Prelude of Lies (2 page)

She wasn’t even going to bitch at her for going outside last night, even though she wanted to. Daisy was a grown woman and Sydney had no right to treat her like a little kid.

“Do you really think someone’s going to come and watch weird lights and funky fog?” Sydney got out of bed with a groan. Daisy would be relentless until they’d fully discussed Daisy’s idea.

“There’s more than that and you know it. What about the moans in the bathhouse and that dog? Syd, he just disappeared. If you’d only admit weird stuff’s going on around here, we might be able to communicate with the spirits.”

“With dead people? I’m sorry, but there has to be an explanation for the strange things we’ve seen. Your friends would only be disappointed. Not to mention we can’t afford another expense. We have enough waiting to suck up the little money we do have.” Sydney walked away, Daisy on her heels.

“That’s my point. These guys try to find reasons to explain the strange things. Their first effort is to debunk supposed paranormal activity. They’re very cautious about saying a place is haunted. Like you, only they actually believe in spirits and paranormal activity. They won’t charge us. They’re good friends. They’ll do it as a favor to me. I’ve helped them on cases without pay many times. Can I call them?” She bounced on the balls of her feet, her smile wide.

Daisy would know she had a great argument. Anything that didn’t spend the little bit of available cash would work for Sydney. Still, the thought filled her with dread.

“And what if they say this place is haunted? What then? What does it change?” Sydney fought to control her negativity. This was the first time Daisy had acted like she wanted anything to do with the campground restoration.

“There are a lot of people who seek out encounters with ghosts and spirits. We find out which areas have higher paranormal activity and we charge extra for those sites. We can plan ghost tours and other activities to cater to the people who want to be scared. I mean, as long as the spirits aren’t malicious. We might attract more guests. Like a marketing gimmick.” Daisy’s slick talk made Sydney’s head spin.

“So we’re going to capitalize on the dead? Don’t you think that’ll piss them off?” Sydney cringed. She didn’t want a bunch of angry spirits hanging around and she didn’t want to annoy the spirits she knew were here, despite what she told Daisy about the lights and fog.

“Just think about it. Please?”

“Okay. I will.” What else was she supposed to say? Ghost tours were popular in neighboring formerly Civil War occupied towns, but were they plausible for Brookside? Thankfully her cell rang, cutting off the conversation.

Sydney picked up the phone without checking the caller ID. As soon as Jace’s voice came over the line, she wanted to pitch the phone into the middle of Daisy’s haunted pond. Damn Vile Violet for setting her grandson on them. Since the reading of the will, Jace had been relentless in his quest to help his grandmother take over Brookside.

Jace Levine was going to drive her insane. And she’d never even met him.

“What did you say?” How she wished he stood in front of her so she could deck him.

“I said, we should meet for lunch. Grandmother wants me to go over the terms of sale. Maybe we can come to some kind of compromise that suits you and your sister since you’re hell bent on going against your original agreement.” His suave, condescending tone grated on her nerves.

“There are no terms of sale. Your grandmother is trying to bully us. We have until June.” She paced the tiny front porch of the cabin, wishing her cell signal would dissipate as it so often did out here.

“Grandmother has filled me in on the basics. How about you tell me the rest over lunch? You have a verbal agreement to sell to her. Her contractors are waiting to break ground. The project can’t move forward until the paperwork is complete and every day progress is stalled means money out of her pocket. Surely, you know how much that costs? What kind of businesswoman are you?” If she could just reach through the phone, grab his throat, and cut off his arrogant words with her bare hands.

“Listen to me very carefully, Jace. I will not tell you this again. I made no agreement with your grandmother beyond the stipulations in my grandfather’s will. I will not willingly give up rights to this property. Brookside belongs to my family. You are not my family. Vile Violet is not my family. This place was my grandfather’s dream and I intend to honor him by making Brookside better than it was. Leave us alone and quit trying to scare us.”

“What did you call my grandmother?” His words were low, but laced with venom.

“Go to hell and take your grandmother with you.” She thought about smashing her phone, but instead threw her head back and let out a screech that echoed through the woods.

“Did you really call her Vile Violet to her grandson?” Sydney grinned at Daisy’s smirk.

“I guess I did. He’s such an asshole. I swear if I ever run into him I’m going to bust his lip. Violet told him we made a verbal agreement of sale.”

“Give him a black eye for me, too. I called Marshal. When should I tell him to come?”

Sydney pressed her fingers to her eyes. “Who’s Marshal?”

“My friend. The paranormal investigator?” Daisy’s “duh” tone made Sydney wish the ends of her fingers were pointed, then she could poke her own eyes out. She’d be blind and wouldn’t have to deal with any of this silly crap.

Didn’t she tell Daisy she’d think about it? Why had she so foolishly agreed to even consider the idea? Sydney pressed harder, little white stars erupting behind her eyelids. She deserved to be blind. Taking a few deep breaths, she finally sighed. What was the worst that could happen? Besides, having the extra people around might help keep Jace in check.

“I’ll tell you what, let’s get this place cleaned up a little better, have either a cabin or actual campsites your friends can use, better bathroom facilities, and we’ll go for it. I can’t imagine letting anyone traipse through the woods right now. This place isn’t safe and we can’t afford a lawsuit.” She sighed, resigned.

“Yay. Thank you for not saying no.” Daisy hugged her.

“It’s going to be a while. The other cabins aren’t inhabitable and the campsites are a mess.” Sydney hated to burst her bubble.

“Not as long as you think. Remember Tucker? The guy I dated a few months ago?”

Sydney nodded. She remembered. She didn’t know for sure, but was reasonably certain Tucker had broken Daisy’s heart.

“He called me, said he needs to train some guys on new equipment before landscaping season starts and wanted to know if he could use the campground.”

“That makes no sense.” Sydney started toward the bathhouse, trying to wrap her head around why Tucker would want to come here. Daisy rushed to catch up with her.

“That’s what I told him. He said this is how he does things. He finds a property in need of work and does whatever the owners want for the cost of material, just to train his guys and make sure the equipment is working properly before the beginning of his season.” Daisy avoided meeting Sydney’s eyes. Interesting.

“I’m surprised he doesn’t have a waiting list then.” Sydney figured Tucker probably wanted something else from Daisy, but kept that to herself.

Sydney had always liked Tucker, especially when she found out how he combined hard work with helping out troubled kids. He and Daisy had been a good match. Sydney didn’t think she’d ever seen her sister happier.

“Well, he does, but his regular crew is starting a huge job not far from here. This way he can go back and forth between locations. He gets to train his summer help and still make a profit. The bulk of the work will be done on weekends until school is out, but he’ll have his new, out-of-school crew here throughout the week until he feels they’re ready for bigger jobs. He’ll be here in the morning to do a walk through and maybe get started. That is, unless you want me to call him and tell him no.” Daisy seemed like she didn’t know what she wanted Sydney to say and Sydney couldn’t help but wonder why Daisy and Tucker had stopped dating.

“He’s going to let us tell him what we want? Everything we want?” The idea sounded great. A little too great. Sydney stopped at the bench in front of the bathhouse.

“Absolutely. Anything we want. They’ll take care of all the poison ivy. All we pay for is materials. Fuel, any special rental equipment, plants, and mulch. It’s perfect.”

Even though those costs could break their already shaky bank, Sydney couldn’t say no. It would take her and Daisy months of constant work to clear just the campsites and they definitely didn’t have that much time. June was only a few weeks away.

“Okay then. Excellent. That’s the best news we’ve had since we signed those papers.” The thought of someone else trimming, weeding, and dealing with the mess of poison ivy was a dream. Maybe they’d open on time after all.

Her happy moment didn’t last long enough. The low, spooky moan coming from the bathhouse froze the smile on her face and turned her stomach with dread.

CHAPTER 2

The next morning, Daisy avoided the creepy bathhouse. They’d endured that sad moaning nearly all night. There was nothing in the stalls. They’d even called the sheriff to come and check things out. He’d found nothing. Sydney had expected a tape recorder, something to explain how Jace was trying to scare them, but nothing. Daisy was certain it was paranormal. There was no doubt in her mind. Maybe the constant noise would encourage Sydney to allow Marshal to come soon.

She stopped at the edge of the clearing and watched Tucker work, her emotions as tangled as the vines growing everywhere. Damn, he was gorgeous. And nice and generous and romantic. And a jerk. He had a smile that reminded her how good things had been between them. Before he ditched her. Why had she allowed him to come to Brookside again? And now he was coming to talk to her. Ugh.

“We’ll finish this section of poison today. Thank you so much for letting us start so soon and for allowing us to experiment here. My new guys are shaping up already. Well, most of them.” He stood so close she could smell him, a mixture of grass, sweat, earth, and bug spray. Why did that turn her on?

Stepping back, she glanced over his shoulder as one of the crew ran screaming out of the woods, wildly swiping at his head. Watching the new workers had been almost comical, except for the tractor that now sat on the bottom of the pond. Even that had been amusing considering no one had gotten hurt.

“You think?” She couldn’t help but laugh as the teenager with the bug issue shivered and stomped.

“Trust me. Their progress is impressive. That kid there, the one you’re laughing at, started out this morning certain he wouldn’t last an hour. He’s a smart kid, graduated at the top of his class, but has never been outside the city. Now he’s covered with mosquito bites and had an interesting encounter with a snake, but he’s still here. I heard him tell his brother that the woods felt like home to him.” The pride in Tucker’s voice was obvious. Daisy’s heart softened. Why did he have to be so admirable?

Tucker’s work with troubled teens and young men previously moving in the wrong direction amazed her. “I’m sorry. I forgot how much these kids have missed.”

“Don’t be sorry. Their antics amuse me, too. I can’t let them know how much.” He smiled again. The twin dimples made her want to jump his bones right in the middle of the clearing and forget he broke her heart.

She had to change the subject. “Sydney wants to do a barbeque for the crew when you’re done. Let me know when you think that might be.”

“Three weeks. Unless it rains, or something else bad happens. We’ll get the tractor out of the pond first thing. My brother’s bringing a crane. We’ll probably be here at sun up. I’d say we’ll try to keep the noise down, but . . .”

Daisy laughed. “Bring me a vanilla cappuccino and I promise not to bitch. Oh, and you’d better bring Syd one, too.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Tucker saluted and went back to his workers, leaving her with a heart full of painful memories and an overheated libido. She watched him as he clasped the shoulder of the kid with the bug issue and directed him back into the stand of trees.

With distance between them, the blood returned to her brain along with the pain of losing him. She wanted to hate him, but couldn’t. Not wanting to dwell on Tucker, she went to find Sydney. Maybe she’d let her bring Marshal in tonight. She really didn’t need Sydney’s permission. Gramps left Brookside to them equally but Sydney had always been their leader. Daisy usually went along with her sister because she was right, sometimes.

Sydney considered Daisy’s paranormal beliefs a bunch of crap. If you couldn’t see it, touch it or explain it, according to Sydney, it didn’t exist. Sometimes, Daisy liked to drive her nuts by spouting off urban legends and old ghost stories as fact, swearing they were true and pushing her sister into annoyance. That was a little mean, so she usually only did it when Sydney drove her nuts, like lately. Really, all Daisy wanted was for Sydney to relax a little.

Daisy occasionally hated the free spirit side of her own personality. She spent her teenage years trying to override nature by dressing like the other kids and attempting more cerebral pursuits. There was no way she wanted to turn out like her mother, a woman who’d never bothered with her daughter and had saddled with the most hideous name.

Starshine. What the hell kind of name was that? What the hell kind of woman drops her eight-day-old kid off for the weekend and then never comes back?

Sydney always made her feel like she belonged, even before Sydney’s parents adopted her and allowed her to use her middle name, Daisy. Sydney’s shared rage at Nadine made Daisy feel normal. She couldn’t have a better sister.

When Daisy finally caught up with her, Sydney stood on the dinky porch in front of their shared cabin. Something was wrong. Hoping Jace hadn’t called back and threatened them again, she hustled the remaining steps, nearly tripping over a rock.

“What’s the matter?” Anxiety made her shaky as she stared at her sister’s pale face and wide eyes.

“I, uh, I was in, um, Cabin B and there was . . .” Sydney stopped and stared into the woods.

“What a snake? A rat? What happened? Are you okay? Did you get bit?” She rubbed Sydney’s arms, her cold skin alarming.

“I don’t know. There was something. Someone there.”

“Jace? Is he still here? I’ll kick his ass.”

Sydney shook her head. “Not Jace.”

She took a deep breath and Daisy waited for her to compose herself even though the pause could kill her.

“I was in Cabin B, trying to clean so your friends can come. I opened the windows in the bunk room and the window slammed shut. Twice. Until I propped it. I know that was just the window.”

Daisy rolled her eyes. Sydney had an explanation for everything. “Something else happened?”

“Lots of something else. The temperature dropped by, like, twenty degrees. I heard voices, female voices, calling out. It sounded like someone was running around the front room. When I went out, no one was there. And then, then, someone hurt me.” Sydney turned and raised her T-shirt, the red handprint on her lower back raised in an angry-looking welt. “I swear there was no one around. I was in the bunk room. My back was to the wall. The window shut again and opened four times in a row.” Sydney shook, tears streaming down her face.

Daisy gathered her in a hug and tried to soothe her. “I believe you.” She tried to hide her excitement that her instinct had been right. Sydney had never believed her. Hell, sometimes
she
didn’t believe herself.

“Can your friends come tonight?” Sydney’s shaky voice broke her heart.

“I’ll call Marshal as soon as you’re okay.” Daisy patted her back, hating to see her sister so upset.

Sydney straightened and took a deep breath. Daisy swore she watched each piece of Sydney’s careful control slip back into place.

“I’m fine. I picked up sandwiches from the deli when I went for supplies.” Like nothing had happened. If the welts on Sydney’s back didn’t attest to her experience, Daisy would have trouble believing her sister had admitted to an unexplainable encounter.

“Great. You use our bathroom. I’ll take the bathhouse. I’m going to shower and call Marshal. Give me twenty minutes.” She grabbed her bag of toiletries, a towel, and her tie-dyed sweat suit and dialed Marshal’s number as she went to the creepy-as-hell bathhouse.

Marshal answered on the first ring with a sexy hello.

Daisy wished she could muster up enough attraction for the man who would only ever be a friend, no matter that he shared her passion for the paranormal and was drop-dead gorgeous.

“Can you come tonight? My sister had an experience and she’s a little freaked.”

“Your sister admitted that?” Daisy knew she had probably told him far too much about Sydney. Hopefully, none of her rants would come back to bite her in the ass.

“She’s got a welt on her back as proof. If you hurry, you might get to see it before she wills it away.”

“I can be there in two hours. We’re ready. Things are somewhat slow around here, so we hoped you’d get your sister to change her mind about when to come. I don’t have a full crew, but we’ll manage.”

“How many guys? The tent areas are kind of rough yet. The cabin where my sister had her experience sleeps eight. Things are primitive at best around here. You’ll need air mattresses, sleeping bags, towels, that kind of stuff. Just so you remember.”

“I remember. Already packed and ready to go. Four and a guy that’s tagging along. He’s an author and a major skeptic. He’s working on a book debunking paranormal investigators. I’d love to give him a reason to change his opinions. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a nice guy, but his attitude sometimes gets in the way. Especially since our last case was pretty damned lame.”

“He’ll probably get along great with Sydney.”

“I was just thinking that. Are you sure you don’t want to marry me?” He laughed.

Daisy knew he was teasing. He felt the same way she did.

“I will if you ever work up the guts to ask me proper-like.” See you in two.” She thumbed off the call and took a deep breath before entering the substandard and spooky bathing facilities.

Daisy had spent too much time in this bathhouse, and the other one, today. The list of what they needed to do seemed to grow and she wasn’t sure they’d be able to salvage the worn out buildings. The toilets were outdated and needed replacing. The tiles in the showers were disgusting or missing and only one sink out of six remained. And the moaning from the stall on the end was enough to make hair stand on end, even in the bright daylight.

At least the sewer systems passed inspection this morning. She said a silent thanks to Gramps for investing in a quality system his last year in business as she hurried through her routine without venturing past the first shower stall. Thankfully they hadn’t heard the moaning since early this morning.

Headlights scanned the cabin windows not quite two hours later. Marshal was as punctual as usual. A van and an SUV pulled in with a sleek black sports car at the rear. Daisy figured that was probably the pain-in-the-ass guy Marshal talked about. She didn’t think she wanted to meet him, probably because he gave Marshal such a hard time. Sydney would most likely find an instant ally.

Marshal jumped out of the first van and she rushed to hug him, Sydney trailing behind like she was going to a funeral. Marshal smelled too good and looked far too fine. If the bright red face and speechlessness of her sister was any indication, Sydney noticed at least one of Marshal’s crew. In a big way. Daisy just couldn’t figure out which one.

After hugging Dave, Eric, and Ron and introducing Sydney, who now seemed like she’d swallowed a bee, Daisy held her hand out to the only person she didn’t know.

“Daisy Brooks. Good to meet you.” He had a nice face, except for the scowl.

“Graham Winston. Didn’t know this would be old home week. I’m sure whatever we find here is going to be
real
reliable.” He released her hand quickly, as if she was dirty. She decided right then she didn’t like him much.

He turned to Marshal. “How will I know this scene isn’t something all of you cooked up to prove my opinions are wrong? You all are very well acquainted.”

Sydney stepped forward, and Daisy hid a smile. She knew that expression, the one her sister used when someone was being unfairly judged. There went any ideas she might have had about hooking her sister up with the snotty man.

“I can assure you, Mr. Winston, this scene, as you put it, is a group of people who just happen to enjoy working together. I would not allow them on the property if I felt their intentions were anything but professional.”

Marshal winked after Sydney turned away with the keys to Cabin B in her hand. Daisy didn’t miss the interest in Graham’s eyes, either. Might turn out to be an interesting couple of days around the old campground.

Sydney hid her fear well as she unlocked the cabin door and moved to the side for Marshal and his crew to enter. Sydney couldn’t fool her though, and Daisy grabbed her hand on the way inside. Marshal’s eyes lit up as he scanned the room. She gasped and so did Sydney.

“What the hell?” Daisy said a little louder than intended.

“This place was spotless when I left.” Sydney raised her chin, daring anyone to argue.

“Excellent.” Marshal studied the paper products strewn over the floor. Since they weren’t sure how the water system inspection was going to turn out, they’d agreed on disposable plates to save the little water they knew they had available.

Two packages of paper plates lay on the floor, and another had been opened and strewn around like someone had played a game of indoor Frisbee. Napkins littered the windowsills and an entire roll of toilet paper had been strung around the room.

“This wasn’t spirits.” Marshal picked up an empty beer can from the counter. “Unless you left this behind?” He turned to Sydney.

“Not my brand. And no, it wasn’t here before.” Sydney visibly relaxed and released Daisy’s hand. “We’re having some trouble with a few individuals who believe this property should belong to them.”

Marshal checked his watch. “Let’s get this cleaned up and settle in for the night. In the morning, I’d like to interview both of you. We’ll hook up the equipment tomorrow.”

“Syd, go to bed. You look like hell. I’ll help with the cleanup. Besides, you’ve already done it once.” Daisy gave her a gentle push toward the door.

Sydney nodded and left the cabin. The fact that she hadn’t argued worried Daisy. Marshal watched Sydney with barely veiled interest. Daisy was pretty sure sparks would fly before he realized Sydney wasn’t the woman for him.

“I’d like to interview you as well. And your sister. But not at the same time.” Graham’s irritated demeanor seemed absent.

Daisy nodded, though she didn’t want to. She hoped the guy had an open mind, even if he never changed it. Maybe after seeing Marshal’s crew in action on a legitimate case he’d start to appreciate paranormal investigators. After helping clean up the cabin, she told Marshal to check out the pond and went to make sure Sydney was okay. Marshal wanted to talk to Sydney about her experience tonight, but was satisfied with the pictures Daisy convinced Sydney to let her take.