Suddenly, the front door flew open and with a gasp, Rose vanished in a brilliant flash of light. Justin was momentarily blinded, not just by the light Rose had generated but by a light attached to a video camera and a cascade of flashbulbs. He was vaguely aware of a crush of people behind him, shuffling and moving. There was a sound of skin hitting skin and he wondered for a moment if someone had been slapped.
Trying to gather his wits, he thought he heard Callie call someone a name he didn’t realize she knew and Kendra Morton, another investigator, yelled at someone to shove a camera in an unmentionable place.
“Shut it off!” Justin clearly heard Josh’s voice in the background as he scrambled to find his clothes, only now realizing that he was naked.
The door slammed shut and Justin was cast back into the blessed fading light of evening, the mob of people gone. However, he could still hear them on the other side of the door and knew they wouldn’t give up easily. He groaned in frustration.
“I’m not even going to ask what you were doing,” Josh grumbled as he extended a hand to help Justin up, “even though I know full well what it was.” Shaking his head, Josh shot Justin a look that was part admiration and part disbelief. “Hell, I didn’t even know it was possible.”
“Who saw what?” Justin asked, neatly sidestepping the subject. He could give Josh the details later when there wasn’t as much of a chance of them being overheard.
Wisely, Josh didn’t seem inclined to push the issue. “I’m not sure. But probably quite a few people saw quite a lot.”
Justin wanted to smack his head in frustration. He’d promised Mia there wouldn’t be any more screw-ups, and this definitely counted as a big one – bigger than even Meri Finegold.
“What are all of you doing here?” Justin asked, coming to the conclusion that there was no good reason for Josh and a full team of investigators to be breaking down the door to Rosewood House. It didn’t take that many people to perform an exorcism and he had requested that the whole thing be handled as quietly as possible.
“The better question is, what are you doing here?” Josh countered. “I told you not to come back here until I could get a look at the house and see what needed to be done to cleanse it. If I’d have known you were going to ignore my warning, I wouldn’t have come until tomorrow, particularly since I was being tailed by a pack of photographers.”
Justin shrugged as he gathered up his clothes, now acutely aware that he was still completely naked. “I had to see her. I had to be with her. I love her.”
For his part, Josh just shook his head. “Save us all from the stupidity of love.” He ran his hands over his face and Justin wondered what, exactly, Josh meant by his comment. Before he could ask him, his friend continued. “Anyway, I have some news. Tim found something and we have a Red File number. Mia is in the process of getting it from Zurich and it should be here in the morning. She thought you’d want to know. But no one has been able to reach you on your cell all day. ”
“A Red File? Really?” Justin was too excited to even think of anything else, but Josh held up his hand.
“Hold on there, cowboy. You can’t read it. Only Tim and Mia can.” Josh eyed his friend carefully, as if certain that Justin would have a fit over being denied access to the file.
Instead, Justin swallowed hard as he finished buttoning up his shirt. “Yeah, but a Red File. Maybe there’s hope.”
“Stop worrying about the file and think of yourself for a minute. You’d better hope there’s a good reason Mia couldn’t reach you, especially after you called me to request a targeted exorcism,” Josh reminded him, bringing Justin back to earth. “Your phone is off or something.”
Justin frowned. “That’s not possible.” Though when he dug his phone out of his pocket, he realized that the battery was completely drained. He’d been so wrapped up in Rose that he hadn’t noticed.
Leaning back, Justin thumped his head against the wall. “Damn.” Mia would be pissed, including about the photographers. He knew he had to deal with that issue, as well. “How many were there?”
“Close to fourteen paparazzi altogether.” Josh looked as if he was suppressing the urge to peek out the window and see if they were still there. “I thought I lost them on the interstate, but I guess I didn’t. My guess is they beat me here and then waited in the bushes for you to open the door.”
“And then you did it for them,” Justin sighed. “Did they get any video? Photos?”
Josh shrugged. “One of them probably did. I couldn’t stop all of them.” He paused. “Not to mention that our team got an eyeful. The regulars will be discreet, but I had a few tag-alongs tonight. We have a bunch of newbies who were eager to try to ‘rescue’ you and help out on a exorcism.”
When Justin merely glowered, Josh shrugged again in his usual off-hand way. “Not my call, Justin. I was told to bring them, so I had no choice. You had just better hope they keep their mouths shut around the office.”
“They don’t know what I was doing,” Justin countered defensively. If he was naked in a house, that was his business, wasn’t it?
Josh looked at him skeptically. “Dude, you were naked and everyone, and I mean everyone, back at the office knows about Rose. It doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together and come up with ghost sex. Which, I repeat, I didn’t think was possible.”
Closing his eyes, Justin leaned back against the door. There was no way he was going to be able to explain this away. He’d be lucky if he kept his job.
Steeling himself, Justin adjusted his shirt and took a quick peek outside the door where a few photographers lingered, undaunted by the rest of the Ghosts, Inc. team still trying to chase them away.
“Let’s go and get this over with.” At this point, Just really just wanted the night to be over. “The sooner we get home, the sooner I can grovel for my job.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Justin watched Mia and Tim through the glass walls of her office, their hands moving animatedly as they talked. He knew they were discussing Rose, as well as his future with the organization. In fact, it was all anyone at Ghosts, Inc. could talk about, even with the impending announcement that Mia and Alternate Reality were signing a contract for a show. To overshadow that was saying something.
Rose’s case file lay open on Mia’s desk and every so often Tim would gesture to it. In turn, Mia would gesture to a second folder, one full of red paper – a Red File. The paper itself was treated with a special DNA-based acid that Reed had developed, which had helped fund Ghosts, Inc.’s early days of operation. Those who had authorization to read the file could handle the paper without incident. The moment someone without clearance picked it up, someone whose DNA wasn’t already on those papers, the acid would eat into that person’s hand, leaving behind severe burns.
Earlier that morning, Justin had considered opening the file for just a quick peek, but Myles, the recently hired investigator-in-training had already done that, making the mistake of trying to move the file so he could reach the office coffee pot. The unfortunate man was currently under Elliott’s care in the infirmary and officially off-duty until he could pick up something heavier than a feather.
So Justin had refrained from peeking, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still curious. Whatever Tim had found yesterday had to be big. Otherwise, he knew his friend would have told him already. It bothered Justin a bit that Tim hadn’t immediately shared what he’d learned. However, given Justin’s off-kilter behavior recently, he could understand why the other man hadn’t.
With the now very-real possibility of the AR show looming, none of the staff wanted to do anything that might jeopardize the show or the negotiations. With that came the risk of incurring Mia’s wrath and perhaps, depending on her mood, the end of their careers.
Sitting at his desk, Justin could feel the buzz building around him and knew that everyone else was watching him. In addition to Tim’s discovery, news of Justin having sex with a ghost had apparently made the rounds in the
building. Even the construction workers Mia had hired the previous week to shore up the building’s structural integrity knew every last salacious detail. Reed and Josh had both stopped by earlier in the day to offer their support, but it hadn’t helped. Everyone was talking about him and suddenly, Justin didn’t like it very much.
Picking up his coffee mug, he ambled off to the break room, hoping that someone had made a nice, strong pot to replace the one Myles had dropped earlier. He was in luck and after pouring a steaming cup of the dark brew, he took a few sips and closed his eyes, trying to center himself once more. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there before he heard a voice in his ear.
“Take me to see Rose.” For once, Mia was talking quietly, almost whispering, but Justin knew there was an iron will beneath that request. He just wasn’t sure he was in the mood to comply. However, he also knew he shouldn’t press his luck where Mia was concerned.
“You’re not going to fire me? After what happened last night?” Justin found that hard to believe, especially given Mia’s firm stance on anything that made the group look bad in the media and Justin’s own sketchy track record recently.
She shook her head. “No. What happened last night wasn’t your fault. You had no way of knowing that the photographers were tailing Josh.” She grimaced. “Besides, he should have given you more warning before opening the damn door.”
Pausing for breath, she seemed to use the time to gather her thoughts. “Now, please, take me to Rose.”
“If I refuse?” Justin glanced at Tim who was standing just behind their boss. His friend merely shrugged and Justin knew he wasn’t getting any help from the man who was supposed to have his back.
Mia’s lips twisted into a wry grin. “Then you might never get to be with her, I mean really be with her, in this life or any other. If I’m right, this is the last chance you get and I’m your only way to get her back.”
That captured Justin’s attention quickly. “How do you know you’re right?”
At that, Mia looked away for a moment. “I don’t, not for sure. Right now, it’s just a hunch, but after reading the Red File, one that’s based more in fact than any of the previous ones. If I can see Rose and maybe talk to her, I’ll know for sure.” She faltered for a moment and Justin saw Tim reach out to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. That seemed to give her the strength to continue.
“I know you don’t like me very much,” Mia finally said, “but I hope that you at least trust me with something this important. Knowing how you feel about me, I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t sure I could help.”
Justin leaned back against the counter and studied the woman before him. It was true that she was hard and remote and that she often seemed uncaring.
Still, Tim had been Mia’s friend since childhood and he didn’t think she was evil. Obviously, his friend saw something in the dark haired woman that Justin himself could not, just as Jonah had in Margaret. For the moment, the trust Tim had in Mia would have to be enough. Rose’s very existence relied on it.
“Fair enough,” Justin finally said. “I’ll take you to her. We can go later.”
Mia shook her head stubbornly. “No, it has to be now. Let me get Reed and Callie and the others; we can be on our way, quickly and quietly. If I’m right, the longer we wait, the more risk there is.”
Once again, Justin looked at Tim and the other man nodded. He believed in Mia. Justin appeared to have no other choice but to believe as well. He just prayed that Rose wouldn’t pay for his blind trust with what was left of her existence.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rose watched Mia as the other woman wandered around the room, taking in details and simply “doing her thing” as Tim had termed it. Mia appeared uneasy in the house, yet she seemed to know exactly where everything was. The raven haired woman ran her hands over a corner desk and an art deco style chair that Rose had never cared for.
Off to the side, Reed stood guard over Callie who was still not completely recovered from her earlier efforts to help in the investigation. Ben had, as expected, kicked up a fuss when the Mimic had entered the house, but Rose had stood her ground. As long as Rose said Callie was welcome, then she was. In fact, as far as Rose was concerned the other woman would have been welcome even without the Imperitas still clamped firmly around her wrist.
The silver band was still there, however, and Rose suspected it was the only reason her grandfather hadn’t tried some underhanded trick to keep Callie out. It was also clear that Reed didn’t completely trust Ben not to harm Callie in some way and his watchful eyes continually swept the room, his glance flickering every so often to Josh and Elliott Scarnatti, Ghosts Inc.’ staff physician.
Turning her attention back to Mia, Rose noted that Mia acted as if she was trying to place objects in the room as they had once been. For some reason, she had the impression that the other woman was seeing the house through someone else’s eyes. In Rose’s mind that merely helped to confirm her suspicion, the same suspicion Justin had shared with her earlier when the group had first arrived. There was clearly more to this woman than met the eye.
Mia was remote, Rose decided, but not by choice. Rather, it was by necessity, one that haunted her every day. Mia was a hunted woman, one who had already suffered greatly. Rose wasn’t sure how she knew that; just that she did. She also knew that, just like the woman now in front of her, Margaret Covington had been a hunted woman as well. Margaret had trusted only one person in the entire world – Jonah Dorfflinger, the man now known as Tim Hawthorne - someone whom Mia clearly trusted with her own life.
Rose could also see that Tim was devoted to Mia, and she to him, even if neither of them acknowledged it. It had been the same between Margaret and Jonah back in her own time. Rose wasn’t certain if Mia and Tim were even aware of their connection, but she suspected they weren’t. Still, she could see it, a nearly invisible bond that joined the two, probably across lifetimes, unless Rose was mistaken.
Finally, Mia nodded to herself and then turned to Rose where she waited beside Justin and Tim. A knot of fear bubbled up in her chest, but she shoved it back down. She was already dead, she reasoned. What more could possibly happen?
“There was powerful magic performed in this house, not just paranormal influences, but those are here too,” Mia finally said, her restless eyes still roaming the room, as if trying to make sense of what she was seeing. A nod from Josh seemed to reassure Mia that her conclusion was correct and, again, Rose wondered exactly how dark the images Josh saw really were.
“The spell’s effects are still lingering,” Mia continued. “It’s literally everywhere, in the walls, the rafters, every part of this house. It lingers in you as well, Justin. Now, I just need to know how deep this spell runs.”
“Spell?” Justin scowled, not sure of the implications but not liking it anyway. “Are you positive? I know that’s what we assumed when we first started this investigation, but what about James? It’s the remnants of him that are responsible for all of this. Right?”
Mia eyed Justin warily and suddenly, Rose could see the remnants of Margaret within Mia’s eyes. “Is that all you think it is, some pesky residual energy? Even after all you’ve seen and all you know? I thought you were a better investigator than that. You died here too, remember, and you were set free.” There was a note of derision in her voice, the ghost of Margaret rising in Mia as she spoke. “Are you willing to bet Rose’s life on it?”
That made Justin pause and gave Tim an opportunity to chime in. “Jus, you promised you’d hear Mia out. Trust her. More importantly, trust us.” Tim gestured to the group surrounding them. “This house, it plays with your mind; you know that. This isn’t like you.”
Those words echoed in Rose’s mind and she knew she had heard them before. A thought tickled in the back of her mind, one that would connect all of these seemingly random dots into a pattern. She didn’t have much time to ponder it however, because Justin was clearly itching to prove Mia wrong and was about to say somethi
ng to tick off the other woman. Rose had to prevent that because in her heart, she knew that Mia was her only chance of getting out of Rosewood and either returning to the land of the living or passing over to the Other Side once and for all.
“I believe you.” Rose made sure her voice was as full of conviction as it could be. “Mia, if you say magic is responsible and it’s not entirely the energy from my dead husband, then it’s the truth. My grandfather and I have long suspected it, but your words give us the proof we needed.” She knew her words were more formal than normal, but she needed Mia to know she truly did believe her.
“Rose, you can’t be serious.” Justin reached out to grasp her hand.
Rose nodded. “I am. Very serious. Don’t press me on this, Justin. Don’t allow this house to influence you. You know better. If you don’t trust your friends, then at least trust me.”
Justin crossed his arms over his chest and Rose expected she would have to fight him over the issue. Instead, she was grateful when he merely nodded in resignation, if not complete acceptance. “Fine. If you trust what Mia says, I’ll go along with it.”
“Thank you,” Mia whispered and Rose was surprised to hear the relief in the other woman’s voice. “I swear to you, Justin, I will do whatever is in my power to reunite Rose with her other half, to give her physical form again.”
That caught everyone off guard, even Rose. The idea that she might be human again sent a rush of elation coursing through her. However this was the first time she’d heard someone mention that a part of her might be missing. “What other half?” she asked hesitantly.
Mia leaned back against the wall, her eyes finally still and focused completely on Rose. “Don’t you think it’s odd that you never get angry, that you never feel negative emotions of any kind, other than possibly a little fear?”
Rose pondered that a moment. “I suppose, but I was never that angry in life. It just wasn’t my personality.”
Ghosts Of Lovers Past Page 21