A Haunted Twist of Fate (11 page)

* * * * *

Shay went straight into the bathroom once she got
home and cleansed away her makeup and brushed her teeth. The face in the mirror
reflected a woman she hadn’t seen in many years, but had somehow found again. The
move west had been the first big step toward healing. Deciding to put down
roots and then meeting Colt had been unexpected treasures.

Walking away from him tonight had been difficult. She
felt happy when she was near him. But could happiness last? She knew it to be
fleeting. Both love and family had been ripped from her, leaving her heart
battered and wounded. It wasn’t easy to depend on anyone or to have faith in a
happy ending anymore. It would be especially hard to trust Colt, since he’d
told her he wasn’t interested in a committed relationship. One-night stands or
sex for the sport of it was not the way she was programmed.

Pushing Colt to the back of her mind, she tried to
concentrate instead on meeting Frank Averill tomorrow. She sauntered into her
bedroom, and immediately, a prickly feeling niggled beneath goose-fleshed skin. 
She lifted her head.

There hovering in front of the fireplace was the
young blonde. The black and blue bruising around her neck was as clear as a
picture. She stared at Shay, not speaking.

Quickly gathering her wits about her, Shay knew she
had to try to communicate if she was to gain any information about the woman.  “You’ve
returned. Does that mean you’ll talk to me?”

The woman nodded slowly.

Good. She was willing to communicate. And Shay was
willing to forgive her for choking her before. “First things first. What’s your
name?”

The woman touched her neck, and her eyebrows drew
together.  She whispered, “Cal…lie.”

Callie!
From
the pained expression on her face, it must have hurt for her to speak. It was
obvious from the dark bruises that she’d probably been strangled.

“Callie, is there a way for me to help you?”

She nodded again, and her form seemed to lighten in
front of Shay’s eyes, as if she was fading.

“Don’t leave,” Shay begged. “Please stay. Tell me
what I can do.” She inhaled deeply. “Did you write that word on my front door
today?”

Callie shook her head with vehemence.

Shay exhaled. “I’m glad to hear that. Do you know
who
did
write that word on the window?”

The ethereal spirit’s blue eyes widened, and she
touched her neck again.

“Was it the same person who hurt you?”

Once more, she nodded.  Shay felt excited to be
getting somewhere. Strangely, she didn’t feel frightened at all now, only
curious. In her enthusiasm, she took a step forward, but backed off when
Callie’s expression grew fearful.

“I’m sorry.” Shay stopped in her tracks. “I won’t
come near you. I promise. Let me ask you about the person who hurt you. Does
his soul remain in this saloon?”

Callie’s head bobbed up and down.

“Can you tell me his name?”

Before she could answer, Shay heard a crash
downstairs and then footsteps plodding up the staircase. A lump formed in her
throat.  Her body went cold as she felt a presence approach the bedroom door.
Her fists clenched at her sides. This was definitely not one of the passive
card-playing ghosts. Glancing at Callie, she saw the girl’s eyes grow large in
terror.

“Who is it?  Who’s out there?”

Callie seemed not to be paying attention to her. She
appeared frozen, staring at the door, horrified.

“Who is it?” Shay repeated.

Staring at the open door, Callie’s mouth opened, and
she whispered, “Ev…er…ett.”

When the door slammed against the wall and invisible
footsteps stomped across the threshold, Shay jumped and dashed to the other
side of her bed. The booming steps caused the room to shake like it was under
siege. Shay inched closer to the window. Smelling the rotten odor, she knew it
was the same ghost from before. She glanced toward the fireplace and saw that
Callie had dissipated.

Feeling completely alone and vulnerable, Shay
chanted out loud, “He’s dead. He’s dead. He’s dead.” If only she could convince
herself the entity couldn’t hurt her. Her back was stiff against the
windowsill. “Whoever or whatever it is, it’s dead and it can’t hurt me,” she
repeated.

As the presence drew nearer, the air grew thick and
cold as ice. Shay yelled, “Everett! I know it’s you. Leave me alone!”

The window at her back slammed up violently. She screamed.
Twisting her head around, she saw the two-story drop to the concrete sidewalk
below and felt non-existent hands pushing on her chest. Wind blowing from
nowhere whipped her hair around to slap in her face.

“Help!” she cried, while grasping onto the thin
curtains as her feet slid out from beneath her. She was being lifted into the air!
Two feet off the floor, she screamed out the window, “Someone, help me!”

When flames suddenly blazed and exploded in the
fireplace, whatever held Shay let loose and she crashed to the floor. In an
instant, the sulfuric smell disappeared and the ominous pressure that had
filled the room was gone.

She crawled to the bed and laid her head against the
mattress, drawing in shallow breaths. Her heart felt like it was going to burst
out of her chest. When she sensed someone watching her, she raised her head and
saw Callie standing before her.

“Did you start that fire?”

A thin smile played upon the woman’s chalk-white lips.

“Thank you.”

Shay closed her eyes for a split second.  When she
opened them again, Callie had vanished.

Eighteen

Shay scurried onto the bed and dug through her purse
for her cell phone. “Please, Colt. Please answer your phone.”  She prayed aloud
while punching in his number with a quivering hand.

“Morgan Realty.”

Thank God
.
“Colt, it’s me. I’ve just had another encounter. Actually, there were two
encounters. The girl was here, and so was the evil male spirit. He almost
pushed me out the window.”

“What the hell? I’ll be right over.”
Click
. The
line went dead.

Shay grabbed her pillow and clutched it to her
chest.  Her gaze darted around the room, as she expected the entity to return
and wreak more havoc. It was not out of the question. Ghosts could do whatever
they wanted, whenever they wanted, apparently—including physical assault on
live human beings.

“Callie? Are you still here?” she whispered.

There was no sign or sense of her. The room was
quiet, and so was downstairs.

It seemed ages before Colt arrived. When he banged
on the front door, Shay leapt off the bed and ran down the stairs, still
trembling. When she flung open the door and saw his faced etched with concern,
she threw herself into his arms. He held her tight and sifted his fingers
through her hair. Melting into his broad chest made her feel protected and
safe. Slowly, as he held her, her pulse rate began to decrease. It wasn’t until
she finally eased out of the comfort of his embrace that they exchanged words.

“Tell me what happened.”

Shay took his hand and led him through the saloon
and up the staircase. “I’ll show you.”

When they reached the top of the stairs, Colt
stepped into the bedroom first, gazed around, and announced, “It’s clear and as
quiet as a tomb.”

She followed him in and told him of her experience. “As
soon as I got home, I went straight into the bathroom. When I walked in here,
Callie was standing in front of the fireplace.”

“Who’s Callie?”

“The ghost. She told me her name tonight. Do you
recollect hearing the name before, in any of the stories you heard growing up?”

“No. I guess she didn’t tell you her last name. Did
she?”

“No, but her first name isn’t that common. Maybe
she’s listed in the census I found in one of the books at the historical
society.”

“On the phone you said
he
tried to push you
out the window. Do you know who he is yet? Did the girl tell you his name, by
any chance?”

“Yes.” Adrenaline rushed through Shay’s body causing
the words to shoot out of her mouth like bullets from a gun. “I heard his
footsteps pounding up the stairs and then he entered the room. That horrible
smell filled the room, and I knew it was Everett.”

“Everett?”

“He’s the one who strangled Callie.”

“Wait a minute.”  Cole held his hands up as if he
was surrendering. “How do you know she was strangled? Did she tell you that,
too?”

“No. But she kept touching her neck, and it has
black and blue marks on it. I’m guessing that’s how she died. I think she was
murdered.”

“Where did you come up with the name of Everett?”

“Callie spoke the name as he was entering the room. The
expression on her face was one of complete terror.”

“Did this Everett guy show himself to you?”

Shay shook her head. “No. He never manifested. But
he felt like the Hulk when he lifted me into the air over there.” She walked to
the window, and her legs began to shake at the recollection. “See this window? 
It was closed, but Everett opened it and then he pushed me. I held onto the
curtain as he was lifting me into the air.”

Colt examined the curtain and saw where her
fingernails had ripped the fabric.

“There wasn’t anything I could do,” she continued. “He
was going to throw me out the window, but Callie saved my life. She started a
fire in the fireplace, and he immediately let go and disappeared.”

Colt strode to the fireplace and knelt. “There
aren’t any logs in this fireplace. No ash. No sign of a fire.”

Shay moved to his side. “Callie made the fire start.
I swear.”

“There hasn’t been a fire in this grate for years,”
Colt said. “Are you sure you weren’t asleep and this was all a bad dream?”

She ground her teeth and realized he was questioning
her sanity again. “I saw it flaming. I heard it crackling. I felt its heat.” She
knew the octave of her voice was rising, but she hadn’t been hallucinating. She
didn’t want him to think she was a raving lunatic. “How do you explain the
tears in the curtains?” I’m telling you, something hoisted me into the air and
was about to throw me out the window. I didn’t dream that.”

Colt stood up and put his arms around her again.

Pushing away, Shay held in tears and eagerly
searched his face. “Do you believe me?”

He sighed and plowed a hand through his hair. “I’ve
never held to the rumors about ghosts, but I
want
to believe you.”

Her mouth stretched into a thin line. “Either you
believe me or you don’t, Colt. If you don’t, then please leave. I’ll deal with
this myself, like I’ve dealt with all the other problems and heartbreaks in my
life.”

When his face softened and he reached out to gently
push a strand of hair behind her ear, she struggled to hold back the flow of tears
that threatened to wash down her face.

“I’m sorry. I want to believe you.  None of this
makes sense, but I don’t know how to explain it logically. I’m thinking that dream
I had must have been about you or this girl.”

“Callie.”

“Callie.” Colt shook his head as if he was trying to
put all the pieces together. “The hands around my throat yesterday felt real. We
both saw the writing on the glass. You tell me you were almost tossed out the
window tonight, and you’ve been seeing and speaking to a dead person. Unless
you’re as crazy as a loon, you’re not imagining the things that have been
happening to you.”  With a hand on her arm, he assured, “Even if I hadn’t
experienced some of these things myself, I believe you.”

She smiled and hugged him tight. “Thank you, Colt.  I
needed to hear that, and I need you to help me unravel this mystery.”

He set her back. “What mystery?”

“The mystery of who Callie and Everett were, and why
Callie needs my help now, in the present.”

Colt grinned. “You mean I’ll be Doctor Watson to
your Sherlock Holmes?”

Shay’s eyes lit up. She was learning he was good at
turning around a stressful situation with humor. She played along. “Or Frank
Hardy to my Nancy Drew.”

He snapped his fingers. “How about, I’ll be Scooby
Doo and you can be Daphne?”

“Why not Velma? She was the intelligent one.”

“Because Daphne was the hot one with the red hair.”

Shay rolled her eyes. “I can’t argue with that.”

They smiled at one another. “Feeling better?” he
asked.

“Yes. But would you mind staying a while longer? I’m
wound tight and still a little nervous.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” He eyed the one chair
in the room and then the bed.

“I don’t have a living room,” she reminded him,
after following his gaze. “We’ll have to sit on the bed.”