Deadly Ties

by Kate Allenton

  DEADLY TIES

  A Cree Blue Psychic Eye Mystery

  Book 4

  Kate Allenton

  Copyright © 2018 Kate Allenton

  All rights reserved.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, character, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or use fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  Published by Coastal Escape Publishing

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  Chapter 1

  I couldn’t muster a single tear. I knew I should. It was only right. The casket being lowered into the ground was sad but not for the man who’d died. The one who’d survived.

  West rubbed his palm against the fabric of my black dress as I fiddled with the heirloom pearls around my neck. My grandmother’s pearls always provided comfort and a sense of strength. Maybe I should have let John Faraday wear them. God knew he needed them more than me.

  “You know he’s going to ask,” West whispered in my ear, and I lifted my gaze to the apparition standing next to Faraday. His brother, Thomas. The con, the killer, the jerk. I didn’t care who’d killed the man for what he’d put his brother through, all those years believing Thomas was dead when, in reality, it had been a farce. I slowly shook my head.

  “I’m not doing it,” I whispered back. “I told him I’d help him find Thomas’s killer, but that was before we knew he’d pulled a scam and the jerk wasn’t even dead.”

  “Shh.” An older woman wearing a black hat and veil turned around. I’m sure, hidden somewhere under the veil, she was giving me an evil glare.

  I shushed her back just for good measure and smacked West in the arm. “There’s no talking at a funeral, West. Jeesh.” I glanced back at the woman. “Sorry, he’s a foreigner. Where they come from, they send their dead out onto a boat and shoot flaming arrows at them.”

  The woman huffed.

  “Be careful. They sacrifice virgins too,” I whispered.

  She turned back around, and I grinned. At least I was entertaining.

  The casket was lowered into the ground. The priest said a final few words. I rested my hand on Faraday’s shoulder, and he patted it with his own.

  I leaned down and kissed his head and whispered in his ear, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “Me too, kiddo. Me too,” he said. His voice, so normally full of fire and conviction, was simply void of emotion. Shock? Maybe. Anger? Probably.

  The priest closed out his words, and Faraday rose from his seat. Without another word, he walked to the waiting limo.

  “Um…” West said and gestured with his thumb. “Is that normal behavior?”

  I shrugged. I didn’t remember much of my father’s funeral, but I did remember Faraday being there for me and even shedding a tear or two. He had them for my father, but none for his brother. “No.” I gave West a sad smile. “Let’s go.”

  I slid into the back of the limo, and West followed. Faraday had loosened his tie and had a decanter in his hand filled with bourbon. He poured himself a drink.

  “That was a nice service,” I said, exchanging a worried look with West.

  “Thomas didn’t deserve it,” Faraday said.

  “Well, at least we agree on that.” I poured both West and I a similar glass of bourbon. “There should be a double indemnity for funerals. If you buried the guy once already, they should give you a buy one, get one discount. When I die, I want you to shoot my ashes out of a cannon. That way everyone gets a piece of me.”

  Faraday’s lip twisted at the corner for a brief second before the smile disappeared. “Thomas was there at the funeral, wasn’t he?”

  That was the hard part about being able to see the dead. Answering the questions when I wasn’t sure what he wanted to hear. “Yes. He’s been around since the police chief showed up to break the news.”

  West took my hand and slid his fingers between mine. He was getting good at figuring out when I needed the extra support. I glanced up at him and smiled. He immediately lifted my hand and pressed a tender kiss on my palm.

  Faraday gave a slow nod. “Whatever my brother tries to tell you, I don’t want to know. I don’t care.”

  “Okay…” Not that I’d planned to pass the messages from the killer to Faraday. Thomas didn’t deserve any satisfaction, no last goodbye. Nothing, as far as I was concerned.

  “I just want to go home.”

  “Are you sure you’re ready to leave? Because we’ll do whatever you need.”

  Faraday met my gaze. His tired eyes told me enough.

  “Home it is,” I said, pouring him another drink.

  ****

  My house was filled with shiny black boots and pressed lines in a sea of polyester blue. Police officers and Faraday’s friends crowded the ballroom. Charlotte had the entire thing set up by the time we’d arrived. A nice spread of finger food was laid out and waiting for the guests to chow down. It was weird but in a good way. These people weren’t here to mourn the man they’d never met. They were here to support the man they genuinely cared about. For once, my little town had shown up when it mattered most.

  “He’s going to be just fine,” the police chief said coming to stand beside me. He was the tallest out of the bunch. Six foot something with a hard, stone-faced stare.

  “I know.” I nodded. “He’s already grieved once. No one should have to do it again.”

  Men in uniform stood together in groups talking and carrying on; some of the other locals did the same. The atmosphere was nothing how I’d pictured a wake to be, nothing like my parents’ and Grammy’s when the tears flowed free and the food went untouched. This was more like a community social gathering with better food.

  The front door opened, and all talking slowly died away. The newcomer knew how to command a room. Cops and bad guys in the same room were unheard of unless silver bracelets adorned someone’s wrists. Standing in my foyer, dressed in a suit that cost more than these guys’ yearly salaries, was the only man who managed to get the whole town talking…about me. The mob boss himself; Mickey Moreno.

  He had balls of steal walking in with only two thugs flanking him. I would have expected more. The men in this room had more firepower than Moreno’s guards. This didn’t bode well, not for anyone, and I refused to let these men ruin my Grammy’s hardwood floors with bloodshed. That was
such a pain to get out.

  West moved by my side, Freddie by Charlotte’s, and Faraday moved to the middle of the room. A testosterone battle of wills was about to commence if I didn’t do something fast.

  “First person who put stains my floor with blood will have to deal with me.” I rested my hands on my hips. No one flinched from my threat.

  There was no love lost between Faraday and Moreno. The two couldn’t have been more different than whistling “Dixie” and punk rock.

  “Your floors are safe.” Moreno winked at me and held up his hands. “I came to give my respects.”

  “You aren’t welcome here,” Faraday growled. The vein throbbing in his forehead looked on the verge of exploding.

  “You deserve answers, and I’m the only one who has them.”

  The police chief stepped forward joining Faraday in the middle of the room. “You want to give a statement, you give it to me downtown.”

  Moreno shook his head and reached inside his jacket. Guns came flying out from everywhere. Cops in uniform had a quick draw, but none were faster than West and Freddie. I was feeling a little left out that I hadn’t thought to come packing heat to a funeral.

  Moreno smiled. “Come on now, being stupid hasn’t kept me alive this long.”

  Moreno lifted one hand in the air and pulled out an envelope from his suit and handed it to Faraday. “I upheld my promise.” Moreno glanced at me and West and then back to me. “Interesting, Cree.” He glanced at Freddie, his old hired mob muscle turned psychic personal combat trainer. The men in my life really needed to start trusting that I could take care of myself.

  “Very interesting,” Moreno said before turning his back on the partygoers and leaving just as quietly as he’d arrived.

  Chapter 2

  Faraday disappeared with the envelope out the back door as the cops all gathered together to discuss the uninvited guest. The town folk had started to disperse. I wasn’t surprised, at least not much. When a known mob boss made an appearance, it tended to put a damper on the fun when people began to question their own safety.

  Well, most everyone. Not me.

  I followed Faraday out the back door to find him leaning against the railing post.

  “Are you going to open it?”

  Faraday shook his head. “Nope.”

  “Aren’t you the least bit curious?”

  “Whatever Moreno and Thomas had in common isn’t something I even care to know.”

  Faraday’s gaze was unfocused and set on the forest behind the house. I hopped up on the railing. “What if it’s important?”

  “I’m tired, Cree.”

  “You want me to kick everyone out? I can. All I have to do is talk about ghosts, and they’ll scurry away like good little mice being chased by a tiger.”

  He met my gaze with a sad half-smile on his lips. “I’m not sleepy tired; I’m getting old. Everyone I’ve ever cared about has died, except you.”

  I swallowed around the lump in my throat. The strong man in my circus wasn’t so strong today.

  “Well, you know, my Grammy had a saying. The older you get, the more experienced and wiser you become.” I smiled. “You don’t look like Buddha yet, although the hair is starting to match. I think you’ve got a lot of living left to do. I think it’s time for a break for all of us. No more cold cases, no more investigations, and maybe a vacation on a beach somewhere.”

  “I think it’s time I move out,” he blurted out, catching me off guard. He was a grown man, but I was getting used to having him around after his house had burned down. He was part of my family.

  “Okay, now I know you’re not thinking clearly. Why would you want to live alone when you have all of us and the Lady Blue?”

  “It’s getting a bit crowded here. You’ve got West and Freddie to look after you. You don’t need an old man like me. I’m not even a cop anymore.”

  It was true. He was at the beginning of his retirement. I couldn’t fault him there. Maybe a nice community for old guys was what he needed, to be around people his own age, but still. “It would break my heart if you were lonely. You don’t have any family besides me. Your friends were all work-related. What would you even do? Sit around in your underwear and socks while watching TV all day? Because, let me tell you, the first time you try to lip sync with sunglasses on, sliding around on the floor in socks, you’re going to break a hip.”

  Or put a dent in the drywall like where the flower painting sat covering evidence of my youthful days.

  He met my gaze. “I’m ready for a change.”

  I slowly nodded as my heart crushed. Change. I could read between the lines. He wasn’t tired of life; he was tired of us. “How about we build you a new house on the property? You’ll be close by and still have your privacy.”

  “I’ve been offered a job working for a retirement community in Florida.” His eyes sparkled a little, even if they didn’t match the permanent scowl on his face.

  “You applied for a job? But you just retired.”

  “My flight leaves tonight.” He kissed my head. “I’m going to miss you, kid.”

  Not as much as I was going to miss him. “Is there anything I can say to make you stay? What if I let you throw parties in your new man cave we build or extend your curfew?”

  “I need this.” He shook his head and handed me the letter that Moreno had given him. “I don’t care about the letter. I don’t care about the past. Thomas has been dead to me for a long time. Read it, don’t read it...” Faraday shrugged. “I’m ready to let him go. Just like I need you to let me go.”

  My heart tightened in my chest as I fought against the tears forming in my eyes. I will not cry like a crazy woman. I will not cry, damn it. I’m going to cry. A single traitorous tear slipped down my cheek. “So this is it?”

  “It’s not goodbye. I’ll still call and check in on you and harass Freddie to keep him from going to the dark side.”

  “You made a funny.” I grinned.

  “You can always come visit.”

  “In Florida?”

  He gave me a sad smile. “In Florida.”

  I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him tight, laying my head on his shoulder. “It won’t be the same around here without you.”

  He hugged me back. A real hug, not one of those fake ones where someone was trying to put a kick-me sticker on my back. He slowly leaned away and cupped my cheeks. “Never change, Cree. Always be you.”

  My Grammy used to say the same thing, and it wasn’t until now that I understood what that meant. Faraday, the man who’d stepped up into the role of father when mine died, was saying he loved me even if he didn’t use those specific words.

  “I love you, too,” I whispered back as he walked away.

  I stayed out on the porch and stared down at the letter in my hands. Did I want to know what it said? Did I even have a right to trespass into whatever was meant between brothers?

  Thomas’s apparition had been standing in the field the entire time, his face filled with anger as he crossed his arms. When Faraday handed me the letter and walked inside, his brother instantly fizzled into a mist. Good riddance.

  I folded the envelope and tucked it into my pocket. Faraday might, one day, want to know what was inside, and I’d keep it safe for him if he ever changed his mind.

  Chapter 3

  “Are you going to get up?” West asked, leaning against the doorframe.

  “No, I don’t think I am,” I answered before plopping the pillow over my face to cover my sadness.

  West walked over to the bed and sat beside me, pulling the pillow from my eyes to see my face. “Faraday isn’t some kid. He’s going to be fine. Just think of all the new friends he’s going to make.”

  I sighed. Was this what my parents felt when I left the roost? “I know, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.” I sighed again, only this time longer to make my point. “You’re right.”

  “Can you repeat that?” West asked with a grin.

&nbs
p; “No.” I stuck out my tongue.

  “Come on, I made a fresh batch of coffee, and I have a surprise that will cheer you up.”

  “A surprise? Did you hire strippers to jump from a cake? Or…I know…” A smile split my lips. “You planned a romantic breakfast, and you’re going to propose…again.”

  “No to the strippers and breakfast isn’t romantic.”

  “Is it skydiving?”

  “No.”

  “Did I win the Publishers Clearinghouse? Is there some man standing on my veranda with one of those big checks?”

  His look turned to bewilderment like he’d never seen the commercials. He probably hadn’t. “No.”

  I sighed. Not even picking at West was any fun today. My internal radar pinged, and I grabbed my phone on the bedside table, sitting up quickly five seconds before it rang. Hoping it was Faraday to tell me he wanted to come home.

  West chuckled. “I forget that you can sense a call.”

  I shrugged and glanced at the caller ID, and my shoulders sagged as I frowned. “It’s the police station.”

  “Well, are you going to answer it?”

  Duh. “Hello.”

  “Ms. Blue.”

  “This must be important to get a personal call from the chief.”

  “Can you come to the station?”

  I met West’s gaze. “Did someone die?”

  “No.”

  “Kidnapped?”

  “No, nothing like that.”

  “It’s a creepy clown, isn’t it?”

  “Uh…no.”

  “Well, are you going to give me a clue?”

  The chief let out a tired sigh. “We have a situation.”

  “Situation?” I frowned. “What is it?”

  “I don’t want to discuss it over the phone. Can you just come down here?”

  “Sure. Twenty minutes okay?”

  “The sooner, the better,” he answered. “Clean up that mess.” His voice was muffled as he yelled. He cleared his throat. “The sooner, the better.”