Krewe of Hunters: The Hidden Part 18

He nodded.

"Well, then, that's that," Scarlet said, smiling in satisfaction as she carefully collected the bullets for the Colt. "By the way, how's your friend?"

For a moment Diego had no idea what she was talking about. "My friend?"

"The woman you and Matt picked up at the airport tonight. Jane Everett. Is she here?"

"Not yet, though she will be. Right now she's at the morgue, working," Diego said. "We tried to talk her into waiting 'til morning, but she was eager to get started. She'll have a likeness for us by morning."

"Wow," Scarlet said. "I'm impressed." She started up the stairs, and the others followed. He could tell they were all still a little worried about Scarlet carrying a gun. But he'd spent days teaching her not only to shoot, but also all about gun safety, and if he hadn't trusted her to handle a weapon he would have objected to her having one.

"Would anyone like tea?" Scarlet asked when they got up to the kitchen. "Hot chocolate? Something stronger?"

No one spoke.

Scarlet stiffened. "What? You think I'm overreacting, don't you? That all this has driven me crazy, maybe even made me dangerous."

"No, no!" Meg protested.

"Scarlet, it's not that," Diego said.

"Then what?" she asked in confusion.

"We think you saw a dead man in town, and at the cemetery and The Stanley," Diego said flatly.

She stared at him then as if he'd lost his mind.

"Look, I know all about your 'zombie' case in Miami. This guy wasn't lurching around, half-decayed and talking about brains."

"That's not what Diego meant," Meg said quietly.

"What are you talking about, then?" Scarlet demanded.

"We think you're seeing a ghost," Diego said.

"Okay. Stop. I've spent half my adult life digging up old burial sites. My idea of the perfect vacation is exploring the pyramids at Giza, and the catacombs in Rome and Paris. I don't see ghosts!" She sat down in a huff.

"I never saw them myself-until they needed me," Brett said, taking the chair opposite her.

Meg sat down, too, looking at Scarlet with her eyes serious. "Scarlet, it began for me at a traumatic period during my childhood. It works that way for a lot of us. But sometimes it happens the way Brett said. Someone has the ability but it's dormant, for lack of a better word, until it's needed. Until a ghost needs our help."

Scarlet looked from Meg to Diego. "You're suggesting that a ghost is trying to talk to me. Do you also think a ghost killed those people? And that Nathan Kendall's ghost possessed that statue and walked up the stairs and into my bedroom?"

"Oh, no, not at all," Brett said. "That statue is far too heavy for a ghost to lift."

"Not any ghost I've ever encountered, and that's quite a few," Meg said.

Scarlet sat back. "You're crazy. You're all crazy. I've begged crazy people to come out here and help me."

"Scarlet," Diego said, "it's not crazy. It's true."

"So you really do think that a ghost stole an antique Colt from the museum, and killed Candace and Larry Parker?"

"No, not at all," Matt said. "I'm quite certain they were murdered by a living person."

"That's a relief. No, it's not. I mean, do you all really believe in ghosts?" Scarlet asked, looking from one of them to the next. Her gaze stopped when she met Diego's eyes.

"Yes," he said flatly. "The thing is, I know you're afraid of this 'stalker.' And he may be alive and someone we need to watch for carefully. But he also may be someone who-alive or dead-can help us."

"You really are serious," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "And Adam-is this what he believes, too?"

"Adam created the Krewe precisely because he believes in possibilities exactly like this," Meg said.

"So basically, you think I want to arm myself against a ghost?" Scarlet said.

"Uh-huh," Meg said.

"Okay, I'll take that under consideration," Scarlet said. She smiled suddenly. "So...anyone up for something to drink?"

"I'm ready for bed, to tell you the truth," Meg said, looking at Matt, who smiled and held out his hand to her.

"Same here," Brett said. "Good night all."

"We'll make sure the alarm is set," Matt said, turning with Meg to head back down the stairs.

Diego was left alone in the kitchen with Scarlet. She looked at him skeptically, and he wondered if he had suddenly grown horns.

"What we're telling you is true," he said quietly.

She stood and walked into the bedroom. He hesitated for a moment, then turned out the kitchen light, checked the living room to make sure everything was in order and followed her. Her lights were out, and she was already in bed. He wondered if she had crawled in fully dressed.

"I can take the couch, if you want," he told her.

"Don't be ridiculous," she said.

"You're upset."

"Yep," she said.

But as he waited in the doorway, she suddenly got out from under the covers.

She wasn't fully dressed. In fact, she was totally naked.

The slight moon glow seeping in through the curtains highlighted the sleekness of her body like an opal mist. She walked over to the doorway and slipped an arm around his neck, then whispered huskily, "I hear that upset s.e.x is incredibly hot."

He smiled, then found her lips with his. He indulged in a slow, simmering, hungry kiss before lifting his mouth from hers.

"I feel so used," he whispered.

"I'll use you well," she promised.

"Promises, promises," he said.

He lifted her and the feel of her naked body against him fed the searing need that ripped through his body. He set her on the comforter and started to undress. Suddenly she was kneeling in front of him, pulling at the buckle of his belt. Her lips and tongue teased at the flesh of his belly, and he quickly stripped off the rest of his clothes and took her in his arms again, rolling with her onto the bed. She found her way on top and proceeded to kiss and tongue her way across his chest, then moved her way downward.

She suddenly sat bolt upright, grasping for the covers.

"What?" he demanded.

"Diego, ghosts-they don't... Oh, my G.o.d! Are we being watched? By a ghost?"

His rigid body tightened a notch, yet somehow he couldn't stop himself from laughing. "From everything the others have told me, ghosts tend to be polite and discreet. They aren't voyeurs out to make secret s.e.x tapes."

"Are you sure?" she demanded.

She was still straddling him, back erect, b.r.e.a.s.t.s firm, nipples aroused. She was like an Amazon warrior, proud and alert and ready to do battle.

"I'm positive."

He sat up and pulled her back into his arms.

They could both be the aggressor in s.e.x, and she'd been doing a magnificent job, but he wasn't about to lose the moment.

He rolled her beneath him and caught her lips with his mouth, her hands with his, and he turned the tide, pressing kisses down her throat and her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, her abdomen and below, until she writhed and whispered his name.

And forgot about ghosts.

They made love until the wee hours.

Upset love proved to be incredibly hot indeed.

It was still early when Diego's phone vibrated under his pillow, where he'd put it before finally going to sleep. He glanced at the bedside clock and saw that it was only seven thirty.

"McCullough," he answered quickly, keeping his voice low.

"It's Jane. I'm sorry to be calling so early, but I received a call from your friend Lieutenant Gray last night. He asked if the police could have my rendering as soon as I had something. He wants to get it into the papers. I figured you and the rest of the Krewe would want first look."

"Yes, thank you. Where are you? Still at the morgue?"

"Just heading up to the ranch. Adam said I'll be staying in the main house."

"Yes, but come to the museum first. It's to the left of the parking lot, but there's a sign that says Conway Ranch Museum, so you won't have any trouble finding it."

"Thanks," she told him. "Be there soon."

He hung up and bolted out of bed, heading straight to the shower. Scarlet didn't stir. Only when he was dressed did he wake her.

She blinked and stared at him with groggy eyes.

"Jane is on her way with her rendering of the man killed up on the mountain. Feel free to go back to sleep if you want. One of us will stay with you. We won't leave you here alone, even if you do have a gun now."

"No, no, I'm up."

She jumped up and ducked beneath his arm, then grabbed her robe and ran for the shower. Diego headed out to the kitchen to brew coffee.

It was already done. Brett was up.

"Jane is on her way," Diego told him.

"Good. I'm anxious to see what she's come up with. If we can ID the guy, maybe we can find out if his death is related to the Parkers'."

"I think I'll give Lieutenant Gray a call while we're waiting," Diego said.

"I talked to him last night when he returned the museum's gun collection. They've questioned the guests who left the ranch right after the murders. A banker from Pittsburgh, and his wife and daughter. A family from New York who had never been west of Chicago. Nothing suspicious about any of them, and none of them saw anything suspicious, either."

Diego nodded and made a call.

"Lieutenant Gray."

"It's Diego McCullough. Just wanted to check in with you and let you know our artist will have something for you soon. Anything new on your end? Besides none of the other ranch guests having anything useful to add."

Gray sounded frustrated. "Nothing. I've questioned half of Estes Park. No one saw the Parkers leave with anyone. No one has found their car. The forensic team has given me diddly-squat. You?"

"We're hoping the picture will help in linking the cases, or even help us prove there's no connection," Diego said.

"That's it? That's all the FBI has got?"

"At the moment. Thanks for returning the museum's gun collection."

"Still no sign of the murder weapon, but the rest are all clean. Under the circ.u.mstances, I'm sure you understand why we're looking at anyone a.s.sociated with the ranch."

"Same here."

"The murder weapon...who knows when it was stolen. If it was stolen."

"So your top suspects are the Kendalls-and my wife," Diego said.

"I thought she was your ex-wife, but...whatever. If she's guilty, then-"

"You know she was in town."

"Maybe she slipped back up the mountain."

"I think she parked in a munic.i.p.al lot. You can probably doc.u.ment that," Diego said.

"Get me that picture as soon as you can," Gray said.