Krewe of Hunters, Volume 2: The Unseen ; The Unholy ; The Unspoken ; The Uninvited

by Heather Graham

  Tyler touched her—she was still warm. But she looked dead. Her face was ashen and gray, and bruises were beginning to show on her flesh. She’d been a tiny woman; she now looked shrunken, almost as if she were being mummified with each second that passed.

  “Bite is just above her knee on the inner thigh,” the nurse told him.

  Tyler moved the sheet. There was no doubt that she’d been bitten by a snake. The wound had begun to blacken and go raw before she’d died.

  “Thank you. She will go to autopsy, right?” Tyler asked.

  “It’s the law.”

  “Of course.”

  He left the hospital and returned to the Tarleton-Dandridge House, suddenly anxious to be with Allison again.

  He knew there was a killer now. A killer who had procured a copperhead—easy enough in the woods nearby, or even in barns and basements—and put it in Sarah’s car.

  The killer had taken chances. Sarah might have seen the snake. If she’d been able to speak long enough, she might have told the emergency rescue personnel she’d been bitten. And if they’d given her the antidote along with their other life-saving techniques, she might have survived.

  No, this killer had taken a chance. He’d injured scores of people in that accident—just to kill Sarah Vining.

  When he opened the door, he saw Sean watching the screens by himself.

  “Where’s Allison?”

  “She’s in the attic with Logan and Kelsey, going through papers,” Sean said. “I’m guessing it’s not good news.”

  “Sarah Vining is dead.”

  “The crash killed her?” Sean asked.

  “That—combined with a copperhead bite.”

  Sean sat back. As he did so Allison came running down the stairs. She knew from his face that the news was bad.

  Logan followed her down more slowly.

  “Well?” he asked.

  Tyler shook his head.

  Allison stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “She’s dead? Sarah Vining is dead?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Shaking, she sank onto a step. “But it was an automobile accident. We saw it on the news. It couldn’t have anything to do with what’s happening here.”

  He walked over and sat beside her. She wasn’t crying; she just stared ahead, dazed.

  “Allison, it wasn’t an accident.”

  She looked at him. “I saw it. I saw it on TV. Dozens of cars and people were involved.”

  “There was a snake in her car.”

  “A…snake?”

  “She was bitten by a copperhead.”

  “Yes, but you can survive a snakebite! People survive them all the time.”

  “Allison, between the snakebite and the trauma of the crash, she died. She caused the crash—because she’d been bitten by a snake. That’s not an accident.”

  “I’ve never heard of a copperhead being in anyone’s car, but I have heard of people finding them in their basements or garages,” she said. Then she gasped, taking in the reality of another death. “Oh, poor Sarah. She was always such a sad little creature.”

  “Julian and Sarah. Three days apart. We need to be vigilant. Someone is trying to keep some kind of information from being discovered,” Logan said. He walked around in front of Allison. “I’m so sorry. I know you’ve lost a friend, and now another coworker. This is far more painful for you than we can begin to understand, but the harder we work at learning the truth, the better our chances of saving others.”

  “You think someone is trying to kill everyone associated with the house?” Allison asked him bluntly.

  “Only people who might know something,” Tyler said. “Of course, we’re speculating, but we’re pretty good at sorting things out. This morning, Sarah was talking about getting back into the office. Maybe she came across some kind of information in there the day Julian died. The board was meeting up there, right?”

  “Yes.”

  The word sounded like a sob. He put his arm around her shoulders, thinking that she might well push him away again—but she didn’t. “Allison, you’ve been hit with a lot. Two friends dead, the ghost of a friend, the appearance of a ghost that looks like you and a man in a coma saying your name. It’s too much to take in. We understand. But I believe you are on to something about the house that someone doesn’t want the world to know. Someone who didn’t care who they killed in that accident.” He paused. “It has to be an employee—or one of the board members.”

  “And we’re down one board member and one employee,” Logan said.

  “What about the tour groups that were in the house?” she asked. “We might have had someone on one of the tours who was just crazy, or had some bizarre agenda? We can’t watch every person every minute they’re in here. Someone could have slipped away. And that person could have gotten out, too. I hadn’t set the alarm when I found Julian’s body.”

  “It’s possible,” Logan told her.

  “But unlikely,” Sean said from behind the screens. He came over to them and spoke to Allison. “From what I understand about the boy whose dad is in a coma, the kid’s convinced that the ghost of Beast Bradley likes you, Allison. I think we should try to coax either Lucy Tarleton or Beast Bradley into appearing to you. If you can get close enough to one or even both of them, they might be able to help. You never know what a ghost might know.”

  The door opened; Jane and Kat had returned. They were followed by Julian, who was arguing with Kat.

  “That was horrible—and completely undignified!” he said.

  “Julian!” Kat set her handbag on a side table and turned to him. “If I hadn’t asked that they shave your head, we wouldn’t know that you’d formed a hematoma. A bruise. Someone had cracked you on the head to get your chin into that blade.”

  “I told you what happened,” Julian said. “Good Lord, doesn’t anyone listen to me?”

  “We all listen to you. And we believe you, Julian,” Jane said, trying to calm him down. “But we can’t go into a courtroom and tell a jury that your ghost told us what happened!”

  “As if it wasn’t bad enough to see myself with that…that Y incision!” Julian moaned.

  “I told you not to come with us,” Kat said.

  Julian saw that the others were watching him. “Okay, so I shouldn’t have gone. But I felt I had to.”

  “And,” Kat continued, “we’ve proven that what you said is true. If I hadn’t done what I did, the medical examiner might still be thinking it was an accident.”

  “You asked him not to let anything out to the press yet?” Tyler asked.

  Kat nodded. “Of course.”

  “A sound and decent guy?”

  “The M.E. on Julian’s case was a woman. She’s about sixty, and I believe she’ll be extremely discreet,” Kat said.

  Julian walked over to Allison. “See? I told you I was murdered.”

  “I didn’t disbelieve you,” Allison told him.

  “We’re going to solve this,” Jane assured Julian. Then she paused, looking at the others. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

  “I called you. Didn’t you get my message?” Logan asked.

  Jane fumbled in her pocket. “We didn’t have our phones. I didn’t think to check for messages.”

  “There was a huge pileup on US1,” Logan said. He went on to explain that he and Tyler had gone to the site, and that Tyler had accompanied Sarah to the hospital.

  And that Sarah had died.

  And the way she’d died.

  “We have to move fast on this,” Jane murmured.

  “You’ll have to get me in to the autopsy,” Kat said urgently, addressing Logan.

  “Sarah is…dead? Too?” Julian asked. “And it was made to look like another accident. With a snake. Lord, someone’s pushing it. I’m really sorry about Sarah. I’m still really sorry about me.”

  “My condolences, Allison,” Jane said. “But…we need to figure out what’s going on. I can play with the different paintings and pictures,
and see what I can learn by doing that.”

  “Are you going to get started now?” Logan asked Jane.

  “Yes, unless you need me for anything else?”

  “No, I’d like to see what you discover.”

  “What do you think you’ll discover?” Allison asked.

  “The truth,” Jane told her.

  Allison smiled at that. “The truth about…”

  “The past owners of the house and those who dwelt within,” Jane said. “You’ll see, and I’m sure you’ll find it fascinating.”

  “Do you need help setting up?” Sean asked her.

  “You can grab the box with the printer and scanner,” Jane said. “I’m going to set up shop in the grand salon.” She turned to Allison. “Please don’t worry. I have protective covers for the table.”

  “You know, I’m not worried about artifacts anymore,” Allison said.

  “I’m going to do some sketches, photos and comparisons of the paintings in the house. If anyone wants me, that’s where I’ll be.” She shrugged, smoothing back her hair. “Well, whether you want me or not, that’s where I’ll be.”

  “Kat, get Kelsey—she’s out in the yard. If we’re lucky, you can reach the records office before they close and at least start seeing what you can dig up. I’ll spell Sean at the screens so he can get some rest.” Logan looked at Tyler, and Tyler looked at Allison.

  “We have to get back into the office and sort out those papers,” he said. “But before it’s too late and too dark, I’d like to see the rest of the grounds—through your eyes. I’ve been wanting to do that and circumstances keep getting in the way. Let’s do it now. I’d like you to show me the stables and the family graveyard.”

  “All right,” Allison said slowly.

  Julian shuddered. “Graveyard! I think I’ll sit with Jane for a while.”

  “As long as you don’t drive me crazy!” Jane warned him.

  Julian grinned at Allison. “I woulda had a big crush on her!” he said. He spoke lightly, but she saw the sadness in his eyes. She wanted to give him a warm hug filled with comfort but, of course, she couldn’t. And he bent down instead as if he was trying to hug her. “It’s going to be okay, Allison. Maybe Sarah…maybe she’ll be like me. She’d love to stay in this old place forever. She adored the house.”

  “That’s not helping me, Julian,” Allison said.

  “Whoa, I’m sorry, not the right thing to say. Okay, well…hmm. I guess I’ll go ‘haunt’ the gorgeous Jane.”

  “You were gorgeous yourself, my friend,” Allison told him. “You were.”

  He smiled wistfully at her and turned to head into the salon. Sean stood and stretched, and Logan took over his seat.

  “Shall we see the property now?” Tyler asked.

  “Yes,” Allison said. “Give me a minute. I want to rinse my face.” She drew in a deep breath. “We’ll hear from the rest of the board soon, I imagine. They’ll want to arrange something for Sarah.”

  Tyler nodded. He watched her rise stiffly and walk toward the pantry.

  She hadn’t been as close to Sarah as she had to Julian.

  But she’d lost someone, and everyone deserved a few tears.

  “I’ll be right back,” she promised.

  * * *

  Allison was true to her word. She just needed cold water on her face and a moment alone to breathe.

  Now Sarah was dead, too.

  But these people, the Krewe, were here to help.

  So she was going to help them by doing whatever she could.

  She met Tyler back in the salon and motioned for him to follow her.

  The narrow hallway in the foyer led straight to the back door; the Tarleton-Dandridge was, despite its grandiose styling, still a shotgun house. The hall had allowed the breeze to sweep right through on hot days.

  “The back can be accessed through the pantry and the music room,” Tyler noted.

  “It’s the same door, but the music room and the pantry lead toward it from either side of the house.”

  “No other doors? Nothing we might have missed?”

  She shook her head. “There’s a fire escape out of Lucy Tarleton’s room. If you look out the right-hand window, you’ll see it. It’s a legal requirement,” she said.

  Tyler stopped at the twenty-foot expanse between the house and the stables.

  “What?” she asked him.

  “I saw the horse,” he said. He looked at her. “And the dog.”

  “Firewalker and Robert?” Had he seen them or had he imagined them?

  “The horse was beautiful, a huge black stallion, about seventeen hands tall,” he told her.

  “And the dog?”

  “Big old hound or maybe some kind of hound mix. Huge and tawny.”

  “He was a wolfhound mix,” Allison said.

  “Nice dog,” Tyler said. “I wouldn’t mind a dog like that. Of course, I guess back then, he had lots of room to run. He wouldn’t really make an apartment dog.”

  “You live in an apartment?”

  “For the moment.” He scanned the property as they spoke and then his eyes settled on her. “I lived most of my life in San Antonio, but as you know, our main office is in Arlington, Virginia. Our permanent homes are there now. I want to get a house, and there’s still plenty of land around us. The closer you get to the Capitol, of course, the harder it becomes to have much of a property. But I’d like to have a horse again, and a dog—something like the ghost dog, an enormous old hound, loyal to the core.”

  “Also furry, muddy and dirty,” Allison said.

  “Ah, you’re not a dog girl.”

  “I love dogs! I’ll have you know that my little mutt lived to the ripe old age of nineteen. I got him when he was six weeks old and I was four, and we didn’t lose him until I’d graduated after my first stint at college.” She hesitated. “I wasn’t ready for another dog after him, I guess.”

  He looked out over the property, glad that she seemed to be speaking calmly, that she wasn’t in shock the way she’d been after Julian’s death.

  “Robert must have been a great dog,” Tyler said. “I suspect he went everywhere with Lucy Tarleton and that she had to convince him to stay—maybe with her sister, maybe she got a servant to lock him up—every time she made one of her rides down to Valley Forge.” He pointed across the stables. “How do you suppose she pulled it off? The family groom must have been loyal to her, and she had to be an excellent rider to slip through the British military that surrounded the city at the time.”

  “She was passionate about her cause. She’d grown up here and knew the area well, while the British were on foreign soil. I think you’re right—the groom knew what she was doing and helped her. If she was caught, she could act the part of a stricken woman, just trying to reach a wounded cousin or friend. She probably played the ‘I’m just a woman’ card many times. We can’t know the details.” Allison paused, shrugging lightly. “We get history in one big package, all tied up with the outcome known.”

  “That’s true—and it’s human nature to invent or embroider some of those details. We do know she died, but no one was there when it happened—except her father, according to what I’ve read. There could be no torture worse for a father than seeing his daughter killed.”

  Allison nodded. “That was the outcome. I like to think about her before the end. Lucy Tarleton didn’t know she’d get caught when she was riding through the night. But so many people took huge risks, even though they knew the punishment for what they were doing could be death. It’s strange, you make me think of the colonists’ day-to-day life in a way I haven’t for a while. And about Lucy. She was like any other woman of any other time. She loved her dog, and her dog was fiercely loyal and loving to her.” Allison shivered. “I can only imagine the day Beast Bradley caught her. She was returning from one of her spy missions, but I don’t believe he ever proved she was spying. I think he found out about Stewart Douglas—that’s how the story came down to us, anyway.”


  “A girl with a dog and a horse,” Tyler murmured.

  “The dog was killed, you know. According to the legend. I’m hoping he ripped his attacker to shreds before he went down.”

  “I’m sure he fought tooth and nail,” Tyler said. “Maybe he stays around because he’s looking for Lucy.”

  “But the horse wasn’t killed,” Allison told him. “Actually, the fate of the horse is a curious one. The British took him when they evacuated Philadelphia. But he wound up back here—he’s buried in the graveyard, too. So is the dog. There’s an area toward the rear for family pets.”

  “Let’s go see it, shall we?”

  “Okay.” Allison smiled at him.

  There’d been something about their conversation here that was wistful and poignant. Allison wasn’t sure what she’d thought about him before, other than that unmistakable attraction, but they seemed to be drawing closer.

  Maybe she needed to back away. She’d lost friends. She was learning all about the world beneath what was seen, and she was coming in contact with entities that were uninvited.

  But it felt as if Tyler had now been part of her life forever, although it had just been a few days. She was becoming dependent on him. He could be harsh, but only to make her see.

  He was definitely an imposing person.

  Maybe any time a tall man with a gun came from Texas, the rest of the world automatically assumed cowboy. He was tall, extremely well-built, and now that they’d shared a quiet moment thinking about the lives of others rather than their deaths, she knew she liked his mind and the way he thought. She suddenly knew that he wasn’t just attractive, he was…sexually appealing. For the past few months, she’d refused to even consider a relationship with anyone, not after her last fiasco….

  Another person had died. And here she was, thinking about this man.

  “Yes!” she said, turning away from him. “The graveyard! The family plot. Well, let me get into tour guide mode here.” She moved past him. Allison wondered if, when this mystery was solved, he would go back to Virginia, or on to another city to solve another problem. She would always remember this moment, standing in the yard, reflecting on the life of a long-dead woman and the simple human fact that she had loved her dog. This moment, because it was when Allison discovered she was intrigued and excited by being near him. She wondered what it would be like to really touch him….