BLACK FOREST
Denver Cereal, Volume Five
Claudia Hall Christian
Cook Street Publishing
Denver,
CO
Also by
Claudia Hall
Christian
THE DENVER CEREAL SERIAL FICTION:
The Denver Cereal
Celia’s
Puppies
Cascade
Cimarron
Black Forest
ALEX THE FEY THRILLER SERIES:
The Fey
Learning to Stand
Who I am
Lean on Me
THE QUEEN OF COOL
Originally published at
DenverCereal.com :
October 2010 — June 2011
copyright © Claudia Hall Christian
Licensed under the Creative Commons License:
Attribution–NonCommercial–Share Alike 3.0
Smashwords Edition Licensing Notes:
Thank you for purchasing this ebook and welcome to Denver Cereal! You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to mashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support
ISBN (13 digits) : 978-1-938057-68-7
Library of Congress : 2012930930 (print)
PUBLISHER’S NOTE:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First edition © January, 2012
Cook Street Publishing
PO
Box 18217
Denver, CO 80218
For those who’ve faced their
demon and
somehow,
some way managed to retain possession
of their whole big,
beautiful, loving heart.
Author’s note
There are a number of stories that go with the Saint Jude storyline. Of course, finding the bones of the Lovers under the Castle chapel came to me the usual way – from the ether. I didn’t think a lot about it. After all, Delphie has always said she felt a press of souls when she was in the coal tunnels nearby. In some ways, finding the bones made great sense. And truthfully, it’s not uncommon to find the bodies of expired vagrants and runaways in the basements and cellars the old dilapidated mansions near Race and Colfax where the Castle lives. Plus, Denver Cereal has always had a Denver Police detective (Seth).
I was having dinner with the Silent Partner and some friends around the time when Jacob found the bones. They wanted to know where the bones came from. What was the mystery behind them? I’d planned to let Seth deal with all of that somewhere off screen. After all, Denver Cereal is a romantic serial, not a murder mystery serial. But they were insistent and the ether spoke. A murder mystery was born.
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Five is another story. This chapter was published the week of Halloween, 2010. In some ways, this chapter is the ‘Halloween Special’ of Denver Cereal. Once this chapter existed, the story continued along the pathway of good vs. evil, demonic creatures, and other other-worldly events.
For the record, I had planned to capture Saint Jude and put him on trial. I felt the families deserved that kind of closure. I was the only one who felt that way. The editorial team argued with me so much that I put it out to the Denver Cereal community at DenverCereal.com. I was out voted. Readers not only wanted Saint Jude to die, they wanted him to die in some horrible paranormal way in fitting with his crimes. You’ll have to let me know if what I came up with soothed your blood lust for this evil man.
Once again, Brion Sausser did a bang up job with the cover.
Thank you, Denver Cereal reader! Without you, Denver Cereal would not exist. I always say, Denver Cereal is a labor of love. Thank you for sharing yours with us.
Janurary, 2012
What’s happened so far?
The Denver Cereal:
In the Denver Cereal, we meet Jillian Roper when she pulls on her thigh high leather boots and crashes her abusive ex-husband Trevor’s engagement party. At the party, she meets the man of her dreams, Jacob Marlowe. Together, Jill and Jacob begin a crash course through grave injury and illness, to find love. Along the way, we meet Jacob’s movie star sister, Valerie, and learn of her struggles to have her own dreams and share a life with her husband Mike. Jill’s best friends, Sandy, Heather, and Tanesha, begin new courses in their life that take them to confront their greatest fears and deepest longings.
Celia’s Puppies, Denver Cereal, Volume 2
Jacob and Valerie’s mother, Celia, had a habit of helping lost people, called Celia’s Puppies. In this second Volume of the Denver Cereal, Celia’s puppies come to the forefront. We meet Jacob’s noble step-sister Honey, we learn more about Jacob’s ‘cousin’ Blane, and, via Oprah Winfrey, Valerie learns of Mike’s terrifying time away from her. In the middle, Trevor and his fiancé attempt to kidnap Jill’s daughter Katy and her best friend Paddie at a holiday party. The fiancé all but kills Honey. She is saved by her childhood sweetheart and Special Forces medic MJ and they reorient their lives and love. Jill and Jacob dance around getting married and, in the very end, they marry in an incredibly beautiful ceremony which includes every member of the Denver Cereal family. Of course, Sandy, Heather and Tanesha support, love and take steps forward toward their own happily ever afters.
Cascade, Denver Cereal, Volume 3
Peace comes to Denver Cereal, but demons from the past refuse to stay in the past. We learn of Sandy’s horrific childhood and her boyfriend Aden responds with violence. His violent act ends with Sandy getting shot by her pedophile father and Aden lands in jail. Jill, her mother, and father tell the story that was to never ever be told and her family begins to heal. With the help of Heather, now his wife, Blane confronts his past loves and battles Hepatitis C. Beloved Delphie must confront a demon from her past. When he arrives to kill her and everyone else, he meets what he could never expect. Delphie’s family battles for her. In the end, Jill bashes him with a hockey stick and Delphie survives a life threatening stroke.
Cimarron, Denver Cereal, Volume 4
In Cimarron, the characters of Denver Cereal grapple with the consequences of their actions to restart their lives. Aden heals and continues his jail sentence. Delphie has to come to terms with almost dying to start her life again. Valerie performs in her first action adventure and launches herself as a movie actress while Mike’s painting career flourishes. Jill and Jacob face their first true relationship challenge. Sandy holds everything together other to become gravely ill herself. Her child, Rachel, is born 2 months early. They fight their way through the problems to come together as a family. And just in time! Six pairs of human remains under the Castle Chapel draw everyone into a dark murder mystery.
Black Forest begins in Sandy’s hospital room where we begin to see the mystery intertwine with our characters.
Confused? You can download the Denver Cereal, Volume 1 from Smashwords or from our store at: CookStreetStore.com. You’ll find all Denver Cereal books in every electronic format and paperback at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and your local independent bookseller.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED &
TWENTY-FOUR
Gilmore
Sunday evening — 6:45 P.M.
“I have this same Saint Jude pendant,” Aden Norsen said.
It seemed as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of Sandy’s hospital room. Without thinking, Aden had just admitted to being connected to the serial child murderer, Saint Jude. Aden gasped for a breath.
His children, Nash and Noelle, gawked at him. Sandy’s half-brother and sister, Charlie and Sissy, looked away as if they were embarrassed. Teddy Jakkman, Nash’s best-friend, pretended not to hear. Still sick with the infection that threatened her life, Sandy’s eyebrows furrowed with concern. The man who never liked him, Detective Seth O’Malley, his only in-law, looked as if he was going to arrest him.
“What do you mean?” Seth’s voice was cop-trick neutral to cover his interest.
“I have this same pendant,” Aden repeated. “I wore it every day. Never took it off. I used to say it was why I survived everything.”
“Jeffy used to say the same thing,” Charlie said.
“Is this your pendant?” Seth asked in the same eerie voice.
“I don’t know how,” Aden said. “I saw the boy only that one time at the Castle. I was in meetings all day when he worked for us. He stopped by my office for his wages. I checked in with accounting to see how he did and then paid him. I saw him like… one minute. Two maximum.”
“Jeffy wore that necklace since I first met him,” Charlie said.
“Where is your necklace?” Seth asked.
“I don’t have any idea. Our stuff is everywhere,” Aden said. “I sold the house when I was incarcerated in case the kids or Sandy needed the money. Sandy moved everything into storage. It must be there.”
Turning to Sandy, Seth asked, “Do you remember this necklace?”
Sandy took the package from him. She turned it over in her hand, played with the chain and held it away from her.
“He used to wear something on a chain around his neck,” Sandy said. “I would see it when we worked out. I was never close enough to it to see what it was. The chain looks the same and the medallion is about the same size as what he wore.”
“I stopped wearing it when Sandy and I started dating,” Aden said. “I took it off after seeing her at the hospital. You know, when Jake was in there. I figured if I was going to have a chance at having Sandy in my life, I wasn’t such a lost cause any more. Or something like that. Jake said something about it… told me to take it off or something. And… I took it off. I put it in a wooden box Nash and Noelle made for me. It has my pocket watches and…”
“That box is at the Castle,” Sandy said. “Downstairs, in the storage room. We tried to put all the personal items where we’d be able to find them. Sorry, I forgot to tell you. Noelle and Nash know where it is. They about making the box for you.”
“We can go get it right now.” Nervous, Aden jumped to his feet.
“That’s all right, Aden.” Seth tried to reassure him with a smile. “We can go when you’re done here. I don’t mean to break up the party.”
“Blane’s coming at seven,” Sandy said. “The nurse will be in to shoo everyone out.”
Seth smiled to reassure Sandy.
“I’m not hauling your husband off to prison,” Seth said.
She lay back against the pillows. Her hands plucked at the blanket with worry.
“I guess I’m wondering, Aden,” Seth said. “Where did you get it?”
Aden opened his mouth and closed it. He shook his head slightly.
“What happened?” Nash asked.
“I don’t remember,” Aden said. “But you’re right. That’s the question isn’t it? Where did I get it? I…”
His eyes drifted to the ceiling tiles. He jerked, shook his head, and looked around. Everyone in the room was looking at him. The nurse stuck her head in.
“Time to go,” the nurse said.
“Come on, kids,” Aden said. “I’ll take you back.”
“But Dad,” Noelle said. “We want to see the necklace.”
“You remember my necklace,” Aden said to Noelle. “You used to chew on the chain when you were a baby.”
“I remember it. You always had it. All my life,” Nash said.
“This is… big.” Noelle’s eyes were round with interest. “We have a clue to a murder investigation!”
“It’s a mystery,” Teddy said.
“We want to help,” Sissy said.
“Why don’t you take the gang to the Castle?” Sandy asked. “I’m sure Seth will want the necklace for forensics or whatever. You can take them back after that.”
“You’ll be all right?” Aden asked.
“I’d like to see Rachel before we sleep,” Sandy said. “You and I can go when you get back.”
Aden nodded.
“We’ll drop by the nursery on our way,” Charlie said. “I think she’d like that.”
“You’re talking for Rachel now?” Sissy asked.
“Yeah, she likes me,” Charlie said.
“She loves me,” Noelle said.
The children began arguing all at once. Looking over their heads, Aden raised an eyebrow at Seth. He would tell him when they were alone. Seth nodded in understanding.
“Let’s go,” Aden said. “Kiss Sandy good-bye.”
One at a time, the children hugged and kissed Sandy. Uncomfortable, Teddy went last. He gave her a quick hug and she kissed his cheek. Still arguing over who Rachel loved the most, the kids made their noisy way out of the room. Aden kissed Sandy and followed them.
“Well…” Seth said.
“Seth, there’s no way he’s involved in these murders,” Sandy said. “He’s been in prison or working or…”
“I know,” Seth said. “But it’s a lead. My gut says Aden’s going to help crack this case.”
“You may have to get Delphie to get it out of him,” Sandy said. “He’s deeply ashamed of that time of his life. Doesn’t talk about it at all. Ever.”
“I’ve had plenty of years like that,” Seth nodded.
Blane stuck his head in Sandy’s room to see if it was clear. Seth waved him in.
“I’ll see you, Sandy,” Seth hugged her and kissed her cheek.
“Love you Seth,” Sandy
Blushing, he smiled, gave a little wave and left the room. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked down the hall.
For the first time, he felt like he had a real chance at solving this thing. The thought made him smile. He dropped by the cafeteria to pick up his forensics technician, Ava. She hugged him hello.
“The cookies were a big hit,” Seth said. “Thanks for making them.”
“You bet,” Ava said. “Rachel is adorable. Tiny.”
“Thanks for waiting for me,” Seth smiled. “I’m not ashamed of you, it’s just… new.”
“I understand,” Ava said.
Putting his arm over her shoulder, they walked out of the hospital.
“You seem oddly happy,” Ava said. “Are we…?”
His phone rang.
“O’Malley,” Seth said. “I’ll meet you at the station, Norsen. Yes, call me when you’re on your way.”
He clicked off his phone.
“We’re working,” she said.
He nodded.
“Got a lead?”
He nodded.
“Can I come?”
“Sure,” Seth said. “But you’ll want to work too.”
“Why?” Ava asked.
“We have another pendant,” Seth said.
“Ooohh, I like that!” She gave him a big smile. “With a chain?”
Seth nodded and Ava clapped her hands like an excited child.
“I have an interview,” Seth said.
“I have a pendant,” Ava said. “When we’re done?”
“Your choice.”
“I really like this!” Ava smiled.
“Thought you would,” he said.
Smiling, they walked to his car.
~~~~~~~~
Sunday night — 8:15 P.M.
Seth turned the corner to find the elderly man whose presence called him to the front of the downtown Denver Police station. The man’s deep chocolate-colored skin contrasted with his cream colored cardigan sweater. He was tall, fit, and had the look of someone who was well cared for. Seth spied a weathered gold band on the man’s left hand.
“Can I help you?” Seth asked the man.
“I’m looking for Aden Norsen,” the man said.
“Why would that name mean anything to me?” Close to the man, Seth looked into his face. “Have we met before?”
“I used to be a probation officer,” the man held his hand out for Seth to shake. “Bob Proctor. We met a few times when you were a street cop, Detective O’Malley. You were always with your partner… What was his name?”
“I remember now.” Nodding, Seth shook Bob’s hand. “What do you want with this Norsen person?”
“I’m his sponsor,” Bob said.
“AA?” Seth’s eyebrows went up with surprise.
Bob nodded.
“Norsen’s not here yet,” Seth said. “He’s on his way from the hospital. He stopped off to see his daughter before helping his wife to bed. Norsen’s a good man?”
“He’s a very good man,” Bob said.
“How did you…?”
“I was his probation officer,” Bob said. “I’ve been his sponsor for almost twenty years. I’ve known him since he was fifteen or sixteen.”
Seth nodded.
“Well, you may as well come back,” Seth said. “Would you like some coffee? Tea?”
“No thank you.”
“Sir?” The desk Sergeant yelled after them.
Seth turned around to look at him.
“Aden Norsen, sir.”
Seth walked with Bob back to the front to get Aden. He stood back to watch the men greet each other. Bob hugged Aden. Each man spoke a few words into the other’s ear as they embraced. When they broke apart, Seth thought he saw the flash of a father and son bond between them. Then it was gone. Seth walked them through the police station to his office.
“Do you have the necklace with you?” Seth asked Aden.
Aden flushed, nodded, and pulled it from his pocket. Seth took an evidence bag from his desk and held it open. Aden set the chain and pendant into the bag. Seth sealed the bag. He took a Sharpie from his pocket and filled out the evidence label. He walked into the main room where Ava signed for the envelope. She looked at the chain and pendant through the plastic envelope.
“Give me an hour, maybe more,” she said. “Then we wait for DNA.”
“Is this the same pendant?” Seth asked.
“It looks identical,” she said. “But looks can deceive.”
Seth nodded. She smiled and walked away from him. He turned toward his office and stopped.
“I’m sorry but we’ll need to go into an interview room,” Seth said. “It’s not warm or friendly. But I need this recorded for evidence.”
Aden nodded. The men walked out into the hall toward the interview room.
“I’ve arranged for you to get immunity from any crime you bring up, mention, or otherwise disclose with the exception of murder,” Seth said. “I have that in writing.”
He held an envelope out to Aden. Aden opened it, read the letter, and stuffed it into his pocket.
“When is Ms. Hargreaves coming to join us?” Seth asked.
“She’s right behind you,” Samantha Hargreaves said. She thanked the Sergeant who escorted her back. “May I see that?”
Aden gave Samantha the letter. She read it and nodded.
“I must protest your interview with my client,” Samantha said.
“I agree, Ms. Hargreaves,” Seth said. “Aden, I can’t interview you. I’m too close to you and this is too big a case to make any mistakes. I have two very capable Sergeants waiting to speak with you. I will be behind the glass the entire time. If you get into any trouble, I’ll interrupt the interview. I’m willing to allow you to have Bob with you during the interview if that helps.”
Aden nodded.
“Ms. Hargreaves?” Seth asked.
“That will be fine,” Samantha said.
Seth opened an interview room where two police detectives waited for them. The younger detective was blonde and seemed unsure of himself. The older detective had a muscular body and the tan skin and sharp nose of the Cheyenne. Nervous, Aden looked at Seth and into the room.
“Come on,” Bob said. “Let’s get this over with.”
Aden followed Bob into the room. The police detectives stood to introduce themselves.
“I’ll be right there,” Samantha said. She closed the door to the interview room. “What do you hope to get from him?”
“Answers,” Seth said. “We need someone who was there twenty years ago. Thirty would be better but we don’t have that.”
“He’s a good man, Seth,” Samantha said. “He’s had a hell of a year. With the baby and Sandy, he’s…”
“I’m hoping that good man will be able to help me find the trail of a monster,” Seth said. “We have nothing, Samantha, nothing to identify this guy. Anything Norsen says or knows will be one hundred percent more than we know right now.”
Samantha nodded. She opened the door and went into the room. Seth went around to the other side of the glass. He wasn’t surprised to find the head of CBI, the Chief of Police and his Captain waiting for him there.
“You’re sure,” the Chief of Police said.
Seth nodded. They settled in for what was bound to be a long night.
~~~~~~~~
Sunday night — 8:40 P.M.
“Sir, we have a copy of a detailed background check done by Detective O’Malley last year,” the young blonde detective said. “The background goes back to 1987 and stops.”
Aden nodded.
“Detective O’Malley found no record of you prior to 1987,” the older detective said. “Why is that?”
“I took the name Aden Norsen in 1987,” Aden said.
“What is your birth name?” the blonde detective asked.
“Gary Gilmore, Jr.”
The detectives flinched.
“Gary Gilmore? As in the Gary Gilmore?” the older detective said. “Utah. Firing Squad.”
“Gary Gilmore was my father’s favorite cousin,” Aden said. “He was executed in 1977. January. I was five.”
“How…?” the young detective started. The older man cleared his throat.
“Maybe you should tell us your story,” the older detective leaned back in his chair as if he was waiting for a long story. “We have time. Start at the beginning. We’ll interrupt if we need to.”
Aden looked at Bob then at Samantha. She smiled at him. He looked back at Bob who nodded.
“I don’t know where I was born,” Aden started. He swallowed hard.
“We’ve looked but we’ve never been able to find a birth certificate for him,” Bob said.
“After Gary’s… trouble, my parents changed their name every six months or so,” Aden said. “I was enrolled in school under a lot of different names. The last name I used was Mark Smith. We moved all over the West. I wasn’t their oldest or the youngest child. I was somewhere in the middle but I’m not really sure where.”
“Your parents had a lot of kids?” the older detective said.
“I guess so,” Aden said. “They had adult kids and little kids like me. Or something like that. I never knew if some of them were their kids or cousins or just around. There were a lot of people around all the time.”
“Ok, go on,” the older detective said.
“I tell people that I came home from school one day and my family had moved,” Aden said. “That’s not exactly true.”
“What is true?” the young detective asked. The older man gave him a stern look and he shrugged.
“I was released from juvie.”
“For?”
“Breaking and entering. Robbery. Bob was my probation officer,” Aden said. “Bob was going downtown so he agreed to take me to my parent’s apartment. They were gone.”
“Had that happened before?” the older man asked.
“Sure,” Aden said. “But I always knew where to catch up with them. I didn’t this time. Or maybe I didn’t want to. That last time in juvie, I… got interested in other things. I read Tom Sawyer and The Hobbit. I had some therapy. I had the sense that life could be… different than the way we lived. I… let myself drift away from my family.”
“We arrived at their last residence and they weren’t there,” Bob said. “I let him stay on my couch that night and then set him up at a halfway house.”
“I changed my name to Aden Norsen,” he said. “Aden means fire. I wanted to burn up the past, my past. Norsen… well it seemed to fit.”
“Since there were no records, it was pretty easy to enter him into the system as Aden Norsen,” Bob said. “His last conviction was under the name Mark Smith. Mark Smith was listed as an alias for Aden.”
“It’s not here now,” the young detective said.
“I have a copy of the file at home if you need it.”
“We may,” the young detective said. “Please continue Mr. Gilmore.”
“Please,” Aden said. “My name is Aden Norsen.”
There was a tap on the glass of the window and the Sergeants looked at the glass.
“Norsen, sorry,” the young man said.
“Now you know who he is,” Samantha said. “Why don’t you cut to the chase? It’s late and the man has a lot of other things on his mind.”
“Where did you get the pendant and necklace?” the older detective asked.
“After I stayed with Bob, I was placed in foster care,” Aden said. “I didn’t like my first house, so I left. I had enough experience being homeless as a kid and it wasn’t that big of a deal. I stayed out a couple of years until one January.”
“One January?” the older detective said.
“I don’t remember the year. I had a bunch of friends,” Aden said. “We stayed under the Speer Bridge mostly. Did drugs, drank, begged for change, stuff like that. It wasn’t bad until January, maybe two or three years after I’d been out.”
“What happened?” the older detective asked.
“One of the guys got really drunk and froze to death,” Aden said. “We were all picked up and locked up for a while. I saw Bob again. He reminded me about the new life I’d said I wanted. And he was right. I got a new placement and a job at a grocery store. I stayed there until I got my GED.”
“How does this relate to the pendant?” the younger detective asked.
“When we were under the Speer Bridge, a guy would come and bring us food,” Aden said. “He’d bring pots of soup, sandwiches, stuff like that. Sometimes, when the guys weren’t doing well, he’d take one of us with him.”
“Did they make it back?” the older detective asked.
Aden nodded.
“But?”
“The guy had regulars, favorites,” Aden said. “They never talked about what happened while they were with him. They just said he was weird but gave them money and drugs. Sometimes we’d pressure a guy to go with him so we could have more drugs.”
Flushing, Aden dropped his head in his hand. Bob put a hand on his back for support.
“It wasn’t my finest moment,” Aden said.
“Did you ever go with the guy?” the older detective asked.
“No,” Aden said. “He seemed to know I was a Gilmore. He called me Gilmore, in fact. He was terrified of my family. Rightly so. I was terrified of my family.”
“How did you get the necklace?” the older detective asked.
“The guy who froze to death?” Aden asked. “He was my best friend. I met him in juvie. I took the pendant from him after he died.”
“Why?” the younger detective asked.
“I wanted to remember my friend,” Aden said. “He was the only family I’d really ever had.”
“This friend. Did he have a name?” the younger detective asked.
“I called him ‘Daf’ because he did a great Daffy the Duck impression,” Aden said. “He was one of Bob’s too.”
He looked at Bob.
“His name was Wilson Zacarian,” Bob said. “He was found dead in January, 1990. Froze outside on one of those record cold days. The police rousted all the bridges to get the homeless out of the cold. They picked up about ten homeless boys. They were high and drunk so they put them in lock-up.”
“Family?” the young detective asked.
“His family picked up his body,” Bob said.
“Did they ask about the pendant?” the older detective asked.
“The necklaces were given out by the creepy guy,” Aden said. “All of his favorites had one. If the necklaces were gone, the guys got in trouble. Bad. Daf lost his one time and we looked for it for days. We finally found it under a rock or something. He’d put it there when he was high.”
“Did this guy know you had one?”
“No, I don’t think the guy ever knew I had a pendant.”
“Does the creepy guy have a name?” the older detective asked.
“Not that I remember,” Aden shook his head.
“You boys didn’t call him anything?” the young detective asked.
“Jude,” Aden said. “We called him Saint Jude.”
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & TWENTY-FIVE
The Entity
“This Saint Jude,” the older detective paused for effect. “You’d recognize him if you saw him again?”
“I’ve seen him off and on through the years,” Aden said.
“When was the last time?” the older detective asked.
Aden fell silent. He rubbed his forehead then his face.
“Sir?” the younger detective asked.
“Sorry, I’m sure you think I’m stalling,” Aden said. “I got knocked around in prison. I’m mostly all right but sometimes my brain kind of seizes when I’m anxious or upset. Saint Jude is not my favorite topic.”
“You have in your records that Mr. Norsen received a brutal beating from his brother, a violent serial felon who was mistakenly assigned to the minimum security facility where Mr. Norsen was sentenced,” Samantha said. “Give the man a minute to think.”
“I don’t think time will help,” Aden said. “I don’t know when I saw him last or where. I’m sorry. I never like seeing him. If I saw him yesterday, I’d forget it.”
“Did you see him yesterday?” the older detective asked.
“No. I was at the hospital all day yesterday,” Aden smiled. “That I’m sure of.”
“But you’d recognize him if you saw him again,” the older detective said.
Aden nodded.
“I need you to speak,” the older detective said. “For the record.”
“Yes,” Aden said.
“Would you be willing to go on record with this information?” the younger detective asked.
“Yes,” Aden said.
“Let’s move on,” the older detective said. “Did he ever take you anywhere?”
Aden shook his head. He dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his eyes.
“Sorry, I haven’t had a lot of sleep lately and I need to get back to my wife,” Aden said. “You said something about going somewhere?”
The younger detective looked at his partner. The older detective nodded and the younger man left the room.
“You’ve heard that Detective O’Malley found Jeffy before he died,” the older detective said.
“I’m sorry. I haven’t heard anything,” Aden said. “My wife was in and out of the hospital all last week. She had our daughter almost two months early on Friday. I’ve either been at the hospital or taking care of my kids, her siblings…”
“Aden’s been out of the loop, Detective,” Samantha said.
The younger Detective returned with a stack of photographs. He laid out a picture of the large house on the Barn’s property.
“Have you ever seen this house?” the young detective asked.
“May I?” Aden asked.
He picked up the photo to get a closer look.
“Sure, I’ve been there,” Aden said. “I lived there for a while. I moved out around the time I met Nuala. My band used to practice there.”
“Would you mind going there tonight?” the younger detective asked.
“Tonight?” Aden asked. He shifted uncomfortably. Not sure what to say, he repeated, “Tonight?”
“We need to move fast,” the older detective said. “According to the coroner, the serial killer will pick another victim in the new few hours. We think the house plays an integral role in the killer’s rituals.”
“Did you check the crypt?” Aden asked.
“Crypt?” the younger detective said.
“In the basement chapel,” Aden said.
“The killer won’t be able to use the barn…” the older detective started.
“The barn?” Aden’s eyebrows shot up with anxiety.
“What is it, son?” Bob asked.
“The house… that barn… They’re haunted,” Aden stumbled on his words. “Horrifying. Especially at night.”
“But you lived there…” the young detective said.
“Doesn’t mean I want to go back,” Aden said. “Ever.”
~~~~~~~~
Sunday night — 9:40 P.M.
Seth looked up when Ava came into the room. He instinctively smiled at her. She flushed a little. The Chief of Police cleared his throat.
“Technician Alvin,” he said. “We’re in the middle of…”
“Detective O’Malley asked me to inform him when we’ve finished our analysis of the pendant,” Ava walked toward Seth. “The pendants are similar enough to be made by the same company but different enough to be made decades apart.”
“So Norsen’s story fits,” Seth’s Captain said.
“Yes sir,” Ava said. “The Jeffy pendant is newer and made out of pewter. It’ has ‘Made in China’ stamped on the back. The pewter is consistent with Asian pewter with a higher percentage of tin. Say ninety-seven percent or so. The Norsen pendant is also pewter, but was made in the US. The pewter is consistent with European pewter with less tin, say between ninety-two and ninety-four percent. The Jeffy pendant is a little softer, more malleable so it bears a few wear marks. Norsen’s pendant is undamaged after all these years.”
“Different factories, same pendant? Or different pendants?” Seth asked.
“The pendants were made on, if not the same mold, a similar mold,” Ava said. “You can’t see it in this light but there’s a small defect in the mold. A crack or possibly some design flaw. We believe the mold is either exactly the same mold that made the Norsen pendant or a mold made from the original mold.”
“We’re looking at the same company making similar products?” Seth asked.
“Right,” Ava said. “We believe it’s the same company making the same product. They are not produced off shored in China. We looked online and found these pendants with these same steel chains for nine dollars.”
“Cheap pendants,” the head of CBI said. “I wonder how many he bought.”
“We have a person working on that, sir,” Ava said. “We were able to contact the factory in China. They’re sending us information about the company they make these pendants for. We’ll know tomorrow who sells them in Denver.”
“Good work,” Seth said.
Ava blushed in response to his praise.
“We were able to collect DNA from both chains,” Ava said. “It sounds gross but these chains are very hard to clean. They’re collectors of DNA. If we’re lucky, we’ll get DNA from the killer on both chains.”
“You sent the DNA to us?” the head of CBI asked.
“Yes sir,” Ava said.
“I’ll personally expedite this,” the head of CBI said.
Surprised that the cash strapped CBI would take on the expense, the men looked at him.
“You have to ask yourself: How did this Saint Jude know Norsen was a Gilmore?” the head of CBI said.
“Gary Gilmore was incarcerated eighteen of his last twenty years,” Seth said. “I wondered about that too.”
“What?” his Captain asked.
“The killer must have met Gary Gilmore, Sr. in prison,” the head of CBI said. “Must have known him well enough to know how volatile he was.”
“The killer’s got to have a record somewhere. CBI has a better chance of finding it than we do,” Seth said.
“If we’re lucky, we’ll have his DNA on file,” the head of CBI said.
“We can only hope,” the Captain said.
“You could find the killer’s DNA on the chain even though Norsen has had his twenty years?” the Police Chief asked.
“Yes, sir,” Ava said. “It’s crazy how little DNA we need and how much is caught in these chains.”
“That’s disgusting,” the head of CBI said.
“Yes sir,” Ava said. “You’ll never see a forensics person wearing a chain. Too gross, sir.”
“But for our purposes…” Seth looked through the window at Aden. “Looks like we’re going back to the property. Can you get a team of your folks together?”
“Of course,” Ava said.
“Great work,” Seth said.
Ava smiled and left the room.
“Special service?” the Police Chief asked.
“Sir?” Seth asked.
Shaking his head at Seth, the Police Chief turned back to the interview room.
“You’re going out there tonight?” his Captain asked.
“I don’t see anyway around it, sir,” Seth said. “We’re running out of time.”
“Take a team of uniforms,” the Police Chief looked at the head of CBI. “Are you coming too?”
“Of course. We’ll bring a team of forensic people to back you up. I’ll go with you.”
“What are we going to do about these ghosts?” the Captain grinned as if he’d made a joke.
“Good question,” the head of CBI said. “I’ve had more than one experience I’d rather forget.”
“Peabury Mansion?” the Police Chief asked.
“The Peabury. Croke Patterson,” the head of CBI said. “Molly Brown. Every one of those God damned mansions connected to the coal tunnels. They’re all filled with… ‘unexplained phenomena.’”
“I’ll make some calls,” Seth said.
“You do that,” the Police Chief said.
“Yes sir,” Seth said.
The men turned their attention back to Aden.
~~~~~~~~
Sunday night — 11:40 P.M.
“You’re sure they’re coming?” Aden said.
Aden’s anxious voice broke the silence. After a few rudimentary comments, the men spent the entire drive out to the mansion in silence. Seth’s police sedan turned right into the semi-circle drive of the haunted mansion.
“I called,” Seth said.
“God, this place creeps me out,” Aden said. “I don’t want to go in there… I…”
Approaching the front of the mansion, Seth’s headlights lit up an old silver Mercedes Benz. Jacob was sitting on the hood of the car while Delphie had her head in the trunk.
“Oh thank God,” Aden said.
“My sentiments,” Seth said.
Seth pulled in front of the ancient Mercedes. The trail of police cruisers, forensic vans and other official vehicles parked around them. Before Aden could get out of the car, he heard someone hail Jacob.
“Whatcha doing here, man?” the uniformed police officer asked Jacob.
“Had to drive,” Jacob nodded toward Delphie. Delphie gave the young man a wave. “I couldn’t really let her come out all this way by herself.”
“Friend?” the police officer asked.
“Dad’s girlfriend,” Jacob said.
“Is she really… you know,” the police officer said.
Jacob nodded. The officer shrugged his shoulders and nodded.
“Aden!” Jacob hugged Aden and turned back to the officer. “Do you know Aden Norsen? He doesn’t play hockey but he’s a good guy anyway.”
“Nice to meet you,” the police officer said.
Aden hugged Delphie hello. Delphie searched his face and hugged him again. She turned back to the trunk to retrieve a large canvas bag. She slung the bag over her shoulder.
“What’s going to happen?” Jacob asked.
“The psychic is supposed to go in with Norsen. Check out this crypt,” the police officer said. “You can just wait out here if you want.”
“I can’t let her go into an old house by herself,” Jacob said.
“Jacob can’t resist an old house,” Delphie laughed. “He loves to buy them for nothing and then restore them to their original glory.”
Jacob shrugged his shoulders as if he was caught.
“You’ll stay with me,” Aden leaned close to say.
“With Delphie,” Jacob said.
Aden nodded. His eyes expressed his anxiety. Jacob smiled and slapped his back.
“We’ve done this before,” Jacob said in a low tone.
“What do we know about the house?” Seth asked.
“The real estate listing says it’s a little more than ten thousand square feet. But, in my experience, these old places are larger then advertised,” Jacob said. “Three floors plus a basement. Five doors to the outside.”
“It has about thirty rooms including the basement,” Aden said.
“Forensics?” Seth asked.
“We found evidence of people living here, Detective O’Malley,” the CBI Agent in Charge said. “But nothing that relates to the killer.”
“There’s a basement,” Ava’s superior officer said. “Creepy but clean.”
“Who has the key?” Jacob asked.
A police officer came forward with a key. At the head of an uncomfortable parade, Aden, Seth, Jacob and Delphie approached the front door. The uniformed police officers followed behind them. The Agent in Charge for the CBI forensics stepped forward to pull their tape off the door.
“We need to…” the Agent in Charge of CBI forensics started.
“Why don’t you let us deal with this first?” Seth asked. “We’ll get you when we’re ready to look at the property.”
Clearly relieved, the Agent in Charge nodded to Seth.
“I need a couple of uniforms…” Seth said. A man and woman wove their way through the crowd of agents to the front.
“Gretel! Jeff!” Delphie said. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“Sir, we’d like to support Delphie,” Jeff said.
Embarrassed, the officer’s hands instinctively went to his belt.
“Friend?” Seth asked.
“She saved my sister’s life,” Gretel said. “Told her she had cancer when no one knew what was wrong with her. Helped Jeff find a house he could afford.”
She looked at her partner.
“What?” Gretel said. “I’m not the least embarrassed. I’d follow Delphie into a fire. A big, spooky house is nothing.”
Jeff looked around at all the people watching and nodded. Smiling, Delphie led the way to the front door. Seth unlocked the door and opened it. Jacob, Delphie, Aden, Seth and the two uniformed police officers stepped into the entryway. The door slowly creaked closed and shut with a bang. Aden flicked a switch behind him. A dim light shone from the overhead bulb.
“The powers had always been on,” Aden said. “Power and gas. Weird because the building is basically abandoned.”
“Can’t easily turn it off,” Seth said.
“Gas and electricity would have come with a posh house like this,” Jacob said. “There’s no shut off?”
Seth shook his head.
“I need you to…” Seth turned to Jacob.
Jacob turned around so that his face was right in front of Seth’s.
“This is what’s going to happen,” Jacob said in a low voice. “Delphie and I are going to collect the spirits into the central room. We need to be left alone. No matter what you hear, or think you hear, stay here. There is an entity in this building that will do anything to lure you into its power. Do not give it the chance. Delphie?”
Delphie pulled a round container of sea salt out of her large bag. She poured a large circle of salt around them. From her bag, she retrieved four plastic bags filled with salt.
“This is pure sea salt.” Delphie gave a bag of salt to each of them. “Spirits can’t easily move over salt and don’t like it. Use your salt if you need it. It should keep you safe.”
“If you hear or see something, check it out with the others,” Jacob said.
“Hear something?” Seth asked.
“I used to hear the sound of a child crying,” Aden shivered. “I looked and looked and looked… Every night for months. I never found her.”
“But…” Gretel said.
“Gretel, they will need you the most,” Delphie gave the woman a bright smile. “Just like everything else in life, men and women rarely see or hear the same thing.”
“If Gretel doesn’t hear what you hear, see what you see, it’s not happening,” Jacob said. “Aden, you have some experience with this thing. Use it to help the others. But stay here.”
“We should go,” Delphie said. “It’s…”
Jacob’s head jerked toward the hallway. He took off running. In his wake they heard him say, “I fucking hate this…”
“Stay here. Stick together. It can’t get to you if you’re together,” Delphie said. She gave them a bright smile. With a nod, she ran after Jacob.
Aden watched them run into the dark house. For a moment, he could see Jacob in the dim light. Then there was a burst of bright light followed by total darkness.
Aden flicked the switch behind them.
Nothing.
Instinctively, Aden, Seth, Gretel and Jeff shifted closer to each other. In the darkness, they waited.
~~~~~~~~
Monday early morning — 12:07 A.M.
Running toward a wisp of a dark shadow, Jacob heard his mother’s voice in his head.
“There are creatures in this world that are dark. Not dark like dark chocolate or simply black in color. Their very essence is the deep darkness. They draw energy and light from the living and the dead. They use this energy to control the living and the dead,” Celia’s voice said. “They quest for control and power. Some human beings have a tiny portion of this energy – dictators, Stalin, Mengele, Hitler, Mao, even Delphie’s tormentor, Johansen. This creature is a raw source of their… perversion.”
The shadow threw a surge of dark energy at Jacob. Every light in the building came on. With a pop, the power went off.
“Remember how I told you that you’d never see one of these creatures?” Celia’s voice asked. “I was wrong. This creature is worse than anything I’ve ever seen or heard of. It’s like something out of legend. You must protect yourselves very carefully.”
“Delphie?” Jacob asked.
“I heard her,” Delphie said.
“He’s going to want to get a hold of you, Jacob,” Celia said. “If he controls you, he controls all of your power and capacity. Do not give him the chance. Even the tiniest piece of his energy can infiltrate you and you will be under his control forever.”
“She’s right,” Delphie said.
Jacob and Delphie stayed in one place until their eyes adjusted to the dark. The entity appeared and then disappeared.
The apparition of a young girl stood where the entity had been. The child wore a clean Victorian nightshirt. She coughed into her hand.
“Child, why are you here?” Delphie asked.
The child shook her head and pointed to what looked like a black belt around her midsection.
“The entity binds her here,” Jacob said.
With his words, ten children of various ages appeared. They were wearing the same clothing and had similar coughs. The hollow eyes of these trapped souls of these children stared at them. Each child pointed to the black thread around their midsection.
“Jacob,” Delphie pointed.
Like a silent movie, the apparition of four women flickered in front of them. Their spirits were too entwined in the entity to appear in full form. One woman held a screaming baby in her arms. Shocked at the sight, Delphie took a step back.
“How…?” Delphie asked.
“I’ll try…” Using his mind, Jacob attempted to remove the thread from one of the children. When his mind touched the black thread, he felt a jolt of dark power. He flew backward, hit the opposite wall, and landed in a heap.
“Jacob!” Delphie ran to his side.
“I’m all right,” Jacob groaned and came up to his knees. “Try the salt water.”
Delphie took a spray bottle out of her bag. She sprayed the salt water in the direction of the thread. The apparition screamed as if she was burning. A woman spirit came forward to comfort the child.
“Earth?” Jacob asked.
Delphie took out a container of dirt from the Holy site of El Santuario de Chimayo. Reaching forward, she dusted the black thread with the holy dirt.
Nothing. The evil black belts squeezed tighter and the children began to cry.
“Earth, water, salt, and mineral. The forces of nature,” Delphie began listing the elements. “I brought these flowers but I don’t think they’ll help.”
She held up a few dozen white Shasta daisies.
“Fire. Maybe electricity,” Jacob said. “Give me the fanny pack. I’ll take on the entity. You free the spirits.”
“No,” Delphie and Celia said at the same time.
“It’s the only thing that will work,” Jacob said. “If I get its full attention, it should let go. They won’t realize they’re free at first. You must help them.”
“I can’t make a tear to the other side,” Delphie said.
“You won’t have to,” Jacob took the fanny pack from her. He strapped it around his middle. “We’ll clean up together. You’re the spirit shepherd. Bring them into the central room. Make sure to ask them if there are other spirits in this house.”
Delphie nodded.
“Don’t forget to protect yourself,” Jacob said.
“I grew up around evil like this,” Delphie said. “I was like these spirits before Celia and Delbert, your grandfather, saved me.”
“I know,” Jacob said.
“You’ll be very careful?” Delphie asked. Her worry was etched lines on her face.
Jacob clutched Delphie to him. Stepping back, they shared a look. He nodded and ran toward the darkness. Delphie looked at the spirits surrounding her.
“Come with me,” Delphie said.
As if she was a first grade teacher herding her class, Delphie encouraged the spirits down the hall and into the large great room at the center of the home.
~~~~~~~~
Monday early morning — 12:07 A.M.
Aden heard a child cry. Seth shifted uncomfortably next to him. The policewoman Gretel stared at her partner, Jeff, whose head was shaking from side to side.
“What do you hear?” Aden asked. “I hear a child crying. It sounds like Noelle. She’s calling for me to save her.”
“I see my best friend from high school,” Jeff said. “Can you see him? He’s right here.”
“Your best friend shot himself.” Gretel made an index finger gun and put it in her mouth. “You know that.”
Gretel punched his shoulder. Jeff’s entire body jerked. He turned to look at her.
“Thanks,” Jeff said.
“Detective O’Malley?” Gretel asked. “What’s going on?”
“I see my partner,” Seth said. “I know he’s not real but… It’s such a relief to see him. Just to look into his face.”
“I felt like that,” Jeff said. “Your partner’s dead?”
“Lung cancer,” Seth said. “Eight years ago.”
“Oh my God,” Gretel said.
Gretel spun in place. She was about to take off when Aden grabbed her around the middle and lifted her off the ground. Her legs kicked as she fought against Aden. She let out a string of curses and struggled to get her weapon. Her partner took her handgun from her belt.
“It’s not there,” Aden said. “It’s not real.”
Gretel’s entire body seemed to take an enormous breath of air. She slumped in his arms.
“I’m going to set you down,” Aden said.
The moment her feet hit the ground, she tried to take off. Her partner, Jeff, pulled out his taser gun and tased her. She screamed and fell to the ground just inside the salt circle. Seth knelt down next to her.
“What is it?” Seth asked. “What did you see?”
“My twin,” she whispered. “Angie’s being tortured by the rapist who killed her. I have to save her.”
Jeff sat down next to her.
“The rapist is in Colorado State Pen,” Jeff said. “We’ve been there.”
“It’s using your love for Angie against you,” Seth said. “Think Gretel, think. What would Angie do? What would she say?”
“What would Angie say?” Jeff repeated.
Gretel nodded her head. Aden held his hand out and pulled her to her feet.
“Angie was stronger than I was,” Gretel said. “Tougher. She always used to tell me not to be afraid. That’s what she’d said when everything was happening. That’s what she’d say today. Thanks.”
“Sir?” Jeff turned to Seth. “You seem unaffected.”
“I’ve done a lot more drugs than you have,” Seth said. “I know this feeling.”
“Me too,” Aden said.
“This feeling, sir?” Gretel asked.
“Reality separating from what I’m experiencing,” Aden said.
“Here we go again,” Jeff said.
He reached his hand out to hold Gretel’s hand. Gretel took Seth’s hand. Seth took Aden’s hand and Aden took Jeff’s hand. Standing in a circle, they prepared for the creature to attack.
~~~~~~~~
Monday early morning — 1:07 A.M.
The entity fell upon him the moment he stepped away from Delphie. Unwilling to do battle so close to Delphie, Jacob ran down the hallway. The entity jumped ahead to entrap him in darkness. Jacob slowed, surged to the left then took off down the hallway to his right. He ran along the back of the mansion.
Like a dark jelly fish, the entity pulsed around him. At one moment, it was overhead. The next moment, he could see it in front of him. Once or twice, he passed it in the hallway.
With each passing moment, the entity grew in size and power. Jacob ran past the back entrance to the great room. Spinning in place, he ran toward the entity. The entity was unprepared for his change of direction. He ran right through it. At the corner of the house, he pushed open a door to the kitchen. The ancient kitchen was filthy but tile lined and contained. He could fight the entity here.
At the doorway, the entity grabbed him by the shoulders. The darkness lifted him into the air and hurled him toward the tile floor. With his hand out, Jacob used his skill to slow his momentum. Back on the ground, he made it into the kitchen.
The entity followed.
At the corner of the room next to the gas stove, Jacob turned to assess the creature. The entity vibrated and floated up and down. Thousands of tiny string like strands came off its body and into the world. Even as the entity drew into itself, evil power pushed out through those tendrils. If the spirits were ever to be free, Jacob had to cut these tendrils.
Jacob removed a small propane torch from his fanny pack. Turning on the gas, he lit the torch and moved toward the entity. He aimed the flame toward the thin tendrils of dark power.
The creature absorbed the hot blue flame and seemed to grow in size.
Jacob flicked off the gas and retreated to a tight tile lined corner next to the stove.
His mind whirled. The entity absorbed all energetic intervention. Salt didn’t affect it. Sage smoke blew right through it. Blessed earth had no impact. He opened four vials of holy water and set them on the stove. He tossed the water in the entity’s direction. Like the smoke and salt, the water went right through the vaporous creature.
The creature laughed at his efforts. He was not the first human being this entity had conquered. This was not the first time someone had attempted to destroy this darkness. A low choking sound vibrated through the walls.
Standing with his back to the wall, he watched the creature condense into a nightmarish form. Almost serpent, not quite human, the black smoke entity settled in front of him. Pulsing tendrils of power and control came off its torso. Jacob took ear plugs from the fanny pack and stuck them in his ears.
“Try it now,” Celia said.
As if he was hitting a racket ball, Jacob hit a vial of holy water with the palm of his hand. The open vial spun across the room flinging water. The holy water dropped on top of it before the creature could disperse. Through the ear plugs, he heard the entity let out a high pitched screech.
“Salt!” Celia coached.
Jacob threw a handful of sea salt on the entity. For a fraction of a second, the pulsing tendrils retreated.
The creature flashed solid with power. Out of the corner of his eye, Jacob saw the spirits of three elderly men appear into the kitchen. The tramps’ spirits showed the marks where a black tendril had been before Delphie had freed them. Enraged, the spirits moved toward the entity. Other spirits appeared.
Trapped between the enraged spirits and Jacob, the entity attempted to return to its vapor form. Jacob doused it with handfuls of salt and the rest of the holy water. The creature screeched. It rushed toward the spirits but in its weakened state, it was pushed back into the room. Stepping away from the wall, Jacob moved toward the center of the room.
“NO!” Celia screamed.
In a flash, the entity consumed Jacob.
~~~~~~~~
Monday early morning — 1:17 A.M
.
Aden ran as fast as his legs would carry him. They’d barreled down from Brighton at over one hundred miles an hour with Jeff’s police cruisers lights wailing. Even with the luxury of a police escort, he might be out of time.
Sandy had spiked a fever and was…
He wouldn’t allow his mind to complete the thought. He just had to get there. He ran though the Emergency Room and into the ICU. He passed a stunned looking Tanesha. Heather wept silently in a chair in front of her bed. Jill hovered close.
Sandy’s mouth was open for the tube that went into her lungs. Her lungs rose and fell with the pressure of the machine. Her long hair was still in the cockeyed braid that Noelle had given her. Her eyes were closed.
She looked so peaceful and so very dead.
He grabbed her hand and almost immediately let go. Her hand was cold. Outside of the machine that kept her heart beating, his Sandy was dead.
“Oh Sandy,” Aden whispered. He fell to his knees by her bed. His face pressed against the blue sheets of her hospital bed. His hands went around her body.
“I’m very sorry sir,” a doctor with a thick Indian accent said. “We did everything we could do.”
“How could this happen?” Seth asked.
“Her fever increased, sir,” the doctor said. “Her kidneys shut down. After that, it was only a matter of time. Her brain, well, baked from the heat. She held on as long as she possibly could. I believe she was waiting for you. But…”
The doctor shook his head and stuffed his hands in his white medical jacket.
“We waited to remove her from life support,” the doctor said. “We figured you might want to take the time to attend to this matter.”
“What did you say?” Seth asked.
“We don’t expect her child to survive,” the doctor said.
“Rachel?” Aden looked up from the bed. “But…”
“Too much infection for such a tiny baby to survive,” the doctor said. “She hasn’t succumbed yet but we expect her to do so within the hour.”
“No,” Aden sobbed. “How can that be possible? She was doing really well.”
“Take your time, sir,” the doctor with the Indian accent said. “When you’re ready, we’ll turn off the machine.”
“Seth?” Aden looked up at Sandy’s only real family.
“Oh God,” Seth’s eyes seeped with tears. “I… I don’t know how… Oh God, Sandy.”
“Sandy what? What’s happening?” Gretel asked. “What’s going on?”
“What’s wrong with you?” Jeff pushed Gretel away from Aden and Seth. “Have a little compassion!”
“I have compassion. What I don’t have is any idea what’s going on,” Gretel said.
“Sir?” the doctor asked.
Aden looked at Seth. Seth nodded. Aden nodded. The nurse began turning off the machines. The heart rate monitor screamed. Overwhelmed with grief, Aden clutched at Sandy’s lifeless body and wept.
“Aden,” Seth said.
Seth put his hand on Aden’s back. A nurse came in with the still, lifeless form of Rachel Ann. Seth helped Aden to stand.
The nurse set his baby girl in his arms. Her tiny face was blue from lack of oxygen. Otherwise she was perfect. This small child, the baby he thought was a boy, was conceived by accident on a fun trip to Mexico after a visit to an ancient fertility shrine. She’d fought her way to be born. She’d fought her way to survive even one day. She was gaining weight. She was getting better.
But it was all too much for her to endure. Like his Sandy, his soul mate, the love of his life, she was dead. His heart broke into a million pieces. He could hardly take a breath. He leaned down to nuzzle Rachel’s face.
“This isn’t happening,” Aden whispered. “This can’t be happening.”
“That’s what I’m saying,” Gretel said.
Aden kissed Rachel’s face. He laid her next to his beloved Sandy’s body.