Miss Ady sniffed. “Rebecca heard about it at work, and she told me. The cops asked them to be on the lookout for a Jane Doe that might be your friend.”
Cold chills ran through Kendall’s veins, but she already knew the truth. Whether they found her or not, Sheila was dead.
She knew because she had been walking in her friend’s footsteps in a dream.
“Amelia came to me again, last night,” Miss Ady said gravely.
“Oh?”
“She said she’s very worried about you.”
“Please, if you’re ever able to answer her, tell her that I’m fine.”
“Pull out a card,” Miss Ady said, indicating the tarot deck on the table.
“What?” Kendall asked her.
“Shuffle your cards. Pull one out.”
“Oh, Miss Ady, that’s just silly.”
“Please. Humor an old lady.”
Kendall sighed. She didn’t want to do it, but she didn’t see any way out of it. She shuffled the cards, then shuffled them again. And then again. Finally she knew she couldn’t procrastinate anymore and she pulled out a card.
Death. But at least it wasn’t laughing. It was just there.
“It just means a new beginning, Miss Ady,” she said, though she wasn’t sure who she was really trying to reassure.
“And if we’re believers in a higher spirit, isn’t that what death is?” Ady asked her.
Kendall forced herself to smile. “Maybe it just means I’ve closed the door on being such a loner, and now I’m going to continue on a new path with Aidan Flynn. Maybe Amelia left me something far better than a plantation, maybe she knew somehow that Aidan and I would hit it off.”
She had expected Miss Ady to smile, but the older woman didn’t, only continued to study Kendall with grave eyes.
“Don’t you go anywhere alone, you hear me? And don’t you go off in the dark, neither. You make sure you stay around that Flynn boy of yours all the time, you understand?”
“Okay, Miss Ady, I will,” Kendall promised her.
Aidan’s first stop was the police department.
Hal was in and saw him right away.
“Did you ever get anything more on the break-in at the morgue?” Aidan asked.
“Yeah, we got a delivery man. He left a box of chemicals.”
“That’s it?”
“And we got a shadow. I can show it to you, if you like.”
“There’s a movie I’d love to see,” Aidan told him.
Hal made a call, and they walked down to the computer lab, where the tech played the security tape, which he’d refined as much as was technically possible. Just as Hal had said, they saw a delivery man at the back. He rang the bell, and then, when no one answered, looked around, set down the box, hunched his shoulders and hurried back to his vehicle.
The tech fast-forwarded through what seemed like hours of nothing. Then, as Hal had said, they saw a shadow walking up to the back door. It was human, but there was no way to tell if it was a man or a woman. The face was completely obscured, and the person seemed to be wearing a hooded black cloak.
“As you can see, it looks as if the grim reaper paid a visit to the morgue,” Hal said dryly.
Aidan thanked him for showing him the tape, then asked if there was anything new on Sheila Anderson.
“She never got on her plane,” he told Aidan. “We’re running a trace on her cards, but I’m not counting on anything to turn up. Meanwhile, we’ve got crews going over her car, her house, her yard. All we have so far is that the electric cable was cut by a sharp instrument. Oh, and Jonas was in here this morning. He delivered the girl’s wallet. Told me they’d been having an affair, and that she’d left it in his car.”
“And what’s your gut feeling about that?”
“My feeling? Well, you’re friends with the guy, so I’ll be polite. I think he’s a cocky SOB with a wife who’s sweet as molasses, and he’s been a real jackass, playing around on her. But do I think he’s a murderer? That he did the girl in? No.”
“Thanks,” Aidan told him. “If I hear anything, I’ll get with you. So you got nothing off the car?”
“Can’t say nothing. She was driving on some rough terrain, not her usual ride into work and back. But I can’t say exactly what it means. We’ve got gravel roads over half the state.”
“Thanks,” Aidan said again.
He knew one place where they had a gravel road. The driveway to his house.
After saying goodbye to Hal, Aidan planned to drive straight out to the plantation, but a call from Matty as he was walking out to his car detoured him.
He agreed to meet her at a café right across from the station, since they were both already in the area. When she saw him, she walked up to him and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. There were tears in her eyes.
“Thank you, Aidan.”
Oh, God, had she taken his time just to say thanks? Not that he didn’t appreciate her feeling that she wanted to say something, but a few simple words on the phone would have done just as well. Still, what was she thanking him for? He’d proven that her husband was a cheat.
“Matty. You’re welcome. But…”
She sat. “Oh, I know he’s been a bastard. But, Aidan, last night, he asked me for help. He cried, Aidan. I’ve never seen him do that. He said he was sorry he’d gotten messed up with that girl, and that he knows he acts like a fool sometimes. But he said he was scared. Like the years were passing. And he hasn’t always gotten the promotions he wanted, and he just needed to know that someone else found him exciting. I guess that’s why most guys cheat, huh? I told him I wished he had just squandered our savings on a Porsche. But he’s scared now, really scared. He says that the girl he was seeing is missing, and that he had been out to her place. He swore to me that he’d never hurt anyone, and I believe him, Aidan. He may be in trouble, but he needs me now, and I’m going to stand by him.”
“Good for you, Matty,” Aidan said, then couldn’t help himself and glanced at his watch.
“I know you’re busy, Aidan, you don’t have to stay. I just wanted to ask you a favor.”
“What?”
“I need you to be his friend, too, Aidan. He thinks the world of you, always has, you know. He looks up to you. You—you just quit the Bureau. You walked away and made a success of your life. You never cared what anyone thought of you, just went out and did what you felt like doing.”
“Matty, I lost my wife. I had to change my life.”
She waved a manicured hand in the air. “I understand. Still, it would mean a lot if…”
“I’ll be his friend, Matty,” Aidan promised. As long as he doesn’t turn out to be a psychotic killer, he added silently. After all, who made a better criminal than a cop, someone who knew how to avoid leaving evidence behind?
They said goodbye after that, and he drove out to the plantation. He could hear the workmen banging away, and he waved to the contractor when he saw the man standing on the porch, talking to a painter.
He didn’t stop, though, but headed straight out to the graveyard.
He sat on the grave of Henry LeBlanc and studied the whole place. He could still see the mounds where he had recovered the old graves.
A cemetery. Where better to hide a body?
Would his brothers think he was crazy if he wanted to dig up the entire graveyard?
The cost might be astronomical. Could he even do it without a court order?
And what if he found nothing?
A weeping cherub nearby gave him no answer.
He stood and walked over to the family vault, pushed open the iron door and went in.
The cross on the small altar at the far end was catching the sun’s falling rays and reflecting them into the vault like prisms of gentle pastel color. The place felt peaceful. He ran his hands over the two marble tombs in the center. They were completely sealed.
He checked the seals on the tombs that lined the walls.
Nothing appeared to be cr
acked or open in any way.
Once again feeling that he was missing something, he left the family mausoleum and headed back toward the house.
As he walked, he looked up, and there, on the balcony, was a woman. A woman in a white gown billowing in the breeze, the same breeze that played with her deep red hair. She was pointing, and she seemed to be weeping with infinite sadness, just like the marble cherub in the graveyard.
He turned in the direction she was pointing, back to the graveyard, yet nothing had changed.
He looked back toward the balcony, but the woman was gone.
“If a man is going to see ghosts,” he said aloud, “then hell, they at least ought to stick around.”
What the hell? He walked back to the cemetery and stopped at the tomb that bore the name Fiona MacFarlane.
He ran his hands over every possible crack in the tomb, but the only damage he could find had been done by time, not man.
Swearing again, he started back for the house. He pulled out his phone and was about to call Kendall when he heard footsteps coming up behind him and spun around.
Jimmy Wilson was walking toward him along the trail to the slave quarters. He saw Aidan and waved, a huge grin on his face.
“Mr. Flynn, thank you. The electricity works great. And those fellows, they fixed me up with running water, too. I swear, Mr. Flynn, I’ll get you paid back.”
“Don’t you worry about it, Jimmy. Hey, aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
Jimmy shook his head. “Night off,” he said. “I thought I’d stack some of them lumber scraps them fellows left lying around. Thought that would be helpful.”
“Thanks, Jimmy. Hey, listen for cars coming up the drive, will you?”
“Yes, sir, I sure will. And you need to think of more work for me to do, Mr. Flynn.”
“I will, Jimmy.”
“Your brother says I can help you fix her up for the party.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Aidan said, then waved and kept going toward the house. Just then his cell rang.
“Flynn,” he responded automatically.
“You know, you really have to start saying which Flynn,” Kendall teased.
“I’m on my way in to get you.”
“It’s all right. I packed up some things that will be great for the benefit and I’m bringing them out,” she told him. “And I thought we’d cook there, if that’s okay.”
She sounded good, he thought. Strong.
“Can’t wait,” he said. “See you soon.”
“You bet.”
A little while later, Aidan was inventorying the refrigerator when his cell rang again.
“Flynn.”
“Aidan?”
“Yes?”
“It’s Robert. Robert Birch. At Quantico.”
“Robert! Hey.”
“So things are wild down there, huh?”
“I don’t know about wild, but we do have a serial killer on our hands.” He filled Robert in on some of what had happened.
“Odd, huh?” Robert said.
“What’s that?”
“Two thighbones—two dead women—and they appear on the same day. Almost as if someone wanted you in on it, huh?”
“Don’t put too much stock in that, since it looks like the bones are gone.”
“That’s odd, too, don’t you think? Who breaks into a morgue?” Robert asked him.
“At least the police are finally paying attention,” Aidan told him. “So, did you get my package? I don’t suppose you have anything for me?”
“I do.”
“You’re kidding. Hell, I thought I’d have to wait.”
“I’m not kidding. You asked, I served. The boss still mourns the fact that you left the Bureau. He told me to give you priority.”
“So what did you get?”
“I wasn’t able to get anything viable from the dress, but I got DNA off the brush, and I was able to do something with your blood.”
“And?”
“Not the same person. In fact, not a person at all.”
“What is it, then?”
“Blood from a rodent. A rat, to be precise.”
20
Arat? He had discovered rat blood?
“If you find me anything else, I’ll be happy to get right on it,” Robert offered.
“Thanks.” Aidan couldn’t help being disappointed, though he was glad that he’d held back the brush he had discovered in Jenny Trent’s backpack until he was able to send it up to Quantico. At least it hadn’t been at the morgue, waiting to be stolen.
He heard a car in the driveway—Kendall—and, the phone still held to his ear, walked out to the porch and waved to her. She gestured, and he saw that she had a number of large boxes in the car.
“Robert, thanks, and just so you know, you may be hearing from me, because I’m not turning over anything to the locals anymore.”
“No?”
“Just to be on the safe side,” Aidan said. “Thanks, I’ll talk to you soon.”
He hung up and headed out to the car.
“I packed up some of my favorite pieces,” she said, after giving him a quick hug. “I want them here for the benefit.”
“Great. Can’t wait to see what you’ve brought.”
As he stood there with her, Jimmy came around the side of the house. “Sorry,” he said to Aidan. “You said to listen for cars. I was just doing that.”
“Thanks, Jimmy.”
“Evening, miss,” he said to Kendall. He looked back at Aidan hesitantly. “Want some help with the boxes? I’m stronger than I look.”
“Be my guest,” Kendall said.
“Where do you want them?” Jimmy asked.
“Let’s take them back to the kitchen,” Kendall said, then glanced from Aidan to Jimmy. “We’re going to cook some dinner. Would you like to join us?”
“Oh, I don’t want to intrude, miss.”
“You won’t be intruding. I’m asking you.”
Jimmy looked at Aidan for approval, and smiled broadly when Aidan nodded.
As they started carrying things—including several bags of groceries—into the house, Aidan thought that, even though Kendall was acting as if she were all right, he didn’t think she was. They hadn’t found the body, but she was sure one of her friends had been killed, and that wasn’t the kind of thing you got over in a night.
As Jimmy and Aidan kept bringing in boxes, Kendall started dinner, something she called quickie jambalaya.
At one point Aidan paused by the stove, worried. “You left the shop and went to the grocery store alone? Was that wise?”
She shook her head. “Actually, there’s a grocery store right down the street from the shop, and I didn’t go alone. Mason and Vinnie were with me. I promise you, I’m not taking any chances.”
Once the rest of the groceries were brought in, she started making a salad, and let Jimmy and Aidan open the boxes and check out the decorations.
The skinny ex-con was like a little kid. He pulled out the dancing skeletons, screeching black cats and singing skulls with great delight.
“Very interesting. Maybe we should just keep them up all year,” Aidan said.
When dinner was ready, Kendall served it at the kitchen table. Afterwards, Jimmy insisted on helping her with the dishes, and then, just as firmly, told them that he was going back to his little outbuilding. “I want to get in before the ghosts come out,” he said.
Aidan wondered how Kendall would react to that. She just smiled. “Jimmy, if we’ve got ghosts, they’re good ghosts.”
“If you say so, Miss Montgomery.” He shook his head. “You two stay safe in here, too. Just keep everything closed up and pretend like there’s nothing going on, and you’ll be okay.”
Aidan didn’t argue with Jimmy; in fact, he locked the back door as soon as the other man had gone. When he got back to the kitchen, Kendall was wiping down the counter. He went over and swept her into his arms.
She looked up at him. “It’s re
ally nice, what you’re doing for Jimmy.”
He shrugged. “It’s a big place, and he’s not doing anyone any harm.”
“Well, I still think it’s really nice. Ready to head upstairs?”
He had thought that she was still fragile and was prepared to treat her that way. When they got into bed, she turned to him. He thought she wanted to be held, but she wanted more. She was aggressive; she was passionate. He matched her urgency with his own, and wondered if they weren’t both as fevered as they were because the act of intimacy between a man and a woman was such a strong assertion of life. They clung to each other, drowsed, made love again.
And slept at last.
Kendall was dreaming, and once again she knew it.
But this time she entered into the dream with determination. She intended to see this through.
At first all she saw was the mist. Then she heard shouting, and as the mist began to dissipate, she saw fields that were torn and trampled, and soldiers everywhere. Horses screamed as they died in the pursuit of war, just like their masters. One man kept reappearing, a rider who looked so much like Aidan and yet was clearly someone else, someone she had never met.
She saw the house.
Saw the woman.
And she saw the man who did not deserve to wear the uniform of any army. The man who used his uniform as a free pass to play out his fantasies of sickness and cruelty.
“If you touch me, they’ll all know,” the woman warned him. “Your friend…will see, and he’ll tell.”
The man laughed. “When I attack you, my friend will join in,” he promised. His eyes narrowed. “When I kill you,” he said softly, “he’ll just walk away.”
In her dream, Kendall felt Fiona’s terrible fear for the baby, the son who was her life.
And then she ran, knowing he would follow.
The dream shifted, as if it were a movie, and Kendall saw Sloan Flynn.
She saw him riding toward the house, then walking through the mist to the front steps, where he stood, smiling, his arms open in welcome.
Then the woman was there, in a gorgeous white gown with tiny roses on it. She ran to him and was enveloped in his arms. A second man appeared, his uniform the deep blue of the Union army. Brendan Flynn. He walked over to the couple and was welcomed into the circle of their embrace.
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