Dusk Til Dawn (15 page)

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 hurt.

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?”

Dylan looked at his brother. “He killed the inmates?”

Avery nodded. “Makes it seem as if they escaped. I read that close to eighty people escaped from the island before it became a federal penitentiary. Maybe half a dozen of those never actually left.”

“Right. Because he wouldn’t be able to get their bodies off the island, so he stashes them somewhere on site.”

Avery pointed to an image of the prison. “They were in the midst of erecting the new prison. Apparently, they demolished the top two floors but left the bottom. There are a few underground rooms and tunnels. McCallister could have used one as a tomb or made his own. That would explain why he’s able to stay on this side of the veil, regardless of what happened to his body. He’s still tied to those victims.”

Dylan forwarded through another few months of pages. “Looks like his victims might not be the only bones still there. Seems authorities were investigating him for the last disappearance, but he vanished before they could catch him.”

Avery smiled. “Now you’re thinking like a paranormal investigator.” He put his arm around Temperance when she moved in beside him. “Guess our next stop is Alcatraz Island. Though the timing sucks. With tours running all the time, we’ll have to wait until after the last boat leaves to gain access. We can’t risk this entity harming anyone. Which means we’ll have to face this thing in the dark.”

Annie scoffed. “I hate to be the harbinger of bad news, but…how were you planning on getting there if we don’t take the ferry?”

Avery chuckled. “While my brother may prefer to live rather modestly, it doesn’t change the fact that he has a boat. A yacht, actually. We’ll head out on a seemingly innocent cruise just before sunset then make our way over once everyone’s gone. Believe me, gaining access is the least of our worries. Fighting ghosts on their own territory at night isn’t the smartest decision. But in this case…” He raised a brow at his wife. “We should stock up on a few supplies. Since we aren’t sure what we’ll find, it’d be best to go in prepared for anything.”

Temperance pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Annie. “Here’s a binding spell I found. I suggest you practice saying it a few times, in case you need to do if for memory. If we can find all the victim’s bones as well as his, just burning them should work. But if we can’t tell whose they are, you might have to bind him back onto that picture. Though it’d sure help to have something physical of his to wrap around it, or it might not take.”

Annie took the picture, giving Dylan a concerned look. “You know this is all…”

“Crazy?”

“To be honest. Yes. I treat people who say they have spirits haunting them.” She gave her sister a sweet smile. “Guess I owe them all an apology.”