Damned and Cursed (Book 9): Witch Trial Read online

  Leese took in the living room. The rest of the house was dark. A television was on, but there was no sound. A man sat on a couch against the far wall. He rose to his feet when Kris shut the door.

  Leese was amazed at how fast the atmosphere turned hostile.

  "How did you get here?" Sheila asked. "Did you follow us?"

  Timmy had made his way next to Leese and stood close. Instead of speaking to Alex, he preferred to talk with her.

  "Did your brother talk to any ghosts?"

  Kris reached for a glass of water on the coffee table.

  "Ghosts?" she glanced at Sheila. "Oh, God. Did you finally lose your mind?"

  "Sheila," the man said. "Do you want to tell us what's going on? You show up at our door without a call, at one o'clock in the morning—"

  "I know," Sheila said, clenching her eyes shut. "I know, Dan. I'm sorry. I just didn't have anywhere else to turn."

  "Well," Kris said. "Whose fault is that?"

  Sheila flashed a look of hurt at Kris.

  "Kris—"

  "No, I don't want to hear it." The room went silent as she took a deep breath. "I'm going to bed. Just when I think everything is getting back to normal—" The look she gave Sheila was full of hate. "You show up."

  Kris left the living room. Her footsteps went around the corner, up a set of stairs. Leese looked to Alex for guidance, but he said nothing. She took a step forward and cleared her throat.

  "Uh, we had a breakthrough at your house."

  Dan held up a hand and stepped forward, shaking his head in disbelief.

  "Hold on, just one second." He looked back and forth between the Teagues. "Who exactly are you two?"

  "We're paranormal investigators," Leese said, deciding to leave their day jobs out of it. "Sheila hired—"

  "The house is haunted," Sheila interrupted. "Our house…almost tore itself apart tonight, Dan. It was bad."

  Dan searched the faces of everyone in the room, but still wasn't convinced. A small smile broke out.

  "This is a joke, right?"

  "I wish it was."

  He laughed.

  "Sheila, look. I said I'd try to help you, if I could. But this is a little too much. If you need a place to stay, I can give you money for a hotel. But I'm afraid you'll have to leave."

  Leese turned to her brother, to see his reaction. There was none. He continued to stare off into space, at a corner of the room. She finally realized why he was so quiet.

  He was listening, but not to them.

  Finally, he said something.

  "Are you sure?"

  She reached out and grabbed his wrist. A new voice cut in, like tuning into a station on a radio.

  "—found out three days ago. Or, I guess, two years and three days ago. They've been seeing each other for months."

  Brian stood in the middle of the living room, between Sheila and Dan. His eyes were dark, his expression grim as he relived a memory, a fresh wound, that finally came back to him.

  "It's so fucking cliché, it's hard to believe," he said. "Timmy was at school. I came home early from work and found them together. Betrayed by my wife and my own brother."

  Alex's eyes lit up.

  "Your brother?" he said. "Dan is your brother?"

  Sheila stiffened. Dan took a step back, glancing at everyone with accusing eyes.

  "What is this?" he said. "Sheila, what is this bullshit?"

  "We fought about it for a while, a week or so," Brian went on. "I was packing for a hotel, to clear my head." He approached Timmy and smiled. Running a hand through his hair, he frowned and withdrew as his fingers dipped into Timmy's scalp. "Two years. Shit. It's amazing how fast they grow in two years."

  "Brian, try to focus," Alex said. "What happened next?"

  "Brian?" Dan said. "What are you doing? Who are you talking to? You want me to think you're talking to my brother? Or my brother's ghost, or whatever? Brian left. He left, like a coward, leaving his family behind. Now, please, I want all of you to leave. Now."

  Brian turned toward his brother.

  "I left? No, you came over that day."

  "What?" Alex asked, staring at Dan. "That beating we saw? That was him?"

  Dan reached for a phone on the coffee table.

  "I'm calling the police. I've had enough of this."

  Everyone jumped when the phone flew across the room, crashing into the wall. Leese squeezed Alex's wrist tighter. Did Brian do that on purpose? Or was it like the haunting at his former home, where things happened just from him being there?

  Sheila grabbed Timmy's hand and pulled him away from the Teagues. Dan and she talked over one another. Sheila was asking Alex a question, but Leese couldn't make out what it was. Dan's tone was mixed with panic and anger as he demanded to know what was going on. Timmy didn't make a sound, but tears streamed down his face as he covered his ears with his palms.

  Even Brian was animated. He cursed at his wife, foul language she couldn't hear, before dropping to his knees and trying to grab his son's hand.

  Alex had enough.

  "Everyone, shut up!"

  The room went silent. Even Leese was shocked at the outburst.

  "You went over to the house that day," he told Dan. "You got in a fight."

  "No," he said, shaking his head. "That's not true—"

  "I saw it with my own eyes."

  Sheila glanced at Alex and Leese.

  "How?"

  "They fought in the living room," Leese offered. "I saw it, too. Whoever it was, beat up Brian pretty bad. Then dragged him into the kitchen."

  Leese would never have the powers of observation that Jack Kursed possessed, or even Victoria. But the look that flashed across Dan's face spoke volumes. Her words struck a nerve. His eyes went wide, his lip twitched.

  "W-What?" he said.

  "Did you kill your brother?" Alex asked.

  Sheila could barely speak. Her knees shook.

  "Kill? Dead? Brian…."

  All eyes went to Dan. He shook his head furiously, refusing to look at anyone directly.

  "No!" He took a step back.

  "Dan," Sheila said. Her tone was soft, but dangerous. "Did you hurt my husband?" She squeezed her son. "Timmy's father?"

  Finally, he glared at her. He matched her look of contempt with one of his own.

  "Oh, now you're the concerned, caring wife? You didn't act that way when we—"

  "Dan!" she shouted, looking down at Timmy. "You did it, didn't you?"

  "No, I said! I went over there, yeah. We got in a fight. I…dragged him to the kitchen. But only because I was going to put ice on his damn head. Then I heard the front door, and I panicked. I ran out the back. I figured he woke up and just left."

  "I wouldn't do that," Brian said. "I wouldn't leave." He lowered his head. "At least…not like that."

  "Do you remember any of that?" Alex asked.

  "No. Sorry, I just don't."

  "Are you…talking to him?" Sheila asked. "Brian is here, right now?"

  Alex either ignored her or didn't hear her.

  "Do you believe him?" he asked.

  "I-I don't know. I want to. He's my brother." His face twisted in rage, and the coffee table jumped an inch. "But he was fucking my wife!"

  "Okay, maybe you're right," Alex said, addressing Dan. "We'll just leave. Sheila's our client, not you. We'll talk about this at her house."

  Another voice joined the conversation.

  "Nobody's leaving."

  Everyone turned at once to see Kris. She stood at the edge of the living room, holding a gun in both hands. Her eyes were red from crying, her cheeks flush.

  "Honey?" Dan said. "What are you doing?"

  The look she shot him was full of anger, hate. Sheila glanced back and forth between the married couple, and her face lit up when realization took hold.

  "You." She took a step forward, leaving Timmy behind. "You."

  Kris pulled the trigger. Leese jumped in place at the sudden noise. Sheila stumbled backwar
d, almost in slow motion, as her knees buckled. Timmy tried to hug his mother around her waist.

  "Mom!"

  Leese started moving before she even knew what she was doing. She dropped to Sheila's side as she fell to the floor. Timmy cried, calling for his mother, over and over. The red pool grew under her shirt, near the shoulder. Her face turned pale.

  Leese once assisted with surgery for a Collie with a gunshot wound over a year ago. Her hands trembled the entire time. She somehow got through it, but hoped she'd never have to go through anything like that again. Mrs. Bates, the owner of the Collie, often brought her by to visit.

  Sheila wasn't a Collie, and they were far from the calm confines of the vet's office.

  She ripped at the sleeve of Sheila's blouse, tearing it along the seam. The blood wouldn't stop. Leese pressed both palms directly on the wound and pushed downward. Sheila screamed and grabbed Leese's shoulder with her free hand. Leese didn't ease up, continuing to apply pressure.

  "Back up," Kris commanded, waving the gun around. "Don't get near her."

  Dan was already behind the coffee table. Alex took two steps back, keeping his hands in the air. Leese was surprised that he complied. Then they locked eyes, and their powers of sibling communication took over. His gaze drifted to Sheila and Timmy. Alex had amazing powers, but he wasn't immortal. Neither was anyone else in the room. He could vanish right in front of Kris, walk through walls, summon demons, but that could possibly push an already agitated armed woman over the edge.

  She wished Kevin was there.

  "Stay close to me," Leese told Timmy. She wasn't sure if he heard. His focus was on his mother.

  Kris looked down at Sheila. Leese was afraid she was going to order her away, too. But Kris's eyes never left Sheila's.

  "You had everything. A perfect family, a perfect life. But that wasn't enough."

  Sheila spoke through gritted teeth.

  "You…killed my husband."

  "Well, you fucked mine. In my house. In my bed. Many times."

  "Kris?" Dan said, genuinely confused. "What is going on? What did you do?"

  "I'm the one that went over after you both fought." She nudged Sheila's shoulder with her bare foot, drawing a short howl of pain. "I wanted to kill you, but you weren't there. I talked with Brian a while, helped him clean up. I told him that we should have an affair, to get back at the pieces of shit we married. He thought I was joking. But—" Her lip quivered, and Leese grew even more nervous watching her hold the gun. "He said no. Why did he have to say no? My own husband rejected me. Then Brian."

  "So," Alex said. "You told him you'd help pack the rest of his things. You both were in the backyard. When he leaned into the trunk, you shot him, and shoved him inside."

  Everyone glanced at each other, then stared at Alex. He only looked at his sister, a sadness in his eyes.

  "Brian remembers," he told her. "He remembers that much now." He looked back to Kris and extended his hand. "Do you want to talk to him? He's right here, in the room."

  Timmy perked up.

  "Dad? Can you hear me?"

  "Back up!" Kris shouted, her aim wavering. "Everyone shut up!"

  "K-Kris," Leese said. Her own voice sounded strange to her. Her throat was dry, in desperate need of water. She was aware of the blood on her hands, of Sheila's pulse beneath her fingers. "Look at Timmy. Look at how scared he is."

  For the first time, Kris almost seemed remorseful. She made eye contact with the young boy only for a moment before looking away.

  Leese pressed on. "He didn't have anything to do with any of this. Are you really going to do…something terrible to his mother?"

  "I'm sorry," Kris said, her gaze darting to the floor. "Timmy, I really am. But your mother, she's a horrible person. If it wouldn't have looked suspicious after Brian—"

  "Kris," Leese said. "Stop. He doesn't need to hear that. No one else has to get hurt. Please, stop and think. Are you going to kill us all? Put us wherever you put Brian?"

  Alex spoke, his voice out of place, as he spoke to someone only he could hear.

  "This probably isn't a good time to ask." He paused a moment. "I tried. You saw me try."

  "Stop!" Kris said. "Just stop it! Stop acting like you're talking to Brian, you lunatic!"

  Maybe one day, if they made it through the night, Leese would laugh at the thought of Kris calling Alex crazy.

  He ignored her.

  "It's the anger. That's how you moved the phone and the coffee table. It's just like at your house. You can affect the physical world, but it's not easy to control…." He trailed off again. "No. Don't even think about it."

  "What?" Kris said. "What's he saying?"

  "He wants to…possess you." Alex shook his head. "Brian, no. That's more of a demon thing. Ghosts can do it, but it's not pretty. You'd be sharing thoughts, feelings. You might not come out the same. Look, can you stay quiet for a second? So we can talk this out? Brian! No!"

  Alex lashed out at something to his left, pushing with his hands before dropping back into a defensive stance. All eyes went to the space in front of him, including Kris's. Panicking, she backed up a step, closer to Leese, as she waved the gun at thin air.

  Leese reacted, almost without thinking. It was one step to reach Kris. Leese raced forward and grabbed her wrist, pointing her arm straight up. Her body stiffened when the gun went off. Everything was a blur, but she managed to catch a glimpse of Kris's wild, crazy eyes. Kris pushed at Leese's throat with her free hand before throwing a punch that caught her in the nose. Leese's eyes teared up, and fear set in as she felt her grip on Kris's wrist loosen. But then more hands entered the fray. Dan retrieved the gun and tossed it aside. He restrained Kris, dragging her to the floor and pinning her hands down. Alex helped steady Leese and pulled her back. Kris bucked her hips and fought wildly. Leese's thoughts immediately went back to Sheila.

  "We have to call an ambulance," she said.

  Alex was ahead of her. He calmly handed a phone to Timmy while tending to his mother. Timmy called 911 while Alex leaned his weight on Sheila's shoulder.

  Kris screamed at the top of her lungs.

  "He's possessing me! He's trying to take my soul!"

  Leese looked at her brother, studied his face. His attention was elsewhere, looking at a spot next to him.

  "That was pretty good," he said, but not to her.

  "Alex?" Leese said. "Are you talking to Brian? What was that about?"

  "Yeah, he's here. But, no, he's not trying to possess her. Had her convinced, though."

  "Brian," Sheila said, her eyes closed. "Can I talk to him?"

  He looked up at Leese, hesitant. "Let's take care of you, first."

  *****

  Leese leaned back against the trunk of her car. Police cars and two ambulances were spread about Dan and Kris's property. The few neighbors nearby stood on their lawns, gossiping and pointing. Officers and paramedics were everywhere. The flashing lights were beginning to give her a headache. Her nose throbbed from Kris's punch, and her throat hurt. Her dress was ruined, covered in blood. Sheila and Timmy had a long road of recovery ahead of them, many uncomfortable conversations. Whatever facade Dan and Kris had built for themselves over the past few years was over. None of their lives would ever be the same.

  Alex had been moving about the scene for the past half hour. He talked to various policemen, and Sheila and Timmy. His eyes were heavy as he shook an officer's hand and headed toward Leese. She slid over, to give him room on the trunk. He leaned next to her and crossed his arms. The siblings were quiet for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.

  "Do all your cases end like this?" Leese joked.

  He managed a small smile.

  "Nah. Sometimes they end up with me pulling demons out of a hospital."

  Guilt washed over Leese as she regarded her brother. He was exhausted. She'd nearly forgotten that Sheila wasn't his first job of the evening.

  "I'm so sorry, Alex," she said, motioning around her. "I d
idn't know this would happen. I'm sorry I pushed you to come here."

  "You didn't push. I came here because I wanted to. But, uh, yeah, the first chance I get, I'm going to enjoy a nice, long coma."

  They shared a subdued laugh. Leese noticed Sheila being loaded into the back of an ambulance. Timmy climbed in after her. With her good arm, Sheila waved to both. Timmy, tears running down his face, waved as well. The doors closed, and Leese wished she had a chance to say goodbye. But farewells were the last thing on everyone's mind.

  "Are they okay?" Leese asked. "I saw you talking to them."

  He shrugged.

  "It wasn't the warmest of talks. Brian was there. He actually just left with them in the ambulance. It's very weird, being the middleman for a ghost and his family, when the family was in the middle of falling apart when he died. He almost didn't talk to Sheila at all, only Timmy."

  Leese shook her head, trying to wrap her head around everything.

  "It's still so fresh to him. To him, she cheated on him last week."

  "Yeah. He's starting to see more in his head, a lot of water. Kris probably dumped his car in a lake. Hopefully, the cops can get that out of her."

  "Shit. Will this ever end?"

  "For us, right now. They'll bug us with some questions, but we can go."

  "Are you calling out tomorrow?"

  "Eh, no, I don't want to be that asshole," Alex said. "Putting in two weeks' notice, then calling out."

  It took a moment to get his meaning.

  "You quit the warehouse?"

  "Yeah." It was his turn to motion around them. "This is my job now."

  Leese knew this moment was coming eventually. Alex and Cindy had worked so hard to put together Demons LLC, build it from the ground up. It was Alex's dream to be his own boss, use his powers to help others, all while earning money. But the happiness she thought she'd feel for her brother when the moment finally arrived eluded her. She watched the police continue to survey the scene.

  "That's…a good thing, right?"

  He laughed.

  "Yeah, I think so. Tonight was bad, I know. But it's usually a lot quieter. And don't worry. I'll make sure you get paid."

  She blinked. The idea of money never came up.

  "I just want to help," she said. "You don't have to worry about that."