A Spirit Seeks Asylum, page 22
Tank started out, pushing Mercedes ahead of him.
“Wait,” Cass called, then limped over to Mercedes. Apparently, she was a little more sore than she realized. “I’m curious. What was the promise Elijah didn’t keep? The one that cost him his life?”
She scowled and thrust her bottom lip out, like a petulant child who’d been sent to bed with no dessert. “He was never supposed to develop that land. He was going to sit on it for a while, then decide it wasn’t profitable and sell it to me. That was the plan. That’s what he told me right after I . . . right after Harvey disappeared. He said he’d hold on to it for five years or so, give things a chance to cool off, then decide not to proceed with the plans to use the property and sell it to me at a very reasonable price.”
“Did he know? About Harvey?”
She clamped her mouth tightly closed and glared.
Not wanting to chance pushing her into a confession in front of two police officers without her lawyer present, Cass let the matter drop. “What changed his mind?”
“Who knows? Greed, I imagine. He thought he could make a profit. Although, he told me, right before he died, that he didn’t want to see the past rebuilt, didn’t want people to come and witness the atrocities committed there out of morbid curiosity.” She shrugged and started past Cass. “In the end, I guess maybe he just wanted to do the right thing. But it’s not like I didn’t warn him what would happen if he crossed me.”
• • •
Cass held her back door open for Luke.
He stamped his feet off on the mat, yanked his snow-covered hood off his head, and set a plate piled high with barbequed steaks in the center of her kitchen table.
Bee set out a bowl of potato salad. “Nothing like grilled steaks and good friends to weather a snowstorm with.”
The storm Cass had predicted had finally unleashed its fury upon Bay Island, only a week late. Not too bad. She set out a pile of napkins and paper plates. “At least they closed down almost everything.”
“True.” After a final check that they had everything they needed, Bee took a seat at the table next to Aiden. “Here you go, honey, corn on the cob.”
“Yay.” Aiden smiled up into Bee’s eyes. Corn on the cob, grilled on the barbeque, was his new favorite food. He’d eat it every day if he was allowed.
Cass sat on his other side, between Aiden and Luke. “And for dessert, we have apple pie.”
Aiden’s eyes went wide. The only thing he liked better than corn on the cob was apple pie.
Tank and Stephanie sat opposite them at the round table, getting to enjoy a meal while Bee and Cass spoiled Aiden.
Cass poured ice water into her glass, then handed the pitcher to Luke. “Did you ever find out why Cam Parker was trying to get out to Twin Forks the night we found Elijah?”
He filled his glass and set the pitcher aside, then forked a steak onto his plate. “According to him and Evelyn, in separate interviews, she asked him to go out there and try to talk Elijah out of going ahead with his plan, but he was too late.”
“He’d have been better off all around to just sell the property to him to build condos, if you ask me.” Bee added more butter to Aiden’s corn.
“Probably, but you never know. Mercedes was pretty intent on getting that property. Her obsessions”—Luke shot a glance in Aiden’s direction—“wouldn’t allow her to let go.”
“Do you think Elijah knew what happened to Harvey?” Cass figured Mercedes would have told him, whether to blackmail him into selling her the land or to make him fear he’d be next.
“According to Mercedes, she told him, and he was so appalled and guilt-ridden he kept it to himself, but we have no way to know if she’s telling the truth,” Tank said. “Unfortunately, some questions will probably remain unanswered.”
Cass contemplated that. He was probably right. Of course, there was always the chance she could find the answers that had gone to the grave with Elijah, and Harvey, but that was for another time.
“So . . .” Bee said, his huge grin a portent of good news. “Have you looked at the vlog I posted from your encounter at Twin Forks?”
A niggle of doubt crept up Cass’s spine. Though Evelyn had assured her it was okay to use the footage, Cass still wasn’t completely sold on the vlog idea to generate income. “I’ve been afraid to look.”
Bee’s smile widened even further. “More than a hundred thousand views within a few hours of posting.”
Thankfully, Cass hadn’t had her mouth full, or she’d have choked for sure. “A hundred—”
“Thousand. Yes. And almost half of them subscribed.”
“Wow.” At a loss for words, she simply sat back, shocked, and grinned at Bee.
He grinned back sheepishly, then returned his attention to his plate. “There were also a ton of comments about the ghost that pushed you out the lighthouse door and onto your duff.”
“What!” Heat burned up her cheeks. “You used that video, Bee? We didn’t even finish the lighthouse video yet.”
“We-eell, I may have used some of that footage, you know, clips from different places, for the introduction.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Gotta have an intro, right? And it’s staying, because people loved it.”
Cass only groaned. What could she say? Bee was the one with the flair for drama. Plus, she couldn’t argue the results.
“Public humiliation is a small price to pay for fame, dear.” He winked.
Cass balled a napkin and threw it at him.
Aiden laughed and clapped and threw his napkin at him.
“Congratulations, Cass.” Luke kissed her temple. “That’s awesome.”
“I knew you could do it,” Stephanie said. And she had. Without her and Bee cheering her on, Cass never would have had the courage to try.
Though it still saddened her that Elijah having been killed out there had more than likely contributed to their successful first vlog, even though she’d been careful there was no mention of either Elijah’s nor Harvey’s murders. “Did you hear Evelyn Anderson decided to donate the Twin Forks property to Bay Island as a park.”
Bee nodded. “You can’t undo the past, but maybe something good can come out of it.”
“Who knows? Maybe a hundred years from now, it will be a place of peace.” Cass hoped that was true. Setting talk of murder aside, Cass scooped potato salad onto her plate. One look at Bee out of the corner of her eye had her pausing.
Bee studied her a little to innocently. “What?”
One glimpse under the table, at Beast happily munching on a piece of steak, told her why.
“What?” Bee asked. “He has to eat too.”
“Herb says—”
“Oh, puh-lease, girl! Do not even tell me you are about to sit there and quote the dog trainer at me. Since when do you listen to Herb’s advice?”
“I listen.” Cass sulked, because Bee, as usual, was right. “Sometimes.”
“Yeah. Okay.” He rolled his eyes. “That explains why, when Herb suggested you crate train him, I walked in and found you in the cage and Beast staring at you like you’d lost your mind.”
Everyone laughed. Bee loved to tell that story, and Cass loved that he enjoyed it so much. She set a hand on Beast’s head and slipped him another slice of steak. With the wind howling outside, Cass enjoyed the warmth of spending time with her family.
Books by Lena Gregory
Bay Island Psychic Mysteries
Death at First Sight
Occult and Battery
Clairvoyant and Present Danger
Spirited Away
Grave Consequences
A Spirit Seeks Asylum
All-Day Breakfast Café Mysteries
Scone Cold Killer
Murder Made to Order
A Cold Brew Killing
A Waffle Lot of Murder (coming soon!)
About the Author
Lena Gregory is the author of the Bay Island Psychic Mystery series, which takes place on a small island between the north and south forks of Long Island, New York, and the All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery series, which is set on the outskirts of Florida’s Ocala National Forest.
Lena grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island. She recently relocated to Clermont, Florida, with her husband, three kids, son-in-law, and four dogs. Her hobbies include spending time with family, reading, jigsaw puzzles, and walking. Her love for writing developed when her youngest son was born and didn’t sleep through the night. She works full-time as a writer and a freelance editor and is a member of Sisters in Crime.
To learn more about Lena and her latest writing endeavors, visit her website at www.lenagregory.com/, and be sure to sign up for her newsletter at lenagregory.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9765d0711ed4fab4fa31b16ac&id=49d42335d1.
Lena Gregory, A Spirit Seeks Asylum
