Haven of Nightmares (Littlemoon Investigations Book 5) (46 page)

Julian motioned to one of the large urns. Together, they pushed it over, dousing enough of the flames with dirt and water to get through. When they reached Mattie, Roman threw her over his shoulder and they raced back toward the opening.

Only, it was gone.

The windows were their only hope.

Beneath them was a pool of water. Julian knew it wasn’t going to be too deep. Three floors up, they didn’t have a choice.

“Toss her in and jump,” he ordered. “Feet first.”

He wanted to be sick.

“She’ll drown.”

“Do it!” Tori shouted.

Roman saw her on the ground.

“Toss her! I’ll go in!”

Roman had no choice.

He had to put his fate in their hands. Pushing her out the window, he watched her lifeless body hit the water.

Tori dove in.

When she surfaced, Roman went next.

When he landed, feet first, he went under. Julian hit the water right after him. As soon as both men surfaced, they started swimming toward Tori. She was struggling to keep Mattie’s head above water.

She was still drained from earlier.

The screams of the sirens in the distance offered some reassurance as Roman pulled Mattie to the edge and onto the grass.

Julian helped Tori out.

All four of them laid there as Mattie began choking up water.

“That was close,” muttered Julian.

“It was Harrison,” stated Mattie, as she began to cry. “He is insane!”

Roman pulled her into his body as Tori pulled out a pocket knife to cut her free. They all glanced over as Detective Rose raced their way.

“What happened?” he said.

They told him everything.

The man whistled.

“I’ll go bring him in.”

Mattie told them about the ghost. “He was talking to a spirit. I think Tara Burns is dead. He said she made him do it.”

Detective Rose knew what he needed to do. “Get changed, Tori, I need back up.”

She waited for Julian to say something.

“What? The dead are your thing. I’m going to get looked at with Roman and Mattie. I think I have smoke inhalation.”

She kissed him. “Thank you.”

“Go win the war, Sergeant Littlemoon.”

She would. There were so many dead counting on her. It was time for justice.

And she would get it.

When Tori raced away with the detective, Julian saw the paramedics coming.

“Here comes help.”

Roman wasn’t paying attention. At that moment, he had more pressing things to handle.

“Tomorrow, we’re getting married.”

Mattie laughed. “I was so scared, but I knew you’d save me, Roman. I knew you’d get to me.”

He’d fixed his fate.

He didn’t lose her.

This time, love won.

“Oh, baby, me too. I can’t wait to marry you. Then you’re never leaving my side.”

Julian started laughing hysterically. “Yeah, I thought the same thing, and where’s my wife?”

Roman stared at him. “Really? My heart is ready to explode.”

Julian patted him on the back. “You have no idea. Buckle up, Roman, this is going to be one hell of a ride.”

Despite it all, he was more than okay with that.

       
         
* * *
  L   i   t   t   l  e  m  o  o  n  * * *

Across Town

Harrison Weber’s

Home

When they got there, Tori asked for a gun. At first, Detective Rose stared at her as if she was crazy.

“I was a soldier and a Fed. I think I can handle one without shooting anyone in the ass, unless it’s intentional.”

He got the hint.

So, trusting Tori Littlemoon, he removed his spare piece from his back holster. “If you shoot anyone, there’s going to be a shitload of paperwork. I will not be amused.”

She patted him on the shoulder. “Let’s just get the bad guy, and don’t tell my husband you gave me a gun. He’ll have a stroke.”

“Good idea.”

They headed toward the house. While Hart sent men around back, he trusted Tori enough to watch his flank. At the door, he didn’t even announce them.

He didn’t have to.

The door was cracked open and that was always a bad sign for a cop.

“You take low,” he stated, trying not to think about the fact that she was pregnant, carrying his gun, and barely fitting in the Kevlar.

He prayed nothing bad would happen.

As they entered, Tori smelled it.

“Death.”

Yeah, he noticed it, too, and it was fresh.

As they headed upstairs, they could see candle light flickering in one room.

Hart pointed.

Tori followed.

When they got there, they couldn’t believe what they saw. It was a mess.

Over the bed, someone had written
‘Til death do us part’
in blood. What was more horrifying was what was in the bed. There were two bodies. One was a skeleton, and had been dead a long time. The bones were clean, and there was some dirt on the sheets.

It appeared that at some time, someone had dug her up.

Beside the skeleton was a male. It was Harrison Weber, and he had slit his wrists. There were copious amounts of his blood all over the place.

“Holy shit! This is crazy.”

Yeah, she agreed.

He lowered his voice. “Who do you think it is?”

Tori was drained, so she would need a little help. “Trey, was that Tara?” she whispered.

There was static and then the answer from the clock radio.

“Yes.”

“Are they gone?” Hart asked.

“Trey, are they here?”

The radio jumped to life.

“She. Took. Him. They. Are. Gone.”

He holstered both of his guns and shook his head. “Where did they go?”

Tori didn’t have an answer. “Trey?”

He was silent at first.

Then he replied.

“Hell.”

“Well, at least justice is served.”

Tori could agree with him there. This time, the crazy got what was coming to him.

“Let’s get out of here,” Hart suggested. “The team will be in now.”

The radio chimed in response.

“Letter. From. Her.”

Tori moved closer to the bed, and she saw it. It looked like they had a little more of the mystery solved.

It appeared Trey was right.

It was from Tara, and it wasn’t a newly written note. It had some age to it, and from the creases, it appeared to be read a few times.

‘Dear Harry,

I can’t live like this anymore. I was wrong to tell you to kill for me. I didn’t think you’d do it. I made up all the bullshit about the spells. They were all crap. I wanted you to love me. I wanted someone to care about me. I lost Rylee, and I lost everything I wanted in life. You have to stop killing and tell the police what we’ve done. You have to make amends. Please. I did love you, but I had to go.

Forgive me.

Tara.’

Well, it looked like someone had a guilty conscious.

“So none of this was witchcraft?” he asked. “None of it was what it seemed?”

Tori shook her head.

“He was sick. He lost his family young, and he was out there alone in the world. He simply wanted to be happy, and he believed her manipulation. Only, she didn’t realize that he was sick. She pushed him to the edge.”

“Mattie said he was talking to her, and she felt the ghost there.”

“Oh, when they die, they become something else. Trey struggled. You have to be strong to overcome it. She may have been sorry here, but on the other side…you aren’t the same.”

“This is crazy. The media is going to have a field day with this.”

“Oh, about that.”

Tori asked him for a favor.

He laughed. “Not a problem. I’ll leave your name out of this, so you better go lay low. Take my ride. I’ll get it at the school later.”

Tori held out her hand. “If you ever need anything, Everhart Rose, you call me.”

He shook her hand.

“I appreciate that, but I’m not quite that insane.”

Tori laughed and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Funny. Neither was I.”

As they walked out, Richard Wellbury was standing there. “I’m ready for my interview.”

Tori got in the vehicle and started it up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she stated. “I’m just here advising the detective. This is his case. Talk to him.”

Tori backed out. When she pulled away, he waved.

“Well, my interview?”

He laughed. “They may deal with the media, but I don’t. You’re shit out of luck.”

Then he called for some cops. “Move him behind the tape, and if he crosses it, toss him into holding.”

“What?”

“Yeah, you’re trespassing on a crime scene. Don’t push your luck.”

Hart got to work.

It was going to be a busy night.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Next Day

Tori and Julian were waiting for Roman and Mattie to be discharged from the hospital. She had smoke inhalation and a nasty bump on the head.

As soon as they were back, they were heading out. Roman was taking a couple days to help her pack up, and then they’d be heading across the country to Delta Falls.

Julian and Tori didn’t doubt that by the time they arrived, they’d be married.

He’d been adamant.

They weren’t waiting.

Both of them had waited far too long to be together, and they weren’t losing any more time.

The Littlemoons were happy for them. They’d escaped death, and they found happiness. They deserved to get married, take a week to honeymoon on their way home and live it up.

If Julian didn’t have a mess at the office, he’d be doing the same thing. He loved when he and Tori drove home after that one case and took their time.

“Look! The news,” stated Tori.

Julian turned up the sound. Now that the place wasn’t haunted, they could actually enjoy the big TV and peace.

“It’s Hart.”

“You like him.”

She laughed. “That’s a loaded question.”

“So you think he’s sexy?”

Tori glanced over. “I think you’re sexy. I think he’s a good person, and there are far and few of them in the world. That’s all. Don’t read into it too much, Jules. You’ll make yourself neurotic.”

He knew she was telling the truth, and that she was likely right.

Just then, the phone rang. It was Kane, and it was a video call. As his face popped onto the screen, he was smiling.

“I’m a daddy.”

“Ohhh, Kane! Congrats!” Tori said.

He turned the phone and there was his son. “We named him Milo. He’s got more hair than I do, and that’s saying a lot.”

He was damn cute, and he looked like his father. You could tell he was Native with that tuft of hair.

“How’s Chrissy?”

He pointed the camera at her. She was smiling. “It was awesome, Tori! I created a life! I made myself a mini Kane-ykins! I can’t wait to have more.”

Tori laughed. “We so need that daycare.”

“Tori!” Julian said, appalled that she was even thinking about doing something like that.

“We’re happy for you both.”

“Will you come see us?” Chrissy asked. “You have to smell him. He’s got that new baby smell!”

Tori laughed. “We’re hopping a flight in a couple hours. We’ll stop in.”

“So, are you doing it again?” Julian asked.

“Yes!”

“No!” corrected Kane. “I can’t handle it. I feel like I aged. Plus she nearly broke my hand.”

Christina laughed. “Baby.”

Tori was amused. “I can’t wait. We’ll be there, Christina. What do you want?”

“Food. They starve you the entire time. That’s why women get cranky. It’s not the pain.”

“We’ll bring it. Kiss Milo for us. He’s sweet.”

When the call ended, Tori had tears in her eyes.

“Excited to meet Veronica?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

“Me too.”

Then he got quiet.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“If we can only have one baby, that’s enough for me. We have Milo, and Justin and Vivian will have kids. Plus, Claire can’t wait. We’ll have lots of children to love as our own.”

She smiled. “Yeah, we will. Veronica will be a lucky girl. Maybe she’ll marry Milo.”

He glared at her. “She’s never getting married, Tori. Never.”

She laughed, and then she noticed the press conference was beginning.

They listened.

His boss was talking about him as if he was a war hero coming home. He’d singlehandedly solved nine murders spanning ten years, a couple suicides, and in a surprise interrogation, he got Gene Gentry to admit to drugging Betty Remington to get her to sign away the school.

Only it had backfired. He gave her too much. Hart got him on manslaughter and not murder one, but a win was a win.

As his boss was calling him an asset, Hart stood there with a smile on his face. As they asked him to say something, he absolutely did.

That’s when he opted to drop the bomb.

He quit his job.

In front of all of the media, his bosses, co-workers, and everyone watching from home, he resigned from the force. He turned, took off his gun, and handed it, and his badge, to his boss.

Then he walked away.

“Holy shit,” muttered Tori. “That was a little unexpected. I didn’t see that one coming.”

She could say that again.

“Apparently, this case left a bad taste in his mouth.”

Julian got it.

He’d been there once too.

“Want to fool around before Roman and Mattie get back here? We have the whole school to ourselves.”

“No. You. Don’t.”

Tori began laughing.

“Really? I’m going to intrude when he’s getting it on with Bethany.”

She continued laughing.

“Don’t. Be. A. Hater.”

The pen on the table began moving. When it stood upright, and began scribbling something, they sat forward.

When Julian read it, he was horrified.

‘You can watch me anytime.

Bethany.’

“That’s it! I’m getting the holy water!”

Tori pulled him down. “Let them watch. Give Trey something to strive to achieve.”

Julian grinned.

His wife had a point.

“Take notes, Trey,” he muttered, right before he kissed Tori.

When her camera clicked on the table, taking a picture, he stopped. “Did he just…”

The radio went on.

“I. Like. Pictures. Better.”

“TREY!”

Tori grinned.

Some things would never change.

And she was glad.

       
         
* * *
  L   i   t   t   l  e  m  o  o  n  * * *

Two Hours Later

When he opened his door, he was shocked to see them standing there. On his front porch, there stood Julian and Tori Littlemoon. It appeared that they had yet to catch their plane.

“Oh, hey.”

Tori smiled at the little girl who was in his arms. She had to be two at the most.

She was gorgeous.

She had her father’s eyes and his smile. There was no doubt who she belonged to.

“Who’s this?” Tori asked, holding out her arms.

“It’s Ivy, and she doesn’t go to people…”

The child went right to Tori.

“Okay, she doesn’t normally like strangers. We’re going to have to relearn stranger danger, Ivy.”

Tori was amused.

“Hello, Ivy. I’m Tori.”

The little cherub smiled.

“I was married,” Hart said. “My ex and I broke up, got a divorce, and then a few months later this woman appeared with a baby. She told me that my ex put her up for adoption, but since I was on the birth certificate, I could have her.”

Tori hugged the little girl as she dug for a lollipop in her purse.

“I couldn’t deny she was mine. She has my eyes.” And she did. They were the same liquid-y silver.

Tori unwrapped the lollipop for the child. “She does. Ivy is gorgeous.”

Hart was curious about why they were there.

“Enough about me. What do you guys want?” he asked. “Do you want to come in?”

“We can’t. We have a flight soon. We wanted to stop by and see you.”

“Okay.”

“We wanted to thank you for your help. We couldn’t have done it without you,” Julian stated.

“It was my pleasure. It’s why I became a cop in the first place. I wanted to make a difference.”

“Why did you quit your job?” Tori asked as Ivy played with her hair and lollipop.

“You saw that, huh?”

“The world saw it.”

“How am I supposed to teach my daughter to always do the right thing if I’m not doing it myself? My captain wanted to hang Roman out to dry. I couldn’t do that. I have to be accountable to my girl. She needs a good role model.”

He was staring at her with nothing but love.

Julian could see that he was a family man to the core, and that impressed him.

“Cops do good. We don’t take the easy way out. It’s not right. I won’t work for a man who condones that. Quitting in front of everyone was my way of flipping him off without saying that F word. I don’t curse. Ivy doesn’t need to hear that.”

The Littlemoons had respect for the man.

He was a good person, and Tori’s judgment had been spot on when it came to him.

“Are you going to be okay?” Tori asked. “Do you need anything?”

He held out his hands and Ivy went into his arms. “I’ll be fine. I have my integrity, and I have my daughter. What more do I need in life? As for work, this is a rental. I can pick up and move. There are plenty of police stations in the world. I’ll find one that fits me.”

“When you do, keep in touch,” Tori said, pulling an envelope out of her purse. “Here. This is for you.”

He stared at it like it might bite. “What is it?”

“Well, it’s not a ghost. I keep them in my other purse,” she teased.

He laughed. “Point taken.”

After he took it, Julian spoke up, “It’s Mattie Boyd’s retainer fee. You helped with the case, and you earned it. We don’t need it.”

“Hey, wait!” he said, as they started walking away.

“You had our backs,” Tori said. “Buy Ivy something pretty like a pony.”

“She’s not getting a pony.”

“Well, we have a few horses. If you’re ever in our neck of the woods, stop in. She can ride them.”

“Tori! Julian!”

They ignored him as he held the envelope.

When they got to their car, Tori waved at the little girl. “Take care of Daddy,” she said, waving goodbye.

Then they were gone.

Hart didn’t know what to think about the entire conversation. It was odd. Then again, the Littlemoons were a bit unusual too.

He stared down at it.

Sitting on the step, he placed his daughter beside him. “Should we look?”

“Yes. Pop good.”

He grinned giving her a kiss on her sticky cheek. “Yes, it certainly is. You like cherry flavored pops.”

Opening the envelope, he stared at all the cash.

There was over four grand in there.

“How much do PI’s make?” he asked no one in particular. Then, he noticed the money wasn’t the only thing in there. He saw a note, and it was Tori’s handwriting.

‘Hart,

If you’re looking for a new start, a family orientated business, and a good place to do good in the world, we know of the best job. No one will ever make you compromise your values, and you’ll be with people fighting the good fight. You’re a damn good cop, and we’d be happy to have you on our team. Use the money as moving expenses. You passed the interview process. The job is yours.

Tori.’

He started laughing. “They’re too much.”

“Funny?” Ivy asked.

“Yeah, they want Daddy to work for them. What do you think about that?”

“Pop. Pony. Pop. Pony. Pop.”

He picked her up. “It’s time for your nap, and then we can discuss it.”

At that moment, it was up in the air.

He wasn’t sure what he wanted.

Hart had to weigh all the options first.

Like a good father.