Spooked on the Gulf Coast (Gulf Coast Paranormal Trilogy Book 3) Read online

“How about me what?”

  I wanted to ask her if she was okay, but something in her face told me not to. Instead I said, “Pepperoni or sausage?”

  “Both.”

  I couldn’t help but kiss her cheek. I decided to go order pizza before I got myself into trouble.

  Chapter Fourteen—Cassidy

  Every time Midas yelled “Lights out!” it made my heart pound in my chest. At least I wasn’t alone in here, but considering what we’d all witnessed last night, I had to remind myself to keep my emotions in check. Midas and I climbed the stairs, and Sierra brought up the rear. I could tell she was in “sensitive” mode because she was not her usual chatty self. Sierra always got quiet when she was “feeling” her way around.

  I held the IR camera, Midas had the K2, and Sierra had the digital voice recorder. Of all the equipment I handled, I think the IR was my favorite. I didn’t like walking through the dark without knowing what was in front of me. Or behind me. Suddenly, I remembered how Gabrielle felt when Claudette crept up behind her. I couldn’t help but peek over my shoulder; thankfully, there was nobody there except Sierra, who studied the space around her. She had that familiar faraway look in her eyes. Yeah, I knew that feeling. I felt it when I painted. Unfortunately, last night’s painting session didn’t yield much. About two this morning, I stumbled back in the house, loved on Domino for a while and passed out on the couch. My feline was okay with that, as he still didn’t go into my room.

  “Nothing yet,” Sierra said, but I sensed this place had a strange vibe to it tonight. It was almost as if it hummed. Yes, that’s right. I heard a kind of humming. Was that electricity?

  “What was the EMF like up here, Midas?”

  “Nothing remarkable, EMF-wise. Geesh, you feel that? We did turn the heat off, right? I feel a breeze running through here.” He put his hand out in front of him and moved it back and forth slowly.

  I couldn’t resist doing the same. “Yeah, I feel it. Everything is off.”

  Sierra didn’t participate, but she was checking out the space intensely. She radioed to Joshua. “Josh, anything on the anomaly sensor?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Copy that.” She paused and walked around the ship. “It’s bigger in person, that’s for sure. How in the world did they get this in here?”

  “Piece by piece, I imagine,” Midas said. “Pre-fabbed it and then assembled it inside. Like a ship in a bottle or half a ship in a bottle.” There wasn’t much light in here, with only a small row of windows on one wall.

  “So, these items in the cabinets, they are supposedly artifacts from the old colony?”

  “Yeah,” I said as I moved the IR camera slowly. “Now, some of these are from around that period, but they were borrowed from a museum in Shreveport. But these few display cases, these are the items that Deter and Carl think are from around the fort. Wait, wow! Is there anyone else up here?” I stared at the camera screen and watched a figure appear briefly and then vanish into the wall. “That’s bonkers.”

  “Can you play it back?”

  “Sure.” I pushed the button with nervous fingers. “Here it is.”

  Midas leaned against me as the three of us crowded around the camera. “Could that be a reflection from one of the glass cases?”

  I suddenly felt stupid. That was exactly it. “Sorry, y’all. I guess I jumped the gun.”

  “I actually do feel that this entire level is active, especially over here by this case. And that cold spot was legit,” Sierra replied. “I think it’s a good idea to have an EVP session.”

  “Great,” I said as I kept watching my camera. Stop jumping at everything you see, Cassidy Wright.

  “Sierra, Midas and Cassidy upstairs at the museum,” Sierra said. She cleared her throat and continued, “My name is Sierra. These are my friends Cassidy and Midas. We’re here to talk to you. Would you like to talk?” She put the digital recorder on the bench beside her. I focused the camera on her.

  Sierra asked, “Deter? Are you here?” Midas tilted his head and flashed his light up at the boat but didn’t say a word. “Deter, we like the exhibit. We read your note and were wondering, who is it that haunts you?”

  Click, click.

  “Did you hear that?” she asked us.

  “Yeah, I heard it. Sounded odd. What is it?” I wondered as my eyes scanned the darkness.

  Midas said, “It sounded like an old-fashioned ballpoint pen clicking.”

  “Oh yeah,” Sierra said. “I’ll keep going. Deter? Was that your pen clicking? Are you taking notes?”

  I shuddered and said, “It’s getting cold in here.”

  Midas hit the light again but this time trained it on the display case in question. “Yep, I feel it too. Keep going, Sierra. Maybe try to contact Gabrielle.”

  “Good idea. Deter isn’t up here. I feel a female entity. She’s very cautious.” She cleared her throat again and said, “Gabrielle Bonet? Are you here?” I heard nothing, but it felt like someone was there, listening. “Gabrielle, we know what happened to you. My friend Cassidy can see you when she paints, did you know that?”

  For a few seconds, I imagined that I did hear someone. Midas heard it too. “Play that back, Sierra.” She scrolled it back and let it play. I heard Sierra’s voice asking, “My friend Cassidy can see you when she paints, did you know that?”

  Je ne l’aime pas…

  “Oh God, that’s French. I’m so rusty. What does that mean?” I felt desperate suddenly.

  Sierra said in a whisper, “Je ne l’aime pas means ‘I don’t like her.’”

  “I don’t like her? Meaning me? Well, that’s not what you want to hear.”

  “Keep going, Sierra,” Midas encouraged. “The K2 is lighting up.”

  “Gabrielle, was that you? Don’t you want Cassidy to paint you? She can help you.” We waited for another voice but heard nothing else. No matter how she tried, Sierra couldn’t get her to speak again. “Please, Gabrielle, won’t you speak to me?”

  “Midas,” Joshua called from the radio. “Hey, check the deck. I have two anomalies. Do you have the tablet?”

  “Yes, the sensor is connected to my smartphone. Checking it out now.” Midas tapped on the app, and soon the screen popped up. Sure enough, there were two anomalies on the deck. One was quite still and lying horizontally. The taller one picked it up, and it appeared as if it was about to roll the horizontal figure off the boat. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Then suddenly the figure did just that. The big stick figure pushed the smaller one right off the edge. And that’s when we heard the sound of breaking glass.

  “What the frick?” Sierra gasped as she leaped off the bench. “That’s glass. Something broke the glass.”

  “Great,” Midas said as the three of us scurried in the direction of the broken glass. “I don’t see any glass.”

  Sierra pointed. “It’s not that one; it’s this one, and all the glass is inside the case. What is that? A book? I filmed the whole thing so Patricia couldn’t accuse us of damaging any of the property. I hate to say it, but she seemed like the kind of person who would do that.”

  Midas picked up the book carefully and dropped the shards of glass back in the cabinet. “It’s all in French. I can’t read any of this.”

  “Someone wants us to check it out. I can speak some, but reading it is out of the question. Maybe Patricia or Carl can tell us what this book is about.”

  “I think we need to regroup. If someone is breaking things, that means it can move matter,” I said as I glanced nervously around the room.

  Sierra and Midas both had their flashlights out and were looking for an explanation for the broken glass. “Maybe the glass was weak? We have had some huge swings in temperature this past week. Freezing one day, warm the next.”

  “Guys,” I said as my eyes went to the boat. There was definitely an image up there, and it was clearly showing up on the camera.

  “Could have been the temperature change weakened it,” Sierra continued as she p
icked up a piece of glass and turned it over in her hand.

  “Guys! The boat is rocking; I’m not joking. There’s a figure in that boat, and now it’s rocking. Tell me I’m wrong,” I pleaded with them.

  “Hey, she’s right!” Sierra waved her flashlight at the boat and somehow, the thing was moving back and forth as if it were rolling on the ocean. “Oh my God! The IR went black. I think the battery just died.”

  Midas pulled his phone back out, but there were no anomalies showing at all. Whatever happened was over, and the boat had stopped swinging on its cables. “She’s gone now. I’m pretty certain one of these entities was Gabrielle. But she’s gone. I think it’s a good time to take a break, regroup and maybe change out teams. And I’ll need to write up a report about the breakage, record the time and whatnot so we can verify how it happened.”

  “Let’s do it.” Sierra radioed to Joshua. “Hey, sweetie. Did you get all this?” Nothing. Joshua didn’t answer at all. “Joshua?” She frowned and sighed. “He picked a great time to go to the bathroom.” She radioed down to Aaron. “Hey, Aaron, let’s meet in the lobby.”

  “Check. Nothing going on in here at all. On the way.” A few minutes later we were exchanging stories, and we definitely had the most hair-raising encounter. We had experienced much more than they had, but they’d recorded a great EVP.

  “It’s got to be Deter Simon. Here, we can play it for you.”

  What are you doing?

  “Amazing. Where did you get this?”

  Aaron smiled proudly. “In the storeroom where Carl had his fright. Maybe Patricia can verify that’s Deter’s voice,” he said gleefully.

  “That might freak her out,” I cautioned. “Seriously freak her out.”

  Midas said, “So nothing in Deter’s office or his creepy closet?”

  “Nothing in there either night except your sighting.” Peter shook his head and shrugged.

  “Deter isn’t doing any of this, except wondering what the hell we’re doing here.”

  “You guys hear from Joshua?” Sierra interrupted as she fiddled with the dial on the walkie-talkie.

  “No. I heard you calling him. He didn’t answer?”

  Sierra padded to the door and called again. “Joshua? What are you doing out there?”

  Nothing. We didn’t hear a peep. “Midas, please open the door. I have to see what’s up with my husband. He better not be goofing off.”

  I could hear parade drums banging away in the distance. Midas put the key in the lock and tapped on the security pad. Sierra scrambled outside and ran to the van, and we all ran after her. Joshua was slumped over the desk with his headphones on, and he was very clearly sleeping.

  “Joshua!” Sierra yelled at him as she hopped into the van and slapped the counter. “Hey!” She pulled his headphones off, and he nearly jumped out of his skin. “What the heck are you doing?”

  “Dang it, Sierra Kay. You scared the hell out of me. I thought I was having another damn nightmare!” Then he saw all of us and said, “Aw, shoot. I fell asleep. I’m sorry, guys.”

  Midas said, “You were supposed to be watching our backs, Josh, and you’re out here sleeping?”

  “You know I haven’t been sleeping. I told you I needed to stay home.” He rubbed his eyes. “Everything is recorded, I swear. Are we done?”

  “Yeah, let’s shut it down,” Midas said with his jaw popping. He wasn’t cool with Josh falling asleep, but again, he didn’t blow his stack. “Pack it up.”

  While we rolled up cable and broke apart equipment, I felt the compulsion to paint grow. I could see a new image in my mind—Gabrielle again, but she looked quite different now. Her hair was all around her, and her lips were pale.

  I don’t like her….

  Whether she liked me or not, I wasn’t going away. Gabrielle needed my help. Our time investigating at the museum was done, but my work was just getting started.

  After we got to the Gulf Coast Paranormal office, Sierra came up to me and hugged me. “I know you’re going to paint tonight, but be careful. Gabrielle isn’t quite right in the head. I don’t know if she’ll understand that you’re trying to help her. Call me if you need me.”

  “Thanks, Sierra.” I waved goodbye to her, but I couldn’t leave yet. Midas lingered at my car door. I could tell he wanted to go have a drink, maybe talk everything over, maybe even something extra, but I couldn’t tonight. I clung to him as we kissed.

  “Tomorrow night? Me and you?”

  “Sounds like a plan. Night, Cassidy.”

  “Night, Midas.”

  Chapter Fifteen—Gabrielle

  A week had passed, and yet we remained on Massacre Island. There were rumors of an uprising on the mainland, but no details were given to us. Jean observed that many of our native friends, all except Leela, had disappeared, which made our chores more difficult. We could hear musket fire in the distance, and more than once we were hurried into our cabins. LeMoyne assured us that all would be well, that we would go to our new home soon. The most heartbreaking of events was not the delay in travel to the new fort but seeing the Pelican sail away, taking with it all hope of ever seeing France again. I watched her leave along with a few others—including Dead Claudette, who haunted me night and day now. In the beginning, I saw her only in the wee hours of the morning before the sun came up, but now I saw her many times a day.

  The same morning, Jean came to me with a smile so bright she reminded me of a messenger from heaven, an angel from on high, come to speak a word of peace to my soul. “Gabrielle, I must tell you the best of news.” She clasped my hands and nearly jumped up and down.

  “What is it, Jean Marie? Are we going home?”

  Her smile vanished as she scowled. “No, and stop saying such things, Gabrielle. You know we can never go back. If we did, the King’s wrath would fall on us.” Her voice dropped to a whisper as she cast a watchful eye at Francois Broussard, who was returning from fishing. “This is our home now. And you, Gabrielle Bonet, are to be married this very night during the Mardi Gras festivities.”

  “Me? Married? To whom?” My stomach twisted, from fear or from hunger, I did not know. They both felt much the same in my estimation. I prayed that it would not be Father Huve, and then I suddenly remembered that Father Huve was not permitted to marry.

  “Jon Batiste has asked for your hand, and LeMoyne has happily given his permission. Is that not the best news?”

  Suddenly, Leela threw her knife down and pierced the log beside me. She left her half-skinned rabbit and gave us both an evil stare before disappearing into the encampment. Chills ran up my spine. I pushed stray strands of hair away from my sweaty face.

  “Say something, Gabrielle. I would think you would be happy now. I know you like Jon; I’ve seen you watching him. He has no fortune, but he is young and clever. I am sure he will make a good husband.”

  At a loss for words, I mumbled something like, “I am sure he will.” Jean hugged me as if I were truly her own dear sister. I liked pretending that I was just that. For a moment I closed my eyes and enjoyed her company.

  But when I opened my eyes, a shadow fell over me. Dead Claudette stood a few inches behind Jean, her dead eyes piercing mine. How dare I celebrate life when Claudette would never have another day allotted to her? Without thinking, the words tumbled out of my mouth. “Jean, what of Claudette? She haunts me always. She whispers in my ear,” I sobbed, anxious to be free of this horrible burden. “Murder…murder…I am murdered. This is what she says to me! How can I make her go away?” I squalled on the beach, relieved to tell her my horrible secret. But to my shock, Jean slapped me with such ferocity that I nearly fell back on the sand.

  “Never speak her name again, Gabrielle. Not in my hearing or in another’s. The girl is dead and gone. Yellow fever took her, and that is all. You know nothing. You saw nothing.” She gripped my elbows and pushed me toward our temporary quarters. “Stop this talk, or you will put us both in danger.”

  “Danger?” I flung my arms a
way from her and cried. Claudette followed us, yet Jean did not see her. But no…wait. I saw Jean glance over her shoulder. I did not know whether she followed my eyes or felt the flitting shadow pass near her, but I knew she saw her.

  “Gabrielle, I have done all I can do for you. Come with me now or find your own way through life. I cannot save Claudette, but I can help you if you will let me.”

  My face felt hot from the sun, and my cheeks stung as the salty tears rolled down. I could not look at Claudette. I had to live, and she was already dead. Jean extended her hand to me, and I accepted it.

  There would be no turning back. I would never see Claudette again. I had failed her. She would never have justice now.

  And it was my fault.

  Chapter Sixteen—Sierra

  “Mr. Fletcher, thank you so much for coming.” I opened the door and locked it behind us. “Midas had to meet another client, but he’s doing his best to get here. I spoke with you on the phone; I am Sierra McBride, the Gulf Coast Paranormal office manager.” I stretched out my hand and flashed my perkiest smile.

  I couldn’t believe I had convinced the elegant Carl Fletcher to come down to our office. The older man was dressed in a suit, a nice one if a bit dated. He was handsome, tall and straight with tanned skin and a white smile. Not at all what I imagined a museum curator might look like. Mr. Fletcher reminded me of my Aunt Thelma’s favorite actor, George Hamilton. Aunt Thelma had been so crazy about him, she’d even written him a letter or two back in the day. As far as I knew, he’d never responded to any of them. I wondered if Mr. Fletcher had ever been told that he favored Mr. Hamilton. That wouldn’t be a slight, not in the least, but I wasn’t about to begin a conversation with that observation.

  “Very nice to meet you. My stepdaughter assures me that this will help you get to the bottom of what’s happening at the museum. I’m happy to help any way I can. I do have the book you asked for, and I sent the translation to the email address you gave Patricia.”

  “Great. Why don’t we sit here, sir? Would you like some coffee?”