CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Dan headed out first, fielding phone messages, his giant strides putting him a good distance ahead. That was fine with Levi, who stopped Aubrey midway through the parking lot. “There is another angle here. Something I didn’t want to bring up in front of Piper or Dan. Something you refuse to consider.” “What’s that?” “Zeke Dublin.” “Levi, Zeke has nothing to do with any of this—a John Doe or those missing boys.” “How can you say that? He works for Serino Enterprises. He just happens to be in town. At the very least, it’s remarkable timing.” “Remarkable how?” She folded her arms. “Thousands of people work for Serino Enterprises. Are they all under suspicion? And suspicion of what, exactly? To think Zeke knows anything about the disappearance of two teenage boys . . . it’s ridiculous.” “I wasn’t necessarily thinking of Piper’s cases. Hell, based on what just happened back there, I’d be more inclined to suspect a dead Eli Serino.” “I believe you can count out a dead Eli a
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Las Vegas, Nevada Six Months Earlier “Zeke! I’m glad Max located you. Please come in!” Jude was on the phone but motioned anxiously to him. It was as if the room were his domain and their conversation would be casual. “Good to see you. Such a bustle of people for a family party. I thought it’d be easier to speak in here.” Zeke took in Nora and Ian’s study, amazed that one small room could hold his hatred for Jude Serino and their unfathomable fates. Today’s unexpected venue was compliments of Nora and Ian—not deliberate but effective. Much to their delight, seven years ago, the Montagues had extended the Serino and Dublin connection when Nora gave birth to a daughter. Ceremony had brought them together today. Earlier, Zeke sat at the First Communion of Emerald Montague, amazed that God didn’t deviate from the forgiving of sin to strike dead a visiting uncle or two. Not when, inside the sanctuary, so many choices made for easy targets. Jude placed his hand over the phon
CHAPTER NINETEEN Surrey, Massachusetts Present Day Aubrey wasn’t exactly sure how they ended up in her bedroom. When Zeke arrived, the impromptu visit began on the porch swing, but cloud cover and a chilly wind had driven them indoors. She’d gotten further behind on chores: general decluttering, unloading the dishwasher, watering plants. Necessity drove the tasks as a soothing back-and-forth exchange accompanied Aubrey, fluffing sofa pillows and sweeping dust bunnies out from beneath the dining room table. Much of the sedate chatter focused on Zeke and Aubrey’s past, the old days. It was a time when problems came and went with the towns they traveled to, and life on the whole seemed to stand still. The memories were secure, and this made Aubrey feel better. Since Levi left and then Pete, the anchor of happy, everyday talk was gone, and Aubrey felt as if her life had been set adrift. Sometimes the ache was outright unbearable. So it seemed good, even right, having someone familiar and h
CHAPTER TWENTY Concern for their son was enough to keep Aubrey and Levi together, at least for the evening. That and Pete had called, asking if he could go to the movies with Dylan. More than ever, Levi was agreeable to normalcy. Then Pete had said, “Dylan wanted me to sleep over, but . . . you know.” As Pete’s words hit Levi’s ears, any hard-ass reaction to his son’s earlier outburst waned. Among other things, it was a piece of childhood tradition that Pete had missed out on. A few years ago, when Pete had declined one overnight invite too many, Dylan accused him of being a bed wetter. Aubrey had called Diane Higley, Dylan’s mother, and smoothed things over, politely asking that Dylan not make accusations he knew nothing about. “Sleepovers just aren’t something Pete prefers to do. Can we leave it at that?” Diane, being a bit of a helicopter parent, profusely apologized for her son. She went on to offer the name of a good psychologist, maybe a psychiatrist. Perhaps Pete was dealing wit
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Palms Spring, California Two Months Earlier “Mr. Serino will be in shortly. Have a seat.” Max rammed a hand into Zeke’s shoulder. He winced and spilled into Jude’s Palm Springs office. His previously dislocated shoulder remained painful to the touch. Zeke muttered an expletive at Max, who left. He shuffled forward. At the office bar was a decanter of Scotch, and Zeke helped himself to a drink—a double, neat. Then he spied a bottle of vintage Macallan. With the full glass in hand, he took two achy steps toward a mini potted palm and watered it. He served himself an even larger portion from a bottle that cost about three hundred bucks. If his gaze hadn’t caught in the mirror, Zeke might have felt a dollop of satisfaction. A beating like he’d never endured was still evident: puffy, bloodshot eyes, bruises that had turned like an angry sky, going from black to purple to faint patches of yellow. And forget his nose. Once a feature that complemented salient bone structure,
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Surrey, Massachusetts Present Day It was like the box had eyes. The next morning, Aubrey moved around her living room, in and out of her kitchen, all too aware of the letter box that sat on her dining room table. She finally took a seat, poking a butter knife at it. “What?” she said to whomever might be listening. The rising hum she’d heard when Levi first opened the box penetrated. “Could I please eat my breakfast in peace?” She spread strawberry jam across a piece of whole wheat toast. Aubrey flicked her gaze between the jam jar and box until she missed with the knife, and a gooey glob landed in her lap. “Great. Thanks so much.” Aubrey scraped red jam off the casual white linen nightshirt she’d worn to bed. “Like that’ll ever come out.” She proceeded to dunk a tea bag, nearly drowning the thing, when a tapping sound rose. Having bit into the toast, she stopped chewing. She forced the toast down, all the while squashing a visual: a gathering of spirits en masse. She
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Whether the body in Maine turned out to be an unrelated John Doe or Jude Serino, Aubrey and Levi agreed to table that much while seeking out Eli Serino. “Hopefully, home-field advantage will give Eli the platform he needs.” Aubrey said this as she settled into the passenger seat of Levi’s car. Instead of a listing sheet, she held on to the two pieces of green construction paper. Interestingly, accessing the house on Acorn Circle proved to be a low hurdle. It had been years since they’d visited the property, the odds greatly in favor of an occupied house. But a search of public records had left Aubrey and Levi intrigued. The house had been bought and sold eight times in the past dozen years. “Must be some kind of all-time high,” Levi had said as Aubrey switched from scrolling through town records to her old haunting grounds: Multiple Listing Service. She found the house, which was, once again, listed with Happy Home Realty—the real estate firm best known for hard-to
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR A fast tour of the lower level showed off amenities they’d missed a dozen years before. Empty maid’s quarters and two full baths, an in-home theater stripped of everything but electrical wires, a rec room of some sort, a wine cellar, and a spacious laundry room. This was the last room Aubrey and Levi saw, having passed, without incident, through all the other square footage. Even the pinging had grown vague. She took in the expanse of endless cabinetry, fancier than what you’d find in most kitchens. “Maybe you should have had our architect tour this space.” Aubrey took a turn around the room. “I doubt anybody would mind doing laundry in here.” “I’d think the point of here is that you can afford for someone else to do your laundry. I doubt Eli’s mother—or father,” Levi corrected before Aubrey could label the remark sexist, “ventured this way too often.” He leaned against the folding table that housed a built-in ironing board. “I don’t know about you, but seems like o
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE Hyannis, Massachusetts Aubrey, Levi, and Piper stood in the living room of a grand seaside home, walls of glass showing off multimillion-dollar views of Lewis Bay. It was a rental property but upscale enough to suit the high-end tastes of Bruno and Suzanne Serino. “Just, um . . . still just the three of us?” Levi asked. Aubrey nodded. Eli Serino’s presence had faded in the house on Acorn Circle and it had not returned. Not even after they’d arrived at Piper’s office, conveying the unusual details of their morning adventure. Naturally, Piper did not argue Aubrey’s conjecture about an irate ghost indicating
the whereabouts of two missing boys. Nor did she question the part where Peter Ellis’s ghost gifts played a role in the mystery—old predictions providing timely clues. What took time was linking ethereal clues to earthbound ones involving Suzanne Serino. But Piper had succeeded in persuading a federal judge to issue a search warrant for several Serino properties, i
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX Several hours later, Aubrey, Levi, and Piper stood in a tight circle outside the Hyannis seaside rental. A swarm of agents had descended on the interior. With her phone gripped tight to her ear, Piper nodded and replied with what sounded like positive information. “Right. Will do. As soon as we get her processed, questioned, I’ll be on a flight.” “Well?” Aubrey said as she ended the call. “That was my counterpart in DC. He coordinated team efforts that simultaneously breached the Santa Claus and Springfield properties. They found both boys—safe! Scared, sealed into ice-rink tombs, but safe.” “Oh, thank God.” Aubrey closed her eyes. She could appreciate but, thankfully, could not conceive of the terror Trevor’s and Liam’s parents had lived with in recent months. As always, there was tremendous relief in not having failed in her efforts to locate a missing child. “That’s good news,” Levi said. “How did Suzanne manage it, kidnapping the boys in the first place?” “I only
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN Forty-Eight Hours Later Upon their return to Surrey, a hysterical Diane Higley and Detective Espinosa had met with Levi and Aubrey. Since the Missy Flannigan story, and during his tenure as Surrey City Press editor in chief, Levi had kept in contact with Surrey’s lead detective. Aubrey was grateful for this, as the detective was inclined to share all aspects of the investigation into Pete’s disappearance. But as the first twenty-four sleepless hours came and went, Detective Espinosa had gravitated toward a scenario both Aubrey and Levi were dreading: finding themselves in the same hellish predicament as Barbara Flannigan and Connie Beane—the parents of a child gone missing. While the Surrey Police Department did their due diligence, speculating and investigating common avenues, Pete’s parents were considered ethereal possibilities. This wasn’t an ordinary twelve-year-old boy who’d vanished, but one with a mysterious gift. A gift not even his parents understood. A c
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Aubrey tried to anchor herself in the surroundings. The garage of the Homestead Road house was set to the rear; behind it was the nature preserve. A massive oak tree served as the border between the field and yard. Years ago, Levi had hung a tire swing from a sturdy branch. Pete had quit coming back there and swinging from it about the same moment he had permission to leave the yard. In the approaching dusk, Aubrey had wandered out, looking for her son, searching for hope. Standing near the tree, she dug the toe of her shoe into the soft earth. Pete and her life, they both were so absent. It seemed like the past was the only thing that came with clarity right now, the only thing she could grab on to. When Pete was born, Aubrey’s longing for a normal life vanished. It was immediately transformed into the daunting task of motherhood. She’d never held a baby until they handed her one in the hospital. “Is there a practice model?” she’d wanted to ask. No. You just dove
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE Aubrey came through the back door, demanding information on her charge into the kitchen. “What did he say? Where is he? Is he all right?” Levi pointed. “Charley and Yvette are here.” They hurried into the dining room. “For God’s sake, are you going to answer me?” “He called.” Levi held his phone in a murderous grip. “All he said was ‘Pa’ and . . . ‘I love you.’ Then the line went dead. It wasn’t even two seconds. He sounded half asleep, but it was him, Aubrey. It was Pete.” “He hung up or someone took the phone from him?” “I don’t know. I’ve already called Dan. You don’t need a time minimum or anything like that to trace a call nowadays. They should be able to pinpoint it.” She grabbed at his phone. “Did the caller ID indicate—” “No,” he said, handing it to her. “It just said ‘Private Caller.’” Aubrey ran her fingers through her hair, squeezing. “So someone took him?” She stared into Levi’s face, which she guessed looked as shocked as hers. “Someone took Pete?” “Mak
CHAPTER THIRTY The four of them continued to wait; Levi alternated between pacing and sitting. At one point, he got as far as the front door. Aubrey asked where he was going. She knew her tone was as desperate as the look on his face. With his hand on the knob, Levi answered, “Door to door. I don’t know. It’d be something. I can’t sit here anymore.” “Levi . . .” Logic stopped him, and restlessly, he sat again. In the meantime, Aubrey’s point of view moved to her box of ghost gifts. She’d rummaged through it that morning, desperate for something to click—some yesteryear token to register a new meaning. Its contents remained unchanged. There were ghost gifts for which she could tell an entire story—places, dates, meanings that had come with closure. Most prominent was a bag of beach sand that had led to an extraordinary connection—the spirit of Brody St John, linking Aubrey to his brother in a way that far exceeded newsroom comradery. She’d never told Levi, but eventually it occurred to
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE They stepped off the curb, and Levi’s hand locked around Aubrey’s. Only together did she feel the tremor in hers stop. “Wait on the sidewalk,” Levi said. “For a lot of reasons, I understand you not wanting to go in there.” “I don’t think it’s a choice.” Aubrey held tighter to his hand, picking up her pace and her courage. An older man wearing a dark suit made for an odd sight, the late hour and curious task of sweeping, though he was well lit by porch lights. Spying Levi and Aubrey, he stopped. “You folks lost?” “Uh, no. Not exactly.” Levi glanced around the wide porch. It lacked a rocker or potted plant, maybe any significant signs of life. “Could I ask, was there a viewing tonight?” “Here? Not the kind anyone comes to. More of a humanitarian gesture. Either way, viewing would have been over hours ago. But maybe you’re looking for O’Casey’s Funeral Home.” “O’Casey?” Levi said. “Yeah. They’re on the other side of town. Held a big wake tonight. Evelyn Craig. Woman had
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO If the light was dim in the common room, shadowy described the viewing room. A few wall sconces glowed on a low setting while two candelabra held wax candles. Their flames flickered on either side of a simple wooden casket, which was closed. She recalled Levi’s grisly description of the remains. She’d seen the photos. Clearly, closed was the only choice. For a moment, Aubrey felt like her gift was more of a parlor trick as she simply waited—a sound or smell, the less-likely vision. She glanced down at her clothing—a black skirt and silvery cotton shirt, not a strong fashion statement for ghost hunting. But given the circumstances, it didn’t seem like wardrobe should play a part in this encounter. Aubrey touched her fingertip to her lips, searching for the sense that was second to smell—taste. But the taste of what, assuming Jude Serino was taking up space in the casket? She wriggled her nose, imagining the bitter hint of an Arturo Fuente cigar. Nothing like that came
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE “We’ve sent a Las Vegas team to collect a DNA sample from Nora Montague. We’ll know in a few days if our John Doe is Zeke Dublin.” Standing in the Ellis–St John living room, Dan Watney shook his head again. Levi thought that by now he must have developed a crick in his neck. Head shaking was Dan’s physical response to the rare thing he could not grasp. “Look, you know I come down on the skeptical side of this whole ghost business, but—” “Finding Trevor Beane, Liam Sheffield, that wasn’t enough to convince you?” Piper stood in her usual spot near the fireplace, slightly away from the people in the room. “I read your report.” Dan’s head no longer shook. “I have connections too. You cited a full confession from Suzanne Serino, Deputy Chief. There wasn’t a single word about ‘ghosts’”—Dan air quoted the word—“leading you to the suspect.” “And reactions like yours are the reason we don’t stray from textbook tactics when it comes to reports. Catch up, Agent Watney. Zeke D
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR It wasn’t long before a caravan of agents was racing up Interstate 95. The team naturally included Piper, who’d accommodated Levi’s request, asking
Agent Watney and his team to assist. They assembled and were briefed as one unit on a singular mission. Physical evidence had amassed, which included identifying the owner of the red-tin-roof house, perched on a point of blue beryl rock. As Levi predicted, it belonged to Jude Serino, and it was located not far from Dan Watney’s John Doe. It ratcheted up intrigue, and evidence continued to fall in their favor: analysis on the cigar band had determined a partial fingerprint. It belonged to Jude Serino, whose prints were on file due to federal and state regulations regarding casino ownership. While it wasn’t a direct connection to Pete’s abduction, the house did make Jude a suspect in the quest for answers regarding Zeke Dublin’s whereabouts. As for further earthly evidence regarding Pete, Dan’s team struck gold with a traf
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE The glacial wait morphed into a rapid meltdown. Aubrey’s knees gave way as adrenaline spiked. The white of her knuckles showed as she gripped Levi’s jacket, and his face was as pale as her hands. Her mind reeled back to the last time she’d seen Levi’s color so ashen—also the result of gunfire. But Levi did not fall to the ground; blood didn’t slowly saturate his white dress shirt. Instead, he plowed forward, almost dragging Aubrey along as Piper’s voice cut through the tall pines and whipping ocean wind. “We’ve got him! We’ve got Pete!” Unnerving commotion followed. The whirl of noise was like the hottest of carnival days, clogged with strangers and uneven movement. Aubrey, Levi, and the extended detail surged toward the house. Team members dressed in full body armor, fortified with a variety of weapons, seemed to be everywhere. Other men and women clad in blue jackets and authority raced past, some running in and others running out. Someone shouted about an inbound
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