Darkest Journey (Krewe of Hunters #20)(71)

“It will, Ms. Corley,” Ethan told her. “You can count on it.”

“Please, call me anytime you need me,” she said, producing cards and handing one to each of them. “I teach piano and voice, so you shouldn’t have any trouble reaching me.” She studied Charlie again. “If one of them is still here in spirit form, Ms. Moreau, he’ll find you. If you let him.”

Charlie nodded. “I hope so, Ms. Corley.”

She wasn’t just saying the words, either. She really did hope. She was accustomed to seeing the dead, and both Farrell and Albion had been good men. She hoped they’d both found peace, but if one of them did appear to her, it would only be to help, and that could only be a positive thing.

And yet a strange fear filled her.

She remembered being a small child, holding her father’s hand by the church, seeing several men walking around in their uniforms.

Men no one else saw.

Except her father. He had known. Known she was seeing the dead. And he had told her, “Fear the living, Charlie. Because the living are the only ones who can hurt you.”

She had understood then, and she still considered those words to live by.

Someone out there had killed three people. And that person was still out there.

She looked at Ethan and caught him studying her.

She tried to smile back at him as they left the little café, his arm lying comfortable across her shoulders.

She couldn’t help but wonder if he’d felt the same strange twist of fear.





13

Ethan met with Thor Erikson and Jude McCoy at four thirty, while the Southern Belles went into their preparation mode for the evening. Thor told him he’d enjoyed seeing Oak Alley, along with the trip “next door” to Laura, a Creole plantation, in contrast to an “English” plantation. Jonathan Moreau had left the houses tours to the on-site guides, and Thor had enjoyed listening to them as much as he’d enjoyed listening to Jonathan. He hadn’t learned anything useful, but on the plus side, nothing bad had happened to Jonathan.

Ethan was glad that Charlie hadn’t realized yet that her father might be in danger; he was glad nothing had happened—and that Thor had enjoyed listening to Jonathan. In turn, Ethan shared the conversation he’d had with Shelley. He’d already emailed them the list she’d given him of the various charitable groups Albion and Farrell had worked with. He’d also sent the list off to Angela at headquarters, so she could use the Bureau’s more powerful databases and resources.

For boots on the ground investigation, he’d divided up the list, and they would each take responsibility for a few. Thor and Ethan were going to check into an organization called Doggone It, which was dedicated to turning every shelter in the country into a no-kill facility. They happened to have an office in Natchez, so they could drop in the following day. The two of them were also going to tackle Sane Energy, an organization that fought to regulate where and when oil rigs were set up in the Gulf, and what kind of piping was allowed to be laid along the riverfront. Their head office was in Vicksburg, the next stop after Natchez.

Jude would watch over the Southern Belles and see what he could learn from the crew.

Dinnertime rolled around, and Alexi, Clara and Charlie began their second-night set.

That night, after the opening medley, they began the unique part of the set list with a little-known ballad, “My Love in My Arms to Move No More.”

Jonathan joined them as the meal was served, and he watched the women with a look of pride and pleasure on his face.

Charlie told a story that night about two men who had been friends but had served on opposite sides during the war. The Union soldier had been badly injured and left for dead on the battlefield. His friend found him, but rather than let him be taken prisoner, he took the chance of being shot as a traitor himself and spirited the wounded man to the home of another old friend, a Confederate who had already lost his only son in the war. A physician, he saved the life of the Union soldier and hid him until the war’s end. Charlie ended by telling the rapt audience where to look to find more information on the men and their lives.

As she finished, she looked over at Jonathan, since storytelling—especially historical storytelling—was his forte. He smiled broadly and nodded his approval, and Charlie smiled back. Ethan could tell how much it mattered to her that she had pleased her father.

Just as the performance was ending, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He excused himself and headed out on deck to answer. It was Randy Laurent.

“I’m getting nowhere here,” Randy said. “I hope you’re having better luck.”

“Nothing yet,” Ethan told him, which wasn’t really a lie, since he didn’t have anything solid. He told Randy he was planning to investigate the various groups Corley and Hickory had been involved with. “All quiet there? No other...”

“No other murders?” Randy asked him drily. “No, thank God.”

“Keep me posted.”

“Will do—and you do the same, please.”

“You got it.”

They rang off, and Ethan headed back toward the dining room. He arrived just in time for the final song, but as he entered, he felt something shift in the atmosphere.

A smoky mist seemed to sift into the Eagle View dining room.

The living diners were still there, but now they had been joined by the dead. Soldiers in tattered uniforms of blue and gray and butternut, identified by the insignias of the infantry, cavalry, artillery and the navy.