Celeste Files: Unjust (7 page)

“So Gabe hooked up with Denis, and then what?” John asked.

Barney shrugged. “Don’t know much about it, except Denis hired Gabe to go with him down to the tip of Florida to do some shrimping and fishing. They were gone about three or four days—can’t remember which, before heading back to Everglades City. Denis claimed he had a buyer who’d pay him top dollar if he brought back specific fish, along with shrimp. Sounded dumb to me. Shrimping is one thing, but the Gulf ain’t like the fish market. You can’t just drop a line and snag a blue marlin or a sailfish or…you get the idea. My point is that I sure as hell wouldn’t risk losing days on fishing for what I know I can catch locally, on the chance I might come back with what the buyer wants.”

“I agree with Barn on that,” Mel said, and tapped her long pink nails against the table. “Unless the buyer paid me upfront, I wouldn’t take the risk. I also don’t see Denis doing anything without guaranteed money.”

“You knew him, too?” Celeste asked.

She tossed her wavy, long blonde hair over her shoulder. “I steered clear of him after he gave me a smack and shoved his hand up my shirt.”

“Jesus,” Ryan said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I took care of it. Denis might’ve been quick with his fist, but he was scared of my knife.” A wry smile tilted the woman’s mouth. “It’s kind of fitting that he was stabbed.”

“Damn, you are cold,” Harrison said.

She shrugged. “I
am
the ice cream lady.”

Melanie was a piece of work. According to John, Mel not only ran the ice cream shop attached to Ryan and Lola’s airboat business, but she also ran a chop shop and had a thing for knives. Celeste had a hard time believing that the petite, pretty woman with the sweet southern drawl was capable of anything unsavory. But, at this point in her life, nothing surprised her.

“Has anyone checked into Denis’s bank accounts?” John asked. “Or Gabe’s?”

Lola nodded. “Detectives looked into Gabe’s. He’d made a deposit the day before he and Denis left. But the check wasn’t from Denis. It was from the last job he’d worked. Since Gabe didn’t withhold any money from the deposit, it’s possible Denis paid him in cash.”

“Do you want me to hack into Denis’s bank account?” Harrison asked, as if this was an every day occurrence.

“No. Let the detectives handle the bank the proper way, with proper warrants.” Lola glanced to Barney. “From what I’ve been hearing about the man, he doesn’t seem like the type to leave his cash in the bank. It makes me wonder what else he might be hiding at his place.”

It didn’t take a psychic to know Lola was hinting that Barney should break into Denis’s house. If Celeste was right, she wanted to be there when Barney was nosing through Denis’s things. If she could gain a reading from a few objects in the dead man’s home, she might have a better understanding of him and what exactly he wanted from her.

“Do we know if Denis or Gabe radioed for help during the storm?” Ryan asked.

Lola frowned. “I’m not sure. When we meet with the detectives later, we’ll ask.” She glanced to Celeste. “We were hoping you’d join us.”

“Me?” She shifted her gaze to John. “Do the detectives know that I’m psychic and being haunted?”

“Just the psychic part.” Lola let out a breath. “Look, the detectives working this case aren’t convinced Gabe killed Denis. Let me rephrase…the evidence points to Gabe, but based on Denis’s history of violence, they’re wondering if Gabe killed Denis in self-defense.”

“I don’t think he killed Denis,” Barney said. “Gabe has no history of assault and has never been arrested. Hell, in the fifteen years I’ve known the man, I’ve never once heard him raise his voice in anger, let alone come to blows.”

“I can’t see Gabe killing a man, period,” Mel said.

Ryan nodded. “Neither can I. Gabe’s a good guy.”

“Or maybe you don’t know the man the way you think,” John said. “Someone killed Denis. That’s evidence you can’t deny. I’m sorry, but there were only two people on the boat, one of them is dead. Since I doubt Denis stabbed himself, either Gabe did it, or there was someone else on the boat that night.”

“If there was, Gabe’s not talking,” Lola said. “The detectives are open to using a psychic to help fill in the blanks and figure out what happened.”

Barney leaned back in his chair and stared at Celeste. “Seeing as how you’re on vacation and all, I feel bad for asking you to help us.”

Since she was willing to break into Denis’s house with Barney to gain a reading, she’d have no problem working with the detectives. She’d do just about anything to stop the dead captain from haunting her.

“It’s fine,” Celeste said. “I don’t mind performing a reading. I’ll just need an object from both Gabe and Denis—a piece of clothing they were wearing the night of the storm should work—and hopefully I’ll see something.”

“About those objects,” Barney said. “Lola and I were talking, and we were both wondering…I mean, I certainly don’t want to upset you, but we were thinking—”

“Honey,” Mel began, “Barney and Lola want to know what’ll happen if you touch a dead guy.”

“Way to sugarcoat it,” Harrison said.

Mel tapped her manicured nails along the table. “I’ve got ice cream to serve. The sooner Barney says what he needs to, the sooner we can get through our training, and I can go back to work.”

“No, you want to go back to your little chop shop and play with the Camaro that happened to—”

Lola held up a hand. “Enough.” She gave both Harrison and the pretty blonde a censoring look, before meeting Celeste’s gaze. “We all like Gabe, and we all want to believe he’s innocent. If he’s not, then he deserves to pay for his crime. I’m not a psychic, so if touching a dead body isn’t something you think will be helpful, the detectives will provide you with whatever you need to perform a reading.”

Celeste shifted her gaze to John, who shook his head. “Denis’s body was in the water for five days,” he said.

Which was exactly why she had no intention of going anywhere near the dead man. “Let’s start with objects first, then go from there.”

While Barney let out a sigh of relief, Lola grinned. “Excellent. I’ll let the detectives know and schedule a time to meet with them.”

“See if you can make it happen after we’re done training,” John said. “I’d like to spend the rest of the day at the beach with Celeste.”

Guilt elbowed Celeste. Her poor husband. Nothing, not even a mini vacation, could be normal for them. She’d make it up to him, and ensure that they’d enjoy the rest of the week. Denis wanted revenge. He’d come to her before Gabe had confessed, then had become aggressive during the night when Gabe had denied killing the man. To her, it was clear Denis wanted Gabe to pay for his crime. Unfortunately, the only way to get rid of her ghost was to prove to Gabe’s friends that he was indeed a murderer.

Chapter 5

BARNEY PULLED HIS station wagon into Crystal Creek RV-Trailer Park where he lived and stored his boat. He parked under the carport attached to the back of his mobile home.

“I thought we were going to Denis’s place,” Celeste said. After she and Barney had left Polina’s Paradise, they’d gone to Cap’n Ryan’s Airboat Tours. Ryan’s brother, Shane, was handling the light morning tour schedule, which gave her and Barney the opportunity to spend an hour boating through the Glades. While she’d had a fantastic time, her mind hadn’t been on the mangrove trees or whether she’d glimpse an alligator. She’d been thinking about breaking into Denis’s house and searching for a way to rid herself of his spirit.

“We are. But, first we need a few things.” Barney began ticking off on his fingers. “Lock-pick kit, gloves and camera, unless you can think of something else. Second, Denis was my neighbor.”

“Seriously?” She glanced to the RV at her right. “And you didn’t think that was worth sharing?”

He chuckled. “I don’t mean that he lived right next door. He had a trailer a couple of lanes over. The good news is that I know the folks who lived by him. The majority are either snowbirds, or only come down to Everglades City on the weekends to do some fishing. So we shouldn’t run into any problems.”

“Unless the detectives find out we broke into his trailer.”

Barney shrugged. “I’ve been living in Crystal Creek for seventeen years. I’m also friends with the guy who owns the park. We’ll be just fine,” he said, climbing out of the car.

She did the same, then followed him to the front of his mobile home. While Barney went inside to grab whatever he needed, she stepped around the American and the black POW-MIA flags, and once again admired his cozy and adorable covered porch, equipped with a ceiling fan, flower boxes and lawn furniture.

“Ready?” he asked when he stepped outside.

Celeste’s stomach tightened with nervous energy. John would be furious with her for doing this, but he wasn’t here. While she still had six days left of their vacation, she wanted to enjoy each day to the fullest—without a ghost. “Ready,” she said, falling into step with Barney as he started down the lane.

When they reached a four-way intersection, they turned right. Just like yesterday, except for the hum of the occasional boat, or the seagulls overhead, the trailer park was quiet, which should’ve put her at ease. Instead, the silence made her edgy and anxious. The glaring sun, the way its heat licked at her scalp, bare shoulders, arms and legs, only intensified the anxiety. As they turned down another lane, her feet grew heavy, her legs strained. As if she had thick bands around her ankles, every step became cumbersome.

She shoved the sweaty curls clinging to her forehead and cheek away from her face. “I think it’s hotter today than it was yesterday,” she said, then dragged in a deep breath.

“Actually, it’s about five degrees cooler. The breeze is helping.”

Celeste glanced to Barney and realized he looked as fresh as he did when they’d been in his air-conditioned wagon. “Not buying it.” She tugged at her damp tank top. “Between the wind and the water, it wasn’t bad on the airboat. Here, the air is stagnant and…suffocating.” She stopped, and despite probably losing several pounds in water weight due to her profuse sweating, goose bumps rose along her skin. “How far away is Denis’s trailer?”

He pointed to the left. “From here, second one down.” He looked to her. “Damn, girl. You are sweatin’ up a storm. I wish I would’ve thought to grab you a water bottle when we were back at my house.”

“It’s okay. I’ll be fine.” But would she? The closer they were getting to Denis’s trailer, the hotter she was becoming. She hadn’t thought much of it at first. After all, they were in southwest Florida in mid-June. Of course it would be hot. Of course she should be sweating. But each time Denis’s ghost made his presence known, the air around her grew hot, humid and overbearing. Was he here now? Would he be angry that she and Barney were about to snoop around his trailer?

The imaginary bands around her ankles grew thicker, tighter. Each step she took became shorter, harder, until she had to stop. Her heartbeat soared as panic tightened her chest. A wave of dizziness threw the rows of trailers out of focus. She closed her eyes and dragged in another deep breath.

Barney gripped her arm when she swayed. “Are you okay?”

“
Let me show you what I am.
”

Celeste opened her eyes and quickly glanced around, searching for the thick gray cloud she’d seen last night. She staggered, then, with Barney’s help, took a big step forward, the imaginary bands around her ankles suddenly disappearing.

“
Come see, sugar.
”

“You’re scaring the bejesus out of me,” Barney said, his tone alarmed, as he hooked his arm through hers, keeping her steady. “If the heat is too much. I’ll go get my car and—”

“I’m fine. I have to do this.”

He stared at her, his eyes filled with both worry and curiosity. “Are you catchin’ one of your psychic vibes?”

“Do you really want to know?”

He glanced over his shoulder to the next trailer, before facing her again. “Yeah.”

She nodded, and ran a shaky hand along her forehead. “He just told me that he wants to show me what he is.”

“
What
, not who?”

She nodded. “He’d said the same thing to me last night.”

Barney narrowed his eye. “Maybe we should wait until later, and go along with Lola and the detectives’ plan. At least at the ME’s you’ll have a doctor around, should you have…I dunno…an issue.”

She rolled her eyes. “He’s here, and wants me to see something. I’m not turning back now, or waiting on Lola and her detectives. I’ll be fine.”

The look in his eye said he didn’t believe her, but he nodded. “I’m still worried. What’s John gonna think about this? I don’t care if he’s ticked off at me for bringing you here. I just don’t want him mad at you.”

Now that the air around her had grown less sweltering and suffocating, she was anxious to keep going and investigate Denis’s trailer. John probably wouldn’t be happy with her. But she was too impatient to wait for the detectives to give her the opportunity to go through Denis’s things, and the dead man wanted her here anyway.

“John will be fine. He’s very understanding when it comes to my gift.”

Barney grinned. “Girl, I’m the biggest bullshitter out there, just ask anyone who knows me. When John was down here last year to help save your dad and his gal, your husband and I had a couple of long talks. There ain’t no way in hell he’d be good with any of this. That man is too by the book. But I ain’t the one sleeping with him,” he said with a wink. “If you’re ready and willin’, let’s get this done, then go to lunch.”