Uncharted Territory (An Angela Panther Mystery Book 3)

by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

  Sue's parents were both alive but she'd lost a brother to a heroin overdose back in the late 1980s. Bobby showed up with a Beagle by his side, apologizing for what he'd put her through.

  "It's okay," Sue said. "It's been a long time, and I've had years to come to terms with it. I know now it wasn't him doing those things, it was the drugs."

  "Tell her I'm whole again," Bobby said. "And that I'm so proud of her. She's my only sister and I wanted to protect her but I let the drugs take over."

  "He said you've made him proud. He always wanted to protect you but the drugs made it hard for him."

  Tears dripped down her face. "But he did, for such a long time. He did protect me. Before he took drugs, he was such a sweet boy. He was a great brother. I told him that before he died, but I don't know if he heard me. He was in a coma."

  "I did. She came to see me and she told me she didn't hate me, that she hated the drugs, but knew that deep down, I was still there somewhere."

  "He knows. He said he heard you tell him you didn't hate him, that you hated the drugs."

  Sue sobbed uncontrollably. I asked Pam to get her a tissue.

  "Oh, certainly," she said and rushed out of the room.

  "Can you tell her Alphie is with me? And I promise I won't lose him. I'll keep him with me until she's here."

  "Bobby said he's got Alphie with him?" It was more of a question than a statement. "And he promises to keep him with him until you're there. I'm assuming Alphie's the Beagle?"

  "Oh, Alphie!" She laughed. "Of course Alphie would be with him." She blew her nose. "That was our family dog but I was definitely Alphie's favorite. I loved that dog but so did Bobby. I'm glad he's with him."

  "Bobby, have you been waiting to connect with someone since you passed?" I asked. "It's been a long time."

  "No, I come and go like a lot of spirits. I couldn't come at first. It took me a long time. I had a lot of work to do to become whole again."

  I'd never heard that before. "Oh. Would you like me to pass that along?"

  "Yes, please." He gazed up at the ceiling and then at me. "I have to go now. Tell her I love her and tell her to tell Mom and Dad, too."

  "I will," I promised.

  Alphie and Bobby both shimmered away and I watched as sparkles from their energy floated up into the ceiling.

  I checked the room for a clock and found the time on the cable box. "We only have a little time left before I need to go. I'm not getting any other spirits coming through." I eyed Shelly. "Is there someone you'd like me to try and connect with?"

  "I was hoping my grandfather or grandmother would come but I guess not."

  "Okay, let's give this a try." I shut my eyes and thought about what I needed to do when I got home. I was never very good at concentrating under pressure.

  "Give it up, Ang," Ma said. "She ain't gettin' nobody today. Ya win some, ya lose some."

  "I'm sorry, Shelly. It doesn't appear anyone is coming."

  "It's okay. They've been gone a long time. I didn't think they would."

  She didn't seem upset, so I didn't push it.

  "Pam, I really gotta get back to the park. Does your son need a ride home?"

  "No, his dad is getting him but thank you."

  We said our goodbyes and I reminded them to keep everything between us but I had a sneaking feeling they wouldn't.

  Ma hovered in the front seat next to me. "Well that didn't go too bad now, did it?"

  "Is this gonna blow up in my face? Do you know something and you're not telling me?"

  "Whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen and you gotta deal with it. It's not all about you, remember?"

  And that meant it would blow up in my face. "Great. Just great."

  ***

  I grabbed Josh at lacrosse and then got dinner through a fast food drive thru.

  "So I met Mike," I said.

  He did something on his phone. "Cool."

  "Seems like a nice guy."

  "That's good."

  "Your dad and I want to have him over for dinner."

  "Good."

  "And I won the lottery. Over seventy-seven million. Single winner. Just me."

  "Cool."

  I grabbed the phone from his hand and tossed it into the backseat.

  "Why'd you do that?" He detached his seat belt and leaned over the seat to get his phone.

  "Uh uh."

  "But I was in the middle of a game."

  "And the world won't end if you don't finish it."

  He faced forward again, his arms crossed over his chest. "Now I'm gonna lose my rank."

  "You'll survive. I'm trying to talk to you."

  "I just got to that rank. If I don't finish a game it drops back and it'll take me forever to get it again."

  "With the amount of time you spend on that thing I'm sure you'll get your rank back in no time."

  "Doubt it."

  "Keep up that attitude and you'll lose the phone for a month."

  "Sorry."

  "It's a game, Josh. It's not the end of the world. Try to get some perspective about it."

  "I don't wanna lose my rank."

  I gave up. "The phone is mine until further notice."

  "That's not fair."

  "The world ain't fair, kiddo, might as well get used to that." I changed the subject. "I talked to the daughter of the spirit you saw at the movies."

  "So."

  "Do you see a lot of spirits?"

  "I dunno."

  "You don't know if you see a lot of spirits?"

  He shrugged.

  "Josh, quit being a crank and answer my question, please."

  "I see Grandma mostly. That's about it."

  "That's good. By the way, Grandma's learning all kinds of slang from hanging out with you at night. YOLO."

  He fought it but I could see his mouthed curved into a smile. "Cool."

  I laughed. "Yeah, it's pretty funny, actually."

  "YOLO."

  ***

  I was exhausted and emotionally drained. The events of the day had sucked the life out of me and all I wanted to do was sit outside and chill.

  Jake was home, so we hung out on the deck, drinking iced tea instead of our usual alcoholic beverage.

  "This is odd," he said, holding the glass up in front of him. "It doesn't look like wine or beer."

  "Bummer, isn't it?"

  "Pretty much." He sipped his drink. "Doesn't taste as good either."

  "Some say variety is the spice of life."

  "I think they meant variety of beers and wines."

  "Could be." I sipped my tea. He was right. It wasn't as good. "So I invited Mike over for dinner."

  "You met him?"

  "Didn't I tell you?"

  "No. You must have told Mel and thought you told me."

  I couldn't actually remember telling anyone. I needed to record my conversations so I could remember what I told to whom.

  "Seems like a decent guy. Super preppy. Came over wearing khaki shorts, a polo, and some modernized version of Topsiders."

  "Wow, sounds like your type back in the day."

  "Yup, yet I still married you."

  "That's because you secretly liked the bad boy."

  Jake may have been the bad boy in high school but he'd morphed into a khaki pants and collared shirt-wearing executive who rode a Harley Davidson in his spare time to still feel like a bad boy. It made him ridiculously sexy to me, too. "Says the white collar man drinking iced tea."

  He eyed his glass. "Yeah but when I retire I'm growing a beard down to my chest and a ponytail down to my butt."

  "Great. The way my hormones are heading, I'll have a beard to match yours."

  "Nice."

  "I thought you'd find that hot."

  "Definitely. So when's he coming to dinner?"

  "I was thinking night after tomorrow?"

  "Can you get some meat and stuff at the store?" he asked. "I'll grill."

  "It's my pleasure to shop for you."

  "
As it should be."

  I laughed but it wasn't my normal, from the gut laugh and Jake noticed.

  "You okay?"

  "Not really." I gave Jake the play by play for the past two days, sans the black blur. I knew it would freak him out and until I knew more about it, I didn't want him to worry.

  "So there were no bodies in the tomb?"

  "Nope."

  "That's messed up."

  "Yup."

  "What happens now?"

  "I think Saunders has hidden bodies somewhere, Jake. I think he never actually buried his daughter in that tomb and I think he kept Tiffany with Caroline's remains. My guess is they're in his house."

  "Is he married? Or was he, I mean?"

  "He was but they got divorced."

  "That doesn't make sense then. If he didn't bury her in the first place, where did he put her before he got divorced? I don't think they're in his house. It doesn't seem possible, not to mention the fact that it's completely disgusting."

  He had a point. "I don't know. I just can't shake the feeling that Caroline was never in that tomb."

  Jake's head shifted back and forth. "That's the most morbid thing I've ever heard. It's like a crime show episode."

  "I know! If it weren't so gross, I'd be excited."

  He laughed. "Can't believe you puked in a stranger's house."

  "Mel started it."

  "Of course she did."

  "I can't believe Tiffany's dead. I was so close, Jake, so close. I should have saved her."

  "You can't save them all, babe."

  "Why not?"

  "Because that's not the way it works."

  "And you know this how?"

  "I don't but I'm great at making assumptions." He rested his arms on his thighs. "Listen, I think if you were meant to save her, you would have. But you're doing something for her by finding her and giving her family closure. That's a good thing."

  "You sound like my mother."

  He leaned in and kissed me softly. "Don't tell her I said this but she's a smart woman."

  "I'm so telling her you said that." I kissed him. "I love you."

  "How could you not?"

  ***

  Jake went to the basement to catch up on some work while I sat on the deck, finished my drink, and felt sorry for myself. I didn't get much of a chance to wallow though because Tevin shimmered in front of the fire pit.

  "Something's happening. Bach told someone on the phone to meet him at the Waffle House on Buford Highway in an hour. You need to tell the detective."

  I went to text Aaron and then stopped. "Wait, I have a better idea." I called Mel. "Change of plans. We're goin' out."

  "I kept the kids home. I don't want to leave them while they're sleeping. They'd freak out if they woke up and I was gone."

  "Josh'll babysit. He needs the money for a new video game anyway. I'll pay him since you're doing me a favor."

  "Okay but where are we going? I'm gonna need some time to get ready."

  "Just toss on some black clothes. We're going to Waffle House."

  "Not a fan. Too much grease."

  "Not to eat, to check out Bach. Tevin says he's meeting people there in an hour and I wanna check him out."

  "Did you tell Aaron?"

  "Not yet. I figure we'll see what's up first."

  "This isn't gonna be good."

  "If you don't wanna go I understand."

  "Oh, no. I'm going," she said. "I'm just saying this isn't going to be good."

  "Okay, I'll grab Josh and be there in a few."

  "Gotcha."

  ***

  Thirty minutes later I'd exchanged Josh for Mel and we were on our way to the Waffle House on Buford Highway. There were exactly a billion Waffle Houses throughout the metro Atlanta area and probably a thousand of them on Buford Highway but Tevin knew the exact location and filled me in before heading back to babysit Bach.

  "I brought this." She held up a small pink spray canister. "It's the legal version of pepper spray and it marks people with pink dye when you spray them."

  "Why do you need it to mark them?"

  "So they can be identified."

  "Huh. Whoda thunk? Is pepper spray legal?"

  "I'm not sure but this is what the guy at the gun store sold me, so maybe."

  "You went to a gun store?"

  "I'm a single mom. I need to be prepared to protect my kids."

  "So you got pink pepper spray?"

  "And a twenty-two."

  "You got twenty-two pepper sprays?"

  "Have you been drinking?" she asked.

  "I'm confused."

  "Clearly. I got a twenty-two hand gun."

  "Holy crap. Can you even shoot a gun?"

  "Not yet, but I'm gonna learn."

  "Did you lock it up?"

  "I don't actually have it yet. I've applied for the license. I'm gonna take classes at the gun range. The owner's kinda cute too. Ex-marine. Big shoulders. Divorced."

  "You're going to wear me out with all these men."

  "Actually, I'm hoping to wear myself out with all these men."

  "Touché."

  "So what's the plan?"

  "I figured we'd go to Waffle House and go from there."

  "These are pretty dangerous kids. You sure this is a good idea?"

  "Nope but I figure we're just two women minding our own business and going for late night waffles. No harm in that, right?"

  "You know that's a bad part of town, right?"

  "Yeah but I've got a secret weapon and it beats your pepper spray hands down."

  "Lemme guess. Fran."

  "Yup."

  "She's here?"

  "Not yet, but I'll get her now."

  And that's exactly what I did.

  ***

  Ma floated around my car in the Waffle House parking lot. "Ah Madone, this place is a pit. I bet they got rats. You're gonna get that disease rats got goin' in there."

  "What rat disease?"

  "Rat disease? There's rat disease here?" Mel asked.

  "The Rat-Bite Fever," Ma said. "It can kill ya too, if you're not careful."

  "I think you have to be bitten by a rat to get that, Ma."

  "You better tell me what she's talking about or I'm not going in there," Mel said.

  "You should tell her," Ma said. "She's gotta raise those kids by herself. I don't think she wants The Cheater raising them with his ho."

  "Seriously?"

  "I'm just sayin'."

  I leaned against the car. "Ma said there's some disease called Rat-Bite Fever and she's worried that this place has rats so she wants us to be careful and not get bit by any rats." I shook my head because the whole thing was ridiculous.

  Mel held up her pepper spray. "I'll spray them with this."

  I grabbed her hand and pushed it down. "Don't hold that up here. You just showed everyone in the restaurant what you've got."

  "So? Now they know not to mess with me or they'll get this stuff right in the eyes."

  "What's that?" Ma asked. "Hairspray? I hope she didn't pay for that because that size bottle doesn't got enough in it to hold any hair in place, you ask me."

  "Good grief."

  "What?" they both said in unison.

  "Nothing, let's go in and order some food and wait for Bach to get here."

  "I don't wanna eat. Too much grease."

  "Fine, have a coffee and I'll order something."

  "Ah, coffee. I'd even take the stuff they serve here, I want coffee so bad," Ma said.

  "I know, Ma. I know."

  There were only two booths occupied inside the restaurant, one with two women and a toddler who was much too young to be up after nine o'clock and another with an old man. The man had a spirit hovering near him and both of them so seemed lonely and sad they pulled at my heartstrings.

  We sat six booths away from the old man, right at the entrance just in case we needed to make a mad dash to the car. I kept my keys in my lap, too.

  Mel ordered a Diet C
oke and a side of dry wheat toast and I ordered hash browns, smothered, covered, diced, and capped, which in southern-speak meant with grilled onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms, and then covered with melted cheese. I figured it was a good way to get my serving of veggies for the day.

  "You're gonna die of a heart attack," Mel said.

  "Nuh uh. I'm having my vegetables. I'm being good."

  "You keep thinkin' that." She saw me watching the old man and twisted in his direction. "I feel sorry for him. He's all alone."

  "Not really. He's got a ghost with him. Probably his wife."

  She flipped around again.

  "Well, he's either talking to himself or to her. Think he can see her?"

  "Who knows? After the stuff I've seen, anything's possible."

  "There's one way to find out," Ma said.

  "What are you gonna do?"

  "I'm gonna go see if he sees me."

  "Ma's gonna go over there and see if he can see her, too. Casually turn around."

  "Oh cool," Mel said.

  Ma floated toward the old man but before she got to him, he gazed up and right at her.

  "Oh my gosh," I said.

  "Did he just see Fran?"

  "I think so."

  "Holy crap."

  Ma waved at the man and he nodded his head. She floated next to the woman and the three of them whispered. He didn't look up from his food but I watched his lips move between bites. "He's talking to her."

  "That's incredible," Mel said.

  Ma floated back. "Yah, he can see her. It's his wife. Died a few years ago. Started coming to him at the funeral and hasn't left. Said she's waiting for him but the old man ain't ready. He said he's hoping to win the lottery first and leave his kids something other than a bunch a debt. Wife keeps telling him it ain't in the cards but he's still holdin' out for the big win."

  I repeated the Reader's Digest version of that to Mel.

  "Well I'll be damned. Guess you're not the only one in town with the gift, huh?"

  "Guess not."

  The server brought our food and I dug in.

  "That's so gross," Mel said.

  "I know but it tastes so awesome."

  "Hope there ain't no rat turds in it," Ma said.

  "Thanks for that," I said and took another bite anyway.

  Ma winced.

  I slowed my eating, picking at the food and waiting for Bach to show. After a few minutes, he finally did.