Page 6 of Dead Evil (Cold Case Psychic #37)

“That’s just the beginning. On the night of Poppy’s funeral, her father dropped dead in the hotel room the family was staying in.

Massive heart attack. He was only thirty-three years old and until that night, had been fit as a fiddle.

One week later, Poppy’s mother and older brother were in a horrific car accident.

She was hit head on by a garbage truck that had swerved into their lane.

She died instantly. The brother was in a coma and woke up three days later, shouting Agatha Louise’s name.

His maternal grandparents were in the room with him and were holding his hand ten minutes later when he died. ”

Ronan shivered. His teenage self would definitely have been sleeping with the lights on after hearing this story. Hell, if the tale got much worse, his adult self would be too. “You said she killed seven people. That’s only three.”

“When the grandparents packed up the hotel room after the double funeral, they took Agatha Louise with them. They’d been the ones who bought the doll for Poppy and they wanted something to remember her by. Everything was fine at first, but then the grandfather saw the doll move.”

“Move?” Fitz asked, his eyes wide.

“Only one of the doll’s eyes survived the fire.

One was a perfect green, while the other was blackened and permanently melted shut.

Poppy’s grandfather saw the doll’s good eye roll back in her head, which began to spin around a full 360 degrees.

Her arms reached for him. The grandfather was freaked out.

He called his wife who allegedly also witnessed the doll moving.

He grabbed a trash bag and his wife’s dishwashing gloves and used them to stuff the doll into the bag.

After the bag was securely tied shut, he threw her in the trash.

Fifteen minutes later, he was dead. Massive stroke.

Medical examiner said he was dead before he hit the floor.

The grandmother rescued Agatha Louise from the trash, gave her a bath and cleaned her up.

She promised the doll would always be safe and welcome in her house. ”

Ronan turned to Fitz, whose mouth hung open in obvious shock. “Did she kill the grandmother too?”

Jude shook his head. “No, she lived for another thirty years, died in 1994 from natural causes, and left the doll to her next door neighbor in her will. The neighbor’s name was Cindy and she and the grandmother had been enemies for decades.

Cindy thought the doll was an olive branch from the grave, but it turned out to be a one-way ticket to the morgue.

She died the day she took possession of the doll. ”

Fitzgibbon snorted. “Okay, so if everyone who owned the doll was dead, how the hell did the story get out?”

Jude grinned at Fitz. “I’m so glad you asked.

Poppy’s grandmother left a letter in a sealed envelope with her will.

Her lawyer was given instructions to open it after Cindy’s death.

The letter inside detailed Agatha Louise’s entire history.

The grandmother confessed to using the doll to kill her neighbor.

The letter ended with a macabre warning that whoever owned the doll next would meet the same fate as all the others. ”

Ronan was absolutely stunned. He would have found this story beyond belief it had appeared in a Stephen King novel, never mind in real life.

“I hate to mention math, but with Poppy’s parents, grandfather, brother and the neighbor, that makes five.

I thought you said she was responsible for seven deaths. ”

“You’re right. This is where things get really interesting.” Jude smirked at Fitz and Ronan.

“I’m not sure my poor heart can handle really interesting ,” Fitzgibbon said.

“Word of the letter got out and Devin Forrest paid a ridiculous amount of money to buy the doll,” Jude said, pausing, as if he were waiting for some kind of recognition.

“Devin Forrest?” Ronan asked. “Why do I know that name?”

Fitz gasped. “Jesus, he owns that freaky museum in Florida. The one that has a collection of serial killer memorabilia.”

“Curiosity Cabinet,” Ronan said. “Christ, he’s got one of those creepy clown portraits painted by John Wayne Gacy from death row, forks from Jeffrey Dahmer’s kitchen and a huge collection of haunted dolls.

We met him during a case Tripp Cahill and Marlowe Bond worked for their ghost hunting YouTube channel a couple of years ago.

Devin took possession of a cursed doll named Violet. ”

“I remember now,” Fitzgibbon said. He turned back to Jude. “You’re saying Agatha Louise is a guest in his museum?”

“Yeah,” Jude agreed. “The doll was put on display with a write up of her kills and warnings not to insult the doll. The second day Agatha Louise was on display, a young man and his girlfriend made the mistake of laughing at the doll’s melted face.

He and his girlfriend were run down by a hit and run driver.

The boyfriend died at the scene. The girlfriend woke up in the hospital and wrote a letter to the doll, begging her forgiveness.

She lost a leg but survived. The letter is now on display at the museum.

A week later, a man was heard calling her U-G-L-Y.

He dropped dead on the spot. Massive aneurysm. ”

“I swear to God, Jude, if you’re fucking with us,” Ronan began.

“Look up her bio on the museum’s website,” Jude offered.

“How was the doll stopped from adding more victims to her kill list?” Fitz asked, looking scared to death.

“Bulletproof glass. It’s the only thing that’s worked so far. Her exhibit is surrounded by warnings not to take her picture or make eye contact.”

“And you believe this story?” Fitz asked.

“Hell yeah! I can’t wait to see her.” Jude grinned from ear to ear.

“If everything you’ve just said is true, why on earth would they risk moving her? What if she brought down the plane she was flying on, derailed a train, sent a Greyhound bus over a cliff?” Ronan’s heart started to pound. He was terrified.

“Devin travels with her every year to Paranormal Phantasmagoria. It’s only a ten hour drive from Tampa to NOLA.

It’s nearly twenty six hours to Salem, so I didn’t think she was coming, but she is!

I can’t wait to tell Cope!” Jude popped out of his seat.

“I’ve gotta get back to work!” he called as he ran out the door.

Ronan was gobsmacked by Jude’s enthusiasm for the doll. “Do you believe the story?”

Fitzgibbon’s eyes darkened. He nodded and made a motion like he was zipping his lips shut. “We’ll just keep the kids away from her and everything will be fine.” Fitz got up and followed Jude out of the room. “Let’s grab tacos in an hour. I’m starving!”

It seemed that the tale of Agatha Louise the serial killer doll hadn’t phased Fitz one bit. Ronan on the other hand was scared out of his mind. He wanted to run home and grab his rosary and bathe in holy water.

Not only did Ronan have to worry about keeping his family and city safe from demon hunters, a homophobic white supremacist hate group and its rabid followers, but now also from a murderous doll who could take out the entire auditorium in the blink of her one good eye.

What the hell was next? A plague of locusts? The Apocalypse?