His mother started to cry. He wanted to say something like, “It’s okay, Mommy,” but he still couldn’t speak.
“Go ahead and call the police, Lucas Cheever. I haven’t done anything except try to help our son. He’s hearing voices and seeing things. The doctor says he is—”
His father tensed again and pulled Arnold Lee closer to his chest. “Don’t you say another word. There’s nothing wrong with this boy. And if you give him anything else, ever, even a vitamin, I’ll make sure you never see him again. Now, move out of my way. Our son needs to go to the hospital.”
Me? Why am I going to the hospital? Did I break something?
“Are you threatening me, Lucas? Threatening me with that big name of yours? Now you’re a Dufresne, and you think you’re better than me.”
Arnold Lee was outside now. It was cool outside and the stars sparkled above him, but their shine had a strange glow like he was seeing them from underwater. He squinted his eyes again but could not see any better. Not at all.
“You’re not a real Dufresne. You know that, don’t you? Don’t for a minute think you’re better than me, Lucas Cheever. You’re the son of a chauffeur. A broke-down, crazy old man who—”
His father laid him on the back seat and closed the door. His parents were still arguing but only for a few seconds. His father was in the car now, and the vehicle was moving. Or maybe it just felt that way. Arnold Lee really needed to go pee, but he couldn’t tell Daddy because his mouth wouldn’t work. He hoped he didn’t have an accident on himself, like a baby. But if he did, Daddy wouldn’t spank him. He would understand that his body didn’t work. He always understood those kinds of things.
“Hold on, son. I’ve got you. We’re going to get you some help.”
Again he said, “Okay, Daddy,” but no words came out. And then he closed his eyes. He felt sleepy like he did on Christmas Eve when he tried his best to stay up all night to see Santa Claus. It never worked. He always fell asleep. He always failed his mission. Mission Santa Claus. Maybe he should call it Project Santa Claus. He could ask his friend Tori to help him plan it better. Tori was great at planning things, like campaigns for Dungeons and Dragons. He wanted to play Dungeons and Dragons, but he had the worst luck with games. But maybe he would try it again. He liked his neighbor Tori, and he wanted to make her happy. Project Santa Claus, that’s what he would call it. And he would use his Daddy’s trail cam this year. Set that sucker right up in the yard, point it at the chimney. He was bound to snap a pic of Santa.
Why am I thinking about Christmas? It’s not Christmastime. What day is it? Monday? Tuesday?
When Arnold Lee opened his eyes again, he found himself in a bright room. His blanket was soft and folded neatly under his arms. This wasn’t his room. There were no baseball pennants hanging on the walls, no bookshelf full of books and trinkets, and no pictures of his father and grandfather. He loved those pictures. When he wasn’t wearing his grandfather’s hat, Arnold Lee always placed it by his picture. It just felt like it belonged there. Sometimes Arnold Lee imagined Grandpa would pop his head in his room and say, “Hey! Have you seen my hat?”
“Daddy?” he whispered as he blinked his eyes a few times. Yes, his father was here, sleeping in the chair by his bed. Arnold Lee knew he was in a hospital. He had to be. He had a tube in his arm, which felt sore, and a strange machine beeped and blinked beside him. What happened? Were we in a car accident?
“Daddy?” Arnold Lee felt kind of panicked. Was he missing his legs? He snatched the covers back. No, he still had legs and feet, hands and arms. What happened to him? His mouth felt dry, and his throat was raw.
“Arnold Lee…there you are. Thank God! Nurse!” Was Daddy crying? “I’ve been so worried about you.”
“What happened to me? Am I going to die, Dad?”
“No, son. You’re not going to die. Not for a long, long time.” His father took his hand and held it tight. That sure made Arnold Lee feel better. Daddy kissed his cheek and near about smothered Arnold Lee with a strong hug. His father was so happy to see him. “You were sick, but now you’re better. All better.” Man, I must have been really sick, Arnold Lee thought as a nurse ran into the room and left just as quickly.
“Where’s Mom? Did she come too?”
His father hesitated but then answered, “She was here, but she’s gone home now. Reed came to see you too, but right now, it’s just you and me.”
Arnold Lee smiled, even though he felt tired. “You and me, Daddy.”
“Yep. Just you and me.” His father squeezed his hand. “Would you like that, Arnold Lee? Would you like it to be just you and me?”
“What do you mean?” Arnold Lee yawned and tried to think, but he needed a nap.
“I mean, would you…”
Daddy’s words disappeared, and his eyes felt so heavy. So sleepy. He must have slept for a good long time because when he opened his eyes again, it was dark in the room. Daddy wasn’t there now, but he could smell his cologne, and he knew he must have just left. He didn’t feel afraid, but he was hungry, and he had to go pee again.
And then Arnold Lee heard the lady singing as clear as a bell, like she was on a radio nearby. Yes, he knew her voice, but he did not recognize this particular song. He was so happy to hear her. His hearing had been muffled before, like he was under the water.
Oh, every time it rains,
It rains pennies from heaven.
Don’t you know each cloud contains
Pennies from heaven?
Oh, don’t sing about rain, lady. I gotta pee! He decided then and there that he would go to the bathroom. It was just on the other side of the room. He slid out of bed and quickly realized that the tube in his arm was attached to the beeping machine. What was he supposed to do? “Hey! I gotta go to the bathroom,” he shouted, hoping that someone would hear him, but nobody came. If he pulled the tube out it might hurt, but he had to pee really bad. He wanted to cry, he had to go so bad. “Hey! Help me go to the bathroom.” He ripped off the tape as the lady kept singing. Her words were so clear now.
You’ll find your fortune
Fallin’ all over town.
Be sure that your umbrella is upside down.
His legs felt wobbly, and he was embarrassed to notice that he had no pants on. Feeling desperate, he pulled the needle out of his arm and began to cry when he saw the blood. He put his hand on the tiny hole it left behind and walked to the bathroom. He repeated the words to the song as he relieved himself, trying to think about something besides his bloody wound.
Where is Daddy?
Arnold Lee tidied up his arm with some paper towels and wiped his tears away. Surely his father would be back soon. He would never leave Arnold Lee here by himself, not when he had been so sick. The music played on.
Trade them for a package of sunshine and flowers.
If you want the things you love,
You must have showers.
So when you hear it thunder,
Don’t run under a tree.
There’ll be pennies from heaven
For you and me.
“Don’t run under a tree? Got it, lady. I got it,” Arnold Lee repeated as he reached for the door. That was when he heard shuffling in the shower. Like someone was hiding there, someone who didn’t want him to find them.
“Daddy?”
Arnold Lee kept the paper towel pressed to his arm for a few seconds but then tossed it away. With shaking fingers, he reached for the curtain. He didn’t really want to pull it back, but he had to. He had to take a peek. Yes, he could see shoes, small shoes peeking out from under the plastic curtain. Old shoes, though. Not cool tennis shoes, not like his shoes.
“Hello?”
With a sudden rush of adrenaline, Arnold Lee bravely slung the curtain back, but now the shoes were gone. Whoever was there was gone.
But Arnold Lee knew he wasn’t alone.
And the lady was singing up a storm.
Chapter Three
Mike DeLuca
I
shut the back door of the van and waited for Jeffrey Becker to show up. This wasn’t a good time for the kid to be late. We had a six-hour drive ahead of us, and every minute that ticked by made me more aggravated and worried for Jessica. I should have already been in Belle Fontaine. I shouldn’t have taken no for an answer the first time. Why it took Avery so long to agree to allow me in, I had no idea, but that did not sit well with me. And now she wanted to be a part of his investigation. Doing any kind of “investigating” was going to be difficult enough with the cops everywhere. I wasn’t sure how that would pan out.
I knew Avery thought of Jessica “like a little sister,” according to her, but if that was the case, why not let us investigate without her help? Maybe it was the money. I had the distinct impression that money had something to do with it. Some of those old Southern families were really wary of bad press and its effects on their pocketbooks. I didn’t want to believe that about Avery, but then again, you never truly know about people. But to bottom-line it, I wasn’t really mad at Avery, Summer, or any of those money-grubbing Dufresnes.
I was mad at myself.
I had wasted all that time with Megan when Jessica Chesterfield had been the one I really cared about, but Jessica had been too good for me. Too kind, too pure. Way too good for a washed-up ghost hunter. That was what I’d believed, and now she was gone. Well, if Jess and I had gotten together, I wouldn’t have found Tina. Things happen for a reason, I supposed, but I would always care about Jess, and wanted to find her safe and sound.
Becker pulled up in his beater. When was he going to replace that thousand-year-old Honda? He got out with a wave, dragging his ragged duffel bag with him. His usual lopsided grin was absent, but he nodded and mumbled “good morning” at me. Yeah, Jessica’s absence had hit him hard too. The usually energetic, wise-cracking tech assistant appeared to have lost his bravado. I’d heard he’d had a difficult time since his firing from the show, but he deserved that. He’d been caught faking evidence, setting up digital recorders to play spooky sounds and the like. Becker would never officially work in the paranormal field again, but we weren’t working for a network this time. We were headed south for Jessica.
Surely he wouldn’t pull a stunt like that on this investigation. Not when Jessica’s life was at stake. I was so desperate to find her that I’d even invited Megan to join us, but she’d begged off. I was kind of glad.
Becker and I didn’t talk for a few minutes. He stowed his bag in the back of the van, slid into the passenger seat and buckled up. Then he finally asked, “What’s the game plan, Mike? I know you have one.”
I didn’t. Not really, but I wasn’t going to admit defeat before I started. I had to exude confidence. I was the leader of this rescue mission. “She disappeared in the ballroom, so we’ll focus our attention on that area. We’ll do EVPs, set up the laser grid and use the motion detector.”
“So, jack squat.” Okay, I wasn’t fooling him. “We don’t know what the hell we’re doing, Mike. It’s like stabbing at the darkness, at a ghost, no less.” Becker rubbed his eyes, and I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He looked bad. Why hadn’t I noticed it before? Had he been drinking? “This equipment is only going to work if she’s dead. You know that, right?”
“Jessica ain’t dead, and she’s no ghost. Don’t say crap like that.”
“I didn’t say she was a ghost, Mike. I’m sorry, man. I’m just… I can’t believe she’s gone, vanished into thin air, I heard. How could she just disappear like that?” I had no answers for him, and he continued, “Do you think the Dufresnes had something to do with her disappearance? I mean, they are a weird-ass family, Mike. Trust me, I dated one of them. What if Jessica found another skeleton in a wall? Or uncovered some other secret? Maybe they made her disappear.”
I took a deep breath. “I’m going into this with an open mind. I don’t think Avery would let us in the ballroom if she’d done something to Jess. We don’t know anything yet, so let’s just keep our eyes and ears open. Anything is possible.”
I turned onto the interstate as a lump rose in my throat. This couldn’t be the end of Jessica. It couldn’t be. After jockeying for position on the highway, I hit cruise control.
“I have to tell you something. I had a dream about her, Mike.”
“Who?”
“Jessica, of course.” He pulled his hat down over his eyes. “I don’t dream very often. You know me. I like to have a few before I go to sleep. Well, I wasn’t drinking last night. I was too busy getting ready for this because I knew Avery would call, I kind of figured she would, so I got my gear together and recalibrated stuff. In my dream, she had on this big, poofy dress that had, like, gold lace around the bottom. She didn’t look quite the same, but I know it was her. She even said my name. She called me Becks.”
“Tell me more,” I asked as I navigated the traffic. “What else do you remember?”
“Her hair was different, too. You know how she always wears it down? In this dream, it was up, like in a fancy bun twist thingy. I swear, she was talking to me, Mike, but I didn’t understand a word she said except for my name.”
“Well, try harder, Becker!” I clutched the steering wheel tighter as if it would make the ride go faster. “Think!”
He kicked his hat up and leaned forward. “I’ve tried to try to figure it out, believe me, I have. She sounded like she was underwater. It sounded real muffled. You think she could be in the pond?”
“No, they would have found her body in that tiny pond.” I had never been a big believer in dreams, but what else did we have to go on right now? “Did she do anything? Did you notice anything else?”
Becker closed his eyes and said, “She waved at me like she wanted me to follow her. I heard music playing, old-fashioned ballroom music.”
“The ballroom is where she disappeared from,” I reminded him. “Okay, we know we have to investigate that room. If you think of anything else, see anything else, let me know. Let’s do some EVPs before we do anything else.”
“Yeah, okay.” Another few miles passed before he asked, “Is anyone else investigating with us? Are we it? No Megan, I presume.”
“No. Megan couldn’t get away. She has this thing she has to do.” Why was I making excuses for my ex-girlfriend? Honestly, Megan didn’t want to get involved, pure and simple. I tapped my fingers on the wheel, feeling anxious to get this drive behind us. Too bad it was such a long one.
“Sure, she does. Megan always has a thing. Mostly for herself. I’m surprised you guys made it so long. You were never that guy, Mike DeLuca. You were always too good for her, and she knew it. She rode your coattails, just like the rest of us.”
I shook my head as I eased around a slow-moving vehicle. “Yeah, well, Tina and I are very happy together. Megan is ancient history, and I really don’t want to talk about her.”
He pulled his hat back down. “Good, because that woman was a cheater, my friend.”
Clearly, he wanted to tell me something. Something I did not want to hear. “What makes you say that?” I asked suspiciously. And why would you bring this up now?
“Nothing.” He tugged his jacket tighter around himself. “Forget I said anything. You know I’ve got a big mouth. I’m going to take a nap if you don’t mind. I haven’t been sleeping too well.”
“Fine, but I’m going to turn on the radio. I have to have something to occupy my mind and keep me awake. You always were a horrible road trip partner.” I said as I tugged my hat down closer over my eyes. It was unusually hot today. I flipped on the air conditioning and prayed that my van wouldn’t lose a tire.
“Yeah, I’m horrible at a lot of things. I don’t mind the radio, so play it as loud as you want. My apartment is next to a railroad. I’ve learned to sleep through anything…when I can sleep without a drink.” He leaned his seat back, determined to catch forty winks.
I flipped on a random talk radio station and listened to the talking heads hammering out the pros and cons of an issue I cared nothing
about, like always. I hated politics, but at least it would keep me awake. Becker wasn’t the only one not sleeping. It wasn’t like I had dreams or anything, but I did see Jessica every time I closed my eyes.
What if Becker was right? What if the Dufresnes did have something to do with Jessica’s “disappearance?” Nah, I couldn’t give any credence to that idea. If it were true, why would Avery call me? Unless the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing. Maybe another Dufresne got rid of her, like Summer or that old bastard with the big mouth. What was his name? Danny or something. I tried to get into the lively discussion on the radio. Not happening. “Nope. I don’t believe any of you guys,” I muttered as I cut it off.
“What?”
“Sorry. Talking to myself.”
Becker stared at me with one open eye. “Okay. Don’t make it a habit, dude. People might think you’re losing it.”
I decided to turn the radio back on but changed the channel. Maybe some music would soothe my mind? I hated pop music and luckily, I came across a jazz station. Old jazz, too.
“Every time it rains, it rains pennies from heaven,” I sang along to the tune that floated from the speakers. I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, but this song…it just made you want to sing along. When it ended, I wiped the moisture from my eyes. Why this song made me cry, I couldn’t say.
I’m coming, Jess. I’m coming, and I will find you. Don’t be dead. Please, don’t be dead.
Chapter Four
Avery Dufresne
My determination to remain aloof and avoid asking for Reed’s help didn’t last long. I felt sweaty and needed a bath in a major way, and I just couldn’t do it alone. You’ve gotten soft, Avery, I told myself. As soon as you get out of this cast, you’re going to the gym. Right after you shave that leg. Luckily, Reed was gracious, even modestly flirtatious. Nothing says “I love you” like wrapping your sweetheart’s cast in a garbage bag to keep it from getting wet as she soaks in a tub.
The Hauntings Of Sugar Hill: The Complete Series Page 62