Chapter Eight
Tori and Julian
Littlemoon’s Home
Friday Ten P.M.
Unfortunately for them, when the duo returned to their home, it was not as peaceful as normal. Word had gotten out regarding Wynter’s death, and the media was perched on their lawn, just waiting to dig in and annoy them.
Oh, and that was exactly what they were doing too.
This was the last thing that they needed.
For the reporters’ sakes, they hoped and prayed that Lucian’s home wasn’t experiencing this. There was no doubt that the man would go nuclear and likely end up in the news for punching a reporter.
Or five.
There weren’t many in Salem who would dare pull this kind of bullshit, especially since their sister-in-law, Pryce, owned the biggest paper with Lucian and Ridge, but there were a few.
The audacity.
As Julian checked out the people shouting questions at them, some they recognized.
Oh, and some they didn’t.
It appeared that word had filtered to Boston, too, because there were definitely more reporters there than should be. This was on the cusp of exploding.
“Mr. Littlemoon! Can you give us a statement regarding the recent death of your partner’s wife?” he asked. “Was it accidental, or is there something that we don’t know about?”
Jesus.
H.
Christ.
What kind of question was that?
Only, it got worse.
“Was there foul play? Did Ridge Hunterhurst have something to do with his wife’s death?”
Someone had lost his damn mind.
Truthfully, he really hoped the reporters weren’t stupid enough to make a comment to Lucian about this, or worse, to Ridge.
Yeah, this was too much.
“No comment,” he said, sternly, as he hoped and prayed the man would get it.
Only, he didn’t.
The man was relentless.
“The police scanner said it was a gunshot wound. Can you verify where Ridge Hunterhurst was at the time of his wife’s death?”
And that was where it crossed the line.
Someone just didn’t get it.
So, Julian came to a stop.
When he turned, he laid into them. With his wife’s hand in his, he laid down the law. There was NOT going to be some bullshit going around that Ridge had killed his wife.
Not on his watch.
“Someone died! Someone in our family is no longer with us! Do you think that maybe, just maybe, you can give us some time to digest that, and mourn? Wynter was our friend, and more importantly, she was a mother and a wife. What kind of bullshit is it that you think coming to our home to HARASS us is a good idea? I will personally have our lawyers in your office by eight in the morning if you don’t cross the street and get off my goddamn lawn! ” he said.
His rage seemed to catch them off guard, and for the life of him, he had no idea why.
This was the basic of common decency.
As Tori stood there, she wanted to not only punch some people, but to also laugh.
Julian was normally a man of quiet resolve. It took a lot for him to lash out at anyone. To hear him tell someone to ‘get off his lawn’ was amusing.
Only, she got it.
But he was a man on the edge.
Clearly.
“If I see any of your faces near my business, or my home, I will, in fact, slap you stupid with a stack full of cease and desists for harassing me!”
At those fighting words, the reporters backed away, and that was for the best.
“Goddamn idiots,” he muttered. “They will be my thirteenth reason as to why I’m institutionalized!”
Oh, boy.
Tori watched them leave, and none of them looked amused that they didn’t get a story. They should be impressed, though. They’d gotten under Julian’s skin.
For.
Sure.
That took a lot.
Look at Trey.
As they headed inside, the babysitter was there, and she gave them an update on their children. Luckily, they’d been angels.
Thank.
Freaking.
God.
“The kids all went down peacefully, and there were no issues. Do you need me back again tomorrow night?” she asked.
Honestly, they weren’t sure.
At this rate, maybe. It all depended on how fast this went from zero to sixty. His gut said it was going to be a fast ride to a steep cliff.
As he contemplated his answer, Julian handed her cash, more than promised because he was sorry that she’d had to deal with any of the reporters’ nonsense that likely went on outside their door.
“Yes, probably,” he said. “We’ll take the kids to the daycare tomorrow morning, but we might need you to pick them up and bring them home. Can you do that, Polly?” he asked.
The last thing he wanted was to upset this woman. For the first time in a while, they’d had a good, reliable babysitter.
How so?
Well, she rolled with the punches when it came to Agatha and the Captain, and the kids loved her.
Oh, and that was likely because she was a witch in Raven’s coven. So, she was trusted and reliable. Plus, she didn’t get scared easily, and when you lived in this particular house, with all the ghosts, you needed to be able to roll with the punches.
It took them five babysitters and two nannies after Trey ran them through the wringer. Then, when he learned how to poke people, that took out the rest.
Somehow, Polly managed to teach him Gin Rummy, and he played cards with her.
Polly was a trooper.
For sure.
“I can do that. No worries. I will say that I miss Trey, Agatha, Bethany, and the Captain. The house is…too quiet. I hope they are coming back soon.”
Yeah, tell them about it.
They all hoped that.
“Hopefully, they’ll be back to their normal antics,” Tori admitted. “I’m sure Trey misses your card games.”
Because she felt the need to warn them, Polly touched her arm.
“I warded the house more. I felt…off about five at night, and I wanted to make sure everything was locked down. The basement is…let’s just say more off than usual. I warded the doorway, just in case. I can feel Raven here, but something is chipping away at that barrier.”
Oh, boy.
That was right about when Wynter had died, and it had also been the way that one ghost got into their office through the ground. It was quite possible that this thing had made an attempt to access their home.
No one would be shocked if this person was annoyed that he couldn’t get all of them, and was trying to find back ways in.
Damn Wynter, and not wearing her protection. Julian didn’t like to blame the victim, but her choices were now causing havoc with all of their lives.
Well, the Littlemoons in this house weren’t going down by not listening.
They were all wearing blessed necklaces from Raven, including their kids. If that wasn’t paranoid enough, they also had charms in their shoes, backpacks, and as beaded bracelets.
Just.
In.
Case.
The bottom line was that the Littlemoons weren’t taking chances with precious lives on the line. Their kids just thought Uncle Booth was giving them presents, and that was all they needed to know.
PERIOD.
Because they were grateful, Tori hugged Polly and thanked her before she headed out. Having her be part of their family now was always a good thing.
When she was gone, Julian dropped on the couch, and from the ‘OOF’ he made, Tori knew he was exhausted. They’d been going non-stop for days.
Something had to give.
With his eyes closed and his head back on the couch, he was silent until he was ready to go there.
Because someone had to.
“We need to move,” he said, point-blank.
That wasn’t what she was expecting, and it made Tori laugh.
Only, he didn’t find it amusing.
Not.
At.
All.
“I’m serious, Victoria. I’m contemplating moving our business to a different city.
How about Philly? NYC? Chicago?” he asked, throwing out a few names.
“Lucian and Ridge have businesses there. We can start over. Hell! At this point, I’ll even settle in the middle of a battlefield in Gettysburg.
It would be less dangerous, and they are non-stop fighting a war after dark. ”
She stopped him.
Absolutely not.
“No. We’re not running, Jules. Salem is our home. Agatha and The Captain are our family and rely on us. If we sell this house, someone will buy it and sell tickets as a haunted ghost tour.”
Yeah, he was aware.
Only, Tori wasn’t done.
“Our family has a paper here. Pryce is killing it as a business owner, and she loves her job. Connor would have to choose, and he’s taking his wife any day of the week.”
Yeah, she had a point about his big brother.
“We have roots here because when we needed a home, Salem welcomed us with open arms. We assimilated, and we’re not running when it gets tough. I’m sure as hell not running because of this asshole. We’ll find him, and we’ll get back to normal cases.”
He hated to be the one who broke it to her, but…
“We’ve never had normal cases, Victoria.”
And that was what she liked best about it.
“You just gave me a business here for our anniversary, and I’m not leaving it to start in a new city.”
Julian held her hand when she sat beside him.
He was honest.
“I’m scared, Victoria. We did this once. The Nyx thing blew up in our faces, and I can’t bear the idea that someone else I love dies. Losing Wynter…”
She understood his fear.
He was allowed to be afraid, but the bottom line was they couldn’t run forever. This was as good a place to make a stand as any.
Plus, there was one more reason to stay.
“Before, we ran, Jules, and look what happened. It found us again. It always will. Littlemoon Investigations has its place. We opened a bail bond agency. We’ve built a consulting firm. We aren’t runners. We’re fighters.”
Speaking of fighters…
He went there.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were depressed after our last child?” he asked. “I would have helped you through it. I would have gotten you some help if I couldn’t do it myself.”
She shrugged.
“You were busy building this business. You were stressed, and I figured I could handle it.”
He was silent.
And that was trouble.
For both of them.
Tori took a stab at it. Julian had a few speeds.
Happy.
Indifferent.
Pissed.
Most things fell into those three categories. It was rare he deviated from them. If anything, you could set a clock by his mood. He woke up happy, by midday, he was indifferent, and at night, he was generally pissed at Trey.
“Are you angry that I didn’t tell you? Because you just got REAL quiet, real fast.”
He stopped her.