Page 8 of Dead Calm (Cold Case Psychic #38)

Ronan was semi-confident he was going to survive his bout of seasickness. After his nap, he’d hopped in the shower, which made him feel a bit more human. When he was dry and dressed, he walked into the living room, where Ten was waiting for him.

“How are you feeling?” Ten asked, wrapping his arms around Ronan and giving him a gentle squeeze.

“I’m better. Thankfully, I’m not dizzy anymore, but I don’t think I’ll be able to eat much for dinner.”

“We’ll have room service send up some toast, applesauce, and bananas if you like?” Ten asked, pressing a kiss to Ronan’s collarbone.

“I’ll give it a try. Where are the kids?” Ronan asked.

“Everly’s in the shower and Ezra’s with Cope on the beach. There’s something we all need to talk about.”

“Please tell me we didn’t win a second day of sailing on Breaking Wind ?” Ronan’s stomach pitched at the thought of getting in a rubber raft at the moment, never mind the sixty foot sailboat.

“No, it’s nothing that dire.”

“Hey, Daddy!” Everly ran out of her room and into Ronan’s arms. She was dressed in a pretty blue summer dress, while her strawberry blonde hair was up in a ponytail. “Are you feeling better?”

“Much better,” Ronan agreed. “Dad says there’s something we need to talk about as a family.”

Everly’s eyes narrowed for a second before she rolled them. “Daddy, it’s not a real date with Jerry, like teenagers have with kissing and that kind of icky stuff. We just want to go to the butterfly place. You have to let me grow up a little bit.”

Ronan snorted. While he was thrilled to know Everly thought kissing dates was icky at the moment, he knew she wouldn’t always feel that way. “Good to know, and I’ll take it under advisement, but that wasn’t what Dad wants to talk about.”

“We still need to talk about Jerry,” Ten said. “For the moment, I met someone today that I want to talk to you both about.”

Everly’s bright blue eyes widened. “You spoke to Vivienne? Did you see her too?”

“How do you know about Vivienne?” Ten asked.

Ronan remembered Lainie talking about how the spirit might have been murdered rather than having been a victim of the strong hurricane that nearly destroyed the hotel.

The last thing he wanted was Everly knowing anything about the spirit’s death, but Ronan didn’t always get what he wanted when it came to his daughter’s gift.

“Almost nothing,” Everly admitted. “I heard her name in my head. I didn’t see her or talk to her, but I did let her know that if she wanted to talk, I’d be there for her. I barely sensed her presence, but that was it.”

“How come you didn’t mention that to us?” Ronan asked. He wasn’t upset at his daughter, but there were times in the past, Everly had gotten in over her head with spirits and their problems. He’d like to prevent that from happening again if he could.

“I know how much you and Uncle Cope were enjoying having a ghost-free vacation. I figured that if Vivienne actually reached out or showed up to talk to me, then I’d let you know.”

“That sounds reasonable.” Ronan watched Ten as he spoke. “What do you think?”

Ten smiled at their daughter. “Sounds reasonable to me too, but there’s a little bit more to the story, which is why I was upset when I thought you’d been speaking with Vivienne.”

“I hate when that happens.” Everly frowned. “More to the story never means good news, right?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Ronan said. “Last night when you were watching movies with Aurora, we all went down to the bar. Me and Jude played darts, while Dad and Cope had a glass of wine at the bar.”

“We met the bartender. Her name is Lainie. Do you know her, either in person or through your gift?” Ten asked.

Everly shook her head. “No, I’ve never heard of her.”

That was one weight off Ronan’s mind, at least for the moment.

“While Cope and I had our drink, we asked Lainie if there were any ghosts in the hotel. I couldn’t help myself. The building is over one hundred and seventy years old. It stands to reason there would be one or two ghosts kicking around the place.”

“Did Lainie tell you about Vivienne?” Everly asked.

“She did,” Ten agreed. “Vivienne worked as a chambermaid at the hotel during the summer of 1933. Her boyfriend, Walt, worked here as well. There were rumors that Walt hurt Vivienne while they both worked here.”

“Did he go to jail?” Everly asked.

Ronan shook his head. “No, honey. Unfortunately, a lot of women kept abuse like that a secret back in the old days.” Hell, people kept that kind of abuse a secret now .

“At the end of the summer, a huge hurricane was about to hit the Rhode Island coast. All of the guests packed up and left, but the employees had to stay behind to shore up the hotel to help it survive the storm.” Ronan didn’t want to finish the story.

Ten, apparently sensing Ronan’s reluctance to continue, picked up the story.

“Walt and Vivienne were just about to leave the hotel, when she remembered she’d left something in the bar.

While she was gone, the water started rising from the ocean and up to the hotel.

Walt screamed her name and waited as long as he could, but in the end drove off and left. ”

Everly’s mouth hung open. “He left Vivienne here? All alone?” Her eyes started to water.

Ten nodded. “A few days later, after the floodwaters had receded, Vivienne’s body was found in the Taproom. People assumed she drowned in the storm, but there were rumors Walt hurt her.”

Everly swiped angrily at her falling tears. “Did he?”

“We don’t know,” Ronan said. “I wanted to do a little research when we got back from the sailing trip, but I wasn’t feeling so well.”

“It’s okay, Daddy.” Everly hugged Ronan and turned back to Tennyson. “How do we help Vivienne?”

“Well, it’s not quite that simple,” Ten said. “This is where the story gets a bit weird.”

“Weird how, like with vampires?” Everly asked, looking excited by the idea.

“No, honey, not with vampires, although, I’m sure Daddy and I are going to be talking about them later. Aren’t we, snookums?” Ten asked with a grimace.

Ronan held up a hand. “For once, it wasn’t me showing inappropriate content. Remember Hotel Transylvania ?” he asked triumphantly. Everly had loved the character of Mavis, especially since her father was a lot like Ronan, not wanting his daughter to grow up.

“Anyway, back to the story,” Ten began. “Like I said, Lainie is the bartender here and her boyfriend, Kurt, also works for the hotel. When we were in the bar last night, we saw him come in and treat her badly. He grabbed her arm and tried to drag her out of the bar. I could tell this wasn’t the first time this had happened.

Lainie admitted I was right. She said he’d never been like that back in Boston where they go to college. ”

Everly’s eyes widened. “It’s just like Vivienne and Walt.”

“Exactly,” Ronan agreed. “We need to talk to Lainie to get a little more information.”

Ten nodded in agreement. “Vivienne told me that the reason she hadn’t crossed over was so that she could protect other women who were being hurt the same way she’d been.”

“Did she say if Walt killed her?” Everly wore a worried look.

“I didn’t have time to ask, but more than that, the thing that stuck out to me was that she’s been dead for almost ninety years. How many abused women have been here over time? I would have thought there was some kind of window where she would have felt okay with crossing over.”

“What if this happens every year?” Ronan asks. “That there’s some couple who somehow mirror Vivienne and Walt?”

“You mean kind of like a time loop, but with different people?” Ten’s eyes widened. “ That makes sense, like the movie Groundhog Day , but with other couples playing the parts each summer.”

Ronan didn’t like the sound of that at all. He knew Ten and Everly were going to do everything they could to get to the bottom of the situation. “Where do we start?”

Ten grinned at his husband. “I want to speak with Lainie again and then do some research on Walt and other incidents at the hotel.”

“You mean to see if there are police reports of things going wrong here?” Ronan asked. He’d never admit it to Ten, but he missed work. They’d wrapped up a few cases before this vacation and Ronan was anxious to get back at it.

“Right,” Ten agreed. “Once we know more about the bigger picture me and Everly can try to speak with Vivienne and make a plan to stop the loop and get her to crossover and find some peace.”

“Let’s head down to the bar. It’s not quite dinner time, we might be able to catch Lainie in a lull of customers. We’ll drop Everly with Fitz,” Ronan was out of his seat, patting himself down for his phone, which he found in his back pocket.

“No way, Daddy. I’m coming too. It’s not just a bar, they sell wings, fried pickles, and pizza there too.” Everly’s hard look softened.

Ronan knew she was trying to butter him up. “Okay, let’s go, but no selfies. I don’t want there to be pictures of you in a bar.”

Everly snickered. She patted Ronan’s arm. “Deal!”

They headed for the elevator and after a short wait, boarded and went down to the first floor. When they walked into the bar, Fitz, Jace, and Aurora were at a back table. Fitz looked like he was eating soup, while Aurora and Jace had wings.

After a quick wave, Ronan sauntered up to the bar. “Hey, Lainie.”

When she turned, her face fell. “Oh, hi, Detective O’Mara.”

“There’s no detective, just Ronan. I’m on vacation.” He offered Lainie a wide grin. “Do you have five minutes to talk to us about the history of the hotel?”

Lainie looked like she was about to refuse, when Everly climbed up onto a barstool. “Your nails are gorgeous! I can’t wait until I’m old enough to have sparkly nails.”

Lainie laughed. Her nails were painted with pink glitter. “You must be Everly. Your Dads told me about you last night.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty famous.” Everly giggled. “We need to talk to you about Vivienne. It’s really important.”

“You know about Vivienne?” Lainie asked, shooting Ronan a questioning look.

“Don’t hate me yet. Wait until you hear what we have to say. We’ll be over at that table.” Ronan pointed to a free high top halfway back toward the dartboards.

Lainie nodded and poked her head into the kitchen, while Ten and Ronan got Everly settled at the table.

Lainie came back with a drink on a tray.

It was pinkish with bubbles. “This is for you.” She took the glass off the tray and set it in front of Everly.

“Your little friend told me how much you would love it. Aurora’s had three so far, so pace yourself. It’s called a Shirley Temple.”

Everly took a sip. Her eyes bugged out. “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted! What’s in it?”

“Ginger ale and grenadine,” Lainie said, her eyes sparkling as brightly as her fingernails. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“My name is Tennyson Grimm, I don’t know if you’ve heard of me, but I’m a well-known psychic medium back in Salem. Everly has gifts too.”

“Psychic?” Lainie asked, looking skeptical.

Everly’s face lit up. “You miss your cat named Mr. Spock, because he has long, pointy ears. Your Mom is taking care of him for you and your father loves to take naps with the cat.”

Lainie’s eyes widened. “Dad said he hated the cat.”

“Well,” Everly said, patting Lainie’s hand. “He lied. But just a little white one.”

“The reason I asked you about ghosts at the hotel last night was because I hadn’t sensed any.

It’s unusual for me to go to a public place, where people congregate and not see spirits.

This afternoon when I was standing on the second floor deck, I met Vivienne.

She was dressed in an old fashioned maid’s uniform with the apron pinned to the front,” Ten said.

“You met Vivienne?” Lainie sounded stunned.

Ten nodded. “She told me that the reason she is still here is to protect women from being hurt the way she was by Walt. Is there anything else you can tell us about him? Do you know what happened to him after the hurricane?”

“Yeah, he was-” Lainie stopped and she tilted her head toward Everly.

“It’s okay, you can say it. I’ve helped Dad work on cases like this before.” Everly took a sip from her drink which left a small pink mustache on her upper lip.

Ten passed his daughter a napkin.

“Walt was killed in the hurricane. He drowned in his car. The car was found on its roof about a quarter of a mile down the road. It had been days since the hurricane passed before he and Vivienne were found.”

“Do you know what happened to them after that?” Ronan asked.

“No one claimed Vivienne or Walt’s bodies. They were buried in a local cemetery in an unmarked grave. Together forever.”

“That explains a lot, actually,” Ten said, sounding absentminded.

“Last question,” Ronan began. “Is there a history of domestic violence at the hotel? Either between guests, staff or both?”

“Maybe,” Lainie said. “The cook saw Kurt grab me last night and said something strange when I got away from him.”

“What did he say?” Ronan asked.

“The curse struck again.” Lainie paused. “More customers walked into the bar and I didn’t have a chance to ask what he meant.” She looked over her shoulder and saw her coworker tapping his wrist, as if to say she’d been gone long enough. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

“You have my number if you think of anything else. It could be important,” Ronan said.

“I will.” Lainie hurried away.

“We’ve got some research to do,” Ronan said. “What do you say we order room service and get to it?”

“Sounds good to me.” Ten turned to Everly. “Do you want to stay down here with Aurora and have something to eat?”

“Yeah! Those wings look really good.” Everly hopped off her stool.

Ronan grabbed her drink and brought his daughter to Fitzgibbon’s table. He explained to Fitz what was going on and slapped sixty dollars on the table for drinks and apps. “Go wild, ladies.” Ronan pointed between Everly and Aurora.

Taking Ten’s hand, they headed to the lobby and pressed the button to summon the elevator.

Ronan knew curses were usually based on a real event, like when the Boston Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees back in 1919.

It was said the Babe cursed the team and the Sox went eighty-six years without winning a World Series, until 2004 when the curse was reversed.

What if Lainie was right and there was a curse? What if Walt was still here at Hurricane Pointe and none of the psychics could sense him? Ronan shivered. They needed to get to the bottom of this and quick before Lainie and Kurt became the latest victims in a cycle they were powerless to stop.