Krewe of Hunters 8 The Uninvited (17 page)

As they walked upstairs, Kelsey was coming out of the room she
shared with Logan.

“What did you find?” she asked anxiously.

“Nothing. Sorry I woke you,” Logan said.

“I was awake, anyway. It does feel as if…as if there’s
something or someone in the house.”

Logan slipped an arm around her shoulders. “If so, we’re not
the ones they want to talk to.”

“Good night,” Kelsey told Tyler, but she paused. “Make sure you
leave Allison’s door open. And your own.”

He smiled at her. “That’s the way I was planning it.”

Logan and Kelsey went to bed, and Tyler did the same, keeping
his door half-open.

If anyone moved in the hall, he’d hear it. He was a light
sleeper.

If anyone made a move toward Allison in any way, he’d know
it.

Comfortable at last with that thought, he lay down again. He
grinned, thinking about their ghost. He would’ve been impatient with Julian’s
lack of responsibility in life, but he would have liked him.

Julian had been intense when he’d spoken with Tyler at
Allison’s house, while she was packing. He’d charged him fiercely to ensure that
Allison was safe.

“She’s amazing, you know? There’s no one like her. She has a
great sense of humor, and she makes everything work and everyone get along. And
she’s so smart and beautiful and…you have to watch her every step, okay? We
can’t let anything happen to her.”

“We won’t,” Tyler had assured him.

“Man, I was into her,” Julian said sadly. “But she wanted…well,
something I wasn’t. I couldn’t help her or be there for her when I was alive,
but now…now, I’m a ghost! A bunch of air, a cold breeze. So it’s gotta be you.
You understand?”

“We know how to protect people,” Tyler had said.

“From this?” Julian had asked. “From paintings that move and
someone who can creep around behind you? You’ve got to be wary—every second.
Every single second.”

And then the phone call had come.

Dixon had woken up and spoken one word.

Allison.

Tyler groaned, tossing in bed again. He had to sleep or he’d be
no good to anyone tomorrow.

He must have finally dozed. He dreamed about a giant black
horse, rearing and snorting in the yard, carrying a beautiful young woman. Lucy
Tarleton.

In his dreams, Lucy’s face was Allison’s.

* * *

When Allison awoke, she heard the others downstairs in
the entry.

She felt good; she’d slept extremely well.

When she went to bed, she’d been afraid she’d be plagued by
dreams all night long or that she’d wake up to see another ghost sitting in the
room.

But she’d felt safe. Ridiculously safe. Tyler was across the
hall, and there were five other agents in the house.

Until this was over, she knew darned well
she
wasn’t leaving.

She hurried down the servants’ stairs, delighted to find that
the bath was empty. Showering quickly and dressing, she came out to join the
others. Kat wasn’t there, nor was Jane. But Kelsey, Logan, Sean and Tyler were
together.

They were gathered around the bank of screens Sean had set
up.

When she arrived, they turned, almost as one, to stare at
her.

She stood still, looking back at them. “What?” she asked. Her
feeling of serenity from the night of undisturbed sleep began to evaporate.

“What?” she repeated.

“You need to see this,” Tyler said.

She walked over to the screens, which showed six views of the
house. One camera was in the upstairs hallway, one in the attic. One showed
Angus Tarleton’s study and another showed a view of the salon. The fifth
displayed the front of the house.

The last camera was set to monitor activity in the entry.

She could see their group on the screen as they all watched the
computers.

“Hold on,” Sean said. “I’m rolling back.”

There was a timer set in a black margin at the top of each
screen. Allison saw the hours roll back. She noticed something, a splinter of
light, and then Sean slowed down the reverse, stopped and moved it forward.

She saw Tyler come out of his room and silently check on her,
and then she saw Logan emerge, as well. They could be seen on the various
screens as they came down the stairs and walked through the house, walked back
up the stairs and met Kelsey on the second-floor landing.

“You woke up and checked out the house. That’s a good thing,”
she murmured.

“Wait,” Sean said.

At the foot of the stairs, a figure began to appear. It was
that of a woman. She was hazy at first, but it might have been the low
night-light that made her look as if she’d arrived like a wraith.

Then again, she might have
been
a
wraith.

She seemed to gather substance.

She moved from the stairway to the door that led to Angus
Tarleton’s study, and she paused there. Sean pushed a key on his computer board
and they saw a close-up of the woman.

Allison’s throat tightened. She would have gasped aloud—if she
hadn’t felt that she was choking.

The woman was beautifully gowned in a Colonial-era dress; her
stomacher was blue with white embroidery, her skirt was blue and the sleeves on
her gown were white. Her hair, a soft brown, was tied back but curling tendrils
escaped to frame her face.

Her face…

Allison had already accepted that a good friend she’d seen
murdered was now a ghost.

Why was
this
terrifying her so
much? Because it made her feel as if she was a ghost herself?

Really, how could things get worse? Her friend was a ghost who
believed she could discover the truth about his death. A man in a coma had
called her name, and now she was seeing an image of a ghost, a ghost who looked
just like her!

She backed away from the screen. “What is this?” she asked,
fear making her tone sharp. “Some kind of trick photography?”

Tyler laid a hand on her arm. “Allison, it’s not a trick, but
it isn’t anything that should upset you.”

She jerked away. “What, are you crazy? Are you creating footage
for one of those stupid ghost shows?”

They were all silent, not replying to her accusation.

She realized how brittle she sounded.

Mean, bitter and nasty. That wasn’t her personality. And what
she’d accused them of wasn’t what they were doing, and she knew it, but…

“You might have been related to her. Somehow,” Sean said,
clearing his throat.

“I wasn’t! She didn’t have children. She died.” Allison shook
her head. “I’ve seen paintings of her.... She didn’t resemble me. Not that
closely, anyhow.”

“Well, you didn’t come downstairs, dress up and wander around
the house last night, did you?” Kelsey asked.

Allison turned around with a sharp retort but it never left her
lips. Kelsey was looking at her with empathy and understanding.

These people dealt with things like this all the time. None of
it surprised them. Nothing surprised them.

She was still in denial. But she had a right to be! First,
Julian. Now…this.

“It’s a strong resemblance,” Logan said. “However, that doesn’t
really mean anything.”

“Yeah. Her hair is nowhere near as dark as Allison’s,” Sean
added.

Tyler wasn’t speaking. She’d moved away from him, and he was
watching her.

“It’s not me, it wasn’t me, and I’m no relation to Lucy
Tarleton,” she said. “I’m not a descendent. I can’t be.”

“Of course. It’s just a resemblance,” Logan said.

Allison felt that her knees would go any second. This wasn’t
fair! She’d felt so safe, as if the situation would really be solved, as if
Julian’s killer would be discovered and her life could go back to what it had
been.

“I don’t think I can do this,” she said. “I’m not geared up for
this kind of thing.”

Kelsey told her, “Hey, I understand. I always wanted to be a
law enforcement officer, so finding out I had a few abilities that would help me
with that wasn’t…well, wasn’t so hard to take. You’re a professor, a scholar—an
academic. We can all understand how upsetting it must be, how frightening.”

“I’m not a coward!” she protested. But she was, and it was
evident in her swift denial.

“I’ll get you some coffee,” Kelsey offered, leaving the salon
for the pantry.

“We can’t stop you from going home, if that’s what you’d like
to do,” Tyler said.

“No, we can’t stop you, but…” Logan turned her to face him.
“Allison, it’s becoming very clear that you’re the key to whatever is going on
here. You can really help us. And if you decide to go back to your own house, we
can’t be there to protect you.”

“We can have police cars patrol around your house, though,”
Tyler said.

“But the cops only have so much manpower. It’ll be hard for
them to watch you,” Sean pointed out.

Kelsey returned with a cup of coffee for her. “When it’s
morning, no matter what the trauma, coffee makes it better.”

“Where’s Julian?” she asked.

“We told him not to, but when Kat and Jane went to the morgue,
Julian went with them,” Logan said.

Allison took her coffee and sank down into one of the chairs by
the bank of screens. “I haven’t really been threatened,” she said. “Not by
anyone living. Or anyone…not living. Julian is just worried. I don’t know why he
was killed. But there’s no suggestion that whoever killed him would want to kill
me.”

“Should we wait until there’s a bayonet through your throat?”
Tyler asked harshly.

“Tyler,” Kelsey murmured.

“Run that image again, Sean,” Tyler said, and his voice sounded
tense.

“I saw it the first time!” Allison said.

“Well, see it again.”

The image leaped to the screen again. Allison gritted her
teeth.

Tyler hunkered down before her, his face just a breath away.
“You’re in danger. If you don’t see it, you’re the most idiotic academic I’ve
ever come across. Quit fighting it. If you want us to help you, accept the fact
that someone in this house is trying to reach you, because someone
outside
this house is planning to kill you.
Please—trust me. Trust my experience.
You
are the
catalyst here. The key and the answer. Accept it, and maybe you’ll survive.”

10

A
llison tried to remain completely stoic
and not let Tyler or any of them see the emotions sweeping through her.

She stared down into her coffee cup. She couldn’t meet his eyes
any longer.

They were right about one thing. She didn’t want to die!

As she gazed into her coffee, she felt a sensation of strength
slowly begin to fill her veins. She looked up; Tyler was still there, his face
just inches from hers.

“I’m here, aren’t I?” she told him softly. “Alive…”

Something in his expression changed. Something she was afraid
to see. He cared. He had spoken harshly to her, but he really cared. She didn’t
know what had passed between them, but he was there to be her guardian.

“Please, admit that what’s on that screen is unnerving!” she
said.

He nodded grimly.

She’d dressed up for years in the manner of Lucy Tarleton, and
hosted tours through the house as if it were her own. She was young; Lucy had
been young. There’d been jokes about her resembling the young patriot many times
before, but it was also true that she’d never seen such a
strong
resemblance. And no one had ever suggested she was a spitting
image of the long-dead heroine.

But it was just a resemblance. Maybe it had always been
there.

Even if that was true, a ghost had shown up on film!

A ghost had been in or around the house, day after day....

And she had never known it.

“It’s so much to take in, to get used to,” Kelsey said gently.
She nudged Tyler. He rose and stood near her, still watching intently.

“I’m sorry for sounding so cowardly. I’m usually not the type
of person who jumps at shadows or…” Her voice faded away. She almost laughed and
said,
Or believes in ghosts and things that go bump in the
night.

She didn’t just
believe
in ghosts
now.

She
knew
they existed.

She clenched her teeth tightly together.

Trying to run away from what was happening would only make it
worse.

Allison squared her shoulders. She looked up at the group and
said, “I don’t suppose it would help for me to go home. If I’m the key to this
thing as you say, then I guess Tyler was right. I’d better start figuring out
how to solve it. Where do we go from here?”

“It’s not that you have to go anywhere. It’s that you have to
open your mind to what you see and hear, and discover what the messages might
be,” Logan explained.

“But we’re supposed to be
doing
something, aren’t we?” she asked.

“We are doing things,” Logan assured her. “Kat and Jane are
down at the morgue. We’ve been studying the film we’ve taken overnight.
Sometimes, when the spirits don’t reach out to us, we can see them on film, so
at least we know they’re there.”

“But…that’s it?”

“It’s only ten o’clock,” Kelsey said. “If it was as easy as
stepping inside and demanding that everyone who remained in the house show
themselves and tell us what’s up, we might be done already.” She sat down next
to Allison and continued. “The ghosts in this house may not have seen any more
than you did. But they might know a great deal more about the past, and that
could help us with the present.”

“Oh. But…”

Logan stood up. He glanced at Tyler and then at her. “Listen,
Allison, we’ve gone over the house, the locks, the alarm system and every
possible entry. Julian heard something and saw something. Someone was here.
Someone living.” He hesitated and looked at Tyler again. She realized he was
trying to tell her something she wouldn’t want to hear.

“Whoever caused Julian’s death has to be someone you’re close
to, Allison,” Tyler said. “Whoever was in the house is someone who has access to
it.”

“Julian is dead, so that would leave Annette and Jason.”
Allison shook her head. “No, no—I don’t believe it was either of them. I
know
Annette was in agony from that tooth that needed
the root canal. And I was with Jason. I watched him leave before…before I found
Julian.”

“We’ve confirmed that Annette had a root canal done,” Logan
said.

“You checked out her story?” Allison asked.

“We check out everything.”

“There’s also the board of directors,” Tyler said.

Startled, Allison looked at him. “As in Ethan Oxford? He’s not
a small man. I can’t see
him
trying to creep around
this place! Julian, yes, he was young and spry and in excellent shape. But—”

“There’s also Cherry Addison—” Tyler began.

“Cherry! We’d have heard those spiked heels of hers a mile
away,” Allison interrupted.

“And Sarah Vining and Nathan Pierson,” he finished.

“I just can’t imagine our dignified board tiptoeing around the
house to shove Julian’s head down on a bayonet and then somehow traumatize Artie
Dixon and send him into a coma,” Allison said. “Have you met our board? Well, I
know you met Cherry, but—”

“I’ve met them all,” Tyler told her. “We’ll need to spend some
more time with them. And, I’m sorry to say, with Jason and Annette, as
well.”

Allison started to answer but fell silent as they heard a
commotion at the door. Logan frowned and raised a brow at Tyler, who
shrugged.

“We have to knock. People are living there now!” they
heard.

It was a feminine voice—one Allison knew well.

“You won’t have to wait for the board. A few of them are
already here,” she said.

“Did you know they were coming?” Logan asked Tyler.

Tyler shook his head as he walked to the door, unlocking it.
Sarah stepped back in shock as the door opened; she had a hand on Nathan
Pierson’s arm. Nathan still held his key, ready to use it, and Cherry Addison
was standing impatiently behind them.

“Hello,” Tyler said.

“Agent Montague.” Nathan spoke casually, grinning. “We’ve come
to see if you’re settling in all right.”

“Oh, good God, Nathan, tell them the truth. We came to make
sure you weren’t putting garlic around the windows or doing anything to destroy
the integrity of the property,” Cherry told him. She smiled, though. Cherry
really seemed to like Tyler.

“Come and meet the rest of the Krewe,” Tyler said. “And no, I
guarantee that we don’t put garlic around the windows.”

As they filed in, Tyler began the introductions to Sean, Kelsey
and Logan. When he’d finished, he asked, “Where’s Ethan?”

“Ethan’s been friends with Adam Harrison for a long time. I
believe they’re at a fundraiser now, some kind of breakfast,” Nathan said. “I’d
thought Adam would be the head honcho here,” he added.

“Adam puts things together. He’s the organizer. We’re the
workers,” Logan explained.

Allison noted that Sean had hit a key on the computer; the
scenes depicted on all the screens were of the present.

Cherry Addison turned to her. “So, Allison, you’re still
showing the Krewe around. That’s so kind of you, dear. You could be taking this
time to hole up in your little room on campus and do your brilliant academic
work.”

Cherry had a way of speaking. Her words were benign enough, but
her tone often contradicted them, with a sarcastic or disbelieving inflection
that suggested the opposite of what she said. She seemed to be saying that
Allison belonged in a stuffy university office or library.

“Cherry, you know how I love the house!” Allison said.

“Ms. Leigh has been extremely helpful,” Tyler put in.

“Of course, the house and its history are near and dear to us
all.” Sarah smiled at Allison. Bless Sarah; she was so like a nervous terrier,
but her intentions were always the best. “And I just can’t believe that
anyone—anyone!—would purposely hurt that young Mr. Mitchell. He was such a
talented man,” Sarah said sadly.

“And a showoff, not to mention a goofball.” Cherry’s voice was
caustic. “What’s most troubling is the type of story that keeps coming out in
the media about that man—Artie Dixon. They’ve practically turned his coma into
an alien invasion!”

“Cherry, that’s one of the reasons Ethan was so keen on
inviting this unit of law enforcement to come in,” Nathan said. “They’ll bring
our historic property back into historic perspective.” He shrugged. “But, even
if that doesn’t happen, everyone loves a good haunted house, huh?”

“As long as people stop dying in it,” Allison said.

She was surprised that she’d spoken. She stood, uncomfortable
with the words that had escaped her. A silence descended on the room.

Nathan looked at her. “You’re right, Allison. As long as people
stop dying in it. Well, we’ll leave you to your work. We just thought we should
drop by and see if you needed anything. Oh, as to the office. I can arrange to
come and help you put things back in order, Allison.”

Allison smiled at him. “Thanks, Nathan. I can do it on my own,
but it’s up to you.”

“I suppose I could help,” Cherry said, sounding reluctant. “But
not today. Oh, my husband is having a gallery showing tomorrow evening. You must
all come.”

“Cherry, they’re here to work,” Sarah reminded her.

“All work and no play…” Cherry gestured expansively. “They need
to breathe once in a while, Sarah. Please join us. The gallery is farther down
on Walnut. Take a break and come by.”

“Have you discovered anything?” Sarah asked the group. “Is it
possible that Julian trashed the office before doing himself in?”

“We’ve really just begun, Ms. Vining,” Kelsey said. “But we
will do our absolute best to find out the truth.”

Sarah nodded. “Yes, I’m sure you will.”

“I have a luncheon date,” Nathan said. “I need to get moving.
But we do want you to let us know if you need anything. Anything at all.”

“Thank you,” Logan said on behalf of the group.

“I have to go and supervise some hangings,” Cherry said. “Of
paintings and art pieces!” she added quickly. “Oh, of course, the gallery owner
hangs the painting, but I need to be there to see that everything’s just
right.”

That drew smiles. Cherry seemed glad.

“I could stay now if you wanted,” Sarah told Allison.

Tyler answered for her. “We were about to go out for a late
breakfast. But if you’re worried about any of the papers or materials that are
out of order or might have been compromised, please feel free to come back.”

“I’ll do that,” Sarah said. “I’ll help you, Allison. You and I
are both so careful about our research. I’d really like to find out if anything
was taken.”

“Of course, Sarah,” Allison said.

“Well, then, we’re out of here.” Nathan paused and smiled at
Allison again. “Thank you, Allison. Thanks for all you’re doing for the
house.”

“It’s my pleasure,” she responded. “I love the house and the
history.”

“Of course you do, dear,” Cherry said, but somehow she made it
sound like a reproach.

Tyler walked them all to the door. After another chorus of
goodbyes, they were gone.

“They can enter this house at any time,” he said as he
returned.

“We could have asked for their keys,” Allison told him.

“No, we don’t want them thinking they’re under suspicion. What
we do need is an alarm system that’ll alert us if anyone tries to enter with a
key. Can you work on that, Sean?”

Logan turned to Allison. “On the day Julian died, did you see
them all leave?”

“Yes, as my last tour was coming in.”

“But Julian came into the house, and you didn’t see him. So one
of them could have doubled back,” Tyler said. “Annette was at the dentist, but
where were you when Jason left? The house couldn’t have been locked until he was
out and you closed up, right?”

“Did you see Jason leave the house?” Logan asked her.

“I heard Jason shut the door, but I didn’t actually
see
him go. I did notice the board leaving, but…”

“One of them could’ve come back in, and you wouldn’t have known
it.”

“That can’t be,” she said, and she knew her tone sounded
desperate. “Annette, Jason and I all got mad at Julian, but none of us would
have killed him. And I can’t think of any reason that a member of the board
would have killed Julian. They could simply have fired him!”

“They could fire him—but that wouldn’t help if he knew
something he shouldn’t,” Kelsey said.

“Breakfast,” Logan announced. “Or nearly lunch if you prefer.
Hungry investigators don’t concentrate well. Let’s get something to eat and
stoke up for the day. Then we’ll get started in earnest here.”

“Let’s just walk to your friend’s restaurant,” Tyler suggested.
“What time does it open?”

“You mean Evan’s place? McDooley’s? He opens at eleven,” she
said. “You don’t suspect Evan in this, do you?” she asked, her tone wry.

“No, I suspect a board member, Jason or Annette, and I’m sorry,
because I know that hurts you. And after the way she just insisted on going into
the office with you, I want to know more about Sarah Vining.”

“Sarah? But she’s…” Allison began, not sure how to say what she
meant.

“Because she looks fragile, sweet, eternally nervous and
innocent?” Kelsey asked. “Never trust appearances.”

“We’re all speculating right now,” Logan said. “Sean, can you
quickly rig up an alarm for us?”

“Yep, got the camera aimed at the door and a zip connection to
my phone.”

“Then let’s go,” Tyler said. “McDooley’s was a great place and
I’m hungry.”

They all agreed. Still shaking inwardly, Allison wondered how
they could forget what they’d seen and think about something as mundane as food.
But they were obviously used to bizarre occurrences….

Evan beamed delightedly when Allison walked in with Tyler,
Kelsey, Logan and Sean.

“Hey, thanks! You did come back with friends,” he said to
Tyler.

“We need a hangout.” Tyler grinned. “Allison, introduce Evan
around, will you?”

She did so, and then her eyes widened as she saw Jason walking
up to her. He was wearing a McDooley’s polo shirt and jeans.