Page 13

Lavender

Callie was very excited by the readings that had been taken, and while a lot of what she and her team presented was beyond me, I guessed they had something.

Phoe had managed to coax Sin away from the journal for lunch, and Sin was showing me the scans on her laptop that she had. Sin kept mentioning how clear the ink was and how astounding it was that it hadn’t faded.

“The family has a recipe; it is written in the front. We have to use that ink and that ink alone in it. The recipe can’t be changed, although we can change the colour. Apart from that, everything must be made exactly the same way,” I explained.

“I saw that but wasn’t sure if it was used for the journal. It’s an outstanding document. Anything your family thought important in their lives is recorded here. There are records of births, death, balls, parties, and illnesses. And I’m still on Richard’s entries. He detailed his leaving from England and how he took the name of Bloodsworth,” Sin said with excitement.

I briefly explained about the legend, and Sin nodded.

“That’s exactly how it happened! Richard challenged his father on the value of their blood line when the duke tried to disown him. It’s an amazing story. He also talks about the Star of Lucia. That was his mother’s name, and the gem was part of her dowery. Lucia snuck it to him when he left alongside some of her family jewels. It seems Lucia didn’t agree with the duke’s decision to disown their youngest son,” Sin said.

“Star of Lucia?” I asked.

“He doesn’t describe it, but he says it is a good luck charm for his family. It’s brought them great wealth over here,” Sin replied.

“Not something someone would be likely to sell,” Chatter mused.

His mind had gone where mine had. The missing jewellery.

“Has anyone been in the cellar?” Kelly questioned, entering the kitchen.

“Not that I’ve seen,” I said, looking. The others all shook their head.

“The crates in room three have been moved,” Kelly stated.

“And the ghost strikes again,” Harriet chortled, amused.

“Do you have cameras down there?” I asked Callie.

“Yes, but not in the rooms,” she answered.

“Can you see if anyone has been messing around?”

“Easily done,” Jack interrupted and pulled his tablet near him. We talked as we reviewed the footage.

“I have something,” Jack announced ten minutes later.

Callie looked over. “Let’s see it.”

Jack got up and came over to us, and I glanced at the slightly grainy feed. Nothing happened, and then, out of nowhere, the door opened and shut several times before standing open.

“There’s sound,” Jack said, and he pressed play on an audio file.

We clearly heard the door unlock and open, and then, for around ten minutes, there was shuffling sounds and noises of the crates being moved.

“Holy hell,” I muttered.

“How long will lunch be?” Callie asked.

Phoe looked at the amount of us and wrinkled her nose. “I’d say twenty minutes.”

“We’ll go check out the cellar,” Callie said, and her team nodded.

“Too much going on,” I murmured, and Chatter squeezed my shoulder. I was hyper-aware of everything Chatter was doing. For some reason, I seem to have developed a Chatter radar.

“You can manage,” Chatter muttered as conversation rose around us.

“It’s overwhelming,” I complained softly.

“It will be, but one step at a time. How about after lunch, we get together and write down everything in your head and create a plan?” Chatter suggested.

“Not a bad idea. I should have thought of that,” I answered, annoyed at myself.

“Um, Lavender? The police are here,” Tatum announced, appearing with a man behind him.

“Lio?” Chatter said, straightening, as did Phoe.

“Hey. What are you doing here?” the guy called Lio asked.

“Think that is my question for you,” Chatter responded.

“I need to speak to Lavender Bloodsworth,” Lio said, looking around.

“That’s me,” I said, lifting a hand in a lame wave.

“Ma’am. Might it be possible for me to have a word with you in private?” Lio showed me his badge. “I am Detective Emilio Hawthorne with the Spearfish Police department.”

“Sure,” I replied and motioned for him to follow me out of the kitchen. I took him to the workroom we were using downstairs and was shocked when Phoe and Chatter slipped in behind him.

Lio didn’t look too surprised.

“How can I help Detective Hawthorne?” I asked.

“Ma’am, call me Lio. You had a car accident a month ago?”

“About five or six now, but yes,” I replied.

“The garage has just been in contact with the police. As you know, the car was totalled and written off, so the garage did not look for a cause. But one of their mechanics is a curious sort and knew your car should have handled the weather better than it did. He discovered, ma’am, that your brakes had been partially cut,” Lio explained, holding my gaze.

At first, I didn’t understand what he was saying, and I blinked in confusion. My brakes were cut?

“Which meant that every time you touched the brakes, Lavender, you made the cut worse until the brakes failed completely,” Chatter added.

“Are you saying someone tried to kill me?” I asked.

“Ma’am, it looks that way. Is there anyone…” Lio began to say, and I choked on a bitter laugh.

“Oh, they’re lining up to kill me, it appears!” I replied hysterically, and Chatter’s gaze held mine in sympathy. “Please leave me alone to talk to the detective.”

“We’ll be in the kitchen if you need us,” Phoe said, touching my arm.

I nodded, as I didn’t trust my voice to speak.

◆◆◆

An hour later, I showed Lio out and headed for my room. I didn’t want to speak or see anyone right then. I slipped into my bedroom and froze. On my bed was a bunch of wildflowers, but it was what was next to them that held my gaze. A broderie anglaise dress.

My hands began to shake as I stared at it. I remembered that dress. It came with a large straw hat with flowers, and I used to wear it as a kid. A memory surfaced of me running through the gardens with Aunt Aggie laughing behind me. I’d worn the dress, and she’d used a couple of belts to hold it off the ground as it was for an adult, not a child.

“This is my wedding dress, Aunt Aggie!” I cried.

“And you’ll be a beautiful bride, Lavender!” Aunt Aggie called back.

The memory faded, and I reached out to touch it. It was the same one. What the hell was it doing here? What did the flowers mean?

I was so engrossed I didn’t hear my door open, and I screamed as someone placed their hands on my shoulders.

“It’s me!” Chatter said, quickly stepping away and putting his hands up.

“Sorry you startled me,” I murmured, my eyes returning to the dress.

“That’s pretty. It looks old,” Chatter replied, following my gaze.

“It is from the nineteen twenties. As I child, I used to play dress up in it. I’m not sure why it’s here,” I whispered, looking around.

“Is there a secret passageway in this room?” Chatter asked.

“No. So how the hell did it get here, and nobody sees it? And how would anyone know what this meant to me? I’m starting to get scared,” I admitted.

“Lavender, I’m going to admit, I do not like a lot of what’s going on. I got a plan to regain the trust I destroyed, but I am not leaving you tonight. You’ve had a massive shock, and things keep happening. Too much, and you’re overloaded. I’m going to let everyone know you’re taking an afternoon off, and we’re gonna curl up and make your plan. Then I’ll order takeout, and we’ll watch a movie,” Chatter said.

“I can’t—”

“Lavender, you need a break. A chance to relax and chill out,” Chatter insisted.

My eyes on the dress, I slowly nodded. “I need a vase for the flowers.”

“You don’t know why they’re there or who brought them,” Chatter exclaimed, sounding almost outraged.

“The dress isn’t a threat. It has good memories attached to it. Somebody left it here for me to remember that. The flowers… Aunt Aggie and I used to pick a posey together and pretend they were my wedding flowers.”

“I don’t know, Lavender. Someone smuggled them in here,” Chatter debated.

“Chatter, I refuse to believe they’re a threat,” I argued. I wasn’t getting rid of them. Sure, the way they’d appeared was creepy, but they seemed kind of sweet.

“Fine. Go get a blanket and sit down. I’ll fetch some drinks and some lunch for you. You missed it,” Chatter said.

◆◆◆

I laid my head on Chatter’s shoulder. Chatter tapped the notebook on his lap where he’d been writing. Now, I could visibly see it. Everything didn’t seem so overwhelming.

Slaughter continued to upgrade security, and I had a full complement of guards. Other than Sin, Tatum was the only expert I had booked other than Fabergé, who was sending one in a week. Together, we’d jotted down the experts that I’d planned to phone and those Tatum had recommended, and Chatter had helped me narrow them down to one a week.

Fanatic would continue to tune up the cars, and he’d be able to value them, too. But Chatter confirmed that Fanatic knew experts and would contact them to agree with his valuation. Chatter had sent his friend Apache a message asking him to come and meet with me to discuss a large project.

Together, we’d discussed the museums planned and, in the end, I’d decided on a couple of main buildings with wings for the collections. They’d be several stories high and have elevators, and each wing could be locked down individually.

Next up was the current restorations; the third floor was being dried and then torn down to the studs and new walls being put up. Until we cleared the rooms, plumbers and electricians couldn’t get in, so they were right at the bottom. The gardens were being worked on by a landscaping company I’d found in Rapid City. It seemed Chatter knew Ezra, who was a part of Rage MC.

Now Callie was here, the mysterious happenings were also being investigated. If a human was behind them, Callie would prove that. With Sin scanning the Journal, my family secrets would soon be at my fingertips.

Everything else slotted into the plans and by the time we’d finished, I felt much more relaxed.

“Now you can see it all listed, seems easier, right?” Chatter asked.

“Yeah. I think I kept getting in my head and making things bigger than what they were,” I admitted.

“Easily done, babe,” Chatter said.

I sighed. “Thanks for this afternoon. I needed a break. I’ve been a control freak.”

“Rightfully so, knowing what is here. But maybe you can relax your grip a little. Can’t say I trust a man who sneaks a date with my woman when he knows we’re on the outs, but Tatum ain’t gonna steal.”

“Your woman?” I asked, amused.

“Mine. But it’s gonna take you time to get that. I treated you bad,” Chatter admitted.

“What made you change your mind?”

Chatter

He thought about his answer. Chatter needed to phrase it in a way so Lavender didn’t take offence.

“Hated seeing you accept Tatum’s date, and I did not understand why. For years, I kept my heart safe. After loving and losing once, that type of pain… it’s indescribable. Call me a coward, but I didn’t want to experience that ever again. But you are special and broke my walls down.

“I look at you and see someone brave and who faces adversity head-on. You have a quirky sense of humour, loyalty in spades, and a lot of love. Lavender, your kindness and gentleness shine, but so does your willingness to fight for what’s right. I’d be an idiot if I walked away from everything that makes you, you!”

“Yet you’ve managed to walk from other women after six months,” Lavender challenged.

“Yup. But they didn’t have what you do, they weren’t the whole package,” Chatter said.

“And just like that, I am meant to believe you’ve got over your reservations and are committed?”

“Hell no. I’m battling every fuckin’ cell in my body because I wanna lock you up somewhere safe to protect you. My nerves are screaming because I know somebody cut your brakes. The truth is, I’d love to shut this house down, kick everyone out, and keep you safe myself. But that’s not feasible. Shit, it’s even worse… because despite your weird-ass job… cretins of all things… I still need to be around you. Can’t bear the thought of not seeing you,” Chatter admitted.

Lavender began laughing. “Only a guy with a phobia like yours would fall for someone like me.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

◆◆◆

Chatter’s eyes flew open.

Those were footsteps.

Before he had gone to bed, he’d had Jinx show him the room above Lavenders. There was no way anyone could walk about in it. Yet there were now footsteps above him. Lavender stirred in his arms, and Chatter soothed her as he kissed her brow.

His eyes narrowed in the moonlight as the footsteps got louder, like someone was stomping, and Lavender muttered something. It had taken little effort for Chatter to get her to agree to him staying. What had taken a lot of reassurance was the fact he was not looking to stay to get laid. Of course, if she had offered sex, Chatter wouldn’t say no, but he sensed she wasn’t quite ready yet. He’d finally managed to convince her he just wanted to make sure she was safe.

At first, she’d been tense with him in bed, but Lavender was so tired she fell to sleep in his arms.

“It’s starting,” Lavender murmured as she yawned.

“Shh, go back to sleep.”

“No point, it is going to start ramping up,” Lavender muttered as she turned and laid her head on his chest.

Chatter’s hand sank into her hair, and he massaged her neck. He jumped as doors began banging, but Lavender sat up.

“That’s new, that is down here,” she exclaimed.

“Are you sure?” Chatter said as someone knocked on her door, and Jinx stuck his head around.

“Are you hearing this?” he asked.

Chatter scowled at Jinx, being so comfortable about entering Lavender’s bedroom.

“Yeah,” Chatter growled out.

“Well, you better come see this,” Jinx demanded.

They climbed out of bed, and Chatter instinctively shoved Lavender behind him. In retaliation, Lavender thumped his back and stepped in front of him. Once they left the room, the banging doors were much louder.

A low moan came from a hallway, and Lavender snapped her head towards it. Without a word, she took off, and they gave chase, Chatter cursing under his breath. It was the corridor that led to the kitchen and downstairs room.

“Aunt Aggie?” Lavender gasped, skidding to a stop. Chatter and Jinx barely avoided crashing into her as they gazed over her shoulder. The hallway was pitch black, but they all could see something!

In front of them stood an elderly woman. She smiled before disappearing.

“Tell me you saw that!” Lavender squealed.

“Yeah, and I see that too!” Jinx shouted, pointing at a window. A distorted male face peered through it at them.

“Nearest exit?” Chatter demanded.

Lavender spat it out as Chatter rushed off. “Stay with Lavender!” he ordered Jinx.

Lavender

Jinx nodded and winced as Chatter skidded on nothing and careened into a wall.

“Jinx!” Chatter yelled but kept going.

“That’s gonna leave bruises,” Jinx muttered.

I was a little miffed. I didn’t need someone to watch over me. The face in the window had gone, but the corridor bothered me. There was something about it. Some memory niggled at me, but I couldn’t grasp it and pushing it would only make it harder to remember.

“Come on,” I said as we headed to my room. It astounded me that everyone remained asleep with all this noise going on. Despite trying to corral my thoughts elsewhere, I kept flashing back to Aunt Aggie. That had been her. No doubt in my mind whatsoever. Why was Aunt Aggie haunting the Manor? Did she have unfinished business? And then I remember her death. I still didn’t know how she died.

That nice detective might be able to tell me that. I had his card, so would call him in the morning.

I entered the bedroom with Jinx on my heels and stopped.

“What the fuck?” I gasped as I stared at the second bunch of wildflowers on the bed. The dress was now on a hanger on the back of the door, whereas I’d left it folded neatly and carefully.

“I’m guessing you didn’t do that,” Jinx said grimly.

“No. That dress is sending a message, but I don’t know what. Somebody wants me to remember my childhood,” I murmured.

“Why that particular one?” Jinx asked.

“Good question. There were several dresses Aunt Aggie and I played dress up in, but that one was special.”

“What made it so?” Jinx pushed quietly.

“Because I always said I’d get married in it one day,” I answered, chuckling.

“To whom?”

“Ronnie,” I said immediately and froze. “Who the hell is Ronnie?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“I was an only child, and Uncle Ronald had died before I was born. Who is Ronnie?” I mused, wracking my brains. I was missing something. My memories, which I thought were sharp, weren’t. I came to the realisation that I might have some of these answers locked inside me, but I couldn’t access them. What was I forgetting?