Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
The sun came up as it did every morning, casting soft light through the windows on the back wall. Sunrise was ordinary, that morning light greeted him every day, but today felt different in a momentous way. His heart beat on as always, but it was lighter.
Anna slept on, nestled against him. She knew about the ghosts, and she was still here. She knew , and she’d stayed. Would that last? She said she’d be in town for a while, but what could be considered a while ? How long before she got tired of him talking to people she couldn’t see or hear?
He shouldn’t care, shouldn’t look for trouble that hadn’t yet raised its ugly head. Last night had been great, and wanted more just like it. More Anna, in bed and out. More rare moments of pleasure and laughter. They’d get her mother out of town today or tomorrow. After that… Colt sat up gently so he wouldn’t wake Anna. When Nina left, would Jack go with her? Would he stay near what remained of his family home, or in the Pine Street house, or would he move here and become a regular fixture along with Maude and Gerald, Nicole and all the others?
He didn’t need another spirit around, but in case Jack did go with his mother, if he was attached to her as suspected…
They had to talk today. Yesterday Jack had vanished, after saying he’d done something bad. The ghost had looked surprised, shocked, as if a memory he’d buried had come back to him in an unpleasant flash.
It wasn’t guaranteed, but maybe the something bad was the reason for Jack’s murder. And Nicole’s. And the fire.
If word got out that he’d found those pictures and the list of names, would the depot go up in smoke? This old place would burn fast, if an arsonist decided to take it down. Walter Wakefield or someone else? Who else was involved? It might not mean anything at all that Walter was in those pictures with Crystal.
If that was the case, why keep them? Why hide the crappy pictures?
Colt thought of the expression on Crystal’s face as she glanced over her shoulder…
In spite of the new, unpleasant thoughts he dozed off for a while. The disjointed dreams that came during his fitful sleep were unpleasant, stressful, and when he woke again he made an effort to stay awake. He couldn’t remember the dreams, but he didn’t want to go back there.
He hadn’t been awake long when Anna sighed and sat up slowly. Hair mussed, face flushed, she was so beautiful it hurt. She gave him a slightly wicked smile as she reached out…
Colt took her hand in his before she could touch him. “What time does your mother get up?”
“Buzz kill,” she said, pulling her hand back, rolling out of bed, and heading for the bathroom. “Early,” she said as she closed the bathroom door.
Colt raised his voice so she could hear. “Would she be shocked if we showed up together and I made y’all breakfast?”
“I don’t think so,” she called out. “I’m starving!” When she re-entered the bedroom Anna added, “I told her I might stay the night. Well, I told her not to wait up and I figure that’s the same thing. She shouldn’t be shocked.”
“You came here intending to seduce me,” he said as Anna gathered her clothes.
“I did. Are you shocked?”
“A little.”
“Complaining?”
“Hell no.”
“Good. I need a shower before breakfast.” She went into the bathroom but left the door open. “So do you,” she added in a slightly louder voice.
Colt bounded out of bed. He needed to talk to Jack before Nina Miller left town, in case the trapped spirit went with her or moved on once his tether to Seawolf Beach was gone. He needed to know what bad thing his old friend had done. But no matter what was going on, no matter what needed to be done… Jack could wait.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t warned her mother that she might not come home last night. Not that Colt’s rental house on Pine Street was home . It was just a place to crash for a while, to wait for things to shake out, settle down. There were so many decisions to be made. Would she make this cottage home after her mom went to Florida? Maybe she’d move into the apartment above the depot, with Colt. Not that he’d asked.
Last night had been great; she’d needed it so badly. But one or two great nights did not a relationship make. Still…
Colt cooked breakfast while Nina Miller glared at him. He ignored her for the most part, after a friendly greeting and a killer smile Anna’s mother apparently didn’t find at all charming. Anna did, though, so the smile wasn’t wasted.
He didn’t seem to be at all bothered by the icy reception. There were other things on his mind. As he made breakfast Colt occasionally glanced around the kitchen and into the living room. He even stepped away a couple of times to look down the hall. After a while his easy expression changed, tightened. Her mother didn’t notice, but Anna did.
As they sat at the table to eat, Nina looked at her daughter, ignoring the cook. “Emily will be here around three this afternoon. I suppose I’ll pack up and get out of your hair.” Her tone was snippy. She was definitely unhappy with this turn of events.
“Maybe she’d like to stay the night,” Colt suggested. “After being on the road all day she’d probably enjoy a good meal at one of the restaurants nearby, a chance to catch her breath before getting back on the road.”
“Emily might have to get back to work,” Nina said. “I really don’t know that she’s interested in prolonging her trip.” She huffed. “If she didn’t want to make the trip down to see Sally, Anna could’ve taken me. I suppose I could’ve driven myself…”
Anna snorted. “Mom! Not only was your car, a vehicle you’ve probably driven three times in the past five years, damaged in the fire, you’re the worst driver I know. You’d be a menace on the interstate.”
Nina’s response was a roll of her eyes, but she didn’t deny it.
Anna didn’t know why Colt had invited Emily to stay overnight, but there must be a reason. He didn’t do anything without a reason. “I’d love to visit with her. We can always ask if she’d like to stay over,” she suggested.
“I suppose,” Nina conceded, then she dug into her eggs, bacon, and grits.
With her mom’s head down and attention on her food, Anna caught Colt’s eye. Jack? she mouthed.
There was that concerned look again. Colt shook his head slightly.
Nina’s head snapped up and she glared at her daughter. “Why on earth are you wearing a Metallica t-shirt?” That question was followed by a disgusted harrumph. “That’s not your style at all. Maybe we should head over to Dawn’s Radiance when it opens.”
Heaven help us…
Nina glared at Colt. “I imagine you need to get back to your little record store before it’s time to open.” The we won’t miss you was unspoken, but clear.
“I called Helen before we headed this way and asked her to fill in today,” he said, without giving any of the attitude he received.
“How nice for you, Coltrane,” Nina said. “To have so many people at your beck and call.”
He didn’t respond. Anything he had to say would’ve been a waste of breath and he likely knew that.
“I’m sure there will be nothing at Dawn’s Radiance to interest you, so you can head on back to your little store and relieve Helen at any time.” Nina Miller was in a snit, and she didn’t care who knew it.
“I…” Colt began, but Anna interrupted him.
“There’s nothing at the boutique I want or need. I’m really much more a Walmart person.”
“Yes, your taste is often lacking, in many areas.”
Colt took his plate to the sink, deposited it there with a clatter, and walked past them and out the front door. She might’ve worried that he’d had enough of her mom and was headed back to the depot, as Nina had suggested. But through the front window she saw him take a seat in one of the rocking chairs.
Anna glared at a smug Nina. “Mother…”
Jack had either moved on or he was hiding. Not that there was anyone to hide from but Colt. Could the ghosts hide from him, or was Jack simply elsewhere? Did the ghost watch or had realizing he’d done something very bad sent him… where? To another place, good or bad. Onward, backward, into the ether in some way Colt didn’t understand.
He hadn’t tried to understand, hadn’t asked the ghosts around him questions that might explain the workings of the universe. Honestly, he hadn’t thought he’d need to know.
Colt had retired to the front porch, leaving Anna and her mother to their conversations about fashion, traveling, and him. He was certainly a topic of interest. Nina had probably continued her tirade after he was out of the house. He’d hoped if he was alone Jack would appear, but it had been at least half an hour and that hadn’t happened. Not a sight, not a shimmer. All was quiet.
It was possible Jack’s spirit had moved on, or was haunting the burned site of his childhood home. Then again, maybe he’d found a dark place to sit and ruminate on recently recovered memories of his own mistakes.
Colt looked back on his own faded memories, as he’d done often in recent days. The last time he’d seen Jack, years after the accident but well before his disappearance, his old friend had presented him with a “great opportunity” to invest in a new restaurant. A New Orleans chef, he’d said, wanted to open a place in Biloxi. It was guaranteed to succeed. He’d made it sound promising, but Colt wasn’t interested and let his friend know that. Jack hadn’t pressed. If anything, he’d seemed relieved. Anna’s brother hadn’t been a completely horrible person. He’d had more than his share of flaws, but could they have been friends if there wasn’t some redeeming value in the boy, in the man he’d become? Twenty years dulled the memories.
Was that the last time he’d seen Jack? Had his old friend decided if he couldn’t get money out of Colt, he had no need for him? What a sad way to live.
As far as he knew, that restaurant had never materialized. The plans could’ve fallen through for a million reasons, but also… maybe it was a scam, one of Jack’s get rich quick schemes that didn’t make anyone rich but himself.
Again he asked himself, had Jack conned the wrong person?
Those pictures, the ones hidden in the 3 Doors Down album, had to mean something. Jack might’ve blackmailed Walter. Last he’d heard, Sawyer’s father was living in Mobile, not far away but no longer in Seawolf Beach. Did he visit? Did he wander into downtown shops looking for duck pictures?
What had happened to Crystal? Maybe she’d just moved on, the way people do. Maybe she really had gotten tired of Seawolf Beach and decided to try her luck somewhere else.
If there was no reason for saving them, why were the pictures hidden so well?
He could ask Mac to run a search on Crystal, but he didn’t remember her last name. Maybe Tuck would know. There had to be records of the salary his uncle had paid. But if he asked the police chief to investigate he’d want to know why. Colt didn’t have a why he could share with anyone. He also had to wonder if stirring the pot by bringing Crystal into it would lead to more violence. Another fire… another murder…
Anna would be in danger, if she wasn’t already.
Unless he could talk to Jack he might never have the answers. Right now, Jack wasn’t talking.
Colt had never before wanted to talk to a ghost. He’d never attempted to call one to him, the way Anna had suggested he call her father. It was a terrifying prospect, to actively bring the spirits to him. If he did that, they might never leave.
Just as he was about to try to call Jack’s name to test the waters, Anna joined him on the porch. Colt was glad for the reprieve.
The look she gave him as she took the chair next to his was telling.
“Your mom’s having a come-apart about me, I suspect.”
“You’re not wrong,” Anna admitted. She didn’t sound concerned. “She thinks you’re…”
“Go ahead, say it,” he nudged when she hesitated.
“Squirrelly.”
Could be worse, he supposed. “She’s not alone in that assumption. Too many people have seen me talking and reacting to people they don’t see.”
“She says you were never the same after the accident.”
“That’s the truth,” he muttered.
“I told her you were a magnificent lover with unmatched skill in bed, so I could deal with a little squirrelly.”
He stopped rocking and looked at her. “You did not.”
She smiled. “No, but I thought about it.”
The porch shuddered, just a little. Ah yes. Jack had given Colt specific instructions where his sister was concerned. Instructions he’d ignored.
“I texted with Emily for a bit,” Anna said. “She’s agreed to spend the night and head to Florida with Mom tomorrow morning. Her in-laws were late getting to the house so she’ll be a little later than she’d planned getting on the road. It sounded like she was glad of the chance to catch her breath and skip stopping at a hotel on the way to Aunt Sally’s place. After a good night’s sleep, they can make the drive in one day.”
That meant Colt had a little more time to try to talk with Jack. A little more time to make sense of this mess.
Jack was faint, fading in and out but present. Bare chested, in his shorts and running shoes, he looked lost. In the wrong place, at the wrong time. Gone was his usual confidence, his swagger, his air of I’m better than everyone else . The spirit whispered in Colt’s ear. “Don’t let them hurt her.”