The Cursed

by Heather Graham

  “Let’s go in,” she said.

  She hit the shower first; she couldn’t wait to wash away the feel of the day.

  He joined her. She felt the thrill of his body, hot, steaming and naked against her own.

  She turned into his arms and kissed him. They left the shower, damp, glowing, and then they made love, touching, kissing, as if they were enjoying a feast of passion.

  Afterward they lay in bed, listening to the sound of the surf.

  She turned to him then and asked, “Do you want to talk?”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “About your friend, your coworker. The one who was killed.”

  She could just see his face in the moonlight streaming in. There was pain in his expression, but acceptance, too.

  “We really were friends, best friends. And her death came close to wrecking me.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “I am, too. One day we wouldn’t have had the benefits anymore. She would have found the right guy for her. She would have been a great mother. She deserved that.” After a long silence, he spoke again. “What about your past?” He touched her hair.

  “Nothing dramatic,” she told him. “Just...not the right guy. I don’t know what else to say.”

  “What you’ve said is enough,” he said.

  She kissed him, and they made love again.

  It was good.

  * * *

  In the morning, they collected Kelsey and Logan from the hospital. But they didn’t head right home.

  They went to the morgue. There was a body they needed to see.

  Hannah couldn’t help but pray that they hadn’t found Jose’s sister.

  17

  Dallas stood looking down at the body in the morgue.

  Every member of law enforcement the world over, he was certain, hated a floater.

  Water creatures nibbled on the flesh. Most of the time the body had been intentionally sunk, and it was the gases forming in the body during putrefaction that caused it to rise. Decay never had a pleasant smell, and the human body was no different than any other, but the stink of a floater was something much worse.

  He had a mask over his nose and mouth, and spoke through it when he looked over at Dirk and asked, “You really think we might be able to recognize her?”

  “I’m hoping. My cabinets are filling up, guys,” Dirk said. “I’ll release Yerby Catalano soon, and I’d be happy to release Jose Rodriguez, too, except his only next of kin is his sister, and...”

  “And this may be her,” Logan muttered.

  Despite the grayish hue of the corpse’s bloated flesh, Logan had laid a hand on her, and Dallas intended to do the same. Every once in a rare while, it was possible to make contact with the deceased that way.

  Dirk had finished the autopsy, so she wasn’t as grossly swollen as when she’d been found. Even so, she looked like some kind of monstrous hybrid. There was nothing left of her nose or lips. Dallas wasn’t sure that her own mother would have recognized her.

  With gloved hands, he inspected her neck. The bruising around the throat was like a black collar. He looked at Dirk. “Strangulation?”

  Mendini nodded. “Yes.”

  Dallas surreptitiously removed a glove and laid his palm on the body, but he didn’t feel anything at all. He prayed the poor woman’s soul had moved on.

  “We can try dental records,” Mendini said.

  Kelsey stepped into the room. She had on a mask and gloves. Before Dallas had a chance to ask her where Hannah was, Logan’s shocked expression posed the question.

  “Don’t look at me like that. Hannah is fine. She’s in Dirk’s office with the door locked,” she said.

  “You think you might recognize her?” Mendini asked.

  “I’m just interested in a challenging autopsy,” she replied.

  But Dallas knew the truth. She, too, had come to touch the body. But he could tell from her expression that she didn’t get anything from the corpse, either.

  * * *

  Hannah looked around Dirk Mendini’s office. Nice. He had a gold coin from the Atocha displayed in a glass case on his desk. His many framed certifications hung on the walls, along with seascapes and old photos. She was sitting in a chair in front of his big pine desk, but there was also a comfortable sofa against the wall. She wondered if he sometimes slept in his office.

  There was a book on the lower Keys on his desk; she thumbed idly through it as she waited. She got so caught up in it that she was startled to hear a knock at the door.

  “Hannah, it’s me. Logan.”

  She rose and opened the door.

  “You up to seeing a corpse?” he asked.

  “Do you think I might recognize...her?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “I don’t think anyone would recognize her. I thought you might—well, your ability to communicate with the dead is better than any of ours. Stronger. Kelsey’s told me about how when you were kids she ‘met’ people through you. I know you’re a civilian and this is a lot to ask, but...”

  “You want me to touch the corpse, don’t you?”

  He nodded.

  Reluctantly, but knowing she had no choice but to do the right thing, she accompanied him down the hall and through a door marked Autopsy: Staff Only.

  Kelsey was asking Mendini something technical that Hannah was perfectly happy not to understand.

  Dallas was standing by the corpse, waiting, watching her. He looked regretful. She had a feeling he wasn’t happy about the decision to ask for her help, even if he’d agreed with it because it was the right one.

  She walked up to the corpse, telling herself not to look closely.

  “Do you know her?” Dirk asked.

  She shook her head as she touched the woman’s flesh where he couldn’t see. It just felt cold.

  She looked at Dallas and shook her head again.

  Turning, she noticed another body.

  Bentley Holloway.

  She felt nothing when she looked at him and wondered if that meant something was wrong with her. She was sorry, of course; she hated the idea that she had killed anyone. But the idea was intellectual, not anything that came from her heart.

  Overall, she still felt numb. She’d simply done what she had to do.

  She turned away from the body and said, “I’ll be back in the office.”

  “I’ll walk you out,” Kelsey said.

  Hannah didn’t know how much longer the others were going to be, so once she locked the door behind Kelsey, she chose a seat on the sofa and picked up the book on the lower Keys again, turning to the section on Key West. She was just thinking how much she loved her home when she heard sobbing.

  She looked up. The ghost of a young woman was sitting in Dr. Mendini’s chair, at least as much as a ghost could sit anywhere.

  The ghost was naked, and she hadn’t fully materialized, which somehow made her both more beautiful and more pathetic.

  “Hello?” Hannah said softly, rising.

  The sobbing stopped, and the ghost looked at her in shock.

  “Hello. Please don’t be afraid,” Hannah said. How funny, she thought. I’m the living person, and I’m telling a ghost not to be afraid.

  But the ghost was afraid. She disappeared completely for a minute, then began to slowly reappear.

  Hannah stood and walked toward her. “It’s all right. I’d like to help you if I can.”

  “No one can help me. I saw...myself,” the young woman said.

  In life, she had been beautiful. Long, curling dark hair tumbled down her neck and over her shoulders. Her eyes were large and dark and stunning. And given that she was naked, there was no way not to notice that her body was absolutely perfect.

&nb
sp; “I’m Hannah.” She prayed she wasn’t going to get the reply she was expecting when she asked, “Are you...Alicia?”

  To her relief, the young woman shook her head. “Alicia is so kind. She tried to keep us believing that help will come. Then, a few days ago, we heard that her brother was dead. She always believed he was coming for us, that he would save us.”

  “Who are you?” she asked.

  “Maria Lopez. Alicia and I...we were best friends. We grew up together in Miami. When we were older, we worked in one of the clubs together and...” Her voice trailed away.

  “And?” Hannah encouraged.

  “There’s money at the clubs. All the beautiful people. And...and cocaine. A lot of it. And before you know it...”

  “I understand,” Hannah said.

  “So then, you do things. You sleep with repulsive men and you don’t even care. And you...move things for people.”

  “Move things?”

  Maria nodded. “A diamond one time, artwork another. Hidden in shoe boxes in the back of your car or inside a suitcase. You go down the street and get into a van and move it where you’re told. And then one day...one day I got a call about another van. I got there early and saw two men in it, and I heard them talking. What they were saying scared me, so I went to leave, but one of them saw me. He said something that scared me even more, so I hit him and tried to run. But he was faster than me, and stronger. I ended up in the back of the van, and the next thing I knew, I was in a cabin by the water. I think it was on an island.”

  “Tell me about the cabin,” Hannah demanded. “Do you know where it was?”

  Maria began to weep. “I don’t know. But Alicia was there, and one other girl. Alma. And one old man who watches over us. They kept us in a room together. Alicia said her brother would come, but I couldn’t stand it. I got out and tried to swim away. I saw a man in a boat, and I thought he would save me, but he dragged me out of the water and...here I am.”

  “Was he a big man, with blue eyes?”

  Maria nodded.

  “He’s dead now, too,” Hannah said.

  “Good!” Then Maria lowered her head and wept. “Why am I still here?” she whispered.

  Hannah didn’t have the answer to that. “Do you think you could come with me?” she asked. “I have friends like you at my home in Key West. Do you think you could follow me?”

  “I...can try.”

  As she spoke, the key turned in the door. Dirk and the others were back.

  “I’m a busy man, you know, Dallas,” Dirk was saying. “Keep the body count down, will you?”

  “It’s not like we go looking for them,” Dallas said. “Hannah, you ready?”

  She looked from him to Kelsey and Logan. She could tell that none of them saw anything unusual. Then again, neither did she at that moment.

  “Yes, ready, let’s go,” she said.

  * * *

  “I wonder if we’ll make it back without incident today,” Logan said, looking at Dallas in the rearview mirror. “To tell you the truth, I’m kind of hoping for something,” he admitted.

  “Actually, we do have something. Someone,” Hannah said.

  Maria Lopez was sitting uncomfortably at her side. Naked.

  “What?” Logan said.

  “She’s very shy and uncomfortable right now,” Hannah said, smiling at the young woman who, so far, only she could see. “But she’s coming with us. Melody may be able to help her.”

  “Is it—is it Alicia?” Dallas asked.

  “No,” Hannah said. “But she can help us find out where Alicia is.”

  * * *

  Nothing happened on the way back to Hannah’s house. The Siren of the Sea had never looked more beautiful, she thought, as she stood on the street and looked up toward the widow’s walk. Of course, when they went in, there was still blood on her parlor floor.

  “What should I do?” she asked Dallas.

  “There are special companies that specialize in cleaning up crime scenes. I’ll call one for you,” he told her.

  So for now, she decided, they were simply going to avoid the parlor.

  She headed to the kitchen, calling for Melody and Hagen, who appeared immediately. Dallas was right behind her, and Kelsey and Logan went up to their room.

  For a brief moment Maria Lopez fully materialized. Then she saw Dallas and disappeared, but from his gasp, Hannah knew he’d caught a glimpse of her.

  But Melody and Hagen had turned to the spot where Maria had been. From the look in Hagen’s eyes, they apparently still saw her.

  Melody slammed him with an ectoplasm elbow.

  “Sorry,” he murmured, and then he said kindly, “I’m truly sorry, Miss. Do not be embarrassed. I will leave now, but please, trust Melody. I know she will help you.”

  “Why don’t you all come with me?” Hagen said to the others, and they followed him to the back room.

  “Who is she?” Hagen asked, and Hannah explained.

  “I still haven’t seen her,” Kelsey said as she and Logan walked into the room in time to hear Hannah’s explanation.

  “Me neither,” Logan said.

  “Just as well,” Dallas murmured. He looked at Hannah and smiled. She smiled back, and then both their smiles faded. Maria had fallen easily into a trap tailor-made for a woman who had grown up poor but beautiful—and innocent.

  “The thing is,” Hannah said, “I think she might be able to help us figure out where Alicia was—and hopefully still is. She said the two of them and another woman named Alma were kept in a cabin by the water with one old man to take care of them.”

  Jose Rodriguez suddenly materialized in front of them. Yerby appeared a second later, clinging to him.

  “My sister?” he asked. “You know something about Alicia?” he asked.

  Hannah explained again. By the time she finished, Melody had joined them. A moment later Maria Lopez appeared behind her, now clad in a casual white dress and sandals.

  “It’s all up to the power of the mind,” Melody explained briefly.

  Dallas and Logan rose politely, and introductions were made all around.

  Maria joined Jose and Yerby on the sofa, and the others took the various chairs. The sun was streaming in, the water in the pool glistened, and Hannah finally dared to relax, feeling oddly...good.

  She had killed a man. A man she had known for years. And yet she hadn’t known him at all.

  “The man who killed me—the dead man,” Maria said, “he was the one they called Machete, yes?”

  “Yes,” Logan said.

  “There were others like him,” Maria said. “That’s what the men in the van were talking about. There was one called the Bomb in Miami. He died in one of his own explosions.”

  Hannah caught Dallas and Logan looking at each other and read the message they were sharing.

  It was going to take a long time to end the reign of Los Lobos.

  “You knew my sister?” Jose asked.

  Maria smiled. “She is so good. I should have listened to her. I never even said goodbye.”

  She began to sob softly. Yerby laid an arm around her shoulders. “We never know when it’s the last time,” she said softly. “But you’ll see her again one day.”

  Maria smiled and nodded. Along with the dress, she was now wearing a little gold cross. She fingered it with a ghostly movement.

  “We have to find that cabin,” Dallas said. “And it won’t be easy. There are about seventeen hundred islands in the Keys. It could be on any of them.”

  “But we can narrow it down. Maria was found in Marathon,” Logan said. “Gulf side.”

  “I think we need to press Pause on looking for the Wolf,” Dallas said. “If he’s killed first, I’m betting the other two women will be killed,
a clean-up operation.”

  “No!” Jose said. “You can’t let that happen.”

  “We won’t,” Dallas said. “I promise.”

  They retrieved their agency laptops, settled around the kitchen table and got to work, looking at maps, tide charts, weather reports from the past ten days...anything that could help them figure out where Maria’s body had been thrown in the water before it washed up in Marathon.

  At one point Dallas put his computer down and stretched. “We need to know who owns the private islands out that way.”

  “I’ll call HQ and get a few interns busy searching the records,” Logan said.

  Hannah, who’d kept herself busy making coffee and lunch, decided it was time to check on the ghosts, who’d remained in the back room. Melody and Hagen were playing host, she saw. Yerby was still clinging to Jose, and Maria was just sitting quietly, as if drinking it all in.

  Hannah decided to let them be and headed back to the kitchen.

  “There’s something you can help us with,” Dallas told her as she walked back into the room, rising and slipping his arms around her. “Along with everything else, we need word to get out that you’re looking for the treasure of the Santa Elinora here on the property. You need to start digging right away, because even if it does turn out to be in the house—” he held up a hand to silence her when she started to protest “—digging will be obvious to anyone walking by, so the news will spread quickly.”

  “How do I do that?” she asked.

  “I’ll get ahold of Liam,” he said. “He’ll pull strings and get the permits expedited. We’ll have a backhoe out here by tomorrow.”

  She nodded.

  “Logan and I will rent a boat in the morning and head out with the information we have so far and start searching for that cabin,” he told her.

  She nodded again.

  “But this evening...” he began.

  “Yes?”

  “Well, I’d officially like to invite you to dinner. You’re free to say no, but just so there’s no misunderstanding, I’m asking you out. On a date.” He lowered his voice and said in a conspiratorial whisper, “Well, okay, a double date with Kelsey and Logan. But it would be my pleasure to take you out to a restaurant tonight. Anyplace you choose. If, of course, you’d like to go. I’ll tell you my sign and everything.”