by R E Gauthier
WHERE
SECRETS
LIE
MACGREGOR FBI SERIES BOOK 3
R. E. GAUTHIER
Blue Dawg Press
2019 © Nova Scotia, Canada
Where Secrets Lie
Copyright © 2019 by Blue Dawg Press
All rights reserved.
Published by Blue Dawg Press
First edition
Blue Dawg Press
C/o R. Gouchie
597 Torbrook Road
Torbrook, Nova Scotia, Canada
B0P 1R0
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is in the case of brief quotation embodied in reviews.
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Library and Archives Canada Cataloging of Publication information is available upon request.
ISBN 978-0-9958794-5-4
This is a work of fiction. Names, Characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies. Events or locales are entirely coincidental.
Cover design by R.E. Gauthier and Blue Dawg Press
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
About the Author
I dedicate this book to my Anam Charaid, my wife. When life gets busy, and you need to set aside time to do the things that mean the most to you, you need a person to hold your hand and offer the support to allow you to stand and take risks. If it were not for my wife, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to put pen to paper and let this journey begin. Thank you, Edith, for always allowing me to stand even if it means I may not succeed. I love you more than life itself, and with you by my side, I believe I can do anything.
I would also like to thank another essential woman on this journey, my aunt and number one fan, Donna. You offered to help, and you’ve done so much more. Thank you for being a sounding board and spending countless hours figuring things out. The journey is less lonely with you tagging along; I appreciate it more than I could ever express.
There is one more woman I need to mention, and that is my grandmother. Early on an October morning 2018, Alice Theresa O’Brien left behind this world and her loving family. Mother of eleven, grandmother of twenty-one and thirty-six great-grandchildren. Her legacy will live on for many years. But the one thing I’ll always remember is her love of life and living it right up until the end with a smile on her face. Just short of her ninety-second Birthday, Nanny left us suddenly, and these words are those I’ll live by from this day forward:
“Live your life, take chances, be crazy. Don’t wait because right now is the oldest you’ve ever been and the youngest; you’ll ever be again.” -Unknown
Chapter One
Nanna’s house, April 12, 1993
Sweat beaded on Kelsey’s brow, as her heart thumped in her chest. Fear gripping every fiber in her body. Every moment spent in the dark was agonizing, but she knew once the vision began, she’d wish for the darkness again. Eventually, Kelsey saw the vision unfold and she tensed for what she knew was about to happen, this would not be one of those good visions. She felt her cousin speaking to her, but how could that be? Aisling was dead. Knowing that this could be another nightmare about her original vision of that night, Kelsey wanted to wake up. She had heard the gunshots and knew her cousin, aunt, and uncle died; she didn’t want to experience it again.
Is it my fear or is it hers? Kelsey’s vision was as clear as day, she saw and felt Aisling, as if she were in the same room. She knew Aisling was also experiencing the same dread. Tensing up more as the vision opened to include all her senses, Kelsey prayed she would wake before she saw them die.
Through the fear and dread, Aisling felt the comforting presence of her cousin, Kelsey. Aisling’s ears picked up the nuances of the night. A bird called and crickets chirped in the late summer night. The fabric softener her mother used in the laundry smelled of lavender and vanilla and tickled her nose. Then she heard it again, the distinct sound of footsteps creeping up the stairs. Earlier, Aisling listened to the sound of someone opening the backdoor. Her mother and father were both in bed; who is downstairs? The sound of the stairs creaking stopped, and silence permeated the night. Even the ever-present hum of the electricity in the house was gone.
Aisling listened for anything that would tell her what was happening. Hearing only silence, Aisling recalled the conversation she had with her mother earlier that evening. Her mother said that they would be going on a vacation; her father needed to go away for a conference. She had been disappointed because her mother had promised that things would change. They never did. Aisling didn’t have many friends; her constant companion had always been her cousin Kelsey. I feel her with me? I need her to distract me from the fear.
Closing her eyes, Aisling imagined Kelsey, sleeping in her bed miles from here. They had spent many nights under the covers of that bed telling ghost stories or honing their vision skills. Nanna had taught them to concentrate on something and then imagine being there. It worked most of the time, especially when she and Kelsey held hands. Aisling wished right now, she could hold Kelsey’s hand, and all this would go away like a bad dream or vision she could block out of her mind. It wasn’t a dream or a vision this time, this time she was awake and alone.
In her mind’s eye, Aisling saw Kelsey’s sleeping form in the dark room. She drew closer to the bed and then imagined climbing in. Easing into the warm bedding, Aisling was beside Kelsey and drew closer to the warmth of her cousin’s body. I’ll be safe here. Many times, she had used this technique to fall back to sleep after a nightmare or a vision that took a sinister twist. Tonight, Aisling needed the comfort of her cousin more than ever. Willing the sounds of her own house away, she heard the soft sounds of Kelsey breathing, even the quiet
hum of the electricity, traveling through the wires of Kelsey’s home, was comforting to Aisling.
A sound from Aisling’s home broke through her waking trance. Another creak on the top of the stairs, that step always made that sound when someone paused. How many times had mom or dad stopped there to listen to hear if I was awake? Her mind drifted to a simpler time. She tried anything to keep from thinking about what those footsteps could mean. Aisling concentrated on Kelsey, and the same comforting sounds of her cousin’s breathing returned her to peacefulness. Willing her heart to slow its loud thumping, Aisling used another technique Nanna had showed her and Kelsey. To do this, Aisling had to concentrate on being inside someone’s head; tonight she wanted to be as far away from her home as she could, so she chose Kelsey’s mind. Her cousin always had the most pleasant dreams, especially when Kelsey wasn’t thinking about her mother not being with her, that is.
Trying to feel as one with Kelsey had always been the easiest thing to do. Since the two of them had been small children, they were never apart. Only a few days had separated them from one another. Aisling had been born on a cold Spring day in April. It rained when her parents brought her home. A few days after her birth, Aisling remembered her parents taking her for a ride in the car and entering her grandmother’s house. She heard Nanna ask to hold her. “Let me hold my first granddaughter when she meets her cousin.” That day Aisling and Kelsey held hands for the first time; the bond they formed that day stood the test of time. Every day from that day forward, the two girls hated to be away from the other. I wish Kelsey were here with me now.
Tonight, as she concentrated on being inside Kelsey’s mind, Aisling felt the fear’s grip, pulling her out of her trance. She was once again inside her house, in her bed. The footsteps stopped in front of her bedroom door. Aisling strained to hear, one moment, and tried to block out the sounds, the next. She willed her mind back to the comfort of Kelsey and her cousin’s presence. This time inside Kelsey’s mind she saw darkness, then she saw her mother and father. Her father had a gun; her mother whispered something in her father’s ear. Both her parents were in their bed, and she heard the footsteps coming closer and closer. No, I don’t want to see this, I don’t want to listen to this. Aisling shut her mind’s eyes and tried to wake Kelsey, but her cousin was inside the vision. The vision that unfolded in Kelsey’s mind was happening inside Aisling’s home, and the thing Aisling wanted to avoid. Now Kelsey, her only refuge, was also gripped in this nasty nightmare, this new reality that Aisling wished to escape.
Wanting to shake Kelsey awake and beg her to get away from what was happening, Aisling wished she had perfected the transference of her body technique. Nanna had explained to her and Kelsey many times. What had Nanna said? How am I to move my body from inside Kelsey’s mind to step just outside of her body? Try as she may, Aisling couldn’t recall what Nanna said about anchoring your body with her mind. Do I imagine the place or the person? Concentrating on the problem almost helped her block out the sound of the gun going off.
The distinct popping noise, which she instinctively knew was the sound of a gun with a silencer. Aisling heard a gun shoot muffled before; she couldn’t remember where or when. Tonight, she also saw the flash of the barrel and the bullet entering her father’s shoulder. Then she heard her mother’s screams. The sound of her mother crying out her father’s name and sobbing chilled Aisling’s heart. The dark form stood in the pale light of the doorway, and the man said something to Aisling’s parents. Straining to hear, Aisling wasn’t able to listen to any more than Kelsey could. The man’s voice was deep and low.
Aisling heard and spoke the words at once. “No, this cannot be happening.” Kelsey and Aisling spoke the same words at precisely the same time. Aisling had almost forgotten she was still inside her cousin’s mind until she felt Kelsey’s pain. Kelsey had witnessed the gunshot striking Aisling’s father through her vision, and Aisling had experienced it inside Kelsey’s mind.
Slamming back into her own body and mind, Aisling heard her mother screaming and sobbing. “Please, whatever it is you want, I’ll give you; just don’t kill us.”
Aisling’s father said. Then in a softer tone her father said, “you don’t have to do this, please, don’t hurt her, don’t hurt them.” More clearly, Aisling heard a strange voice say, “use this and tie him up then we can have some fun.” More sobbing and then her father yelled, “Leave her alone, don’t touch her.” Aisling eyes snapped shut, and she tried to keep from hearing her mother’s crying and her father swearing. With nowhere to escape to, no place that Aisling could feel safe and far away from the horror playing out inside her home, she pulled the pillow over her head and tightened her body into a ball under her bed.
The crying and screaming went on forever, or at least it felt as though it did, but she had no idea for how long it lasted. The man was saying horrible things and laughing, her mother cried, while her father pleaded, swore and threatened to harm the man if he didn’t stop. Aisling didn’t have to see what was happening, she knew in her heart, the man who broke into their home was hurting her mother, doing unspeakable things to her while her husband, Aisling’s father lay next to her, helpless and bleeding from a gunshot wound in his shoulder.
Several minutes passed, and the sobbing seemed to stop, but then it started back up again with renewed agony in her mother’s voice, pleading for the man to stop. Aisling’s father renewed his demands, and the low chuckle and groans of the stranger sickened Aisling. Her stomach clenched and rolled. Nausea gripped her in its clutches. In her heart, she knew she should do something, but didn’t know what she could do that would stop this terror. What can I do to stop this? I’m just a girl, and this man has broken into my home, shot my father and is assaulting my mother, what can I do? Curled into the ball under her bed, Aisling searched her heart for the courage to move, to act. Fear gripped her so tightly; her only thought was to run and hide.
Suddenly there was a sound of someone else in the house — the distinct sounds of footsteps, then another voice, this time muffled. There were more pops from a gun, then more muffled voices. Aisling lay as still as she could and tightened more to attempt to disappear into the carpet under her bed. In her bedroom with the door closed, Aisling hoped she would be safe, and remain hidden from the horrors going on just down the hall in her parent’s bedroom. She couldn’t hear her mother sobbing or her father pleading. All seemed too quiet. The air around her buzzed with silence, and she strained to listen to even the slightest footfall or voice. Nothing. Have they left? Are we safe? Who shot who? Where is my mother? What happened to my father? Aisling tried to listen to anything that would answer the questions banging around in her head. Still nothing.
Aisling was about to crawl out from her hiding spot when she heard a loud and frightening sound, the sound of her bedroom door opening. The distinct sound of the carpet scrunching under heavy footfall. Then a voice said, “I know you’re here, so you might as well come out. I’ll find you, either way, so let’s make it easier for everyone. I promise I won’t hurt you. If you’re a good girl, we can make this easier for everyone.”
Aisling wanted to concentrate on Kelsey, needing to escape her reality, escape the fear and terror of what was happening at this moment. Swallowing hard, Aisling willed her mind and heart to stop racing and quieted her breathing. Thinking of her cousin once more, she was again in Kelsey’s bed beside her, feeling the warmth and far away from her bedroom. Closing her eyes, she whispered, “please Kelsey help me, don’t let this happen. I need you to save me.”
Kelsey wanted to be there, wanted to help Aisling but she could not. Instead, Kelsey saw the horrible scene unfold inside her vision. Through her mind’s eye, Kelsey witnessed her cousin’s fear, the burning of the carpet on her hands and knees as large hands dragged Aisling from underneath her bed. Aisling begged Kelsey to help her, and all Kelsey could do was watch the man pull her cousin to her feet and grip her against his body. Kelsey could smell the leather and body odor. Aisling tr
ied to scream and run. Kelsey felt her cousin’s desperation, as she heard Aisling sob. The man picked Aisling up, and Aisling let out an ear-shattering scream. Kelsey wanted to clamp her hands over her ears, but instead, she heard every scream, felt every pain Aisling experienced, and endured the terror of the night-long assault. The vision ended with Aisling crying and a man telling her all the pain would go away. Mercilessly, Kelsey didn’t witness her cousin’s death but speculated it had occurred after the man finished with his assault on Aisling. The image of that man from her nightmare locked itself into Kelsey’s subconscious.
Kelsey woke up screaming, and her stomach violently retched. She threw up only water and bile because she hadn’t eaten in days. Her head pounded and her eyes hurt. Covered in sweat and trembling, Kelsey’s body twisted as her pajamas clung around her limbs. Kelsey heard the door open and turning she saw Nanna’s concerned face in the dim light. It was only a bad dream. That’s not how it happened, that night; was it?
Chapter Two
A secluded resort in Fiji, December 9, 2011
The familiarity was palatable; she had this nightmare before. There was the same darkness, the same fear. Aisling was there cringing under her bed, willing the noises to stop. Kelsey heard the crying and the yelling. Uncle Ethan shouted for the man to leave his wife alone and he would do anything to make him stop. Aunt Cat was sobbing and pleading for the man to get off of her. Kelsey didn’t want to see the horrors again; it had haunted her on and off for over eighteen years. Since the first night, she had the nightmare she felt the raw terror and rage build inside of her. The terror Kelsey felt when she witnessed the brutal attack on her aunt and cousin as a sixteen old and then the anger of an adult for them not getting the justice they deserved. Kelsey couldn’t stop this nightmare any more than she could have prevented from witnessing it the first time. It played out in front of her again, as if to torment her for not keeping her promise.
Kelsey felt her heart beat so fast; she thought it would beat out of her chest. The sweat beaded on her brow and caused her head to feel prickly. Raising her hand, she dug her fingers in her hair to scratch the internal itch. Not feeling any relief, Kelsey groaned and tried to sit up. The world around her began to spin, and she saw the darkness before she felt the dizziness.