Ghost River Jon Coon (free reads TXT) 📖

“She suggested perhaps I’d been given a gift, which I might use to help release those spirits and let them find a home. Whichever way home happened to be.”

“Gabe, that’s—”

“That’s not all. I stayed with Alethea for two months. I don’t think I’d have made it without her. But she had a daughter who had just started college. I told you about her. What I didn’t tell you was we had an affair. Her name is Casilda. I had lunch with her today. She wants me to move back to New Orleans with her.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you still in love with her?”

“No, and she hates my guts for leaving.”

“Why did you leave?”

“I’m still not sure what we had was love. Passion, yes. Love, maybe. She was like a hurricane sucking up all the air. I was suffocating.”

“So you broke up. You were young. That happens.”

“It gets worse. Cas is the great-great granddaughter of Marie Laveau, the most powerful voodoo queen in the history of New Orleans. Cas thinks she has some of those powers.”

“Gabe, you don’t believe—”

“My mother was Alethea’s cousin. And you’ve seen what I can do. It’s real. I believe. Also, Cas uses voodoo spells to spin dreams. I’ve had them. Your dream about Emily might have been from her.”

“That’s nonsense. No one has that kind of power.” She said, praying she was right.

“Sure, and we don’t talk to spirits or see angels and hellhounds. Some of the stories I’ve heard, you wouldn’t believe the power some of them have.”

“Oh.”

“Right.”

“The only question is do you still love her?”

“I told you, no. She scares me to death.”

“Then that’s over. We have our own future to look forward to. I want to build the house. We’re going to figure this out, and someday it will be our house. Can’t Alethea help us with Cas?”

“Believe me; she’s trying. Now there’s one more thing.”

“You weren’t kidding about needing to talk, were you?” She smiled and rubbed his hand between hers.

Gabe looked away again, out across the river. “It’s possible my dad will be released from prison. He’s coming up for parole again.”

“And that’s important because?”

“I hate him for killing my mother. He’s pure evil. I don’t want him anywhere near us. If I’d been strong enough, I would have killed him then.”

“That’s harsh.”

“Old Testament? I thought you’d understand.”

“Okay, he doesn’t get invited to the wedding. Now tell me more about the girl.”

Dawn came early after their night in and on the river. Carol was wrapped in a blanket, sitting with the dogs, and drinking hot tea while watching the sunrise. Her heart was warmed by the memory of Nancy’s gratitude and the peace with which she had departed. Carol thought of Charlie and how much they had loved. She felt thankful and blessed to have had that time. She wondered if she would ever have that kind of love again. Gabe was wounded. Much more than she’d realized. But was he capable of giving the love she wanted, needed, to feel whole again?

Emily, dressed in warm sweats, bounced down the folding steps and into the rocker beside her.

“Morning, sweetheart,” Carol greeted her.

“It’s cold out here. I’m going to get a blanket.”

“Scoot over and we can share this one,” Carol offered. Carol opened the blanket to cover them both.

“Better?”

“Yeah, that’s better,” Emily said and snuggled. “What are you doing up so early?”

“I had some things to think about, and I wanted to see the sunrise.”

“Mom, does Gabe love you?”

“I think so, yes, why?”

“He doesn’t act like it.”

“What do you mean, honey?”

“He doesn’t touch you. When someone loves you aren’t they supposed to hug and kiss you and stuff? The way you and dad did when you thought we weren’t looking?”

Carol laughed and hugged her. “Gabe is the most respectful man I’ve ever known. And I think he’s a little off balance because he was so close to your dad. I’m sure when the time comes everything will be fine.”

“Has he ever really kissed you?”

“That’s kind of private, but no, not really.”

“I’d worry about that,” she said, sounding much older than her eleven short years.

CHAPTER 33

0800

Tallahassee

After leaving well before dawn, Bob and Gabe were at the courthouse in Tallahassee for a meeting with DA Jessica Carruthers.

“I took a chance getting you the warrants for McFarland’s records based on Peterson’s deposition and what you got from that secretary” Carruthers began. “But we still don’t have the evidence for a solid case. So go get me some proof.”

“We have a team going through the McFarland files,” Bob answered. “We’re looking for evidence of bribery, conspiracy, fraud, and more. We know of a briefcase, which we’ve been told contains everything we need to prove the bidding fraud. We haven’t found it yet, but we will.”

Carruthers nodded and waited for more.

“The security guard at the bridge reported seeing Bo Bodine throw a computer off the bridge,” Gabe added.

“Bodine’s assistant Janna said he was building files on Conners and the company. Bodine was afraid of Conners, and when he realized Conners knew what he was doing, he pitched the computer rather than get caught with it. Janna helped Bo build those files. She believes he had enough on that computer to do a lot of damage.”

“And,” Bob said, “we are bringing Wesley Rogers back from Mexico. He knows it all. If we can get him to talk, we could blow the whole thing wide open. And who knows what we’ll find in Peterson’s mansion?”

“Okay, that all sounds good. But that’s still a load of abstracts, and what we need is a load of concrete. With the possible involvement of Congressman Conners, we can’t afford to mess this up. If we lose, you know what the retribution will be. So get out and bring me a case I can win.” She pointed toward the door and watched them leave.

“I’ll go after Corbitt’s briefcase,” Gabe said, as they walked down the steps to the parking lot. “I can do that today, and we can get the team