When the Shadows Come

by Breck, Alyssa

  “The state police are involved in the case. The detective in charge was at least willing to listen to me. I’m not sure if he really believed me or if he was just humoring me. But, at any rate, he said I should call him if you could lead us to where your body is buried.” She’d never admit it, but she might have a slight crush on Detective Claiborne. He had nice eyes and a strong jaw and it had been a long time since she’d had any male attention. He hadn’t made her feel like a lunatic. That was a bonus.

  “Are you blushing?”

  “No, it’s just warm here in front of the fireplace,” Carolina said. It was too soon to have a crush on him anyway.

  Mallory’s lips curved up. “You’re hot for that detective, aren’t you? You’re blushing just thinking about calling him over here.” Mallory leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. “Tell me about him.”

  “He’s tall. Green eyes. Very nice. And he didn’t let it show if he thought I was nuts.”

  “You’re obviously not nuts, but I get what you mean. If I weren’t dead and sitting here talking to you, I wouldn’t believe that you could see me either.”

  “My cross to bear.” Carolina sipped her coffee and put the mug back on the coaster on the dark wood table.

  “I imagine it’s caused some problems for you.”

  “Yeah. Not something that’s easy to explain to people.”

  “Do you explain it to people?”

  “Not anymore. I’d rather not end up in a padded cell with a jacket that fastens in the back.”

  Mallory laughed. “I know it’s not funny. Not anymore funny than my death, but we have to keep our sense of humor, right?”

  “For sure.”

  “Well, you’ll eventually find someone who will believe in you.”

  “Careful, Mal. You almost sound like you care.” Carolina got up and trotted down the stairs to look for Nathan’s card. She found her phone on the kitchen counter. “The cop is at least willing to hear me out and follow up. So, if I call him right now, can you take us to your body?”

  Chapter 4

  Nathan leaned back against the pillows piled up on his bed. Now that he was single again, there was no reason not to bring his work home with him.

  Mallory Kramer’s disappearance led the local news broadcast at six o’clock. He caught a glimpse of himself climbing into his unmarked police car. They had replayed his press statement more times than he cared to count. He was going over Mallory’s file again when his cell phone rang.

  “Claiborne.”

  “Hello. Mr. Claiborne–I’m sorry–I mean Officer, um, Detective Claiborne.”

  He smiled a little, knowing exactly whose voice stammered on the other end of the phone. There was something charming about the eccentric woman, but he couldn’t let her personality impact his investigation. As it stood now, Carolina Sinclair was going to be the prime suspect in the disappearance and, if she was, in fact, a medium or a psychic, the murder of Mallory Kramer.

  “Yes, Miss Sinclair. This is Detective Claiborne.”

  “Oh—yes—hello. I’m sorry to bother you. But you said I should call you when Mallory came back. She’s here.”

  Nathan didn’t disbelieve her, but it strained his sense of reason that the victim in the glossy eighty-by-ten photo on his bed was dead and her ghost would be guiding him and Carolina to Mallory’s freshly buried body. He usually didn’t investigate and solve cases in this manner, but he knew of a few informants who provided information of the spectral type. We’re talking beyond the grave.

  Now, usually, these informants pointed law enforcement in the right direction to find the facts and evidence they would need for an indictment because it was well settled that no jury would convict a perp based solely on the testimony of a psychic. At a minimum, the DA needed circumstantial evidence tying the suspect to the crime. Preferably, means, motive, opportunity, and no alibi. Nathan wholly understood Singleton’s skepticism, but his gut told him to go with it. But they literally had no leads, so it couldn’t hurt to check out Carolina’s story. He had nothing to lose.

  “Does this mean that we will be going for a ride?” he asked.

  “Yes, I suppose so,” she answered, with a tremor in her voice.

  “I’ll pick you up in an hour.”

  “Okay. We’ll be ready.”

  He debated putting his suit pants back on and opted for jeans and a black T-shirt instead. Nathan replaced his sidearm in the holster on his belt and stuffed his badge and wallet in his back pocket. He never enjoyed finding a dead body and his nerves bunched up in anticipation. No matter how long he was immersed in this gritty, ugly world, he never got used to it.

  He opened the closet to grab a baseball cap and spotted the empty shoe rack on the floor. His ex-girlfriend’s shoes used to be there. They both worked a lot and started drifting apart; talking less and feeling okay with that. Like they’d run out of things to say to each other. There had been tension in the air that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, but whenever he asked her, she said everything was fine. That phrase—I’m fine—was the kiss of death. He knew something was up. Then she told him she’d accepted a transfer to a firm in Washington, D.C., and she wasn’t asking him to go with her. Two weeks later, she packed her belongings and gave him her key.

  Truth be told, he was relieved to be away from her. The unspoken animosity had been too much to bear. His family was pissed. They hadn’t particularly liked Jennifer as a person, but they loved where her political aspirations could take them. His mother wanted him to fly to Washington D.C. and try to patch things up. If he could get over it, surely his mother could. The rejection still stung, but he had a new case to occupy his time now and he was going all in; even on his own time. There was no one in his personal life to answer to.

  He plugged Carolina’s address into the GPS and slipped into autopilot along the freeway. People in Arkansas complained about traffic when they clearly had never driven the interstates in California where it could take half an hour to go two miles. God forbid there was an accident. Nathan had been stranded on the 5 freeway onramp for two hours after a fatality once.

  Yeah, so, Arkansas traffic was a breeze. He maneuvered his way up the road that stretched about a half mile into the woods before reaching the clearing. He slowed the car and double checked the address. Homes in Romance were mostly modest ranging from mobile homes to single-story brick constructs. Carolina’s house stood out as one of the nicer ones. He cut the engine. Movement on the top floor caught his eye. Her silhouette moved past the shade-drawn window. He was at a loss to explain his fascination with her. She was a puzzle. Nathan still wasn’t sure if Carolina was delusional or the real deal.

  Nathan climbed the stairs to the front porch and rang the bell. It took a full minute for her to open the door. They stared at each other for a moment. Just waiting. Her blonde locks fell past her shoulders. She smiled, not showing any teeth.

  “Are we ready?” he asked.

  Carolina looked over her shoulder. “Come on, Mallory. He’s here.” She picked up her bag in the foyer and stood in the doorway for another second before pulling the door closed. “We’re ready.”

  She clutched her purse like she thought he might snatch it and run. He opened the passenger door of the Dodge for her and watched her climb inside and fasten her seat belt. He assumed he didn’t need to open a door for Mallory Kramer and rounded the front of the car. He was actually entertaining the idea that a ghost was coming along for the ride. He cranked the ignition and looked at Carolina. “Where to?”

  CAROLINA TURNED IN her seat and looked behind her. “Is it in Romance?”

  “Yes,” Mallory responded. “It’s out on old Highway 319. Right outside of the city limits, actually. You remember where we used to have those bonfires during the summer?”

  Carolina hadn’t been invited to those parties. “I know the spot.”

  Mallory went on to describe the area that Carolina knew well. Her father had taken her out there to hunt small gam
e, and he taught her to fish at the lake.

  Nathan kept glancing over at her as she carried on the conversation with Mallory.

  “Go back out to the main road and make a left,” Carolina instructed.

  The sun was setting in the western sky, and she hoped they would find what they were looking for before dark. Where they were going was in the woods and, without natural light, it would be hard to navigate the terrain. At least for her, it would be. Super detective over there would probably be just fine.

  Nathan followed her directions for several miles until she pointed to the turn in. He angled onto the dirt road that probably would have gone unnoticed had she not pointed it out. The overgrown brush tangled and turned along the path. The trees were thick on both sides of the narrow passage and scraped along the doors of the car. Carolina glanced back and did a double take.

  “Stop!” She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned fully around, searching the backseat while Nathan brought the car to a halt. “She’s gone.” A dark shadow sat nestled in the seat behind Nathan. Carolina was certain they couldn’t breathe, but she could see its body expanding slightly. Maybe it had scared Mallory away. The one in Carolina’s library had freaked her out before. But this was the worst possible time for her to just up and vanish without warning.

  The creature inched forward, staying in the darker side of the car that was shaded by a tree. It would disappear if it scurried into direct sunlight. Their form depended on darkness.

  “What? What do you mean she’s gone?”

  “She’s not here. What are we supposed to do now?”

  “Can you call her back?”

  “No. I don’t have any control over her. She shows up when she does and talks to me when she wants to.”

  Nathan tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and put the Dodge in park. “Let’s get out and take a look around then.”

  Carolina was anxious but managed to squeak out an answer. “Okay.” Somehow it seemed safer with Mallory as their guide. Not that she could protect them from anything. The killer was a real person, not a ghost.

  He stopped in front of the Dodge and leaned back against the hood, arms folded across his broad chest.

  Standing next to him, she leaned against the car, too. She closed her eyes and inhaled him. She couldn’t identify the scent, but it was very male—strong, spicy. She peeked her eyes open and stole a glance at his feet and then his face. He was good-looking; the type of guy that would turn her head on the street. Although she’d never seen him in uniform, she imagined that would be a show-stopper.

  He appeared to be surveying the area before them. To Carolina, it was just the woods where kids had private parties; drinking and smoking pot and making out. No one ever invited her to any of those parties, but she knew about the goings-on. At school on Monday mornings, it was all everyone talked about. Who hooked up with whom and who got blackout drunk. It was a part of the high school experience for most of them. But not Carolina.

  “Let’s walk. Slowly.” Nathan moved forward away from the car.

  “Okay.” Her social skills were rusty. She tucked her hands into the pockets of her jeans and followed him into the wilderness.

  Carolina thought maybe she should be looking for something. Probably footprints or clues, but she wasn’t the cop here. She didn’t know what to look for so she stayed a few steps behind him.

  The heaviness in the atmosphere settled on her suddenly. The heat was replaced by a cool whisper on her face and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

  Nathan stopped and bent down. Using a pen from his pocket, he poked at something in the grass.

  Carolina leaned to the side and looked around him. She saw the watch. A woman’s designer watch. Mallory’s watch. It was the same one her ghost wore now. It had a thin, brown leather band and a silver-framed face with black Roman numerals.

  “Don’t go any farther,” he said, standing up and stepping back. “I need to make a phone call.”

  Carolina stared at the broken glass on the face of the watch. Mallory’s body was here somewhere ... close.

  NATHAN FLIPPED THROUGH the contacts in his phone and placed a call to Singleton. “We found a watch that matches the description of the one owned by Mallory Kramer.”

  “Where are you?”

  Nathan gave him the location and ended the call. He turned to Carolina.

  “That’s her watch.”

  “Are you sure? Did she come back?”

  “No, but it’s the same watch her ghost wears.”

  He nodded. “Okay. I need you to go sit in the car.”

  “Why?”

  “I can’t have you contaminating the crime scene if that’s what we have here.”

  She frowned. “But, we haven’t found her yet so it’s not technically a crime scene.”

  “It’s potentially a crime scene. You want us to nail this guy, right?”

  “Of course, I do.”

  “Okay. Then everything needs to be done by the book. There can be no mistakes. No compromising of evidence.”

  Carolina raised an eyebrow. “Fine.”

  “Please, go sit in the car. I’ll be back shortly.”

  Carolina huffed but did as he asked. Dusk would fall on them soon, and he wanted to find Mallory before dark. He looked down at her watch again. He pulled an FI card out of his pocket and scribbled the number one on it. He bent the card in half and placed it beside her watch then took a picture with his phone. Careful not to disturb the first piece of evidence, he stepped past it and scanned the open area that led to the tree line.

  The grass was green and soft. A black circle stood out in contrast to the lush landscape. The fire didn’t look like it had been used recently. The remnants of what looked like a burned-out log sat in the center of crudely arranged rocks. A few empty beer bottles were scattered outside the fire pit. Cigarette butts had been crushed out in the dirt. While the party paraphernalia likely had nothing to do with Mallory’s murder, it was still potential evidence. He placed another card next to the pit.

  Dry pine needles formed a line on the ground at the tree line. At one spot, the line was disturbed by looked like drag marks. His heart started to beat fast. Adrenaline coursed through his veins. That rush was why a lot of cops went into law enforcement.

  Nathan stepped into the woods about five feet away from where he figured someone else had entered. If there were any footprints, he didn’t want to sully them. Immediately, he smelled wet dirt, stagnant and musty along with the familiar scent of decay. Something was dead nearby, and nature showed no mercy to the deceased whether animal or human.

  A gray squirrel scampered down a tree and ran in front of him, kicking up dead leaves. Then he saw the unnatural mound of dirt.

  The woods were silent as he made his way toward the grave. Not even the birds chirped as if they shared in the solemn moment of discovery. Nathan crouched down and looked closely at the dark, loosely piled dirt. His stomach pitched when he saw the finger. Just the tip of a thin finger protruded from the ground. If there was any chance the person buried there might still be alive, he’d be digging her up with his bare hands. But the telltale smell of decomposition was too strong. She’d likely been dead since before anyone noticed she was missing.

  “Damn.” Nathan had hoped Carolina was wrong, that it wouldn’t end this way. He still had doubts about her abilities, but there he was staring at a grave in the woods about twenty yards away from where they’d found Mallory’s watch.

  The area didn’t look heavily traversed. Most of the leaves were undisturbed except for the path from the open field to the burial spot. He followed it back out and scanned the ground. It made sense that she was likely murdered somewhere close by. There weren’t any tire tracks coming back that far. The grass was more of a Bermuda type that didn’t grow tall so he couldn’t immediately see where it had been disturbed. That was why they had crime scene units and forensics. So much was invisible to the naked eye.

  Carolina sat in the pas
senger seat of the Dodge while Nathan secured the crime scene. He watched her turn around and peer into the backseat. He wondered what the hell she was looking at. Maybe Mallory had come back. Or maybe Carolina was loony, and he was just as crazy for believing her.

  Inside of an hour, the area was crawling with law enforcement and forensic techs. Yellow tape snaked from one tree to another.

  “Carolina brought you here?” Singleton pulled a white handkerchief out of his back pocket and wiped his forehead. He was one of few cops who opted for a brown cowboy hat instead of a department-issued ball cap. “Is it Mallory?”

  “Yes, Carolina led me here, and I don’t know if it’s Mallory yet. I’m assuming it is. Once we get the coroner out here, we can get her out and see if she’s identifiable.”

  “Did you Mirandize Carolina?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?” Singleton put his hand on his hip. “Don’t tell me you’re buying into her psychic bullshit. There are only two ways she knew that body was here. Either she put it here or she knows who did. In either instance, she needs to start talking or invoke the Fifth Amendment and get herself a lawyer.”

  Nathan tamped down his anger and touched Singleton’s arm and led him out of earshot of the other cops. As irritated as he was, he wasn’t interested in embarrassing Singleton in front of his department. He stopped and stood firm. “A few hours ago you dismissed her and weren’t interested in anything she had to say. Don’t go all badass now. I’ll question her. She trusts me. Treating her like a suspect won’t get us anywhere.”

  “But she is a suspect as of right now.”

  Nathan put his hand up in a stopping motion. “Don’t worry about her. What I need from you is to keep this crime scene secured while I take her home. Nobody goes in or out until the coroner and forensic team get here. Can you handle that?”

  “Yes.” Singleton looked past Nathan to where Carolina waited. “That girl’s never been right in the head.”

  Nathan turned on his heel and walked away. From a cop’s perspective, he knew that it looked bad, but he was sure she wasn’t responsible for Mallory’s demise. Proving that was a whole different ballgame. He headed back to the car and slid into the driver’s seat.