Mischief in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #2)(73)

“What if I had a more elusive, albeit much more offensive, method of calling you for help?” She bit her lip, then pressed forward before she could change her mind. “I snuck someone into the estate with us.”

“Where, in your handbag? Even if there wasn’t a monsoon outside, there’s no way into this fortress that isn’t covered with iron bars or security cameras.”

“She rode with us in the truck.”

Beau blew out a breath of frustration. “I don’t have time for games. We have to come up with a plan, and right now the best one I can think of involves walking out of here and swimming across that damned bayou of alligators. It’s the safer of the two options.”

“She’s a ghost. Helena Henry’s ghost, to be exact.”

Beau stared. “What do you want from me, Sabine? Jesus, I’ve kept an open mind about everything, but telling me I taxied a ghost over here is way beyond my limit.”

“Helena,” Sabine said and pointed to a desk in the corner. “Get that pad of paper and pen and bring it over here so that you can answer some questions. And make it fast. We need to go from ‘no way in hell’ to ‘I believe’ in a minute or less.”

Helena lifted the paper and pen from the desk and walked over to stand next to Beau. The look on his face was beyond comprehension, and Sabine could only imagine what thoughts must be racing through his mind. Helena began to write and Beau looked down at the paper in amazement.

I am Helena Henry. I was murdered and have been visible to Maryse since my death and more recently to Sabine. Sorry if this startles the shit out of you, but it’s not a f*cking picnic for me either. I’ve been here spying on these psychos for hours and haven’t had a thing to eat. Deal with it and let’s get this over with.





[page]Chapter Seventeen




Sabine waited anxiously for Beau to react, worried that she’d thrown way too much at him at once, especially with everything else going on. He stared at the paper as if it were going to explode. Then he took one hand and slowly passed it through Helena. “It’s colder. I swear, the air is colder where she’s standing.” He looked at Sabine. “I can’t believe it, but it’s real.” His expression instantly shifted to one of immediate realization. “Holy mother of God, she’s been following you around all this time. That’s how you got into the medical records room.”

Sabine nodded. “She’s also the one who created the vision for Raissa to draw my parents from. Helena’s been involved from the beginning, and she’s going to see it to the end. I’m so sorry to spring it on you like this. I’d hoped you would never have to know.”

“That might have been nice.” He glanced at the paper once more then looked at Sabine, a pained expression on his face. “She wasn’t in the room last night…”

“No! Maryse and I have a strict rule about unannounced visiting—especially bedroom visits.”

The pen began moving again and Beau leaned over. A single word appeared.

Spoilsports.

Beau smiled. “She’s kinda a handful, isn’t she?”

“You have no idea. But she’ll also do anything to help me. If anything happens to me while I’m alone in my room, Helena will alert you.”

Beau stared at the wall for a couple of seconds, obviously lost in thought. Finally, he looked Sabine directly in the eyes. “It was Helena who called 911 that night in your apartment, wasn’t it? That’s why no one ever spoke. You were already passed out.”

Sabine nodded.

Beau paced the length of the room twice, then stopped and looked at the pad of paper again. “You know this is insane, right?”

“Seems to be no shortage of crazy in this house. Why should we be any different?”

“I do have an idea. It’s not very nice, but I think if you can pull it off it might get Adelaide’s tongue loosened. I’d be willing to bet she knows everything that goes on in this house.”

“What’s the idea?”

Beau smiled. “Adelaide believes in spirits, the afterlife, right? Couldn’t Helena create visions for her just like she did for Raissa? I figure if Adelaide is the one to settle you in your room, then you might have a chance to call up spirits via Helena, and get Adelaide to tell some family secrets.”

Sabine frowned. “But if Adelaide’s memory is going, like Alford said, is anything she says really dependable?”

“We only have Alford’s word that Adelaide’s mind is going, and he’s getting that directly from the Fortescues. What better way to discount the ramblings of an old woman than to say she’s losing her faculties?”

“You have a point.” Sabine looked over at Helena. “Do you think you can help me spook the housekeeper?”

Helena shrugged. “I could probably manage a vision or two…for a piece of that chocolate cake I saw y’all eating.”

Sabine sighed. “I’ll see what I can do, but it’s going to have to wait. Now, before Catherine gets back, tell me what you’ve found, Helena. You had a strange look on your face when you entered the room.”

“The first place I checked was Catherine and William’s room. Catherine had this box of clippings on William with parts of the text highlighted—everything he’d ever done, looks like, from birth to the war. But after the war, there was nothing. I assumed at first that after she got married and had the kids, she was just too busy to keep up with it any longer, but then I started reading the highlighted text and it didn’t make sense at all.”