“Hey Aker,” Taryn asked when he slid back inside the car. “Who is this?”
She pointed to the picture of the group.
Aker frowned. “That’s my ex-wife, Gloria. Ruby asked for these photos. I can’t imagine why.”
Taryn nodded silently and gently placed them in the back.
“I’ll have someone come back and get your car later,” he said as they pulled out of the parking lot. “You need to get home, get warm, and get some rest.”
Taryn nodded, still stunned.
“And, frankly, a bath wouldn’t hurt.”
“Did you hear what I said, Taryn?”
Matt’s voice sounded a thousand miles away, though, and Taryn was struggling to concentrate on it. She’d slept for hours and woke up disoriented, confused by the sound of her telephone. Now she sat in the darkness of her living room, trying to remember what day it was.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Taryn,” Matt’s voice was filled with concern. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m just tired,” she replied, but it was so much more than that. She felt like she was falling apart.
“Did you hear what I said about the review, the one on your portfolio website?”
“Uh huh,” she said. “Yeah.”
But she hadn’t.
“No you didn’t,” Matt said, reading her mind. “If you’d heard me then you would’ve reacted more strongly.”
“I’m sorry, Matt.” Taryn rubbed at her temples and slumped back on her couch. The familiarity of her apartment was soothing but her skin still prickled with a harsh reminder of the fear and peculiarity that had overcome her earlier that day in the motel room.
“The review, the bad one?”
“Yes.” She was listening now, and focusing on his words.
“It came from right there in Nashville,” Matt told her. “There wasn’t a name attached to it but Rob traced the IP address to a computer in Nashville.”
Taryn straightened now, her blood running a little cold. “From here? Well that’s weird. Maybe I pissed off a neighbor or something.”
“Yeah, well, I’d be careful if I were you,” Matt cautioned her. “You seem to have made someone mad, and that someone is close enough to you that it has me worried.”
“It’s just an online bully,” Taryn said lightly, trying her best to shrug it off. “I can handle one of those.”
She wasn’t so sure, though. She didn’t get out much and see anyone regularly enough to make them mad. She hadn’t seen her high school classmates since graduation. Her college friends had all moved on, most out of the city altogether.
She’d obviously upset someone, though, and pretty well at that. Maybe it was time to start watching her back.
Twenty-Seven
“I’m worried about you, honey,” Ruby said.
Taryn was embarrassed that Ruby was sitting in her disorganized apartment across from her but Ruby looked as comfortable as she did anywhere else.
Still feeling a little rough and out of sorts, Taryn stayed inclined on the sofa. She brought her Sherpa throw up under her chin and clutched it tightly. “I have to finish the paintings,” she said, trying not to let the panic into her voice.
“Sweetie, they’re not that important. I shouldn’t have asked you to do them. I’ve heard stories about that motel for years. I knew what you were walking into,” Ruby moaned, shaking her head. “This is my fault.”
“No, I want to help you. If I stop this now…”
It will be like admitting defeat. This is my purpose now, Taryn thought, seeing these to the end. I can’t quit.
“Aker said the room was unreasonably cold,” Ruby said.
“It felt warm to me.”
“He said you could see things that weren’t there, like the bedding.”
“I’m not crazy,” Taryn muttered, although now she was wondering if she might be headed that way.
“Of course not,” Ruby said soothingly, patting her on the foot. “But you’re sensitive and I knew that and sent you in anyway. Maybe you just need a break.”
Taryn rolled over on her side and raised up on her elbow. “Ruby, did Aker tell you that I needed to quit?”
“He suggested it,” Ruby replied. “He’s just worried about you.”
“Hmmm…Let me ask you something else. Are you positive Aker wasn’t there that night Parker died? Or that Parker was even alone?”
Ruby looked down at her long fingers and picked an invisible piece of lint from them. “I don’t think Aker was there. I think Parker was by himself.”
She’s hiding something, Taryn thought. I know it.
Ruby’s phone rang then, saving both women from any further probing. Taryn listened as the color drained from Ruby’s face.
“Is it okay? Is everything still there?”
There was a pause and Taryn watched Ruby’s face fall. “Oh dammit. Are you sure? And outside too?”
Taryn sat up and wrapped the blanket around her. “Is everything okay?” she mouthed.
“Black Raven Inn,” Ruby mouthed back.
Taryn felt herself deflate. Did something happen? Was it still there?
Ruby’s end consisted of a few more questions and then she hung up, her shoulders limp and her face pained.
“Someone broke into the hotel, into Parker’s room,” she explained. “They trashed it. Trashed the little monument outside as well. Aker thinks it was just some kids trying to make some sort of statement.”
“Oh no,” Taryn moaned, thinking of all the posters and picture that had been left in his honor. “That’s horrible.”
Then she thought of her painting. She’d left the canvas in the room when Aker had taken her to his car. At least he’d gone back for it, at least he’d saved it.
“I’m sorry Ruby,” she said sympathetically.
Ruby nodded dully. “Maybe everyone was right. Maybe I’m just a stupid old woman. I just thought that if…I thought that maybe I’d see him. Maybe I could finally say goodbye. Maybe I’d finally have a doorway to him.”
So that was it, Taryn thought. Ruby wasn’t looking for a final goodbye–she was looking to be with him again, however she could get him.
Oh, but if she knew the kind of angry state Parker was in now, she wouldn’t want to be with him. He needed to make the transition into the next world, not wait around and be tied to this one.
Taryn was struck with her own revelation. Andrew was gone. She’d never see him again. He wasn’t going to come back and haunt her. She’d been disappointed that Miss Dixie had never picked up on him, never revealed him to her.
If she was completely honest with herself, she’d admit that she continued to work with the spirits because it was proof of an afterlife, proof that Andrew still existed somewhere and might come back to her.
She no longer wanted him to return to her. She was happy she’d never seen him. She hoped that, wherever he was, he was at peace. Not like Parker. That was far worse than never seeing him again.
Some things were worse than death.
With a renewed vigor, Taryn marched around her apartment and picked up stray pieces of clothing and garbage. She’d already done two loads of laundry and was getting ready to do a third. She had clean towels for the first time in weeks. She also had clean dishes and had been able to eat a whole turkey sandwich and cup of tomato soup.
Proud of herself, Taryn even sang a little tune as she walked around. She hurt and was still depressed but there was a light at the end of the tunnel.
She was almost sure it wasn’t a freight train.
When Matt called, she was downright cheerful.
“Taryn, I think you need to stay away from Aker,” he said, stopping her in her tracks.
“What?”
“The bodyguard,” he said. “I got your email about the break in. Think about it, though. You said you were sweating every day and yet he said the room was freezing? What if he was just messing with you? What if he was going in every day and tur
ning on the heat and then tried to convince you that you were crazy?”
Taryn set the clothes basket down and landed in the floor next to it, stunned.
“The hell you say!”
“And you said he got upset at the painting with the shadow?”
“Yeah…”
“What if he got upset because it’s his shadow? Now he’s trying to talk this Ruby out of keeping you on because he knows you’re close to the truth. Think about it, he has complete access to everything you do there.”
Taryn felt the beginning of nausea threaten to overtake her. How could she have been so stupid?
“Oh God, Matt, I think you’re right,” she moaned. “Do you think he…do you think he knows something about Parker? Do you think he’s responsible for his death?”
“I think he saw a window of opportunity,” Matt said. “I think he showed up as Parker was dying and then left, when he should have gotten help.”
“Yeah, but why? What’s the motive?”
“Jealousy. You said Parker had a thing with his ex-wife. What if Aker was also in love with Ruby? Makes sense. He’s been working as her guard for all these years. His ex-wife goes to Parker, the woman he’s obsessed with loves Parker…”
Taryn rubbed at her temple. “But he’s had his chance all these years. Why not make a move on her?”
“Maybe he tried,” Matt replied. “Maybe she rejected him.”
“Then why continue to work with her, to be that close?”
Matt hesitated and then answered, “Because for some men it’s enough just to be close to the woman they love, even if the woman doesn’t love them back.”
He’d waited for her. He’d waited all night. Where was she?
It was tonight. He felt good, he was straight. That night in Tucson had been an eye-opener, the sweetest night he’d ever had. He’d wanted more but she’d held out her hand and gently pushed him back. He’d respected that.
Tonight, though, tonight he would tell her.
This was the beginning. This was just the start.
He hadn’t been that giddy since he was a little boy.
When he heard the footsteps outside the door he straightened and ran his hands through his hair. He could hear her hand on the knob, turning it.
Damn it, he’d locked the door.
The three feet between the bed and the lock was an eternity. He just wanted her to be there.
He fumbled with the lock for a moment but then it was open and the cool air was rushing in, washing over him. She was in his arms, then, on him before he could catch his breath. Something clinked, a noise that sounded very far away.
The ring, he thought. The ring fell.
He closed his eyes.
Twenty-Eight
“Matt,” Taryn’s voice flew out in a rush as she ran down the stairs. “I figured it out. It’s in the room! It makes total sense now! I’ve got to get back to the motel room. Call me!”
It was unusual for Matt’s phone to go to voicemail but she knew he’d get the message soon and call her right back.
Taryn was as excited as Parker had been in her dream. She’d been wrong. She’d been wrong about a lot. It had all been right there in front of her and she’d ignored the signs, ignored what he was trying to tell her.
The ghost wasn’t trying to hurt her, he was trying to show her. And she’d been blind.
At 1:00 am the roads were clear. She considered calling Matt again to tell him what was going on but decided against it. She didn’t want to wake him. She could wait until she found what she was looking for and had proof.
As she neared the motel, though, she changed her mind. She should let him know.
Taryn pulled over to a deserted gas station and quickly tapped out a text message to Matt, telling him where she was and what was going on. Then she laid her phone on her seat and headed back out to the main road. Now at least she could say she tried.
The motel looked much different in the dark night. The gate was locked and Aker had the key with him. Taryn already knew how to get in, though, and after pulling her car into a nearby fast food lot she slipped back over to the Black Raven Inn and walked around the perimeter until she found the loose opening in the gate. It only took her a few seconds to get inside.
Her little backpack was slung over her shoulder, Miss Dixie fitted snugly inside.
Taryn was across the parking lot and all the way to Room #5 before she remembered her phone.
“Well, damn,” she muttered.
For a moment she paused, wondering if she should go back for it. She’d left it on her car seat, forgetting that she’d removed it from her backpack to send a text message to Ruby.
In the end, however, she decided she didn’t need it. She wasn’t going to be there long and she had her mace. Nobody would bother her. It had already been vandalized the night before. They didn’t usually come back if they were unable to find something the first time.
She didn’t need a key to Parker’s room; the door had been kicked open by the vandal and now it couldn’t shut all the way to. Taryn gave it a little push and was soon inside.
She was shocked and saddened at the shape of the room. The bed had been sliced down the middle, stuffing and springs popping out everywhere. The bedspread was in tatters, slimy streamers that had been tossed all over the room. All of Parker’s pictures had been torn from the walls, destroyed. It appeared one had been defecated and urinated on.
It didn’t look animal.
The chair was overturned and someone had taken a knife to the fabric, ripping it to shreds.
Her easel was broken in half, her paints opened and the contents smeared over the walls and ceiling. Blood-red paint dripped from the ceiling and ran down the walls.
The whole thing looked like a murder scene. This hadn’t been the work of some teenagers looking for a good time; this had been done by someone full of anger.
The one thing Taryn needed hadn’t been touched.
Not bothering to close the door behind her, she kneeled down at the radiator and, using the screwdriver she’d brought from home, began working on the screws. It was old and the metal was sticking in place, but the top came off soon enough.
Taryn now wished she had her phone with her. At least, if she did, she could’ve used the flashlight on it. It was pitch black inside it now and she couldn’t see what she was sticking her hand into. She just hoped it wasn’t a rat’s nest or spider nest. She didn’t do spiders.
She was about to give up when her fingers hit the round metal object.
Murmuring with glee, Taryn brought her hand back out, the ring clutched between her fingers. It glowed in the moonlight with a preternatural radiance.
The year after Parker died, the heating system had been updated. The old radiator had never been removed. It was her luck the ring was still there.
Taryn knew she needed to get out of there. It was still an unsafe part of town, especially at night. As she turned to go, however, something tugged at her. It might have been Parker, or it might have been her own subconscious. Either way, she took a few moments to fish Miss Dixie out of her backpack and turn her on. Taryn aimed her at the room in general and then at the bed. When she brought the camera back and gazed at the LCD screen, she was happy with what she saw.
She was in the process of slinging the camera around her neck when she was pushed from behind, a force so great that she slammed into the floor and immediately saw stars. She heard, rather than felt, the crack of her neck. She landed on Miss Dixie as she fell and a rib dislocated from her position. Taryn screamed from the pain then felt a kick in the lower back for her efforts.
When she was flipped over and the pillow was thrown over her face, she began to fight.
Twenty-Nine
The world was growing black around her. Taryn had never seen such darkness.
The panic at being unable to breathe consumed her, had her kicking and thrashing and screaming a pitiful sound that was muffled against the fabric.
Bu
t then something else happened.
She was in the room, but she wasn’t. Taryn could feel herself being lifted in the air, floating to the ceiling, where she tucked herself into a little ball in the corner. The feeling of weightlessness, of flying, was exhilarating. Her body had never felt so alive, or so pain free. She experimented by doing a little somersault, feeling the world spinning around her. Her face broke out into a wide smile as she laughed and laughed.
The scene before her caught her attention, however, and she stopped.
It was Parker and he was alone. Back and forth he paced across the room, hands running through his hair and tugging, pulling out strands by the clumps. His face pale, his body dripping with sweat, he looked fluish. Taryn’s heart went out to the man who was obviously sick, clearly unwell.
She watched with sympathy as he stopped walking, bent over at the waist, and gagged. Then she watched when he fell onto the bed and clutched his stomach, moaning in agony. He was back up again soon after, again pacing back and forth, alternating between crying and cursing.
A knock on the door came then and someone she couldn’t see handed something to Parker. When he reentered the room he had a bottle in his hands. He placed the bottle on the nightstand then returned to his pacing, shaking his head back and forth, as though fighting something inside.
Finally, he rushed to the small table, opened the bottle, and removed first one pill and then another. He swallowed them dry then turned to face the wall. She watched as he beat his hands on it and cried out, defeated and repulsed. Minutes later when he turned around, however, the agony on his face had been replaced with something akin to peace. He didn’t appear to be high, not in the way Taryn knew. He looked clear, put together. His movements were more fluid, the desperation no longer as obvious.
When he sat back down on the edge of the bed, she thought he even looked normal.
But she’d never seen someone more miserable.
Black Raven Inn: A Paranormal Mystery (Taryn's Camera Book 6) Page 19
