Chapter 2
Before I’d packed, I had looked up the town and the current weather.
Like most of Arizona, it was a dry heat, being full-on desert.
I packed accordingly—lightweight clothes, shorts, et cetera.
I also included a few pairs of jeans and a single FBI windbreaker, just in case, because desert nights could get cold.
The lowest temperature forecast for the next two weeks was sixty-five degrees, after all.
I’d never spent time in the desert, so I had to wonder what no humidity felt like. Guess I was about to see.
It wasn’t until I was on the plane and had the file in front of me that the full understanding of my new case dawned.
In a word: Fucked.
I whimpered and sank against Brandon’s shoulder. We were once again flying first class due to Brandon’s long legs, so I had the ability to drape myself over his torso like a wilting damsel in distress.
He paused in his own reading to look at me in concern, those big amber eyes soft with worry. “What’s wrong?”
“I feel like I was just John Wicked by a tire iron.”
“Uh, why?”
I pointed to the map. “Mon cher, have you not looked at the map yet?”
“I haven’t, and seeing your reaction, I don’t want to anymore.”
“I wish I shared your ignorance.”
He looked at the map, specifically where I pointed. “What am I looking at?”
Sighing, I walked him through it. “So our destination is Black Rock, right?”
“Right. East of Phoenix, near the national forests. And?”
“See the thin blue line there?”
His eyes narrowed as he focused, then widened in realization. “Fuck me sideways, please tell me that river doesn’t run straight through town.”
“Mon cher, I wish I could.”
We shared a grim look. Running water was a very energizing thing for ghosts. No one quite knew why, but it gave ghosts and spectral energy more of a boost, making them stronger. Having a river running right through a haunted town? Not ideal.
“The river alone could explain why the ghosts are so active and strong in this area,” I commented, my finger moving just a little farther north on the map, “but look what this says.”
“Limestone Gulch,” Brandon read, cavernous voice deepening into an almost monotone, and his eyes closed in a fatalistic manner. “Fuuuuuuuck.”
“We,” I summarized succinctly, “are doubly screwed.”
“This makes so much sense, but at the same time, I’m so mad.”
“I hear you, ma moitié. Same.”
“I’m curious why it’s suddenly escalated so much the FBI was finally called in, though. Surely with that geological setup, things were always really bad?”
I grunted in agreement and kept reading. There was likely an answer in these case files somewhere.
The flight from Nashville to Phoenix wasn’t very long, about four hours, which gave us enough time to catch up to speed. I kept my focus focused—a hard thing with my brain sometimes, but I was determined to be ready to go the second my feet touched earth.
That said, I did have a distraction.
In life, the ghost in front of me had likely been a powerhouse of a figure, standing tall enough to give a Havili a run for their money.
He was dressed in a nice-looking suit, clearly tailored for him, and he kept bouncing between me and a young couple on the other side of the aisle from us.
They had a baby, not even a year old yet, and both parents kept passing her back and forth.
Finally, he came to me again and cleared his throat. A truly odd mannerism for a ghost, but further proof human habits died hard. “Uh, sir? You can see me, can you not?”
Right, clearly I had to deal with this. I put the file down with an internal sigh. “Yes, sir, I can. Special Agent Mackenzie Lafayette. How may I help you?”
He beamed. “I’m so relieved. Please, help me relay a message to my daughter. Her asshole of a mother is trying to steal something I specifically set aside for her.”
Brandon eyed me, glanced around, then eyed me again. “On a scale of one to ten?”
“One. He’s harmless, needs me to pass on a message. Where’s my badge?”
Brandon fished it out of one of his cargo pockets.
I gratefully took it, as I had a feeling I’d need clout in a minute, then stood.
I was in the window seat, so I’d need to maneuver a few rows back to do this and stand in the aisle, which was sure to be awkward.
I thought about boosting him, but doing so would mean everyone on the plane would see a ghost suddenly pop into existence, causing panic for sure.
Eh, better not. Besides, I had a bad feeling I should conserve my power as much as possible. Black Rock was going to suck me dry.
Now, despite me holding back, I did boost him a little to stabilize his energy enough to carry on a long conversation.
I didn’t expect any of the passengers to see him, but surprisingly, two people did.
One, the baby girl, had her eyes fixed on him, and she looked up with a wide, toothless smile.
She clearly knew her grandpa. The second person was her father, who startled, blinked his eyes, then rubbed them for good measure.
“You’re not seeing things,” I assured him with an amused smile. Lifting the badge, I introduced myself again. “I’m Special Agent Mackenzie Lafayette with the Paranormal Activity Division, FBI.”
“Holy shit,” he breathed, eyes now fixed on me. “Uh…”
“The ghost you’re seeing next to me is, I believe, your father-in-law.”
The ghost quickly started relaying information, which I repeated.
“Horace Grieve, died two months ago from a heart attack, he said you’ve been battling with your mother about the inheritance and wants to set things straight.”
The young mother leaned forward, catching my arm in a strong grip, her eyes fixed on me. “Answer one question and I’ll believe you’re really talking to him. What did he want to name my daughter?”
“What he intended to name you,” I replied, conveying the words he said. “Trinity Celeste.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and she looked both happy and so sad in the same breath. “That’s definitely him. Papa, for the record, you suck at names. That’s a stripper’s name.”
I kinda agreed, but I wasn’t touchin’ that with a ten-foot pole. I liked to think the good lord gave me some common sense, at least. “All right, if we’re all on the same page, then, sir, tell me what the message is.”
He unloaded on me, and good god, what a tangle.
Turned out her biological mother was trying to get her to sign some papers giving everything he’d left for his daughter to the mother instead.
But that wasn’t how the estate was supposed to work out.
It was theft, and apparently he’d anticipated this situation, as he’d locked his will down tight.
Didn’t stop a narcissistic mother from trying things, though.
The daughter heard us both out, expression closing down. Then she asked a question I didn’t expect.
“Dad, you never cheated on her, did you?”
The way she said it, it was like she knew.
Horace shook his head rapidly. “No, no. I divorced her before I started dating again.”
I repeated his words.
The daughter’s eyes hardened. “That’s been the core of her guilt trip against me. Said she deserved the money because you cheated on her. But I knew, deep down, it was a lie.”
“Honey,” her husband said sympathetically, “you really need to go no contact with her.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m done. She’s cut off. Papa, one question for you. Everything you put into this will, was any of it meant for her? Anything at all?”
Horace shook his head grimly. “No, I don’t owe her anything.”
I conveyed his message, and she didn’t seem surprised. “Figures she’s trying to steal from me. Again. Thank you, Agent, for relaying all of this to me. I gather the impression my father’s been trying to talk to me since his passing.”
Horace sadly nodded.
“True,” I agreed. “Horace also wants you to know he’s been lingering to watch over your daughter as well. Says to use the estate money for the bills?”
“My daughter was born prematurely,” she explained in a tired voice. “She’s fine, but it was a NICU stay for three weeks. The hospital bills are insane.”
I bet they were. “The money’s to help pay off your debt. He also said not to sell the house, it’s paid off.”
She blinked, eyes lighting up. “Is it really? We’ve been struggling, trying to find a place to rent.”
“The house will be so much better,” her husband said with relief. “It’s a beautiful house. Thanks, Dad.”
Horace was back to beaming.
I kept an eye on the surrounding passengers, and more than a few had their phones out recording us.
Which, honestly, I didn’t mind. The more stories like this spread, the more clout my department had, so it could only help us.
I did have to move once to let a flight attendant pass, but otherwise, it was fine.
There was a bit more chitchat, the daughter taking time to say a few things to her father that she hadn’t been able to say before he passed, which I expected.
There was so much emotion there, and several tears, including mine.
A sympathetic crier, I always joined in on the crying whether I wanted to or not.
Still, it was sweet to see how much love this family had for each other, how much they missed each other.
It made me linger and let them have more time even though my job was technically done.
I lost a good hour to playing translator for them before Horace’s energy died down and he needed to rest. I gave the couple my card in case they had to sue the mother, as I could play witness to what Horace’s wishes had been.
They both thanked me—I even got a hug—before I resumed my seat.
Which, of course, was when the pilot announced a twenty-minute warning of us descending soon. Dammit, I guess I’d be reading in the car.
Brandon handed my file back to me after I buckled in. “Good thing you were on this flight, looks like.”