Casey inched forward, moving over the prone shape of Gail Reeves.
She saw both men draw guns.
But Ryder, who had sounded so easygoing, who hadn’t even been holding his Glock, got both men before they could fire their weapons. Larry Swenson spun around and fell as a bullet ripped through his shoulder, and Harry Miller screamed like a crazed banshee as his hand was shattered.
By then, cops and FBI agents were running through the cemetery. Ryder opened the door to the tomb, and Casey leapt up, anxious to free her tied and gagged friends. Casey hugged Lauren and Jared as the pair cried with relief. They garbled out words to explain how Gail had been hiding in the back of Lauren’s car and had forced them here at gunpoint, and then bound and forced them to gag each other.
Gail had secured them together in the tomb and then cut Lauren so she would scream, and Casey would come.
It was bedlam.
Lauren and Jared were taken away in an ambulance to be checked out, and so Lauren could receive stitches.
Larry Swenson, Harry Miller, and Gail Reeves were taken away.
Ghosts milled about and watched the activity. Lena Marceau stood with Dante Marceau, the apparitions arm-in-arm.
“I don’t think this place has ever seen so much life,” she said, grinning.
Braxton Wild walked over to Casey and hugged her tightly. “You’re all right. You’re all right!” Then he frowned. “Young lady, don’t you ever do such a thing again.”
“I’m sorry, Detective Wild,” she said.
He grinned. “Call me Braxton. I hear we’re going to Frenchman Street together later tonight to listen to some kickass bands.”
Casey smiled at him. “Okay by me.”
Braxton looked at Ryder and said, “The police picked up Barton Quincy. He’s busy blaming it all on the housekeeper, claiming innocence. And we also have Justin, who is also claiming innocence.”
“From everything I heard, Justin is innocent,” Casey told him.
“Well, we’ll see about talking to him and letting him go this afternoon. The others...they’ll face state and federal charges.” He looked at Ryder. “You could have killed them. You let them off easy.”
Ryder shook his head. “They’ll be in a maximum-security prison. They’ll never get out. They need to suffer a long, long time for what they did.”
Ryder put an arm around Casey. “Should we be going out tonight? Are you all right? What about Lauren and Jared?”
“Yes, we should go out tonight.” She grimaced. “Life is short. Let’s live it,” she said softly.
Epilogue
They didn’t go out that night. There was far too much paperwork. And too many people who had to understand a great deal. Jackson worried at first that they might have trouble in court, but they quickly learned that every one of the conspirators was ready to turn on the other.
They all wanted deals.
The best the conspirators would get was the death sentence taken off the table.
No, they didn’t go out that night. Or the next. But now, a few weeks later, it was finally time to put everything behind them and celebrate.
Even Stephanie came. It was going to be a long time before she trusted leaving Annette with anyone, but there was one babysitter she had come to trust and love.
Jackson Crow.
And Jackson had insisted that Stephanie get out.
Justin Marceau was with them. He and Stephanie were going to have a hell of a time trying to remake the company and find good people to help them. But they both believed that good people were out there. And Justin was both terrified and grateful.
He knew he would have eventually been on the hit list.
“Really, the only way it broke was Gail Reeves going crazy believing in ghosts,” Justin said. He shook his head, and Casey smiled. “Some people.”
Jared and Lauren came. And Braxton had ridden with Ryder and Casey. Jared even sat in with a few of the bands they stopped to see, and it was great to see him happy and in his element.
Toward the end of the evening, and after much thought and discussion with Ryder, Casey asked Lauren and Jared what they thought about taking over the shop. It was their shop, really. They were the art and the music.
“But,” Lauren told her, “you were always the beautiful mind.”
“I knew it from the moment I walked into the shop,” Lena’s ghost said, and Casey smiled, though the others couldn’t hear Lena. “You were, but these two are its heart. Just like Ryder is yours, and you are his.” Casey smiled wider.
“So you’re moving in with Ryder?” Jared asked.
She nodded. “But we both love NOLA. We’ll be back.”
The night with friends was wonderful. The next day was better.
They went back to the cemetery—Jackson, Stephanie, Annette, Ryder, and Casey.
They stood by the tomb as other ghosts made appearances.
Lena had shared with Casey that she’d sensed Anthony’s presence when the arrests were made in the cemetery, but nothing since. Still, she had a feeling she might go with him when the time was right.
It was daytime, but it seemed a streak of light stronger than the sun shone down by the tomb. And a misty, almost golden image of a man appeared in that ray of light.
He reached out a hand to Lena.
Lena paused, and a collective gasp of fear went through the group as the ghostly mother managed to take hold of her child and then race to the light with the baby.
“Annette,” Stephanie whispered.
But the group seemed to be just a burst of light for a minute as Lena and Anthony held their beloved daughter.
Then, Lena ran back with the baby, hugging Stephanie and returning the child to her guardian’s arms.
“I love you. Please understand. Please love her as I would. As I will always love you both. And everyone, thank you. Thank you!” she said.
The light was gone, and Lena with it. Stephanie sobbed softly, and Ryder set his arm around her. He assured her that he and Casey would stick around for a while. There would be more paperwork and additional things about the case to untangle. And Casey knew he would do whatever was necessary to make sure everything was locked up tight, that the board members and Gail got what was coming to them, and that his family was never harmed again.
Later that night, lying together, Ryder seemed thoughtful.
“Are you sure you don’t mind picking up and leaving, giving up everything to come with me?” he asked her, not for the first time.
She smiled and stroked his face.
“Jared and Lauren will be fine with the store. Jennie Sanders will know she has special powers now.” She laughed. “Someone tall, dark, and dangerously handsome did enter my life to sweep me off my feet. We have learned so much about death...and life. Let’s seize it and live it,” she said.
He smiled, straddling her.
“You do have a beautiful mind. And...hmm. A beautiful rest of you, too.”
She laughed softly. “Thank you. And as for life...”
“Let’s get to it!”
He kissed her.
Life.
She had come close to losing it. She had discovered that she could help someone who had lost it. And now...
It was a gift. And she would cherish every minute of it.
Especially with Ryder.
* * * *
Also from 1001 Dark Nights and Heather Graham, discover Blood Night, Haunted Be the Holidays, Hallow Be The Haunt, Crimson Twilight, When Irish Eyes Are Haunting, All Hallows Eve, and Blood on the Bayou.
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A Krewe of Hunters Novella
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A Blood and Ash Novel
Discover More Heather Graham
Blood Night: A Krewe of Hunters Novella
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Any member of the Krewe of Hunters is accustomed to the strange. And to conversing now and then with the dead.
For Andre Rousseau and Cheyenne Donegal, an encounter with the deceased in a cemetery is certainly nothing new.
But this year, Halloween is taking them across the pond—unofficially.
Their experiences in life haven’t prepared them for what’s to come.
Cheyenne’s distant cousin and dear friend Emily Donegal has called from London. Murder has come to her neighborhood, with bodies just outside Highgate Cemetery, drained of blood.
The last victim was found at Emily’s doorstep, and evidence seems to be arising not just against her fiancé, Eric, but against Emily, too. But Emily isn’t just afraid of the law—many in the great city are beginning to believe that the historic Vampire of Highgate is making himself known, aided and abetted by adherents. Some are even angry and frightened enough to believe they should take matters into their own hands.
Andre and Cheyenne know they’re in for serious trouble when they arrive, and they soon come to realize that the trouble might be deadly not just for Emily and Eric, but for themselves as well.
There’s help to be found in the beautiful and historic old cemetery.
And as All Hallows Eve looms, they’ll be in a race against time, seeking the truth before the infamous vampire has a chance to strike again.
* * * *
Haunted Be the Holidays: A Krewe of Hunters Novella
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When you're looking for the victim of a mysterious murder in a theater, there is nothing like calling on a dead diva for help! Krewe members must find the victim if they're to discover the identity of a murderer at large, one more than willing to kill the performers when he doesn't like the show.
It’s Halloween at the Global Tower Theatre, a fantastic and historic theater owned by Adam Harrison and run by spouses of Krewe members. During a special performance, a strange actor makes an appearance in the middle of the show, warning of dire events if his murder is not solved before another holiday rolls around.
Dakota McCoy and Brodie McFadden dive into the mystery. Both have a. special talent for dealing with ghosts, but this one is proving elusive. With the help of Brodie’s diva mother and his ever-patient father—who were killed together when a stage chandelier fell upon them—Dakota and Brodie set out to solve the case.
If they can't solve the murder quickly, there will be no Thanksgiving for the Krewe...
* * * *
Hallow Be the Haunt: A Krewe of Hunters Novella
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Years ago, Jake Mallory fell in love all over again with Ashley Donegal—while he and the Krewe were investigating a murder that replicated a horrible Civil War death at her family’s Donegal Plantation.
Now, Ashley and Jake are back—planning for their wedding, which will take place the following month at Donegal Plantation, her beautiful old antebellum home.
But Halloween is approaching and Ashley is haunted by a ghost warning her of deaths about to come in the city of New Orleans, deaths caused by the same murderer who stole the life of the beautiful ghost haunting her dreams night after night.
At first, Jake is afraid that returning home has simply awakened some of the fear of the past…
But as Ashley's nightmares continue, a body count begins to accrue in the city…
And it’s suddenly a race to stop a killer before Hallow’s Eve comes to a crashing end, with dozens more lives at stake, not to mention heart, soul, and life for Jake and Ashley themselves.
* * * *
Crimson Twilight: A Krewe of Hunters Novella
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It's a happy time for Sloan Trent and Jane Everett. What could be happier than the event of their wedding? Their Krewe friends will all be there and the event will take place in a medieval castle transported brick by brick to the New England coast. Everyone is festive and thrilled... until the priest turns up dead just hours before the nuptials. Jane and Sloan must find the truth behind the man and the murder--the secrets of the living and the dead--before they find themselves bound for eternity--not in wedded bliss but in the darkness of an historical wrong and their own brutal deaths.
* * * *
When Irish Eyes Are Haunting: A Krewe of Hunters Novella
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Devin Lyle and Craig Rockwell are back, this time to a haunted castle in Ireland where a banshee may have gone wild—or maybe there's a much more rational explanation—one that involves a disgruntled heir, murder, and mayhem, all with that sexy light touch Heather Graham has turned into her trademark style.
* * * *
All Hallows Eve: A Krewe of Hunters Novella
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Salem was a place near and dear to Jenny Duffy and Samuel Hall -- it was where they'd met on a strange and sinister case. They never dreamed that they'd be called back. That history could repeat itself in a most macabre and terrifying fashion. But, then again, it was Salem at Halloween. Seasoned Krewe members, they still find themselves facing the unspeakable horrors in a desperate race to save each other-and perhaps even their very souls.
* * * *
Blood on the Bayou: A Cafferty & Quinn Novella
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It’s winter and a chill has settled over the area near New Orleans, finding a stream of blood, a tourist follows it to a dead man, face down in the bayou.
The man has been done in by a vicious beating, so violent that his skull has been crushed in.
It's barely a day before a second victim is found... once again so badly thrashed that the water runs red. The city becomes riddled with fear.
An old family friend comes to Danni Caffe
rty, telling her that he's terrified, he's certain that he's received a message from the Blood Bayou killer--It's your turn to pay, blood on the bayou.
Cafferty and Quinn quickly become involved, and--as they all begin to realize that a gruesome local history is being repeated--they find themselves in a fight to save not just a friend, but, perhaps, their very own lives.
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The Dead Heat of Summer: A Krewe of Hunters Novella Page 14