The Hauntings Of Sugar Hill: The Complete Series

by M. L. Bullock

  “Madlen?” she said in barely a whisper.

  “No, I’m not Madlen. I’m just borrowing her image. I’m Dolly Jane, Avery’s cousin. I have to get you home, Jessica. Can you sit up?”

  She shook her head and pulled her hand away from me. “No, leave me alone!”

  “I can’t just leave you, Jessica. You belong in our time, not here. This is not your place. You don’t belong here.”

  “How do you know?” Tears were in Jessica’s eyes. Her skin was white and clammy from blood loss; she needed a transfusion to restore her health. I could feel her life fading, the essence of her that made her unique. This brief recovery would not last. She needed good, clean blood. I honestly had no power to heal. It had only been a coincidence that I arrived when she opened her eyes.

  “Go home, Dolly Jane.”

  And then Dominick was back, smiling and kissing her hand. He was in love, and that was a miracle that shouldn’t have happened. Jessica or Ophelia or whoever she was should have died, but by some miracle, she was still alive. If we did not get her to honest-to-goodness twenty-first-century medicine, she would relapse soon, but how would I explain that to Dominick?

  I would never have the chance. The front door opened with a slam that shook the house. I heard a man crying downstairs, crying and swearing and mumbling to himself. My heart pounded in my chest. How was I going to get out of here? Jessica’s eyes were wide with fear, but I could not tell if that fear was for Dominick or for me. She tried to reach out to Dominick, but the joy on his face from his wife’s return had quickly faded. She struggled to sit up as her Dominick leaped to his feet, forgetting all about his wife’s recovery.

  I saw a man bent on revenge.

  The intruder, whom I assumed was Champion from the sound of it, began to shout for the woman whose body I now occupied. “Madlen, you crafty deceiver! Where is my son? I want my boy. Bring me Devon now!”

  “Champion!” Dominick shouted, seeming to forget all about his ailing wife. He grabbed his pistol and ran out the bedroom door and down the steps. Jessica moaned, but not from pain. She was trying to get up and follow Dominick. Would she risk her life for him twice? I raced back to her side. I had to compel her to return with me! I had to!

  “Please, Jessica! I can help you, but you have to try. Please, put your arm around my neck. Quickly!”

  Her sad eyes welled up with tears again. She was whispering, but I could not hear her now. Even the shouting and arguing had faded. I felt strange, as if I’d stepped into a mirror made of water. I was wet, but it didn’t make my skin wet, and then I remembered.

  This must be how it feels when you go back.

  And then I was back. I didn’t know how, but I was back in my own time. I was in the ballroom, covered in sweat and shaking with the chills. I had failed completely. Jessica was still in the past, and Champion was out for blood.

  But Avery was there weeping, and I fell into her arms. The time had changed; I don’t know how I knew that, but I did. The lights were dim, and it was much later in the night. Had Avery been here the whole time?

  “Avery? Aunt Avery?”

  Her eyelids flipped up like the lid on a candy dispenser. Even in the shadowed ballroom, I could see her eyes were swollen from crying. “Dolly Jane? Is it really you?”

  “Yes, it’s really me. God, that was creepy. I feel all sweaty. Like, I need a shower. I saw her! She’s alive, but barely! Jessica is alive!”

  She grabbed my hands and hugged me. I could hear someone coming into the room. “Avery, we have to hurry back. We have to because Jessica isn’t well. Her blood is weak, and she is so sick, so very sick. She needs blood. She knew me, but she didn’t want to come back. I tried. I really tried.”

  It was my turn to cry. I collapsed beside her chair and cried my heart out. My first Dufresne mission and I had failed. What would Summer say about that?

  I am sorry, Jessica.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Mike DeLuca

  There were a few cars in the circular driveway at Sugar Hill. I hoped we weren’t going to be hindered by the presence of Avery’s legal team. From what I heard, she’d married her cousin or distant cousin or however that went, and the guy was a lawyer. I’d met him before. He wasn’t my biggest fan. Reed was his name. Who named their kid Reed? I’d never forget how angry he’d become when the My Haunted Plantation team found dead bodies walled up in the basement of Sugar Hill. As if we’d planned on finding them. Yep, anything for the family name. That poor Jamie guy didn’t stand a chance.

  “Dude, this place. I forgot how it feels.” Becker glanced up at the massive columns that lined the front of the old plantation and pulled his hooded sweatshirt up around his neck. I didn’t recall him being so skittish on our previous visit.

  “Forget feelings. We’re here for Jess. And this time, leave the Dufresne ladies alone, Becker.” It was late in the afternoon, and long shadows pooled across the whitewashed porch. Everything was as it had been. Time appeared to stand still here at historic Sugar Hill. Damned place is cursed, I thought for the tenth time that day. Avery had put me off all day, something about a sick family member, but she finally called me a few minutes ago, and now here we were. I had to wonder what they were hiding. What she was hiding.

  “No worries. Summer made it clear she didn’t want to hear from me again.”

  “Ouch. Well, let’s focus on finding Jess. No way in hell she just vanished. These people know what happened to her.”

  “So, we aren’t here to investigate the paranormal? And I thought this place would be crawling with cops. Where is everyone?”

  “I couldn’t say, but I’m here to find Jessica, same as you. Whatever we have to do to achieve that, we will do it. Stay focused and no bullshit, Becker. This is for real.”

  He didn’t argue with me, and he didn’t pretend to be offended. “Understood.”

  Becker and I climbed out of the van and hurried to the back to retrieve our equipment. I packed the whole kit and caboodle from the ALS device to the laser grid to cameras. This was my personal collection, and it was extensive. If possible, I was going to mount some hidden cameras somewhere in hopes that I could catch Avery and her crazy family talking about Jessica. That was the only way I’d get the truth. Disappeared into thin air? No, dude. I wasn’t buying that.

  “What do we grab first?”

  “Let’s start with some simple stuff, digital recorders, and the infrared cameras. I have a feeling we’ll have to take our time. I don’t think they really want us here. They didn’t the last time, either. Except Avery.”

  And I don’t even trust her much.

  Becker took the camera out of the case. “I guess the hope is that we don’t find anything, right?”

  “Yeah, nothing paranormal, anyway.” I heard the front door of the house open and whispered to Beck, “Keep your eyes open.”

  “Why would they harm Jessica, Mike? She loved these people, and I’m pretty sure they cared about her.”

  “Who knows, Becker, but this is the last place she was seen. How in the hell does someone just vanish into thin air? Keep your eyes peeled.” I closed the van doors, and together we walked up the painted steps. Avery Dufresne was waiting for us. It was a shock to see her in a wheelchair.

  “Hey, guys. Welcome back.”

  Seeing Avery Dufresne, America’s Sweetheart, in person was always a surreal experience. If I didn’t know about all the creepy crawlies that came with the old family name, I would have been impressed. I used to be. My old buddy Reed hovered behind her like a white-collar enforcer. Same white shirt, same playboy looks. Whatever, cousin.

  “Avery, Reed. You guys remember Jeffrey Becker, right?”

  “Of course. Please come inside.”

  I stepped inside the house behind Avery, and Becker was right on my heels. “Thanks for letting us do this. It means a lot to me, to both of us.”

  “Me too,” she said. Reed greeted us politely, and there was another person present, a teenage girl who lo
oked way too much like a grown-up. I sent Becker a warning look, but he wasn’t paying much attention to her or us. He took in the scenery and acted as if someone or something would jump out at him any minute. It wasn’t like him to be spooked by a place. Even up at the John Dees Asylum, he hadn’t flinched. I’d rarely seen him rattled. Even when the bigwigs called him on his bullshit, he hadn’t been rattled. But now? What was up with that?

  I nudged him politely. “Hey,” he said politely, extending his hand to Avery and her husband.

  “Oh, yes, I remember you now,” Avery said pleasantly as she shook it. “You know Reed, and this is my cousin Dolly Jane.”

  “Hi, Dolly Jane. Are you a fan of the show?” I didn’t know why I asked her that, maybe because most kids her age were ghost fanatics. At least the ones I’d met; thousands of them at various cons and other events told me they were.

  “What show?” she asked as she leaned against the doorframe.

  Avery chuckled and said, “Come on, gentlemen. I’ll take you to the ballroom.”

  I followed behind Reed, who pushed Avery’s chair. Dolly Jane didn’t come with us but scampered up the stairs. That’s right, I remembered her. She’d walked with a limp the last time I saw her. Beck bumped into me, his camera on his shoulder.

  “Sorry, I thought…”

  “No filming yet,” I murmured. He dropped the camera but didn’t look any more comfortable than when we came in.

  Avery said, “This is the place, Mike. There’s not much in here right now, but the night of the Starlight Ball, this place was packed. It was a big fundraiser for the foundation. I had every intention of being here, but I broke my leg. Reed and I decided it was best that we stay in Bermuda and not risk traveling so soon after the injury. I regret that now.”

  “Why?” I couldn’t hide the suspicion in my voice. “It’s not like you could have prevented whatever happened.”

  “I think you know why. This house isn’t good for some people. Not sensitive people like Jessica.”

  She didn’t know it, but I had the digital recorder going in my pocket. I decided to push a little more, hopefully without pissing her off to the point that she would make me leave. “Since you know how sensitive she is, I am surprised that you would let her come back to Sugar Hill. I wouldn’t have recommended it if she had asked me.”

  Avery eased closer to me, her chair squeaked as she leaned forward. “Let’s get this straight right now, Mike DeLuca. The last time I talked to Jessica, she wasn’t planning on driving down because filming had run behind. When she arrived, Reed and I were already on a plane for Bermuda.” The room got so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

  “But she wanted to be here. I saw her vanish. I saw it happen. It was like she stepped through a curtain.”

  I didn’t know how to answer that, and I wasn’t comfortable questioning the teenager. Not with the air kind of prickly already. She reminded me of Reed, and like him, she stood with her arms crossed as she watched us. It was Becker who broke the silence. “Is there any footage of her disappearance? Anyone catch it on film?”

  Avery glanced at Reed and he frowned, but she dug in her pocket and pulled out a flash drive and offered it to me. “Funny you should ask. One of Danforth’s grandsons dropped this off this morning, Mike. He says he didn’t even think about reviewing it until yesterday. You should take a look at this before we go any farther. Nobody knows about this video, not even the police.”

  That snapped Becker out of it. “If it is evidence, we should get it to the police.”

  “I agree, but please watch it first. I really must insist.”

  I accepted it without a second thought. “Okay, I’m dying to know what’s on it.”

  “Jessica is on it. If you really want to know what happened, watch it. Reed and I will be in the patio garden if you decide to stay. Just through those doors.” Avery rolled away, and Reed walked beside her. He glanced back at me one last time. Yeah, he didn’t care for me too much. Dolly Jane lagged behind them, but she gave me a sad look before stalking after her cousins.

  The feeling is mutual, buddy.

  Becker muttered, “Being a little hostile, aren’t you, dude? I thought we were trying to play it cool.”

  “I am cool,” I said unconvincingly as I tucked the flash drive in my pocket. The doors closed, and the Dufresne pair disappeared. They were like a weird-ass Barbie and Ken set. And now my goosebumps had goosebumps. I didn’t see where the girl went.

  “What now?” Becker asked as I clicked off the recorder. His eyebrows lifted at seeing it. “Oh, pretty crafty.”

  “Yeah, well, we aren’t getting anywhere with those two. I guess we’ll have to play along, Beck. Let’s go plug this into the laptop. We’ll have to take a bite of the apple, apparently.”

  Five minutes later, we had the drive connected and were scanning the video, waiting to see whatever marvelous discovery these Dufresnes wanted us to see. As I watched the dancers swirling around to the orchestra music, I shook my head. Nobody seemed to mind that two dead women were unearthed in the walls around them not that long ago. Did they think that was a joke? The sheer evil, the cruelty it would take to do such a thing. To hear them screaming and crying, knowing they would die a slow death in the dark. What if Jessica—

  “Hey, stop!” Becker squatted beside the shelf where we’d mounted the laptop. “Go back about ten seconds. Didn’t you see her?”

  I skipped the video back, surprised that I’d missed her the first time. Jessica! She was on the dance floor by herself, and the couples moved around her as if they didn’t see her. Apparently, this video was shot from a nearby table, so she came in and out of view. What was she wearing? I’d never seen her dressed up like that, but it was definitely her. I couldn’t believe it. I almost didn’t recognize her. I slowed the video to half-speed.

  An odd light shone…it was green, but it wasn’t something you would normally see on a dance floor. The source wasn’t the ceiling or the floor, not a fog machine or any weird colored lighting. It kind of grew and expanded right in the center of the screen. Nobody seemed to notice it except Jessica. Her face brightened; she was smiling, I could see that clearly as she approached it. She picked up her pace, and then a couple got in the way. The lady in red was laughing at her partner. And there was Jessica again! Now sprinting and then gone. She dashed toward the light and it vanished, taking her with it.

  “What are we looking at? I have to roll that back,” Becker said as he tapped on the computer screen. We watched the snippet three more times, but it didn’t help. I had no idea how this had been accomplished. The video wasn’t great, just a bit of footage from an Xphone. The camera was decent, but the screen bobbed a little because whoever did the filming couldn’t keep still. Becker tinkered with the software to stabilize the video. It helped some, but it didn’t solve the mystery that unfolded before my eyes.

  Jessica was gone just like Dolly Jane described. There one minute and gone the next. If I were to believe my eyes, to believe this video, I could come to only one conclusion.

  Jessica had purposefully stepped through a portal.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Avery Dufresne

  Reed shifted in his seat, and I realized we weren’t alone. Mike and Becker returned. Both of them had their game faces on, but the younger man was not doing such a great job managing his fear. If they thought that was hard to believe, wait until they heard what Dolly Jane had to say. I had been the one who had wanted Mike to come to Sugar Hill, but he was acting like a jerk, as if I—no, we—had something to do with what happened to Jessica. Nobody spoke at first, but then they both did.

  “And you’re sure that’s legit?” Becker asked as he played with his jacket zipper. “I’ve seen tampered video before.”

  Mike added somewhat diplomatically, “You would not believe the things we have seen. People add special effects to videos all the time. Is there any chance this grandson isn’t on the up and up?” he asked with a touch of suspicion in his gravelly v
oice. Sure. Reed and I did it. All the way from Bermuda. Reed sighed and leaned back in his chair, his arm thrown over the back. My husband was quickly losing patience and was ready for all this back-and-forth to be over. I was too, but sending them home would mean we might not get Jessica back.

  “No chance. It is the real deal. What you see is what happened. And to support that, we know that Jessica told Summer what happened in the garden, that she had already walked through that invisible door before. I guess that means there may be more than one of those portals here at Sugar Hill, but she went looking for this one. On purpose.”

  Mike couldn’t hide his amazement at my conclusion. “Why would Jessica do that?”

  “You saw the look on her face. She was happy about going back. She knew what she was doing, or she believed she did. This is what she wanted. I saw the other video, the one she made in the attic. Jessica fell in love with Dominick Dufresne. She had a connection to him and wanted to be with him. But more than that, she wanted to save him.”

  Mike shook his head in disbelief. I wasn’t getting through to this guy. Not at all. He wasn’t going to accept the truth, no matter how many videos I showed him. Reed was right. Bringing Mike here had been a mistake. My hope vanished like a wisp of smoke on a windy day.

  At least Becker asked a pertinent question. “Save him from what?”

  “Death. Family history tells us that Dominick and his brother Champion fought a duel. Dominick was supposed to come out the loser, but Jessica intervened and changed the outcome. Or that was her plan.”

  “I can’t even wrap my head around that. Talk about the Butterfly Effect. If any of this was true, what could that mean for your family?” I hadn’t really thought about that, but Becker had a point.