Krewe of Hunters: The Hidden Part 27

Daniel followed her, albeit more slowly, his arm still around her, his expression bereft, as if he was losing her.

Brett came up the stairs with Lara, a pretty five-foot-seven-inch blonde who clearly knew Diego well, judging by the warm hug she gave him the minute she entered the room. Then she stood back, anxious to meet Scarlet. They were introduced just as the rest of the Krewe came up the stairs.

Lara Mayhew was warm and sincere, and obviously deeply in love with Brett. Scarlet could tell she made Brett happy.

But as soon as the pleasantries were exchanged, Matt said to Scarlet and Diego, "What's going on here? You two look as if you've been hit in the head with a brick."

"Our ghosts were here," Diego said.

"Ghosts-plural?" Meg asked.

"Daniel and Ca.s.sandra Wells," Scarlet said.

"Ah," Jane said quietly. "So it did mean something, you seeing her last night."

"Yup. Newly found ghost magnet here," Scarlet said lightly. "Daniel suggested I should go to the morgue and try to talk to the Parkers."

"He also suggested a seance," Diego said, as if Daniel had suggested that they all grow horns.

"Have you ever been to a morgue?" Meg asked Scarlet.

"No," Scarlet said.

"Spirits seldom linger there," Matt said.

"It's an ugly place to be, with what's left of your physical self lying on a stainless steel table," Brett said.

"But...a seance," Diego said. "I mean, we're above that, aren't we?" he asked hopefully, then answered himself with a groan. "No, we're not against anything that might work."

Jane said, "Intriguing idea, actually-a seance. Why not?"

Diego looked over at her. "I a.s.sume you mean we should involve our suspects?"

"Involve our suspects?" Scarlet asked.

"Invite them to join us, see how they react," Diego told her.

"I don't think you'll ever get Angus to a seance," Scarlet said flatly.

"Probably not. But Angus wasn't at the Twisted Antler and he didn't discover any of the bodies, so I think we can back-burner him as a suspect," Adam said. "I actually think that's not a bad idea. We'll arrange it for tonight. I'll speak with Ben and Trisha."

"What if they refuse?" Scarlet asked. "And even if they agree, this will be one unwieldy seance. There are eight of us, then Ben and Trisha, Terry, Linda and Gwen and Charles. And what about the Levins? That's a party, not a seance."

"Meg and I were planning on following the Parkers' trail tonight," Matt said. "Take the highway in from Denver and stop at the places where they might have stopped, see if anyone remembers seeing them or seeing anyone or anything strange. I know their pictures have been out in the media, but sometimes you get better results with the personal touch."

"We're also going to try to figure out where the killer might have stashed their car," Meg said.

"And since Angus won't be coming, someone needs to keep an eye on the stables," Brett said. "Lara and I will stay here and keep an eye on the museum at the same time. And the back door to the main house," he added irritably.

"Well, Adam and I will be here," Jane said, smiling. "I know how to conduct a seance. Not that I think it matters whether we're seance experts or not, because if something is going to happen, it's going to involve Scarlet."

"Do you really believe we can convince the dead to come talk to us?"

"Who knows," Jane said. "But whatever happens, it will be interesting to see how the others react, don't you think?"

"If the killer's really one of them and he believes the dead are about to literally unmask him, things could become dangerous."

Jane looked at Scarlet. "Seance or morgue? Your call."

Scarlet was quiet for a long moment. She didn't like either option. "Let's start with a seance," she said at last.

"Great," Diego said. "So now, all we have to do is wait for darkness to fall, the moon to rise and the candles to flicker. I can't believe that's how we're trying to solve this case," he said. "But who knows? Maybe our ghosts will arrive and our killer will believe."

14.

As Scarlet had suspected he would, Angus opted out of taking part in the seance.

His exact words were more definitive. "No. No how, no way, not now, not ever, and you must be kidding."

Scarlet, accompanied by Jane, had gone down to the stables to talk to him. She told him it was fine if he chose not to join them-they were just trying to see who might be interested. But despite that rea.s.surance, the mere suggestion of a seance set him off.

"You want a seance?" he asked. "Oooooh, spooky. Why not do some really weird s.h.i.t? Let's ride up to the cemetery at midnight so we can perform a Native American ritual and wake up all the spirits?"

Angus stared suspiciously at Jane, as if he held her personally responsible for all this, since she was the newest arrival.

Jane refused to be offended. "Maybe we'll do that, too," she told him cheerfully.

Scarlet watched Angus's reaction with amus.e.m.e.nt. He was an old grouch, but even he wasn't immune to Jane's charm. "We're just trying anything we can think of, Angus, because these murders are so awful and we need all the help we can get. It's fine if you don't want to be part of the seance, but will you be around tonight? In case we need you?"

"For what? You think the horses are going to start speaking in tongues?" Angus asked.

Jane smiled. "Not that, but you never know with horses. You know yourself-they're intuitive. If something bad is going on, they'll sense it and react But no, that's not what Scarlet meant. It's just that you're smart, strong, and you know this ranch better than anyone. If anything is off, you'll notice, and it would be good to know you're out here, just in case there is any trouble. Human trouble. There's still a murderer out there, and we can't let ourselves forget that."

Angus looked at her curiously, but seemed pleased by the compliment.

"I'm usually around anyway, but I'll make sure I'm here tonight. I'll keep an eye out for anything that looks wrong." He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "But a seance? b.a.l.l.s! I'm sorry, and I get that you have to try everything, but...b.a.l.l.s."

They thanked him for his willingness to watch for trouble, then headed back toward the house.

"I told you that would be his reaction," Scarlet said.

Jane nodded. "That's all right. At least we know he'll hang around in case the killer makes a move or something."

Inside, everyone from the main house-except Matt and Meg, who were already on the road-was just finishing up breakfast, the giant moose head seeming to look down at them as if it agreed with Angus about the idea of a seance, which they were animatedly discussing.

"We'll do it. We'll do anything you want," Ben said. "I have to admit, I think it's silly. But if you guys think it'll help, Trish and I are in. Aren't we, honey?" he said, turning to her.

She put her hand on his arm and nodded.

"Well, I'm afraid I'm not in," Linda said, smoothing back her hair before pouring coffee for Jane and Scarlet. "I'm sorry, but I think it's absurd. On the other hand," she added with a smile, "I will admit I don't want to miss the fun. So I'll stand guard and make sure the candles don't set the house on fire."

"So long as you're quiet and don't interfere, that will be fine," Jane said.

"I'm definitely in," Terry said with his usual enthusiasm. "To be honest, I think it will be fascinating."

Scarlet was surprised when Clark Levin spoke up next, seemingly intrigued. "A seance? That could be interesting. At the very least, it will be amusing."

"Amusing, Clark?" Gigi asked, batting him on the arm. "It's ridiculous-and in extremely poor taste."

"It's never in poor taste to try to find a killer," Jane said.

"I'll sit at the table, if that's what required, and if Clark thinks that we should. However, I still feel that it's in poor taste, as if we're mocking the dead."

"I agree with Jane. There's nothing disrespectful about trying to help," Gwen said. "I think it's exciting."

Gigi made a tsking sound, glaring at Gwen, it was as if she believed all the evils in the world came from a younger generation that could be excited by such a prospect.

"How did you find a medium on such short notice?" Charles asked.

"It wasn't a problem," Jane said. "I'm the medium."

"Oh," he said, surprised. "I thought you were an artist?"

"An artist, an FBI agent-and a medium," Jane said. "I really know how to mult.i.task."

"So what do I need to do?" Trisha asked Jane.

Jane smiled and shook her head. "Nothing. We'll plan for about eight o'clock tonight, then."

"Something to look forward to," Gwen said with enthusiasm.

"I have some email to catch up on," Adam said. "And some work to do, but I'll be around, if anyone needs me. And I'll definitely see you all tonight."

"And I've got reading to finish back at the museum," Scarlet said.

"I'll go with you. See the rest of you later," Jane told the group with a smile.

As they headed outside, Scarlet asked, "Do you really think we can pretend a ghost is telling us about a murder and get someone to confess?"

Jane looked at her and shrugged. "Maybe a ghost really will tell us about a murder. I don't know, but we have to try anything we can at this point. Forensics hasn't come up with a thing. Whoever's doing this is hiding his ident.i.ty with more than that mask. He wears gloves and takes care not to lose so much as a skin cell at any of the scenes."

"So we have to become creative," Scarlet said.

Jane nodded.

"What if Angus or Linda is the killer?" Scarlet asked.

"Do you think so?"

"No, but I can't figure out who it is, so I have to consider everyone a suspect."

"If we understood why, we might discover who," Jane said. "Maybe all those journals of yours are important. I'd like to do some reading, too."

"Sounds like a plan," Scarlet said. "And later, if there's a chance, I'd like to spend some time at the shooting range."

When they returned to the museum, Diego was on the phone with Lieutenant Gray, and Brett and Lara were checking out the displays together.

When he hung up he recapped the call for them. "Gray has had people out on the street night and day, trying to find anyone who saw anything. They've followed up on all the calls that came in and talked to our leads from the Twisted Antler, but when it comes to useful information, his people are drawing blanks. I've told him about tonight, and he'll be on call, ready to step in if anything happens. Believe it or not, Lieutenant Gray likes our idea of a seance. He's feeling tremendous pressure from the mayor to solve this. He told me that for the first time in his life, he was glad for the Bureau to take over."

"Brett and I are going downtown to follow up on Ca.s.sandra's story. Maybe we can find something in that alley. He had to move fast there, so maybe he got careless in a way he hasn't, at least so far, at the kill sites," Diego said. He looked questioningly at Jane.

She smiled and told him, "Scarlet and I are going to read. Don't worry, please. I can handle myself in a fight."

Diego grinned. "I have no doubt, though I also doubt it will come to that. Just be careful and don't trust anyone. My gut says our killer's going to be one of those scary guys everybody likes and no one suspects. Let's face it, if some guy was running around town dripping blood or spouting threats, someone would have noticed him by now."

"We'll stick to each other like glue, and we won't trust anyone," Scarlet promised him.

"Good. We'll meet back here for dinner around six, then head over and 'seance,'" he said.

"And I'd like to read Nathan's journals with you guys, if you don't mind," Lara said, coming up behind them.

Scarlet found the day not only interesting, but also actively fun.

Jane talked about working as a sketch artist for Texas law enforcement before joining the Krewe, and Lara talked about how Meg, who she'd known since they were kids, had gotten involved with the Krewe and how that had ultimately led to her own involvement-and to falling in love with Brett.

"I'm not law enforcement-I'm in PR and I plan to stay in PR-but the Krewe sometimes hires civilian experts, so who knows?" Lara said. "If the Bureau tells Brett he has to move one day, maybe I'll end up working for the Krewe, too. Right now, Brett can work from Miami-there's a need for a Krewe presence there, trust me-and I can stay on at the Sea Life Center. But if he has to move, you can bet I'll be going with him, because more than anything I want to spend my life with Brett. It's hard to play second fiddle sometimes, but when someone's life is at stake, I get it. It's made me pretty tough and resilient, actually. I might actually make a good agent."

"There's no way to tell what the future will bring any of us," Jane said. "I'm just lucky to be married to another Krewe agent. I guess when you're blessed-or afflicted-with a sixth sense the way we are, it's a real plus when you fall in love with someone who can see ghosts, too."

"Hey," Lara said, frowning as she delicately pried apart pages in one of the journals. "I think there's something in here. Do you know what it is?"

"No," Scarlet admitted. "I never even noticed those pages were stuck together."

Lara handed her the journal. Scarlet dug around in her desk for a tiny tweezers and carefully extracted the folded note stuck between the pages.

"It's a note," Scarlet said, delicately unfolding the fragile paper. She looked up at the others. "It's a note written by United States Marshal Tom Vickers-his eulogy to his daughter."

Scarlet began to read aloud.

"'Did ever a child bring greater light to a parent's life? Could any man be prouder of a daughter's beauty, that which shone on her lovely face, and that which eternally radiated from the sweet glory of her heart? Her child, her boy, is all that is left in life that matters to me, and by my daughter's soul, I swear I will raise that boy to know of her beauty, and I will raise him in happiness and that blessed light which Jillian bestowed upon all others.'" She looked at Jane and Lara, and said softly, "Wow. Sure doesn't sound like the words of a man who killed his daughter and her husband."

"I really don't believe Marshal Vickers killed his own daughter," Jane said. "Admittedly, he doesn't mention Nathan in the note, but it's obvious he truly loved his own child and his grandchild."