Cadaver Lab 2, page 9
The jewels dripping off her every finger, wrists and neck, not to mention the Mercedes she’d pulled up in told Natalie this must be a lucrative gig.
If Once Upon a Vine were to fail, she supposed she could always become a professional medium to survive.
But Madame Letisha was so much more than a medium. She was a showman. Worthy of vaudeville. Or maybe a carnival.
Yes, that was it. Madame Letisha could easily be a carny. Traveling the country with the rest of the troop as a headliner. The top money maker.
There was no question she was talented as an actor. The question was, did she actually have any abilities?
“First I will cleanse the space,” Madame Letisha announced.
She raised the sage wand high in the air and mumbled some words Natalie didn’t understand. Neither did the others in the room if their expressions were any indication.
Liam was barely containing a smile. Stone, jaw set, looked ready to toss the woman out the front door. Agnes watched with tempered skepticism. And Harper still managed to maintain a look that was hopeful although a bit of doubt crept onto her continence.
Natalie could almost read the thoughts going through her friend’s mind as a what did I get myself into expression crossed Harper’s face.
The smudging took an inordinately long time.
Madame Letisha fluttered around the large house directing the sage smoke into every corner and then out an open window. She gave each room on the first floor the same treatment, before leading them up the stairs to perform the same ritual on the second and then the third floor.
Upstairs Natalie did less watching of the show as she concentrated on keeping an eye out for Millie. She’d hadn’t heard from Gabe again. She didn’t know if he’d convinced Millie to leave. She hoped he had, even if Madame Letisha’s skills were severely in doubt at the moment. At least as far as Natalie was concerned.
“Now I will determine if the cleansing was successful.”
Standing in the middle of Harper’s attic bedroom, Madame Letisha thrust out one arm ramrod straight. That spurred her assistant into action. The blonde sprang forward and after what could only be described as a bow, she laid a multicolored pendulum in her mentor’s palm.
“This pendulum is used for divination.” Letisha delivered that in a tone so serious there was no doubt she believed the wisdom she imparted was the most important thing they’d all hear all day.
As Natalie wished she could secretly record this performance on her phone to share with Jules and Gabe later, the medium held one arm straight out and stilled the motion of the pendulum with her other hand.
“I will now communicate with the pendulum. I respectfully ask that you indicate the motion you will use for the word ‘No’.”
The pendulum began to move, a small, barely perceptible movement at first, then larger until it was swinging visibly in a wide circle.
Liam leaned down. “Is she moving it?”
“Silence!”
After that censure, Natalie didn’t dare answer him.
Pressing his lips tight, Liam straightened to his full height and remained silent as they all, equally as quiet, watched as Madame Letisha thanked the pendulum.
Then she said, “I respectfully request you show me the motion to indicate the word ‘Yes’.”
The pendulum again complied and began to swing from side to side.
“We understand your motion for the answers of Yes and No. I will now ask you the questions we desire answers to.”
Natalie couldn’t wait to hear these.
“Are there any spirits living in this house?”
The pendulum began to swing from side to side.
“The answer is yes.”
Of course the madame would want the pendulum to say yes, or there would be no reason for Harper to pay her to be here.
What was confusing was the phrasing of the question. Millie lived in the house, yes. But she wasn’t there right now—hopefully—so if the question were phrased slightly different the answer would have been different as well.
As it stood, Natalie couldn’t determine if Madame Letisha and her pendulum were all knowing and powerful, or not.
Feeling brave—perhaps foolishly—Natalie raised her hand. “Um, can I ask it a question?”
“No!”
Natalie regrouped. “Then can I suggest a question for you to ask?”
If Madame Letisha weren’t so deep into character, Natalie’s persistence might have thrown her off her game, but as it was, the woman remained stalwart. “Go on.”
Victorious, Natalie said, “Ask it if there are any spirits in the house at this very moment.”
That did earn her a raised eyebrow, but Madame Letisha repeated the question verbatim. The pendulum began swinging from side to side.
“The answer is again yes,” Madame Letisha delivered with a glare at Natalie.
“Thank you,” Natalie said, although even that question hadn’t been very helpful either in determining Madame Letisha or the pendulum’s accuracy.
Natalie hadn’t seen Millie but that didn’t mean the girl wasn’t there hiding. And Madame Letisha, fake or real, still had a fifty-fifty chance of being right either way.
“I cannot say that you are welcome,” Madam Letisha delivered with a glare. “Now please, no more interruptions.”
Wincing, Natalie said, “Sorry.”
“I respectfully ask is there more than one spirit living in this home?”
The answer was once again yes.
“Are there more than two?”
Yes again.
“More than three?”
At that question and the resulting predictable answer of yes, Harper gasped while Stone scoffed and shook his head.
Natalie caught Liam’s gaze.
She’d explained to him the ghosts’ aversion to funeral homes and how that’s why it was so surprising they’d found Millie there. There was no way three or more spirits were living in this house. And if by some stretch of the imagination there were, Gabe would have seen them when he was here trying to get Millie to talk and reported back on it.
Liam knew as well as she did that either Madame Letisha or her pendulum was lying.
“Did the cleansing ritual I performed rid this home of the spirits residing here?”
The pendulum began to spin in a circle.
“The answer is no.” Madame Letisha thrust her arm out straight, spurring her intern into action once again as Jill trotted forward and took the pendulum.
“We must take further steps to cleanse this home. I will speak directly to the spirits. Should they be agreeable, I will convince them to move elsewhere.”
Harper nodded and the woman raised her face and gazed upward.
Natalie tipped her head back and looked up as well, impressed when she saw what a nice job Stone had done on the vaulted ceiling when he’d converted the attic from storage into living space.
Meanwhile, Madame Letisha began to hum, a low tuneless drone that built from soft to loud.
Natalie caught Liam’s eye but had to look away or risk laughing when she saw him biting his lip to hold in a smile.
Then Madame Letisha went completely and suddenly silent before she began to speak. “Spirits! Hear me now. You are not welcome in this space. With open hearts and joyful minds, we wish you peace and light but you must move on.”
She stopped and appeared to listen, as if she could hear them and their reply. Even going so far as to cup her ear to hear better.
“They have agreed to move on,” she announced.
Harper drew back. “Really? Are you sure?”
Madame Letisha turned back to the non-existent spirits. “Should any lingering energy reside in this space, do not remain here. We bid you find solace and release. Return to where you truly belong."
With two sharp claps, she bowed her head and closed her eyes, and then Madame Letisha breathed in a loud breath, the volume of which was only surpassed by her even louder exhale.
She raised her head, saying, “They are gone.”
With a dramatic swoosh of her skirt, the woman turned toward Harper.
“I have created for you a safe haven where positive energy thrives. From this day forward there will be love and laughter in this home."
Now it was Agnes’s turn to scoff as she mumbled, “There always has been.”
Perhaps it was Agnes’s age or the fact she was the homeowner, but the comment didn’t earn her any censure.
Instead, Madame Letisha said, “I am drained. I must leave and go rest. My assistant will collect payment.”
Then with a jangle of jewelry and another swoosh of fabric, she whooshed out of the room, followed closely by Jill at her heels.
Once they were gone, Natalie was free to bury her face in Liam’s chest, partly to smother the laugh she’d been holding in but mostly with relief.
Madame Letisha was full of bullshit. Natalie truly believed that now.
But she wouldn’t feel completely calm until she laid eyes on Gabe.
Chapter Seventeen
“Well, that’s that then,” Agnes said, following the two women who’d preceded her down the stairs.
“Yup.” Harper drew in a breath and let it out as she glanced at those remaining in the room. She turned her focus on Natalie. “I just have to pay her, then we can hang out if you want.”
The fear that by some strange twist of fate Madame Letisha’s ceremony had actually worked rubbed against Natalie’s nerves like sandpaper.
Were they all okay?
The question would continue to chafe until she saw for herself. She wouldn’t be able to hide her distraction from Harper, nor would she enjoy the time spent here when she desperately needed to be elsewhere.
She couldn’t wait to confirm Gabe and the others were safe, so she had to come up with an excuse on the fly. “Um, thanks, but I left a pile of work back at the shop I need to do tonight. Thank you so much for letting us come. It was… interesting.”
“That’s one word for it,” Stone mumbled as he headed down the stairs with Harper. Natalie and Liam followed.
When they reached the first floor, Natalie still hadn’t seen any signs of ghosts. But that was to be expected. Right? She’d told Gabe to clear the house. The real test would be once she left here and got back to the other end of town.
Liam glanced down at Natalie with one comforting hand pressed against her lower back. “Ready to go?”
“Yes, please.”
They said a quick goodbye and another thanks to Harper before she had to skitter off to pay and then finally, Natalie was free to head outside and start her search.
“So what do you think? Bullshit, right?” Liam asked.
“I can’t be sure until I see them,” she answered, becoming short of breath as they strode fast down the sidewalk toward the train depot.
Usually when they walked side-by-side Liam had to slow his much longer stride to accommodate Natalie’s shorter legs. This time, she led the way and it was up to him to match his speed to her faster one.
She couldn’t get back to the shop fast enough. With any luck Gabe would be there with some of the others, taking shelter. Waiting out the storm, so to speak.
Her hand shook as she tried to get the key into the lock.
Liam obviously noticed. Once again Natalie found comfort in his big warm hand, this time as he gave a small squeeze on her shoulder.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said.
Drawing in a breath as she turned the key in the lock, she glanced up and said, “I hope so.” Then she opened the door.
The shop appeared empty. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t in the meeting room or back in her apartment.
“Gabe?” she called. Walking farther inside she called his name again.
Nothing. She rushed to the back window and looked out.
Not even train track dude was out walking the tracks.
She spun to Liam, “No one’s here.”
“Maybe they’re in the lab?” he suggested.
“Yes. Good idea. Let’s go check.” She wrestled with the lock on the back door.
Flinging it open, she rushed out into the night air leaving Liam to secure the door behind her.
She literally ran to the warehouse—and running was not something Natalie did unless absolutely necessary.
When she arrived, slightly ahead of Liam, she banged on the door and called out, “Gabe! Are you in there?”
Liam caught up quickly and punched in the key code to unlock the door. He opened it and allowed her to enter first.
“Gabe?”
Again, nothing. She spun to Liam.
“He’s not here. And I don’t even see Ethel or Myra.” And as far as she knew, they were total homebodies and never left the warehouse. At Liam’s frown, she elaborated. “The two old lady cadavers.”
He punched in the code to disable the alarm and turned to her. “Oh. They were picked up. Although I have to say it’s a relief to know their spirits left with their bodies and didn’t hang around.”
Natalie let out a breath. “Okay. That makes sense. Gabe doesn’t like hanging out here with his decapitated body.”
Liam barely controlled an eye roll. “I know. I’ve said I’m sorry.”
She waved away his concern. “It’s more likely they’re somewhere they all usually hang out anyway. Like the cemetery.”
“Then let’s go.”
“You don’t mind?” she asked. Dragging Liam all over town looking for ghosts seemed like a lot to ask.
He shook his head. “Nope. But we’re driving. Okay?”
It wasn’t that far but she wasn’t going to argue. “Okay.”
Liam grabbed his keys off the desk and followed her outside.
The whole quarter of a mile that she sat in the passenger seat she strained to look for someone, anyone, from the spirit realm.
“Anything?” Liam asked.
“No. Ooo. Wait. Slow down!”
Liam hit the brakes and for one brief blissful moment she thought she saw a ghost in front of the pharmacy, but when he reached out and swung the door open she realized it was just a man. Old, yes, but still living.
She slumped back against the seat. “Never mind. False alarm. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. We’re close enough to the cemetery I’m just gonna park.”
Hope restored, she leaned forward again and waited for the vehicle to finally come to a stop before she flung open the door and then remembered to unbuckle her seat belt.
Running across the sidewalk, she gripped the elaborate iron fence and scanned the area.
“Gabe!” she whisper-yelled. “Is there anybody here?”
It wasn’t late and there were people around. She couldn’t outright shout into the historic cemetery. And she couldn’t go walking through it either since it was after dusk and technically closed for visitors.
But it probably didn’t matter because she should have seen someone by now. If anyone were there, she’d have seen them already.
Liam joined her against the fence. “Anything?”
“No,” she said thickly through the tightness in her throat. “Any chance you think they would all squish into that one mausoleum over there?”
“How many are there?” he asked.
“Close to a hundred, I guess. Definitely more than fifty.” At his silence she glanced up and found Liam staring at her, his mouth open.
“That many?”
“Yeah.”
Finally he swallowed. “Then no. I doubt they’d fit.” He drew in a breath and blew it out. “Anywhere else you can think they might be?”
She turned to face Liam fully. “I have seen them at the bar.”
Liam’s eyes flicked wide before he ran one hand over his stubble. “The bar too?”
“Baby, I hate to tell you this, but they’re everywhere.”
Or at least they used to be. That sick feeling renewed itself in her gut.
“Can we check the bar?” she asked.
“No problem. I could use a drink after this.”
She could too.
Loaded back in Liam’s Jeep they traveled the half a mile more to the local bar. Liam parked while Natalie scanned the scenery. There were lots of locals, but all of the living variety as far as she could tell.
Inside, she swept her gaze from the bar to the pool table and then the seating area.
“Anything?” Liam asked leaning low to be heard over the juke box.
She shook her head.
“You wanna leave and go check somewhere else?”
Fighting tears, she said, “No. Let’s stay and have something to eat.”
“You sure?” he asked.
They’d never gotten to eat before going to Harper’s. Her stomach might be churning with worry, but Liam had to be hungry.
She nodded. “Yeah. We’ll eat and then head home.”
“Okay. If you’re sure,” he said.
“I am. They’re probably just afraid to come out tonight. I’m sure I’ll see them in the morning.”
She could only hope she was right.
Chapter Eighteen
A ghost-free night with Liam was all Natalie had wished for on many occasions, but now that she had one she couldn’t even enjoy it. Not while crippled with worry like she was.
Liam was a doll. Of course it was possible he was simply happy that Gabe—his biggest rival for her attention aside from the shop—might be gone for good.
But he assured her he would stay with her at her apartment all night. He made her tea and put on a movie he knew she would like. He wrapped her in a blanket on the sofa and held her until she felt warm and safe—but still no less worried.
No amount of tea or chick flicks would be able to distract her from her fear that she’d seen her last Mudville ghost.
Strange how she could miss so keenly the very thing that she’d so often viewed as a problem.
Liam hugged her tighter and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You doing okay?”
No.
“Yes.”
“Do you want me to—” Liam stopped mid-sentence.
Frowning, he eased away from her.
“Did you hear that?” he asked, his voice low.
