Edge of Shadows (Shadows #1) (23 page)

She greeted him warmly, and he kissed her on the cheek. “I’ve seen this look before, I think,” he said teasingly. She blushed, remembering that day by the lake that seemed like an eternity ago, even though it hadn’t been more than a week.

“Kevin and I are having a slumber party,” she said.

“That sounds like a great idea. I’m sorry I can’t stay for it,” he said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Ellie jabbed him in the ribs and he grunted.

“Not with company in the house,” she said, although she returned his smile. She was tired, and she wanted nothing more than to rest and forget all the horrors of the day.

“David! How delightful to see you!” Ellie and David turned to see Kevin, in perfect drag queen style, sashay his way down the stairs. He had a box under his arm. The men shook hands.

“What do you have there?” David asked, pointing at the box.

“It’s just a game for later,” Kevin said, avoiding the question. He headed for the library and Ellie and David followed.

As they walked, David held out his hand for Skipper to sniff. Skipper showed no interest. He laughed and took Ellie’s hand instead.

“He’s usually very friendly,” Ellie said with a slight frown.

“I’m sure he just sees me as competition, so he can’t be too nice to me,” David said. Ellie put Skipper down, and the dog followed Kevin into the library and then lay down on the cushion that Ellie had set in the corner.

By the time Ellie and David entered the room, Kevin hands held two glasses of wine. The mysterious box was nowhere to be seen. He saluted them.

“Cocktails, anyone?” he said with a smile.

“I’d love to, but I have to go back to work,” David said. He handed Kevin the bottle of wine that he had been carrying. “But this is for the two of you. I figured there would be some alcohol consumption during the course of your evening. As long as neither of you are driving, you should feel free to imbibe.” He glanced at Ellie.

“Imbibe we will, guaranteed,” Kevin said. Kevin took a long sip of wine and then looked around. “It appears that I left my overnight bag upstairs. Ellie, do you mind if I go slip into something more comfortable?”

“Not at all, Kevin,” she said.

“I’ll be right back. You kids be good,” Kevin said, giving them a meaningful look.

Ellie stuck her tongue out at him. He giggled and then was gone.

Ellie gestured to David to sit on the sofa. “This is quite cozy,” he said, looking around.

“It is,” Ellie agreed. “Since you can’t have any wine, is there anything else I can get for you to drink?”

David waved his hand. “No, I’m fine. I actually can’t stay long.”

“I thought you said on the phone that you had a few hours,” Ellie said, pouting.

“I know, but we’re short-staffed right now. They need me,” David said. “But I managed to wrangle a forty-five-minute break. My manager said that I should use it to sleep, or to be stupid and go over to see my girlfriend.” He shook his head with disdain. “Just in case you were weren’t clear the option I chose, it was you.”

Ellie tried to hide her excitement that he had called her his girlfriend, but she was also worried. “Are you getting enough sleep?” Fresh memories of Jake’s accident plagued her mind.

David sat up, sensing her thoughts. “Don’t worry about me. I’m used to pulling these kinds of shifts. I can function pretty well on not that much sleep.”

Kevin made a grand entrance into the room. “Did you miss me?”

Ellie and David couldn’t help but laugh. “We did,” Ellie said.

“Good.” Kevin flopped himself down on the sofa across from Ellie and David, picking up his glass of wine again. “So what’s up, doc?” he asked David.

“How long have you been waiting to say that?” David asked wryly.

“Too long,” Kevin chuckled. “I was starting to think I’d never get to use it.”

“Things are busy. I was just telling Ellie that I’m going to have to head back in a minute.”

“Umm, the doctor’s life is a hectic one, I’m told,” Kevin said, swirling the wine around and around in his glass.

“That it is,” David agreed. “How is Eric?”

Ellie was grateful when the subject changed to the benign topic of Kevin and Eric’s relationship. Kevin soon had both of them laughing as he related in over exuberant detail the story of his and Eric’s last disagreement.

“So needless to say, I have to go out and buy a new mattress pad because Eric swears that the featherbed has it out for him,” Kevin finished.

Ellie took another sip of wine and glanced at David out of the corner of her eye. Despite having just worked a whole shift, and apparently getting ready to work another one, his aura was robin’s egg blue. He was totally relaxed. He turned toward her and caught her looking at him. He put his arm around her and squeezed her tightly to him, then looked at Kevin.

“You gonna take good care of her tonight?” he said.

“You betcha,” Kevin said, taking another swig of wine.

Ellie rolled her eyes. “We’ll see who really is taking care of whom later on,” she commented under her breath.

“I’d better get going,” David said, and the three of them stood. He and Kevin shook hands again. “It was good to see you again, Kevin. You’re a good guy, helping Ellie out like this.”

“It’s not a problem,” Kevin said. He sat back down, clearly intending to give Ellie and David their space to say goodbye privately. Ellie walked David back down the hallway to the front door.

“It was really nice of you to stop by. You didn’t have to. I’m in good hands here,” she said.

“Perhaps it was also an excuse to see you again,” David said as he pulled her into his arms.

“I like your excuses,” she said with a smile. David bent his head and kissed her deeply. She wasn’t sure if it was the wine or the kiss, but her head spun. He gave her one final squeeze and then turned to leave.

“I’ll talk to you soon,” he said.

Ellie waved and blew him a kiss as she closed the door. She skipped back down the hallway to the library.

“Me thinks someone is in love,” Kevin said, drawing out the “o” on love.

“I like him a lot,” she said.

“I am delighted that you have rekindled your interest in the opposite sex again, darling,” Kevin said. “But now it’s time to have some real fun.” Kevin pulled the box out from underneath the couch and placed it on the coffee table. It was the Ouija board.

David hurried down the patio steps, worried that he was going to be late getting back to the hospital. He didn’t see the figure at the bottom of the stairs until it was too late and they collided. David didn’t go down like the other man, but the wind was knocked out of him.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you,” he said as he held his hand out to the man on the ground.

The man struggled to his feet, ignoring David’s outstretched hand. David gasped. It was Joe Klein glaring back at him, but this time the man looked twenty years older than he had the last time David had seen him just a few days ago. Joe looked gaunt and his hair had turned pure white. The only thing that hadn’t changed was the crazy gleam in the man’s eyes.

“Mr. Klein, is that you?” David asked. “You don’t look well.”

“You again,” was the muttered reply. “I’m here to see Linda.” Joe dusted himself off slowly and peered over David’s shoulder.

“Mr. Klein, I tried to tell you when you were here before that Linda has gone on vacation indefinitely,” David explained as he deliberately stood at the bottom of the stairs, blocking Joe’s ability to move around him.

“I see lights on in that house,” Joe said, looking up at the house with suspicious eyes.

“I told you my girlfriend is house-sitting. She’s here now.” David didn’t want the agent harassing her, though. “Her friend Kevin, who you also met the other night, is staying with her,” he added.

“I think you’re lying,” Joe snarled. “Linda wouldn’t just leave without telling me.”

“Mr. Klein, are you feeling okay?” David said to try to change the subject. The last thing he wanted to know was anything more about the agent’s relationship with Linda Jordan. “I’m a doctor. I can help you.”

The agent’s face fell. When he looked back up at David, it was with haunted eyes. “There’s no cure for what I’ve got,” he said sadly and then turned away. “I’ll come see her later.”

David wanted to pursue the man, but a glance at his watch told him he didn’t have time to waste. His manager would be pissed if he wasn’t there for the evening rounds. He made a mental note to call Ellie later and tell her to keep an eye out. He was sure the man wasn’t dangerous, but better to be safe than sorry.

Inside the house, Ellie was scolding Kevin. “I told you that I’m not into that stuff,” she said. She refused to budge from her place in the doorway to the library.

“Ellie, it’s just a game. We’re having a slumber party here. We will just be playing a game,” Kevin argued. “Have a glass of wine and let’s have some fun.”

“Don’t you think pretending to contact the dead is a little bit morbid considering the circumstances?” she said heatedly.

“Maybe, but we’re already in kind of a morbid mood, don’t you think?” Kevin countered. “Besides, I found something else upstairs in the closet that might pique your interest.”

Kevin pulled out a piece of paper. Ellie could see from her position in the doorway that it looked like a newspaper clipping, but it was obvious that in order to read it she’d have to get closer. Unable to contain her curiosity, she moved toward Kevin. He didn’t move from the couch, but continued to hold the article outstretched in his arm.

Finally, she moved to the opposite couch and snatched the piece of paper out of his hand. She sat down to read it and she could feel Kevin watching her carefully.

PROMINENT COUPLE VANISHES. FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED
, read the article’s title. It was from the local paper and was dated November 12, 1914. Ellie was amazed at the paper’s condition considering it was almost a hundred years old.

She looked at Kevin. “What is this,
National Enquirer
circa 1914?”

His shrug was unreadable. “There’s more to the story than Linda told us,” he said.

Ellie looked back down at the article and continued to read.

Neighbors in the high-class Lake of Isles community have

confirmed reports of screams coming from the Joseph Bradford

home earlier this week. Police officials are refusing to comment

beyond the fact that they have been unable to locate Joseph

Bradford or his wife, Lillian. The couple was last seen at

a dinner party that they hosted a week ago. A guest at the party

said that the couple had been arguing over some financial matters.

The couple excused themselves early and asked the guests to leave.

The Bradfords moved to Minneapolis last year after Joseph

Bradford purchased shares in a mining operation on the Iron Range

in Northern Minnesota. Joseph Bradford’s partner, William Parker,

has not been in touch with either Bradford since the dinner party.

Attempts to contact the Bradfords at the time of this writing have

proved unsuccessful.

“So do you think that Linda knew about this?” Ellie asked.

“I would think so considering this was stuffed in her closet,” Kevin replied.

Ellie was beginning to understand what Kevin was after. “So what are you getting at here? You want to try to contact the spirits of the Bradfords or something?” Ellie said.

“All in the spirit of entertainment, of course,” Kevin said with a grin. “Plus you don’t believe in this stuff anyway. It probably won’t work.”

“You are truly morbid, Kevin. How old are we?” Ellie said as gave the article back to him.

“This is good stuff, Ellie; it’s better than any old TV program. Aren’t you the least bit curious about what happened here almost hundred years ago?” Kevin was clearly intrigued.

“We aren’t going to find the answers with a Ouija board.” Ellie shrugged.

“Maybe not, but it makes a good story.” Kevin sipped his wine again. “We can give Melanie some good material for her next book and maybe collect some of the royalties.”

“Money is a good thing.” Ellie grabbed her wine glass and took a sip thoughtfully. “We could always bypass Melanie and write our own book.” She knew that she was letting Kevin see that she was warming to the idea.

“Heck, yeah,” he said. “I’ve been known to be able to string some words together on occasion that even make sense.”

Ellie started to relax. As long as Kevin wasn’t taking the whole thing too seriously, she was able to look past how ridiculous it all seemed. She nodded toward the half empty wine bottle sitting on the end table.

“Fill it up, garçon,” she said.

Kevin obliged, and then filled up his own glass as well. They toasted each other and sat back.

“You in then?” Kevin finally said.

“You do realize this is absolutely ridiculous,” Ellie said, rolling her eyes.