Out of Body

Chapter 31

Marley had worked hard all day, but always with her concentration distracted. The minutes passed, and the hours, and she felt helpless. Now she was at home in her apartment and waiting for Gray with ammunition ready.

He had told her about the call Sidney Fournier had made to him and showed every intention of keeping the appointment with her in River Road on his own.

That wasn’t going to happen.

Winnie let out an excited yelp and Marley shushed her.

She heard footsteps on the metal stairs outside and went into the hall.

“I’m coming with you,” Marley said the moment Gray walked through her front door. “I was the first one to ask to talk to Sidney at Scully’s. Just because she’s sucked in by your boyish good looks doesn’t mean I’m going to roll over and play dead.”

She deliberately avoided looking at Gray. If pushed she would admit that she’d tricked him into coming back to the Court of Angels on his way over to River Road. She hoped she wouldn’t have to do that.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have told you Sidney called,” Gray said.

“You’re not the secretive type.”

“Aren’t I?” He gave her a speculative look. “What was it you had to tell me in person?” Gray asked.

She would have to admit she’d fibbed. “Did you know Myrtle Wood is haunted?” she said. The basket of clean laundry she carried on a hip almost fell. She put it down on the floor in her living room.

“I hadn’t heard that, no.” He didn’t look impressed. “You still haven’t let me in on this secret of yours.”

She bowed her head and looked up at him. And she pressed her lips together.

“Hey, hey, are you going to cry?”

She hadn’t intended to, but she might try if she thought it would get her off the hook. She sniffed.

“Honey,” he said. “What can I do? I can’t stand to see you like this.”

Marley wanted to groan. She took a deep, deep breath. “You can take me with you to Myrtle Wood and not give me a hard time about it.”

He blinked. “That’s it? That’s why you look as if you’re about to start a flood?”

“You’re making fun of me.”

“That’s fighting dirty, Marley, and you know it. I agreed to go out there and meet Sidney. She wanted to be in a place where no one was likely to find out she’d come to me. You know what this means? She’s got something really important to say. I need to be on top of my game so I don’t miss anything important.”

“It’s always best to have more than one person listening to important things. Afterward we’ll compare notes. It’s a great idea. Trust me.”

“What if Sidney takes one look at you and bolts?”

“I understand these things. I’ll be a help to you, Gray. I’m going to be on her side.”

He picked up a fat cushion from the couch, flopped down and piled the pillow on top of him. “How can you make plans like that when you don’t know what she’s going to say?”

“I could say I’m going to be sympathetic to whatever she says if that works better for you. We women are always getting screwed over by big, mean men. We’ve got to stick together.”

“Big, mean men? Is that a comment on anyone you know?”

She smiled with one side of her mouth. “Nah. Just a wild guess about how Sidney may feel about males.”

“What if she loves men? All men?”

Marley puffed, exasperated. “Oh, she does. Take it from me, she does. Just leave it to me to get her off her guard and talking.”

“She’s coming to help me,” Gray said. “Why go in thinking she’ll hold back?”

“Jeez,” Marley said. “It’s most likely you aren’t moving fast enough to make her into a star with your article. So she’s piling on a bit of drama to get your undivided attention.”

“Couldn’t she just want to help?” Gray said. “Sure, turning this into some sort of tryst may appeal to her, but that doesn’t make her the enemy.”

Marley held up her hands in submission. “Okay, go in thinking she’s going to seduce you, all the more reason for me to be there. I’ve got to protect my interests.”

He chuckled. “You’re impossible. Okay, come, but be careful. Don’t say anything to put her off.”

“I’ll be so good.” Her demeanor turned instantly sunny. She dumped out the clean laundry and started folding. He noted how quickly she moved and how efficient she was.

She hauled out the black shorts she’d worn the day before and shook them. Then she put them on the back of a chair and smoothed them out. A bump stuck out in the bottom of a pocket and she dug around in there until she could pull out a lump of black rubber.

Marley looked at the thing from all sides and tossed it on a palm. She shook her head and made a move to set it aside.

“What is that?” Gray asked.

“I don’t know. The cap off the bottom of a chair leg, maybe—or from one of those TV trays people use.” She looked around the room. “I never saw it before.”

“You must have. It was in your pocket.”

Her mouth took a stubborn downturn. “Well, I didn’t put it there.”

“That’s an interesting thought.”

“It’s just a rubber cap,” she said and made a move to toss it in a wastebasket.

Gray caught the piece. “I think I’ll hang on to this. You never know, I may come up with an idea about what it is.”

“Which brings me to an intriguing question,” she said. “You knew about the helmet, but you hadn’t been in that warehouse before. Or had you?”

“You know I hadn’t.”

She sat cross-legged on the floor and accepted Winnie on her lap. “Gray, you’re definitely psychic.”

“No, I’m not. I’ve thought about it for hours on and off. I think I’m really in tune with you so I see some of the things you think about.”

“Not bad, but not the whole story. I didn’t see the helmet, Gray. I promise you, I didn’t.” Her attention pulled away. What was she missing? “Did you tell me I’d picked something up in that place? Before? You did, but I didn’t remember.”

Leaning forward, Gray absently hooked Winnie’s bone from beside the couch and held it out to the dog. She raised her snubby nose and ignored him.

“You picked something up,” Gray said.

“Evidently. But you knew it before I did—consciously.”

He waved the chew in the air and Winnie looked sideways at him with something close to a dismissive sneer. “What if I don’t want to be psychic?”

She shrugged. “I never saw anyone who was, but didn’t want to be. It’s got its advantages, y’know.”

“Such as?”

“Finding life and death clues in criminal cases. Sometimes knowing when someone thinks you’re an ass. Stuff like that.”

“Charming.”

“It could be that when you aren’t around me anymore, you’ll lose your touch.”

“What does that mean?” Gray said. “When I’m not around you anymore?”

It meant that she was fishing for reassurance that she might still matter to him when all this was over. “I don’t know,” she lied.

“You…” He fell back on the couch and looked at the ceiling. “I’m not much for fooling around with feelings, Marley. I hope I’ll be around you for a really long time.”

She swallowed and felt silly tears. “Me, too,” she said quietly. “Phew, we’ve dealt with that now.”

Gray made a growling sound and started to reach for her.

Winnie leaped between the two of them, planted her bowed legs and snorted at Gray. Marley was grateful she hadn’t actually snarled, but figured they shouldn’t push it.

“Sorry,” Gray told the dog. “You’re a good girl to guard your mom from evil men. Have your bone.” He pushed it toward her and she took it.

“There’s an elephant in the room,” Marley said. “I think it’s getting bigger, too. We need to talk about it.”

Gray nodded. “Pearl Brite? I haven’t heard one darn word on her whereabouts yet. According to Nat this is one more just like Liza and Amber. Zap, she’s gone.”

“Nat talked to me this afternoon,” Marley said. “I wish I could have been more useful, but at least we’ve made progress. Now he’s a believer—which is good news, bad news. He wants me to keep doing what I do as he puts it because he’s certain I’ll finally get coordinates on where to find Liza and Amber.”

“And maybe Pearl Brite?” Gray said. “She sounds like a nice kid. Twenty-four. Lives at home with her dad who doesn’t see so well. Mother dead since Pearl was a little girl and Pearl and her dad have looked after each other. She’s popular at Alexander’s. Some say she’s ready for bigger things.”

Marley propped her chin on a fist.

“What are you thinking?” Gray said.

“It’s not fair. That always sounds so stupid, but it isn’t.”

“No, it isn’t. Did Nat tell you there definitely was no sign of any blood in that warehouse?”

She shook her head.

“That’s hopeful.”

“D’you think? Oh, I hope so.”

“Marley, what’s the deal with the red dollhouse?”

“I’ve been waiting for you to ask. Will you trust me to explain when I can figure out how? Some things are so much a part of me and my experience that I don’t know how to talk about them. The house is my connection to wherever those women are. That’s the simple explanation.”

“Where did it come from?”

“It was given to me for safekeeping.”

He moved fractionally closer. “By whom?”

“A woman. I don’t know who she was and I can’t find her again. I’ve tried. Please give me some room on this.”

She took hold of the hand he offered and let him pull her to the seat of the couch. Sitting sideways, he looked into her face while he stroked her hair—and kissed her. He adjusted himself to get closer and closed his eyes.

“Mmm-mm,” Marley said. She put her fingers on his lips. “What time are you due at Myrtle Woods?”

“Whoa.” He drew back looking shell-shocked. “Darn it. I’ve got to go.”

“We’ve got to go.”

The day’s flow of tourists had deserted the wide and winding way along River Road. Most of the once fantastic mansions were set well back, but often on modest lots cut from the vast acreage they once commanded. The visible signs of fortunes made in indigo and sugar clung to the shabby-grand houses. So did the odor of inequity.

“I haven’t been out here in years,” Gray said. “I like it better in the evening. You can’t see the decay so clearly.”

Marley said, “You’re right. A bit like a faded photo in sepia tones. But it’s so creepy, it’s great.”

“You would think that.”

She didn’t come back at him for the remark and he was grateful.

The devil made him ask, “Are you afraid of the dark, or ghosts, or any of that stuff?”

Marley glanced at him and, with a completely straight face, said, “Not the dark. Ghosts are okay if they aren’t the mean kind. Pinching isn’t my thing. And getting your ears pulled is the pits. I could do without poltergeists. Werewolves can be benevolent—but they’re unpredictable. I don’t think about any of those much, but I really have negative vibes about the undead.”

Glad I asked. “You don’t really think all that stuff’s for real?”

She gave him an odd look. “Don’t you?”

Gray frowned, searching for a way to change the subject. “You didn’t say how your dad is. It must have been at least kind of nice to see him.”

“It was. He’s my dad. Same as always. Bossy. He was just fine, thank you. Gus doing okay?”

He smiled to himself. “Irascible as ever. I got in a few hours’ work this afternoon and he hovered the whole time. All he wanted to talk about was you.”

“Am I supposed to feel bad about that?” She gave him a puckish smile.

Gray sighed. “Gus has got a sense of humor, thank God. If you can laugh at yourself it’s got to make life a lot easier—even when it’s hard.”

Myrtle Woods bore no marker. If you didn’t have an idea where to turn in, you’d drive right by.

“I think this is it,” Gray said, driving his well-used gray Volvo between the trunks of old trees. He rolled down his window and the thick, exotic scent of jasmine, magnolia and the musky bite of evening clover filled the car.

“It’s a good thing I came with you,” Marley said.

Gray took a moment to say, “I’m glad you came, but why is it a good thing?”

“It’s deserted out here and it’s going to be dark soon. I wouldn’t want you here on your own.”

He laughed. “You’re going to protect me?”

“You’d be surprised what I can do if I have to,” she said, glad she sounded braver than she felt.

“No, I wouldn’t…Car over there. One familiar expensive black sedan. I think it’s the one she was in yesterday. Do you see Sidney?”

“Nope. I hate those tinted windows. They look like they should be on mob cars.”

Gray drove up and parked beside the BMW.

Marley registered that he wore a lightweight jacket. He was usually more casual. “Isn’t the jacket hot?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Take it off then. We aren’t going to a garden party.”

“I’ll be keeping it on.”

She stared at him. “Do you have a gun?”

“Yeah. I know what I’m doing. Let’s go.”

They didn’t have far to go. Sidney fell in beside Gray before they reached the front steps of the house. She gave Marley an unfriendly look and said, “Do you mind waiting here?” to her. “Gray and I need some privacy. We can go to the gallery at the back,” she added to Gray.

“We’re all in this,” Gray said. “Marley comes, too.”

Sidney narrowed her dark eyes. “You wanted to see me at Scully’s,” she told Marley. “You didn’t say why. I don’t see why I would interest you.”

“You didn’t give me a chance to tell you why. I’m looking for Liza Soaper and Amber Lee.” She deliberately didn’t mention Pearl Brite. “I have a history with them.” That wasn’t a lie.

“History?” Sidney quit walking. “What kind of history?”

“Let’s go out back and talk,” Marley said.

“I don’t like evasive people,” Sidney said slowly.

“That makes three of us,” Gray said. He walked up the wide front steps, wooden and rotting in places, and started off along the gallery that surrounded the house.

Marley kept up with him, and Sidney’s hurrying feet in very high heels could soon be heard catching up with them.

A number of white wicker chairs lined the wall under the back windows. Two had been pulled forward, a table placed between and a bottle of white wine nestled in an ice bucket flanked by two glasses.

Marley only just stopped herself from saying, “Cozy.”

Without pausing, Gray pulled up a third chair and indicated for the women to sit, which they did. He joined them and said, “Wine?”

Sidney echoed Marley’s, “No, thanks.” Marley crossed her legs and jiggled a toe. She didn’t check out how Sidney might be looking at her.

“Let’s have it,” Gray said. “We don’t have to worry about being overheard here.” Lawns in need of mowing stretched away from the house. Coming close to the gallery without being seen would be impossible.

“I’m only going to talk to you, Gray,” Sidney said. “I don’t know Marley.”

“Really? I thought you’d lived in New Orleans all your life.”

“I have.”

“But you never heard of the Millets.”

Sidney sighed. “I try not to take any notice of silly gossip. I come from an old family, too, and we keep above that sort of thing.”

“Silly gossip?” Marley said.

Sidney waved a white hand. “Psychic or paranormal or whatever. Rubbish. Everyone knows there’s no such thing. And the red hair. Decent people would be sympathetic to something like that.”

Neither Gray nor Marley responded.

“You can’t help being born with hair like that. The gene must be very strong. You could always dye it, though.”

Gray hummed.

Marley gave Sidney a sweet smile. “I knew the first time I saw you that you had a generous heart. Thank you.” People like Sidney Fournier weren’t good at recognizing sarcasm and Marley wanted to gain the woman’s confidence. “You’ve been through a lot with Amber missing, Sidney. It must have been so hard to have people pushing you from all sides. I’ll never understand why men of the law-and-order type don’t have more empathy.”

Sidney shook her head. She was even more beautiful in the failing light, the gold tones from the setting sun accentuating her olive skin and the fine bones in her face. “Thank you,” she said. “It’s been so horrible. And I haven’t known where to turn.”

“Why, Sidney?” Marley inched closer to the other woman. “You have family and friends.”

Sidney burst into tears, shocking Marley, who got up and rubbed Sidney’s shoulders. She patted her back. “Take it easy. Give yourself time. Take some deep breaths.” She glanced at Gray who looked bemused.

“It’s my family and friends I’m worried about,” Sidney said. “I don’t know what to do. I want to go to the police, but I can’t. It’s too dangerous.”

“They said you didn’t want to talk to them at all,” Gray pointed out.

“I’ve been threatened,” Sidney said through gulps. “Not openly. Oh, no, it’s very subtle, but I know what it all means. If I say anything about what I think, someone will get hurt.” She passed the back of a shaky hand over her mouth. “If they haven’t already. I think they have, don’t you?”

Marley looked at Gray who gave a slight shake of the head. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Sidney,” he said. “Tell me what you wanted to say.”

Sidney got up and paced the length of the back gallery. She stopped in front of them. “I got a call from a man who said he can prove I’m the one who knows where Amber is. He said I’d be accused of doing something to her and I’d go to jail. He said…he said they could convict me without a body.” She cried again. “Just ignore me. I haven’t been able to tell anyone anything. It’s all bottled up inside.”

“The police need to know,” Gray said gently.

She nodded. “For all I know you’ll both go right to them and tell them about me.”

“We won’t,” Marley said.

“If I sent them an e-mail they could trace it back to me?” Sidney said.

Marley wondered at Sidney’s lack of savvy. “Yes,” she said simply.

“Then I don’t know. I could get a cheap cell phone to call them, then throw it away after I use it.”

“You could,” Gray agreed.

“I’m afraid.” Sidney sat down on the very edge of a chair. “Could someone frame me for killing Amber?”

“We hope she isn’t dead.”

“Yes.” Sidney sounded on the verge of hysteria. “But that man talked as if she was.”

“Did you write down the number this guy called from?”

“I panicked. I forgot to look.”

Great. “Did you recognize the voice at all?” Marley asked.

“No. But I think it’s all about covering something up. I think there was…Amber doesn’t have a son. Who would say she does? Why? Except to try stopping you from making anymore enquiries, Gray.”

“So who made the call to the cops and said he was Amber’s boy?”

“I don’t know,” Sidney said. “Have they tried to find out?”

“Of course. Call came from somewhere in the city, but they couldn’t trace it. So far there’s no record of Amber Lee having a child. There’s nothing much on her at all. Speculation is she probably left home young and she’s been on the move most of the time since.”

“There’s something I do know.” Sidney looked all around and dropped her voice. “What did Danny tell you about him and Amber?”

Marley thought about it. “At first he said she didn’t really know how much she meant to him. He made it sound like it was a one-sided thing with him crazy about her and Amber joking along.”

“That was a lie.”

Gray drummed his fingers on a thigh.

“But he did tell me he was crazy about her,” Marley said. “It wasn’t until later that he let it out they were lovers and lived together.”

Sidney crossed her arms tightly. “Amber did love Danny, but he was jealous. Mad, jealous. He beat someone up once just for talking to her. She and Danny had troubles for a long time. She was finally finished with him. She’d already moved out when she disappeared. He’d been following her everywhere and threatening to kill her if she didn’t come back to him.”

She got the stunned response she must have wanted.

“And you don’t think the police should know this?” Gray asked.

“I’ve got to go. I’ll be late for my first set.”