His Lovely Garden Read online

And now, not one young woman was missing but two. Yes, indeed, Ambrose would want to fill his Lovely Garden, as Danforth put it. He would want to keep beauties like Dolly Jane and Jessica by his side, but what power would he have over Jessica? She was not a Dufresne.

  But Ambrose had done this for a reason. He had allowed this for a reason. He wanted me back and didn’t care what he had to do to get to me.

  Even cross time itself…

  Chapter Thirteen – Dominick

  I left to seek Doctor Montrose’s help, and Madlen was by Ophelia’s bedside when I returned. To my surprise, Ophelia had opened her eyes. Although she could not speak much, for she was still far too weak for that, my sweet wife smiled at me lovingly.

  “Ophelia? Can this be true? You came back to me.” I sobbed as I clutched her pale hand. I swallowed the insults I had intended to hurl Madlen’s way. After all, she had brought my Ophelia back from the brink of death.

  “What medicines did you use, madam?” Doctor Montrose asked her suspiciously. Undoubtedly, he was distrustful of the governess because she was a woman, or because she had an accent or simply because she had done what no one else had been able to do, snatch my wife from the jaws of death and pull her back into the light!

  “Yes, Madlen. What did you do?” I asked as I sat beside my wife. Ophelia squeezed my hand, and I kissed her cheek. The smell of death had left her skin. Not everyone could smell such things, but I had learned to accept from an early age that I could. Mother saw her ghosts, and Annalee believed in her spells, but I smelled death and knew when it was near. For the first time in many days, it was gone, gone from Ophelia completely. I wanted to pick her up and dance about the room with her.

  Doctor Montrose spoke angrily to Madlen, accusing her of witchcraft or some such nonsense, but she did not back down. Her accent had all but disappeared, which I found strange, but I was too relieved to think much about it. The doctor huffed away from her and picked up my wife’s hand, presumably to check her pulse. I could not help but laugh for joy at the sight of her returned to me.

  “Please look at me, Mrs. Dufresne. Can you see me?” My wife obediently nodded her head but appeared pale and near lifeless. I wasn’t eager to make her talk more or wear herself out to the extent that she closed her eyes again.

  “Ophelia, dearest…”

  “You should know, sir, certain poisons can create the effect of healing…but they will in fact deliver quite the opposite result. I know this woman’s reputation, this Madlen. She isn’t a physician, I assure you. Far from it.”

  “But look at my wife. She is awake!”

  Red-faced, he set his leather bag on the table and directed his attention to me. “This woman is not qualified to care for your wife, sir. Please send her away, or I cannot be responsible for what happens here. This woman has been in your brother’s…” Montrose paused here, his face an even darker shade of red. “…employ, and their relationship has been the subject of much talk about town. It is even said that she is a witch!” Madlen neither admitted nor denied this accusation.

  And what about me? Hadn’t I spoken to the darkness? Hadn’t I offered myself in exchange for my wife? Maybe that was who this Madlen truly was. Perhaps the doctor was correct.

  Fear gripped me now. “What did you do, Madlen? Please explain to the doctor what you did to awaken my wife.”

  She didn’t speak right away. “I held her hand and prayed with her. That is all.” Yes, the governess’ voice was not quite the same. She seemed softer, more vulnerable, and the accent was gone completely.

  “You see?”

  Doctor Montrose was having none of it. Did he even care that Ophelia had improved? “Mind your tongue, sir. I have heard it said that you Dufresnes lack respect for holy things, but such matters are not to be taken lightly and are not profitable for any Christian man to partake in! Or am I to believe you approve of this woman’s witchcraft?”

  Madlen spoke again in perfect English. “I am no witch, but I know more about healing than you ever will!”

  Ophelia’s eyes filled with tears, and she squeezed my hand. Here they were, fighting with one another while my wife fought for her life.

  “Come, Doctor. Let me have my man prepare you a room. You can rest for the evening and leave in the morning.”

  Doctor Montrose did not like that idea at all. “I will not stay in this house another minute with that woman. I, for one, care about my reputation.”

  “Fine, then let me show you to the door. There is no need for you to remain in such an accursed place.”

  ***

  “We don’t have much time. Jessica? I know it is you. My name is Dolly Jane, Dolly Jane Dufresne. Avery sent me to find you, Jessica. You have to come back to your time. You don’t belong here, and neither do I. We have to go.” I reached for the glass of water on the bedside table and helped her take a sip.

  “Madlen?” she said in barely a whisper.

  “No, I’m not Madlen. I’m just borrowing her image. I’m Dolly Jane, Avery’s cousin. I have to get you home, Jessica. Can you sit up?”

  She shook her head and pulled her hand away from me. “No, leave me alone!”

  “I can’t just leave you, Jessica. You belong in our time, not here.”

  “How…do…you…know?” Tears were in Jessica’s eyes. Her skin was white and clammy from blood loss; she needed a transfusion to restore her health. I could feel her life fading, the essence of her that made her unique. She needed good, clean blood. I honestly had no power to heal at all. It had only been a coincidence that I arrived when she opened her eyes.

  “Go home, Doll-y Jane.”

  And then Dominick was back, smiling and kissing her. He was in love; that was a miracle that shouldn’t have happened. Jessica or Ophelia or whoever she was should have died, but by some miracle, she was still alive. If we did not get her to honest-to-goodness twenty-first-century medicine, she would relapse soon. But how would I explain that to Dominick?

  I would never have the chance. The front door opened with a slam that shook the house. I heard a man crying downstairs, crying and swearing and mumbling to himself. My heart pounded in my chest. How was I going to get out of here? Jessica’s eyes were wide with fear; I could not tell if that fear was for Dominick or for me. She tried to reach her hand out to Dominick, but the joy on his face from his wife’s return had quickly faded.

  I saw a man bent on revenge.

  The intruder, whom I assumed was Champion from the sound of it, began to shout for the woman whose body I now occupied. “Madlen! You crafty deceiver! Where is my son? I want my boy. Bring me Devon now!”

  “Champion!” Dominick shouted, seemingly forgetting all about his ailing wife; he grabbed his pistol and ran out the bedroom door and down the steps. Jessica moaned, but not from pain. She was trying to get up, to follow Dominick. Would she risk her life for him twice? I raced back to her side. I had to compel her to return with me! I had to!

  “Please, Jessica! I can help you, but you have to try. Please, put your arm around my neck. Quickly!”

  Her sad eyes welled up again. She was whispering, but I could not hear her now. Even the shouting and arguing had faded. I felt strange, as if I’d stepped into a mirror made of water. I was wet, but it didn’t make my skin wet, and then I remembered.

  This must be how it feels when you go back.

  And then I was back. I didn’t know how, but I was back in my own time. I was in the ballroom, covered in sweat and shaking with the chills. I had failed completely. Jessica was still in the past, and Champion was out for blood.

  But Avery was there weeping, and soon I fell into her arms.

  Chapter Fourteen – Mike

  There were a few cars out front in the circular driveway of Sugar Hill. I hoped we weren’t going to be hindered by the presence of Avery’s legal team. From what I heard, she’d married her cousin or distant cousin or however that went, and the guy was a lawyer. I’d met him before. He wasn’t my biggest fan; Reed was his name. Who named the
ir kid Reed? I’d never forget how angry he’d become when the My Haunted Plantation team found dead bodies walled up in the basement of Sugar Hill. As if we’d planned on finding them. Yep, anything for the family name. That poor Jamie guy didn’t stand a chance.

  “Dude, this place. I forgot how it feels.” Becker glanced up at the massive columns that lined the front of the old plantation and pulled his hooded sweatshirt up around his neck. I didn’t recall him being so skittish on our previous visit.

  “Forget feelings. We’re here for Jess. And this time, leave the Dufresne ladies alone, Becker.” It was late in the afternoon, and long shadows pooled across the whitewashed porch. Everything was as it had been. Time appeared to stand still here at historic Sugar Hill. Damned place is cursed, I thought for the tenth time that day. Avery had put me off all day, something about a sick family member, but she finally called me a few minutes ago and now here we were. I had to wonder what they were hiding, what she was hiding.

  “No worries. Summer made it clear she didn’t want to hear from me again.”

  “Ouch. Well, let’s focus on finding Jess. No way in hell she just vanished. These people know what happened to her.”

  “So, we aren’t here to investigate the paranormal?”

  “I’m here to find Jessica. Whatever I have to do to achieve that, I’ll do it.”

  “Understood.”

  Becker and I climbed out of the van and hurried to the back to retrieve our equipment. I packed the whole kit and caboodle, from the ALS device to the laser grid to cameras. This was my personal collection, and it was extensive. If possible, I was going to mount some hidden cameras somewhere in hopes that I could catch Avery and her crazy family talking about Jessica. That was the only way I’d get the truth.

  “What do we grab first?”

  “Let’s start with some simple stuff, digital recorders and the infrared cameras. I have a feeling we’ll have to take our time. I don’t think they really want us here.”

  Becker took the camera out of the case. “I guess the hope is that we don’t find anything, right?”

  “Yeah, nothing paranormal, anyway.” I heard the front door of the house open and whispered to Beck, “Keep your eyes open.”

  “Why would they harm Jess, Mike? She loved these people, and I’m pretty sure they cared about her.”

  “Who knows, Becker, but this is the last place she was seen. How in the hell does someone just vanish into thin air? Keep your eyes peeled.” I closed the van doors, and together we walked up the painted steps. Avery Dufresne was waiting for us. It was a shock to see her in a wheelchair.

  “Hey, guys. Welcome back.”

  Seeing Avery Dufresne, America’s Sweetheart, in person was always a surreal experience. If I didn’t know about all the creepy crawlies that came with the old family name, I would have been impressed. I used to be. My old buddy Reed hovered behind her like a white-collar enforcer. Same white shirt, same playboy looks.

  I stepped inside the house behind Avery, and Becker was right on my heels. “Thanks for letting us come. It means a lot to me, to both of us.”

  “Me too,” she said. Reed greeted us politely, and there was another person present, a teenage girl who looked way too much like a grown-up. I sent Becker a warning look, but he wasn’t paying much attention to her or us. He took in the scenery and acted as if someone or something would jump out at him any minute. It wasn’t like him to be spooked by a place. Even up at the John Dees Asylum, he hadn’t flinched.

  I nudged him politely. “You guys remember Jeffrey Becker. He worked with me on My Haunted Plantation. He was with the original crew.”

  “Hey,” he said politely, extending his hand to Avery and her husband.

  “Oh yes, I remember him,” Avery said pleasantly as she shook it. “You know Reed, and this is my cousin Dolly Jane.”

  “Hi, Dolly Jane. Are you a fan of the show?” I didn’t know why I asked her that, maybe because most kids her age were ghost fanatics. At least the ones I’d met; thousands of them at various cons and other events told me they were.

  “What show?” she asked as she leaned against the doorframe.

  Avery chuckled and said, “Come on, gentlemen. I’ll take you to the ballroom.”

  I followed behind Reed, who pushed Avery’s chair. Dolly Jane didn’t come with us but scampered up the stairs. That’s right, I remembered her. She’d walked with a limp the last time I saw her. Beck bumped into me, his camera up on his shoulder.

  “Sorry, I thought…”

  “No filming yet,” I murmured. He dropped the camera but didn’t look any more comfortable than when we came in.

  Avery said, “This is it, Mike. There’s not much in here right now, but the night of the Starlight Ball this place was packed. It was a big fundraiser for the foundation. I had every intention of being here, but I broke my leg. Reed and I decided it was best that we stay in Bermuda and not risk traveling so soon after the injury. I regret that now.”

  “Why?” I couldn’t hide the suspicion in my voice. “It’s not like you could have prevented whatever happened.”

  “I think you know why. This house isn’t good for some people. Not sensitive people like Jessica.”

  She didn’t know it, but I had the digital recorder going in my pocket. I decided to push a little more, hopefully without pissing her off to the point that she would make me leave. “Since you know how sensitive she is, I am surprised that you would let her come back. I wouldn’t have recommended it. If she had asked me.”

  Avery eased closer to me. “Let’s get this straight right now, Mike. The last time I talked to Jessica, she wasn’t planning on driving down because filming had run behind. When she arrived, we were already on a plane for Bermuda.”

  The room got so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It was Becker who broke the silence. “Is there any footage of her disappearance? Anyone catch it on film?”

  Avery glanced at Reed, and he frowned, but she dug in her pocket and pulled out a flash drive and offered it to me. “Funny you should ask. One of Danforth’s grandsons dropped this off this morning. He says he didn’t even think about reviewing it until yesterday. You should take a look at this before we go any further. Nobody knows about this video, not even the police.”

  “If it is evidence, then we do need to get this to the police.”

  “I agree, Mike, but please watch it first. I really must insist.”

  I accepted it without a second thought. “Okay, what’s on it?”

  “Jessica. If you really want to know what happened, watch it. Reed and I will be in the patio garden if you decide to stay. Just through those doors.” Avery rolled away, and Reed walked beside her. He glanced back at me one last time. Yeah, he didn’t care for me too much.

  The feeling is mutual, buddy.

  Becker muttered, “Being a little hostile, aren’t you, dude? I thought we were trying to play it cool.”

  “I am cool,” I said unconvincingly as I tucked the flash drive in my pocket. The doors closed, and the Dufresne pair disappeared. They were like a weird-ass Barbie and Ken set. And now my goosebumps had goosebumps.

  “What now?” Becker asked as I clicked off the recorder. His eyebrows lifted at seeing it. “Oh, pretty crafty.”

  “Yeah, well, we aren’t getting anywhere with those two. I guess we’ll have to play along, Beck. Let’s go plug this into the laptop. We’ll have to take a bite of the apple, apparently.”

  Five minutes later, we had the drive connected and were scanning the video, waiting to see whatever marvelous discovery these Dufresnes wanted us to see. As I watched the dancers swirling around to the orchestra music, I shook my head. Nobody seemed to mind that two dead women were unearthed in the walls around them not that long ago. Did they think that was a joke? The sheer evil, the cruelty it would take to do such a thing. To hear them screaming and crying, knowing they would die a slow death, in the dark…what if Jessica—

  “Hey, stop!” Becker squatted down beside the s
helf where we’d mounted the laptop. “Go back about ten seconds. Didn’t you see her?”

  I skipped the video back, surprised that I’d missed her the first time. Jessica! She was on the dance floor by herself; the couples moved around her as if they didn’t see her. Apparently, this video was shot from a nearby table, so she came in and out of view. What was she wearing? I’d never seen her dressed up like that, but it was definitely her. I couldn’t believe it. I almost didn’t recognize her. I slowed the video to half speed.

  An odd light shone…it was green, but it wasn’t something you would normally see on a dance floor. The source wasn’t the ceiling or the floor. It was as if the light appeared right in the center of the room. Nobody seemed to notice it except Jessica. Her face brightened—she was smiling. She picked up her skirts, and then a couple got in the way; the lady in red was laughing at her partner. And there was Jessica again! Now running, now gone. She dashed toward the light, and then the light vanished.

  And Jessica was gone. If I was to believe my eyes, to believe this video, I could come to only one conclusion.

  Jessica had purposefully stepped through a portal.

  Chapter Fifteen – Avery

  Reed shifted in his seat, and I realized we weren’t alone. Mike and Becker returned—both of them had their game faces on, but the younger man was not doing such a great job managing his fear. If they thought that was hard to believe, wait until they heard what Dolly Jane had to say. I had been the one who had wanted Mike to come to Sugar Hill, but he was acting like a jerk, as if I—no, we—had something to do with what happened to Jessica. Nobody spoke at first, but then they both did.

  “And you’re sure that’s legit?” Becker asked as he played with his jacket zipper.

  Mike added, “You would not believe the things we have seen. People add special effects to videos all the time. Is there any chance this grandson isn’t on the up and up?” he asked with a touch of suspicion in his gravelly voice. Sure. Reed and I did it. All the way from Bermuda. Reed sighed and leaned back in his chair, his arm thrown over the back. My husband was quickly losing patience and was ready for all this back-and-forth to be over. I was too, but sending them home would mean we might not get Jessica back.