That Awful Sound: Psychic Detectives - The Joliet Sisters (3 page)

Darrius grinned and winked. “Musta been good
to her cause I got invited back two more times. I think she liked
Shawntelle better than me.”

“And you weren’t…”

“Jealous? Hell no, I don’t judge. Besides,
Shawntelle was just in it for the money. Got a nice cash bonus and
expensive liquor to take home.” Darrius grunted a sigh. “I’m gonna
miss that girl.”

“How sentimental of you,” Charmaine
muttered. She looked around her office. For the first time she
realized how few escape routes it had. Once she earned the rest of
her fee she’d do renovations. “Look, I go wherever the facts lead.
I’m not going to help Mrs. Forstall cover up a crime, sure as hell
not murder. The police are suspicious about us anyway.”

“What you mean ‘us’?” Darrius squinted at
her.

“Um, me and Mrs. Forstall,” Charmaine said.
No point in putting a target on Jessi.

“Yeah, well you can investigate the hell out
of her house tonight because we’re going over there,” Darrius
said.

“Are you crazy? The cops still have that
place roped off as a crime scene. You must want to be caught,”
Charmaine argued.

Darrius shook his head. “The cops finished
up this morning. Mrs. Forstall is back in the house. The cleaning
service she called been there all day.”

“Right, of course.” Charmaine shot him a
sideways glance before she went back to plotting against him.

“You ain’t gettin’ away from me. We gone
leave here in another half hour and surprise the bitch. I’ll get
her to talk.” Darrius motioned at her with the gun. “So sit
down.”

“Sure thing, Darrius. Your plan makes all
kinds of sense. The moment she sees you, Loretta is going to
confess and let me record everything on my cell phone. We’ll be
home by midnight.” Charmaine slumped down into another chair across
from him.

“Ya think?” Darrius quipped. Then he managed
to pull out a cigarette, put it in his mouth and light it with the
gun still pointed at her chest.

Forty-five minutes later Charmaine started
to get antsy. Darrius was on his fourth cigarette when his cell
phone played a tune. He dropped the cigarette and crushed it into
her laminate floors. For that alone Charmaine decided to get
revenge.

“Humph. We’re clear to head over there.
You’re driving, and you know I can use this gun like a pro. Right?”
Darrius stood.

“I guessed as much, yeah,” Charmaine
replied.

She didn’t have any silly notions about
running since those bullets would be faster. So Charmaine decided
to take a chance on following orders. At least he had a destination
in mind. Darrius could still decide to make her drive to her own
burial site, but Charmaine didn’t think so.

After twenty minutes of driving carefully
and obeying all traffic laws, they arrived at the Garden District
mansion. Charmaine looked around for increased private security in
vain. Maybe a patrol car would be circling, but no.

“They think I’m in New Orleans east. Paid
somebody to call in a tip. So the don’t’ expect the cops,” Darrius
said. He lay down on the back seat just in case, the gun still on
Charmaine.

“She’s staying with a friend or a relative.
Mrs. Forstall was already scared to be in the house alone
because—”

“There’s some kind of ghost or something in
the house. Why doesn’t she sell the place? Because she’s full of
bullshit, that’s why.” Darrius sat straight. “Don’t park in the
circular driveway. Pull down the one that leads to the back.”

Charmaine drove down the side of the house.
She stopped at the end of the driveway. A lovely two story carriage
house sat adjacent to the main house. A Porsche SUV sat in the
three car garage. A tall lamppost threw yellow light across the
rear lawn. Darrius left the backseat first, then waved her out.

“I’m telling you this is a bad idea. Mrs.
Forstall is scared out of her mind. She might shoot us on sight,”
Charmaine said.

Darrius handed Charmaine a throw away cell
phone. “She’s here by herself. That alone tells you she ain’t
scared. Loretta is a planner. She killed Shawntelle for a reason,
and I wanna know why. I’ll get us through the back door. Tell her
you’re at the front door. You didn’t want to alarm her, that’s why
you called. Say you found some important evidence.”

Charmaine made a sudden move at a shuffling
sound to her right. “What was that?”

“You better not be jumping around while I’m
holding this gun. Now call.” Darrius grabbed Charmaine from behind
and pressed it into her side. Then he took the cell from her. “I
put a silencer on. Point blank will muffle the shot even more.”

“You… you planning to kill us?” Charmaine
shivered.

“I’m still working that part out. Now
walk.”

Darrius used a key to get into the house and
ease them into the kitchen. He disarmed the alarm. Charmaine
fumbled with the phone and tapped the number. Mrs. Forstall
answered on the fourth ring. Though surprised, she seemed relieved
to hear from Charmaine.

“Silly bitch didn’t even think to change the
code. Now let’s go surprise her.”

Mrs. Forstall was still at the front door in
the wide foyer when they approached from behind. She stifled a
short yelp and whirled to face them. Then she let out a slow
breath. “Miss Joliet, it’s you thank God. I thought… oh never mind.
But how did you get inside? I don’t understand.”

Darrius stepped from the shadows still
holding the gun, a second man with him. “Nice to see you again,
Loretta. Let’s go the library.”

He Had It Comin’

The heavy drapes in the library closed,
Darrius went about serving himself and his friend Zed a drink. Zed
held a revolver on them as he glanced around. He seemed more
interested in sizing up items he could steal. Charmaine tried to
calm her nerves enough so she could think straight. Hard to do with
two pissed off gangstas holding pistols and winging it with what
they would do with their hostages. She decided to ask.

“I don’t get the point of all this, Darrius.
Mrs. Forstall—”

“Call her Loretta. No need to be all formal
now that we’re hangin’ out,” Darrius cut in.

“You’re just piling up felonies by
kidnapping and assaulting us. You know the police are looking
everywhere for you. They’ll see through the fake tip real quick,”
Charmaine continued.

“You give them too much credit,” Zed
replied. He glanced over to make sure Darrius had his gun up again.
Then he set about examining a tall glazed vase.

“Loretta is gonna tell us what happened to
Shawntelle. I mean the damn truth,” Darrius barked before Mrs.
Forstall could reply.

“She must have stayed late to finish up. I’d
asked her to polish the copper bowls and plates that belonged to my
mother. I didn’t even realize she was still in the house. Poor
thing. I warned her.”

“I warned her not to trust you,” Darrius
said.

Mrs. Forstall gazed at Zed for a few seconds
then looked at Darrius. “The police called with more information.
Shawntelle wasn’t killed with a gun. Your sister was wrong, Ms.
Joliet.”

“Sister?” Darrius turned to Charmaine.

“We work together once in a while. She
doesn’t know anything,” Charmaine said.

“I’ll find out what she knows later. Now you
tell us what the police said.” Darrius settled into a large leather
chair.

“
The blood came from
strange wounds on her body. His throat was crushed and… it’s too
horrible.” Mrs. Forstall placed at hand on her own neck and
shuddered visibly. “It’s getting worse.”

Zed looked up from the Chinese porcelain
bowl he held. “What’s gettin’ worse? What’s she talking about,
D?”

“Some kind of ghost or supernatural entity
in the house,” Charmaine put in before Mrs. Forstall answered.
“Something strong.”

“Bull.Shit.” Darrius gulped down the rest of
the expensive bourbon. “Ignore that playacting, Zed.”

“I heard stories about these old houses.”
Zed dropped the bowl with a thud on the cherry wood table.

Charmaine winced as the vase next to it
wobbled and then steadied. She exhaled. “Don’t break up your
profit. The stuff won’t be worth anything in pieces.”

Mrs. Forstall took a step then stopped when
Darrius pointed the gun at her. “You can take whatever you want.
Those two pieces alone are worth over fifteen thousand
dollars.”

“Hell no. Like we’re stupid enough to get
caught trying to unload ‘em.”

“
I won’t report them
stolen. I can give you the name of a dealer who’ll pay top dollar.
I’ll say you’re acting as my agents.” Mrs. Forstall nodded to
Zed.

“Hey, sounds like a sweet deal.” Zed looked
at Darius. “We have her write a note to the dealer. What about
antique jewelry?”

“I have three pieces here. The rest are in
our bank deposit box. But the necklace, earrings and ring are
eighteen karat gold. They’re Cartier made in 1925, yellow
diamonds,” Mrs. Forstall said.

“Nice,” Zed said, his nervousness about talk
of ghosts and goblins forgotten.

“We ain’t after no petty cash,” Darrius
snarled. “Shawntelle said there’s a safe upstairs concealed in a
closet. Rich folks had ways of hiding their goods from the help
back then. She says there is money and jewels in there. And
more.”

“She was wrong,” Mrs. Forstall blurted out
and twisted her hands. “My husband moved everything to the
bank.”

“Somehow I don’t believe you, Loretta.
Shawntelle came back while you were out. She was about to make off
with the goods and expose your dirty skeletons, so you killed her,”
Darrius snarled.

“Damn,” Charmaine muttered and turned to
Mrs. Forstall.

Mrs. Forstall dropped her hands at her
sides. “That’s ridiculous. No one, especially the police, will buy
your story.”

“Must be some good stuff up there.” Zed
looked at the ceiling with a hungry expression.

“And she won’t report it missing either.
Will you Loretta?” Darrius gave a laugh. “You’ll go down for
murder, and the cops will think you fenced your own junk.”

“You have no idea how stupid you sound.”
Mrs. Forstall lifted her chin. “No one will believe a ghetto rat
instead of me.”

Darrius chuckled deep in his throat. “Zed,
go upstairs, turn right and find a set of stairs to a third floor.
There’s another big bedroom at the end of a hallway. To the left.
Open the double doors on the big upright dresser. Look on the right
for circle. Press it and a panel will slid back.”

“
Got it.” Zed strode out on
a mission. The soft thump of his footsteps on the stairs, and then
on the second floor landing followed seconds later.

Mrs. Forstall glanced at the doorway Zed had
gone through. “Don’t be a fool. I can make you richer than a few
thousand dollars and a few trinkets.”

“Charmaine, wanna hear more secrets?”
Darrius continued to gaze at Mrs. Forstall. “Her precious son has a
little, make that a big drug habit. I should know. He was my best
customer. Mr. Forstall works a lot, plus he’s not the family man
type. Anyway Loretta managed to hide the embarrassing truth from
him. Not hard since Mr. F. and the kid can’t stand each other. Her
husband is glad not to see the kid.”

“Shut up. You don’t know anything about my
family,” Mrs. Forstall hissed at him, a look of upper-class scorn
twisting her mouth down.

“Anyway, Mr. Forstall, Hamilton, his buddies
call him Ham. So good old Ham is just as happy to be away from home
and ignorant of what all goes down around here. Except he loves his
baby girl, the kid; not the wife.” Darrius got up and refilled his
drink. He still held the gun expertly to show he could plug both of
them for moving the wrong way.

“What’s that?” Mrs. Forstall said, her voice
shaky as she looked at the open door.

“I didn’t hear anything,” Charmaine replied.
Still she glanced around the room checking for strange
movement.

“Hey, don’t interrupt. I’m getting to the
good parts. See, the first born might not be Ham’s kid. But Ham, he
don’t know this or even suspect.” Darrius gave a grunt. “Loretta,
you need to ease up on the drinks when you party with us ghetto
rats. I wasn’t so high I didn’t remember the juicy details.”

“Hey, I found it. Damn, you was right. But
it’s too much to move by myself,” Zed called from upstairs.

Darrius rolled his eyes and walked to the
library door. “Don’t be a dumbass. I can’t leave these two
alone.”

“Tie ‘em up then. This shit is heavy,” Zed
complained with a loud grunt.

“Make extra trips, man. We can’t take no
chances.” Darrius looked at the women and lowered his voice. “See
what I gotta deal with?”

Charmaine snorted. “Yeah, I’m feeling so
sorry for you.”

“Hey, D. I’m tellin’ you, there’s more up
here than you thought. Hell, just go ahead and shoot up now so we
can get outta here fast.” Zed’s voice faded as he moved away. A
loud thump and a dragging sound followed.

“Quit whinin’ like a lil’ bitch and get the
stuff,” Darrius yelled back. He turned his attention back to the
ladies. “Even with you killin’ my girl, I still kinda like you
Loretta.”

“I didn’t kill Shawntelle you idiot. Listen
to me before we’re all dead.”

“And Miss Charmaine, you fine as hell. But
thing is y’all what they call a liability right about now.” Darrius
shrugged an apology.

“We’ll be a death penalty liability if you
make your situation worse by killing us. You’ve got reasonable
doubt on your side with Shawntelle’s murder. The police can’t place
you near the house the day we found her. Get some of your friends
to alibi you,” Charmaine said.

“Hmm, good points. Except we need time to
get away with our property,” Darrius said.

Charmaine started to finish her argument to
save their lives when a strangled squealed cut through the air. A
gurgling noise filled the house. More thumps. The squealing rose to
a pitched keening. Darrius looked at the two women as he moved to
hallway.