Silas turned his attention back to Elliot. “Now, like I said, the only thing you can do is rest. We’re about to solve this case. When we’re finished, you should be fully recuperated. We’ll get started on your investigation then. Sound good?”
Elliot nodded, but his deer-caught-in-headlights eyes told a different story.
“I’m serious. I need you to stay here. No one can know you’re alive again. No one.”
“I understand.”
Becca didn’t think he really did, but it was the best they were going to get out of him at the moment.
Silas stood and walked over to the door. “You ready?” he asked Becca. “We need to go check on James Andrews’ well-being, find Blakely, and take care of this case once and for all.”
She stood up and looked down at the poor man dressed in the most God-awful Hawaiian shirt she’d ever seen. He was once more huddled up against the headboard of the bed and clutching the remote control in his hand.
“We’ll be back soon, Elliot. Will you be all right?”
The nerdy little man nodded, offering her a weak smile.
“Feel free to order room service,” Silas said, opening the door. “Have them leave whatever you order outside. Don’t answer the door for anyone but go nuts. I highly recommend the ice cream sundae, by the way.”
With that, he gestured Becca through the door and they left the recently dead archaeologist to his own devices.
37
143 BRANSON STREET
HAMMOCK DUNES, FLORIDA
FRIDAY, 1:40 PM
Though technically, Oceanshore Boulevard was still considered State Road A1A, Becca and Silas had driven into one of the more upscale portions of Flagler County, the county a few miles south from Summer Haven, which demanded a more appealing street name for its affluent residents. The fact that Andrea’s ex lived out here, despite his humble beginnings, was a testament to just how successful his car lot must be.
On each side of the highway, a wall of jungle-like vegetation grew, reminding Becca of the harsh primal land Florida had once been before developers mowed most of it down for resorts, condos, and beach houses. Though the ocean was just a few hundred yards to their left, the jungle foliage blocked any view of it from passing motorists, creating a whole other world of paradise that lived on the other side.
Normally, she enjoyed this stretch of road, but now her mind was at war with a flurry of conflicting thoughts and emotions. It turned over the disturbing evidence they had found in The Summer Haven Chronicler, which sent it careening to the mental image of the bilongo dolls she and Silas had found, ultimately leading her mind to the purpose of driving to Hammock Dunes in the first place—to find out why Spenser Blakely had included Andrea Alvarez’s ex in his little bag of cursed horrors.
And speaking of horrors, she couldn’t get Elliot Newman out of her mind either, nor the abominable act Silas had done in bringing him back to life. She had no real concept of what the implications such a feat might cause in the grand scheme of the universe, but she imagined it couldn’t be good. Though she hadn’t been to Sunday School since she was a little girl, she’d pretty much assumed that only one man had the power over Death, and she couldn’t imagine he’d be too pleased with Silas’ actions right now.
Still, she supposed Mot’s logic was somewhat sound. In theory. If the Hand of Cain truly had been discovered in that old ship wreck, then it stood to reason that the one man tasked with officially studying it would be the best person to look to for answers that even Silas didn’t seem to know. She couldn’t really blame him for doing whatever he could to assure the safe return of such a dangerous artifact.
“Are you all right?” she heard Silas say, driving the myriad of thoughts from her head. “You haven’t said a word since we left the motel.”
She allowed herself an anxious groan as she turned left into Hammock Park, the gated community in which James Andrews lived. A moment later, she was motioned through by the guard at the security station.
“I don’t know what I am,” she finally answered. “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to be if you want to know the truth. There wasn’t exactly a class on how to solve a murder with cosmic destruction possibilities in the police academy. I’m pretty much holding on by a thread here.”
From her peripheral vision, she could see him nod his understanding. Thankfully, it was his only response, allowing her to concentrate on navigating the maze-like roads through the neighborhood.
She hung a right on Marlin Street, then took the third left. Three-quarters of a mile later, they were pulling into the turn-about driveway of a two-story house built of coquina shell with Spanish roof tiles. The façade featured an old-fashioned wrap-around porch with white Corinthian columns and twelve different windows covering both floors.
A sporty little cherry red Mini-Cooper sat parked at the end of the driveway.
“Well, would you look at that,” Silas said with a whistle. “Now where have we seen that car before?”
“Okay. That’s interesting,” Becca agreed.
They got out of the car and walked straight for the front door. Becca rang the doorbell and was immediately rewarded with the yapping of what sounded like two or three small dogs.
“It’s only a little after one-thirty,” she told him. “Even though his receptionist told me he’d taken a sick day, he might not be here.”
There was a rustle of curtains off to their left and Silas nodded to it.
“Well, we know someone’s home.” Silas chuckled. “Oh, what I would give to have been a fly on the wall when sweet little Ceci saw your patrol car pull into the driveway behind her car.”
“Relax. It might not mean a thing.”
“Yes, and Marie Antoinette just asked for a ‘little off the top’.”
Becca shot him a look, silently ordering him to shut up. Apparently, he got the hint because he did just that. A few seconds later, they heard the lock turn and the door slowly opened up to them. In the entrance, as expected, stood the wary, makeup-heavy face of Ceci Palmer, Andrea’s supposed best friend.
“Oh, hi,” she said, giving them a sheepish look. “Were you guys looking for me?”
Silas, who couldn’t wipe the smugness from his face, shook his head. “Oh, no, pet. Not at all. Not at all.”
Ceci blinked at him, then looked at Becca.
“We’re actually here to see James Andrews,” the chief said. “Is he here?”
The woman with dyed cherry red hair glanced over her shoulder then back at them. A bead of sweat glistened off her brow. “Uh, no. He’s working right now. I’m just here babysitting his…”
“Honey?” A man’s voice called out from inside the house. “Who was at the door?”
She let out a little squeak at the sound of the man’s voice.
“You were saying, Ceci?”
Ceci closed her eyes and let out a long breath. “Fine. He stayed home today. He’s working on funeral arrangements for Andrea since she doesn’t have any living family anymore.” She waved the two of them inside. “Come in,” she said. “Come in. Might as well get this over with.”
Becca and Silas stepped into a marble-tiled foyer with a high vaulted ceiling. A staircase made of hardwood with rich mahogany bannisters leading to the second floor was immediately to their right.
Ceci motioned for them to follow her and she led them through the house. A television playing cartoons could be heard from a room somewhere to their left. The sound of a child giggling and the electronic zaps of some kind of toy could be heard over the TV. They kept walking until they came to a large Florida room at the back of the house with a gorgeous view of the ocean beyond. A small dinette table sat underneath a bamboo ceiling fan.
James Andrews looked up from his laptop and offered a sad smile when he noticed Becca and Silas.
“Chief Cole,” he said with a nod of greeting. “Mr. Mot. Please. Sit.” He waved the two of them to the table. “Ceci, honey, could you get them some sweet tea or something?”<
br />
“Nothing for me, thanks,” Becca said.
“Oooh, sweet tea!” Silas looked ecstatic. “I’ve always wanted to try some. Please.”
Ceci nodded and disappeared back into the house.
James motioned toward his computer. “I’m doing research. Trying to find a good funeral home for Andrea,” he said. “No one ever really knows what to do at times like this, do they? But I think I owe it to her…and to Jamie…to make sure she’s laid to rest in a way deserving of the woman she was.”
“That’s nice of you,” Becca said, moving from the door and sitting down at the table across from him. Silas took the seat next to her. “How has Jamie taken the news?”
“He doesn’t quite understand. Not really.” James looked down at the computer screen, then pushed the laptop away before turning back to them. “So, I take it your visit isn’t a social one?”
Before they could answer, Ceci re-emerged carrying a tall glass of tea and set it in front of Silas. Beads of sweat glistened off the glass, trickling down on the wooden dinette. A moment later, Ceci lifted the glass and laid a coaster underneath it. She then took a seat next to James and wrapped an arm around his waist.
Silas, after taking a sip of the sweet beverage with a moan of delight, nodded at the short redhead. “So, she’s the mysterious girlfriend, eh? The one Andrea believed betrayed their friendship?”
Ceci opened her mouth to protest, but James took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze. “It’s not like that, Mr. Mot. I know it might look bad to you, discovering our relationship so soon after Andrea’s death. But Ceci and I have been together for several years now. There’s nothing new about it. And yes, Andrea was upset at first, but they soon put it behind them and became friends again.”
“Then why didn’t either of you tell us about the relationship?” Becca asked. “We talked to both of you. Ms. Palmer mentioned you having a girlfriend. You talked about your girlfriend in your office the other day. Why didn’t you tell us it was Ceci?”
“Honestly?”
“Oh, that would be refreshing,” Silas grinned. He took another drink of sweet tea with a satisfied gasp.
“We knew how it would look,” Ceci said. Tears were starting to trickle from her eyes and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. “You guys don’t know us. You don’t know how close Andrea and I were. It was pretty easy to figure we’d become suspects right away if you knew I was living with Andrea’s ex.”
“Okay, fine,” Becca said. “Let’s put a pin in your failure to tell us about the relationship for a moment. Let’s hear more about your friendship with Andrea. From what we’ve heard, she really felt angry with you when you started having a romantic relationship with Mr. Andrews here. Something about the fact that you were hired to be the nanny or something and then, suddenly, you two were an item? I can see where that might upset her.”
“That’s not exactly what happened,” Ceci said. “Like James said, it wasn’t as sudden as you were made to believe.”
“Enlighten us then.”
The red-head looked over at James, who gave her an encouraging nod.
“Jamie is a special needs child. He has a severe form of autism.” She sniffed, swiping another tear away. The woman could definitely put on the water works. “I’m a registered nurse. Before Andrea and James broke up, she asked me to come on and help them take care of Jamie. He was just too much for her, especially with her own mental problems. She’d lose her temper so easily around him. She didn’t trust herself to be alone with him when James was at work.”
“Okay. So, you came to work for them. And that’s when you fell in love with Mr. Andrews?”
“Maybe helped their breakup along?” Silas piped in.
“No! It wasn’t like that. I’m not responsible for their breakup.”
“It’s true,” James confirmed. “Truth is, I hardly even noticed Ceci back then. I was rarely ever around when she was here. Back then, she only took care of Jamie during the day…when I was at work.” He glanced from Silas to Becca. “No, our break up was pretty much what I’ve already told you. Her mental illness was just too much. We were always fighting. Sometimes, it would get violent. Andrea would get violent. It put too much stress on Jamie, so we both agreed it was time to end things.”
“Naturally, after Andrea left, James needed me to work on a more full-time basis. He needed me here twenty-four-seven. So, I started staying in the guest bedroom. That way, I could be here at night if Jamie had one of his night terrors or what have you, prepare his food, and handle his doctor’s appointments. It was a very practical arrangement at first.” Ceci glanced over at James and squeezed his hand. “We didn’t start anything romantic until a full year later. Sure, Andrea was angry about it when she first found out. She thought I had betrayed her. But you can’t help who you fall in love with, can you?”
“Okay, I get that. But you really want us to believe that she finally got over it and you two became best friends again? After she felt so strongly about it being a betrayal?”
“I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. The two of us have been inseparable since she moved here from Colombia. Ask anyone.” Ceci’s shoulders quivered as she struggled to keep her tears in check. “Yes, we occasionally fought like cats and dogs. All the time. But we always made up in the end. I loved her like a sister and she loved me.”
The words of Elaine Shepherd came rushing back to Becca’s mind. She’d said pretty much the same thing. With sisters like these, who needs enemies?
“Okay, so I’m curious though. She was eventually fine with your relationship,” Becca said. “But how did you feel when she started trying to regain custody of Jamie? Surely, you must have a pretty strong attachment to him. Did you have a problem with her trying to get her son back?”
“Not at first. When she originally came to James about it, I was happy for her. She was getting better. And she loved Jamie so much. I was rooting for her,” Ceci said. She was holding onto James Andrews’ hand for dear life. “But when it turned nasty, yeah…I sort of lost my cool with her.”
“Nasty?” Becca looked at James. He hadn’t mentioned anything about the situation turning ‘nasty’ when they’d spoken to him at the dealership.
James nodded. “After I talked to her doctor and told her I wouldn’t allow her to share custody of Jamie, she tried to get an attorney to help her. Fortunately, no one would take the case. They all knew it was a lost cause.”
“When that didn’t work, she filed a petition for custody on her own. Then she started getting sneaky as we waited for the court date,” Ceci said. “She called Children and Family Services on us. Said I was doing drugs. That I hit the boy. Locked him in a closet while I watched soaps all day. Said all kinds of horrible things about me. All in hopes of having the state take Jamie away from us.”
At this, Silas put the glass back down on the table—intentionally missing the coaster—and looked at Ceci. “Which is funny since the two of you were such close friends and all.”
The redhead rolled her eyes. “We were. I swear. Best friends. Even after she said all those lies about me.”
“So, what happened with the accusations…to her attempts at getting Jamie back?”
“They just kind of fizzled out,” Ceci said. “She eventually gave up.”
“No, that’s not true, honey,” James said. “They need to know the truth.”
Becca’s heart skipped at the declaration. “What truth?”
“You already know what I’m about to tell you, but Dr. Fruehan’s worst fears started happening. And with a vengeance.” James’ eyes glistened. He was struggling to hold back his own tears. “She started having hallucinations again. Horrific ones. Far worse than anything she’d ever had before.”
“And?”
“And, she realized what she’d dreaded most of all was happening to her. Realized she wasn’t getting better and called the whole thing off.” James leaned back in his seat and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket
s. “Mind if I smoke?”
Becca shook her head. He pulled one out and lit it up before taking a deep drag on it. He visibly relaxed the moment the nicotine was in his system. After a moment to let the tobacco sooth his frazzled nerves, he looked at her again. “So, is that all? Is there anything else you need?”
His hands were shaking as he pulled the cigarette from his lips.
“Actually, yes. One more thing.” Becca looked over at Silas, who reached into the interior pocket of his jacket and withdrew the bilongo bag they’d found in Blakely’s shop. “Do you have any idea what this is?”
James looked at the leather pouch, then shook his head. Ceci, however, fidgeted in her seat as she looked at it.
“That’s a…that’s what Andrea received with her curse,” she said. Her wide eyes were glued to the little bag. “What are you doing bringing that thing in our house?”
“Why, Ms. Palmer,” Silas said. “You don’t actually believe in curses, do you?”
She glared at him. “I don’t believe in Martians either, but I wouldn’t invite them in my house.”
Becca widened the drawstring, opening the bag, and dumped the doll inside onto the kitchen counter. Both James and Ceci stared at it as if it were a rattler ready to strike.
“Recognize him?” Silas asked them.
“Is that…is that James?” Ceci asked.
“We think so, yes,” Becca answered. “We found it amid some of Spenser Blakely’s belongings. It appears that Mr. Blakely was secretly involved in not only Santeria, but several other occult religions as well.”
“It appears he had his sights set on Mr. Andrews here,” Silas continued. “Would either of you know why that would be?”
James shook his head. “I’ve never even met the guy. Ceci had told me Andrea was dating him, but I’ve never had any interaction with him. I have no idea why he’d want to hurt me with a curse.”
They turned to look at Ceci, who was biting down on her lower lip, staring blankly at the little doll.
“Ms. Palmer?”
1 Death Warmed Over Page 21
