by Lisa Coots
Once they were gone, Ben cleared his throat. “Um, ok. I'll let you guys talk.”
“We don't need to,” Serena snapped.
“Yes, we do. Where are you going?” Not able to help himself, the words were out like the panic clawing at him.
“That's none of your business. But you should take few days to see about your business.” She gave him a sarcastic smile as she emphasized the last words.
Tightening his jaw, Mason nodded curtly. Not willing to argue again, he bit back his reply. She was his business. Everything about her from the soap she used to her favorite food would be his business.
“If it's alright with you, I need some sleep. I'll leave in the morning.”
“Fine. Sweet dreams.” Serena turned for the hidden doorway to her room. “I've got to pack.”
“I hate it when Mommy and Daddy fight,” Ben said in a small high pitched voice, hugging his laptop to him.
Mason laughed at the expression on Ben's face and he thought he caught a smirk on Serena's before the bookcase door snapped shut.
CHAPTER 14
The house was quiet. A little too quiet for Ben. The only thing worse than the quiet was the bickering. He hadn't been joking. He hated it when they fought. Mason and his family were the closest thing to a family Ben had left. Growing up, his family home had been filled with plenty of arguing and turmoil. Ben had learned to read people because of the constant drama and violence in his own family. Quickly realizing the importance of remaining calm and injecting levity in certain situations, he survived his teenage years unscathed. His family however, had not. Through the years, they had all left one by one, either by choice or death.
Meeting Mason had been a game changer for him. Mason had picked up on his ability and shown him the value of it. Mason, his brothers, and even his parents had accepted him without question. When Mason had brought Serena home, he could see their attraction went beyond the physical. Their team worked well together. Everyone left the technical stuff to him and that made him happy.
He was really happy that he didn't have to roll up all of the equipment. Ben settled in to review the tapes and recordings. His first day had been spent pouring over pictures looking for anomalies. Orbs were common. Several of the pictures of Faith and Jake together contained at least one orb.
Ben was in the process of renaming files when he heard a noise downstairs. He waited a heartbeat, listening and watching. The meters didn't move. He heard definite movement downstairs. Groaning, he went to investigate. Looking down from the landing, he wasn't surprised to see a wide eyed Claire glancing around nervously in the darkened foyer.
“What are you doing here?” His voice echoed off the high ceiling.
“Oh!” Claire jumped guiltily, clamping a hand over her mouth. Her big blue eyes found Ben descending the stairs to her. “Hey, I just came to… Umm… Pay you for the pictures. They came out so good. Is Serena here?”
“No. She had to go out of town and I don't need you to pay me. She did that already.” He motioned her towards the door.
“Oh.” She gulped nervously.
The distinctive clank of metal coming from the direction of the kitchen made Claire jump again.
“Are you kidding?” Ben groaned again making a beeline for the kitchen.
Apron clad and well into the mixing, a guilty Faith rubbed flour from her face.
“Are y'all trying to get me in trouble with Serena?”
“No, I was trying to be quiet. I have pies to make. I couldn't wait anymore.” Noticing Claire behind him, she frowned. “Oh Claire. What are you doing here? Evan's gonna have a fit.”
“I didn't see your car here, Faith.” Claire put her purse on the edge of the counter ignoring both of their questions.
“I parked in the back.”
“Ok.... You bake. I'll stay right here until you're through.” Ben sat at the island eyeing Claire. “You. What are you really doing here?”
“I told you.”
“Claire.” He frowned at her.
“Ok. I thought maybe if I came and talked to Richie, he'd go away.” Her blue eyes held sorrow, but also hope as she pleaded her case.
“Because that worked so well while he was alive.” Faith snorted, turning back to her work.
“It might work, right?” Claire asked Ben, ignoring Faith’s comment.
“I don't know. I just know you guys aren't supposed to be here and if something happens Serena will have my head.”
“Why did you get to stay?” Faith narrowed her eyes at him over the pie pan.
“I have a lot of video and audio to go over. Packing up didn't make any sense. I'd just have to come back and set it all back up. It wasn't practical.”
“Can we at least try it?” Claire smiled at him.
“Try what?”
“Talking to Richie.”
“No, not without Serena and Mason here. One of them should be here.” Regretting his decision to stay, he shook his head firmly.
“Why do you need them?”
“I'm not like them. I can't feel spirits like they do.” Noticing Claire's pout, he added, “I am sensitive to some things, but they're more in tune. And again, Serena will have my head.”
“I still can't believe she never told us.” Claire pouted leaning against the counter. “So what can we do?”
“Plan your wedding.” Splaying his hands out in front of him on the counter, he leaned forward emphasizing each word.
“If we don't get rid of Richie, Evan will never allow the wedding here.” Faith turned to place the empty mixing bowl into the sink.
“Is that a big deal? Maybe you should think about having it somewhere else.” His eyes were on Claire. He never saw the rag coming. It hit him square in the mouth, splattering soapy water across his face and down his shirt. Blinking away the droplets from his eyes, he asked, “What was that for?”
“It is a big deal! It's her wedding and our business. Don't be a jerk!”
“Woah, ok. Let's calm down, Betty Crocker.” Ben put his hands up in surrender.
Claire giggled, breaking the tension. Faith rolled her eyes then smirked at him. “Ok, but you've got to help us. We want to help, too.”
“God, help me.” Seeing the determination on their faces, he knew there was no talking them out of it.
“This is a bad idea,” Ben voiced his concern out loud, but the girls weren't paying attention to him. Faith was busy cleaning up while they waited for the last few minutes on the timer to go by. Keeping an eye out for flying objects, he muttered to himself all of the reasons he should make them leave.
While Faith had worked on the pies, he had gotten Claire's account of what had happened on Halloween night when Richie showed up. Serena hadn't recorded anything about Richie. Obviously wanting them all to forget the horrible ordeal.
Claire had been reluctant to talk about Richie, but with a little prodding she had finally opened up. He needed to know the details if they were actually going to go through with it. The look on Faith's face made it clear to him that Claire hadn't told any of them how bad her relationship with Richie had been. Richie was some piece of work. No wonder Evan didn't want her here.
“This is a bad idea,” he repeated thinking of the temper that apparently ran in their family. Evan would not be throwing dish rags. “Really bad idea.”
Claire jumped when the timer dinged. Faith hurried over to the oven, mitts in hand. Expertly retrieving the pie and placing them on cooling racks, she addressed Ben through the steam. “Look, it's worth a try, right? It can't hurt.”
“I don't know. From what Rena has told me, he thinks she pushed him down the stairs to steal the money.”
“Why her? Why not me?” Claire asked confused.
“It's my understanding that you left the house to draw him outside.”
“Yeah, I did. But she didn't do it. Evan got here and found him.”
“That's what she said, but for some reason he's fixated on her.” Shrugging his shoulders, he was g
lad for the conversation. Maybe he could drag it out to delay their plan.
“So, we should do this now?” A wide eyed Claire dashed his hopes.
“Umm, yeah, if y'all want.” Ben had been watching her. She was nervous and spooked, not a good combination.
“Yes we do, Ben. Let's get to it,” Faith answered firmly pulling the apron over her head.
Sighing he gave in. “Ok, this is how it's going to work.” He held up an EMF meter and handed it to Faith. “You hold this, and watch the numbers.”
“I can do that.”
“What do I do?”
“You will ask questions.”
“Questions?”
“Yes, you need to talk to Richie, but put it in question form so he will answer you. That's the idea anyway. After each question, you need to be silent for a few seconds to give him a chance to answer.”
Claire gulped loudly. “Will I hear him?”
“No, probably not. We won't know if it worked until I run it through a processor. Once we decide the best place to do this, I'll set the video camera up, too.” Giving them both time to change their minds, he waited a few beats. “I'm thinking the staircase.”
Claire gulped again.
“We don't have to do this, Claire.”
“No, I want to,” Claire answered firmly, then bit her lip. “Do I have to go up the stairs?”
“No, it's safer if you just stand on the bottom step.”
“Ok, yeah. That's good.”
“So let's go set it up.” Faith pushed Claire towards the door.
Ben followed them into the foyer wondering how he had gotten himself into this mess. He took his time setting up the video camera on the tripod thinking he'd give them another chance to back out.
“It's also important for everyone to stay calm. If you get really scared or angry,” he gave Faith a sidelong glance before continuing, “they can feed off of those emotions. So stay calm.”
“Ok.” Claire pursed her lips in determination. She stepped on to the step and stood with her back straight.
“This is Ben Peltier, here with Faith...” Sending Faith a questioning look over the camera, he motioned for her to supply her name.
“Faith Williams.”
Ben pointed at Claire.
“Claire Hebert.” Claire's voice broke a little as she squeaked out her name.
“Claire will be asking questions. Claire, whenever you're ready.”
“Oh.” Claire gulped again looking around nervously. “Richie, are you here?”
After a few seconds she gave Ben a questioning look. He nodded for her to continue. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath.
“Richie, it's Claire. We don't have your money. The police took it.”
Ben frowned at her. “Questions, remember?”
“Oh, yeah,” she said softly. “Richie, why are you here?”
Faith pointed to the meter. Ben could tell from the lights something was happening.
“Richie, what do you want?”
After almost a minute, Claire frowned at Ben. “I guess I should have wrote some questions down.”
“Maybe you should ask him what hell feels like,” Faith snorted.
Ben rolled his eyes at Faith over the camera.
Claire took a seat on the bottom step. “I know you came here because of the money, right?”
Biting her lip, she continued. “Did you ever love me?”
Taken back by her question, Ben looked away. The question was a little more personal than he was used to on an investigation.
“Claire,” he whispered.
“I just wondered. I think I know the answer, but I just can't help but think there was some good in there somewhere. Even if just at the beginning.” Sighing, she straightened her shoulders again.
“Richie, do you know I'm getting married? I'm so happy. For once, I'm actually happy and you are not going to ruin this for me. You need to go!”
“Ok, Claire. That's good.” Uncomfortable with the tears in her eyes, he figured it was time to shut it down. “Faith give me the meter. You two should go. I'll pick this up.”
“Oh,” Claire's disappointment was clear. “Do you think we got something?”
“I won't know until I go back over it.” He held his hand out for the meter. Faith frowned but handed it over. “Besides the EMF meter going off, there's no evidence of anything, but...”
A door slammed upstairs.
“Oh, man. Y'all need to go.” Holding out a hand to Claire, he pulled her to her feet. The meter in his other hand started going nuts.
“Faith!” Claire exclaimed, pushing him out of the way. Faith lay crumpled on the floor, exactly how he had found her a few days before in the kitchen.
CHAPTER 15
Not bothering to stop at his apartment, Mason headed straight to the family home. The expansive Spanish Revival estate his grandfather built in the ‘20s boasted of his family’s lineage straight back to one of the original families sent by the king of Spain, himself, to settle the area. His parents’ estate would always be home to him and his brothers. No matter how far they traveled, they knew they had a place here. Mason waited in the great room, he knew his mother would be expecting him.
“Where the hell have you been?” Gabriel, Mason's older brother, was never one to mince words. Entering the great room, he headed for the bar. Taller by a few inches, his brother favored their father with his lanky build, whereas, Mason took after his mother’s side of the family. Even though Gabe was only a few years older, he sported more than a few gray hairs. Mason assumed it had to do with the stress of taking over several of the hotel properties after their father had fallen ill a few years ago. Laurent Del Toro, a classic workaholic, had not only expanded their family’s fortune over the years but also accumulated enough arterial plaque to cause a stroke. At their mother’s urging, he had reluctantly handed over a substantial portion of his responsibilities to his sons.
“Personal business.” From his comfy position on the vintage loveseat, Mason waited for the ribbing to commence.
“Personal?” His scrutinizing gaze often made Mason wonder if Gabe didn't have a touch of intuitiveness also. “You found her then?”
“Yes. We're trying to work things out.” The sly look Gabe gave him made Mason pause. “What?”
“Yet, you are here…,” looking around the room, then behind the bar for emphasis before continuing, “and she's not.”
“Don't be an ass.”
His brother's good hearted chuckle grated on his nerves. Mason knew Gabe didn’t really understand his tie to Serena. None of them did. How could they?
“Well, since you're here, let me run this by you. I'm thinking of setting up an investigation.” Ice clinked in his tumbler as he poured a finger of the amber colored liquid.
“Really?” Taken aback by his brother's announcement, his curiosity was aroused. Gabe, being the skeptic, usually didn't seek out haunted places. “Where?”
“Nearby. I doubt we get anything. Their claims are more for the tourists I imagine.”
“Do you need me then?” His thoughts flew to Serena and Coeur du Bayou. He didn't want anything to get in the way of their reconciliation.
“I would say no, but it would be great having you and Serena there to debunk this for me.”
“Talk about personal.” He considered his brother motives. Judging by his tense shoulders and lined forehead, it was a thorn in his side. “Ah, it is. Rival?”
“They shouldn't have thrown out a challenge if they can't back it up.” Gabe paced in front of the mantel of their parents’ greatroom. This was home base, for all of them.
“Challenge?”
“Yes. Stay the night, you know the drill.”
“Mmmm, yes.” Mason smiled at his brother. An easy challenge for their team. Gabe didn't believe. Mason could sense and Ben wanted proof desperately. They had no problem staying overnight. As tempting as it sounded, he couldn't stay away from Serena for long. He needed to get back t
o her and Coeur du Bayou. The anger in that house chilled him. He opened his mouth to tell Gabe about Serena's house and what he had experienced in such a short time, but stopped.
“What?” Gabe eyed him expectantly.
“Hmm?”
“You were about to say something. It looked important.” Taking a seat in the armchair across from Mason, Gabe gave him his full attention.
“Oh, nothing. Have you told Sebastian yet?”
“When I see him.” Gabe sat back in the arm chair with a sigh. “It won't be until the fall. You know, the Halloween hype.”
“Where is he?” Knowing Sebastian, it was somewhere with lots of pretty women and an overflowing bar.
“Funny, you didn't ask about Ben. I thought you three had run off on some wild getaway.” Frowning, Gabe took a swig of his drink.
Mason laughed at his brother's word choice. “And why would you not be invited?”
“Yeah, right.”
“Seriously, Gabriel. You are quite the level headed businessman, but I bet when you cut loose, it's got to be a spectacle.” Mason thought of the younger version of his brother. There had been a time when he was more wild and carefree.
“Someone has got to keep things going around here.”
“Where's Dad?”
“He should be on a cruise enjoying his twilight years with his beautiful wife.” His mother's voice floated before her into the great room, accompanied by the sound of her heels clicking on the tile floor. Mason stood instantly to greet her. Noemi Del Toro was the embodiment of motherhood. An aura of love and peacefulness radiated around her in golden light. Even though her hair had grayed, it sparkled in the light as she entered through the arched opening. Still a beautiful woman, she moved gracefully but with purpose.
“Mom, I've been waiting for you.”
“I would hope so.” Her knowing green eyes lit on him. “You've found her. Is she here?”
“No, Mom. She didn't come with me. She had business of her own to take care of. I just came back to take care of a few things.”
“I'm glad you found her.” She opened her arms to embrace him. “That other one has been snooping around.”