Fire on the Ramparts (Sugar Hill Book 2)

by M. L. Bullock

  “Please call me Avery.”

  With a nod she added, “Avery.” She opened the back of the van, and I was shocked to see the incredible electronic setup inside. There were at least a dozen cameras, a computer that showed different readings, and shelves full of ominous-looking electronics. Somewhere in the background classic rock was playing.

  “Here it is.” She picked up a clipboard and handed it to me. I was careful to avoid touching her hands again. Everyone deserved their privacy, especially in their own head. Those were her private thoughts; I didn’t want to intrude.

  “Here’s our hot sheet. It’s kind of like an agenda we use on our investigations. We have two interviews scheduled, one with Robin Myron and another with Summer Dufresne. And that’s it. You aren’t on here at all. See? Your attorney, Reed, was very specific about that. We weren’t to disturb you at all.”

  I didn’t correct her—I knew what a hot sheet was, for Pete’s sake. I scanned over it and flipped to the next page. This was a map of the house. “And the map? These are places you intend to investigate?”

  She took it from me and tapped on the map. “Yes, we are going to check out the basement; Summer reports bad smells, whispers and strange feelings down there. We’re also going up on the second floor to the Angel Gallery, and we’ll be checking out the Mirror Room.”

  Merely hearing her mention the Mirror Room made my spine tingle. I didn’t like that room at all, even though family history suggested it was one of Chase’s favorite rooms. But then again, I knew Chase was not always a nice man.

  “Well, good luck to you. I’m going to Thorn Hill. I’ll be out of your way for the next what? Few days? How does that work for you?”

  “That’s more than long enough. We’ll collect our data and then head to Thorn Hill for another two days. Then we head back home to examine it all. We’ll have our report ready in a few weeks, but since Miss Anne is…no longer with us, maybe you would be willing to review our report? That was the one condition; she wanted to see the finished product before we aired it.”

  “Sure, Summer or I will review it. And when does the episode air?”

  “Hmm…not sure about that. Maybe never. If we explore a house and it turns out to be a dud, then it never makes it to air. But…”

  “But what?” I said as I hopped out of the van and waited for her to jump down.

  “Well, I don’t think that will be the case here. I can feel movement. You must have sensed their presence too. Have you seen anything here, Avery?”

  “Why would you ask me that?”

  “Just an intuition.”

  “Nice try, Jessica, but I don’t have anything to share. Y’all be careful and stay out of my room, please. You are welcome to use any of the other rooms. Most are quite comfortable.” With that I left her gawking after me on the porch. I guess she figured I would change my mind if she showed me her cards first, but there was too much to lose now. I wouldn’t leave anything to chance if I didn’t have to. She seemed like a nice person, but I had to stand firm.

  So I’ll be at Thorn Hill for a few days. I’d better go pack. At least I’ll see Jamie!

  It was dark out now, but as I bounded up the long staircase I could see someone was in my room. The door was open, and the bedside lamp was on.

  What the hell? If this is one of the My Haunted Plantation people, they are going to wish they’d never walked in. I take my privacy seriously, as they’re about to find out!

  “Excuse me,” I said angrily as I stepped in the doorway, expecting to call some pimply college student on the carpet. Right before my eyes, the bedside lamp flickered out. It looked like I was now alone in the room, but the fine blond hairs on my arms were raised up now like tiny alarm bells. What should I do? More than anything I wanted to escape the room, but I stood frozen to the spot. Then I heard the sound, the sound of a cabinet door banging repeatedly. Finding that my feet could actually move now, I walked around the bed and went to the bathroom door. I put my hand out to touch the doorknob when it began to twist, and then the door flew open.

  I screamed my head off for five seconds. Summer, in a hair towel and a pink robe screamed back at me, “Holy crap, Avery! What the hell?”

  I sat on the floor trying to breathe. “I’m sorry. I thought you were…an intruder.”

  “Dear God, calm down. I was just using your bathroom because someone was using mine. If I’d known I was going to a scream-fest, I would have waited and showered later. Good Lord, girl. What’s up with you?” She leaned against the doorframe as she caught her breath.

  I laughed with relief. So it wasn’t a ghost in my room. Just my cousin in the shower, banging on the cabinet for whatever reason. The lamp obviously had a short in it. “What was with all the banging?”

  “I wasn’t banging. I thought someone was out here banging. That’s why I got out of the shower. Was it you?”

  “No, it wasn’t me. It came from the bathroom.”

  She raised her hands and said, “Ha, ha—very funny. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to get dressed.” She walked toward the door and tightened her robe. “I’ve got a date tonight—talk to you later.” Summer sounded supremely aggravated, but that was her problem. She was so moody sometimes. Who was I kidding? I was the moody one lately.

  “Fine. Me too. As a matter of fact, I am going to go stay at Thorn Hill for a couple of days. Jamie’s on his way down.”

  Summer stopped and turned to me with a serious expression. “That’s probably not the best idea. You haven’t seen haunted until you visit there. Please, don’t stay there. That place…it does things to people. Messes with their head. You know, I think that’s one of the reasons why my brother is so nuts.” She whispered the words like she was ashamed. Weren’t all Dufresnes just a little nuts?

  “Please stop. Don’t tell me whatever you were going to tell me. I don’t want to hear any family gossip about the place before I see it myself. I tell you what, though; I’ll be willing to compare notes with you when I get back. Chances are I won’t see anything.”

  “I hope you are right. That’s a sad place; you can feel it when you walk in.”

  “How many times have you been there, Summer?”

  She unwrapped her hair and ran her fingers through it. “Did you know that Miss Anne lived there for years? Rumor has it—I know you don’t want to hear rumors, but you have to hear this one—rumor has it that Miss Anne kept a man there with her. Although she would not formally introduce him to us, we all saw him from time to time. Then one day, she collapsed in the house and Mitchell dragged her out and refused to let her go back. She fought him for a while, but she’d had a stroke and then cancer. She finally listened to reason. It’s a sad place for sure.”

  “Who was the man?”

  “Nobody knew, and Mitchell won’t tell.”

  “Sounds like I’ll have to ask him. Imagine, proper Miss Anne doing such a thing. I am dying to find out who he was.”

  “Good luck. I only saw him that once.”

  “You saw him?”

  “Oh yeah, he was dressed up like one of those old-timey folks. With the suits…what do they call them? With the tails and collars?”

  “Morning suits?”

  “Yes, that’s it. Well, I gotta go. My guy is taking me to Shell’s Steak House.”

  “And who is your mystery man, Summer?”

  “One of the guys from MHP. He’s a cutie.”

  “What? Didn’t you just meet him? Don’t tell me you plan to hook up with one of the ghost chasers!”

  “Stop being such a stick in the mud. Go on to Thorn Hill, but be careful. I’ll hang out here, if you don’t mind my using the Yellow Rose Room.”

  I walked along with her, feeling bad for acting like I was her judge. “That’s fine. This is your home too, Summer. I like having you here.”

  “Good to hear that. See you when you get back. Enjoy yourself.”

  She pattered off down the hall, and I turned to walk back into my room. For the second tim
e today I nearly screamed my head off. Jessica had snuck up behind me and was standing in front of me now.

  Well, this is just about enough to make a nice girl want to cuss!

  “You scared the hell out of me, Jessica!” I clutched my heart playfully and laughed. Jessica looked at me, but not quite. It was a weird thing. I watched her turn and walk into my room as if she were in a trance or something. I stared after her, but she didn’t seem to notice. I walked back to the door feeling aggravated that she would invade my space when I plainly asked her not to.

  That’s it, I thought. I’m about to end this crap now!

  Chapter Four – Avery

  “Jessica, don’t go in there, please.” She ignored me and closed the door behind her. “Hey!” I was getting ticked. What a lot of nerve! I flung open the door and found no one in my room. As a matter of fact, I heard Jessica’s voice behind me. She was talking to one of her team members.

  “Okay, Becker, let’s set it up at the end of this hallway. Oh, hey! Are we in your way?”

  “Um, no. You aren’t, I mean, I think you aren’t.”

  Becker smiled and waved as he went about his task and left Jessica and me alone in the hallway.

  “Were you just in my room, Jessica?”

  “No.” She smiled curiously. “You just saw me come up those stairs. Why? What is it? Did you see someone?”

  “Yes, you! Do you have a twin on this team or someone who looks a lot like you?”

  “Definitely not. Why? I can see you are very upset. Are you all right? You’re shaking. Avery, do you need to sit down?”

  I leaned against the wall. Very upset did not begin to explain how I felt. “You aren’t going to believe this, but I just saw you walk into my room. You looked right at me—it was totally you—but you didn’t act like you could see me. You went in my room and shut the door.”

  “This door?”

  “Yes,” I said with a small nod.

  She grabbed the walkie-talkie from her belt. “Hey, Beck, point that camera this way and come here. We’ve got some doppelganger action.”

  “Doppelganger? Did I hear you right?” Becker’s voice crackled back over the walkie-talkie.

  “Yep, come on. All right, Avery. Becker and I will sweep your room for anomalies. You want to come with us?”

  “You aren’t leaving me in the hallway.”

  Becker jogged toward us with a broad grin on his face. “Okay, let’s finish the setup. I have a date tonight with a pretty lady.” Oh, so this is Summer’s date. Hmm… I reminded myself not to judge. He was at least nice to look at.

  “Fine, but first things first. Let’s sweep this room. Get some readings. It would be good to get a baseline before tonight.”

  “What time does your investigation begin?” I asked.

  “Usually around midnight, sometimes later. We’ll be here until about three. I promise we won’t burn the house down.”

  I frowned. “Well, that’s a relief.”

  I stood behind Jessica as she tapped on the door. What was she doing? Letting the ghost know we were coming in? I was pretty sure her ghost twin knew we were here.

  “Excuse me,” she said in her soft, pretty voice. “We don’t mean to upset you, but we have to get in there. This is Avery’s room now.”

  We didn’t hear anything, so Jessica opened the door and immediately began walking around the room waving her electronic handheld device around. Becker recorded it all with his portable camera.

  She sniffed the air. “Do you smell cigarettes in here? Are you a smoker, Avery?”

  “I don’t smell anything, and no, I don’t smoke.”

  “I smell them too,” Becker said.

  “Maybe Summer was smoking; she used my shower. I’ll ask her later.”

  “Look at this, Beck. The K2 unit is surging here in this corner.”

  He grunted and said, “Switching to thermal.”

  “So, if you are here, and you can hear me, I want you to know we aren’t here to harm you. We just want to talk to you. I am going to set this meter down right here. If you touch it, it will light up. See?” She put the electronic device on my bed and waved her hand across the front of it, causing it to beep. Jessica continued talking to the empty room, “Like that. I won’t hurt you. Can you try it?”

  “Are we supposed to talk to it?” It must have heard me because the machine began beeping like crazy.

  Jessica ignored me and said, “Let’s use the EVP. I’ll ask some questions.” I didn’t wait any longer. I grabbed my tote bag from the closet and began stuffing clothes and my cosmetics into it. I wasn’t sticking around for this nonsense. “Wait, Avery. It’s perfectly safe. Let me explain how it works.”

  “No, I’m sorry. I can’t do this, Jessica. Sorry.” I walked out the door without another word. I was down the stairs and in the car before you could say boo. As I backed the car up to make a break for it at long last, I heard a tap on my window. It was Handsome Cheever. I rolled the window down and tried to calm my breathing.

  Handsome’s eyes were large and white, and I could tell he was upset. Handsome took spiritual matters seriously, and rightly so. He knew having the television show here was bad news.

  “I know, I know, Handsome. I think this is a bad idea too, but it was Miss Anne’s wish. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

  “Oh, it’s not that, Miss Dufresne. It’s not that at all. No, you see, Miss Billie’s been singing. She’s singing a sad tune now. Something bad is gonna happen. I don’t want nothing bad to happen to you. You’ve got to leave this place and let me purify it with salt. That will help keep these old spirits away. I can see them gathering. She sees them gathering—and she’s singing up a storm. Oh please, Miss Dufresne, let me help you.”

  “Handsome, I am fine, but I have to go away for a few days. When I get back, all these people will be gone and we’ll go back to having our privacy. And then you can pour as much salt as you like. But now I have to go! I’d like to get to Thorn Hill before it gets any later.”

  “Oh no, Miss Dufresne! Anywhere but there! That’s where he wants you to be. That’s where he is! He’s going to claim you, just like he tried to claim Miss Anne and the one before her. Please don’t go there. He’s evil!”

  I could hardly follow what he was talking about, and he was beginning to frighten me worse than the lamp, the banging and the ghost doppelganger. “Now really, I have to go, Handsome. I will be okay. My friend Jamie is coming to see me, and he has a gun. So do I!” I smiled at him with a confidence I did not feel.

  He stepped back with tears in his eyes. “It won’t matter, Miss. Haven’t you ever heard of ‘familiar spirits’? That’s what the man is—the man in black. And it won’t matter if you have a gun at all because he’s already dead. And Miss Billie is singing up a storm for you. She says to tell you that if you lie with that familiar spirit, you will never be able to get rid of him. He’ll have you forever! Don’t do it! You won’t do it, will you?”

  “Handsome! Of course I won’t. Don’t say such things! This isn’t an appropriate topic of conversation,” I tried to reason with him, but I could see I wasn’t getting through. “Now, please. I have to go. Go home and get some rest. I’ll be back in a few days.”

  I pulled out of the driveway and couldn’t help but look in the rearview mirror. I didn’t see Billie Holiday, just Handsome standing there in his black suit and white shirt with his chauffeur’s hat perched neatly on his head. He waved at me sadly and slowly.

  Like he thought he’d never see me again.

  PART TWO

  Chapter Five – Summer Dufresne

  I didn’t care what bull crap Reed was telling Avery. If it had been me, I never would have let those nosy bastards inside Sugar Hill. Of course we had ghosts, but they were our ghosts. And they had secrets. We had secrets—secrets that should be kept to ourselves. What would happen if the viewing public discovered those secrets? The truth was dangerous, and I didn’t even dare think about it. At least I was trying
to keep an eye on things.

  This Becker guy would tell me everything I wanted to know—if there was anything to know. I was looking forward to digging it out of him.

  With a bored sigh, I focused on drying my hair, which was always a chore because it was so long now. Recently I toyed with the idea of cutting it, but why start now? I mean, I did get the occasional trim, just to keep it healthy and keep it from being freakishly long. I loved my hair; it was my best feature. I quickly finished my makeup and put on a light blue dress that fit me perfectly. I slid on my cowboy boots and then reached inside my purse for my perfume. This was a new scent, and I was eager to give it a try. Smiling at the mirror, I checked my mouth for toothpaste and gave myself an approving nod. Yep, I was date-ready.

  I walked out of the room and found Becker texting on the stairs. The lights were still on, thankfully, but the show’s written request said they would like to keep them off. And Becker didn’t say so exactly, but I could tell they preferred the house to be empty of living inhabitants.

  I didn’t like the idea of being in the house in complete darkness while they held their investigation. What I’d told Avery wasn’t completely true. No way was I staying the night. I’d be back here in the morning, just to keep an eye on things and do the interview, but I was going to book a room at the Broken Egg Bed and Breakfast. That would be more comfortable. Not to mention private. It wasn’t a fancy hotel, but it would serve its purpose. Before I could greet him with a sexy kiss as I planned, my phone rang. I thought about not answering, but I recognized the number.

  Nope. Couldn’t avoid this one.

  “Yes, this is Summer.”

  “Good evening. I hope I didn’t catch you too late. Probably getting ready for bed?”

  “Not too late. What’s up, Pepper?” It was best to give my cousin as little information as possible. She was one to be nosey. That was for sure. I walked by Becker and smiled at him flirtatiously, and he followed me down the stairs like an obedient dog. I waved my keys at him and tossed them in his direction. I couldn’t avoid this phone call, but I was doing my best to keep it short. “How can I help you?”