Almost Midnight (49 page)

Snatching her phone out, she dialed his number. By the second ring she was panicking, then he answered.

“Hey,” he said. “If you're calling to cancel, I'm not hearing it.”

She chuckled, relief washing over her, the sound of his voice pulling a soft emotion to her chest. “No, I'm calling because … I came early. I'm here and you're not.”

“I'm in Bayberry … about an hour north of Fallen, at a storage shed my sister had. She had some of my stuff here from years ago.”

“Art?” she asked, thinking he could have other pieces to add to the gallery.

He paused. “No. My … grandmother's things,” he said. “She had a diary.”

She swallowed and her heart raced. “Really?”

“Yes. She wrote some really interesting stuff,” he said. “And some of it … some of it reads like … it was written to me.”

“Really?” she said again because she didn't know what else to say.

“Yeah, I'll tell you about it when I get there.”

“Okay.” She bit down on her lip.

“Go on inside. Wait for me, okay?”

“Yeah. But it's locked,” she said.

“There's a key under the fake dog poop in the front flower garden.”

“Fake poop?” She laughed.

“Yeah. My sister's idea. I'm gonna head out. See you in a bit.”

*   *   *

Fredericka found the fake poop and unlocked the door. She'd barely gotten the door open when, in the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of yellow, the same color of Linda's sundress, disappear into the kitchen.

Pushing back fear, Fredericka hurried inside, and followed her.

Only Linda wasn't there. Or maybe she was, but just not showing herself. The cold from the room sent chills up Fredericka's arms.

Remembering Holiday's advice, she forced herself to speak. “Linda? Can we talk?”
And please have both your eyes in their sockets.

The sound of the wind chimes from the other room filled the cold air. Fredericka walked into the front room where the chimes hung.

“Brandon told me you made these,” she said. “They are beautiful.”

She waited to see if she would show herself. She didn't. But the chimes kept playing.

“I want to help you,” Fredericka said. “I want to help Brandon. He wants answers. And … answers are good things sometimes.”

Still nothing.

Then the chimes stopped ringing. Like really fast. The dead silence of the room reminded Fredericka of the other time when …

She heard a car stop in front. She heard the motor cut off. Then she heard footsteps treading across the front yard.

Moving to the front door that she'd left open, she confirmed what she'd feared. The man standing in the side yard looking between the two houses was the same guy she'd seen in the car a couple of days ago. The man Brandon said was Linda's old boyfriend. The same one Brandon believed killed Linda.

Then he swung around and started for the porch. Fredericka probably should have been afraid, but all she felt was fury. This man had taken Linda's life.

He stopped when he got onto the porch and looked at her, still standing in the doorway. Looked at her the way disgusting men looked at women. The hair on the back of her neck rose, warning her that this man was trouble.

She checked his pattern to make sure he wasn't anything more than human. He wasn't. But she noted his pattern was murky. So her perception of him was right on target.

She took a small step back, but not so far he'd think it was an invitation to come inside.

“Hey, gorgeous. Where's Brandon?” He moved in closer and even leaned against the door frame as if he was too sexy to stand on his own two feet. But holy shit, what she wouldn't give to knock him on his ass and give his ego a good squashing. Squash it like the no-good worm he was.

“He'll be here shortly,” she replied matter-of-factly, if not a bit cold.

“Can you give him a message for me?” He reached out to touch her hair.

She stepped back and glared at his hand.

“Sorry, it's just so pretty. Girls like you make guys wanna touch. And be touched. I even have a few scars if that's what turns you on.”

Her hackles rose up so fast, she had to hold back a growl. “Does your message have anything to do with Linda and her disappearance?”

His demeanor changed from guy-on-the-prowl to pissed-off murderer. Changed so fast, she suspected this guy either had mental issues or was a user of some badass drug. Or maybe both.

“Yeah.” He leaned in. So close she could tell he'd had garlic for dinner last night and had overlooked his oral hygiene. Then he put his face right in hers. And that was the wrong thing to do. Everyone knew you didn't get in a were's face.

Well, not everyone knew, but she didn't mind teaching the lesson to this ignorant human.

Before she started initiating that lesson he spoke again. “Tell Brandon to stop telling these stories to the police, or they'll be looking for his body!”

She tilted up her chin, showing him she wasn't afraid, and well, maybe egging him on. “You know, that's a threat and I think it's against the law.”

His eyes glittered with rage. He caught her by her arm. She could have dodged his reach, but nope, she actually hoped he'd give her a little something to justify what was coming.

His hand tightened. “No, sweet ass, that's not a threat. It's a promise.”

She lifted one eyebrow, leaned in just a bit, and looked him dead in the eyes. “Wanna hear my promise?”

 

Chapter Sixteen

His hand tightened on her arm.

“I promise that I'm gonna find out what happened to Linda, so your butt will rot in jail. Oh, yeah, I also promise you that this is gonna hurt!” She lifted her knee with were force and got him right in his gonads.

The man went down to his knees. Between gasps for air, she heard him call her a few names. However, what she mostly heard were the wind chimes playing a beautiful song.

She stepped back and shut the door, and looked back at the chimes. She still didn't see Linda, but she knew she was there. “You liked that, didn't you?”

The chimes played louder.

*   *   *

“Please talk to me,” Fredericka said five minutes later.

Linda's killer had managed to get his sorry ass and sore balls into his car and drive off. Fredericka walked around the house talking to a ghost who apparently had disappeared. The chimes were still silent. Not the dead kind of still from before, but just silent.

Suddenly remembering seeing Linda outside by the flower bed several times, she walked out.

As she cut the corner, she saw her, sitting there, hugging her knees. Eyes all in the proper sockets.

“Can we talk?” Fredericka asked.

The spirit looked up. “Why can you see me and no one else can?”

“I guess I'm supposed to help you.”

She smiled. “I like what you did to Brice.”

“He … hurt you, didn't he?” Fredericka asked.

Linda nodded and her gaze moved to Fredericka's arm. “He hurt you, too.”

Glancing at the bruises, Fredericka said, “This is nothing. But if you can tell me about what he did to you, maybe I can make good on my promise to him. To get him arrested before he hurts anyone else.”

Linda inhaled. “This is where I am.”

Fredericka didn't understand. “I know, I see you.” She moved in a little closer. She heard a car pull up in front of the house, a different-sounding motor than the one she'd heard the creep drive away in. So she ignored it, because she didn't want Linda to disappear. “Remember I saw you the other day, too.”

“No, not this me.” She touched her chest, pressing her hand over her heart. “The other me.”

The other you?
All of the sudden Fredericka understood. “You mean…”

Linda nodded. “I was … planting the flowers, early in the morning before it got too hot, and he … dropped by. I'd broken up with him and he didn't want to accept it. He yelled at me, then he … took my shovel and hit me with it.” She glanced at the flower bed. “The shovel is in there, too. And I think I scratched him, so there should be proof under my fingernails.”

“I'm sorry,” Fredericka said, her chest aching and suddenly wishing she'd neutered that bastard instead of just bruised his boys.

“Me, too. There was so much I wanted to do. But I think … I think it's gonna be nice where I'm going. Isn't it?”

“I think so,” Fredericka said. She wished she knew more, wished she could offer Linda something more, but she didn't know for sure, and the last thing she was going to do was lie to a dead person. “I'm kind of new at this, but Holiday—a friend who does this a lot—said you would be happier there.”

Linda stood up. “Will you take care of Brandon? He's a good guy. Oh, he pretty much takes care of himself. He had to because of his mother. But since he's met you, he's been happier. A lot happier. He needs that. He deserves it.”

“He makes me happy, too,” Fredericka said, and right then she heard the footsteps behind her, followed by his voice.

“Who makes you … Who are you talking to?” Brandon asked.

Linda moved a little closer. “You can tell him. He knows I'm here. He talks to me. But I don't think he hears me. That's why I started playing the chimes.”

“I didn't hear your motorcycle.” Fredericka turned around.

“I drove Linda's car,” he said, looking at Fredericka a little strangely.

“How's your side?” he asked.

“Fi—” She gasped a little.

His gaze went to her forehead. He was attempting to read her pattern.

“Your…” He touched his forehead. “It's different.”

She just stood there.

“My grandma told me how to … I never tried. I thought, everyone in the family thought she was crazy.” He continued to stare at her. “Then she wrote it down for me. In the diary.”

He pushed a hand through his hair. His blue eyes looked puzzled and wide. “Don't stand there and let me think I'm crazy.”

“No, I … You're not crazy. You are … part were.”

“Part?”

She nodded. “You're like seventy-five percent human and then were and a little fae.”

“She said that, too.” He nodded. “And you…” He squinted again. “You're full were?”

She nodded.

He blew out a big sigh then took a long gulp of air. “Shit.” Then he looked at her again. “That really was you last night, wasn't it?”

She nodded.

He stood there as if thinking. “Can I change into…?”

“I don't think so. I don't know a lot about what mixed bloods can and can't do. But I know someone who does.”

He seemed to contemplate what she'd said. “The school? That's what…?”

She nodded.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

She shrugged. “I was … told it was best if you came to the conclusion.”

“Okay.” He stood there for a second, as if a little overwhelmed, and finally said, “Damn!”

Then he smiled.

She smiled back.

Then he kissed her.

She kissed him back.

And then when that ended—after several glorious seconds, he asked, “Who were you talking to?”

“Just tell him,” his sister repeated and Fredericka winced because she'd forgotten she was there. And that kiss hadn't been one a sister should have seen. Not even a dead sister.

Fredericka hesitated. How much could he handle in one day? Should she lie? But she needed to tell someone so they could … find the body. Didn't she? She glanced down at the flower bed, trying to think.

“Hey,” Brandon said.

She looked up. Oh, hell, she sucked at lying. “Your sister. I was talking to your sister.”

*   *   *

“Do you want to press charges?” the sheriff asked, looking at Fredericka's bruised arm. Two officers walked past, rolling yellow tape. They had just started digging, looking for Linda's body.

“Nah, I … think I got even.” She'd told them about busting the man's balls. So far nobody seemed to blame her. “I mean, unless you need me to.” Standing on the porch, she glanced at Burnett in the front yard talking to Brandon.

Right after she'd told Brandon about seeing Linda, she'd called Burnett for advice on what to do next. He'd shown up ten minutes later with instructions on what to say to the police. Then he'd hung around to make sure it all went smoothly.

Basically, she'd told the truth. Leaving out the ghost part, and perhaps exaggerating the boyfriend's interest in the flower garden on the side of the house. And it worked like a charm, just as Burnett said it would.

“Why don't we wait and see what we find here,” the sheriff said. She could tell he was still doubtful, not that she blamed him. He hadn't seen the ghost with her eye hanging out.

Fredericka nodded again and looked at Brandon. She'd noticed him checking out everyone's forehead. His gaze shifted and landed on her.

He smiled and that was all it took for her heart to fill with some warm emotion. She'd never been one to believe in sappy shit like love at first sight, but she couldn't deny she'd been drawn to Brandon from the start. Then again, he'd been shirtless and wielding an axe. Most women would have been drawn to him.

Suddenly voices rose at the side of the house. One of the officers called the sheriff over. The words weren't said, but she knew, and so did everyone else.

Linda's body had been found.

She saw the look of grief cross Brandon's face. While she knew he'd wanted to find answers, it still hurt. Considering her own unearthing of answers, she understood that all too well.

When she saw him walk through the garage to go inside, she went in herself.

He was standing in the front room, beside the chimes. She moved beside him and wrapped her arm around his waist.