The Trouble with Ghosts (Here Witchy Witchy Book 3)

by A. L. Kessler

  Nick frowned and took it from me. “I know him.”

  Odd, I had thought the same thing. “Do you know from where though?”

  “No, I can’t really place it, but I have seen him before.” Nick tapped the photo. “Just, damnit, where and when?”

  I put the photo on the desk. “I don’t know, but the good news is that we both recognize him, which means that wherever it was, we both might have been there. If it was separate places, there still might be a connection.”

  He went back to his desk and sat down at the computer. “Any luck with those random letters?”

  “Nope, not yet. I got distracted, I might have a glass of wine tonight and try to figure it out. Maybe something will come to me.”

  He raised a brow. “A glass of wine at the hotel?”

  “Well, I was hoping to be at my parents’ place tonight, but that does require a shopping trip first since the house has been empty for years.” Levi had done a decent job of the upkeep so the house wasn’t dusty, but there was no reason for anyone to keep it stocked with food. “So one more night at the hotel, and why not enjoy a glass of wine there? Hell, they have a bar.”

  He smiled. “Whatever helps you relax.”

  “Well, at this point I might need a heavy sleeping aid to get the images out of my head.” I glanced out the window again.

  Nick gave a small grunt. “I think we’re all going to have nightmares tonight.” He tapped a few keys. “Jason should hopefully have something on those bodies tomorrow. Something to go off of.”

  Which was really more than we have right now. “You said I was safe to go into the house now, right?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “The woman showed herself to me, maybe I can get her to lead me to something useful.” Though I had a hunch she had already led me to the skeletons, but maybe, just maybe there was something more that she had to say. She did appear to at least one of the other owners after all, and that was before the thumbs were cut off.

  “I’d be careful with that. She very much reminds me of a Lady in White.” Nick peered at me over his screen.

  “A Lady in White is a scorned lover. She’s a vampire victim…”

  “Who might lead you to your death.” He tacked on and went back to his screen. “I’ve never seen a Lady in White, just heard stories about them, so I don’t know if they are actually scorned lovers. I don’t think I’d want to sit down and talk to one either.”

  “I’m also female, I don’t think Ladies go after females.” I mused. “Is there a Man in White?”

  He shook his head. “Not that I know of.”

  My phone vibrated across my desk. Levi’s name popped up in the little message balloon. I unlocked my phone to read the message.

  ‘Do I even want to know what happened to your car?’

  I texted him a quick ‘no’ back and left it at that. I wanted to request that he didn’t bring Mario, but I had a feeling that wasn’t really an option.

  “You look concerned.” Nick’s voice was soft.

  I tried to find the right words. “I’m just not having a very good day and I’m trying to digest events and evidence.”

  “Well, you work on the word scramble tonight, and I’ll see what else I can pull up.” He motioned to his computer.

  I glanced down at the piece of paper with the letters on it. “Do we have an algorithm system?”

  “Yes, did you not think about putting it in there?”

  I shook my head. “I didn’t, sorry, like I said it’s been a long day.”

  “Abby, you’ve been in front of a computer all day.”

  “This coming from the guy who forgot to ask a ghost their name.” I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him.

  He shrugged. “Okay, fair.”

  I turned back to my computer and typed in the system. After a minute it kicked back hundreds of results. At least I could pass the time by scrolling through them and seeing if anything stuck out.

  An hour later, I had almost give up hope, but the last one on the page, right above the ‘next’ button caught my attention.

  “Too late PIB.” I muttered. “Nick?”

  “Yeah? Something promising?” He stood, stretching his back in an arch.

  I wrote down the phrase. “Yeah, I think the person is mocking us. One of the suggestions was “Too late PIB.””

  “Which means we were too late to solve the crime? What?” He leaned over my shoulder to look closer at the screen as if it had the answer.

  I shrugged. “Hell if I know, I was just trying to figure out what the letters were for. If they are mocking us, the question is…is this another cold case?”

  “From ten years ago? I think we might have a better chance of solving that one than we do solving the one that’s a hundred years old.” He pushed off my chair and I spun around to face him.

  He stood against the fading sunset with his hands shoved in his pockets. I crossed my arms, leaning back in my chair. “Except we have a suspect for the hundred year old one.”

  “A vampire with redacted information in the system. My gut tells me it’s because he has to do with vampire politics.”

  I hadn’t thought about that. “That would be a good reason to hide the information, but I thought it was only the King of vampires that wished to remain as anonymous as possible.”

  “If that’s the case, then maybe this person has a direct connection to him.” Nick shrugged. “Either way, I doubt we’ll be able to get that information, regardless of if we can link him to our case or not. And Levi had no idea who the person was?”

  “I didn’t have the picture to show him, just the location and the information on the victim. He had said he’d heard about the case, but he didn’t know anything.” I had told them that I might have had a picture, but I didn’t want Nick to know I was going to be sharing key evidence with Levi.

  He glanced at the picture on the desk. “I hate to suggest this, but maybe pass this picture by him. If you’ve seen him, chances are Levi knows him as well.”

  “You want me to share confidential information with Levi?” I raised a brow. “Are you feeling alright?”

  “Not particularly, but hey, seeing a ton of dead bodies might alter my thinking again. We’ll go through the pictures tomorrow. I’m going to head out for the night. Levi coming with the Hummer?”

  I nodded. “He’ll be here in just a couple hours. When he gets here, I’ll show him the picture, that way it doesn’t leave the property.”

  “I’m okay with that.” He walked to his desk and grabbed his jacket. “Abby?” The hesitation in his voice made me look up from my screen.

  “What’s up?”

  He shook his head. “Never mind. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Hey, if you’re going to make me look through gruesome pictures, you’re in charge of bringing coffee.” I kept my voice light, hoping to soften the haunted look in his eyes.

  “Yeah, okay. See you then.” He walked out and the door clicked shut behind him. I wanted to know what he was going to say before he changed his mind. It was too late to push now. All I could do was wait for Levi to show up with the Hummer so I could go back to the hotel for the night.

  I turned back to the results of the letters and stared at them for a moment. Ten years ago, PIB was still in its baby stages as the world was coming to terms with the existence of supernatural creatures. “Too Late PIB” could mean anything at this point, was it the first official case for PIB? Had it been cold and abandoned by the FBI?

  I closed out the screen and then put the paper in my file for the case. Nick had mentioned that maybe the vampire was connected to the Vampire King. I leaned towards my keyboard and started a new search in the database.

  I typed in ‘vampire king’ and a new window popped up. ‘You are not authorized to access this information.’

  I frowned. It wasn’t even like the other files that just had redacted information. I tapped my fingers against the desk. I couldn’t even access a list o
f known associates. I glanced at the clock, I still had an hour or so before Levi would be here, and that’s if he sped a little bit. I’d done everything I could on the case, now all I could do was wait for information from Jason or another coroner helping him out.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  A tapping on my door made me look up. Levi stood there with Mario by his side. A little white visitor badge had been pinned to both of them. The scowl on Mario’s face told me he was less than pleased about something. I got up and let the pair of vampires in. “Before we leave, I have something to show you. I promised that it wouldn’t leave PIB property.” I motioned them to the desk. I wasn’t particularly happy that Mario showed up, but I’d have to deal and work around him. I pulled the picture out of my file and showed it to him.

  “Nick and I both know the face, but we can’t put a name to it.”

  Levi’s brows creased and then he looked at Mario who gave a subtle shake of his head. Levi’s face went from concerned to blank and I had a feeling that he was going to lie to me.

  “I don’t know him.”

  “How is it that I know him, but you don’t? You’re the leader of this territory and you can’t put a name to him?” I put the image back. “Nick recognizes him too. That means that we’ve both seen him at some point.” I wanted to know why Levi was taking cues from Mario, but an outburst right now wasn’t going to help my case.

  “I don’t know. Maybe he was at the press conference about the blood-starved vampires.” Levi offered. “I wasn’t there.”

  No. He hadn’t been there, but Nick was. A lot of that night was a blur to me because I’d almost died, but that gave me one other person that I could ask. My uncle Oliver.

  “Maybe.” I glanced at Mario who’d been quiet, he shrugged one shoulder as if trying to put me at ease. I grabbed my bag by the loop, not willing to put it on in case there was still auto glass attached to it. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.” I started toward the door.

  “What happened to your car?” Levi asked behind me.

  I paused and tried to think of the best way to put it. “Well, turns out that if a bunch of ghosts get together, they can form a tornado and destroy things.”

  Mario’s lips turned up in a smirk. “Your car was destroyed by a blanket of poltergeists?”

  “Yep. You should have seen my last two cars, puts what happened to my house to shame.” Though the zombie visit at my house was pretty odd too. I led them back to the elevator without answering any other questions.

  Levi stepped up next to me. “You’re smeared in dirt, don’t tell me that you were in the car when it happened.”

  “Nope. I fell into a sealed up basement, nothing broken. I think there are a few bruises, but nothing serious.” The elevator doors opened and I walked in. “I’m okay, it’s just been a rough day.”

  Levi grumbled something that I couldn’t hear. “Your parents’ house is ready for you to stay in. I had one of my daytime people go grocery shopping for you and take over some of your clothes from the mansion.”

  “Thank you, I’ll go over there tonight then.” I’d have to pick up Osiris from the hotel and check out. Nerves filtered through me at the thought of staying at the old house, but it was safer than a hotel room. Less chance of someone else getting hurt. “I’m going to call the security company and get the system transferred out there.”

  “It’s out in the middle of nowhere, are you sure you need to do that?” Mario asked.

  I studied him. I didn’t know what connection he had with Levi, nor how he knew where my parents’ house was located. “If you knew the amount of unwelcome visitors I tend to get, you’d want that security system moved.”

  “I think it’s a good idea. I want you as safe as you can be.” Levi walked out when the doors opened again. “The Hummer is yours until your car is taken care of. Don’t blow it up.”

  I think we’d both be sad if I managed to blow up the Hummer. “To be fair, I didn’t blow up this one. It was thrown into a field via poltergeists.”

  “Don’t destroy it.” He corrected and I smiled.

  “No promises.” I held my hand out. “Keys? Did you move anything else out to the house? I know you have most of my dad’s books at the mansion, but other than that?”

  He tossed me the keys. “I didn’t. The utilities are back on in full for you, I was able to get it de-winterized for you during the day.”

  “Thank you for going through all the hassle. It really does beat staying at a hotel.”

  Mario cleared his throat. “You know, you could always stay at the mansion.”

  “I don’t like strangers.” I gave him a pointed look. “I would also rather be somewhere that’s a little closer to town in case I get called on in the middle of the night.”

  “Would they do that with these cases on your plate?” Mario raised a brow. “You’re swamped already as an agent.”

  I laughed. “We have people working on bodies twenty-four hours a day right now, this case doesn’t end with paperwork and research, it ends when we have the right people in custody. I get breaks and sleep as time allows.”

  He nodded slightly and disappeared. I glanced at Levi. “You really don’t know that vampire?”

  “Did you run it through your system?” Levi didn’t miss a beat, the hesitation from before wasn’t there.

  “I did, and a lot of the information on him has been redacted. Nick thinks it’s because the vampire might have ties to the Vampire King. And I don’t have the ability to access any information on the Vampire King at all.”

  “If that vampire is involved with the King, then you need to stay away from the case. Your last case where someone was involved with the King almost got you killed. Twice.”

  “Once, I was perfectly safe the other time.” I corrected. “Levi, you can’t hide information from me. I have fifteen dead bodies that might be connected to this vampire, sixteen unsolved murders counting the original woman found in the basement. If you know something, I need to know.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know anything that is going to help you.”

  I tried to decide if he was lying. “Okay.” We were going to have to have a talk if I found out that he was lying to me. “I have to go. Thank you again.”

  “Of course.” He bowed his head and disappeared. I turned around and looked for the Hummer, it wasn’t hard to find in the nearly empty parking lot. Its yellow paint had been touched up since the last time I borrowed it, but I suppose after one takes a car through a horde of zombies it would need a touch up. I unlocked it with the key fob and climb in. Even with as tall as I was, the Hummer made me feel short, but I loved it. Wrapping my fingers around the wheel I felt invincible and powerful. I could run over almost anything in this car. Okay that wasn’t really true, but it made me feel better than being in my little sedan. I just couldn’t justify owning one in the city.

  I turned the key and the engine purred to life. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the hum of it before taking a deep breath and heading to the store. The promise of not letting anyone in the house would work to my advantage and make it easier to hide what I was working on behind everyone’s back.

  The idea that I was going to tackle the murders of my parents, alone, and with very little resources, started to eat at my nerves. There was no choice if I wanted to know why attacks on my life had increased over the last year and who was really behind it. I had to start somewhere and it wasn’t safe to let anyone else in.

  Then I realized it…I didn’t know who I could trust anymore. Everyone was hiding something from me in one way or another. Even my own partner.

  I’d stopped by the store for what I needed and went to the hotel to check out and pick up Osiris. A shiver went down my back as I reached the door to my room. I paused, someone had broken my spell by going in and out of the room. The do not disturb sign still hung on the knob, glinting in the light of the hall. Room service shouldn’t have even touched my door. I pulled out my gun, it wouldn’t do any good agains
t magic, but if someone was waiting for me I wouldn’t be caught by surprise.

  I put the key card in and unlocked the door. I swung the door open and stepped in. There was no stealthy way of entering a hotel room, so I wasn’t worried about being quiet. I waited a moment to see if any magic flowed over me or if someone jumped out at me. Nothing happened. I swept the room and bathroom, but nothing was out of place. Osiris looked up from the bed and gave me a sleepy yawn. He wasn’t freaking out so I doubted there was magic around.

  My clothes remained untouched, still crumpled up in a plastic bag with my toiletries balanced on top of it. The sheets and blanket were still thrown to one side from when I had gotten up that morning. Someone had been here according to my spell, yet nothing was touched. I holstered my gun and gathered up my bag. “Come on, Osiris. We’re moving to a new place for now. Somewhere that my paranoia isn’t going to get the best of me.” So I hoped. There was no telling what kind of things I would think about when I was at the old house. Would I have nightmares about the night that they were killed? Would the memories be too much for me? No. I’d been there not long ago and all the magic that the Cult left behind was gone now, I would be safe. I was just staying at an old home. That’s it. Who knew, maybe it would become my new home and I wouldn’t worry about the house that imploded. I could rebuild and then sell.

  Osiris jumped up onto my shoulder, lounging on it so that his back feet hung down my back and his front paws down my front. “You must have had a nice relaxing day.” I chuckled. “Better than my day I’m sure.”

  He meowed at me as if confirming my point.

  “Yeah, buddy, I know, I smell like dirt and corpses. Promise I’ll shower once I get home. My car was destroyed, so I didn’t have a chance to run home and we don’t have showers at PIB.” Though I probably could have gone to a gym and borrowed a shower. I shook my head. “It’s been a really long day. I’m just ready to get settled and go to bed.”

  He nuzzled my neck as if understanding. I scratched his ear. “I’ll pick up food on the way home, I got you a ton of cat food too. It should last you a while.” He made a noise as we walked out of the hotel room and made our way to the lobby. He sat there the entire time I checked out and until we got to the car.