Startled, Gage gave the stranger a harsh look and then bolted forward, pulling out his phone and clicking on the Flashlight app, as he shoved his phone behind the rubble and deeper into the crypt. He had just enough light to, indeed, see a body. He turned to look at the detective. “Can we access this to get a clearer picture?”

  Immediately the cop stepped forward, pulled back a few rocks, taking a look inside, taking a photo of the man’s face. “This is a fresh body, so I need to get forensics down here.” He handed his phone to Gage to view the snapshot, then turned to look at the stranger. “Did you have anything to do with his death?”

  “Me?” the guy asked, then he laughed. “No, I didn’t.”

  Gage nodded, his expression grim, returning the detective’s phone to him. “It is my uncle.” Then he turned to the stranger. “Did you see anything? How did you find him?” Gage asked.

  “I was studying a couple of these crypts here, looking at their history,” he explained, “when I noted something was wrong with this one, like it had been recently vandalized. So I pulled back a few of the loose rocks, which are easy enough to maneuver, and saw a fresh body in it. And I recognized him.”

  “How did you recognize the body?” the cop asked, all business. He was already pulling out his phone and sending messages off.

  “Because he had been asking around town about a set of tarot cards. Then it didn’t take long after that to hear the rumors that you were here now, looking for your uncle.”

  “That’s quite true,” Gage noted. “It sucks that this is the way I found him.”

  “Sorry about that,” the man said, “but at least you’ll get some closure. Too many people go missing and nobody ever knows what happened to them.”

  The detective demanded this guy’s ID and continued to grill the witness, and apparently the man had been in New Orleans for about a week, doing research for a book. He had seen Jonesy asking around the French Quarter about a rare set of tarot cards, which had piqued his interest.

  Gage turned to Skylar and whispered, “Do you sense anything off or strange about this guy?”

  She turned a bland stare Gage’s way, and Gage realized that his voice was a little louder than intentional. He glanced back at the other two, but they were fully involved in a heated discussion. When Gage turned back to her, an odd look was on her face, as she studied the two men.

  “What’s the matter?” In the distance he heard sirens, and the sound was getting closer.

  She groaned. “It’ll get crazy here.” Stepping back, she said, “I should never have come along.”

  “Why?” he asked, stepping back with her.

  “Because of the publicity.”

  “Well, it’s got nothing to do with you. This is all about me.”

  “It won’t work out that way,” she argued. “As soon as my name gets linked with this, it’ll be a hot mess.”

  “Let’s go then,” he suggested. “We’ll head down to the restaurant, and I’ll buy you lunch.”

  “You just ate,” she noted.

  “I’m a growing boy,” he teased.

  She smiled but shook her head. “No. If I try to run away now, it’ll get even worse. I’ll just wander around the graveyard,” she added.

  He nodded. “That could work, too.”

  Chapter 10

  Even though Skylar had stayed out of the crime scene, Gage knew where she was, yet she remained far enough out of all the congestion as to go unnoticed. As soon as Gage walked toward her, she started to move away, so people wouldn’t think they were together.

  When he caught up with her, she asked him, “Are you done here?”

  “Yes, I’ll be contacted later, as they get an update.”

  “Good enough,” she agreed.

  “Did you see anything about Jonesy?”

  “No, nothing.”

  “What about the journalist?” he asked, his tone very suspicious.

  “Well, nothing about it is normal,” she noted, “but I certainly don’t have any reason to suspect him.”

  “I do,” Gage argued. “He led us right to the body, for Christ’s sake.”

  “And I’m sure you told the cop that.”

  “Of course I did. It’s a very odd situation.”

  “Yes, it is, but, at the same time, it could be that he’s completely innocent in all this.”

  “He could be,” Gage admitted, “but why not call the cops? Why come to me directly?”

  She pondered that. “You’re right, which makes me wonder if the journalist removed the bricks to see if Jonesy had the tarot deck with him. More concerned about his story than helping anyone.”

  “And you’re thinking this guy might have found it?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe he’s really looking for the tarot deck and was checking to see if your uncle had it. There’s a story there but if he knew about the history of the cards, he’d understand their value.”

  “Jesus.” Gage was moving but now his footsteps slowed. “You know what? Something is nagging me about that guy.”

  “What about him?”

  “He seemed familiar somehow.”

  “Well, maybe you’ve seen him around town,” she offered. “If you think about it, he’s been here for a week, and you’ve been here most of that time.”

  “Yet he said himself that he was here when my uncle was here as well,” Gage noted. “So I’m not sure the guy’s week actually holds up. You know I might have seen him at Mom’s one time? But I can’t be sure.”

  “And maybe it was ten days, but that’s for the cops to determine,” she stated. “However, if you figure out where you saw him, that’s a different story.”

  He groaned. “That’ll be the thing that bugs me next.”

  “Prioritize,” she said quietly. “And, right now, there’s a break in your uncle’s case.”

  “And confirmation in a way I didn’t want. It does, however, bring closure.”

  “No, of course this isn’t how you wished this to end,” she murmured, “and I’m so sorry.”

  “Thanks.” Gage nodded, considering this and more. “It is difficult to process Jonesy’s death, but something’s just different about this guy’s energy.”

  At that, she stopped, looked at him, and asked, “Seriously?”

  He nodded. “I know I’m not the right person to make that comment, being the newbie.”

  “You’re absolutely correct to make that comment,” she noted, with a shrug. “I do better with dead people.” He looked at her in surprise, and she laughed. “All of us don’t have every skill,” she explained. “I can manipulate all kinds of things, but I don’t always see everybody’s energy. And, if they’re blocked or in any way cloaking their energy, I don’t do very well with it. Now tell me,” she added, “what did you mean about his energy?”

  “He seems like way too easy of a fall guy for this.”

  “Meaning?”

  “He has to know that the cops would immediately suspect him of killing Jonesy just by finding the body. So why would our supposed witness even put himself in that position? It’s not like most people would encourage the cops to charge them with a felony. Hell, most people would worry about their petty crimes coming up, with a standard background check.”

  “That’s true,” she agreed, pondering that bit of logic. “So, my earlier theory, about whether our witness checked Jonesy’s body for the tarot cards—and found them—was just one side of the coin. What if the witness checked and didn’t find the deck on Jonesy, so now he hopes he can let the cops lead him to the deck? By locating the body, our witness has opened up an official investigation that might shake something loose.”

  “And that,” Gage admitted, “makes a hell of a lot more sense.”

  “What we have to do now,” she suggested, “is wait to see if they found any forensic evidence.”

  “Well, Jonesy’s dead now,” he noted, turning to look at her. “You did say that you do better with the dead.”

  “Yes, I do better with the dead,” she agreed, “but that doesn’t mean the dead do better with me. Remember. The ghost’s abilities come into play here. Not just mine.”

  “Oh, right.” Gage groaned. “So, in other words, we still don’t have any answers.”

  “No, we don’t, and that’s how this game goes.”

  “It’s hardly a game though,” he murmured.

  “Well, it is a game of sorts,” she countered. “Don’t kid yourself. It all comes down to business, one way or another.”

  “Can you imagine if big business could ever monetize this?” he asked, shaking his head.

  “That’s the CEO in you talking,” she noted, with a smile.

  “Maybe so,” he agreed, “yes, that’s quite true. Yet just think about it.”

  “I don’t want to,” she declared. “Do you know how many people come to New Orleans because of the dead as it is? That part is already monetized. Imagine if they could actually see what I see. Or talk to my ghosts,” she murmured. “It would be a nightmare forever after.”

  “I wonder if your ghosts would like it.”

  “Maybe, and at what point in time are we taking advantage of them too?”

  He winced.

  “See? All kinds of things come into play. New Orleans is special, and my ghostly friends are mostly quiet and peaceful. I wouldn’t want to do that to Thomas or Elena or the kids or any of them,” she stated. “These ghosts have already dealt with humanity, some of it at its worst.”

  “Let’s not bring them into that now. Besides, they couldn’t appear to everybody, could they?”

  “No, not at all. Otherwise believe me, that thought in your head about monetizing their ability and their presence would have been taken advantage of a long time ago.”

  “You’re quite right there,” he agreed, “and it’s not as if it’s an original idea. It is in the sense that I’m sure other people have thought of it. Yet nobody has the ability to make them show up for the public. Thank God. Can you imagine?”

  “I don’t want to,” she stated. “I like the peace and quiet as it is right now.”

  “And yet they don’t leave you alone, do they?”

  “Nope,” she replied, with a grin, “but it’s a whole lot better than dealing with humanity, and the living people wouldn’t leave me alone either.”

  At that, he smiled and agreed.

  *

  Gage wondered about it again later that afternoon, while Skylar closed up the store, and he sat on a bench at one of the nearby parks, just staring at the water. People walked up and down a large pathway at his back, but Gage was content to just sit. Then his phone rang.

  When the detective identified himself, he said, “Your uncle appears to have had a heart attack.”

  Gage straightened up. “Seriously?”

  “Yes, that’s the cause of death.”

  “That was fast.”

  “I put a rush on it,” he replied, the fatigue in his voice evident. “So, we don’t know that any foul play was involved.”

  “Except for the part about him being bricked into the mausoleum.”

  “I wondered about that,” the detective agreed. “Whether that was somebody trying to hide the body from the public or to just dispose of the body or perhaps to do it a service. You know what? In this day and age, I have no idea anymore,” he admitted. “I’ve heard it all from so many people that it could be any of the above.”

  “Was there any forensic evidence found?”

  “That’s all with the forensics team right now. After they are through with any of it, it’ll probably be turned over to his next of kin,” he noted. “However, since Jonesy died of a heart attack, and it wasn’t foul play, criminal charges are not likely to be pursued.”

  Gage frowned at that. “What if he was scared to death?”

  The detective laughed. “You mean because he was prowling around the graveyard? That could be, I suppose, but I don’t know that we’ll nail anybody on a murder charge if that’s the case,” he shared. “I suspect this will close as death by natural causes.”

  “Somebody may have tried to close up the crypt or maybe just piled a few more bricks around him, thinking that Jonesy had a death wish and wanted to die in the mausoleum himself.”

  “For all I know,” the detective added, “your uncle was hiding in there because he wasn’t supposed to be in the graveyard at all.”

  Gage winced, knowing it wouldn’t be the first time somebody had gotten locked in to a cemetery. “I suppose that’s quite possible. Maybe Jonesy was just trying to find a place to hole up in, and then the shock of it all and the fear of getting caught brought on the heart attack,” he guessed, with a nod.

  “That would be my take on it.”

  “Well, at least he wasn’t murdered,” Gage murmured, more for the detective’s sake.

  “Exactly. That cleans up my case nicely.” And, with that, the detective stated, “I’ll follow up, if we have any other questions or if we find out anything else.”

  With that, Gage hung up, and then quickly called his brother. When he got voice mail, he tried again a few minutes later, and this time left a message, asking his brother to call him. Gage walked over to a vendor and picked up a coffee, then headed back to his same place on the same bench. It was a gorgeous day, and the crowds were pretty intense too. He could see the appeal of the graveyards, so quiet and peaceful, and, if his uncle had any reason to be in a graveyard, Gage could only think it had something to do with Jonesy’s bone collection. Still, Gage had no idea why Jonesy was in the graveyard, much less why his uncle collected dead people’s bones. He just didn’t know.

  Just then, his phone buzzed with an email. He checked it out and frowned, when it supposedly was from his uncle. Actually it was from Jonesy’s lawyer, who happened to be Gage’s as well.

  When you get this, call me.

  Gage quickly called, and Charlie answered, his voice tired.

  “What’s up?” Gage asked.

  “I have an envelope here, which Jonesy set up to be handed over to you when he died.”

  “So, I gather you heard the news.”

  “Yes, I did. Can you confirm it?”

  “Yes, absolutely. I identified his body. He’s been dead a couple days, but we don’t know how long exactly. Looks like he may have gone into hiding inside a crypt in the graveyard and had a heart attack. No apparent sign of foul play.”

  “I understand some of the bricks were replaced.”

  “The detective thinks Jonesy may have crawled in to get out of view of the cops who patrol the area at night, when the cemeteries are all locked up,” Gage murmured. “And so Jonesy may have put the bricks in place himself.”

  “You know what? I can almost see that too. What the hell was he doing in the graveyard in the first place though? Particularly after-hours when it’s all locked up?” Charlie asked.

  “Considering I was in a similar situation only a few nights ago, … it does kind of make sense.”

  “Right. Crazy tourist things? So, we don’t suspect the guy who found him?”

  “I don’t think so,” Gage replied slowly, “but I’m not sure I’m ready to write it all off as much as everybody else is.”

  “Do you believe the police about no foul play?”

  “Yes and no,” he murmured. “I can certainly see that, given how absolutely obsessed Jonesy was to find the tarot cards, plus his bone-collecting proclivities, if somebody had agreed to meet him there about that deck, he would have gone.”

  Maybe,” Charlie noted, “but why would somebody meet him there?”

  “I don’t know,” Gage murmured. “And I don’t even know how important those cards are.”

  “Well, you go through the email that I just sent you and let me know if it’s something you want me to get involved in.”

  “Will do.” And just when he was about to hang up, he added, “Hey, Charlie, about the deal pending right now?”

  “Yeah, what about it?”

  “Did you know my brother made last-minute changes to the dates?”

  After a moment of quiet his lawyer exploded. “He what? After all the changes that we went back-and-forth on? How did he do that without everybody’s permission?”

  “I don’t even want to know,” Gage murmured, “but he did. Supposedly he shortened the dates, so the buyers had less time to think it over and less time to close the deal.”

  “But the buyers had asked for those specific dates, and we had all agreed,” Charlie yelled into the phone. “Why in the hell would Terrence do that?”

  “I’m not sure,” Gage admitted. “I don’t know if it was just a case of flexing his muscles or whether he really thought that this would be an advantageous move.”

  “Jesus,” Charlie mumbled. “You’ll be damn lucky if the whole thing doesn’t get tossed because of his shenanigans.”

  “I know. I was wondering that myself.”

  “And this is a deal you really want, isn’t it?”

  “Absolutely it is,” he confirmed. “Either way, I’m stepping out of the business though. But, since it is my business, I want to sell it and move on.”

  “Well, let’s hope this deal still works out.” Charlie hesitated. “Look. I know he’s your brother,” he began, “but that’s kind of a dick move. Is there any reason he wouldn’t want you to sell?”

  “Well, he has invested a lot of money,” Gage noted. “Therefore, he stands to make a very healthy profit. So, no, I see no logical reason for him to tank this.”

  “But he doesn’t get the same crazy amount of money like you, right?”

  “Well, it is my company,” Gage said, “so he shouldn’t make the same amount of money as me.”

  “What about your buddy, Linden?”

  “Yeah.” Gage shook his head at the memories and some of the new revelations. “I don’t know where everything stands with the wife now.”

  “She has withdrawn all her protests. At this point in time she has run out of legal litigation options, so it only makes sense.”

  “Well, in that case,” Gage added, “my buddy had the same number of shares as my brother. So technically I get Linden’s shares as well now, as per our preexisting business contract among any business partners, resulting in an even bigger payout for me.”