A Haunted Twist of Fate (21 page)

“What kind of message are you getting?” Shay’s
muscles twitched.  Although Brenda’s behavior suddenly seemed melodramatic, she
still hoped the psychic medium was not a fake and could help somehow.

“He’s trying to tell me something, but it’s hard to
understand. His words are garbled. I’m seeing blood. Blood is filling his
mouth, making it difficult for him to speak.”

Shay gulped, picturing that vivid picture.

“I can tell you he’s not here in the Buckhorn,”
Brenda continued. “Mr. Rawlins’ spirit is stuck somewhere. He’s not far from
here, but something, or someone, is holding him back.”

“Do you mean he’s in limbo? Is he between heaven and
hell?”

Brenda’s eyes popped open, and her voice grew lively.
“Shay, the newspaper article you read said he’d been shot. The townsfolk must
have buried him. Do you have any idea where his grave is located?”

“I’ve already looked for it in the Black View
Cemetery with no luck. That’s the only public cemetery in town, I was told. I
don’t suppose the town would have buried him on the church grounds, seeing how
he was a murderer. Do you?”

Brenda touched her arm. “Rawlins is guiding me to
his grave. He wants us to find it. We should go now.”

Shay remembered the last time she was in the
graveyard. She wasn’t anxious to return, but her confidence in Brenda was
starting to grow. She wanted answers to the haunting, and perhaps Brenda was
the one to provide them after all.

“Let me grab my purse.”

Thirty-Four

Brenda drove. When they parked at the bottom of the
hill at the cemetery, she slipped off her heels and exchanged them for a pair
of tennis shoes that were lying on top of a folded pile of clothes in the back
seat.

“I always keep a change of clothes in my car for an
impromptu outing such as this.” She plunged her feet into the sneakers and then
slammed the car door.

“This way,” Shay said, starting up the hill. It was
just as peaceful as it had been the other day before the storm hit and all hell
had broken loose. Shay looked up. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

Brenda seemed to know where she was going.  She
passed Shay and trudged forward with quick steps in a definite direction.

“Is Everett speaking to you now?” Shay asked,
hobbling and puffing to keep up. Her foot was still a bit sore from the fall
she’d taken when she was here last.

“Not in words. His energy is guiding me.”

As they crossed in front of Denise Morgan’s
headstone, Shay glanced around, wondering if she’d see the bluebird again.
There was no sign of him today, or his chirping. She was surprised when Brenda
paused in front of the stone.

“You must know Colt Morgan,” she said. “He was the
listing agent for the Buckhorn.”

“Yes. He handled the sale of the saloon.”

Brenda smiled. “I heard he’s been handling more than
real estate transactions lately.”

Shay felt the hairs on her arms prickle. “I don’t
know what you mean.” She didn’t like the insinuation, nor did she care for the
smug look on Brenda’s face.

“This is a small place, and Colt’s a well-known
single man. When he starts dating the new girl in town, word spreads like
wildfire.”

“You’ve been misinformed. We’re not dating.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. That was what I heard. In that case,
there won’t be any conflict of interest, which is good.”

“What conflict of interest would there be?” Shay
didn’t comprehend what Brenda was getting at.

“Colt and I went out for a while. You could say we
were close. We’ve known each other forever. I wouldn’t want there to be any
awkwardness between you and me because of my relationship with him.”

Shay’s stomach gripped as if she’d been struck a
blow. Colt and Brenda had dated? Why hadn’t he told her? No wonder he’d been
against her calling Brenda for help. He didn’t want her to find out about their
relationship. He’d called Brenda a nut so she wouldn’t call and find out about
the two of them. When had they dated, and for how long? Just how close had they
been?

Shay’s gaze traveled up and down Brenda’s slender
frame as questions mounted in her mind. The foremost one was, had Colt slept
with her? She squeezed her fists at her side. Even though she’d been the one to
end it, she couldn’t stand the thought of him with anyone else.

With jealous heat scorching through her veins, Shay
wanted to change the subject before Brenda offered more about her relationship
with Colt than she was prepared to hear. “Are you still receiving a message
from Everett?” She tried her best to keep her voice from trembling.

A noise coming from the old section of the graveyard
caught the attention of them both.

“This way,” Brenda called, as she dashed toward the
far corner of the cemetery. Not far from Callie’s grave, she stopped and placed
her finger to her lips to warn Shay to keep quiet. All was hushed except for
the rustling of insects in the grass.

Shay glanced toward Callie’s gravesite. It appeared
undisturbed from the last time she was here. Her neck pivoted, and she bit back
a squeal when she felt Brenda’s fingernails digging into her arm.

“Over there,” Brenda whispered, pointing.

Standing next to a stone marker was a man. Shay knew
he’d once been human, but he was no longer of this earthly plane. Wearing
typical cowboy garb, he could have been any cowhand, except for his ashen face,
the hole that had ripped his shirt apart near his heart, and the blood dripping
from the corners of his mouth.

Shay struggled to hold in a scream. She was absolutely
certain the apparition with stubbly cheeks and dark eyes was Everett Rawlins. 
Her gaze flew to Brenda, who seemed to have suddenly delved into a trance.

“Brenda! What’s wrong?”

Her eyes were glazed, and she stared straight ahead,
unmoving. “Wake up,” Shay urged, jiggling her arm. Brenda remained motionless.

When the man took a step forward, Shay felt her body
turn cold as ice. “Stay back!” She glanced at Brenda again, who was in a
definite stupor. Her heart hammered.  Everett took another step.  Shay
screamed, “I know who you are and what you did to Callie! And what you tried to
do to me, too!”

Unbelievably, at the mention of Callie’s name, the
man’s countenance seemed to change. She could swear his face went from dead and
blank to his eyes flickering with life. Just as quickly, his mouth drooped. His
lips began to form words, but unfortunately his words were illegible.

Feeling a magnetic pull that she was defenseless to
stop, Shay’s legs spontaneously began to move. Turning her head, she saw Brenda
was still rooted to her spot, seemingly unaware of what was transpiring around
her. As if a rope was tied around her waist and being drawn with invisible
hands, Shay felt her body tugged toward Everett. She should have feared for her
life, but a weird sense of calm washed over her instead. She was about ten feet
away when he looked down at the marker.  He gazed sideways to where Callie lay
buried, and then met Shay’s gaze once more before fading away.

With her heart in her throat, Shay fell to her knees
and read aloud the words on the marker. “Everett Rawlins. Died 1885.” That was
it. No other inscription.

Something didn’t feel right. Why had his face
changed when she called out Callie’s name? And why had he eyed Callie’s grave
with longing? Did ghosts have feelings? Did he regret murdering the young
woman? Did he wish to be forgiven? Was that what he’d been trying to tell her
just now?

Another sensation drew her gaze to the untended
mound of grass at the base of his marker. Poking up through the tall blades was
a ring. She scooped up the tarnished band that hung from a thin chain and
studied it. Was this what Everett had been looking at when his gaze had dropped
to the ground before he vanished? Was this the reason he had guided Brenda
here? So they could find the ring? What did it mean?

“Shay!”

She spun to find Brenda had awakened from the trance
and staggered toward her. With more pieces being added to the puzzle at every
turn, and unsure whether she trusted Brenda or not, Shay shoved the chain in
her pocket and scrambled to her feet.

“Are you all right?” she asked, placing her hands on
Brenda’s shoulders.

Brenda wobbled like she was drunk. “I feel
exhausted. That has never happened to me before. The last thing I remember was
seeing a man right here where we’re standing and then, boom. I must have
blacked out. Did you see him? Was the man Everett?”

Once again doubting Brenda’s true abilities and
intentions, Shay decided to keep her experience with Everett to herself for the
time being. She couldn’t explain Brenda’s trance, but right now she didn’t care
if she’d been faking or not. She needed time to think.

“It was only a shadow,” she reported. “But this is
Everett Rawlins’ grave. You found it.” She tapped on the stone. “There doesn’t
appear to be anything of significance here, however. I think we’ve been led on
a wild goose chase. Let’s go back to town. You look pale.”  She was anxious to
be rid of Brenda and ponder over Everett, Callie, and the ring.

When they reached the car, Brenda still felt
fatigued and asked Shay to drive back. At the Buckhorn, Shay pulled two
fifty-dollar bills from her wallet and handed them to Brenda before stepping
out of the car.

“Thank you for coming today. I appreciate your help
in locating Everett’s burial site. I hope you’ll feel better soon.”

Accepting the cash as she scooted into the driver’s
seat, and still looking confused, Brenda said, “I’ll be happy to come over and
conduct the ceremony to guide those other spirits into the light. Just give me
a call and we’ll arrange a time.”

“I will.”

“Shay,” Brenda said through the open window, “I’m
sorry I wasn’t able to give you more information about Elizabeth and Rawlins. I’d
be glad to try to contact them again. I want to help.”

“I’ll call you,” Shay said, before stepping onto the
curb. She wasn’t entirely sure she’d be calling her back. As Brenda’s car
pulled away and moved down the street, Shay’s cell phone rang. She didn’t look
at the I.D. “Hello.”

“Hi, Shay. It’s Colt.”

Her knees grew weak at hearing his voice. Then she
remembered what Brenda had told her about the two of them dating.

“I know what you told me last night, but I need to
see you,” he said. “All I want is a few minutes of your time. I have something
very important to tell you.”

She considered it. “Okay. I have something to tell
you, too. Are you in your office?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be there in five minutes.”

Thirty-Five

Colt rose from his desk when Shay stepped through
the door. As always, one of her smiles was all it took to snatch his breath
away. “Thanks for coming over.”

“You’re welcome.” Her gaze landed on the unoccupied
chair scooted up to the front desk. “Where’s your secretary?”

“Out to lunch.”

After a pause, she said, “I’m beginning to wonder if
you really have a secretary.”

He chuckled. “I do.”

“Is she young and pretty?”  Shay’s eyebrow arched.

Not understanding, he tilted his head. “Why do you
ask?”

“With only the two of you in the office, I guess you
and her must be pretty close.”

“What kind of question is that? And what relevance
does it have to anything?” Shay had a strange look on her face. 

“How many women have you gotten close to, Colt? I’m
curious. Did they all know you’re weren’t interested in a committed
relationship when you started seeing them?”

“What the hell?” He stepped back with his mouth
hanging open, not believing what he was hearing. This didn’t seem like the Shay
he knew. The jealous attitude seemed out of character. Or maybe not. He’d only
known her a short time, he reminded himself.

She didn’t skip a beat. “I met Brenda Preston and
she doesn’t act nuts to me. Oh, and by the way, I know about you and her.” Her
arms crossed in front of her breasts, and her mouth drew into a tight line.

“Hold on,” he said, understanding now. “What did
that woman tell you?”

“Why don’t you tell me? Let’s see if your stories
jive.”

He cleared his throat. “There’s nothing to tell,
except that we went out a couple of times. It was a long time ago and we only
went on two dates, if you’d even call them dates.
Two
,” he emphasized,
holding up two fingers. “I’ve known Brenda since we were kids in school, but I
was never interested in her. Not in the way you’re insinuating.”

“Which way is that?”

He knew what was bugging her. “In a physical way,”
he stressed.

“If that’s true, then what made you become
interested
enough to date her?”