October Ghosts (A Southern Romance Monthly) (6 page)

"Sshh. Matt, where is your inhaler? I need you to calm down. You need to try and breathe
slow
—"
 

"I can't…" He gasped as his heart rate increased. He stumbled back and Margo lost her hold. Sweat rolled down his back as he turned and pressed himself into the wall. He could hear Margo talking, but all of his attention was focused on trying to breathe through the pain.
 

"Phil? I need you over in Matt's apartment. Now….yeah and it's a bad one… and if you've got the spare inhaler, bring it. I know what to do."
 

Matt slid down with his back against the wall. He pressed his hands against the cool surface of the wall as he tried to do what Margo said. He'd had his first asthma attack three years ago, when the stairs into the basement of a haunted house he'd been working on, gave and he fell through them and into an old well. Several hours passed before he was found. He discovered weeks later his ex had cut the stair supports. It had been the end of a string of disastrous accidents that left him beaten, bruised and hospitalized.
 

Since then he had been able to handle his asthma pretty well with Advair and used his emergency inhalers sparingly. But stressful situations always brought him back to that moment, trapped in the dark, in pain, and unable to breathe.
 

He heard Margo opening and closing drawers as she continued the old litany. "Sit back and relax, Matt…just lean against the wall and try to calm down and breathe slow. If you don't you're going to pass out and then it'll just get worse."
 

She was right. He knew she was right. But he couldn't do it! He couldn't get any air. And it hurt…oh God he forgot how bad it
hurt
.
 

"Found it!"
 

Margo was suddenly in front of him on the floor. She took his hands and wrapped them around the inhaler. He shook it and immediately shot the medication into his throat, trying to breathe at the same time.
 

He dropped the little blue inhaler and put his hands on Margo's as he felt his chest loosen. It still hurt, but the vise surrounding it was gone and he was able to pull some air in. It was slow at first, but Margo kept eye contact with him and he stared at her until he was breathing even. The door came open and Phil Johnson came in, the show's on set producer and director. He had an older man with him.
 

"How is he?" Phil asked as he knelt down beside Matt and Margo.
 

Matt saw him, heard him, and he was aware of the other man, but he was concentrating on breathing. Just…enjoying the wonder of taking in a breath of air.
 

"He's better. I found the inhaler. He didn't even have it on him."
 

"Well he hasn't had an attack in a few months. What set him off?"
 

Margo glanced at Matt. He licked his lips and rested against the wall. His breathing was ragged, but he was breathing. "She's been spotted in Roswell. Here."
 

"Who said she's here?" Phil's voice was clipped, sharp.
 

Margo answered. "I called some friends in New Orleans and they said she left a few days ago. She has family here. So I called them to ask if she was in town and they said yes."
 

Phil sighed. "So you felt it necessary to tell him?"
 

"He needs to know."
 

"Not if it's going to do this. Besides, there's a restraining order. She can't come within a hundred yards." Now Phil sounded irritated.
 

"Yeah but that doesn't mean she can't be in the same town."
 

"May I?" The older man said as he joined them. He had a little black bag with him and set it on the ground in front of Matt. "I've had some experience with asthma. One of my grandchildren has it."
 

"Oh," Phil said and shuffled back to allow the older man some room. "Margo, Matt, this is Dr. Henry Coleman. He's the retiring county ME."
 

Matt tried to laugh and coughed instead. That hurt his chest. "I'm not dead yet."
 

Dr. Coleman put a hand against Matt's neck, then he put the back of his fingers against his forehead. "No, young man. But you did go into shock. Luckily this young lady was able to help you. As for my being the Medical Examiner, I'm still a doctor, and I was a general practitioner in my heyday. So you just relax and concentrate on breathing and let me take a look at you."
 

Matt nodded. He wasn't in any condition to stop him. The doc was a unique looking character, with thinning hair and a gin-blossomed nose the shape of Jimmy Duranti.
 

"Henry and my dad are good friends," Phil said as he settled on the edge of the coffee table, facing the little grouping. "We were discussing having him at the house tonight and tomorrow for the rehearsal and taping."
 

"A doctor?" Margo said.
 

"It's part of the city ordinances for filming. We have to have a medical professional on set, and Henry offered to do it at no cost. As long as he could bring his niece and her friend on set. And one of
them
is a doctor, an ER physician. So we were buttoning up the details when you called."
 

"And I can say," Dr. Coleman said as he shined a light in Matt's eyes. "If this is a chronic problem for Mr. Hunt, then I think it's in your best interest to have myself and Dr. McNally-Wallace on hand."
 

Matt couldn't agree more. Especially if his ex was free and in town. Christ…what if she got into the Barrett House and rigged something in there to kill him?
Idiot…stop thinking like that or you're going to end up a basket case
. He listened to Margo and Phil talk as the doc did a quick but very thorough physical, down to listening to his lungs with a stethoscope and having him take very deep breaths. Slow…deep breaths.
   

The doc finished examining Matt and had the two of them help him to his feet and onto the couch. He leaned into the cushion and continued to breathe.
 

"How's he doing, Henry?"
 

The doctor set his bag on the coffee table and his hands on his hips. "He's okay. But he's going to be tired. He started going into shock and that always takes a lot out of anyone. So if you have some time to rest, I'd do it now."
 

Matt shook his head. "No time. We have to tell Chloe. And we have to tell the Sheriff."
 

Margo spoke up. "She might back out if she knows about what happened in New Orleans. Oh and I already spoke to the Sheriff."
 

Matt half turned to look up at her. "What did he say?"

"Nothing much. They don't have anything to go on, or anything that proves she hung the witch up. There's nothing they can do."
 

"Oh," Dr. Coleman said as he looked at Margo. "Are you talking about the effigy over in
Mesa Cove
?"
 

"Yes. Are you friends with Chloe?" Matt said.
 

"She's one of my niece's friends. I watched her grow up. I hate that someone did that to her."
 

"Me too," Matt said and then checked his watch. "We have to go." He pushed himself up off the couch. Margo grabbed his shoulder when he wobbled.
 

"I really think you need to rest," Dr. Coleman said.
 

Matt pointed to his inhaler on the floor. Margo grabbed it and he shoved it into his pocket. "I know. But I've got a job to do so everyone can get paid. And Chloe's going to meet us at the Barrett House. I have to tell her what's up. She needs to know."
 

Margo sighed. "I'll drive. Phil, we'll see you there tonight? And Dr. Coleman?"
 

Phil nodded and proceeded them out of the apartment. Matt locked the door and turned to see the doc looking up at him. "What is it, doc?"
 

"You're really worried about Chloe, aren't you?"
 

Matt nodded and held onto the railing as they descended the steps. "Yeah I am."
 

"You like her?"
 

He paused before he answered. He wanted to check his feelings. But he didn't answer until they hit the last step. "Yes. I do. I really do like her."
 

CHAPTER EIGHT

Chloe felt a blanket of relief cover her shoulders when Matt stepped out of a blue sedan. A tall, statuesque blond stepped out from the driver's side.
 

Kevin pointed. "Okay…that's Margo Richmond, the tech side of the hunting team. There were lots of rumors about the two of them about a year ago. But now everyone thinks he's gay and she's a lesbian."
 

He and Chloe stood near the front door of the Barrett House as crew members came and went, hauling wires, cameras, and equipment into the house. Chloe wasn't sure she'd actually call it a house a much as a mansion. The place was three stories with a central door. Looking at it from the road, the thing had 18 windows in front, several chimney stalks erupting from the roof, and a mottled brick front. The mottling came from all the years of repairs when old bricks were replaced by newer ones.
 

But that's not why they hadn't stepped inside.
 

Oaks and cypress grew along the drive and up to the house. They flanked the doors as well and continued in a fan to either side. The back of the property was known for its pecan orchard. Chloe could just see the tops of the gigantic trees when she and Kevin pulled up. And when they stepped out of Kevin's car, Chloe's knees gave out.
 

It wasn't the stories she'd read just hours earlier on the history of the house that made her heart pound. It was the house itself. The moment they drove up she felt like she was being watched, that there were things looking at them through the windows even with all the trucks and vans parked along the drive.
 

Chloe didn't want to go into that house.
 

She was also a little irritated the star of the show had made them wait for over half an hour. He'd told her on the phone two o'clock. It was 2:45 now and she was wishing she'd eaten more of her salad. If she wasn't careful, all that audio equipment was going to pick up her stomach growling.
 

She was prepared to give him a piece of her mind—until he got close enough for her to see clearly—and then all of her anger faded.
 

Dark circles hung under his eyes, and he was pale. Really pale. He was also walking slower than his usual gait. She couldn't stop herself from moving toward him. Her maternal instincts, the ones her mother said were going to get her heart into some serious trouble one day, kicked in. Once he was close enough she put a hand to his forehead.
 

A frown creased the blond's forehead. "What're you doing?"
 

"What happened?" Chloe looked from her to Matt. Then she fixed on Matt. "You look awful."
 

He flashed his smile at her and pointed to the blond. "Chloe, this is Margo. Margo, Chloe Stohl."
 

Margo and Chloe shook hands. "Nice to meet you."
 

"You too," Chloe said. "Matt, did something happen? Is that why you're late?" She wanted to pull him aside and talk to him. She'd never been very empathic before, but standing this close to him, she could swear he was too tense. Too worried or preoccupied with something. Chloe knew from his background—or what she'd found of it online—that hunting ghosts never bothered him. But something had him nervous.

Matt started to answer but Margo cut in. "Have you been inside the house yet?"
 

Chloe shook her head. "No. Kevin and I were waiting on you."
 

"Who's Kevin?" Margo looked past Chloe.

"He's her assistant," Matt said. His voice was a little hoarse and he coughed a few times. "He's the guy you were talking to the other day about setting up the whole gig?"
 

"Oh really? Then I have a bone to pick with him." She moved away from the two of them and Chloe could have sworn the air around them lightened.
 

"Fun girl."
 

Matt coughed, then cleared his throat. "Sorry. Margo's been with me since I started all this. Actually she's been with me since college. She can be a bit harsh, but she's good at what she does."
 

"Which is what?" Chloe turned a critical eye on him. He did
not
look good. In fact, he looked awful.
 

"She's good at making things happen. If we need lightning and cameras in a specific spot after looking at the tests," he said as he shrugged. "She makes it happen. She knows cameras and tech better than anyone on the staff." He gave her a weak smile. "I'm glad you decided to take the gig. Even after watching that episode."
 

"You guys were terrible to that poor girl."
 

"I know." He looked down and Chloe thought she saw real regret in his expression. "I feel really bad about that. In fact, she's not a psychic anymore. She moved, changed her name and went back to teaching English."
 

"Wow. You're a real career wrecker."
 

Now he really looked uncomfortable, and a little irritated. "Yeah well we all make stupid mistakes. I'm guessing you've never made any?"

There was something in his tone that seemed to grasp for a real answer to that question. A part of him didn't believe she had, but another part of him, a wounded part needed to know that she had. And that she didn't think so badly of him. She gave him a genuine smile. "I've made a lot of boners, Matt. More than I really care to talk about. So…we're both guilty of them."
 

"Ever made mistakes in your personal life?"
 

Two men in jeans, tee-shirts with the production name
Ghost Hunt
on the front, excused themselves as they moved handfuls of equipment into the house. Matt reached out and put a gentle hand on her arm and steered them away from the front and over to a small copse of oaks trees. Chloe was more than happy to be away from the house.