That Awful Sound: Psychic Detectives - The Joliet Sisters (5 page)

“I read butter is better for you. Most of
those spread contain all kinds of artificial stuff.” Diamond
nodded. “Put some butter out just in case she changes her
mind.”

“I don’t know why you tryin’ to lose weight.
Guys don’t seem to mind your butt, not the way I see ‘em lookin’,”
Jessi quipped.

Scotty put the tablet aside. “Who been
lookin’?”

“I’m just sayin’. When Charmaine walks in
she gets male attention. Tick tock, girl. If you wanna have some
crumb scratchers, get busy. All these men playing hard to get? Blow
‘em.” Jessi glanced at Diamond with a mischievous grin.

“Humph.” Scotty shot Jessi a sideways
glance, and then studied Charmaine.

Charmaine ignored him and her sister’s
annoying attempt to play matchmaker. Scotty and Charmaine had been
friends since high school. As grown folks they were friends with
benefits. Anything more would complicate a good thing in her
opinion. What they had worked. Thankfully Scotty seemed to agree.
Mostly. Charmaine did catch him looking at her a little too long
every now and then, like he had something on his mind. She dreaded
the day he’d decide to have a talk about them. Maybe one day Scotty
would get serious about some woman who wanted two kids and a dog.
Not Charmaine’s speed at all.

“I don’t feel like eating.” Charmaine
dropped into an empty chair at the table. She crossed her arms as
if feeling a chill. “We gotta figure out what the hell is going
on.”

“Harrison suspects you’re nuts,” Jessi
joked. When Charmaine shot a nasty look at her, Jessi shrugged.
“Hey, join the club. He already knows I’m nuts.”

“I don’t see how he lives in Louisiana and
don’t’ know spirits are for real,” Diamond put in.

“
Most of what y’all see
turns out to be the living up to no good,” Scotty
replied.

“You weren’t in her house last night. If
you’d seen a leg come bouncing from upstairs—” Charmaine inhaled
and exhaled a shaky breath.

“You’re an expert at reading people, so good
it’s almost supernatural. No doubt about it.”

Jessi turned around, a large spoon in one
hand. “Oh, so I’m crazy cause I hear voices and see things.”

“I didn’t say there ain’t unexplained things
on this earth. But look at it this way, the Forstall woman is
shady. Getting you and Jess involved fits into her game. Let’s
start there,” Scotty said to Charmaine.

“Yeah, maybe.” Charmaine leaned back in the
chair.

Scotty lifted her legs into his lap. He
spoke as he massaged he calves. “I’m telling you the rich can be
just as gangsta as anybody in the ghetto. More deadly even.”

Jessi raised an eyebrow as she watched his
ministrations. She exchanged a knowing look with Diamond, who
suppressed a giggle. Charmaine made a note to set them straight at
a later date. They’d been reading those damn romance novels again.
She took her legs from Scotty’s lap.

“I just came by to make sure you were okay.
Gotta go open the club. Stay in and rest your nerves.” Scotty
rubbed her shoulders. “I’ll call later.”

“Sure.” Charmaine chewed on a thumbnail.

Scotty paused before opening the kitchen
door. “Do I have to say stay away from that woman’s house? I don’t
think you wanna find the rest of whats-his-name.”

“Point made,” Charmaine blurted out as she
gave a shudder.

“Good. See y’all.” Scotty kissed two fingers
and held them up to Charmaine before he went through the door.

“We gotta find out more about Mrs. ‘lying
through her teeth’ Forstall,” Charmaine said seconds after the door
shut.

“Well while you were playing around with
your new pals…” Jessi grinned at the deadly look Charmaine gave
her. “I was working the case.”

“And?”

“I went snooping, though I don’t have a
connection in the neighborhood,” Jessi said.

“Imagine, you don’t have pals working in the
Garden District,” Charmaine said dryly.

“I’m gone let that one pass,” Jessi
retorted. “The folks working in those big houses are just as snobby
as their employers. I pretended to be waiting for the streetcar.
Tried to start a couple of conversations. Nothing.”

Diamond leaned forward, arms on the kitchen
table. “My great-aunt Orelia worked thirty-five years for one
family. Yeah, they pretty loyal.”

Jessi brightened. “Maybe your great-aunt
will talk to you?”

“She died when I was a kid. Working for the
same family was passed down through generations. T-Orelia, that’s
what we called her, always said she worked all them hours so her
daughters could do better.”

“Damn, you answered my next question,” Jessi
said as she dropped into the chair next to Charmaine.

“Sorry.” Diamond went to the stove. “This is
done. Mind if I take some gumbo home with me? My baby loves gumbo,
and so does my brother.”

“Sure. I went light on the pepper.” Jessi
waved a hand.

“What about your ghost boyfriend Lucas?”
Charmaine said.

“I waited around until it got dark for
nothin’. Lucas acted like I was the police, wouldn’t talk. Dude was
scared. Freaky, huh?” Jessi frowned.

“A spooked ghost,” Diamond said with a laugh
“Too funny.”

“I tried to find other spirits. When I want
peace, they won’t shut up. But they decided to play hide and seek
yesterday evening. So I went home, probably just a few hours before
your boyfriends brought you over for a visit.” Jessi tapped
Charmaine on the arm.

“The police found Darrius, but he’s not
cooperating. No big surprise,” Charmaine said.

“He had warrants out on him, so he’ll be in
jail for awhile,” Jessi said.

“
You’ve been busy. Hope
you’re not tired because we’ve got more research to do.” Charmaine
looked at her.

“Then we go back to visit Mrs. Got Bucks?”
Jessi sat straight, eyes gleaming.

“Damn right,” Charmaine replied.

“But Scotty said you should rest, and stay
away from the place.” Diamond started to go on, but she stopped at
the look the sisters gave her.

Charmaine stood. “I decide where I go and
what I do.”

Loose Ends

At nine o’clock the next night, Charmaine
and Jessi parked a black Jeep Grand Cherokee one street over from
the Forstall mansion. A five minute walk to the small private
street would take them there. Jessi had rented the Jeep figuring
Charmaine’s car might be recognized. They sipped mocha lattes.
Jessi blew smoke from a slender cigar through a crack in the
window.

“Thought you quit,” Charmaine said as she
continued to scroll through notes on her tablet computer.

“We’re about to face some serious
supernatural shit. I need a drink and one of those big Cubans
instead of this little thing.” Jessi took another puff.

“Me, too, but no drinking. We gotta be sharp
for this one.”

“Okay, Mr. Forstall isn’t in Italy. So where
is he?” Charmaine glanced down the narrow street. She could just
see the northern corner of Mrs. Forstall’s house.

“According to Alyssa, the daughter, he went
to his French mistress instead. Somewhere in the southern part of
France. She wasn’t sure where.” Jessi stared at her cell phone.

“Bless you Instagram, Snapchat, and
over-sharing teenagers. So maybe the son knows?” Charmaine glanced
up from her tablet.

“He doesn’t give a crap about the old man.
He told Alyssa to be happy the ‘lying ho sperm donor’ got out of
her life while she young,” Jessi said with a snort. She continued
to scan her social accounts on the cell phone. “Dang, think of all
the great stuff we could have done back in the day with these
apps.”

“Yeah, get into even bigger trouble,”
Charmaine retorted.

“Like I said, it would have been beyond
cool,” Jessi quipped.

“Daddy Forstall isn’t in France any more
than he is in Italy. Mama Forstall has secrets as we well know from
Darrius.” Charmaine tapped her fingers on the steering wheel.

“Blackmail worthy secrets. So you think…”
Jessi glanced at Charmaine sideways.

“What if her husband found out or was on the
verge of uncovering said nasty secrets? He could still be in the
house.”

Jessi sat silent for a few beats. Then she
shook her head. “Some of these rich couples lead separate lives.
He’s doing his thang and she’s doing hers. Nah, I don’t think he’d
care. But they will get lethal when it comes to their money.”

“Neither one of the kids could be his.
That’s a game changer. No inheritance for them or her. But you
can’t just get rid of a husband these days. Somebody would put it
together.” Charmaine frowned into the darkness.

“Or he could be with the French mistress
after all. The son might know,” Jessi replied. She put her cell
phone in an inner jacket pocket and zipped it.

“Yeah, get his preferred social media handle
and ask.”

“Screw this. Let’s ask her.” Jessi glanced
around. “She should be having an after dinner drink right about
now. We can catch her off guard.”

“Or we could wait a few more days and get
more info,” Charmaine countered. “No rush.”

“And what will change? Harrison won’t budge
on a missing husband. Not when he finds out the guy has two
mistresses. We got paid, right?”

“The check went through and is in our biz
account,” Charmaine said. “But I doubt Mrs. Forstall will pay us
that big final payment for ridding the house of her ghost, ghoul or
whatever the heck that thing is.”

“Hell no. We’ll figure out what’s going on
and give her incentive to pay up or else,” Jessi said.

“Umm, that’s called extortion and it’s
illegal. All she has to do is call Harrison. We’ll be wearing
matching prison uniforms. Forget it.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Did I stutter? We’re not going to hand her
ammunition to use against us.”

“
Can’t have no fun with
you,” Jessi muttered.

“
Whatever. Now let me get
situated before we go in the house. Smart to get this tricked out
Jeep. We blend in with the rest of these fancy SUVs.”

Charmaine checked the bag she would carry
instead of a purse. She’d packed four small bundles of dried white
sage and cedar. She’d burn them outside the house to weaken any
spirits, making them less dangerous. She had three bottles of
colloidal silver in liquid form and salt. Last the heavy artillery,
a cross and six tiny spray bottles of holy water.

“Stop with that hocus-pocus mess. I packed
something useful.” Jessi held up two objects.

“A gun and a taser. You want to get us
arrested, huh?” Charmaine heaved a deep sigh.

“Not just any gun and not just any old
taser. First, I’ve got actual silver bullets in this bad girl.”
Jessi kissed the small semi-automatic pistol. She stuck it back
into a jacket pocket.

“Great in case we run into a werewolf,”
Charmaine replied. “What’s that other thingamabob?”

“Spirits are matter, well subatomic
particles. I read up on the history of psychic scientific research.
An electrical charge will disrupt the particles, sorta like kicking
a ghost in the nuts.” Jessi grinned.

“Let’s hope the thing is a guy,” Charmaine
clipped.

“Hey, I got science, not superstition. While
you wave burning leaves, I’ll take the thing out.” Jessi gave a
sharp nod. She stuck the device into a holster clipped to her
waist. “I’m ready for his ghostly ass. Let’s go.”

Charmaine got out of the Jeep and waited as
Jessi came around from the passenger side to join her. “I’m ready
because Mrs. Forstall is alone, except for a troll or whatever it
is.”

“Darrius killed Zed and put on a show just
for you. Maybe those two cooked it up.” Jessi scanned their
surroundings.

“He never went upstairs. Judging by the way
he reacted, I’d say he wasn’t in on it. This way.”

Charmaine nodded as she shined a flashlight
on the ground. The small paved alley, called Jasmine Lane, was just
wide enough for one vehicle. Tall shrubs bordered either side of
it. The lane widened several yards in to allow two vehicles to
pass, then narrowed again.

“He could have been acting. Darrius ran up
the stairs, killed Zed and got back down. Those sounds had you
freaking out, too. Mrs. Forstall was chattering away about being
scared. Think about it,” Jessi whispered even though no one seemed
around.

“Okay, say I looked away. That gruesome
racket upstairs did rattle me, no lie. But Darrius would have had
to be superhuman to move so fast,” Charmaine whispered back.

She walked several feet before she realized
Jessi had vanished. Her heart did several back flips as she gazed
into shadows. Charmaine called her name in a low raspy voice.
Rising panic fought with her need to keep Mrs. Forstall or the
neighbors from hearing them. Then her flashlight winked off.

“Damn it.”

Charmaine struggled to keep her imagination
from seeing menacing figures everywhere. A row of boxwood hedges
marked the border of the property next door. A darker shape to her
left moved. Charmaine raced ahead and got scratched by a large
holly bush.

“Owee, damn,” she hissed.

“Keep quiet. You want the entire Garden
District to come out here shooting?” Jessi said.

“What the—”

“I’m fine. Lucas showed up and wanted to
talk. He apologized for the way he acted the other night.” Jessi
grabbed Charmaine’s right arm to steady her.

“Make up with your ghost boyfriend some
other time. I don’t want to be in that house too late at night.”
Charmaine glanced at the mansion. There was one lighted window on
the second floor. The first floor seemed more lit up.

Jessi pulled Charmaine into an opening. A
stone bench faced a small bird bath. “You want to hear what Lucas
told me. The Forstall how has a couple of nasty spirits. Unpleasant
is how he put it. But the real scary thing chased them off. Lucas
says evil in the family has grown for over one hundred years.”