Christina stared at him like he was loopy. “I meant, I think we’re underground. I think we’re walking down hill and into the earth.”
He placed his hand against the wood, and it was cooler. Then, he leaned against it and took a sniff. “Yep, dirt.”
“So, we’re outside.”
He wasn’t surprised. “There were a lot of underground railroad stops in this state. This may have been a passage, which the slaves on the run used, to access and escape the house.
“Let’s see where it goes,” she said, urging him on. Things like this fascinated her. She loved a mystery. It’s why she chose to work for the FBI. Now, Christina had one with even more intrigue.
It was pretty darn awesome.
They followed the path a little further until it came to a ladder. This time ascending to what looked to be a trap door.
“I’m going first. Who the hell knows what’s up there waiting for us.”
“Okay,” she whispered, watching him carefully. “Please don’t get hurt!”
Kane slowly made his way to the top of the ladder. Once there, he pushed on the trap door. There was some resistance, but it opened slightly, and he knew where they were. Pushing the debris off of it, he was finally able to climb all the way through.
“Come on,” he said, exiting. Dropping to his knees, he reached down to pull her up.
“We’re in the tack shed.”
He looked around. “Yeah, we are.”
“Did you see any other passageways that connected to the one we just used?” she asked.
“No, but I really wasn’t looking.”
Christina knew that they needed to go back and look again. “From the house or back through the hidden trap door?” she asked, glancing up.
“We’ll cover the door back up and walk to the house. I don’t want anyone finding that trap door and sneaking into our room.”
She knew what he meant. “Okay, let’s pretend that your pregnant wife needed a moonlight stroll through the barn.”
Kane laughed. “Still love adventure?” he asked.
“With you? Hell yeah!”
Suddenly, there was a noise.
“Quick, duck,” he said, pulling her back into the same spot that they had used when the housekeeper had left the rose for Jonathan.
Apparently, the tack shed got a lot of action.
“I know that I owe you money,” Leroy White snarled into the phone. “I told you that I’ll take care of it, and I will.”
The man dug around in the cabinet, looking for something.
“Don’t call me again. It’ll be handled!”
With that, he slammed the door and walked away.
They both stood.
“Wow! That was interesting.”
Kane was finally convinced. “This is my new favorite place to hang out. I can make out with my girl and find new things to help the case.”
She began laughing. “Come on. Let’s go see what else we can dig up.”
* * *
Beckett Rand sat at his desk in his office and was ready to drop from exhaustion. He and three deputies were pouring through all the papers and books to find what William Macavoy was researching before he died.
So far…
It was a dead end.
In fact, it was as cold as his corpse.
Soon, he was going to have to call it a night, since exhaustion was winning this one.
“Hey, Sheriff! I think I found something,” Deputy Marston called, pulling out a sheet of paper. On it, were some scribbled words.
Beckett took it and tried to decipher it. “It says, ‘Hesser family tree research’.”
“What do you think that means?” the deputy asked.
He honestly had no idea, but he knew who might. When he got a chance, he was going to sit down and show it to the Littlemoons. They may have a clue. So far, they had given him every lead that he had on this case.
“Where did you find it?” he asked, glancing up.
“It wasn’t in anything. I saw it sticking out of the newspapers.”
Well, at least they knew it was recent.
“Good work, Billy,” he said, tucking the paper into his pocket. “Let’s call it a night. It’s well beyond my bedtime,” he stated.
“You need a girlfriend,” his deputy teased. “Get rid of that dog and find a woman. You’ll be able to stay up past one in the morning.”
He laughed. “My dog is loyal. I’ll keep him.”
“Get back on the horse, Beck,” he replied, walking out the door. “It’s time.”
Yeah, that wasn’t ever going to happen. It was better to be safe then have your heart handed to you again and again.
He and women just didn't mix.
* * *
Julian didn't like this at all.
No, that wasn’t strong enough emotion. He hated it.
Dragging his wife into dangerous situations just seemed like a really bad idea. Unlike himself, she was vibrating with excitement. His soldier girl liked walking headfirst into a mess, while he didn't.
“Try not to look so excited. You’ll freak the spiders and ghosts out,” he muttered.
Tori loved watching her husband all riled up. What he wanted to do was order her back to the room, but he was smart enough to not even go there.
Instead, he was simply trying to remain calm in the situation.
“They should be freaked out. I don’t believe in ghosts and spiders are small enough to crush.” That wasn’t entirely true. Tori was a little worried, just not about the bugs. Since coming there, she had realized a few things.
The living didn't understand everything, and there may be such a thing as disturbed spirits. Hesser House seemed to have one who appeared to be trying to tell her something.
When Julian popped open the little door, he planned on climbing in first.
“I’ll go, Jules,” she offered. “We’re both about the same size, but I’m a little bit less bulky. Besides, if I get stuck, you’re stronger and can pull me out.”
He knew it was true, but he still didn't like it. Begrudgingly, he handed her the flashlight. “Okay, but be careful. We don’t know what’s in there or where this leads.”
Tori gave him a kiss before heading into the unknown. At first, it was a very tight fit. She wiggled through, and then the space opened up around her. With the light, she scanned the crawlspace for anything that might be dangerous.
It was pretty tame, except it appeared to come to an end and drop off.
“Come on in, Jules,” she whispered. They were in the walls now, and needed to keep it down. Who knew if it would echo and give their location away?
He didn't waste any time. Backing his body in, so he could close the door behind them, he blindly navigated toward his wife. When her hand went to his ankle, he knew that he was close. She was right. This was a tight squeeze for him because of his shoulder width. Kane never would have been able to get through there.
The good news was that eliminated anyone there who was similar to Kane’s bulk from sneaking up on him. The bad news was all the other guests were relatively close to Julian and Tori’s size.
Damn it!
Once through, he took the flashlight from her. It was open enough that he could go first. Pulling some cobwebs from her hair, he was grateful she was safe.
“It looks like we have to climb down,” stated Tori. “I’m going first.”
“Like hell you are,” he replied.
“Jules, I weigh less. We don’t know if that ladder will support your weight. If you go crashing to the ground, people will hear it.”
Hell!
He hated this.
With a sigh, he focused the beam of the light on each rung. “Be careful!” he hissed.
Tori wasn’t a stranger to dangerous situations. Being in the Army, there were many tiny places which she had to check for insurgents. This was really nothing, but seeing how stirred up he was, she opted to keep her mouth shut.
Dropping down, she
caught the flashlight and motioned for him to follow. Julian noticed that Tori was in the zone, and that worried him a little. When her hand absently went to where her dog tags would have once sat, he knew what was coming. It was like a slight tell that always happened right before Tori suffered a blackout.
In the back of his mind, that, and the look on her face, added to the panic brewing in his gut. When he finally reached her, he touched her cheek.
“Are you going to be okay?”
It took her a second to register what he was really asking. Gone were the worries over the spook and spiders, and here were the fears of old ghosts fighting to the surface.
“Just let me hold your hand, so you can be my anchor, Jules,” she whispered, offering herself a way to stay in the here and now, and a way for him not to worry.
There was relief.
Grasping her hand tightly, they began walking through the passageway. They had to move sideways in order to give themselves enough room to fit. There was more space, but you couldn’t race through here.
Julian was about to walk past a board, and Tori stopped him. Something caught her eye. “Wait!” she hissed.
He froze, thinking it was some sort of booby-trap that was about to get sprung.
“What?”
Tori moved his hand, directing it toward what she caught in her peripheral.
It took Julian a second, but he saw it. There, sticking out of the wall, was a rusty nail. On it was a little scrap of blue material.
“Someone walked through here and ripped their shirt,” she said, pulling her sleeve down over her fingers before pulling the piece of material free.
“It had to be recent. It’s the only thing in here, besides us, that doesn’t have cobwebs on it,” Julian stated.
Tori agreed. Carefully, she tucked it into her back pocket until later. When they got back to the room, she would need to utilize Christina’s bag of tricks from her purse. If they could find the person who the material belonged to, they were set.
Julian waited until she was ready, and they continued on. After moving a little further, they came to yet another ladder. By his calculations, it would lead them to the main floor. Right now, they were somewhere near their sleeping quarters.
Tori squeezed past Julian, stopping to gently kiss him. Since they were squished together, she might as well share a little lip action with her husband. Tucking a piece of his hair behind his ear, she grinned in the darkness. “Fancy meeting you here, handsome.”
Julian patted her on the ass. “Behave. I don’t want to get stuck in here in this position. If someone was to find our corpses, they’d automatically think the worst.”
Tori snickered. “At least we would go happy and in each other’s arms,” she reassured, fighting to move past him. This was one hell of a tight spot to fit through.
Once around his body, she again traversed the next ladder. When he followed suit, stepping down on one of the more questionable rungs, it snapped.
Tori gasped as he just barely caught himself. “Are you okay?” she hissed.
“Please tell me that didn't sound as loud as I think it did,” he replied, getting back on stable ground.
Tori reassured him, “It was no worse than the pounding of my heart.”
He dropped a kiss to the tip of her nose. “Good to know.”
She pointed the flashlight beam down the corridor.
“Where the hell does this lead?” Julian asked, as they began making their way through the winding passageway. It almost felt like they were moving in a big circle.
Finally, up ahead, they came to a wall. Only, this one had a release latch. It appeared that they were at their final destination. Being in the walls was incredibly disorienting.
Both Julian and Tori could hear the talking from the other side. At first, they tried to listen to the conversation that was occurring, but when Tori found the peepholes, he nodded and shut off the flashlight. For now, they were going to be the ones who would do the spying.
Carefully, she slid the little latch, and they were able to peer out into the room. They placed their heads ear to ear, and each took a hole to observe the goings-on’s.
It was the lounge.
And there was the séance.
Placing his lips beside her ear, Julian whispered. “Is it just me, or does this seem off?”
Tori nodded. As she spied on the group, she was able to pick up one thing that stood out. Beverly Curry had done this before. This wasn’t some amateur séance like at some girly slumber party.
The woman was wearing a robe, and there were candles all around a Ouija board. She was going all out to call for the spirit who lived in Hesser House.
“She’s nuts,” Julian whispered.
Tori was going to reply when the woman started.
“Everyone get ready. Place your hands on the triangle. We’re here tonight to figure out what happened to the woman who was murdered here.”
Candy giggled and was shushed by her husband.
“Oh spirit, can you hear us? If you can, I need you to knock two times.”
Julian couldn’t help himself. He stomped his foot. It was damn hard not to break into laughter at their excited whispers. When he noticed Tori wasn’t even entertained, he focused on her. Generally, she found things like that funny.
“Tori?” he whispered, but she didn't reply.
“We know that you’re here, spirit. We heard you. Thank you for coming to be with us. Were you murdered, spirit?” she asked, staring down at the Ouija board. When the piece began moving, everyone gasped.
Julian touched Tori’s cheek. It was ice cold. “Honey, are you okay?” he whispered again.
When she didn't reply, his heart began pounding. Suddenly, there was a faint sound of music. Only, it wasn’t coming from the room where the nutjobs were trying to summon Bethany Duvaul, it was coming from around them.
“Oh, spirit, you were murdered!” declared Bev. “Who are you, and who stole you from this world way too early?”
The trivet began moving again.
Candy began reading the letters out loud. “B”
The tile paused.
“E,” she stated.
Everyone was enthralled.
“T.H.A.N.Y.”
Beverly Curry continued on, “Who took your life, Bethany?” she asked, once more.
At first the tile didn't move. It was as if the spirit was thinking. Then, once more it began sliding across the letters, but this time not with slow movement.
This time, it was angry.
It was bitter.
“J.E.A.L.O.U.S.Y.”
“You were killed by jealousy?” asked Bev.
Julian could feel the cold breeze across his flesh, and he knew it was way off. It was the same creepy feeling he got the night his wife had climbed all over him and scared the hell out of them both. “Tori, come on, honey.”
Still, she didn't move.
“Tell us how to free you,” stated Beverly. “How do we give you peace?”
Again the triangle began moving.
“F.I.N.D.M.E.”
Everyone began talking excitedly. Then, suddenly, the lid of the piano fell from its brace, slamming shut. Everyone jumped.
Julian nearly had a heart attack at the sound, but what scared him even more was that Tori didn't move. In fact, she didn't flinch or react.
Okay, this was it. He was getting his wife the hell away from that séance. Something wasn’t right.
No, something was definitely wrong.
When the strands of red hair began blowing in the cramped quarters, Julian knew he needed to get Tori’s attention, and fast. He slid the peephole closed and turned his wife.
“You can’t keep her, Bethany,” he whispered, pulling her into his arms. When she still didn't react, Julian only had one thing left in his arsenal. If Tori didn't hear him, maybe she could find her way back if she felt him.
Bringing his lips to hers, he fought a hard battle against something that he wasn’t s
ure existed. For his wife, he would go to war against any unseen force.
Burying his hand in her hair to brace her mouth to his, Julian began kissing her as if it was all that could save her. He only prayed that it would be Tori who would respond, and not the ghost of Bethany past.
Driving the kiss, he held her pressed to his frame, his heart pounding in his ears while hers was incredibly slow. As his fingertips rested over her pulse, he could feel the calm rhythm. Before long, it jumped right before Tori began kissing him back.
It was as if a switch was flipped.
Her hands went to his shoulders, and she returned the lip lock. Giving it a few minutes, he slowly pulled away, only to have her bury her face in his neck.
“Jules,” she whispered, shaking in his arms.
“We’re getting the hell out of here,” he said, moving them back down the corridor. When he released her, they were able to move quickly toward the ladder. Pushing her toward it, he didn't want to risk leaving her behind him.
Even though she was acting normal, he was still scared shitless. “I have you, honey. I won’t let anything hurt you,” he promised, knowing that he had no freaking clue what was going on in Hesser House.
That meant he couldn’t protect her.
One more ladder and they were upstairs. When they got there, he was going to have Kane and Christina meet him. They needed to have a talk.
That and he wanted people around Tori in case something happened.
Once back in the attic, he pushed her though the opening, wanting her as far from the passage as possible. In fact, he was just about ready to call Justin to come get her and take her back home. He was generally okay with the creepy, after all, he went to visit his father’s grave and swore he felt him there. But this, this was terrifying to him.
He didn't like anything in his wife’s body but him. There wasn’t room for another woman.
Closing the little cubby door, Julian slid the chest back into place and sent Kane a quick text to meet them in their room. Taking Tori’s hand, he pulled her down the stairs almost at a jog. All he wanted was to make sure she was safe.
Tori clutched his hand in hers like it was a lifeline. She had no intention of letting go.
Lost & Broken (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 2) Page 28