Page 14 of Ghost of You (Haunted Souls #24)

For the first time in his career, Cope was afraid to speak with the dead.

He’d pushed himself through his last appointment, Chad Hampton, a young man who’d lost his wife to cancer, and barely kept from crying alongside the widower.

In this client, he’d seen Oliver Adams. A man who had lived an ordinary life, until fate stepped in and shattered his future.

Thankfully, Cope had been able to reach out to Millie Hampton with ease. The woman appeared hale and healthy, just as she’d looked in life. He’d spoken to cancer-ravaged spirits in the past and these people, along with their devastated loved ones, broke his heart.

Seeing Francesca Adams bound and terrified was going to stick with Cope for the rest of his life.

Part of him wanted to go all out, no holds barred, to find the monster who killed the young, pregnant woman, the other part wanted to hide under the bed with a jar of peanut butter and a spoon.

The wildly vacillating points of view weren’t like Cope at all.

He’d always been a middle of the road kind of guy, happy not to be too high or too low, but with this spirit, there was no middle ground.

A knock at Cope’s door startled him. He knew Jude and Ten were coming in to try to channel Frankie, but he’d been so deep in his own thoughts that the meeting had slipped his mind. “Come in.”

The door opened, and in walked Jude, Ten and Ronan, which didn’t surprise Cope one bit. “Hey, guys.”

“Hi, babe.” Jude pressed a kiss to Cope’s temple and set a cup of coffee in front of him.

Cope didn’t have to smell the brew to know it was his favorite mocha latte from Cassie’s bakery. “Thanks, I could really use this.” He took his first heavenly sip as the others settled around his reading table.

“I brought Ronan to this meeting because he’s had so much experience working with Tennyson on cases like this one.”

“I’m glad you’re here, Ronan. I’m going to need all the help I can get.

” That was the understatement of the century.

Cope knew he could have passed this case off to Tennyson, that way Frankie would get the best psychic for the job and he could go back to his easy life of reuniting lost loved ones.

In fact, on the ride back from Frankie’s parents’ house, that had been Cope’s plan.

He’d give Ten the case and let the expert handle it.

Halfway through lunch, Cope changed his mind. He was the one who’d seen Frankie bound and terrified. She was begging not just for help, but for his help. Cope would be damned if he didn’t see this case through to the end. “Ten, can you go get Snowball?”

“You got it.” Ten smiled and left the room.

“Get it? Where did you leave Frankie’s old stuffie? It’s not still in the SUV is it?” Jude asked, looking alarmed.

Cope found his first smile in what felt like forever.

“Carson has a lead-lined lock box behind the check-out counter. We usually use it for special order items with dark energy, so that energy doesn’t influence us.

What we all learned is that the lead works as a barrier to our gifts.

None of us can see or sense anything when it’s inside the box, just like Superman. ”

“I remember that creepy D-O-L-L someone asked us to hold for them.” Jude shivered. Ronan did too. “Does Frankie’s stuffed cat have that same kind of energy?” Jude asked.

“No,” Cope said, as Ten walked back into the room carrying the stuffed cat.

“I didn’t want to speak to Frankie until it was time.

” What Cope actually meant was that he didn’t want to see her, bound and terrified, until he was surrounded by his friends.

If anyone could help him get through this reading, it was Tennyson.

Setting the battered stuffed toy in the center of the table, Ten took the seat beside Cope and held out his hand.

Cope grabbed onto it like a lifeline. “Frankie, this is my friend Tennyson. I’m hoping that with his help, we’ll be able to better communicate with you.

What you showed me this morning terrified and overwhelmed me.

I’m hoping that together with my friends, we can turn down your pain and focus on what happened that awful day so we can catch the bastard who hurt you and baby Amelia. Are you here with us now?”

The room was silent. Cope was afraid that Frankie wouldn’t appear.

“My daughter, Everly, has a stuffed unicorn that Jude gave her when she was a baby. It was white with a bright pink mane and tail. She carried that animal with her everywhere, usually around the neck like she was choking the poor thing. By the time she was three years old, it was so battered that I was afraid it would fall apart completely. Ronan and I bought every unicorn stuffie we could find in hopes that we could switch out Pinkie and get her to focus on another toy.” Ten laughed.

“Seeing Snowball reminded me of how much love our daughter gave her unicorn. The same kind of love you gave to your cat. All of us gathered here today want to help you find peace. We want to reunite you with your family. Please let us help you.”

Cope heard Frankie’s terrified scream a second before she appeared, bound and begging for help. She sat in the empty chair beside Ten, across from Jude.

“Oh, my God,” Jude whispered. “Frankie.”

Cope knew his husband could see the frightened spirit and based on the look of shock on Ronan’s face, he could see her too.

Her screams echoed in the small room, so loud and strong that the family picture on his desk tipped forward and landed face down.

Much more of this and Frankie might shatter the glass.

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star,” Cope began to sing. “How I wonder what you are.”

The others joined in singing the lullaby.

Frankie’s screams began to quiet as Cope finished off the second chorus.

Instead of screaming, the spirit was rocking back and forth with her knees pulled up to her chest. “Frankie, I know you’re scared.

I can feel your fear in my bones. I know this might be the only way you think you can communicate with me, but you can move out of this memory.

Come back to us. We all want to help you.

” Cold sweat trickled down Cope’s spine.

All of the feelings blasting out of Frankie were buffeting against him, like rough waves pounding the shore.

“Let us help you break free,” Ten said gently, offering his hand to Frankie.

Cope found himself wishing Everly was in the room with them. Her soul would be able to speak to Frankie without words. It was a skill he hadn’t quite mastered himself. “Take yourself back to earlier that day. You can do it. I know you can.”

Slowly, as Cope watched, the pain and fear melted away from Frankie’s face, as did the duct tape over her mouth and wrists. Appearing behind her was Bertha Craig. “I can only give you boys a few more minutes.” With those words, Bertha faded from view.

“I’m dead?” Frankie asked Cope, looking completely bewildered.

“I’m so sorry but you were-” Cope’s sentence was interrupted by Ronan holding up a hand to silence him.

“Can you tell us the last things you remember?” Ronan asked.

Cope knew what Ronan was doing, trying to get the information Frankie had before telling her what they knew.

Frankie’s dark eyes slid closed. “I was at home alone. Oliver and I were supposed to get take out that night. We’d been fighting since Italy. He was angry about the-” Frankie’s eyes widened. Her visage started to dim.

“Angry about what, Frankie?” Ronan asked.

“My baby.” Frankie’s hands flew to her midsection, wrapping around what should have been her growing bump. “Where’s my baby? Where’s Amelia? Did Oliver take her? Hurt her?” She stood up, looking frantically around the room.

Cope shook his head. “Amelia died with you.”

Frankie’s eyes filled with anguish. “My baby is dead?” Frankie sat down hard. “I’m dead. My baby is dead. Is Oliver dead too? Please tell me he’s burning in hell.”

“No, he’s alive and well. We met with him this morning,” Jude said. “He said he didn’t know you were pregnant.”

Frankie barked out a bitter laugh. “He gave me an ultimatum in front of the Trevi Fountain. Get an abortion or a divorce. The choice was mine.” Frankie frowned. “It wasn’t much of a choice, was it?”

“No, it wasn’t,” Ronan agreed. “Can you take us back through that day?

“It was a normal day. I’d volunteered at the food pantry and had gone home.

I was going to spend the rest of the day figuring out how to tell Oliver I was done with the marriage.

I was supposed to give him my answer to his ultimatum.

Wait,” Frankie paused, her eyes widening, “I didn’t volunteer.

I was going to see an attorney. Marcia, Marcy, Merry? ”

“Melanie Baker?” Cope asked, seeing the sign over her office door in his mind’s eye. The sign indicated Melanie practiced family law.

“Yes, that’s her. Melanie handled Angela’s divorce with care and compassion, so I called her office and made an appointment from my hotel room in Rome. I met with her that day.”

“You were going to divorce Oliver and keep Amelia?” Cope asked.

“Yes. I was going to move back in with my parents until I got back on my feet.”

“Did they know you were expecting their first grandchild?” Ronan asked.

Frankie shook her head. “No, I wanted to file for divorce first. I didn’t want the news of my daughter mangled by what an incredible asshole her father was.” As she spoke, Frankie began to fade from view.

“Did Oliver do this to you?” Jude asked, getting to his feet and reaching out for Frankie’s hand.

Frankie’s eyes widened, but she vanished before she could answer.

“Cope? Can you still hear her? Who killed Frankie?” Jude asked, slumping back into his seat.

“She’s gone, Jude. Frankie never answered your question.” Cope sank his head into his hands.

“Ten, what about you, can you reach Frankie?” Ronan asked. “Did Bertha run out of juice?”

“No, she’s gone, but Bertha’s here.” As Ten spoke, Bertha materialized in the seat that Frankie had vacated.

“Hi, boys,” Bertha said. “I didn’t run out of juice, like Handsome suggested. Frankie took off. If I had to describe it, I’d said it was like that cartoon mouse who zoomed around and left a cloud of dust behind him.”

“Speedy Gonzales,” Ronan said, with a grin.

“Carson and Cole loved those cartoons.” Bertha wore a wistful smile. “And before you ask, Frankie didn’t answer the question about who killed her. I couldn’t read it from her.”

“Neither could I,” Ten said.

“It was like her memory was coming back one piece at a time,” Cope said. “I had that happen last year with the daughter of a client.”

“Did the spirit get their memory back?” Jude asked.

“She did, but it took nearly six months. The daughter was drunk when she wrapped her car around a tree, so it took a while for her to overcome her passing and the fact that she had so much to live for that had all been lost over a poor decision.”

“Are you saying it could take Frankie months to remember who kidnapped and killed her?” Jude asked, sounding impatient.

“It’s possible,” Cope agreed.

“Is there anything we can do to speed up the process?” Ronan asked.

“Frankie has to recover her memories on her own.” It wasn’t the answer Cope wanted to give. He knew Ronan, Jude, and Fitz were anxious to solve this case. “All we can do right now is keep working to find the killer ourselves.”

“We need to add Melanie Baker to the list of people to interview. She might not agree to talk to us, but I’ll call tomorrow,” Jude said. He got out of his seat and headed for Bertha, who stood up and hugged him. “It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too, honey.” Bertha wrapped her arms around Jude, whose eyes were glittering with unshed tears. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t do more to find you.”

Jude mumbled something unintelligible and hugged Bertha harder.

Ronan motioned for Ten to leave the room with him. Cope followed behind.

What Jude needed right now was a mother’s love to help get him through the trauma he faced when he’d been kidnapped and nearly murdered himself.

If he were a betting man, Cope would guess Frankie needed the same thing.

He hoped that once this case was over and the monster who killed Frankie was behind bars, he would be able to reunite mother and daughter in person.

Until then, Cope wasn’t going to rest until the killer was caught.