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A Father's Love is Forever

Angela Hawkins Crow assumed that the book left on her desk was from a friend who knew how much she loved history.

And, of course, she's accustomed to coming to work to listen to new cases about to come on the books, often a bit bizarre.

But she wasn't quite prepared for Adam Harrison and his son Josh, the latter being among the spirits.

But they'd left the book on her desk for a reason; history can repeat itself.

And the case Josh has brought forward is for one of the men in the book she's been reading, a dead man now, but a father determined that his daughter won't be following him into the afterworld before her time.

And thus, they begin on a speedy, strange quest to find Celia Wagner before most of the world even know she's missing.

But getting to her expediently is desperate and necessary.

And the ghost of Julian Wagner will do anything he can to find her.

Because, of course, a father's love is forever.

A Father’s Love is Forever

The book had simply appeared on Angela Hawkins Crow’s desk.

She’d assumed that one of their agents, knowing the way she loved history, had left it for her.

It was a wonderful story at first, about a man named Martin Wagner, born 1910, deceased 1975, who had been a political prisoner at the Dachau concentration camp during World War II.

He’d fought against the Nazi regime and hidden friends of the Jewish faith and others who were political dissidents—until he’d been caught himself.

But with his then ten-year-old son Hank, he’d survived the camp until it had been liberated and the two had made their way to the United States.

In America, despite all that had happened, Martin Wagner had remained an advocate who fought for human rights and taught his son to do the same.

And that’s where it had gone from uplifting to tragic.

Hank’s son, Julian, had followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps—and then been shot dead at a rally supporting veteran’s rights by someone with a twisted mind.

And, of course, Angela could remember the news stories that had appeared on everything from the major networks to every form of social media known to man.

There were dozens of theories; none were ever proven, and Julian’s killer remained at large.

The book had been written by Julian’s daughter, Celia Wagner, who was following in her father’s, grandfather’s, and great-grandfather’s footsteps, despite her father’s murder, speaking up against anyone practicing any kind of discrimination, fighting for the rights of all, and while only twenty-five, accruing one of the largest social media audiences in the country.

Angela was impressed.

The girl simply sounded like a wonderful human being;

she didn’t rub people’s noses into the dirt, she just pointed out any kind of discrimination in the wrong hands could be far more than rude, it could create a terrifying climate—that it could bring about the deaths of millions of people, including those put in camps, those brought down for protesting, and the military men and women killed in the fights that being hurtful to others could cause.

She still had her nose in the book when she entered the Krewe of Hunter offices on the Tuesday before Father’s Day.

And when she glanced up, realizing someone was seated in the chair before her desk in her office, she frowned and put the book into her bag.

Actually . . .

There were two people sitting in front of her desk.

One was alive.

And one was dead.

Adam Harrison was there, in the flesh, and the soul sitting next to him was that of his son, Josh.

Josh had really been the one to ignite his philanthropist father to first become involved in law enforcement, and then, through what he had seen and learned, start the Krewe of Hunters.

Josh had simply been special, but he’d been killed stupidly in a car accident caused by a jealous high school rival.

And it hadn’t been his father he had come to first, but rather his best friend.

While Josh’s strange ability wasn’t something that he had, Adam realized Josh had passed that ability on to a dear friend who had loved him.

And Adam had sent that friend to help solve a murder.

Then he had studied people and known there were a few more “Joshes” in the world.

Many in law enforcement.

And he started putting the right people in the right places a few more times, and then . . .

Angela and now Special Agent in Charge, her husband, Jackson Crow, had come together beneath Adam’s tutelage for the first “Krewe” investigation event in New Orleans and they had simply grown and grown and now had a European division and another unit encompassing those with “special” talents within their “special talents.”

And finally, years ago now, Adam had been gifted for all he had done for others through the decades.

He’d been able to see his own son.

But Angela had rarely seen—no, not rarely, never seen the two of them sitting in front of her desk together before.

“Hey!” she said, greeting Adam with a real hug and Josh with a sweep of her arms around the place where she could see his image.

She was hugged in return.

Then, just perching on the corner of her desk, she asked, “To what do I owe this pleasure? And it is a pleasure!”

“We really do need to see more of one another,” Adam said.

“But sometimes you’re running off around the world that I rather caused for you—”

“Dad,” Josh protested, shaking his head and then looking at Angela with a grin.

“I think Angela is pretty happy where she is, working with and married to Jackson, their great home and family and this place where they’re not worried about being weird and all the great people they work with!”

“He’s right,” Angela assured Adam, grinning at Josh in return. “But—”

“Help,” Adam said simply.

“On an assignment that Josh can explain to you.”

“You read the book?” Josh asked her.

“I did.

It was excellent and so sad,” Angela said.

She frowned.

“Julian’s murder, though, law enforcement tried hard back then to find whoever shot him, but in that kind of crowd, well ...

I’m not sure what we can do. Julian existed in the past—”

“As did I,” Josh reminded her softly.

He had died as a teenager, a tall teen with shaggy hair and a lanky body, a slim face and the kind of smile that could light up his face and make those around him smile as well.

Angela nodded, thinking if Josh had been able to grow up and be anything like Adam, he would have been a great force for good in the world.

She looked at the two of them curiously.

“And you are here now because you want Jackson and I to reopen the case?”

Adam leaned forward.

“No,” he said flatly.

“We’re here because Celia Wagner is now paying the price for being a decent human being.

She’s disappeared.”

“I haven’t seen anything in the news—” Angela began.

“Because I’m the only one who knows that she’s been abducted,” Josh said.

“And you try being a ghost and reporting that to most authorities!”

“Gotcha—” Angela began.

The door to her office opened; of course.

Jackson had arrived at their offices.

He’d let her off in front while he’d been parking the car.

And he didn’t appear to be surprised that Adam and Josh were there.

If he was, he gave no sign.

He realized, Angela thought, far more quickly than she had that if they were there, something was very wrong.

Hearing what Josh and Adam were telling Angela, he walked into Angela’s office, nodding to Adam and Josh.

“Let us know what’s going on.

The faster we move, the better chance we have of getting this young woman back.”

“Josh, tell them,” Adam said.

“Celia’s father came to me—” Josh began.

“Julian? The man who was shot and killed while speaking?” Jackson asked.

Josh nodded.

“Celia followed right in his footsteps.

She was speaking at an event right off the Shenandoah and so she was staying at a little boutique hotel right by the river.

She came downstairs to their little coffee shop and there was an explosion in the street and, of course, everyone ran out to see what was happening.

It was a car, no one was hurt, no one had been in it, the whole thing was a diversion.

When she ran out, two men swooped her up—one of them injected her with something so that it would look like she just went with them willingly.

Then they headed to the river and whisked her off to Virginia somewhere—according to Julian, he tried to board the boat, too, but slipped into the water instead and all he knows is that they kidnapped her and he’s terrified about their intentions.”

“The spirit who came to you is that of Julian Wagner,” Angela said.

“And he knew to come to you because—”

“Julian and I became friends because we like to like to watch sports together at a bar not far from the Museum of the American People.

Celia was just twelve when Julian was killed, and, of course, he watches over her.” Josh winced.

“I mean, he leaves her alone, too, she’s twenty-five now, and she has a fiancé and, um, you know, he respects her privacy.”

“The fiancé hasn’t reported her missing?” Angela asked.

Josh shook his head.

“Angela! This all just happened.

Her fiancé, Sam Marinelli, thinks she’s just gone to her morning meeting.

He’s a good guy, perfect for Celia.

He’s an attorney who works hard with men and women who he believes with his whole heart are innocent of crimes for which they’ve been accused or incarcerated—hey, he brought down one of the major drug cartels by proving a young woman had been set up to take the fall in a drug bust.

But we’re wasting time.

They’ve got her over the river! Celia needs help!”