In the Midnight Hour (36 page)

“I was thinking more along the lines of desperate, and I don’t care what you say, I’m doing it.”

“
Then I shall go with you
.”

She’d expected a lot of things, but that hadn’t been one of them. “And how do you plan to manage that? Oh, sure, I’ll just load the bed into the backseat of my car and off we go.”

“
I have an easier way in mind
.”

“And what would that be? In case you haven’t noticed, you’re a ghost, Val. Linked to this bed.”

“
My spirit is
.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“
That my spirit cannot walk out of this apartment, but my body can
.”

“You don’t have a body,” she reminded him.

He motioned to the phone with a large, transparent hand. “
So find me one
.”

Chapter Nineteen

“I know this is going to sound crazy,” Ronnie started to say after she’d steered Danny into the nearest seat the moment he arrived at her apartment. “I didn’t believe it myself at first, but then I found the letters, and there he was, as plain as day.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Remember when I asked you whether you believed in ghosts?”

“Because you saw a ghost and he talked to you.”

“That’s right. He’s been talking to me for the past few weeks, tutoring me, to be more exact.” She pulled out her notebook and showed it to him. “I’ve accumulated enough data for the Guidry paper thanks to Val.”

“Val?”

“The ghost.”

“Right.”

“That’s why I called you. You see, in order for him to tutor me, I sort of had to offer him a favor in return.”

“You guys made a deal?”

“Right. Anyhow, I offered to find out the truth about this woman he supposedly had a fling with, way back when, that may or may not have resulted in a child.”

“In return for love lessons?”

“Right.”

“Right.”

“Anyway, I think I might have found the one thing, a Bible, that might list who the father is—maybe or maybe not Val—and now all I need to do is to break into the Sunnydale Plantation Museum/Bed and Breakfast—they’ve closed part of the estate for remodeling and the security guard refused to let me in, otherwise, I wouldn’t have to break the law. Except it’s not really breaking the law since I don’t want to steal anything and have no malicious intent.”

“Technically, it’s still breaking the law.”

“Technically, yes, but not morally. Anyhow, I’ll be doing the breaking, you’ll just be entering.”

“Come again?”

“And carrying.”

“What are you talking about?”

She gave him a fierce stare and gripped his shoulders. “I need your body.”

“Ronnie, I don’t think we …” He pried her fingers loose and tried to inch away. “I mean, I like you and all, but not like that …”

“That’s not what I’m talking about, stupid. You’ve been looking cuter lately, I’ll give you that, but not that cute.”

“Cuter? Me?”

“Yes, but that’s beside the point. I need your body for the ghost. For Val. So he can come with me to the museum to get a look at Emma’s family Bible.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You volunteering your body. Val’s spirit is linked to my bed and—”

“
My bed
,” came a fierce voice.

Danny jerked back, his head snapping around. “Who said that?”

“You heard?” He nodded and she smiled. “That’s good. It means you believe.”

“In what?”

“The ghost. Val.”

“You mean he’s here?”

She glanced behind her to see Val pacing in front of the bed. “Right over there.”

Danny’s gaze followed the direction of Ronnie’s finger. He blinked and shook his head. “I don’t see anything.”

“
He doesn’t completely believe
,” Val told her.

“Who the hell was that?” Danny asked, jerking his head around searchingly.

“I told you. It’s Val.”

“The ghost?”

“Yup.”

“Right.” He turned back to her. “Look, Ronnie, it’s been great but I’m meeting Wanda at midnight and I’ve got a couple of hours of studying to do between now and then—” His words stalled as she gripped him by the collar.

“You can’t walk out on me. We need you.”

“
Tell him about the possession
,” Val said.

“Possession?” Danny spun around to look behind him again. “What possession?”

“Val needs to use your body, to possess it, but since it’s a forty-five-minute drive there, then back, and we have to allow for time in between for the breaking and entering, we’re looking at two to three hours minimum. There’s no way he can possess your body for that long unless you’re willing, especially since it’s only nine o’clock and his spirit isn’t at its best until midnight. But he could do it if you agree—”

“You want me to let someone possess my body?”

“Just Val. He won’t hurt anything. He didn’t the last time.”

“The last time?”

“When you … we … Last week,” she finished, none too anxious to remind Danny about the kiss if he didn’t remember. “When you were here. He possessed you for a few minutes, to help with a demonstration for my paper.”

“He
possessed
me?”

“You don’t have to sound so outraged. It was just for a little while, and after midnight. His spirit was strong, so he could suppress yours, but that was only for a few minutes. It’s one thing to suppress a spirit for five minutes here, ten minutes there, when you’re at your prime, and quite another to do it for several hours when you’re weak. Right, Val?”

“
Exactly
, ma belle.”

At Danny’s incredulous expression, she added, “He’s French. So what do you say?”

“I say you’ve overworked yourself right into a nervous breakdown.”

“I’m not crazy.”

“Sure.” He headed for the door again.

Ronnie reached out to stop him, but it was Val’s hand that gripped his collar and hauled him backward.

“
I’m real
,” Val growled.

“Who said that?” Danny stared wildly about, stumbling backward by the force of a hand he couldn’t see. “Who said that? Who’s doing that?”

“A ghost,” Ronnie told him.

“I don’t believe in ghosts.”

“
Even when the proofs got you by the collar?
” Val asked.

Danny’s eyes widened as he flailed, pulling and tugging against the invisible hand.

“You can’t get loose,” Ronnie pointed out. “What’s holding you if it isn’t a ghost?”

“M-maybe you’ve got an electromagnetic force in your ceiling that’s drawing me,” he stammered. “Or there’s a superconducting current flowing through your apart—”

“
Explain the ten inches
,” Val cut in, and Danny’s struggles ceased. He went as white as a sheet.

“How do you know …?” Danny’s voice faded in a wave of shock as his head swiveled and his gaze fixed on Val. “Y-you’re real. You’re … that is, you’re …”

“A
ghost
,” Val said. “
That’s what we’ve been telling you
.”

“You’re responsible for the ten inches?” Danny asked, and Val nodded.

“Ten inches?” Ronnie’s puzzled glance shifted from Danny to Val. “What are you talking about?”

“
His
—” Val started, but Danny cut him off.

“It’s a guy thing,” he blurted out, before directing a worshipful look at Val. “So when do we leave?”

“How are you doing?” Ronnie cast a sideways glance at Danny.

“
You asked me that five minutes ago. And five minutes before that
.”

“And?”

“
And the answer is, I was perfectly fine then and I am perfectly fine now
,” Val growled. “
Are we almost there yet?
”

Ronnie made the last turn that led down the drive to the Sunnydale Plantation. “Just about. Though I thought we’d park down the road and go the rest on foot. Can you do that?”

He grinned, but it wasn’t a Danny expression. It was pure Val, from the slight tilt of his lips to the bright blue of his eyes. Blue. She still couldn’t believe it.

“You’re sure you’re up to it?”

“
I am not an invalid
, Rouquin. It’s
a bit crowded in here, but quite comfortable
.”

“Can Danny hear me?”

“
He’s resting, otherwise I wouldn’t have the strength for this. It’s still an hour shy of midnight. Thankfully, your friend is willing
.”

“Could you do that forever? Possess someone, I mean. If they were willing?” God, what was she thinking?

That she could get used to Val inside of Danny. Val inside anyone, as long as he was Val with those blue eyes and that wicked grin.

“
If they were willing, perhaps for a little while. But not indefinitely. Even a willing spirit can only sleep so long, then it would fight for control. It’s human nature. Survival. Two spirits could never inhabit the same body. It isn’t allowed
.”

“Like making the same fatal mistake twice?”

“
Exactly
.”

“The Hereafter sure has a lot of rules,” she snapped as she pulled off to the side of the road just beyond a thick patch of trees that would effectively conceal her car from the road. “Okay, here’s the plan,” she started, but Val was already unfolding himself from the car.

“
Wait here
,” he growled.

“But you can’t go in there by yourself.”

“
I can and I will
.” He nailed her with a fierce stare. “
Regardless of the motive, this is illegal, Rouquin. I won’t ask of you something this risky
.”

“You didn’t ask. I volunteered.”

“
Stay
.” He slammed the door and started walking.

“Not on your life,” she muttered, sliding from behind the wheel.

She’d taken five steps before he whirled on her. “
What the Devil are you doing?
”

“Following you.”

“
Go back to the car
.”

“You don’t really want that.”

“Mais oui,
I do
.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Merde!” He planted his hands on his hips. “
I do
.”

“But I have a plan. Do you have one?”

“
To walk in and look at that bible
.”

“You can’t just walk in. The building is locked.” She smiled. “But I cased the place earlier, and I know how we’re going to get in.”

“
How?
”

She sprinted ahead of him. “If I told you, you wouldn’t need me.”

“
Damn woman
—” he started, but Ronnie cut him off.

“I know, I know. I’d be the death of you, but you’re already dead, which is why we’re here. Come on.”

“
I could have figured this out on my own
,” Val said as he reached inside the window he’d just broken and unlocked the latch. “
And you could have stayed in the car
.”

“And what would you do here in the dark?” She shined her pinlight flashlight in his face. “At least I had the forethought to bring a light. You should be grateful.”

“
I’ll be grateful if you stay put right here
,” he said, hefting himself through the window. “
Outside
.”

“If I stay, so does my flashlight.”

Val took one look at the darkened room, then turned to glare at Ronnie and held out his hand to help her through the window.

“I knew you’d see the error of your stubbornness.”

“
There’s only one thing I want to see
,” he said as he turned to survey the room. “
Where is it?
”

“There.” Her heart thundered ahead and she had the insane urge to grab his arm, to beg him not to look.

Selfish, she told herself. And futile. She and Val couldn’t go on the way they were. The connection between them was too powerful. They would come together eventually, and Val would lose his soul, and Ronnie would never forgive herself.

Peace was the only solution. The right one, she told herself despite the hesitation that gripped her when her flashlight fell on the bible.

Seconds later, they opened the book and Ronnie turned several pages until she found the family tree. A blaze of names glared back at her. “I knew it. It’s all filled out.” She scanned the page, the dread in her gut building. “Here’s Emma.” Her finger traced a path up to Claire’s name. Her gaze shifted to the opposite branch. The father.

“
Nothing
,” Val breathed. “
It’s blank
.” Was that relief she heard in his voice? Or her own wishful thinking? “
We shall not find the answer tonight
.”