrey quickly became her heart. Despite the odds, or the odd environment—the certainty of falling asleep in Piscataway only to wake in Poughkeepsie, the loneliness that lingered in carnival crowds—Aubrey prevailed. She had to. Her life’s other demand required all her wit and will, because Aubrey’s second somersault was the inexplicable ability to speak to the dead. At twenty-one, Aubrey found that the freakish yet fascinating phenomenon of her childhood was never far from her thoughts. To her surprise, it was Zeke Dublin who had managed to soothe the most calamitous memories, peppering Aubrey’s life with security and happiness. In t
CHAPTER ONE Boston, Massachusetts Present Day “One more time, Miss Ellis, from the top.” FBI agent Jack Hanlin leaned muscular arms into the table, his face coming closer to hers than in previous rounds of questioning. “Explain to me again how it is you had prior knowledge of today’s Prudential Tower explosion.” Aubrey’s legs felt like bags of sand, her brain having washed out to sea hours ago. “I don’t know how many ways I can say it.” She shifted in the chair. Did her lie gain or lose credibility with each repetition? “I overheard some men talking outside the Grind Café on Huntington Ave. When I got the gist of their conversation, I went straight to the nearest security guard.” The rhetoric had been her hardline stance since the midmorning explosion. The blast had left a gaping hole on the lower level of the iconic Boston venue. It was an explosion that Aubrey had been forewarned about by a surprising but accurate ghostly prediction. Hanlin glared at his suspect, then turned tightly
CHAPTER TWO Biddeford, Maine Levi debated between rolling up his shirtsleeves and tolerating the flies and heat. He gave in to the elements and turned up the starched fabric. It was a warm day for late September, particularly in Maine. Regardless, a shiver prickled up his spine as he surveyed the scene from his swampy perch. Distracted momentarily, Levi smacked at his bare forearm: a mosquito, not a fly. “I should have brought all-purpose bug repellent,” he muttered to himself, imagining what was buzzing around the dead body forty yards in front of him. As he slogged forward, Levi’s shoes sank farther into the marshy land. It hadn’t occurred to him to bring waders either. Hell, it wasn’t like he owned a fishing pole. His son liked basketball, skateboarding, and miniature models. Both Pete and Levi found fishing to be a big yawn. Dan Watney, supervisory field agent, had called Levi in. He was a full-time contact and sometimes friend. Dan worked the law enforcement end of crime, while Le
CHAPTER THREE Surrey, Massachusetts A few hours after her release, Aubrey sat in her living room staring at a double shot of tequila—a drink Piper had poured. She drew the glass to her lips but put it down. “Do you think he’ll come?” “Of course he’ll come.” As she spoke, Piper peeked out the curtained window for the third time. “Levi is stubborn, Aubrey.” The women traded a glance. “Okay, jackass stubborn.” Aubrey made a face. “A, uh . . . a man who stands his ground. Better?” “With everything that’s been going on with Pete, between Levi and me . . . today is the last thing we needed.” “I hear you. But your name never made it to the press. Levi and Pete will only know what you tell them.” “Clearly you’ve never tried to keep anything from Levi.” Piper raised a brow and moved toward a leather chair, sitting. It was Levi’s chair, or it had been until he’d moved out five months before. Two months ago their son had followed, choosing to live with his father. Aubrey blinked back tears, never
CHAPTER FOUR An hour passed, really a lifetime for Aubrey—her father’s life. Aubrey wanted details, and Charley complied, telling ghost stories, the most literal kind. Peter Ellis had been compelled to write things down, sometimes draw them—the visiting specter haunting him until he submitted. Many messages were tragic, events like a devastating earthquake in Turkey, decades ago, or the seemingly unconnected names of several dead girls from Cape Cod. This disturbing bit of information piqued both Piper’s and Levi’s attention. Levi noted, “I know that story from the Hartford Standard Speaker archives. My mentor at the paper was the lead reporter. It was the 1960s. The Costa serial murders terrified the region. The guy was convicted of three of the killings and suspected of four more.” Charley offered a tiny nod of agreement. She went on, explaining that some predictions were more specific than others. “For instance, the Cape Cod murders—the victims were names Peter scribbled on heart-sh
CHAPTER FIVE Everyone filed out, and Aubrey shut the door, standing with her back to it. That left Levi alone near the fireplace. She was marginally surprised he hadn’t left with the others. His gaze shifted between her and a small sea of framed mantel photos. Over the years, the collection had grown. She knew Levi had been touched when Aubrey included the photo of his brother and himself posed in front of a British naval plane; he’d grumbled a bit when she insisted pictures of his parents be added to the collection. Right now, he seemed focuse
d on photos of their son—a boy who was the mirror image of Levi, except for his eyes. Pete’s eyes were all Aubrey’s, her father’s, and her grandmother’s. Given the moment, it seemed like a wildly telling Ellis family feature. Levi shook his head. “Just I when I thought there couldn’t possibly be anything more to navigate.” “Pete doesn’t have to know anything about this.” He faced her. “Doesn’t he? Your grandmother . . .” He pointed at the door. “
CHAPTER SIX South Side, Chicago Fifteen Years Earlier The light on Jesus’s face was different. That was the first thing Zeke noticed as he slid into a pew of Precious Blood Catholic Church. He was alone and purposely early for his sister’s wedding rehearsal. Last time he sat in the sanctuary, it was in the front row and more than twenty years ago. Back then, their neighbor, Mrs. Cavatello, had poked Zeke, telling him to sit up straight, pay attention. Hell, fourteen-year-old Zeke had been paying attention—it was his parents’ funeral. What the fuck else would he be doing? Of course, his attention wasn’t precisely where Mrs. Cavatello thought it should be: prayer, grief, and reflection. Only if prayer, grief, and reflection were precursors for revenge. Vengeance was where Zeke’s mind had been on that steamy August day and in the years since. He and Jesus exchanged an in-the-moment glance. I’m on the right path. You know I am . . . an eye for an eye. “And if You object,” he said, speaking
CHAPTER SEVEN Surrey, Massachusetts Present Day Aubrey sat inside Euro, a trendy downtown bistro. It opened the year before, filled with large doses of atmosphere and intimate dining nooks. Places like Euro had helped the town recover from tabloid notoriety. Surrey was no longer known as the place that was home to a murdered girl and the duplicitous men involved in her sad life. A new town council had done a fine job of reclaiming Surrey’s status as a pleasant place to live, even bumping up amenities with a science museum and refurbished town common. Today, a text message had brought Aubrey to the bistro. Typical Zeke shorthand, noting a time and place—carnies and drifters weren’t much for details. As she waited in a dim booth, Aubrey’s usual defenses felt off. In their place was an altered state of awareness. If she were to encounter a presence, what sort of message would it bring? After the Prudential Tower debacle, who knew? She sniffed the air and calmed. The aroma of coffee was th
CHAPTER EIGHT Surrey, Massachusetts Five Years Earlier Aubrey came around the corner wearing a form-fitting dress. In the arched alcove of the dining room, she struck a pose. An array of papers were fanned out in front of Levi, who was seated at the table. He didn’t look up. Since she’d left the room over an hour ago, he’d gone from contemplative to brooding. In seven years of cohabitation, this kind of moodiness had never been a good sign. “Still no decision?” she asked. “Nope.” With his fist kneading his temple, he shook his head. Aubrey weighed further advice. To anyone else, the contract under his nose would be a dream job on paper. But Levi was never a fan of fanciful ideas, and his next thought reflected as much. “Aubrey, I know newspapers. I know how to go after a story, be the editor in chief of the Surrey City Press. I’ve even risen to the challenge of running newsroom personnel.” “No question about it. Not to mention a minor miracle.” He didn’t respond to the sarcasm and cont
CHAPTER NINE Boston, Massachusetts Present Day On Piper Sullivan’s desk was a picture of a blonde-haired girl who looked so much like her mother no one ever asked, “Is this your daughter?” It was the way Piper answered the follow-on questions that awed Aubrey. The photo invited the inevitable: “How old is she now?” “What does she do?” “Is she like you—a bloodhound of an investigator?” Piper had routine answers: “Sadie would have been twenty-one this year.” “She was eight in that picture—my daughter was crazy for American Girl dolls and glittery rub-on tattoos.” “Two weeks after that photo was taken, she was murdered, so I don’t know who she would have turned out to be.” That was the pattern when new people entered Piper’s office—cursory conversation followed by humbling silence. The day Aubrey entered Piper’s office for the first time, things went differently. For one, Aubrey knew she was looking at a photo of a dead girl. She knew Sadie’s name and that her murder had been solved. Her
CHAPTER TEN With a bestseller behind her and Ink on Air in its fifth season, money was not one of the problems Aubrey and Levi faced in their present-day lives. They could have easily moved to a fancier neighborhood but had felt settled in the house on Homestead Road. Together, they’d remodeled the kitchen and added a spacious master suite. When things were good between them, Aubrey and Levi had done the obvious, like buy new cars, invest in Pete’s education, and generously support several favorite charities. They occasionally toyed with the idea of buying a summer place on the Cape. Even then, they had enough to buy Charley a seaside home in a North Shore retirement community. They were all decisions the two of them had made together. As Aubrey pulled into Charley’s driveway and Levi got out of his car, “together” was not the word popping to mind. While she’d taken Piper’s advice and asked Levi for his help with the letter box, it was downright weird to arrive at the same place apart.
CHAPTER ELEVEN Las Vegas, Nevada Twelve Years Earlier Taking a life wasn’t beyond Zeke, especially when it was so obviously owed. A younger Jude Serino had witnessed his parents’ murders; he was the son of the man who’d ended the lives of Ailish and Kieran Dunne. While these facts were clear, the eye-for-an-eye killing of Jude was understandably complicated. He wasn’t the kind of man you could walk up to and shoot in the head, not like Zeke’s father. The CEO of Serino Enterprises had layers of protection and plenty of eyes on him. Yet, over time, Zeke had remained vigilant in his quest. He might have executed his plan by now, if not for two things: Nora getting pregnant and the fact that Ian’s degree from the London School of Economics did not come with a certificate of common sense. Zeke had pondered this for the last hour, seated at the Montagues’ kitchen table. Across from him was Nora, her frail frame looking as if she swallowed a beach ball, a salt sea of tears running down her fa
CHAPTER TWELVE Surrey, Massachusetts Present Day Sitting on the far end of the porch swing, Aubrey had hoped for a breeze. It seemed to have arrived with Zeke, who sat opposite her, asking, “And a look through your father’s ghost gifts, it didn’t set off any alarm bells?” He rocked the creaky blue swing, and the wind picked up, blowing back Aubrey’s hair. “I’d be curious to know what you learned.” “There was a definite vibe when I first saw them.” She thought for a moment, absorbing the cooler air. In fact, everything felt a little better since Zeke had showed up. “For the most part, I didn’t touch the predictions. Levi wouldn’t let me.” “Ah, the hero plays the part, even if he’s currently living offstage.” Seated closer to the house than her, Zeke reached back, and Aubrey heard his knuckles knock against the clapboard siding. She made a face in reply. “It’s more complicated than that, but Levi gets my gift. Don’t sell it short. It’s a huge part of what connects us . . . or did.” “Sorr
CHAPTER THIRTEEN Aubrey came back through the living room, and familiar voices rose from the porch. She smiled silly at rumblings about the Red Sox’s chances of making the playoffs. Hurrying to the door, she pushed open the screen. Motherly instinct charged forward, but the cautious parts of Aubrey hit the brakes. “Pete. You’re here.” “Hey, Mom.” He stood in front of Levi, his preteen frame coming chest-high to his father. Aubrey breathed a sigh of relief. Aside from being in the 95th percentile for height, which she knew, Pete didn’t appear different than a month ago. When considering things like posture, height, stubbornness, and occasional brooding, Pete could have stepped from Levi’s reflection. When their son was younger, the physical resemblance had given her hope. Perhaps Pete’s gifts would mirror his father’s, not hers. The theory had not panned out. Silence lingered now, and Levi made contact, poking his index finger into Pete’s back. The boy shuffled forward, and Aubrey could
CHAPTER FOURTEEN As the car drove away, Aubrey decided she’d had enough. Whatever this new facet of her gift was, she refused to spend years adjust
ing to it. She’d earned a normal life, and Aubrey was determined to be the entity in charge. She turned back to the sofa, and her line of vision caught on the letter box—a tangible marker of her father’s tormented life. “I’ll just have to be cleverer than any future predictions.” She gulped and shrugged. “How difficult could that be?” In the quiet of her house, Aubrey sat. She flipped open the box’s lid and gazed into a past of future predictions. “Okay, fair warning, box. I’m expert at navigating ghost gifts, the spectrum of good and evil you represent.” She glanced around the silent room, which showed nothing more apparent than a coat of dust. Scents weren’t aligning either, only the faint aroma of a bayberry candle mingled with yesterday’s takeout, Thai dumplings. Regardless, she continued. “So we’re clear, I don’t spook easily. Know that
CHAPTER FIFTEEN “Aubrey, I’m not saying you don’t have a connection here. I know better than to dismiss you.” In a terse, side-to-side motion, Piper swayed in her chair—one of few outward habits that expressed irritation. “I’m just reiterating my focus, which is two missing boys. How that connects with decoder-ring Watney’s dead John Doe, I can’t fathom.” “I only thought a conversation between the four of us—you, me, Levi, and Dan—wouldn’t be the worst idea.” Aubrey eased back in the chair, feeling more like she’d suggested a foursome dinner date than a meeting. “Look, I know government agencies aren’t keen on sharing information, but if Dan’s case and these cases connect . . .” “Based on green tape and some miscellaneous ghost gifts from your father?” Piper huffed, looking past Aubrey’s head and into the swarm of field agents in the outer office. “I’m sorry, sweetie. That’s not enough for me.” “And a strong indication from a specter, based on my perspective, that’s not enough either?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN Arriving at Piper’s office, Levi and Dan passed a red-faced woman with snow-white hair. Levi had the strong impression that the conversation she’d just left wasn’t an easy one. Aubrey sat quietly in a chair. Levi recognized her state of mind—tense, queasy . . . spooked. “Aubrey, are you all right?” She nodded but didn’t look up. Piper stood near the edge of her desk. “I’m not entirely sure what just happened here, but I don’t think it was good. At least not for Aubrey.” She looked from Levi to her. “Sweetie, I have to ask . . . is . . . did someone or thing indicate that we’re not searching for a live Trevor Beane?” Aubrey continued to sit with her elbow on Piper’s desk and her head pressed to her fingertips. They dug in harder. “No. Nothing like that.” She spoke through gritted teeth, eyes closed. Her behavior was evident to Levi—spirit-induced nausea. “I’m fairly certain Trevor’s alive.” “Thank God for that much.” She tipped her head at Aubrey, then turned to Levi and
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