“Hmm, nothing’s happening!” Duke shouted. “The power of the Lord flows through me! I am untouchable. I am holy. I am God! I am-” Barrymore paused. He removed the doll from her case and held her up for the crowd to see. “I am invincible!”

  Agatha Louise’s head turned a full 180 degrees to face Barrymore. Her hands raised over her head.

  “Oh, isn’t she cute! Are you going to kill me, Agatha Louise? Let me have it!” Barrymore shouted.

  Shackleton came to stand beside Barrymore, with his hand on the demonologist’s shoulder, he began to pray. “In the name of Jesus, I banish thee, demon! I banish thee to the deepest pits of hell, where you belong! I beg for your-” Shackleton paused, looking as if he were trying to take a deep breath. His face turned red, then purple before he fell to the floor.

  “Okay, time to move!” Ronan climbed over the people sitting to his left in a bid to get out of the row.

  Ten turned to see Jude was doing the same thing, moving down the row to the aisle opposite. He grabbed Everly and pulled her into his arms and shoved his way through the seated, enthralled people. To Ten’s horror, Ronan didn’t run for the exit. He was running toward the stage.

  “I banish thee, demon! I banish thee! I cast thee back to the hellfire from which you were born. Where you shall burn for all eternity! Burn! Bu-” Barrymore stopped shouting and grabbed at his chest. Agatha Louise tumbled from his hand and crashed to the floor, landing face down.

  Everly wrenched free from Tennyson and ran toward the stage.

  Tennyson tried to run after her, but was stopped by a mob of people fleeing up the aisle. He was hit again and again, like a football running back attempting to make a run for the endzone. He managed to side step into an empty row of seats. He looked to the stage where Ronan was giving CPR to Shackleton, while Jude did the same for Barrymore. From where he stood, Ten couldn’t see Everly.

  Ten offered a prayer that God would protect his daughter, someway. Somehow.

  12

  Ronan

  Chaos reigned over the auditorium. Ronan shouted to Cantor and Dwight to call 911. Both men broke for the stage door. Ronan had no way of knowing if either man would do what he asked. Pulling out his phone, he texted Fitzgibbon, telling him to send police, fire, and medics.

  Who knew how many people would be hurt in the crush to evacuate the arena. Ronan’s focus at the moment was Levi Shackleton, who lay on his side. Ronan rolled him over and checked his carotid artery for a pulse. There was none. He set his hand in front of the fallen preacher’s mouth and didn’t detect air moving in or out of his lungs. He cleared the airway and started chest compressions.

  Movement to his right caught Ronan’s attention. He saw Agatha Louise looking as if she were trying to get up. He didn’t want to think what would happen if she managed to make it to her feet. Beyond the doll, Jude was giving CPR to Barrymore.

  “No pulse, no breathing!” Jude shouted.

  “Same! I texted Fitz to call out the cavalry.” Ronan stopped the compressions to feel for a pulse. There was none. He gave Shackleton two rescue breaths and resumed compressions. He almost giggled over the fact that his lips had been pressed to the homophobic pastor. He wanted Shackleton to live just to see the look on his face when Ronan told him what had been done to save his life.

  More movement caught Ronan’s attention. He looked up from Shackleton to see Agatha Louise had managed to turn toward him. She was slowly inching her way across the stage, crawling like Everly had when she was little. Where the hell was Everly? And Tennyson?

  “Agatha Louise!” Everly cried out from behind Ronan.

  He felt pounding footsteps and seconds later, Everly ran past him stopping in front of the doll. Before Ronan could shout out a warning, Everly had scooped the doll into her arms and was rocking her like a baby. A wave of dizziness passed over Ronan. He would never forgive himself if something happened to Everly. This was all his fault. He’d been the one to insist his daughter could come to the auditorium. He was the one who voted for Everly to visit Agatha Louise an hour ago.

  Christ, was it only an hour? It felt like three days had passed from the time he’d brought his six-year-old daughter to meet the monster.

  “Agatha Louise, please stop hurting the awful men. Yes, they were mean to you, but let them live so they can pay for their mistakes. I promise you, I’ll make them pay.”

  The doll’s hands came up. Everly took one with her hand. “It’s okay. You’re safe. I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you, but you have to promise not to hurt anyone else.”

  Only Everly would try to reason with a demon-possessed doll. As she promised the doll it was safe, Shackleton took a gulping breath. From across the stage, Ronan could see Barrymore do the same thing.

  “Ronan!” Cisco Jackson shouted as he ran into the auditorium. Fitzgibbon was right behind him.

  “Freeze!” Ronan shouted, not wanting either man to come any closer. He’d seen with his own eyes what Agatha Louise was capable of and he didn’t want anyone else to feel her wrath.

  Tennyson walked up to the stage. He was whiter than a sheet and looked like he was on the verge of having his own, non-Agatha Louise related heart attack. “Everly, take my hand.”

  “Ten, no!” Ronan called out.

  “Everyone needs to stop shouting,” Everly said. “You’re scaring Agatha Louise.” She reached for Ten’s hand. Ten set his free hand on the doll.

  The room fell dead silent. All eyes were on Ten, Everly, and the doll.

  “Abomination!” Shackleton shouted, struggling to sit up.

  Without a second thought, Ronan hauled back and punched Shackleton in the face. The man fell back to the stage with a loud thump. “That felt good.”

  “It’s okay, Agatha Louise, I’ve got you. I’m right here,” Everly cooed to the doll. As she finished speaking, the doll’s arms fell back to their sides. Everly gasped and jerked backward like she’d gotten an electric shock. She set the doll on the stage and took a step backward. Ten’s hands were over his mouth.

  Ronan turned back to the doll and saw what had shocked Ten and Everly. A little girl stood on the stage in singed pink pajamas. He’d never seen a picture of the doll’s first victim, but he knew in an instant it was Poppy Richardson. It struck Ronan that the little girl was the same age as Everly when she died.

  “Poppy?” Everly asked, getting to her feet.

  “Hi, Everly,” the little girl said.

  “Are you okay?” Everly rushed to the girl and hugged her.

  “I think so. Did I hurt the men?” Poppy asked.

  “No, they’re gonna be fine, unfortunately,” Everly laughed.

  Poppy giggled along with her. “What happens now? I want my Mommy and my Daddy!” She began to cry.

  Everly wrapped her arms around the little girl, hugging her close. Ronan could see her lips moving and assumed she was trying to calm the little spirit. A flash of white light nearly blinded him. It struck the stage beside Everly. Ronan could see people gathered together and crying. He assumed they were Poppy’s family.

  “Mommy! Daddy! Patrick!” Poppy shouted, before turning back to Everly. “How did you do that?”

  “I asked for a little help.” Everly hooked her thumb behind her, where Ronan saw Bertha Craig and his mother, Erin, standing together. “It’s time for you to go to heaven.”

  “I miss my family, but I don’t want to leave you,” Poppy said.

  “You’ll always be able to find me. Just call my name and you’ll come right to me.”

  “Really?” Poppy asked, her eyes wide with wonder.

  “Yup! Give it a try after you’ve had some time to hug your Mom and Dad.”

  “Okay!” Poppy ran toward the light, but stopped suddenly. “Oh, one more thing, can you take care of Agatha Louise?”

  “I promise I will.” Everly set a hand over her heart.

  Poppy ran into the light which burned brighter for a few seconds and slowly faded.

  Everly ran into her grandmother’s arms. “Thank you, Mimi Erin. I didn’t know if I could save Poppy by myself.”

  “You’re welcome, little miss.” Erin knelt down in front of Everly. “You are just amazing. I am so proud of you and love you so much.” She hugged her granddaughter like she never wanted to let go.

  “What about me?” Ronan asked, standing behind Everly.

  “Always, Ro your boat.” Erin stood and pulled Ronan into her arms.

  Ronan didn’t want this moment to end. He was hugging his mother and Everly and Ten were safe. Ronan couldn’t ask for more than this.

  Bertha hugged Ten, then Everly. “You did good, honey.”

  “I was so scared Poppy was gonna hurt Daddy or Uncle Jude. I didn’t even think about myself, I just ran to help.”

  “That’s true courage,” Bertha said. “It’s one of the reasons the light appeared when you called it. Your pure heart was the other. Now, I’ve got to hug your handsome father before my time is up.”

  Everly stepped back to Tennyson, her eyes on the doll.

  “Was Poppy’s spirit inside the doll?” Ten asked. “Or was there something else in there too?”

  “It was Poppy and something else. Whatever the other thing was vanished when I picked up Agatha Louise. It was the other thing who was killing people. Poppy tried to stop it, but the thing hurt her.”

  “Did it go back to hell?” Ten asked Bertha, who was still hugging Ronan.

  Bertha shook her head. “It flew off, I’m not sure where it went. Off to find another host, I assume.”

  “Bertha Craig, you’re looking mighty fine for a woman who has been dead for a decade.”

  “Well, thank you, Cisco. Can you do me a favor?” Bertha grinned at the chief of police.

  Cisco grinned. “Name it.”

  “Stop yelling at my boys! Ronan, Jude, and Fitzgibbon are sweet, sweet angles.” Bertha winked at Cisco.

  “Sure they are, Bertha, and I’m the Queen of England.” Cisco rolled his eyes. “Shackleton, Barrymore, I’m Police Chief Cisco Jackson. Come with me and we’ll get you checked out by the medics who are waiting outside.”

  Jude helped Barrymore to the side of the stage, while Ronan did the same for Shackleton. Both men were shouting about the white light. Cisco handed them off to two of his officers and walked back to Ronan and the others.

  “Thanks, Cisco.” Ronan gave his boss a quick hug.

  “Thank you. This could have been one hell of a shitshow and you two stopped that from happening.”

  “Uh, excuse me, Uncle Cisco!” Everly crossed her arms over her chest. “I was the one who stopped the shitshow.”

  “I’ll make sure you get a special medal and soap to wash that mouth out.” Cisco winked at Everly and followed his officers and the two stunned men out of the auditorium.

  “Our time here is up,” Bertha said. “Sorry we can’t stay longer. Toodles!” Bertha disappeared.

  Everly hugged Erin one last time. “I’ll see you soon.”

  “You bet, Doodlebug!” Erin kissed her cheek and slowly vanished from sight.

  “Uncle Fitz?” Everly called out.

  “Yeah, honey.” Fitz headed for the front of the stage.

  “You need to find Devin Forrest. Someone hit him and stole Agatha Louise. He should be in the ballroom.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Ronan said, climbing down from the stage.

  “Me too.” Everly picked up Agatha Louise. “Mr. Devin is gonna be really upset that she was kidnapped.”

  Ronan scooped his daughter and the now harmless doll into his arms. “If anyone can make Devin feel better, it’s you.” Ronan pressed a kiss to Everly’s temple. “You and I are gonna have a long talk tomorrow about everything that happened here tonight.”

  “Okay, Daddy. After that, we’re gonna go to the store and get me a new doll. I’m gonna name her Agatha Louise, junior.”

  Ronan burst out laughing. If he lived to be a hundred, Ronan would never forget his daughter running toward the cursed doll who had nearly added two more victims to her kill list. His daughter was brave, no doubt about it, but if she kept throwing caution to the wind, Ronan was going to end up on high blood pressure meds, sooner rather than later.

  For now, Everly was safe. Ten was too. Ronan might still be shaken from everything that had just happened in the auditorium, but he even still, he was the luckiest man alive.

  EPILOGUE

  Tennyson

  One week later…

  Tennyson had found his Zen. He stood in the master bedroom surrounded by four open suitcases and several piles of clean clothes. Doing laundry gave him a sense of calm. Packing all the suitcases for their vacation trip to Rhode Island, was the calm before the storm.

  “Ten? Did you pack my headphones? Oh, and my allergy meds?” Ronan shouted from downstairs.

  “Ahhh Choooo!” Ezra called, imitating Ronan when he sneezed.

  “Headphones, yes. Meds, not yet. Aren’t you going to need to take it in the morning before we leave?” The last thing Ten needed was Ronan sneezing his brains out on the two and a half hour ride to the hotel they were staying at on Sakonnet Point in the Ocean State.

  “Good point!” Ronan shouted back.

  “Goooooo!” Ezra shouted his own seal of approval.

  With calm restored, Ten grabbed Ronan’s packing list and added everything to his suitcase. He popped into the bathroom and left Ronan two allergy tablets, one for that night and one for the morning, and then added the box to Ronan’s suitcase before zipping it up. Lastly he tore Ronan’s list off the top of the stapled pile and focused on Everly’s list.

  “Dad?” Everly asked from the bedroom door. “Can I come in?”

  “Sure! Just be careful where you walk, I don’t want you tripping over piles of stuff.”

  Everly hopped up on Ronan’s now vacant side of the bed. “Are you sure Agatha Louise will be okay?”

  The name of the formerly possessed doll gave Ten goose bumps. “Devin will take such good care of her, just like he does with all his other dolls.” What Ten wasn’t going to tell Everly was that Devin was going to put the harmless doll back on display. He was going to create a new exhibit featuring Agatha Louise’s adventures in Salem. Of course he wasn’t going to tell the public that the doll was no longer haunted. He’d mentioned raising admission costs, since the story of the doll hand landed on the national news.

  “Yeah, I suppose she’ll be okay. I still wish I could have kept her.”

  “Me too, honey, but she belongs to Devin.” There was no way Agatha Louise was coming into his house. Ten and Ronan had been in perfect agreement on the matter. Ronan had taken Devin aside and explained that no one else knew the doll was demon-free and that he could make a fortune displaying her after her kidnapping and exacting her revenge. Barrymore and Shackleton both survived, so the doll’s revenge wasn’t technically complete, but it was as good an ending as there possibly could have been.

  Both men had been hospitalized at Salem Mercy. Barrymore for three days and Shackleton for nearly three weeks. He’d needed bypass surgery and the doctors didn’t think it was wise for him to travel back to Iowa to get care. Jude and Ronan had made several jokes asking where the Salem Mercy killer angel was when they needed him.

  As for what happened in the auditorium, neither man was talking. They’d been peppered with media requests, as had Ronan and Jude, but no one agreed to any interviews. Ten had a feeling both men were going to write tell-all books and use what happened with Agatha Louise’s demon to fundraise.

  Lastly, after Shackleton was released from the hospital, he put out a post on social media saying that King of Deliverance had decided against starting a chapter in Salem. Ten and Ronan had high-fived each other over the news.

  “Are you looking forward to our vacation at the beach?” Ten asked. This time, Fitz and Ronan had been in charge of booking the hotel, so there wasn’t a repeat from last summer where Jude had booked them into a no-tell motel on the coast of Maine that looked like it came out of a Stephen King novel, murdered ghosts included at no additional charge.

  “Yeah! Daddy showed me pictures of the beautiful hotel and I can’t wait to meet Sophie!” Everly hopped off the bed. “I gotta figure out which unicorn stuffie to bring on the trip. I’m gonna FaceTime Aurora and see what she’s bringing.”

  Ten handed Everly his phone and went back to packing. He was glad there would be another little girl for Everly and Aurora to make friends with on the trip. Ten wondered if Sophie had a little brother Ezra’s age. Time would tell.

  In the meantime, Ten had eighteen hours to go before he was on vacation time.

  THE END

  Ten, Ronan, and the gang are headed to coastal Rhode Island for one last week of summer vacation. The upscale hotel’s got sun, sand, and Sophie, who keeps gaining strength as each idyllic day passes. Can Ten and Ronan survive her deadly wrath? Dead Calm…Coming Soon!

  HAVE YOU MET PSYCHIC TENNYSON GRIMM AND COLD CASE DETECTIVE RONAN O’MARA? GO BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN WITH DEAD SPEAK!

  Boston Police Detective Ronan O’Mara enlists the help of Salem psychic Tennyson Grimm to help solve the cold kidnapping case of five-year-old Michael Frye. Ronan, ever the skeptic, is out of leads and out of options. He very well could be out of a job if he fails to solve this case.

  When the child’s body is found, the work to identify his killer begins. As Ronan and Tennyson get closer to solving the crime, the initial attraction they feel for one another explodes into a passion neither man can contain.

  Will working together to bring Michael’s killer to justice seal their fledgling bond, or will unexpected revelations in the case tear them apart forever?

  DEAD SPEAK IS AVAILABLE IN EBOOK, KINDLE UNLIMITED, PAPERBACK, AND AUDIO BOOK.

  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07769VFJR

  WHO IS COPELAND FORBES? WHY DOES HE THINK JUDE BYRNE IS THE ONLY MAN WHO CAN SAVE HIM? FIND OUT IN GHOST OF HIMSELF, BOOK ONE IN THE HAUNTED SOULS SERIES.

 

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