The heather graham bundl.., p.134
The Heather Graham Bundle, page 134
“If you want the truth, you should be out there
looking for it. If you want to arrest me, do it—and
get me a damned lawyer. If not, I’m leaving.”
“We are going to arrest you,” Mertz said.
Victor groaned.
“We’ve gotten the shopkeeper to file charges,”
Suarez informed him.
Victor slumped back into his seat.
“That is bullshit,” he informed them.
“Hey, the mannequin was stolen. It was in your
cottage. Miss Wallace found you breaking it up. Is
that what you really wanted to do with the women
you killed, Victor? Slice them up?”
“I didn’t kill anyone,” Victor said.
“We think you did. We think there are more.”
“You think. You think! Think whatever you want,
but you don’t have anything on me—you can’t have
anything on me—because I didn’t do it.” Was this
how most confessions were obtained? Torture was no
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longer legal, so he’d heard, but with both these guys
right on top of him…
Shit. He could begin to question his own sanity.
“But you did steal the mannequin,” Mertz said.
“No, I didn’t.”
“You just chopped it up. Murdered it. Like you
murdered those hookers.”
“If I’m under arrest, I want a lawyer. Now.”
“You should talk to us. We can get you a deal, keep
you from the needle. No matter how many hookers
you’ve killed,” Mertz said.
Victor gritted his teeth. “I want a lawyer. Now. I
know my rights.” An idea occurred to him. “Hey, you
guys forgot to read me my Miranda rights.”
Score one for him. The detectives stared at each
other.
Mertz began to drone out the Miranda rights.
Damn Genevieve. What had made her feel she
had to go to Jay, confess that they had ditched the
mannequin? She couldn’t have known it would
come to this. Still…
His hands twitched.
He fought the urge to throttle her.
Because everyone was talking, because every-
thing was such a disaster, Genevieve had suggested
they all get showered and cleaned up and come over
to her house.
“A party?” Bethany had asked incredulously.
“No! But the police said they’re going to question
us, so they can find us all there.”
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327
The look on Thor’s face had indicated that he
wasn’t fond of the idea, but she had already spoken.
And so, by the late afternoon, they had all gathered
at her place.
They talked in circles. “So what do you think
Marshall having disappeared has to do with all this?”
Alex asked.
“I wonder why they haven’t called the rest of us
in,” Bethany murmured.
“I wonder why the hell they’re keeping Victor so
long,” Jack mused aloud.
“I’m going to call the station and find out what’s
going on,” Genevieve said, starting to rise.
Thor, at her side, placed a hand on hers. “What
do you think?” he asked dully.
“They can’t seriously suspect Victor,” she said,
horrified.
“They can,” Brent said, leaning forward. “Gene-
vieve, Victor knew the woman you found.”
“So what? That’s just circumstantial. I think.”
“Right. And Victor would be smarter. He would
have done a better job getting rid of the body,”
Bethany said.
“Bethany!” Genevieve protested angrily.
“What? It’s not like I think Victor did this,” she
protested.
“No, it wasn’t Victor,” Alex said.
“No way,” Jack agreed.
“You guys don’t have any answers?” Lizzie asked,
staring at Brent and Nikki.
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“If we had them,” Brent said, “trust me, we’d be
sharing them.”
They all nearly jumped sky-high when Thor’s cell
phone rang.
“Thompson,” he said briefly.
He rose as he listened to the speaker, pacing
toward the front of the house.
Out of earshot, Genevieve thought.
He snapped his phone shut after a minute. “I’m
going to see Professor Sheridan,” he said. “I’ll be
back. If anyone hears anything…”
“We’ll call you right away,” Lizzie promised.
Looking at him, Genevieve nodded.
She was surprised when Brent stood. “Mind if I go
along?”
She was even more surprised when Thor studied
him for a minute, then shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He
turned to the others.
“See you soon,” he said to the room in general.
Then he hesitated, before looking back at Genevieve.
“Let’s take a ride somewhere later tonight, huh?”
“All of us?” Bethany asked, frowning.
“I meant Genevieve,” Thor said.
“Bethany, they want to be alone,” Alex said.
“Oh! Of course,” Bethany said. But then she
frowned. “Now? In the middle of all this?”
“If Victor is delayed, Bethany, you can room with
Brent and me,” Nikki said.
“Thanks, but—”
“I can get you a room at the hotel,” Adam said,
sensing her unease.
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“Thank you, but I’m sure Victor will be back.” Her
words carried more conviction than her tone.
“Adam, want to come along?” Thor asked, really
stunning Genevieve.
“I’ll keep watch here, thanks,” Adam said. “In
fact, I’m quite capable in the kitchen. I’ll throw
something together for dinner.”
“All right. We’ll be back,” Thor said.
Genevieve watched him go with growing con-
cern. Audrey was missing. Marshall was still a no-
show. Victor was down at the police station—and
their group had now discovered two corpses.
She didn’t know what was going on, but she
knew it sucked.
“That was Sheridan on the phone?” Brent asked
as they drove.
“Yes.”
“And…? This have something to do with the
murders?”
“No. He’s started working with some of the letters
from the box Gen found. He’s treating them with
something—I don’t really understand the preserva-
tion of paper—and he’s been translating them from
Spanish into English.” Thor shrugged. “He’s…an
oddball. The type who feels you live by the sword,
you die by the sword, and those women were living
by the sword due to their profession. The present
never interests him much. His biggest feeling seems
to be irritation that the murders are disrupting the
dive.”
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Brent lifted a hand. “Some people are like that.”
There were several long moments of silence
before Thor turned abruptly to Brent. “You know a
lot about…ghosts, right?” he asked, unable to keep
his tone from being slightly dry.
“I know this is really hard for you. That you aren’t
the type to believe in anything except what you see
and touch yourself.”
“You just made me sound completely closed-
minded.”
Brent grinned easily. “I didn’t mean that. It’s a
tough world. You’re a pretty tough guy. I wouldn’t
expect you to believe in the occult. You’re a man
who makes his living in the real world. It wouldn’t
do a lot for your reputation if you went around
talking about pirate ghosts.”
“I try not to spend my time protecting my repu-
tation,” Thor said.
“We do that to an extent. How do you think
Adam has acquired his contacts and his ability to slip
his people in wherever he chooses?” Brent asked.
“Okay, you’ve got a point. But what the hell good
is any of this doing? Genevieve sees ghosts—but I
don’t think it’s any ghost murdering those women.
So where is any of this getting us?”
“I’m hoping what Sheridan has discovered might
be of some help,” Brent said.
“I hope so, too. Though, realistically speaking, I
don’t see how it can solve the current problem.”
“I’ve never claimed to have all the answers,”
Brent said.
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“No, you haven’t,” Thor murmured. He bore a
grudging admiration for the other man that contin-
ued to grow. He had an ability to hold his temper and
still stand his ground.
“Tell me more about Adam Harrison,” Thor said
abruptly.
“Adam? The last of the great gentlemen?” Brent
said gruffly, his affection for the man evident. He
lifted his hands. “He was born on a working planta-
tion in Virginia to a family with a long history in
politics. His wife died soon after the birth of their
only son, and his son was killed in an accident after
his high school prom. He was kind of like Harry
Houdini, I guess, desperate to believe there was life
after death.”
“To the best of my knowledge, Houdini spent
most of his life unmasking charlatans,” Thor com-
mented.
Brent smiled noncommittally.
“And he never made it back himself?”
“I have no idea.”
“So you can’t summon up whoever you choose?”
“No.”
“I see.”
“No, actually, you don’t, and you don’t need to
humor me. I don’t really care if you believe in an
afterlife or not,” Brent said. “I’m not trying to argue.
I just know what I can and can’t do, and your opinion
isn’t going to change it any.”
“So Harrison Investigations is completely on the
up-and-up?” Thor murmured.
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Heather Graham
“I’m sure you know it is. I’m sure you used some
of your own contacts to check.”
“Of course I did.”
“But you still don’t really trust us.”
“You’re ghost hunters.”
“We’re not con men,” Brent said.
“I’m still trying to figure out what the story is
with my seeing a boy claiming to be Josh Harrison,”
Thor said.
“You probably did see Josh,” Brent told him
casually.
“A ghost.”
“Yes, a ghost.”
“Josh Harrison, son of Adam, ghost,” Thor
murmured. “I guess you’re going to tell me you’ve
seen him, too.”
“I’m seeing him right now.”
“Excuse me?” Thor demanded, his brow furrow-
ing.
“He’s in the back seat.”
“What?”
Thor turned around.
He nearly drove off the highway.
Brent was telling the truth.
The boy was seated in the back seat, right
behind Brent.
“Shit!” Thor gasped.
“Maybe I should drive,” Brent said.
“All right,” Jack said, rising. “I can’t do this. I
can’t just sit around. Anyone want to join me? I’m
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going to hit some of the bars and find out myself if
anyone has seen Audrey anywhere, or if she said
anything to anyone.”
“I’m going to try Audrey’s numbers again, just in
case,” Genevieve said. She pulled out her cell, since
she felt the need to pace while she talked.
All three numbers rang until Audrey’s recorded
voice asked for a message.
Genevieve flipped the phone shut, shaking her
head.
“So we look for her,” Jack said.
“If she had her phone…if she were reach-
able…she’d answer. She’d call me,” Genevieve said.
“I’m so worried.”
“C’mon, she’s a brunette, not a blonde. Just like
you, Gen,” Alex pointed out.
“And she’s a quack, not a hooker,” Jack reminded
them cheerfully.
“I’m still worried,” Genevieve said.
Jack walked over and gave her a hug. “We all are.
And I’m restless. I know she’s probably not barhop-
ping, but we’re not doing any good, all of us sitting
around here, just waiting. We’ll see if she did run into
someone else. Who knows, maybe there’s a relative
somewhere we don’t know about who suddenly
called because they needed her. Maybe she had to go
to the aid of one of her clients. Maybe she really
conjured up a ghost or…well, who the hell knows.
But maybe, just maybe, we can find something out.
Anyone want to join me?”
Zach rose, reaching a hand down to his wife.
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“Sure. Though we don’t know the locals like
you do.”
Alex rose. “Yeah, we need to do something.” He
looked at Genevieve ruefully. “I think I need to move,
too. I’m going to go with Jack, too, if you’re okay.”
“I’m fine. But I’m going to hang in here until I
hear from Victor or Thor.”
Bethany laughed. “I’m staying with my new best
friend,” she said, indicating Adam.
“We’ll call you if we hear anything,” Jack
promised as he and the others filed out.
There was silence for a minute after they left.
Then Genevieve picked up the plates. Adam had
concocted an interesting hash out of the leftovers
from the barbecue, and everyone had eaten heartily.
“I’ll just put these in the kitchen,” she said.
Nikki rose with her. “I’ll help. Move it along.” She
glanced at Adam. “Actually, Gen, there’s something
we’d like you to try.”
“Oh?”
“Hypnosis,” Adam said, rising.
Genevieve nearly dropped the plates she was
carrying, staring from one of them to the other.
“Past-life regression, or something like that,”
Bethany said.
Adam hesitated. “I don’t know exactly what we’ll
discover. But I can question you while you’re under,
and maybe…. Don’t be worried. We choose a safety
word before you go under. That word will bring you
back to the present, wide-awake, if you find yourself
under duress.”
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335
Her hands were shaking and she didn’t know why.
Bethany stood and took the plates she was holding
from her. “No reason to break the china,” she said
cheerfully.
“I won’t do this unless you’re entirely willing,”
Adam said.
“I…I am willing. If it can help. I’m willing to do
just about anything,” she said. She lifted her hands.
“What do I need to do?”
“Just relax, and trust me. Nothing more,” Adam
said.
“That’s what all the guys say,” Bethany teased.
They all smiled. Then Genevieve looked seri-
ously at Adam.
“I do trust you,” she said.
“Then we’ll begin.”
Terrified he was going to kill himself and Brent
and whoever else might be on the road, Thor forced
himself to stay calm and drove onto the shoulder.
They were almost at the lab, but he needed a break.
Throwing the car into Park, he looked in the back
seat again.
It was empty.
He stared at Brent.
“There was just someone in the back seat,” he
said.
“Yes,” Brent agreed.
“He’s gone now.”
“He probably thought you were about to have a
heart attack.”
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“I nearly drove off the damned road.”
“Yes, I noticed that.” Brent smiled.
“I don’t fucking believe in ghosts! What the hell
is this bull you all are pulling on everyone? Smoke
and mirrors. How the hell are you doing it?”
Brent didn’t flinch. He just stared at him. “You tell
me,” he said, calm, quiet. “You’re a logical man. You
figure it out. Maybe there are things in this world
that you can’t explain. Maybe there really was a
ghost in your back seat.”
“I don’t believe in ghosts,” Thor repeated stonily.
“Okay. Don’t believe in them. But shouldn’t I
drive?” Brent asked.
“We have about four blocks to go,” Thor said. “I
can drive.”
He pulled back out onto the road. He didn’t want
to look into the rearview mirror, but he couldn’t
help himself.
The kid was back, staring at him.
“You’re not there,” he snapped.
And then he drove on. Cautiously.
A strange wind was blowing. She was accustomed to
