Cuff Master (11 page)

“Don’t thank me for wanting you to be fit as a fiddle when I
take you upstairs. No sign of the headache returning?”

“I feel fine and a true sense of peace. I think it’s because
I’m with you. You’re my healer.”

He salted and peppered his soup and lifted a spoon. “I’m
honored to be whatever you need me to be.”

“You think Phalen and Cassie will get upset if they know
we’re messing around in their house?”

“They’re on their honeymoon. I doubt they’re out of bed
longer than it takes to eat and bathe. Think they’re worrying about us doing
the same thing?”

“Is that what’s going to happen tonight? I do have to get
back to work. Remy can’t run my store forever.”

“Here’s the thing. I’d already arranged to take two weeks
off from work. I had some personal time coming to me anyway. I’d like to spend
the time with you, here.”

“You won’t get in trouble? What about your cases, what about
my case or Jenna?”

“Salem isn’t my jurisdiction. I have to be careful on how I
go about looking into the Bailey family, especially Spencer Bailey. After
Jennifer’s funeral and Terrence Mills’ trial, that case was closed and they
moved to Lexington. Sam’s agreed to help by trying to find Erica White.”

“But there’s more to this than just wanting to be with me.”
Picking up a soup spoon, she dipped it into the vegetable broth and gathered up
potatoes, corn, peas and alphabet pasta. “You’re worried about me.”

“Someone attacked you in that ladies room. That pisses me
off. I don’t give a fat flying fuck about my badge or who gets their nose put
out of joint for making certain my woman is safe. I will find out who put their
hands on you and then I will find out what really happened to Jennifer Bailey.”

Morgan sipped on the soup. It was delicious and made her
ravenous for more. “You’re willing to let me help with Jenna, Ethan? Please let
me help so she can be at peace.”

“I don’t have any other choice. The other night, I told you
that I support you in all things. Even those things I don’t quite understand.
Be patient, okay? I’m old school, but not closed-minded.”

“Okay,” she agreed.

He smiled and began eating. Morgan enjoyed the soup. The
nutrients were exactly what she needed. The sandwich was divine. Vermont
cheddar cheese was warm, gooey and wonderful. Dipping the grilled cheese in the
broth made the sandwich even better.

Talk about yummy! Then again, the man sitting across from
her was a walking smorgasbord sure to please any woman’s palate. Morgan
couldn’t wait to feast on him at her leisure.

She sure hoped he’d let her. Oh boy, she could definitely
get off on licking up and down Ethan’s splendid bare chest and sculpted abs.
She wanted to sample his tats, his skin, his bumps and curves and hard edges.

They talked between bites, getting to know the other on
common ground. Ethan wasn’t psychic, but he admitted to times after he lost his
parents that he thought maybe his mom was watching over him.

He’d also suspected his mother said goodbye to him the night
she died. He and his brothers adored their parents, but Ethan had been
particularly close to his mom. It didn’t surprise her to hear Abigael had
reached out to her son to reassure him she’d not suffered at the time of her
death.

His childhood had been happy. He and his brothers were all
born in the same month, under the same astrological sign. Phalen turned
thirty-three August first, Ethan turned thirty-one on the fifth and Taran
turned twenty-nine on the fifteenth.

All three were Leos, all very similar and yet distinct in
their own rights. They certainly had lion-sized personalities, were charming,
loyal, ambitious, could be vain at times and stubborn as hell, but Leos were
incredibly loving to their families and tended to be good with children.

Morgan was really glad she opened her heart to Ethan. He was
the right man to be with. She was a Libra and their signs were compatible. That
didn’t mean there wouldn’t be turbulence, but her tendency for balance would
even out the waters and she bet they’d have much in common.

With each minute that went by, her need for Ethan grew
stronger. With each dip of her sandwich into the soup, her heart melted more
than the gooey cheese. It was surreal and wonderful to love and be loved in
return.

Better than that was the growing confidence that this time
the man she loved wasn’t going to let her down, change her or walk away.

“Would you like more soup?” Ethan asked.

“No, as good as it is, it’s probably best not to get overly
stuffed.” Pushing the empty bowl and the plate away, she reached for her glass
of ice water. “Thank you so much for making dinner. Tomorrow I’ll make
breakfast.”

“Deal. Would you like some wine or a beer? There’s both in
the fridge and in the wine cellar.”

Morgan preferred beer over wine. “I could have a beer.”

Ethan got up and cleared away their dishes, placing them in
the sink to be washed. Then he went over to the double-wide refrigerator and
opened the doors. “There’s Sam Adams Oktoberfest or Guinness.”

“I’ll have the Oktoberfest, please.”

“Would you like a glass?”

“No, bottle’s fine.”

He grabbed something off the counter and brought over a
bottle of the ale and a Guinness. Reclaiming his seat, he cracked off the caps
with a bottle opener. He started to hand over her beer, but hesitated.

“Can you touch this? I mean, I know your gift can be
complicated, however you seem very comfortable in this house.”

“I spent a lot of time here helping Cassie prepare for her
wedding. I’m more than used to it.”

Morgan reached over and grabbed the bottle, expecting a
momentary glimpse of the brewers, the factory workers who may have packed the
bottles and the liquor store where it was purchased. With Ethan still touching
it, she felt nothing but cold, a little condensation and a beer label.

At the wedding, there’d been plenty of things to touch and
feel and experience and she’d been very careful in who and what she touched to
avoid being overwhelmed. But when the visions began with Ethan’s jacket on her
shoulders, they faded when he touched her.

They returned big time when he let go.

For Morgan, it was a good thing to know that she didn’t have
to compartmentalize everything or worry that the visions would be overwhelming.
If she needed a break, all she had to do was to touch Ethan or have him touch
her.

“Morgan?” He let go of the bottle and caught her other hand,
squeezing her fingers tight. Again, she felt Ethan and the coldness of the
glass.

“I’m fine,” she said and took a sip. It was good, flavorful
and it wouldn’t have the aftereffect of creating a headache the way wine tended
to do. “I’ll be honest. I’m not much into wine. It gives me headaches.
Considering what happens when my visions get the better of me, I don’t need to
drink wine.”

“It’s not uncommon. It could be that wine causes you to get
slightly dehydrated, which can cause the headaches.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Will you keep holding my hand? It’s
very nice and when you touch me, I’m not overcome by someone’s life history.
Not that I’m complaining, mind you.”

Ethan kept holding her hand and took a long swig of his
Guinness with his other hand.

“I’m glad to know I can touch you and it helps,” he said
after swallowing.

“You have nice hands.” He had big strong hands with long
fingers and a few calluses due to Taekwondo training.

“Earlier you said you didn’t like to use sex toys because
touching them affected your ability to relax. Do you think if I’m using them on
you or touching you while you’re pleasuring yourself will help?”

“I suspect so, yes. This same thing happened with your tux.”

“I remember. You didn’t scare me off that night, Morgan. You
know that now, right?”

She inclined her head yes. “I panicked, Ethan. You were
shaking and staring at me as if I’d lost my mind. It’s a look I’d seen before
on other guys and my stepfather when he decided I needed to see a
psychologist.”

“Even though it scared me, it was you I was worried about,
honey. Tell me what happened when you saw Jennifer…or Jenna, as she prefers.”

“When I saw her standing by the door, it felt as though I
was standing outside myself listening to what she had to say, but she had her
eyes on you.”

“Because she wants my help, is that what you mean?”

“That’s the impression she gave me. Communication was
telepathic. There wasn’t enough of an electrical source for her to draw
strength from to actually speak.”

“What do you hear when you’re talking to ghosts?”

“If I catch EVPs, their voices are electronic in nature,
ditto for a spirit box. If it’s telepathic, it’s a whisper in my mind. I can
tell if they’re male or female. And it’s important for me to identify that
they’re not a dark entity first. Evil can mask itself as good, so I pray. I
pray a lot.”

“Do they scare you?”

Morgan sipped on her ale as she thought on how to answer.

“When I was a kid, yes, they did. Now if I sense they died
during a turbulent time, say during a war or the witch trials here in Salem,
their fears scare me. It is disconcerting if entities present themselves to me
as they were at the moment of their death. It can be gruesome.”

“Jennifer had been burned. I hope to God you didn’t see her
that way.”

“The first time I saw her, she was very sad and a little
confused by the commotion of the wedding. She wanted to let you know you
weren’t responsible for what happened to her. To her, you’re a hero.”

Ethan had placed his Guinness on the table and fiddled with
the cap. “Erica White tried to tell Sam and me who killed Jenna. Evidence from
an online role playing game took us to that warehouse and Terrence Mills. Not
sure how she can see that as heroic.”

“You two helped put Mills away, Ethan. I’m betting he was
guilty of seven deaths, just not Jenna. He deserves to rot in prison for the
rest of his pathetic life. She’s comforted by that. Was there any reason for
the cops to suspect Mills and Spencer Bailey knew each other?”

“While Sam investigated Erica, I looked into any connection
between the men. I found nothing useful. It’s possible someone helped Spencer
cover up the truth, but the Bailey case was closed and to investigate further
wasn’t an option.”

“New evidence could open the case back up, right? Jenna’s
soul is tired. She wants to go on to heaven, but she won’t until her mom’s
safe. Maybe there’s someone else involved other than Bailey and Mills.”

“If I can find that digital recorder you had, it might give
me clues to start looking into. I can’t go after Bailey for Jenna’s death
unless Sam and I find a connection between Erica White, Spencer Bailey and his
stepdaughter that we didn’t know of before.”

“Did Erica know Jenna at all?”

“Not to my knowledge,” Ethan answered. “Alisa Bailey had been
seeing Erica before her daughter went missing. It was Alisa who gave us Erica’s
name and implored Spencer to agree.”

“I’m not sure my EVP session will give you the kind of
evidence you need. This is what I gathered. If it was her stepfather or someone
he’d hired or used to do the deed, she died at his wife’s orchard. And she was
struck in the back of the head with something very heavy. That’s what killed
her.”

“This is helpful, Morgan. Thank you. I’ll talk it over with
Sam and see what she wants to do and how she wants to go.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“She did like to be called Jenna, by the way. It was all
over her pretty room. What was strange at the time was the fact that her room
was far more girly than her clothing style.”

“Was she very young when her father left?”

“Sadly, yes. Alisa and her first husband, Robert, divorced
after he left to be with another woman. Mrs. Bailey thought Jenna blamed
herself for making her father leave. When she grew older, she started hanging
around with the wrong crowd.”

“She’d gone from the little girl Alisa knew to a Goth
teenager who missed her father and wanted to be noticed. The bedroom just
hadn’t caught up. Her mom probably indulged her and bought whatever clothes she
wanted because she felt responsible for her husband leaving.”

“Probably,” Ethan agreed.

“You know, I think it was Alisa who came at me in the ladies
room. If it’d been a man, I would’ve gotten more than a couple stitches and
some bruises.”

“Actually, a woman can be strong in her own right if she’s
feeling protective or has the training.”

“True. I hadn’t thought of that. Alisa knew I was in there.
Unfortunately, I upset her. She felt threatened and told me about Erica trying
to blame her husband.”

“She doesn’t want to think she married a murderer. That
would mean she’d let her daughter down twice with her choice of husbands.”

“No one would want to believe such a thing.”

“I’m going to tell the officer investigating what happened
to you at the castle to hone in on Mrs. Bailey. Even if she was upset, that
doesn’t give her the right to hurt you or anyone else.”

“What about security cameras? Alex had Phalen install a new
system when he and Ryan took over ownership from Catherine O’Brien.”

“Already on it,” Ethan answered. “The camera facing the
restrooms was broken.”

“That’s no good.”

“There was security footage right up to the moment Mrs.
Bailey came out of the bathroom. She clearly walked off toward the party room,
where she was greeted by someone in the room. After that there was nothing.”

“The lights went out. I’d thought my session with Jenna
caused a drain on the power. It’s all very fuzzy. My head was pounding by then
and I was so weak that staying upright was difficult.”

“Strange to think it was just that camera that died,” Ethan
said. “That’s another thing I’ll get the officer to look into. Can I ask you
something? I’m backtracking a bit.”