Ghost Walk (18 page)

“I’ve
never even
met
a zombie.”  Jamie put in, just in case Grace was
listening to this madness.  “And I can make you a solemn promise I’ve no
interest in their drooling, shambling, inarticulate culture.  Or in making it
so you can’t see me.”  Lord, that would be the
last
thing he’d want.

Serenity
snorted, as if she sensed his denials.  “These things rarely work out, Gracie. 
That’s all I’m saying.  Supernatural beings are just dead-ends, when it comes
to relationships.”  She waved a dismissive hand.  “You should just forget about
this pirate guy.  Especially with your Partner looming on the horizon.”

Jamie’s
teeth ground together.  Just the mention of Grace’s mysterious “partner” pissed
him off.  No other man should have a claim on her.  Ever.  The woman had been
given to
him
.  She’d slept trustingly beside him all night, and came
apart in his hands, and gave his whole unlife meaning.  He was never, ever,
ever
going to part with her, no matter what kind of “husband material” jackass
thought to steal her away.  Dead or not, Jamie would find a way to kill the son
of a bitch the minute he showed his normal, pleasant, fucking
alive
face.

Maybe
she deserved more than just a ghost, but no pirate parted with his ill-gotten
treasure.  Not without one hell of a fight.

“You
need to be on the lookout for your Partner,” Serenity continued, “not wasting
your time on…”

Grace
cut her off.  “Auntie,” she met Serenity’s eyes.  “I’m
sure
.”  Her voice
was full of some deeper meaning that Jamie didn’t understand.

Serenity
apparently did, though.

“Oh.” 
Her eyebrows soared.  She glanced in Jamie’s direction again, this time with
less hostility.  “Well, if you’re
sure
, I’ll see what I can do to save
the boy.  He does have a nice, strong energy signature.  Usually means a man’s
hung like a race horse.”

Jamie’s
mouth curved.  “Why, your aunt really
is
psychic.”

Grace
looked towards the cobweb covered ceiling, like she was praying for patience. 
“Don’t encourage her.”

“He’s
agreeing with me?”  Serenity guessed.  “Of course he is.  I’m always right.” 
She leaned in closer and lowered her voice.  “Did she tell you what it means
when a Rivera finds their Partner, Ghost?”

“No.” 
Jamie answered, even though she couldn’t hear him.  He wanted to know
everything
there was to know on the topic, so hopefully Serenity would keep talking.

“Aunt
Serenity…”  Grace began warningly.

Jamie
cut her off, before she stopped her aunt from gossiping with him.  “Let the
woman speak, lass.”

“This
has nothing to do with our plan.”

“
Your
plan. 
I’ve
been quite clear on wanting you to stay right here in the
present.  …Not that you’re of a mind to listen.  All of this madness is you
refusing to see reason.”

Grace
had linked this time travel idea to fixing her “burn out.”  In her mind, if it
worked, she wouldn’t be crazy.  She could resume her old life and reclaim her
job solving crimes.  Nothing could derail her now, so he was reluctantly going
along with her wishes.  At least she was showing a bit of optimism.

“I’m
going
to clear your name, Jamie.  Two days ago, that was all that you
wanted.”

“Two
days ago I hadn’t seen you naked.  Now I want
other
things.  Like you
alive and well and coming beneath me in bed, again and again and
again
.”

She
flushed a bright shade of pink and glanced over at Serenity, like her aunt
might have somehow heard his suggestive remark.

Jesus,
Mary, and Joseph, he loved it when she blushed.  And when she
didn’t
blush.  And every other blasted thing about her.  If he’d still had a heart in
his chest, this woman would’ve owned every beat of it.

Jamie
cleared his throat.  “So
my
only plan at the moment is to listen to what
your dear auntie has to say.”

“I
knew she didn’t tell you.”  Serenity interjected in a smug tone, correctly
interpreting Grace’s part of the argument.  “Gracie’s always been a bit shy and
Partners can be a… intimate thing for a Rivera.”

The
thought of Grace becoming
intimate
with some unknown mortal had his jaw
clenching.  Goddamn it,
he
was the one proved she wasn’t “semi-frigid”
or whatever the fuck that wanker Robert had claimed.  Every intimate thing
about her belonged to Jamie, by right of conquest.

“When
our family finds a Partner, it’s like finding our other half.”  Serenity
explained.  “A Partner is the person who helps us.  Stands beside us. 
Completes us.  Keeps us safe.  We
need
them.  Understand?”

Jamie’s
stomach sank.  Every word she said was like a bullet in his gut.  Shit, it was
worse than he even thought.  Grace needed this man.  How the hell was he going
to compete with that?

Grace
looked incredibly uncomfortable with Serenity’s speech.  “Just make the potion,
Auntie.  I’ll deal with my Partner, alright?”

Serenity
made a “humph” sound and went stalking off to gather her ingredients.  “How are
you going to get the living version of the boy to
swallow
this potion,
if he doesn’t even know you back then?”  She called.  “Have you thought about
that?”

“I’ll
figure it out when I get there.”  Grace’s brow puckered and she looked at
Jamie.  “Maybe I can slip it in your drink or something.”

“Just
ask me to swallow it.  It’s far easier.”

“
Ask
you?  What are you kidding?  You think you-of-the-past is going to drink a
mystery liquid from some strange girl, just because she
asks
?”

“If
the strange girl is you…?”  Jamie shrugged.  “Probably.  Should I hesitate,
just offer to let me touch you in dirty ways.  I guarantee you, after that,
I’ll agree to eat very sharp tacks, if you ask.”

“You
have a one-track mine, Jamie.”  She pointed to a stool carved to look like a
spider.  “Sit over there and stay out of trouble.”

“Yes,
ma’am.”

Grace
went back to the ancient book, absently fiddling with her necklace.  For the
first time since Jamie had known her, Grace she was wearing a piece of jewelry. 
A small silver pendant dangled from a chain at her neck.  It was a round disc
with a mermaid engraved on one side.  The whimsy of the piece struck him a very
good sign, considering how she viewed anything that even hinted at
individualism as “abnormal.”  Maybe she was gaining a bit of confidence.

It
took about half an hour for Serenity to come back into the room, carrying a
vial of green potion.  “Okay, this should do the trick.  Once he drinks it, the
old-him will get all the memories of the ghost-him.  For all intents and
purposes, they’ll be one person.”

“For
how long?”

“Forever. 
Can’t reverse the potion, once he drinks it.  Don’t know how long it will take
to kick in, though.  Like I said, there’s not a lot of research into this kind
of magic.”

“Thank
you, Auntie.  I’m sure it’s perfect.”  Grace’s finger tapped something in the
book.  “Ah-ha!  Here we go.”  She ripped out the page, disregarding her aunt’s
exaggerated wince.  “Okay, put the potion and the book on my tab.”  She grabbed
the vial from her aunt, kissed her cheek, and headed for the door again.  “And
I expect the family discount on magic, so don’t try to screw me over on the
herb costs.”

According
to Grace, for a family that was always broke, the Riveras loved to overcharge
people.  Maybe that was why they were always broke.

Serenity
didn’t look thrilled with the idea of fair pricing.  “Where are you going now,
Gracie?”

“Wherever
this map leads.”  She held up the faded piece of paper.

“Then,
you should change out of that outfit, first.”  Serenity advised.  “It might be someplace
fancy.  And, even for this town, you look ridiculous going out in public
dressed like Dolly Madison’s fashion-victim of a cousin.”

June
25, 1789-  Father likes to say that Eugenia is the brains of our family.

I’m
not so sure about that.  How could I get away with half of the naughty things I
do, unless I was far more intelligent than people give me credit for?

From
the Journal of Miss Lucinda Wentworth

Grace
slammed the front door of the shop shut behind her, defiantly plopping her
costume’s straw bonnet on her head.  “It’s a mystery why I didn’t run away,
years ago, and join the circus.  It would have been so calm and normal in
comparison.”  She dropped the memory potion into the pocket of her apron and rubbed
her forehead.  “I’m really sorry about earlier, by the way.  My aunt takes this
whole Partner thing seriously.”

“No
doubt she should.”  Jamie said quietly.  His eyes scanned the street, just in
case Robert showed his wanker face.  The damn police had called that morning to
say they’d released the man, so he could be anywhere.  It made Jamie uneasy.  “A
Partner is clearly a serious thing.”

Grace
glanced up at him through her lashes.  “You believe her, then?”

“Yes.” 
There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Grace’s Partner was coming to claim her.  A
man would do anything to have such a woman beside him.  Kill, bleed, die, beg… And
once that bastard finally fought his way to her side, he would take the only
thing in the universe that Jamie loved.

Unless
Jamie figured out a way to stop him.

It
was disconcerting to be on the other side of things.  To be the one fighting to
keep what he treasured.  Everything Jamie ever had in this world, he’d stolen. 
Even his ship had been won in a damn game of cards.  All his valuables were
plunder that he’d taken for his own, by being stronger and smarter and luckier
than the fellow who’d lost it.  Nothing had ever truly been
his
.

Not
until Grace, with her incredible hair and Sunday school teacher frowns.

Grace
was quiet for a long moment.  “So I was thinking…”  She fiddled with her
portable phone’s decoy earpiece, even though nobody noticed that she was apparently
talking to herself.  Conversing with a ghost didn’t cause nearly as many odd
looks as you’d fear.  Citizens of the modern world were too wrapped up in their
own issues to pay much mind to anyone else’s.  “What do you think will happen
when we clear your name?  Do you think that you’ll --like-- ascend into heaven
or something?”

Jamie
scoffed at that idea.  “I highly doubt heaven will have me.”

“But,
there would be no reason for you to be a restless spirit.”

“I’m
not a restless spirit.”  Maybe he
had
been, but finding Grace had eased
him. 
She
was the reason he’d stayed in this earthly realm for so long.  Meeting
her brought all of it into focus.

He’d
been waiting for Grace.

When
she’d traveled to 1789 and he’d seen her with his mortal eyes, he’d experienced
the same exact feeling he got when he looked at her now.  An overwhelming sense
of recognition.  Of happiness.  Of relief that that she’d finally arrived. 
He’d
always
been waiting for this small, uptight, obstinate woman. 
Alive or dead, there was no one else for him.

For
Jamie, there was just Grace.  Now and forever.

Grace
took a deep breath, still looking distressed.  “Maybe you’ll just disappear if
we solve these murders.  Maybe none of this will have even happened.  And, I
know that I said I wanted you to vanish out of my life, but… I’ve kinda changed
my mind.”

That
was gratifying to know.  “I am not going to leave you, Grace.  Not if I can
possibly help it.  I told you that yesterday.”

Even
though a ghost had very little to offer a living woman.

Whoever
Grace’s Partner was, he could protect her from Robert and give her children and
share her future.  Jamie’s future had been buried for two centuries.  She
didn’t need him here, complicating her life.  She didn’t need him
at all
. 
No matter his feelings, was it right to have Grace waste her existence on a
dead man?  She deserved more.  She deserved…

Jamie
shook off the idea before it could take deeper root.

He
didn’t want to think about any of that or he’d eventually reach a conclusion
that would kill him all over again.  Goddamn it, he couldn’t just hand her over
to some fucking Partner.  He
couldn’t
.  Maybe she didn’t need him, but
he needed her desperately.

“You’re
sure
you’re going to stay?”  She persisted.

Jamie’s
jaw ticked.  “I’m sure I
want
to stay.”  He temporized and that seemed
to alleviate her worry.

It
didn’t do a damn thing to ease Jamie’s.

Selfish
or not, he had no intention of walking away from his salvation, though.  Jamie
might not be welcomed through the pearly gates, but he’d still been granted a
miracle.  As much as he’d tried to ignore his father’s religion growing up, his
belief the spiritual world had taken deep root.  God would not have brought
Grace to him, just to snatch her away again.  No.  She was the one being in the
whole of his life and death that belonged solely to Jamie.

…Or
maybe he belonged to her.

However
you looked at it, there was a
purpose
in their meeting.  A rightness.  A
grand design.  Grace was where Jamie was supposed to be.  He
had
to
believe that.

“So,
we’re following a map?”  He prompted, wanting to focus on something he could
actually fix.  If there was one thing Jamie excelled at, it was maps.  He
craned his neck to look down at the yellowed page and then swore.  “Oh bloody
hell.  Is that one of Ned Hunnicutt’s abominations?”

“I
knew
you were going to say that.  You have an unhealthy fixation with that
poor man.”

“That
jackass was the worst cartographer in the Colonies!  Plus he watered down his
ale and treated his serving girls badly.”

“So,
you’ve said.  Repeatedly.”

“Because
it’s
true
.”  He gestured to Ned’s laughable scribblings with a
disdainful sweep of his hand.  “Wherever that is leading you, it’s no doubt in the
polar opposite direction of where you want to go.  The man couldn’t find east
if you pointed him towards the rising sun.”

“It’s
not as if there are a lot of two hundred year old maps around to choose from,
Jamie.  We’re going to have to make do.”  She held up the poorly-rendered
sketch for him to see.  “Now, Anabel Maxwell was last seen in the hedge maze
behind the governor’s mansion. 
This
is a diagram Edward Hunnicutt drew
of the hedge maze from that same year.  It’s going to help us retrace her
route.”

Jamie
made a face.  “Knowing Ned, it will no doubt zigzag us about for several
dizzying hours and then drop us down a well.”

“Have
a little faith.”  Grace headed down the cobblestone street, toward the
governor’s mansion in the center of town.  The imposing brick building was
impossible to miss.  Set back on a wide lawn, it had been designed to awe and
intimidate visitors.  “The hedge maze is still here, but we can’t be sure it’s
growing in the same pattern.  That’s why we need the map.”

Jamie
couldn’t imagine ever being desperate enough to “need” one of Ned’s lopsided
renderings.  But, Grace clearly wasn’t going to listen to him, so he stopped
arguing about it.  It was a lovey summer morning, Robert was nowhere to be
seen, and Jamie was walking beside the love of his life (and death).  There was
no sense in ruining the moment.

All
around them, Harrisonburg was preparing for the 4
^th
of July
celebrations.  Workers were erecting a stage for the concert that would
accompany the fireworks display.  Vendors were already setting up booths around
the park to hawk “authentic” baskets and cool lemonade.  A lady in a white
apron was selling bouquets of sunflowers.

Jamie
slowed his steps, his eyes on the bright yellow blossoms.  He wished he could
buy some for Grace.  She
should
have beautiful things.  Back in his own
time, he could’ve given her anything her heart desired.  He’d had more gold
than he could spend and he would have lavished all of it on his bride.  It was
frustrating that he couldn’t do that now.

A
new thought occurred to him.  Hang on.  Maybe he
could
.

“If
we’re going to be using maps, we should use mine.”  He said, brightening. 
“Grace, we should find
my
map.”

“Oh
Lord…”  She rolled her eyes like she thought there was something impractical
about a hunt for pirate treasure.  “Let it
go
, Jamie.  I have enough
craziness dealing with the lost recipe for troll powder.”

“I’m
serious.”  He insisted, excitement filling him.  “My map is real and it’s surely
still around someplace.  No one in this blasted town throws anything away.  We just
need to locate the spot I buried my fortune and dig it up.  That would see you
secure for the rest of your life.”  He arched a brow.  “Wouldn’t it be nice to
have chest full of gold and gems to spend?”

“Sure. 
I could build all my unicorn friends a sparkly new castle for our tea parties.”

He
frowned at the sarcasm.  “The treasure isn’t a fantasy, Grace.  It’s somewhere
near here, hidden under the ground, and all of it belongs to me.  To
you
. 
All we have to do is find it and you’ll be taken care of forever.”

She
didn’t seem enthused by the prospect of being Fuck-‘Em-All rich.  “Let’s just
concentrate on solving the murders, okay?”  She flashed her Harrisonburg
employee ID at a guard and was waved through the massive gates of the
governor’s house.

The
flat-fronted Georgian building was the largest structure in Harrisonburg.  It
had been called the governor’s “palace,” back when Virginia was still part of
Britain, and the name wasn’t far off.  The white mansion was huge, with lavish
formal gardens and rooms full of gilded furnishings.  It was the one building
in town Jamie understood people wanting to tour while on vacation.  The outrageous
opulence of the place suited his personal style to a T.  In the waning years of
Oprah
and before
Haunted High
started airing, his favorite show
had been
MTV Cribs
.

In
his opinion, the governor’s home would have made quite a striking state
capital.  And it
would
have been just that, except Thomas Jefferson had
hated living there, when he was governor, and moved the capital to Richmond in
1780.

Tom
had always been an ass.

“The
hedge maze is this way.”  Grace headed down a set of shaded steps.  “You
probably know that.  Were you here back in the day or was there a ‘no pirates
allowed’ policy?”

“If
you’re handsome and rich and notorious, you’re welcomed
everywhere
.”

She
sent him a dry look.  “Which means you totally broke in to steal stuff.”

“Just
small stuff.”  He winked at her.

“Scoundrel.” 
Grace stopped in front of the maze’s entrance, which was blocked off by a chain. 
A sign dangling from it read: “Do Not Enter Without a Hedge Maze Host.”

It
was easy to see why.  Ahead of them, paths stretched off in three directions.  The
labyrinth was made of American Holly, to discourage anyone from pushing through
the plants Bart Simpson-style, and dense enough that you couldn’t see through
walls.  Given its massive size, you could easily be wandering around in there
for hours.

Especially,
if you were following Ned’s half-assed instructions.

“They
used to let school trips in here, but they had to stop a couple years back.” 
Grace said as if reading his mind.  “The teachers kept missing their buses,
because kids would get lost.”

“Perhaps
we should take note of that and forget this plan.”

“Perhaps
not
.”  Grace retorted.  “If there’s any evidence left of Anabel’s
murder, this is where it will be.”

He
studied her for a beat, his mind still dwelling on his impossible love for
her.  “Do you like children?”  He asked, unable to stop himself.

“Sure. 
My family has a ton of them running around.  My niece Joy once turned my car
into a pink Barbie Corvette, which kinda pissed me off, but they’re mostly
great to have around.”

Jamie
sighed.  Of course, she liked children.  She deserved to have two or three of
them underfoot, breaking the already broken knickknacks in her home and filling
her life with magical chaos.

…And
she would never, ever have that if she was with a dead man.

Grace
studied the deplorable excuse map for a beat and nodded, missing his growing misery. 
“So far so good, too.  The maze is starting in the same place now as it did
back then.  Do you remember it?”

Jamie
grunted.  “A bit.”

He’d
occasionally snuck into parties at the mansion and the maze had been the most
entertaining spot at the stuffy gatherings.  The walls were over seven feet
high, all full of dark corners and dead ends.  Couples could be agreeably alone
in the twisty pathways.