Visions of Death

by B. T. Lord

  “Again?”

  Trisha laughed. “Yeah. Her latest boyfriend just broke up with her and she’s a basket case.”

  “Didn’t she just meet this new boy?”

  The teenager rolled her eyes. “They went out for exactly two weeks. And now it’s the end of the world. She’s such a drama queen.”

  “Do you want the usual?”

  “Yeah. Pad Thai with veggies.”

  “Got it.” Dianne paused at the door. “Love you, honey.”

  Trisha was back focused on her conversation with Philippa. “Love you too, Mom.”

  Dianne smiled and closed the door behind her.

  As she heard her mother’s footsteps receding down the hallway, Trisha closed the laptop and set it aside. She was disappointed and angry that her mother had interrupted. As usual. Without knocking on the door despite telling her a thousand times to respect her privacy. When was Mom ever going to listen? At sixteen, she was old enough to have some secrets of her own.

  She peered into the corner of her room and felt the anger bubbling up. Damn it, why did her mother always have to ruin everything?

  Just as she started to pick up her pillow and hurl it across the room in frustrated rage, a familiar shimmering appeared in the corner nearest her closet door. A moment later, a shape stepped away from the darkness and stood before her.

  “Hey, Mr. Shadow Man,” Trisha grinned.

  T H E E N D

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Thank you for taking this journey out to the Coffin Islands. While I was plotting out this book, an interesting thing happened which may sound absurd, but which I swear really did take place.

  I do most of my writing at night and when I went to bed right sometime during the beginning of January, I promptly fell asleep. Sometime during the night, I was abruptly awakened out of a sound sleep. I looked around the room trying to figure out what had awakened me. My first thought was how strange it was that the dogs hadn’t started barking if it was a noise or loud sound that had awakened me. As my eyes roamed the room, I was startled to see a dark shadow standing at the foot of my bed. There were no red eyes, but there was a distinct shape standing there looking at me. Then, in the blink of an eye, it disappeared.

  Weird, I know. But the next morning, as I thought about it, I realized what a great character to put in my novel. So although I really have no interest in seeing the shadow again, I thank it for its timely appearance.

  On that note, I’m excited to tell you about a new writing venture I’m involved in that promises more paranormal adventures.

  My dear friend J.S. Stephens and I were paranormal investigators for many years. We’re now taking many of our experiences and fictionalizing them in a Young Adult series called The Ghost Seekers Paranormal Series. It’s about a group of teenage friends who set out to explore the world of the unseen. We’ve just begun writing it and hope to get it out to you by early summer 2019. Below is a blurb to whet your appetite:

  Addison Monroe and her friends think they’ve hit the jackpot when they win a contest that will allow them to go on a ghost investigation with the nationally renowned TV paranormal investigative team, The Ghost Dudes. With cameras rolling, the two groups arrive at the infamous Meadowlark Asylum. Shut down years ago when a riot by the patients took place, it’s become shrouded in stories and legends about the darkness that allegedly stalks its abandoned hallways.

  It isn’t long before Addison realizes something is terribly wrong. What was advertised as a Halloween night TV special takes on a sinister note when, as her team’s psychic, she begins to see visions that show what really happened ten years ago. Visions that warn her they are all in danger.

  The accuracy of her visions becomes all too clear when one of her friends mysteriously disappears, while the leader of the Ghost Dudes learns, to his horror, that the legends about Meadowlark Asylum are all too true. The building is haunted. And it won’t rest until it claims another victim.

  This is Book 1 in The Ghost Seekers Paranormal Mystery series.

  In the meantime, I’ve included a preview of the next installment of the Twin Ponds Mystery Series. It’s called Murder in the Blue and it takes place in Denali National Park in Alaska, an area I was privileged to visit in August of 2018.

  I love hearing from you, so please drop me a line at btlordwriter@gmail.com

  If you haven’t already, please sign up for my newsletter through my website at www.btlordwriter.com

  You can follow me at my author page on Bookbub:

  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/b-t-lord

  And on my Facebook page:

  https://www.facebook.com/BTLordWriter/

  As always, reviews are important. If you liked Visions of Death, or any of my other books, please stop by Amazon and leave a review. It helps to get the word out. Thanks!

  A Preview from Book 8 in the Twin Ponds

  Murder Mystery Series

  ***

  MURDER IN THE BLUE

  ***

  Available early summer 2019

  PROLOGUE

  Hatara Wilderness Lodge

  Denali National Park, Alaska

  May 5th

  “She’s just being dramatic again. You know how she is. If there’s no drama, she has to create it.”

  Aileen Pascoe, who insisted on being called Allie, rolled her eyes in amusement as her twin sister threw her a hateful look.

  “Look who’s talking. You created the word drama,” Sharlene Bennett snapped as she took an angry gulp from her martini.

  Allie laughed before taking a sip of her own martini. “You know what our problem is, sis? We’re too much alike.”

  It was Shar’s turn to roll her eyes. “We’re twins, remember? We’re supposed to be alike. Though right now, I wish you were just a friend so I could throw you out of this table and out of my life.”

  That started another round of arguments.

  Shar’s husband Declan, seated across from her at the dining room table, knew enough to keep his mouth shut. It never did any good to get in the middle of the constant sparring between the two sisters. It only escalated the tension. And he’d come to Alaska in a desperate effort to get away from tension and drama.

  He and Sharlene had been married for fifteen years. In all that time, he’d learned that although Allie and Shar loved each other deeply and shared a connection that only twins understood, they also enjoyed arguing. Yet again, he questioned the wisdom of asking Allie to come along. If he’d thought the two sisters would get along and not fight, he was more depressed and delusional than even he realized.

  He quietly sighed as he sipped at his gin and tonic. Who was he kidding? There was no way they could have taken this trip without Allie. Widowed three years ago when her husband died of cancer, she’d gotten through her days taking care of her ailing mother. When Tillie passed five months ago, it had devastated Allie, leaving her without a purpose in life. She’d been flailing ever since.

  Flipping through a travel magazine at her doctor’s office, Shar stumbled across an ad for a week-long vacation at Denali National Park in beautiful interior Alaska. Although the tourist season officially started in mid-June at the park, the company was giving a discount for pre-season stays starting in mid-May. Knowing this was exactly what Allie needed, Shar booked the trip without consulting Declan, assuming, as she always did, that he’d go along with it.

  In the past he would have without question. He’d lived his life avoiding conflict, going with the flow, making sure to always smooth things over. The Rodney King statement, ‘why can’t we all just get along?’ was his mantra.

  But lately, it wasn’t working anymore. A borderline depression that had always been there now flared up, drowning him in a melancholy so deep, he found it hard to function sometimes. He’d been to therapists, but they never could pinpoint exactly what it was that triggered his misery.

  Of course they couldn’t. Because he never told them the truth.

  He danced around it, putting on a
fantastic act that in his lighter moments he believed was worthy of an Oscar. They never arrived at the root of his depression because he wouldn’t let them. He wasn’t ready to admit that his life had been a mistake. A farce. An existence of unfulfilled dreams and ambitions.

  A goddamned waste.

  And the reason for it was sitting across the table from him.

  Looking at the twin sisters, it was easy to see that Shar was the more attractive of the two. Although they were identical, Shar took more care in her appearance. She was never seen without her hair in place, her make-up just so, her clothes neat and tidy.

  Allie, on the other hand, was always a little less put together. It wasn’t that she was disheveled or rumpled. It was rather in the way that, compared with the meticulousness of Shar, she didn’t quite measure up. Her hair didn’t drape her face as gracefully as Shar’s did. Her make-up didn’t hide the paleness and sadness in her eyes. She’d put on what her sister considered grief eating weight, keeping her clothes from hanging correctly on her widening girth. She consistently complained that she needed to lose weight while insisting on eating fried foods and large helpings of pudding, pie and other tasty desserts.

  Declan understood her private pain. While hers manifested itself in eating, his was a quiet desperation that he tried to dissipate by working out at the gym every day. One day, while finishing up his latest workout routine, it suddenly occurred to him that part of his unhappiness stemmed from the fact that he could never compete with Shar. She was all the things he was not. She was driven, competitive, socially popular. Their friends were all due to her efforts. Their outings and parties were a success because of her detailed planning. Their comfortable new home in the wealthy country club-like enclave in Florida was a result of her business acumen. As a real estate agent, she was one of the best in the area.

  Because of Shar, they were the envy of their community.

  Declan noticed how men looked at Shar – took in her luxurious mane of red hair and her trim, sumptuous body. He’d lost count of the times men and women came up to him and told him how lucky he was to be married to such an accomplished woman who so obviously loved him. And it was true. Shar did love him.

  So why did he hate her so much?

  It was a question that had no easy answers.

  He glanced up at Allie who, as usual, turned her emotions on a dime and was now grinning at Shar.

  “You’ve had a hair across your ass ever since you went on your nature walk yesterday. What happened? The cute nature guide ignore you?”

  “He was not cute.” The two looked at each other, then broke into giggles. “Okay, so he was.” Shar quickly looked at Declan. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I only look. I never touch.” She looked back at Allie. “I’m fine. I guess I realized that in two more days we’re going to be leaving here and, after having travelled so far, we still haven’t seen Mount McKinley.”

  “Shhhh. It’s not Mount McKinley anymore. It’s now officially Mount Denali thanks to President Obama.”

  “Oh, that’s right. I keep forgetting.”

  Declan kept his face impassive at hearing that statement, while inwardly he scoffed. Shar never forgot anything. She was still bringing up events from their dating days that he’d completely forgotten about. That anybody in their right mind would forget about. Except Shar.

  “We just need to stay optimistic, that’s all.” Allie set aside her napkin and stood up. “Gotta hit the ladies’ room. If the waiter comes back, can you order me another martini? Drier this time with two olives instead of one?”

  After she left the table, Declan suddenly stood up as well. “Now that Allie mentioned bathrooms…”

  He put down his napkin and hurried from the dining room. Reaching the bathrooms, he found Allie waiting for him.

  “She wasn’t suspicious you had to go to the bathroom the same time I did?” she asked.

  “If she did, she didn’t say anything.”

  “Then she didn’t care. She always has something to say if she’s displeased about anything.” She crooked her finger at him playfully. “We’ve only got ten minutes, so let’s make it quick.”

  She linked her arm with his and the two walked briskly down the corridor.

  Exactly ten minutes later, they were both back at their table. “You two were gone a long time,” Shar observed as they sat down. “Did you decide to go pee in Fairbanks?”

  “Sorry, hon,” Declan spoke up. “My stomach hasn’t been right since lunch.”

  “All you had was the halibut sandwich. I had the same thing and I’m fine.”

  “I don’t know why then. My stomach’s always been –” He was interrupted when the waiter appeared with their meals. Allie was served a trio of crabs from the Bering Sea, while both Shar and Declan were given King Salmon. Each dish came with roasted potatoes and a garnish of lovely flowers.

  “At least the food has been fabulous,” Shar replied as she looked down at her feast. She turned to Declan. “What was that little trick the guide showed us to describe the five types of salmon found in Alaska?”

  Declan dutifully held up his hand and pointed to each finger. “Chum rhymes with thumb. Silver is your ring finger, easy to remember if you wear a silver ring. Sockeye is the index finger because you can sock someone’s eye out with it. King is your middle finger because, like the King salmon, it’s the largest, and Pink is your pinkie finger.”

  “That is so clever!” Shar laughed as she turned back to her dish. “I wonder if you can eat these?” she asked as she poked at the blue flower atop her potatoes.

  “When we planned this trip, we decided we were going to push the envelope. Force ourselves to do things we wouldn’t ordinarily do. So far, we’ve been pretty lazy about it,” Allie replied.

  “Not true,” Shar immediately responded. “I went on that nature walk, didn’t I?”

  Allie rolled her eyes. “Big whoop. You love walking.” She pointed to the flowers on their plates. “Let’s take a walk on the wild side and eat these flowers no matter what they taste like.”

  “Wow, you certainly are being adventurous,” Shar teased.

  “Damned right I am.” With one swoop of her hand, Allie grabbed the white flower from her potatoes and popped it into her mouth. “Mmmm. Tastes buttery. Okay, Declan, you’re next.”

  He thought the whole exercise ridiculous, but it was ingrained in him not to make waves. Forcing a smile on his face, he picked up his yellow flower and placed it in his mouth. “Pretty bland actually.”

  “Okay, Shar, “Allie urged. “It’s your turn now.”

  Shar eyed the flower. She was, by nature, no adventurer when it came to food. She knew what she liked, and she stuck with it. However, with Allie staring her down with that challenging look on her face, Shar couldn’t back down. She therefore stabbed the flower with her fork and ate it. She immediately broke out in a hacking cough and reached for her water.

  “Good God, that flower tastes like crap. It’s so bitter,” she complained as she took another gulp of water. “How can they put something like that on someone’s meal?”

  “Don’t go crazy,” Allie soothed her. “It’s over and done with. Drink your martini and let it go.”

  They ate their dinner without further incident. Just as they were finishing their coffee, Shar leaned back in her chair and grabbed her stomach. “Oooh, I think I ate too much. I’ve got a sudden tummy ache.”

  “Maybe it’s the halibut from this afternoon hitting you. I told you it didn’t agree with me,” Declan pointed out.

  “Maybe you’re right.” She stood up. “If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to return to the room and lie down. If I feel better, I’ll join you at the bar.”

  Because the sun didn’t set until almost 11 PM, they’d gotten into the habit of sitting at the bar that overlooked the Alaskan Range after dinner. As they enjoyed their cocktails, they kept a sharp eye out for the appearance of Mount Denali from its ever-present shroud of clouds.

  “Actuall
y, if you don’t mind, Allie, I’m going to go upstairs too. My stomach still feels a bit upset.”

  “Sure, no problem. If the mountain makes an appearance, I’ll call you.”

  “Great. Please do that.”

  After paying for their meal, Shar and Declan left the restaurant while Allie wandered over to a stool at the far end of the bar.

  Because it was off season, neither the bar nor the restaurant was crowded. She ordered a martini and, after seating herself on a small couch that gave her a beautiful view of the snow-capped mountains, she spent the time quietly scrolling through her phone at the pictures she’d taken of their vacation so far. Every so often she looked up to make sure Mount Denali hadn’t appeared before returning to her photographs.

  So far, the vacation had been spectacular. The pristine wilderness and the quaintness of the surrounding towns was a balm to her troubled soul. She was so happy Shar had invited her to come. It was exactly what she needed – a break from the sorrow of losing first her husband, then their mother.

  She ordered her fourth martini and noticed a small table set off from the others where pieces of a jigsaw puzzle were laid out for the guests to try their hand at. It had been years since she’d done something like that. Thinking it would be fun, and not ready to retire for the night just yet, Allie sauntered over to the table where she was soon immersed in the puzzle. A half hour later, she felt a presence at her shoulder. Looking up, she saw it was Declan.

  “Is she asleep?” she asked.

  “Not yet. As soon as we got to our room, she went into the bathroom. When I left, she was taking a shower.”

  “Good. That means she’s down for the night.” She grinned at him. “So, what do you want to do?”

  CHAPTER ONE