Celeste Files: Unjust (3 page)

“Your life?”

Celeste whipped the refrigerator shut, and slammed her back against it. Breathing hard, she glanced around the condo. The place was small and open. The kitchen led into the living and dining area, and straight for the front door. A small patio was off the kitchen, but with the tall fencing surrounding it, there was no way to escape from it.

Wait. What was she thinking? Maybe she hadn’t heard—

A masculine chuckle filled the room, her head and nearly stopped her heart.
“No escape, sugar. You’re mine.”

Chapter 2

CELESTE STOOD WHEN John’s car came to a stop in front of the condo. She set the warm bottle of wine on the concrete, then brushed the light dusting of sand off her rear. Although a large palm tree shaded the front stoop, and it was now late afternoon, her body and clothes were covered in sweat.

“What’s wrong?” John asked as he exited the rental car, concern clear on his face. “Are you locked out?”

She shook her head. For the past ninety minutes she’d tried to figure out what she’d seen and heard inside the condo, and how to tell John. She’d tried to decide if the voice and moving curtain had been stress and anxiety playing with her imagination, or if there had been some
thing
in the condo. She’d called Maxine, but she hadn’t been home. Maxine lived with ghosts, but they weren’t malicious spirits, they were her ancestors and they appreciated her and what she had done to the family home. They also never left the premises. What she’d encountered in the condo hadn’t been there when she and John had settled in yesterday. Never once had she sensed the presence of anyone or anything aside from herself and John. No, she’d brought this thing into their home. Now she had to find a way to force it to leave.

She had to find a way to tell John without him going ballistic.

He looked from her to the wine bottle. “Did you find palmetto bugs in the condo?”

“I don’t know what I found.”

He looked to the closed door. “Barney stopped by Polina’s Paradise and told us about the body you two hooked. Does that have anything to do with why you’ve been sitting in the heat, sweating your butt off and using a bottle for protection?”

Polina’s Paradise was ATL’s headquarters, and named after the baby alligator one of the team members owned. “How’d the training go?”

“Fine.” He moved toward the door. “Are you going to answer me?”

She blocked him. “What did Barney tell you?”

“That you two found the body of a missing boat captain.” He searched her eyes. “Did you see him?”

“No, I had my back turned when the Coast Guard pulled him from the water.”

He plucked a strand of her hair from her cheek. “That’s not what I meant,” he said, his dark-brown eyes holding too much concern for a man on vacation.

“The vision vanished when I saw him drowning.”

He swore, then let out a harsh breath. “Another drowning vision. That’s awesome,” he said with heavy sarcasm. “What else did you see?”

“I thought he might have squeezed me when his body surfaced, but I couldn’t be sure.”

“And now?” When she didn’t respond, he gripped her by the upper arms. “What aren’t you telling me?”

She reached for him, noticed the sand coating her sweaty palms and fisted her hands. “I’m worried he followed me home.”

His eyes widened a fraction. “The dead boat captain?”

“I’m assuming it’s him. I didn’t stay inside long enough to ask.”

John’s forehead crinkled as he looked to the closed door again. “I don’t understand. Did you have a vision, or go into a trance?”

“No.”

“But he spoke to you?”

She nodded. “And moved the curtains.”

His grip grew tighter. “Are you telling me we have a ghost in our condo?”

The tears she’d been holding back finally fell. “I don’t get it. I burned the sage, performed the cleansing ritual and he still was able to find a way inside. I’d almost rather have him in my head than doing whatever he was doing.” Scared, and not caring if she dirtied his clothes, she fisted the front of his shirt. “John, he threatened me,” she said, then told him about the curtain and how the man claimed she was his.

John’s jaw tightened. “Did you call Maxine?”

“She’s not home.”

He let go of her and gave her the car keys. “Go in the car and get out of the heat. I’m going to pack our bags. We’re staying someplace else.”

She snagged his hand before he could open the door. “He’ll follow us.”

“How do you know? You told me Maxine’s ghosts never leave her house.”

“That’s because they’re drawn to the house, not Maxine.”

John’s face paled. The fear and worry in his eyes compounded the guilt and terror that had been weighing on her from the moment she’d fled the condo. Her gift was a curse. Her visions and trances had nearly killed her twice, and earlier this year, had put a strain on their marriage. They still did, especially where their daughter was concerned. She and John both worried she might slip into a trance while she was driving Olivia to school, or giving her a bath, which was why they’d taken in the service dog. While John had learned to accept the visions and trances, and had encouraged her to work with Maxine to find ways to control them, how could she expect him to now deal with the possibility of a ghost?

“You think he’s haunting you? How can you be sure?”

“I’m not.” She let go of his shirt, and wiped the sweat and tears from her face. “Look, this
has
to be the boat captain. Who or what else could it be? I touched the net that had dragged him under during the storm. I was there when his body was dredged from the bay.” She pulled her cell phone from her pocket. “What I need is to talk to Maxine and Barney. Barney said he knew the man, but didn’t like him. I’d like to know why and what I’m dealing with, or better yet, what his ghost could want from me.”

“This has to be one of the most ridiculous conversations we’ve had, and we’ve had plenty,” John said.

Her husband was all about logic and science. Since he’d witnessed firsthand what she was capable of, he believed in her psychic abilities. But ghosts were different. To a degree, she could control her visions and trances. She had no idea how to control a ghost, or how to rid herself of one.

She flinched when her cell phone rang and looked at the screen. “It’s Maxine.”

John leaned against the door. “Thank God,” he said, motioning for her to answer.

“Celeste, what’s wrong?” Maxine asked, her voice laced with panic. “I just listened to your message. You sounded terrified.”

When she’d called Maxine, she had been terrified, but hadn’t wanted to leave the reason why in a voicemail. “We have a problem,” Celeste began, then told Maxine what had happened. Once she finished, she put the phone on speaker so John could hear what her mentor had to say.

“I think you need to do as Celeste suggested, talk to Barney and find out more about this man,” Maxine said.

“Do you really think he’ll follow Celeste if we rent another room?” John asked.

“It’s hard to say. There are many who don’t believe spirits—human or inhuman—attach themselves to people. For example, I knew a woman who claimed a ghost was haunting her. She moved four times in less than two years trying to get away from it. But it kept following her. A paranormal investigator suggested she sell all of her furniture and buy everything new. Once she did that, the haunting had stopped. In other words, she wasn’t being haunted. Something she owned was—like a chair or desk. In my case, my ancestors are attached to the house, not me. But Celeste is sensitive to the dead. As we know, they love to turn to her for help. This spirit—good or bad—could need your help on something. If you could find out what it is, maybe then he’ll disappear.”

“Maybe,” John echoed, and wiped a hand down his face. “What if he doesn’t? Will he follow us back to Chicago? Could he hurt Olivia?”

“I can’t answer that, John,” Maxine said. “But, if I was in your situation, I’d do everything possible to rectify this before returning home.”

“Because?”

“Because I believe Olivia is sensitive, too. I wouldn’t want her exposed to anything that could connect to her, especially since she’s just a baby.”

Celeste’s chest filled with both anger and fear. Whatever she’d brought home with her would not know her daughter. She looked to her husband, who had avoided her gaze the entire time they’d been speaking with Maxine, and tugged the front of his shirt.

Without looking at her, he shook his head. “Do you think he’d follow me back to Chicago?”

Her anger suddenly outweighed her fear. John had once threatened to take Olivia away if she chose to continue down her psychic path. While his threats had been made because he had been scared and worried over both hers and their daughter’s safety, there was no way in hell she’d allow him to alienate her from Olivia’s life.

“Before you leave me in the Everglades, maybe we should go inside the condo and make sure what I saw wasn’t my imagination or anxiety screwing with my head.”

With a potent combination of shock and hurt, John stared at her. “I wouldn’t leave you here.” He took her hand, and hauled her close to him. “You don’t belong to him. You belong with me and Olivia. Let’s go inside, tell him he isn’t welcome here, then get on with the rest of our vacation.”

God, she loved him. If she wasn’t such a sweaty mess, she’d kiss him.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Maxine suggested. “That might only anger the spirit.”

“Other than calling Barney, what should we do?” Celeste asked.

“Go about your normal business. If he makes his presence known, ask him what he wants, but be honest about your answer. If you can give him what he needs to move on and away from Celeste, he could go away on his own.”

“What if he doesn’t?” John asked.

“Let me make a few calls before I answer that.”

After they ended the call with Maxine, Celeste pocketed her cell phone. “I’m so sorry. I never meant—”

“I know you didn’t, and I would never leave you here because of this. You know that, right?”

She nodded. In her heart she knew John loved her, but she questioned how much more he could handle. They dealt with what she assumed most normal couples went through—the stress of balancing marriage, children, jobs, money. But how many couples had to add on visions, trances and ghosts to their daily load? John might have known what she was when he’d married her, but sometimes she wondered if he’d have been better off with a
normal
woman.

“I know,” she said. “But I also don’t want to expose Olivia to anything like this.”

“One step at a time. Let’s go inside, get you showered and then call Barney.”

Her heart quickened as memories of the curtains, and how they’d shaped into a human form, filled her head. “Don’t forget the glass of wine.”

John glanced to the bottle on the ground. “Not that one,” he said with a grin. “Come on. We can do this.” He reached for the doorknob, drew in a deep breath, then opened the door.

The room was just as quiet and inviting as it had been when she’d first walked inside the condo yesterday. She looked to her right. The curtains hung as they should. She glanced around the small, cozy space. Nothing was out of place. The air conditioning blasted cool air. The suffocating sensation she’d experienced before running from the condo was now a distant memory. Relaxed, she stepped further into the room.

John took her hand, and stopped her. “Are we alone?”

She shrugged. “I think so. I really don’t have any experience with ghosts.”

“Even when I was a kid I didn’t believe in ghosts or monsters.”

“And now?”

When he looked at her, she caught a flash of anger in his eyes before it quickly disappeared. “I’ve known plenty of monsters. Fortunately they’re either dead or in jail.” His mouth slid into a half-grin. “I’ll be honest, when we walked inside here I was expecting to see objects floating through the air.”

“Maybe the couch levitating?” she asked, and shut the door behind them.

“That, I don’t need to see.” He let out a breath. “I don’t believe in ghosts, but I believe you saw and heard something.”

“I don’t know,” she said, let go of his hand and walked toward the kitchen. “I have my doubts.”

He followed behind. “About the ghost?”

“About me.” She set an unopened bottle of wine on the counter. “This could be my imagination. Maybe my subconscious is screwing with me. Do you have any idea how guilty I feel about leaving Olivia with Ian and Cami?” She attacked the cork with a wine server. “Don’t even get me started on the Sugar Shack. Of all the weeks to leave… Did I tell you we have three weddings, two showers and four graduation parties?” When the cork broke, she let out a frustrated sigh. “That’s nine cakes, not to mention the cookies and cake balls that were also ordered.”

John placed his hands over hers, then took the bottle of wine and opened it with ease. “You told me all of this yesterday. Twice.” He poured the wine into two glasses. “Olivia, guilt and work. Maybe they’re your ghost, and are haunting you while you’re on vacation because you can’t let go and have fun.”

She straightened. “Olivia thinks I’m fun.”