Ghost Key (15 page)

He got to his feet and began to play. The music exploded out across the water, into the early morning light, and transported her to a time when she and Jake had gone to a Charlie Daniels concert in Gainesville. Nearly half a million people had attended. But Zee’s grasp of the music and his incomparable talent, combined with the perfect tone and pitch of the violin, far surpassed that of Charlie Daniels. Zee and the violin were one, their skins melted together, their souls joined, he knew all about the devil. And before he finished playing, the dog came out onto the deck, the hawk returned, and Rocky wandered out to see what was going on. Dozens of people gathered in the parking lot, along the other slips, and boaters drew in closer, everyone spellbound.

Years ago when Zee had played for Kate and her dad, Kate had held the violin and had seen the mark that designated it as a genuine Stradivarius:
“Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno 1689.”
She had no idea where Zee had gotten it or the genuine bow or, for that matter, how he had paid for it. She’d always suspected that Zee was a multimillionaire, from a combination of luck and serendipity, but even those details ceased to matter as he played.

When he finished, applause erupted, horns blasted from the Jet Skis, and the sailboats and fishing vessels drew up to the houseboat, clamoring for Zee’s autograph. He graciously accommodated all of them. When everyone had wandered away after Zee’s fifteen minutes of fame, he leaned toward Kate and Rocky.

“Listen close now. That devil has traveled from Georgia to Cedar Key, and all them people who clapped and cheered know it just as well as me.” As he spoke, he ran his hands lovingly over his violin, then returned it to its case, and attacked the food on his plate. In between noisy bites, he talked in a Southern drawl that was as much a part of him as his magnificent talent. “You need to get yourselves someplace isolated, where these fucks can’t find you. I would like it if you and Rocky joined our community on the far side of the island, but I ’spect you won’t do that, Kate. You’re too much like your daddy that way. Your daddy and me were tight, but he hated my religious bullshit, his term, not mine.”

“Slow down, Zee,” she said. “Fill me in.”

“There’s no filling in, hon. That’s my point. It’s them against us.” He pulled his pack off the chair, dug inside, brought out a semiautomatic weapon, and set it in the middle of the table. “Your daddy taught you how to shoot. Thirteen rounds in this sucker, with another twenty-six rounds in these two clips.” He set the clips on the table. “Take it, Kate. I promised your daddy I’d look after you; this is the best I can do short of you and yours joining me and mine. The end-time is here this time.” He dug into his pack again and brought out a small canvas bag. “There’re a dozen grenades in here. Satan’s legions are taking people on our island, using their bodies, and no one is safe.”

Kate stared at the gun, at the bag that held the grenades, and wondered where he’d gotten them and if he’d been stockpiling weapons since Y2K. “Explain what you mean by taking bodies, Zee.”

“I’m not sure how they do it, but I’ve seen it as it happens. Couple two, three weeks ago, I was standing in line at the Island Market. That fellow from the bank, Paul Crown, was in line in front of me, all spiffed up for work, you know? And suddenly he starts twitching all over, like he’s got some nervous condition. I asked him if he was okay, and when he glanced back at me, his eyes changed. It was like watching ink being poured over his eyes.”

Kate went utterly still inside. “But what
is
it?”

“Satan’s legions, like I said.”

“You mean,
demons
?” Rocky sounded incredulous.

“That’s right, son.”

Rocky shook his head. “I don’t believe in demons.”

“Spirits, then, evil ghosts. It doesn’t matter what you call them. Sam Dorset and what he tried to do to you last night, Kate? Ain’t Sam doing it. It’s the thing inside of him. He got taken weeks ago. Bean over at the hotel? Same damn thing. At least half the hotel employees have been taken, the ones who are involved in the daily functioning of the place.”

You’re in danger,
Maddie’s note had said.
Speak to no one, not even me.
Did that mean Maddie had been taken?

I’m trying to protect you,
Rich had said.
Please don’t make waves
.

She knew Rich had been taken and if the same was true for Maddie, then why had both of them tried to warn her? Did that mean something of their humanity remained?

“Until now, you probably weren’t on their list because you’re just a part-timer.” Zee leaned forward, his voice quiet and intense. “But after last night? You can be sure you’ve been targeted.” His eyes went to Rocky. “And son, you haven’t been taken because you’re under the age of sixteen, least that’s the way I’m figuring it. But even that may not hold right and true much longer.”

“I don’t believe in demons,” Rocky said again. “And frankly, no disrespect intended, Mr. Small, but it sounds like science fiction to me.”

“I tell you what, son. I wish it was science fiction. They took the major island players first—a banker, the mayor, the newspaper editor, hotel owner, police, some of the small business owners, the doc, the librarian. I’ve been piecing this together for weeks. I really got suspicious, though, when those two bodies were found under the pier and there was just a brief mention of it in the paper. Ask yourselves this: What happened to them bodies? Is anyone investigating?” He looked hard at Kate, then at Rocky. “No. They got rid of the bodies.”

“How do you know that?” Rocky asked. “Did someone admit it?”

“Me and Frank Cole go back a ways. He’s been chief of police on the island for—what? Damn near twenty years? Hell, I’ve helped him get elected a bunch of times. I ran into him one day and asked him flat-out about them bodies. You know what the asshole says to me? ‘Ah, Zee, that’s police business, don’t worry yourself about it.’ That’s when I was pretty sure I was on the right track.” Zee patted Rocky’s arm. “Look, I’m not saying I got all the answers. But I’ve got some of the answers and now I’m giving them to you and your mom.”

“Okay, so let’s say you’re right, Mr. Small. Then how come four of your people tried to run me off the road the other day? How do you know your own people haven’t been taken?”

Kate heard the hostility in Rocky’s voice, but was glad he’d asked the question.

“I know them four. They weren’t part of our camp. But they’d been taken, all right, and they stole a cart from us. We got it back and sent them on their way.”

“How?” Kate asked. “They could’ve taken you, right?”

“Only if they leaped out of the bodies they were using. But they weren’t about to do that.” He gave a small, wicked laugh. “We were carrying torches. They’re scared shitless of fire. And we had AK-47s. A shot from one of them suckers is going to send you to the other world right quick. And the way I think it works for these demons is if the human host dies before the demon escapes, the demon is obliterated.”

“But how can something that’s already dead be annihilated, Zee?” she asked. “That doesn’t make sense.”

He looked suddenly and totally miserable. “I know. I sound like a fuckin’ fruitcake. Fritz and Diane, they’ve just about had it with my theories. But everything I’ve told you is what I’ve learned, observed, pieced together.”

“You’re basically suggesting that we run out to an uninhabited island and hide,” Kate said.

“Just to keep you safe from being taken until we’ve got our army together.”

“Your
army
?” Rocky balked. “Why not report this to the feds? Or to the state police? Let them handle it.”

“Because we don’t know how widespread this invasion is, son. It’s possible these ghosts have infiltrated the feds and the state police.” He tapped the weapon, the bag of grenades. “Now put these someplace safe. If you need more weapons, come by the camp. My advice to you is to get your supplies and food as soon as the market opens. Make sure you buy extra gasoline and an extra tank of propane. Then you should hightail it out to Snake Key or Sea Horse Key. Both of them have plenty of mangroves and coves where you can drop anchor and not be seen.” He pushed to his feet, shrugged on the backpack, carefully fixed the strap of the Stradivarius case over his shoulder. “Son, don’t give your ma a lot of grief about this.”

“Hey, I still have to go to school, to my job, to—”

“And I still have my job at Annie’s Café,” Kate said. “Just because we’re moving doesn’t mean life stops, Rocky.”

“That’s not what it sounds like.”

“Reckon school is okay,” Zee said. “Least for a while. As far as we can tell, no teachers have been taken yet. Don’t know about the rescue center. Just keep a close watch, son.”

“What the hell am I watching for, exactly?”

Zee brought his finger to the corner of his right eye. “The black eyes. That doesn’t always happen, but when it does, it’s incredibly strange. Then the twitching…” He twitched, a perfect imitation of how Rich had twitched last night. “And sometimes their mouths move out of synch with their words.”

Rocky shrugged. He obviously thought Zee was as nutty as his mother. “Well, I gotta go shower. Nice seeing you, Mr. Small.”

“You, too, Rocky.”

Kate walked out to the front of the houseboat with Zee, the dog trotting along behind them. “He’s going to give you trouble about this, Kate.”

“I know.”

“This evil, what’s happening here, is hard to accept till you experience it yourself.” He hugged her quickly. “You take care. Keep in touch. You got my cell number.”

As Kate watched him cross the parking lot, she wondered who he had lost to this evil.

“Mom, you know this is total bullshit, right?” Rocky came up behind her, swung an arm around her shoulders. “I mean, Zee’s been planning for Armageddon since Y2K. He’s an incredible musician, but he may be crazy.”

“We’re moving, Rocky.”

His arm slipped away from her, and his voice lost its softness. “I’m not moving anywhere. I’ll stay with Amy. This is completely insane.”

“Nope, you’re not staying with Amy. I’ll call her parents if you persist with this, Rocky. We’ll stay out on Sea Horse. We’ve got a couple of Zodiac rafts and a skiff with electric motors, and we can keep the cart and the VW somewhere close to wherever we come to shore. I’ll need to return to Rich’s to get the car and the cart and would appreciate it if you would drive one of them. Then I’m going shopping for food and supplies. I’ll meet you back here by noon.”

“What the hell are we going to do out there all day? Forget it. I’m not going. I’ll help you with the car and the cart, but I’m not going out there. Besides, I’ve got to work from noon to four.”

“Then I’ll meet you back here around then.”

“You’re not hearing me.” He was practically shouting now. “I’m. Not. Going. Period.”

Kate was now so livid that she fought to keep her voice quiet, even. “Yeah, you are. End of discussion.”

She moved past him, certain that if she didn’t get away from him quickly, she would say something she could never take back, that would damage their relationship irreparably. She hurried through the houseboat to pick up the weapons and grenades on the deck. She went into her bedroom, slammed the door, dropped everything on the bed. She sank to the edge of the mattress, hands gripping her thighs, forcing herself to take deep breaths, then exhaling slowly. Tears welled in her eyes, and she felt like throwing herself against the bed and sobbing. Yeah, like pulling a Scarlett O’Hara would solve anything.

Then she remembered something her father had said to her one afternoon years ago, when they’d gone fishing.
Trust what you feel even if you don’t have facts to back it up, even if the people around you are saying you’re crazy. It might just save your life.

And just that fast, every doubt she’d entertained for the last six weeks disappeared.

*   *   *

Just
outside of Gainesville, Sanchez pulled into Devil’s Millhopper State Geological Park. He resented the stop; he simply wanted to get to Cedar Key and locate the redhead. He craved the opportunity to see her in person, to feast on the sight of her. That telepathic connection they’d shared, however brief, had ignited something between them. Sanchez had never experienced anything quite like it. It was as if they had stepped inside each other’s skins, felt what the other felt in the most intimate, immediate way. Or, at any rate, that was how it had been for him.

Delaney had called him yesterday afternoon when he was on the road and told him to stay overnight somewhere and meet here at the park in the morning. He didn’t want Sanchez to head into Cedar Key until they’d both met the FBI agent who had requested ISIS help. Irritating, but there was nothing he could do about it.

He and Jessie got out, he put his suitcase in the trunk, locked the car, and they headed for the half-mile trail where he was supposed to meet the two men. The park was actually a bowl-shaped sinkhole 120 feet deep that led to a miniature rain forest, a biological and ecological wonderland. No dusty paths here. A complex network of wooden boardwalks and stairs switched back and forth along the steep limestone slopes, past streams and lush vegetation. A sign announced that the half-mile nature trail where he was supposed to meet up with the two men only meandered along the top of the sinkhole. A second sign said that dogs on leashes were welcome.

Jessie had never been leashed. Sanchez didn’t own a leash. “What the hell, girl. Just stay close, okay?”

She barked and immediately bounded ahead of him, racing along the boardwalk with her nose to the ground. So much for obedience. But in all fairness to her, she’d been in the car since they’d left Cocoa Beach more than two hours ago. They had stayed overnight with a former ISIS remote viewer who had left six months ago for a job with NASA. His friend’s job with NASA was to remote-view Mars—for landing spots, sources of water, life-forms.
It beats looking for terrorists,
he’d remarked.

Unless they looked like Red, Sanchez thought. Except that Sanchez no longer believed she was a terrorist. He no longer believed they were dealing with a terrorist organization in the traditional sense of the word. He hadn’t yet told Delaney about what had happened the night before last, when he was in his father’s yard and Red had communicated with him. But he had given Delaney the location of this alleged terrorist cell and Delaney had sent him northward the next morning.