Shadow Silence (19 page)

I
found my great-grandmother's Shadow Journal, but quickly realized it would take some time to flip through it. As much as I loved the old leather-bound books, there were times where I wished that earlier generations had access to computers. It made searching through documents so much easier. Luckily, I was a fast reader, and began to skim the pages as I ate. An hour later I was about thirty pages through—my great-grandmother had very small handwriting and it wasn't all that easy to read—and hadn't encountered anything on the
Maria Susanna
yet.

I slid a bookmark into the journal and set it to the side. There had to be some other way. And then I remembered my grandfather's journals. Or rather, Duvall's ledgers. Grandma Lila's husband had been a member of the Hounds, and I had found the ledgers with all their information in them. It was during their attempt to get those ledgers back that we had discovered just how ruthless the Hounds could be.

Luckily, the Crescent Moon Society now possessed them,
although I had kept a photocopy hidden away in my secret room. I slid open the door and pulled the membership ledger off the shelf, along with the meeting minutes ledger. I carried them to my desk and began to flip through. Peggin was going to computerize all of the information when she had time, but for now it wasn't that difficult to pinpoint the membership list from 1919. The year the
Maria Susanna
sank.

As I skimmed through the list, I saw no mention of Magda. I jumped ahead a few years. Still no mention. Then, in 1957, her name appeared on the membership lists. By then, Ellia had left home. While she was capable of many things, I was pretty sure that Magda hadn't had anything to do with the sinking of the
Maria Susanna
.

That left the questions: Who did sink her? And why?

I thumbed through till I came to Herschel Dorsey. He had first become a member in 1912. The
Maria Susanna
had been taken down in November of 1919, so I skipped ahead in the meetings ledger to that point. All of the meeting notes were taken in longhand, and they were all photocopies, so I had to puzzle out the handwriting.

Some of the words were fuzzy, but there appeared to be some concern over the Crescent Moon Society discovering hidden accounts belonging to some of the members of Cú Chulainn's Hounds. There was also mention of a still in the woods, and apparently there had been a general discussion on how to hide it so that the Crescent Moon Society wouldn't report them to the government. I pushed the book back, and dove into the pizza again.

Perhaps the CMS had found out about an illegal still owned by the Hounds, and were going to use that information to close them down. It made sense, especially given the times. But when had Prohibition started? I had brought my laptop with me and now I opened it up and typed in the question.

Bingo! Prohibition had started in 1919 and ran through 1933. Perfect timing.

I skimmed through more of the entries during that time,
and came across Joseph Jacobs's name. It listed him as the president of the Crescent Moon Society. There was also a notation that he was trouble, and that they needed to take care of him.

Hopefully, the CMS would have records on their side that we could look at to find out the other side of the story. I replaced the ledgers and my great-grandmother's journal in the secret room and closed it. Then, taking my notes and my plate, I headed back down the stairs. I had enough to go on for the moment.

I put my plate in the sink and shrugged into my jacket, then headed out back to see how Bryan was doing.

While the sky was overcast, it wasn't raining. In fact, the temperature felt like it had dropped a few more degrees and I could almost smell snow in the air. Jamming my hands in my pockets, I walked across the yard to where Bryan was fixing the fence. He was reaching for a stone, so I picked it up and handed it to him.

“You know, I was thinking maybe we should take the fences down between our houses.” He glanced sideways at me, and I realized he was actually waiting for a response.

“So that's not a rhetorical question, is it?”

“Well, it seems we're here to stay. I doubt either of us is going to move from Whisper Hollow anytime soon. And given that I'm your guardian, and you're my girlfriend, it kind of makes sense.” He grinned at me, then went back to hammering nails into the boards. “Next year this will need to be replaced anyway. Whoever built it didn't use very good mortar and it's chipping away all over the place.”

“Great. I don't have the money for that right now, given how big this lot is.” I frowned, then shrugged. “Maybe it would make sense to take it down. After all, if for some reason we have a fight, we can always just rebuild it.” I laughed, but he set down the trowel.

“Don't joke about that.” He was serious, looking none too happy.

“What? I was just joking.”

“Well, don't joke about that. I'm not about to break up with you, not unless you want me to leave. I'm in this for the long haul. I'm not only your lover, but I'm your guardian. I take my post seriously, and even if you . . .” He paused, his gaze flickering away. “Even if you decide you don't want to be with me, I'll be here. If we were to break up, it would be the best breakup ever.”

I wanted to joke that he made it sound so good we should try it, but the look on his face stopped me. I didn't want to ruin what we had by stepping on his feelings. Even though we were still new to each other, I had to admit to myself that I was head over heels for him. I had never been in love, hadn't even had a clue of what it felt like, but now . . . now I thought I knew.

“I'm sorry. I won't joke about it. I want you here, right here. In my life, as my guardian and as my lover. And yeah, let's take down the fence. If it's that old, then we don't want it breaking apart and creating a mess. But what about my roses?” My grandmother had planted roses along the back fence—a beautiful row of climbing roses that I could hardly wait to see bloom. She had planted them after I left Whisper Hollow, so now I was looking forward to summer when the fragrant blooms would fill the yard.

“I'll figure out something. We'll make a rose garden out of them. If I work through the cold while they're dormant, I should be able to transplant them without causing a problem. We can get a picnic table or maybe—how would you like me to move the gazebo over, put it in the middle of the roses? That way we can have dinner out here on summer nights, in the gazebo, surrounded by flowers?” He made it sound so romantic, I wanted to drop everything and fall into his arms right there.

My heart leaped a beat. “It sounds wonderful. So quit trying to fix the fence. Let's start pulling it down.”

“Sounds good. We can get a section down now, but I'll
have to work hard the next couple weeks to get the roses moved. I'll have my gardener come help. We'll have everything done by mid-January, in time for the roses to settle into their new soil.” And with that, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “I wanted to show you something else while we're out here.”

“It's pretty dark,” I said. The light had faded and it was already twilight. I had turned on the backyard floodlight when I came out, but beyond the lights, the sky was a mournful shade of silver, with a faint glow of orange near the horizon where the sun was setting.

“That's all right.” He led me over to one corner of the yard, where a raised bed filled with moss and other little leafy plants provided a nice green display for the winter. “See this? What do you think about me creating a water feature here? It would attract dragonflies in the summer, and frogs.”

The realization that my boyfriend not only cared enough to protect me, but to make my yard a wildlife sanctuary, hit me square in the chest. I turned to Bryan, holding my hand out to press against his chest.

“I'm going to say something, and maybe it's too quick. If it is, then just tell me. But if I don't say it now, I'm going to blurt it out at some point when it might be more awkward.” I paused as he looked at me expectantly. “I think . . .
no
 . . .
I know
 . . . I love you. I've somehow fallen head over heels in love with you. And I'm afraid to tell you this because we've only been dating a couple months, but the fact that you're my guardian makes it more complicated. I don't know—”

“Kerris . . . shush.” He held one finger out to touch my lips, very gently. “I love you, too. I fell in love with you the night you almost hit me in the road. Or . . . at least . . . I fell in like with you. I already felt like I knew you because your grandmother told me so much about you. And you surpassed everything I was expecting.”

I caught my breath and ducked my head, suddenly blushing. “You love me, too? No man has ever said that to me.”

“Well, then . . . isn't it about time someone did?” He pulled me close, his mouth closing in on mine. “I can't believe that no one has snatched you up before now,” he whispered before kissing me. I melted into his arms, leaning my head on his shoulder after he softly pulled back.

“They couldn't handle the fact that their dead relatives told me the truth about them. Or that I could see ghosts—some men were nice, but they got spooked. And some . . . they just wanted to tit-fuck me . . . fetishists.” A little sob rose in my throat. I hadn't realized how lonely I had been over the years. How much I had wanted to hear someone say those words. I had steeled myself to handle life on my own, which wasn't a bad thing, but now I realized how tiring it could be.

Bryan gathered me up, looking concerned. “Here now, what's wrong, love?”

I shook my head. “Just . . . I've been alone for so long, fighting all of my battles on my own. And that's fine. We're all alone, when it comes down to the wire. But I need . . .” How could I say it? How could I say I needed someone to watch over me? To take care of me when I was sick? It seemed weak and that was the last thing I wanted to be.

“It seems like you're giving up control, doesn't it? When you fall in love? But that's okay. I'll never make you reliant on me. I'll always be here, but I'll never take away your independence, or ask you to be anything but what you are. I promise you that, Kerris.” And once again, he leaned down to kiss me.

As the warmth of his words rolled through me like a wave, I whispered, “I love you, Bryan,” just to see how it felt.

“I love you, too, Kerris.” And with that, the fence between us really came down.

*   *   *

P
eggin was awake when we went back inside, sitting at the table with a plate of takeout in front of her. She glanced up, a guilty smile on her face.

“Sorry, I woke up starved. I slept like the dead . . .” And
there, the smile faded. “Damn it. Now everything I say takes on a new meaning.” She had applied new makeup and had changed clothes, but her voice sounded thin, almost stretched, and I realized the stress and shock of the day was going to take quite some time to fade.

“Never mind, just eat and enjoy the food. Do you want something to drink? Another mocha?”

She shook her head. “No, but some lemonade or juice would be good. So, did you find anything out about Jacobs?”

“Yeah, but let's wait till the meeting when we tell the whole group what we found out. I'm sure Starlight will pooh-pooh it as nothing important, but I'm not letting her ride over me on this one.” I frowned as Peggin snorted.

“You really hate her, don't you? You feel threatened by her.”

“I do not!” I glared at her, then looked away. Starlight Williams got under my skin, but not because I hated her. “In fact, I consider her irrelevant, and how can you hate someone you don't think matters?”

“Yeah, you just don't like her from high school. Why don't you give it up. She's probably too tired with her kids to continue the feud you two had going.”

“We did
not
hate each other in high school. I didn't even know her very well.”

Bryan was watching us with amusement. “I feel like I stumbled in on an argument that I'm best off leaving alone.” Then he did something that startled me. He grabbed me around the waist, swung me around to face Peggin, and said, “I told this woman I love her today.”

Peggin squeaked and clapped her hands. “I was wondering when you two would get around to that!”

“What do you mean?” I laughed, trying to break out of Bryan's embrace. “I need to get Peggin some lemonade—”

He nuzzled my neck. “She's a big girl. She can get her own lemonade.” But he smacked me on the ass and let go. “All right, I relent. I think I could use some pizza right about now. And a few pot stickers.”

“Save a couple more pieces of pizza for me. I want it heated up this time.” While he and Peggin heated up the rest of the food, I poured lemonade all around. Wine sounded good, but wasn't a great idea right before a meeting. We gathered around the table, Peggin taking a second helping of fried rice.