by Kris Norris
Annie choked back a sob, his words making her heart sing. She opened for his tongue as he pressed his lips against hers, sealing his words with a kiss. His mouth lifted into a smile when he drew back, his hands squeezing her waist before letting go.
He gave her a light pat on her ass then moved over to the bag as he started to pack up their supplies. “I’m thinking we should head over to the precinct. I’ll see if forensics can give us any information on the hair and photo. I’m not expecting much, but…I don’t trust our friend not to make another appearance, sunshine or not. And I’d really love to have some answers before he materializes out of thin air again.” He looked up at her. “Annie. Honey. If you don’t put some clothes on, you’re going to find yourself up against the wall again, and I have a feeling once I get inside you, it’ll take a few days for me to find my way out.”
Heat burned up her cheeks as she shook her head, dressing as quickly as she could. His hand curled around her waist as she tugged the pants tight, knotting the string keeping them up. She glanced at him over her shoulder, noting the way his eyes had darkened as his thumb caressed her hip.
She leaned into him, trusting him to bridge their weight. “Do you think Avery and Tempie have had better luck?”
“We can only hope. Since the ghost’s been shadowing us, maybe they’ve had a chance to finish their investigation. Either way, I’m calling my brother the moment my damn cell has enough power, and the man’s not getting off the line without some straight answers. Paranormal or not, there’s got to be something concrete we can latch onto.”
“Not sure ghost and concrete go together.”
“Maybe it’s time they did.” He gave her the bag of salt. “Stay close, and if anything moves, toss a handful first and worry about what it is second.”
Chapter Eight
Dylan scrubbed a hand down his face, staring at the results of the tests they’d preformed on the hair sample. He’d had to call in another favor and ask a buddy of his to make the request. His friend had looked at him as if Dylan had grown an extra head, but had thankfully asked few details surrounding the origin of the items. Now all Dylan had to do was make sense of the findings, and maybe they’d have a lead.
He pulled out his cell and tried Avery’s number again, cursing when it went straight to voice mail. The couple had left more than a few animated messages on his cell, but had yet to pick up when he called.
A cold shiver snaked down his spine. It wasn’t like Avery not to answer his cell, and just the thought that something might have happened to him…
Annie’s hands curled around his shoulders, easing the tight feeling constricting his chest. “I’m sure they’re both fine. They’re the experts, remember? If we’ve managed to dodge this thing, I’m certain they’re just off burning the grave or something equally as weird.”
He smiled as she gave him a squeeze before sitting down beside him. He still couldn’t believe she hadn’t run screaming out of his life after they’d talked in the old station. Or that nothing more than a few words from her could bring him back from the edge.
He sighed. “It’s just not like Avery. The man’s a pest at the best of times.”
“But he’s also a professional. And I can’t see him stopping in the middle of something important to answer his phone. Not when he knows we’re okay. You left more than a few messages. I’m sure one of them will call us back as soon as they can.” She pointed at the paper fisted in his hand. “Is that the results from the chemical analysis on the hair?”
“Gary just handed it to me. Told me I owe him a case of beer and your phone number.” He winked at her. “I told him I’d give him two cases, but that’s it.”
“Maybe I should get that tattoo.”
“Funny.” He moved the paper closer to her. “Now all we have to do is see if there’s anything remotely useful here.” He scanned his finger down the page. “Great. All that fancy machinery and all it can tell us is that this guy lived by the ocean. That really narrows it down.”
Annie took the paper, glancing at the information. “There are a few trace compounds in here, but you’re right. It doesn’t narrow down our search any. Don’t suppose you got anything off the photo?”
“Other than a bunch of crazy looks because of the pictograms on the back? Not really. The lab confirmed the paper is a composition consistent with turn of the century, but again, they can’t tell where it was made. Most of the records got destroyed in the 1906 earthquake.”
Dylan palmed his head. The lack of sleep was catching up with him. That, or he hadn’t quite recovered from his encounter with the ghost. Either way, the fuzzy feeling in his brain wasn’t helping any.
Footsteps sounded behind him followed by a hand pressing on his shoulder. He glanced up, groaning inwardly when his gaze clashed with the captain of his unit. The last thing he needed was the man thinking Dylan had lost his mind.
He turned in his chair, extending his hand. “Captain Walsh.”
“I thought you’d agreed to find a suitable pastime for your days off, Dylan. It’s really not healthy to work the kind of hours you do.” The man’s focus shifted to Annie, and his brow arched in question.
Dylan hid his smile. Annie had turned more than a few heads in the station, and it seemed the captain wasn’t immune to her charms anymore than the other officers had been.
Dylan laid his hand on the small of Annie’s back, waving the other at Walsh. “Annie Dunnigan, this is Captain David Walsh. Captain, my suitable pastime, Annie Dunnigan.”
Annie rolled her eyes at him, shaking Walsh’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Captain. I believe I’ve worked with a few of your officers before.”
Walsh drew his brow together before his face widened into a smile. “You’re Dr. Dunnigan. The psychologist who does consulting work for us from time to time. I’ve caught some of your lectures at Berkley. You’re an excellent speaker and might I say, very easy on the eyes.”
Dylan bit back the growl rumbling through his chest, reminding himself the man was simply being polite.
Walsh motioned to Dylan. “I have to say, Dylan. I’m quite surprised to see you with someone I consider…”
“Normal, sir?”
“Enchanting. So what brings you two here if you’re not working?”
Dylan glanced at Annie, hoping she’d play along. “Just trying to track down some information. Annie was given this photo by a client. She thinks it might hold some relevance in her prescribed treatment. That maybe there’s a family secret infringing on the person’s mental state. I was hoping the lab could give us a bit of insight…maybe tell us where the paper was made or where the picture was taken. A place to start if nothing else.”
Walsh picked up the photo. “And did you get anything helpful?”
Dylan paused. He hadn’t been expecting that. “Not a damn thing.”
Walsh laughed. “That’s probably due to the age of it. I do know one thing. That’s a guard’s uniform.”
Dylan leaned forward in his seat, taking the photo back when Walsh extended it. “Guard’s uniform? I thought it might be military or police.”
“I suppose I could be mistaken. But my son did a rather in-depth project on the history of Alcatraz Island from the time it was known as Alcatraz Citadel until its full conversion into a federal penitentiary. If I’m being honest, my wife did half the work. But he had a number of old photographs, and I swear the original guards wore uniforms just like that.” He shrugged. “Might be worth checking into. Those early days were pretty brutal. I’m sure more than one family has skeletons hiding in their closet from relatives that worked there.”
Walsh smiled at Annie and took a few steps away before turning back. “There’s a barbecue next Sunday. It’s an annual function for the SWAT team and their significant others. Don’t suppose there’s any chance I’ll be seeing you there, Dr. Dunnigan?”
Annie glanced Dylan’s way, her stunning smile stealing his breath. God, she was so damn beautiful it made his eyes hu
rt.
She turned that smile on the captain as she reached over and gently clasped Dylan’s hand. “Please, call me Annie. And I wouldn’t miss it. I’ll make sure I clear my schedule.”
“Excellent. See you in a couple of days, Dylan.” He tipped his hat. “Annie.”
Dylan watched the man leave, his head spinning. He turned to Annie, his mouth gaped open as he stared at her. He’d never had a conversation with the man that hadn’t ended up with at least one of them yelling, and he couldn’t believe the man hadn’t even called him on using police resources for personal use.
Annie laughed, reaching over to gently close his mouth. “You okay?”
“How did you…I mean…he’s never…”
“Wasn’t I supposed to accept the offer? To the barbecue?”
He shook his head. “No, of course. It’s just…you’re amazing.” He leaned in, dropping a quick, hot kiss on her mouth. “And it looks like we have a place to start.”
Annie brushed her fingers over her lips as if she could still feel his mouth on hers then blinked, nodding in agreement. “Of course, of all the places it could be, it has to Alcatraz. One of the most haunted spots in San Francisco. Though it still doesn’t tell us much about the man in the photo.”
“Let’s start with a search of known personnel and go from there. Maybe we’ll get lucky twice.”
Annie gave him a sexy half smile. “I’m thinking we’ve already gotten lucky two or three times, but…”
He let the growl surface this time, wondering if he could sneak them in to a vacant detention cell, when his phone rang. He pulled it out, drawing a sharp breath when Avery’s name illuminated the screen.
“It’s Avery.”
“I’ll start the search, while you talk to your brother.”
Dylan nodded, the warm feeling spreading inside him making it hard to concentrate. He stood up and moved over to the other corner of the small office, swiping his hand on the cell. “It’s about time you called. I’ve been trying for over an hour.”
Avery snorted. “Perhaps if you’d thought to take your cell with you last night…”
“I did have it, Einstein. That damn ghost drained it, and we weren’t exactly in a position to charge it.” He leaned against the wall. “Don’t suppose you have any answers for us?”
“Not nearly as many as we’d like. And exactly where did you go last night? When we couldn’t reach you, we dropped by your place. You do realize you left your back door wide open and there was broken glass in your bedroom, not to mention Annie’s cell phone along with the digital recorder I gave her. She also left some of her clothes behind.”
Dylan didn’t miss the tone in Avery’s voice. “That ghost showed up, and we really didn’t have time to pack properly.” He sighed. He didn’t have time to dance around the real question. “Okay. Let’s cut the bullshit. We both know you’re more than aware of everything that happened last night. Whether you intended to or not, you’ve already done your Vulcan mind meld, so can we skip the gory details and just jump to the part where you have answers? ‘Cause after everything I’ve seen, we need to end this. Now. Before it hurts Annie.”
“I’m sorry, but I’d like to speak with Dylan Smith. The skeptic. I’m not sure what you’ve done with him but—”
“Av.”
He chuckled. “Fine, but it’s rare when I get to indulge where you’re concerned. Temperance and I went through hours of recordings. We got a few leads but as it turns out, that recorder Annie left behind gave us a name…Ewan McCallister. The name came up a few times on our tapes but there was a classic EVP on Annie’s that points to him as our unwanted visitor.”
“McCallister. Got it. We think we’ve got a lead on where this guy worked. Turns out he might have been a guard at Alcatraz in the early nineteen hundreds. Annie’s looking for names, but seeing as you’ve provided that, we should be able to gather more information on him. If there is any…and if he was, in fact, a guard.”
“I doubt our spirit was incarcerated in a silver picture frame unless he’d done more than a few questionable things. There’s bound to be some mention of him, though we might have to resort to scanning through microfilm at the library. We’ll head to your district.” He yelled something to Temperance. “Meet you there. But before we do, I’ve just got one more question?”
“What’s that?”
“I just needed to know whether you wanted me to tell Temperance the news or if you’re going to wait until she reads it on both of your faces?”
Dylan growled, but Avery had already hung up. He sighed. As annoying as his brother was, the man was brilliant. And if Dylan ended up half as happy as Avery appeared to be with his new wife, he wouldn’t have any complaints.
He slipped the phone into his pocket, joining Annie at the computer. “Avery and your sister got a name. Ewan McCallister. They’re going to meet us at the library not far from here.”
Annie glanced down at her clothes. Though they’d showered at the station and he’d been able to give her a new shirt from his locker, he hadn’t chanced going by his house to pick up her stuff.
She released a long breath. “Great.”
“We could risk going home but…”
“It’s fine. At least it’s comfortable and easy to run in.”
Dylan motioned toward the door. “You sure you’re ready? To face your sister and my brother?”
She shouldered up to him, rubbing her breasts against his chest. “Completely. Though it’s probably best you’re so highly skilled. Tempie can be a bit overprotective.”
“Fantastic.”
* * * *
“We’ve been at this for hours, and still nothing.” Dylan pushed his chair back, running a hand through his hair. “We’re running out of time. That ghost could be recharged or whatever it does and show up again.”
Avery patted him on the shoulder. “There’s a fair amount of steel used in the construction of this place. It’s bound to have some inhibiting powers toward our friend. But you’re right. The longer we drag this out, the more powerful he’ll become. And from everything you describe, he definitely seems determined to get his hands on Annie.”
Annie moved in beside Dylan. “I thought he was after both of us? Because we released him?”
Avery leaned against a table, wrapping his arms around Temperance when she saddled up in front of him. “Technically you’re right. But the fact he didn’t go after Dylan when he was alone outside…that the spirit attacked him in what seems like an effort to get to you…something doesn’t add up. True, you’ll both need to send him packing, but it’s you he wants. For some reason, it’s your energy he’s after.”
Dylan palmed the table beside him. “So what do we do?”
Avery waved at the computers. “Keep searching, at least until it gets a bit closer to sunset. If we still don’t have anything, we’ll have to find somewhere safe for you two to spend the night.” He smiled. “Perhaps one that doesn’t involve abandoned buildings.”
“Joke all you want, bro, but that jail cell was a stroke of pure genius.”
Avery merely grinned, heading back to the computer he and Temperance were using. Dylan watched him click the mouse, wondering why his brother hadn’t grilled him about Annie. It wasn’t like Avery to let something that important slide, and Dylan couldn’t help but feel it was what the man wasn’t saying that held the most weight.
Dylan sighed, smiling when Annie’s hand slid over his shoulder, lightly scratching his chest. Just a single touch and all he could think about was loving her. Stripping her out of those ridiculously oversized track pants, feeling her soft skin rub against his. He’d had a full-blown hard-on since the little minx had slipped into his arms after her shower, the lingering perfume of fruit and flowers adding to the sweet scent of her skin. She’d looked up at him with those big, blue eyes, and his heart had stopped. By the time he’d managed to kick-start it, they’d been knee-deep in research. Now, he was left gritting his teeth and praying his dick didn
’t simply burst.
Avery chuckled, and it was all Dylan could do not to launch a book at his head.
Annie gave him a squeeze, taking a seat beside him. “Guess we go to the next page.”
He nodded. They’d started in 1901 and had made their way through the first decade. But it seemed as if nothing even questionable had happened. Or maybe they were just wrong. He clicked on the mouse, skipping to the next screen.
They scanned the page, going through three more when Annie stopped him. “There! That looks like the same guy, though I don’t see his name.”
He clicked on the image, enlarging it. “Well, I’ll be damned. It is.” He whistled to Avery, motioning him over. “There’s no mention of him, but look at the title of the article.”
Avery leaned in. “Fourth prisoner to go missing.” He muttered a few more words then pointed at the monitor. “Looks as if they merely thought the men had escaped. Seems it wasn’t quite the impossible feat portrayed in the movies, at least not in the early years. Skip forward a bit and see if anyone else disappeared.”
Dylan clicked through more files, quickly scanning for pictures or similar titles before stopping at what appeared six months later. “Two more missing. Seems the warden was starting to get suspicious. Three of the guards here are named as being questioned about the disappearances. And look who one of them was.” Dylan zoomed in on another photo. “It actually states his name in this one.”
Avery tapped his chin with his finger. “What if our good friend Ewan McCallister was a serial killer?”