Cree blue psychic eye bo.., p.11
Cree Blue Psychic Eye Box Set, page 11
part #1 of Cree Blue Psychic Eye Series
My mouth parted, and words escaped me.
“Blue,” Freddie said, smiling down at me. “You’re a rock star.”
I gave a full-belly laugh. “Hardly, what are you doing here, and who’s your friend?”
“I’ve decided to make you my full-time protection detail since you’re going to be running around chasing criminals.” Freddie pointed his thumb at the man next to him. “And I don’t know who this guy is, but if you want, I can get rid of him.”
“Or I can,” Mason announced.
My brows dipped. “Wait, what?”
The man standing next to him held out his hand. “Ms. Blue, I’m West Archer. I believe FBI Deputy Director Reed told you I’d be coming.”
His delicious British accent caught me momentarily off guard.
“Yes of course. Give me just a minute; I was just walking Detective Spencer out.” I shook his hand, and he held mine longer than any normal casual shake. His gaze never wavered as his eyes sparkled. I slipped my fingers free and gestured Mason past them.
Mason stopped at his car. His glare was aimed above my head. “You need me to stay and deal with them?”
“I can handle them. Mr. Archer is just dropping off a cold case, and Freddie… well, I told you about him. He saved my life. He’s not going to hurt me.”
“Even so, but you aren’t running around chasing criminals anymore. What does he think you need protecting from?” Mason asked, turning his gaze to mine. His clenched jaw eased.
I shrugged. “Who knows, but I’ll call you if I need you.”
“You do that,” Mason announced while cupping my cheek. He lowered his head and gave me the hottest kiss of my life. It may have been for the benefit of the good-looking men standing on the porch, but I’d take it. My eyes were still closed, and my toes were curled when Mason broke the kiss. I sighed in pleasure.
“Be good, Blue.”
My eyes slowly slid open. “It’s not in my DNA, Detective. Call me when you’re back in town.”
He glanced up at the porch one last time. “I’ll be back in a bit, with that dinner I promised.”
I smiled and walked backward toward the porch. I felt like a schoolgirl with her first crush. “I’ll make the dessert.”
He winked and grinned as he slid into his car.
Chapter 17
I invited both guys inside. I stuck West Archer in the library before taking Freddie into the kitchen.
“Did Moreno send you?” I asked while unwrapping the latest concoction of cookies I’d baked.
“No, but he sends his regards.”
“What are you doing here, Freddie?” I walked to the fridge and poured a glass of sweet tea and set it in front of him next to the plate.
“I’ve already told you. I’m your new bodyguard.”
“I wasn’t looking for one.” I gestured to the cookies.
“Just because you weren’t looking for one doesn’t mean you don’t need one.”
I sighed.
“This is a big place you got here.”
I glanced at the bag at his feet. “You need somewhere to stay?”
“If I’m going to guard you, it makes sense I’m close by.”
I shook my head and tossed up my hands. “Faraday will be staying here soon.”
“Even more reason you need me here. Don’t worry. I’ll pay rent for one of your rooms. Trust me, you need me, Blue.” He glanced around the kitchen, ignoring the cookies I had offered. There was something tense about his posture, the way his gaze was floating across the room.
“I work cold cases, Freddie. I’m not going to do any more active ones.”
“You need me, and I need you.” He glanced in the corner where my Grammy was standing. “She told me you do.”
My mouth parted. “You can see her?”
He rubbed at his neck. “Yep. I’m going to teach you how to defend yourself, and you’re going to teach me how to make them go away.”
“Fine.” I gestured toward the stairs. “You can have the room at the end of the hall on the second floor.”
Freddie tossed the bag strap over his shoulder, then grabbed the plate of cookies and tea before he disappeared up the back stairs.
I left the kitchen to deal with the stranger in the library. I walked into find him standing behind my desk. “Well, West Archer, did you bring the package?”
“No, but I have it in a safe place,” he answered. “I wanted to introduce myself first.”
“Are you with the FBI?” I asked.
He grinned. “I can assure you I am not part of your government.”
Perfect. Maybe having Freddie in the house wasn’t such a bad idea.
“I’m afraid I don’t let people watch me when I work.”
“You’ll have to make an exception.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “What’s the case?”
He pulled a document out of the inside pocket of his suit and handed it to me. The envelope had my name written it on. I slipped the document free. It was a non-disclosure agreement. “Both of our governments insist that you sign that document before I can disclose any information. It’s a formality.”
I ran my fingertip over the embossed U.S. and very British-looking seal insignia. “It’s an international case?”
I glanced up to find he’d folded his hands and didn’t have any plan on answering my question.
“Okay, then.” I scanned the document and grabbed a pen from my desk, scribbling my name at the bottom. I waited impatiently as he slipped it back inside the envelope and returned it to his suit pocket.
“The Wellington Diamond.”
I think my heart momentarily stopped. I remember hearing about that case, but it was nothing more than a fairy tale. A sacred diamond that had been given to a famous actress by the very “married” Prince of Wellington. I slowly had to sit down before my legs gave out beneath me. “It’s true?”
“Most of it.” He grinned. “Do I have your interest now?”
I nodded, unable to form words. This would be the case of a lifetime, one that I’d grown up all my life intrigued by. Hell yes, he had my interest. “When can we start?”
His mischievous smile grew as he met my gaze. “I have a few things to wrap up, and then I’ll be back in a few weeks.”
I let out a shaky breath. “Okay.”
“I look forward to seeing how far we take this.”
“Me too.” I rose from my chair and walked him to the door.
He stepped outside and turned at the last minute. “I hope you’re ready for one hell of a ride, Cree Blue.” His gaze lingered on my lips. “I know I am.”
The End.
DEADLY VOWS
A Cree Blue Psychic Eye Mystery
Book 2
Kate Allenton
Copyright © 2017 Kate Allenton
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Published by Coastal Escape Publishing
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 1
“Tell me you’re going to put a hex on him or send a poltergeist to his new apartment,” Freddie demanded as I ended my call.
He was leaning against the old doorframe of my ancestral home. The bald opinionated Italian was my self-appointed bodyguard, so I gave him latitude. It was that or have to deal with the rest of the Italian mob knocking some sense into my poor delicate head. I already had enough loose screws; I couldn't afford many more.
The Lady Blue Plantation served as more than my serenity. Its vast open yards and ancient trees calmed me in a way no other place came close to doing. It was one reason I believe people were drawn to it. Freddie was one of those people I let live under my roof. Most people would be scared to have an Italian ex-mobster sleeping down the hall. Not me. It helped me sleep.
“I’m not a witch.” Not that I couldn’t pay $19.95 for someone on the internet to do the deed. Bad karma wasn’t juju to be toyed with, ever. “He’s just busy.”
Freddie's observant well-trained laser focus pinned me in my spot. I guess his time dealing with double-crossing bad guys who could kill kind of made him paranoid that way. Regardless, he had a point. Two months and my almost relationship with FBI Agent Mason Spencer had disappeared like last night’s pitcher of margaritas. His new job with the FBI kept him MIA and emotionally off the radar.
“He’s busy all right; busy avoiding you.”
Deep down in the pit of my stomach, somewhere between last night’s burrito and this morning’s piece of chocolate cake, I knew Freddie was right, and that thought irked me even more than my nonexistent boyfriend.
“Fine, he’s avoiding me.” I frowned. “He isn’t the only one.”
West Archer was doing the same thing. The British agent had shown up two months ago seeking help with the case of the century; a dead actress, a royal affair, and a missing diamond worth a small fortune. He dangled that case like a freakin’ dessert in front of a woman on a diet before he disappeared. The men in my life had a problem keeping their word.
“Screw them, Cree. It’s their loss. You’re the rock star. You talk to dead people and help solve cold cases that people like them can’t figure out. Mason is probably just sitting behind some desk talking about the merits of which shoulder holster doesn’t chafe, and Archer, God only knows where he went, but one thing is for sure. You’re the one doing all the work.”
“Work,” I sighed. “I guess they’re ready and waiting for us?”
“You could say that.”
“I almost forgot we planned to work a case.” I shoved to my feet.
“Pity parties tend to do that.” Freddie chuckled and rested his arm on my shoulder, steering me back inside where the others waited.
My pity party wasn’t over. I'd simply pressed pause until I could be alone with a glass of wine and a pint of my favorite chocolate ice cream.
I walked into the ballroom, shoving all thoughts of Mason and his excuses out of my head. The large room was empty other than the tools we'd need. Several desks with computers lined the walls. The big Jumbotron-sized screens hanging on the walls sat idle in standby mode, ready to flash the images from my mind. A hospital bed sat in the middle of the room with Doc Stone hovering nearby to monitor the machines and ready to check my vitals. Everything was ready, except me.
“Sorry to keep you guys waiting.”
“Did Freddie talk you off the ledge?” Charlotte, my best friend and partner in crime, asked from her perch behind one of the computers where she was playing a game of solitaire.
“It wasn’t a ledge, just a minor speed bump,” I said, entering the room. I slid out of my heels, leaving them by the door. “I’m ready to focus.”
“It’s about damn time,” Faraday said from across the room. He folded his arms over his chest. His naturally grumpy annoyance was even more exaggerated today.
He was my personal liaison with the local PD, not to mention my godfather. The way he told it, he was the one that picked my dad up off the floor during my birth, and he’s been picking up the pieces ever since.
Insight was my daddy’s dream. A computer program that gives everyone in the room a view of the visions going on in my head when trying to tune in to these lost souls who needed to be found. We were all witnesses to the ghastly deeds of the crimes. Whatever I saw in my head, they’d see on the screens. I was the conduit for these dark, deadly deeds.
Only the people in this room knew I used this secret machine to prevent me from missing a clue. They worked like the logical side of my brain while I was using the program.
Jitters was in charge of monitoring and recording everything. He was a computer genius. Charlotte was there for more than moral support. She was wired kind of different, too, which was probably why we’re such besties. She could see the connections the rest of us would miss. The twins…well, I think they were just happy to be around like-minded nutty people, and we were a salty bunch.
“Which case are we working on?” Faraday asked. His thinning patience reminded me of rain on a day I wanted to swim; neither warmed my soul. I blew a kiss to the agitated cranky man.
I unlocked the cold case locker of stored evidence the police provided for me to use when trying to connect. Brown bags stacked the shelves, and the case names and file numbers sat out of view. I wouldn’t need them. Closing my eyes, I felt around at the energy each package gave off. When my soul was calm, in tune, I was strong, and I’d work on one of the less energetic pieces. When I was feeling puny, I’d pick the ones with the most active energy. Today, I needed all the help I could get with so much clutter in my brain.
I was immediately drawn to one package on the top shelf. I had no idea what was inside, only that a woman was involved. I jumped to grab it and pull it, catching it in my arms. “Looks like the winner is Davina Richards, Billson Police cold case file 37658.”
“That one’s more recent. I remember about a month ago the poor girl went missing the day before her wedding. That would be my luck,” Charlotte said.
“I’d never let that happen.” I grinned and tapped into her energy. “Your Prince Charming is on the way.”
“I think he lost his map.”
“Ladies, can we focus and leave the girl talk for later?” Faraday said.
“Did you drink too much prune juice today?” I asked and pointed to the kitchen. “We can wait while you go relieve yourself of that bad attitude.”
“Funny, Cree.”
I shrugged. I had my moments. I glanced again at the name on the bag. I had a vague recollection of seeing something about Davina in the papers. People thought she’d gotten cold feet and taken off, only the police and her fiancé suspected something more devious at work. Call it my intuition or gut feeling, I knew this one wasn't a runaway bride because this chick was already dead. Her apparition was floating just outside the French doors of the ballroom. My Grammy’s overbearing ghostly presence kept all of the unrelated dead people out of my house. She was good like that.
I walked across the renovated hardwood floors over to the hospital bed and climbed on top, letting Doc Stone cover me with a blanket. It was a wonder I didn’t get many colds. I always start out sweating beneath the fabric until the good Doc pulls out the cold goo. It was all downhill from there. By the time we finish playing with Insight I’d end up needing three more blankets and sometimes even that wouldn’t get rid of the chill.
He slipped a rubber cap over my head. To the untrained eye, it looked like something that was used by hairdressers intent on giving highlights, but we used it for something way more interesting.
“This is going to be cold.” Doc Stone looked a little hesitant as he approached with the caulking gun filled with cold gel. I hated this part.
“It always is.” I tensed as he filled each hole in the cap with the goop, sending a wintry chill crawling down my spine and extending throughout my body. He filled every tiny hole in the cap before attaching the probes the machine needed to transmit the images. Thank God no one ever saw me like this. I looked on the verge of getting a head transplant.
“Whenever you’re ready, Cree.”
I inhaled a deep, calming breath as I tore open the package, dumping the contents on my lap. I don’t know what I’d been expecting, maybe a bloody wedding dress or veil. Instead, it was something much more innocent. A stuffed bear. I held it up for Faraday to see. “Really?”
“The fiancé said she took it with her everywhere. It’s the only personal item the Billson PD would give us.”
You’d think they’d be a little more accommodating. I was, after all, providing clues they’d yet to find.
“Jitters, are we rolling?” I glanced at the camera he’d just walked away from. The little red flashing dot confirmed my answer before he did.
“Rolling on you, and we’re recording the feed. We’re a go.”
“Okay then, Faraday, if you’ll dim the lights.” I cleared my throat and leaned back in the bed, nodding to Doc Stone. He flipped the switch. “Davina Richards, Cree Blue Case 55. Billson PD cold case 37658. Let’s hunt.”
Chapter 2
Images flicked across the screen. First, that of Grammy’s wilted rose garden in the backyard I’d been staring at earlier. Then my Grammy’s face. Her old wise wrinkles looked amplified on the Jumbotron, calming my rattled nerves. “Let’s begin.”
I picked up the teddy bear and let the energy cocoon my body, wrap around every bit of my essence, and entwine with mine. It was a weird feeling being so acutely aware of someone else besides myself. Sometimes it was like dropping oil into a bucket of water. Some energy just didn’t want to mesh and mix. That wasn’t the case with Davina’s energy. I gripped the bear tight and let the vibrations whip out of my mind to her last memory, finally focusing on the front of a church.
