Chapter 16 #4
“No, thank you,” the ghost told her, smiling. “I … well, now I can go on! Lots of old buddies on the other side. And today … I was a United States Marine again, but now … The beauty of the forest, the beauty of the clouds.”
He disappeared through the trees. Shelly could have sworn the sun suddenly shone more brightly across the late afternoon.
Another of the brothers stepped forward.
“Brodie McFadden, and I’ll hold here. You guys can go on and get started with the injured and the arrests. I’ll await the medical examiner.”
“And I’m Brian McFadden,” another of the trio said. “Let me get this poor boy’s family; they’ll want to get whatever he has to tell us, too, though it’s pretty straightforward. Anyway, break!” He paused, wincing. “It’s going to be a hell of a long night!”
And it was.
But Shelly was glad in a strange way. Law enforcement, agents, officers, detectives, and investigators of all kinds need to be responsible and transparent, and reviews after a strange case such as this were important.
Just as journalists like George Maynard were important.
And still …
Despite their efforts to see to the immediate needs for emergency medical assistance, the medical examiner, and officers to bring in the arrested individuals, not to mention finding the kid’s parents, there was a little bit of chaos.
But finally, they were out of the woods.
The boy’s name was Russ Clark, and his parents were wonderful, incredibly grateful to them all, and happy for him to explain how he had just been walking when “the bad man” had suddenly seized him and dragged him into a heavy mound of thickets and trees.
Their Natalie impersonator was a woman named Sheila Randall. Suddenly, none of it was about money, and she’d never wanted anyone dead, she claimed. She’d been talked into believing everything about the gods and goddesses and curse tablets.
But they’d all heard her literally confess to murder. That might work in a court of law, but to Shelly’s amazement, they discovered the body of the real Natalie Greenway within a few hours of the events that had transpired.
Knowing that there had been a murder and a place to look, local detective and forensic teams had worked quickly.
And apparently, even Dr. Grigsby, not wanting the blame for any physical murders to fall on him, was going to be more than happy to testify against her.
He’d still spend his own time in prison.
He’d started out by saying he was going to sue them because of his now-useless hand, but his tune changed when he realized he needed to have bargaining power against a lethal injection.
Murder charges could include everyone in a conspiracy, whether he’d physically done the deed or not.
Belinda was the source of the money. She’d been supplying Brendan when he’d first needed help, but it seemed that she truly believed in the power of the curse tablets and all the gods and goddesses.
And their last-minute help turned out to be great.
All three of the McFadden brothers proved to be incredible with departmental interviews and paperwork, and Shelly realized Grant had met them before.
And yes, they were always pretty amazing at their jobs, managing the office when Jackson and Angela were out.
Shelly was glad all the legal and cyber work was in other hands. They had done their part.
Since the cyber warfare had stretched far, the federal government had jurisdiction; therefore, it was beyond late and into the next day when Shelly, Grant, Zach, and Skye were finally able to drive back after being cleared from all responsibility for the time being.
They determined that since their belongings were back at the cabin, that was where they’d go for some sleep.
There was probably no safer place, with the cameras and alarms that had been set at the cabin, though the danger they had faced before had now been eradicated. But it never hurt to opt for safety.
They’d all been given a couple of weeks of vacation time. But having a nice night in a safe place with some real sleep would give them time to decide what they wanted to do.
But when they reached the cabin, Shelly discovered that she just wanted to stand outside for a few minutes.
She could still smell night-blooming jasmine.
The trees were rustling just slightly in a gentle breeze.
The moon was riding far overhead.
And it was beautiful.
Grant found her there and slipped an arm around her.
“I was just thinking,” she said. “We see so much ugliness—”
“That it’s amazing and wonderful to appreciate the beauty of the world. And while people can be a challenge—”
“They can be incredible, wonderful, giving, and kind! And great,” she agreed.
“It is a beautiful night.”
“Or early morning,” she said, smiling.
“But beautiful,” he said softly. Then he turned her to him and whispered, “Want to see something else that’s beautiful?”
“You?” she teased.
He laughed at that. “Umm … in the dark. Yeah, I’m beautiful in the dark.”
She laughed, kissed him lightly on the lips, and let him lead her on into the house and the room that they were so naturally—and beautifully—sharing.