Murder in Real Time

by Julie Anne Lindsey

  Also, where was my backup? Sebastian was thorough. If he couldn’t reach Fargas, he had other FBI agents to contact on the island. Someone needed to get it in gear before I found out what that big file was meant for.

  He chuckled at something I’d missed. “Right? When Rick called to brag about sleeping with Anna, I saw my opportunity. Island Comforts was one of the homes with little nooks and crannies, so I thought what the hell, I’ll give it a shot.” He chuckled again at his play on words. I didn’t laugh. I stared at the night vision goggles strapped to his big head. Now I knew how the killer was able to see in the dark.

  “I was already on the island. He was looking for a place to stay, so guess where I recommended, based on all my research? Yep. You guessed it.

  “The rest of the cast was sloshed on the beach. They’d never miss me. They don’t pay any attention to me off set. Now, the room situation was pure luck. Rick’s car was out front, so I slipped into the cellar, found the covered staircase and headed up. I had nothing to lose. Worst case scenario, I wouldn’t find him and I’d plot another island haunting.” He shrugged. Kill, don’t kill. Que sera, sera.

  “With step one complete, I made sure all the reporters mentioned island ghosts in their articles about the murders.” He smacked his palms together in a thunderous clap.

  My fingers froze on my purse strap.

  “Rick and Anna died at the hands of a ghost. No one else entered the room.” He made nutty ghost sounds and waved his hands.

  I worked trembling fingertips over the lip of my purse and searched inside.

  “Do you want to know what I’m going to do with you?” He turned dark crazy eyes on me. I pulled my hands into my lap and nodded.

  “I’ve come up with the perfect finale to Halloween week. I want this house to gobble you up.”

  My jaw dropped. What? The cloth had attached itself to my tongue. Fear dried my mouth and created a disgusting paste. I couldn’t swallow. Another gag climbed my throat.

  Jesse tapped his chin. “I remember reading something about people being chopped into bits on this island. I love the animalistic twist. Stabbings and hangings are so overdone. I thought it’d be fun if the ghost chopped you up too. Don’t look at me like that.” His shoulders slumped. The excitement slipped from his tone as he stared at me. “You should’ve died this summer and you know it. The way I see it, your time’s up. I just hope I can get this thing figured out.”

  He set the file down and lifted something else from the table. A soft hum grew to a buzz in his hand.

  My eyes stretched wide as he marveled at the tool shaped like a small power saw. Crikey! I’d rather take my odds with the big file. The little saw revved in his palm, and the plastic-covered room took on a whole new meaning. Oh, hell no. Mental alarms gonged in my head. Not a prop! Not a prop!

  I readied my hands for combat.

  “You’re my grand finale. My crowning achievement. This funeral home is haunted and I’ll prove it. The Watchers were here when Rick and Anna were killed at a haunted bed-and-breakfast and The Watchers were here while you were mutilated by the ghosts in this house. I’ll make up a catchy name for the ghost before we air our footage next week. It’s prime time gold.

  “The Halloween party is broadcasting live, but the week we spent here will go on for six episodes. Once your death’s announced, we’ll hype the clips of you for all their worth. Ratings will soar, and I’ll finally get a gig I deserve. Sorry the finale has to be you, but from what I’ve heard, you’re kind of a black cloud and, like I said, your time’s up. Finding you dead won’t surprise any locals. In show business, sometimes you have to take one for the team.”

  My eyebrows hit my hairline. I wasn’t taking anything for his team.

  Jesse shut the saw off and listened. “Did you hear that?”

  The back door crashed open and Claire stumbled inside, giggling. With Todd. I watched in silent horror as they kissed and pawed at one another like animals.

  A moment later, relief flooded through me. She was safe. Kind of a wild kisser, but safe. I pulled the rag from my mouth. Jesse could suck it. The game was three against one now. “Claire!”

  Jesse’s face contorted with shock to have a weapon turned on him.

  I pointed my new stun gun cell phone at him. I didn’t have a clue how to use the thing, but I figured when there’s a button, press it. I pressed, and little wires shot out and attached to his pant leg.

  “Ah!” He swatted the probes.

  Todd jumped on him and they rolled over the plastic-coated floor, wailing on one another.

  Claire dashed to my side. “You okay?” She dragged me to my feet.

  The back door burst open and a man stormed inside like the Terminator. “Freeze! FBI!” Adrian’s voice perplexed my aching head. He extended a child’s plastic sheriff star.

  Todd released Jesse’s shirt and backed away.

  Jesse yanked something off the stand beside him and the familiar hum of the little saw started again. “Shut the door.” His crazed expression said he’d cut us all into pieces if he had to. He had a ghost to fabricate. My little circus of friends wouldn’t stand between him and his dream. “Everyone shut up!”

  Adrian inched forward. “Put the saw down.”

  Claire turned to me. “We couldn’t reach Sebastian.”

  I shook my head. “No. He’s hurt and he’s an hour away.” I swallowed worry for Sebastian and blew out a cleansing breath. One trauma at a time.

  Worry creased Claire’s brow. Was Fargas not outside the door? Where was the cavalry?

  Jesse waved the saw in the air. The engine hummed louder. The crazy in his eyes spread over his features as he stepped off the mental ledge. No turning back. His eyes glazed over and his lips curled in a creepy smile. He’d gone to a place reason couldn’t reach. I could almost hear his internal monologue as he accepted his fate and changed the plan to fit the circumstance. Heck, he’d planned to dismantle one person tonight, what was three more, really? I mean, he’d already prepped the room.

  Adrian pressed one hand against his side arm. “Put the saw down. We’ve got you surrounded.”

  “With what?” Jesse scoffed. “Two helpless women, one reporter and a fake cop? Yeah. I recognize you, Adrian Davis. We’ve met, remember? You aren’t fooling anyone with your water gun and kiddie badge. You probably bought that gun at the same sad little shop where Anna’s dad got his.”

  With surprising speed, Jesse snapped a hand out and hauled Claire against his side. He poised the saw at her chin and pressed the button. “Now, if everyone would please take a seat, I can get started.”

  A sudden twitch in his limbs maimed the final word. His saw jutted upward, catching Claire’s throat. Blood shot from her body, dashing the plastic covered floor. She screamed and stumbled back. Rage shot through me. I tackled Jesse. The saw clattered to the floor. Adrian and Todd piled on in a heap of bodies and flying hands. Jesse shook beneath us and a zing of current sent me scurrying backward.

  Claire pressed a palm to her jaw. “Who’s helpless now, bitch?” She kicked Jesse with her cute leather boots and dropped her stun gun.

  I crawled through rivulets of her blood to retrieve my gag rag. Claire eyeballed the cloth before pressing it to her chin. “I’m going to need a six pack of tetanus shots.”

  Panic and exhilaration ignited sheer joy inside me. “I thought he cut your head off.”

  She frowned. “He nicked my jaw.” Blood soaked the cloth, but it didn’t faze me. She was alive.

  Wait a minute. “Why were you kissing him?” I pointed to Todd.

  He beamed. “I told you. You’re where the story is. I heard you on the phone and watched you go inside. You said Claire was in here, but I’d seen her at the party, so I called her to check it out.”

  “You choreographed my recue?”

&nb
sp; Claire adjusted the towel on her jaw. “Fargas went for his cruiser. Adrian and I ran here.”

  She lifted a hoity eyebrow at the mention of running. They were in shape, so they ran all the way from Adrian’s. Yee-haw.

  The rag darkened with her blood. “We needed a plan to stall for time. This was all we could come up with.”

  “Police.” Fargas charged through the open door, gun drawn. He surveyed the scene and gave Claire an accusatory look.

  She cocked a hip. “What?”

  He rolled Jesse onto his side and cuffed him. “I asked you to wait outside.”

  She rolled her eyes. “My best friend was in here.”

  He turned his steely gaze on me, and I stepped back. There was a fire in Fargas I’d never seen before. I pointed at Claire. “I thought she was in here. Jesse sent me a video from her stint as an extra.” I hated to be the one to break that news to her. Extras on reality television? Not a real thing. Who knew?

  Spotlights danced outside the open door. A camera crew marched past Todd and Adrian. Women in suits described the scene around them in overdone campfire voices. The creepy room got smaller. A slew of ghost hunters powered up tiny devices and waved them in the air.

  Fargas dropped Jesse on the floor. “Back up. Outside. Move it. This is a crime scene. Get out. Now.”

  The reporters shoved microphones in his direction, asking questions as he shoved them back through the door.

  I swallowed a laugh. People were ridiculous. I looked at Fargas. “What happened to all the added security for tonight?”

  He huffed. “You should see it over at Adrian’s. It’s a cluster...mess. You can’t get in or out of the neighborhood. The roads are jammed with people and food trucks.” He rubbed his neck and turned to Claire. “What happened in here? Does anyone have a cell phone that works?”

  The lawn filled with voices. A line of spectators extended their phones toward the open door and window glass.

  They could help us. “Call an ambulance!”

  Sirens split the night before I stopped speaking.

  Strangers peered in through the doorway. “We did that. What else?”

  Frankie elbowed her way past the crowd. “Sorry. I got here as fast as I could.”

  Fargas nodded to Jesse. “Wake him up and read him his rights. Then knock him out again with something heavy, like a truck.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Fargas stepped past me and wrapped his arms around Claire. He hugged her to his chest as if they could somehow snap together into one being if he held her tight enough. The expression on his face amused and stunned me. He loved her. Fiercely. I’d seen that look before and there was no doubt I was right. Huh. He whispered into her ear and stroked her hair with gentle hands. She shook her head and pushed him away. He didn’t budge.

  “Yes, I am.” He scooped her off her feet. “You’re too damn stubborn to argue with, you know that? The ambulance is right outside and you’re bleeding.” His words grew soft as he moved through the crowd outside the door.

  My bottom lip quivered. Tears spilled over my eyelids onto fire hot cheeks. Adrian caught me in his arms and held me tight. Tears turned to sobs and I fell apart in his embrace. My knees buckled, but he held me up, pressed me to his chest and shared his strength with me when I had no more.

  “I’m gonna go,” Todd mumbled.

  “I thought he cut her throat.” Tears poured out in an unstoppable deluge. “I thought he had her captive in here, but it was only a video, and I was so thankful she was safe. Then she showed up anyway and he held that saw...” I choked on the words. “The blood.”

  “Shh.” Adrian stroked my hair and leaned over me, pressing his cheek to mine. He tucked strands of tear-soaked hair behind my ear. “Fargas will protect her. You don’t have to worry about Claire anymore.”

  Lights flashed through the open door and the sounds outside increased steadily by the decibel.

  “But I do.” I hiccupped the words. “I worry about everyone. I want you to be happy. I want them to be happy.” I waved an arm toward the ruckus outside. “I love them.”

  Adrian’s chest bobbed with humor. “They love you too. Come and see.”

  I moved on unsteady feet with Adrian as my guide. We stopped at the open door and I squinted into the night. Hundreds of faces packed the yard before me. Ambulances, food trucks and news vans sat at hasty angles in the grass. Clusters of people chattered and snapped pictures of one another. They took notice of me, a few at a time, tapping one another and motioning my way. The roar of voices lowered.

  “She’s okay.” Adrian lifted one of my arms over my head, like I was a child.

  A round of cheers went up loud enough to split an eardrum. I pressed my face to Adrian’s chest. Whistles and hoots turned to a steady rhythmic chant. Patience. Patience. Patience.

  “Told ya.” Adrian squeezed me to his side.

  I tilted my head back for a better view of his face. Soulful blue eyes glossed with emotion. He nodded. No words, just the reluctant acceptance of a man who loved me enough to do the unthinkable. I couldn’t blink or turn away from the expression on his handsome face. A hundred flashes captured the moment. Adrian was ready to let me go.

  I wiped tears and tracked a spotlight through the night sky. “Do you see that?”

  Adrian loosened his hold on me and chuckled. “It looks like a sightseeing helicopter.”

  The spotlight drew patterns over the crowd. “Is that a news chopper?”

  The steady thrumming of chopper blades moved nearer, dousing us with raging wind. What the hell? The vehicle moved into the intersection beyond the lawn and people dashed away from the beating wind. The spotlight raced paths through bystanders. I shielded my eyes with half the town as a silhouette emerged from the vehicle. I’d recognize his determined stride anywhere. “Sebastian.”

  The chopper lifted up into the night and disappeared, taking the hurricane with it.

  Sebastian took a direct route to my side, parting the sea of people between us. He nodded to Adrian, who stepped away. “Thank you.”

  I dashed my arms around his neck. “What are you doing here? You said you couldn’t get here. What happened?”

  “I commandeered a helicopter.”

  Adrian chuckled behind me.

  Sebastian shifted under my weight, favoring one leg.

  I jumped back. Fresh panic sent my pulse into a sprint. “Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Let’s sit down. You’re hurt. You’re shot.”

  He pressed warm palms to my wind chilled cheeks and stared into my eyes. “It’s nothing.”

  I wiggled in his hands, trying to see the extent of his injury.

  He wouldn’t allow it. “Hey. Look at me.” He kissed my forehead, my cheek, my lips. “You’re safe and I’ll heal.” Sebastian leaned closer, pressing his forehead against mine. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for you.”

  “You’re here now.”

  He rocked his head left to right. “I’m not sure that’s good enough for me. I should’ve been here for you, not chasing a mobster and his goons.”

  I wrapped my arms around his waist and snuggled into him. “I love what you do. You protect the country from bad guys.” Sebastian had accepted the FBI position over a coveted Secret Service position years ago—another reason I loved him. He was the best at what he did.

  Sebastian led me towards a waiting ambulance. His limp increased with every step. “The country’s a big place. I’m thirty-five. My world’s changing. I’m not the guy you interviewed anymore.”

  I let him help me into the empty ambulance. He climbed in behind me with effort. The EMT gave him a quizzical look. Sebastian motioned to me. “I don’t think she’s injured, but take a look anyway.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  I ran my fingers over the
FBI emblem on Sebastian’s coat. “Remember when you took this job? You said you wanted to protect the American people. You could’ve worked with the Secret Service. That was an amazing once-in-a-lifetime offer and you passed it over. You said the Secret Service would’ve assigned you one or two lives someone else deemed top priority, but you thought all lives were all important. You were made for this work. The country needs you.”

  Sebastian watched the EMT check my vitals.

  The EMT turned to Sebastian. “You don’t look well, sir. I think you should lie down and let me look you over.”

  “He was shot,” I interjected before Sebastian played it off.

  “Sir?” The EMT grabbed supplies with one hand and motioned for Sebastian and I to trade places with the other.

  I pulled Sebastian onto the gurney. The EMT helped him out of his jacket.

  My heart stopped beating. Blood soaked his shirt. The EMT cut it off. A red bandage beneath was also covered in blood.

  The EMT went to work cleaning the area and replacing the bandage. “You need to rest until this starts healing. You’re lucky the stitches are still in place.”

  I pointed to his pants. “He was shot in the leg tonight, too.”

  The EMT dragged his attention from Sebastian’s shoulder to his leg and finally to me. “How is he functioning?”

  I sniffled and laughed. “He’s stubborn.”

  The EMT moved Sebastian’s feet and cut the length of his pant leg while I held Sebastian’s hand.

  Emotion brewed beneath his carefully guarded expression. His Adam’s apple bobbed.

  My heart broke for whatever thoughts he was battling with. “Hey. You can tell me.”

  His dark eyes pleaded with me. “If you’re ever in danger again, I promise to be here.”

  “Okay,” I whispered.

  Sebastian gave one sharp nod in agreement and just like that, I knew he’d move mountains to see he kept his word.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  I stepped out of the shower into a steam-filled room and smiled at the glorious quiet. In the four days since November began, The Watchers had packed up and taken their hoopla back to the mainland, Claire had gone back to work, and Adrian had moved back to his house on the marsh. Life was good. Peaceful. Solitary.