The Haunting of Anna McAlister (31 page)

“Let’s go,” The guard pulled Tom’s hand away.
 

“I love you,” Tom said before the guard took the phone and hung it up on the receiver. Anna could see the contempt in the guard’s eyes as he pulled Tom to his feet. Anna watched as he led Tom out of the room.
 

“I love you too,” she said into the now dead telephone receiver.
 

* * *

When Anna returned to the hotel several hours later, she was relieved to find that Phillipe was gone. In fact, the bed was made, the glasses had been removed and there was no sign that he had ever been there at all.
 

Anna kicked off her shoes and dropped the shopping bag she had been carrying onto the floor. Her feet felt as if she had walked half way around Paris before finding the right sized black candle at a small shop off Rue Beubourg on the right bank. The salt had been much easier. These two items, she had learned as a teenager, were the essential ingredients for a successful séance.
 

Who says you don’t remember anything you learn in high school?
she said to herself as she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.

Anna had no intention of falling asleep. Sleep was actually the last thing she wanted. Sleep meant dreaming . . . and again she dreamed. She dreamed of Anita, Loraine, Rob and Gary. They were all standing almost up to their necks in a perfectly still and warm ocean. The water felt wonderful. Anna could see three of her four friends clearly, only Gary had his head turned as if he were looking out to sea.
 

“What a weird place for a séance,” Anna heard herself laugh. “What if there are sharks?”

“All present, all accounted for, all alive.” Rob smiled.
 

Anna felt Anita and Loraine take her hands under the water and hold them tight. “Concentrate,” Anita said. “Everything will be fine if you concentrate and let go. It will all be over soon.”

Suddenly Rob’s head was violently yanked under the water, followed by Anita and Loraine. Anna felt them pulling on her hands, pulling her down into the water.

“Gary, help me!” Anna screamed in her dream. Gary turned to her, his face mangled, broken and bleeding. Anna saw the chunks of glass embedded deeply into his skull.
 

“They closed my casket, Anna.” Gary smiled, his jaw was shattered and the bones splintered through his flesh. “I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye.”

Gary moved toward Anna. She tried to run, but was held in place by her underwater captors.

“Soon, Anna. Very soon.” Gary said in French. His voice sounded almost female. He moved his face to Anna’s and kissed her deeply. Half his tongue had been severed in the crash. He was using what was left for the kiss.
 

Anna gagged as she was pulled under the water. She saw Gary’s face change. It was now the face of Ariene LaMoreau. Anna woke up soaked in sweat. The bed was sopping wet and the room was cold.
 

It was starting to get dark outside. The clock read 8 p.m.
 

* * *

As prearranged, Anna met Stacy and Phillipe in the lobby at 9:30. She said hello to Stacy and dodged Phillipe’s attempt to kiss her on the cheek.

“What is wrong?” Phillipe asked.
 

“I think you know what is wrong,” Anna snapped.
 

Phillipe looked confused. He raised both hands, palms up in front of him, “I am afraid I do not.”

Stacy stepped between the two. “Phillipe,” she said. “Would you be a dear and get us some coffee. I think we might need it.”

“Of course,” Phillipe bowed before he and Stacy kissed. “I will be right back.”

Anna shuttered when she saw them kiss with parted lips.

“What’s wrong with you, Anna ?” Stacy said as soon as Phillipe left. “Are you mad at him or something?”

“He came to my room last night,” Anna said. “And he wouldn’t stop.”

“What?” Now it was Stacy who seemed confused. “I think you’re wrong, Anna. Phillipe stayed with me after carrying me to my room.”

“Are you sure?’

“Oh yeah,” Stacy said. “And let’s just say he was right about the dicks of Paris, at least his.”

Anna felt Phillipe fucking her.

“So, what were you saying about him coming to your room?”

“Never mind,” Anna said. “I was just kidding.”

A moment later Detective Malmann and Inspector Cerone arrived followed by the return of Phillipe with the coffee. Stacy took her cup and smiled. Anna took hers and put it down on the table. “Ready?” she said.
 

“Before we go,” Inspector Cerone said. “I want to say that I am officially opposed to this charade. I am allowing it only as a professional courtesy to my American law enforcement colleague, who for some reason thinks it might be useful. I feel that we are just wasting time.”

“You know what?” Anna said. “I hope you’re right.”

Anna started walking toward the elevator. “But I know you’re not.”

* * *

When the group got to room 531 they found the door wide open and the lights on.
 

“Where you already here?” Anna asked Detective Malmann.
 

He shook his head. “Not since we left.”

“Perhaps we should go in first,” Inspector Cerone stepped in front of Anna. “Wait here.” He and Detective Malmann entered the room, only to emerge a minute or so later.

“All is clear, as expected. A worker must have turned on the lights,” Inspector Cerone said.
 

“Well somebody’s been here, that’s for sure,” Detective Malmann said.
 

“What do you mean?” Anna asked.
 

“See for yourself.”

Anna took two steps into the room and stopped. “Who did this?”

The furniture in room 531 was no longer covered with sheets. It had been rearranged, dusted and polished. Only the bed was in its same place, but now it was covered by an embroidered bedspread and silk throw pillows. There were dozens of red roses in several vases around the room. The colors in the tapestries were once again rich and vibrant.

“Are those your music boxes?” Phillipe asked.
 

Anna looked where Phillipe pointed. She saw a long narrow table against the far wall. All but one of her music boxes were displayed in a neat row. “Yeah.”

“And that one too?” Detective Malmann motioned with his head toward the black music box with the rose that rested on the night stand next to the bed.”

“How did they get up here?” Anna whispered.

“Looks like someone was expecting us,” Stacy said.
 

“Let’s find out,” Anna said. She looked at Malmann and Cerone. “Do you want to be part of the séance?”

“I think I would prefer to observe,” the inspector said and the Detective agreed.

“Yeah, I’ll watch too.”

“Then please, whatever happens, just be quiet and stay out of the way.” Anna wouldn’t admit it, but she was very relieved to have Cerone and Malmann in the room. She felt safer knowing that they were there.

Anna took the roses off a small triangular table. She put the vase on the floor. “This should work for the three of us. Detective Malmann, you would find some chairs please?”

While Anna pulled the candle and salt from the bag she was carrying, Detective Malmann found three wooden chairs in the small kitchen adjoining the main room.
 

After carefully placing the candle in the center of the table, Anna poured three concentric rings of salt around its base.

“Why do you need that stuff?” Stacy asked.
 

“Fuck if I know,” Anna said while finishing the third, outermost ring. “It’s what we did before.” She thought about Gary’s face. “It’s what worked.”

Anna directed Stacy and Phillipe to sit down before looking at Inspector Cerone, “Would you please turn the light off?”

The inspector did as asked. Anna quickly pulled out a pack of matches and lit the candle. Its glow slowly lit the room. With the darkness behind them, Stacy and Phillipe’s faces appeared to be detached, and glowing. It was an effect that Anna had seen many times before, many years before. She looked around to see Inspector Cerone standing near the door. Detective Malmann had taken a seat on the edge of the bed.
 

Anna watched the candle flame flicker slightly. A sharp chill ran through her body. She looked at Phillipe and Stacy. “Okay, now I want us to hold hands and also touch knees.”

“Sounds like fun,” Stacy took Phillipe’s hand and ran her foot up his leg.
 

“Please, Stacy,” Anna said. “Be serious.”

“Sorry,” Stacy held Anna’s right hand and softly touched Anna’s knee with her own.
 

Anna took Phillipe’s hand in her left. It felt smooth and strong, just as it had felt against her thighs the night before. Anna pushed the thought from her mind. She felt his knee press against hers. “Now,” she said. “The most important thing is to not break the circle, no matter what happens, until it’s over.”

“And if someone does?” Stacy asked.
 

“It breaks the connection.”

“Oh, like my computer. God, I hate it when my cosmic connection crashes,” she laughed nervously.

“Stacy?”

“Yes?”

“Shut up.”

“Okay.” Stacy looked back at the candle. It was very hard for her not to laugh. She always laughed when she was nervous, or very scared.
 

“So what do we do now?” Phillipe asked.
 

In her mind Anna saw another table holding a candle and three rings of salt. It was surrounded by much younger faces.
 

“Just open your mind,” Anna stared at the flame. “Think of nothing. Focus on the candle. Just concentrate on the flame.”

“Ah, Anna?” Stacy whispered hoarsely.
 

“Stacy, please. Concentrate.”

“I don’t think we have too.”

Anna followed Stacey’s eyes until she saw the shadow of a man staring at them from the darkness in the far corner of the room.

* * *

“Who are you?” Tom said to the woman who was suddenly somehow in his cell. No one had been there a second ago when the guard had slammed the bars shut, but she was certainly there now.
 

The light in Tom’s cell seemed brighter than it had before the woman appeared. She was the most beautiful woman Tom had ever seen. It took a moment before he realized that the woman reaching out to him was Ariene LaMoreau.

Chapter 30

Stacy tried to pull her hand away, but Anna held it tight. The figure in the corner didn’t move. It just stood in place and stared toward the table.

“Renee?” Anna looked at the figure. “Is that you?”

The darkness within the shadow seemed to swirl just a bit, but the figure itself remained fixed in place.
 

“Detective, Inspector?” Anna said without taking her eyes off the figure. “Do you see him?”

Neither responded to Anna’s call.
 

“I don’t like this, Anna.” Stacy said.
 

“Nor do I,” Phillipe whispered.
 

“Be quiet, both of you,” Anna almost hissed. “Renee, is that you?” she stated more strongly.

The figure raised both arms, as if beckoning Anna to an embrace.

“Renee?”

The figure started to move forward toward the table and a perfect waltz filled the room.

* * *

“Ariene?” Tom stumbled back onto the cot against the wall opposite the bars where the woman stood. She looked exactly like the old picture Madam Lapautre had shown him and Anna. Except now, Tom could see the texture of her delicate skin, the color of her long red hair, and the power in her emerald green eyes.

The woman nodded her answer to Tom’s question and simply said, “
Oui
.”

“No,” Tom pushed himself back against the wall as far as he could. “You can’t be, you just can’t.” Tom said. So beautiful, he thought.

The woman smiled as if responding to Tom’s thoughts. “
Aidez-moi
.”
 

Tom heard her voice even though her lips didn’t move. He felt a combination of fear and excitement. “How can I help you?”
 

So very beautiful.
 

“Come to me, Thomas.” The woman reached for him. “Let me hold you.”

Tom started to move from the wall, but stopped himself. “No!” he scrambled back into a corner.

He watched as the woman’s smile faded, but her beauty did not. She seemed very sad and alone. The woman lowered her head and turned as if to leave. Tears filled her eyes.
 

“Wait,” Tom called after her.

Out of his view, the woman’s eyes glowed brightly for a moment.

“Don’t go,” Tom said.