Delia's Shadow (21 page)

“Something I control, not the ghost. Spirits should be tame and docile, unlike men.” Dora smiled flirtatiously and leaned closer. “Have you ever engaged a spiritualist and dabbled in séances, Lieutenant Ryan?”

He cleared his throat and shook his head. “No. I can’t say that I have.”

Dora leaned back, her smile satisfied and slightly smug. “Good. It will be more entertaining that way.”

CHAPTER 11

Delia

Isadora lived in a neighborhood at the top of Potrero Hill. We turned into her gate and entered a far country, distant and isolated.

Dora’s home was set back at the rear of a big, wooded lot. Pine and cedar trees swayed in the breeze, branches creaking and needles scenting the air. A long front drive, tall black-iron fence, and hedges hid her sprawling, two-story cottage from view. Her house was cut off from both passersby and the neighbors on either side, an island of solitude.

“Living here must be lovely.” I glanced at Dora and went back to watching the lights of her house shimmer behind the trees. “Your neighbors are so far away I imagine it’s like living on a country estate.”

“A little like that, yes. Or at least as close as I can come and still be near the city.” She nodded at Gabe, sitting in the front with Officer Polk. “If I lived in a boardinghouse like Gabe or even a neighborhood like yours, I’d need an asylum within a year. All that humanity and their emotions would drive me mad.”

I must have looked shocked. Dora patted my hand, amused and patient. “Most people don’t understand there are different tiers of the spirit world, different energies that intersect with our world. Spirits of the dead, ghosts, are the only tier you sense and see right now. I have the misfortune to sense and see them all, and strong emotions seek me out. Extreme pain and fear are the hardest to weather. I need a retreat to recover and shield myself from the worst assaults.”

“Does that hurt?” Dora lifted an eyebrow, peering at me quizzically. I suddenly realized what I’d done. “I don’t know what just came over me, I sound like Sadie. Please forgive me, I’d no right to ask something that personal. I’m so sorry.”

She laughed, utterly delighted. “Don’t be sorry. I was a bit surprised, but not offended. You’re the first person to ever ask me if what I do causes pain. The answer is yes, sometimes what I sense does hurt. Tell me, could you see what happened between Gabe and me tonight?”

I nodded. “A spark jumped between you. From the way you and Gabe flinched I got the impression it hurt.”

“You see more than I thought. We’ll have to watch that carefully.” The car with Sadie and Jack stopped ahead of us. We waited farther down the semicircular drive at the front of the house for them to get out and Henderson to drive away. Dora pulled off the blue cloche and shook her hair out. “The energy from all the death surrounding Gabe’s job seeks him out, clinging to his aura. Touching me grounds him. Unglamorous as it sounds, I’m the lightning rod for his lightning. Gabe is only the second person that’s ever happened with. The first was a priest.”

“Why Gabe?” I straightened the seams on my gloves, fiddling to keep from appearing anxious and more than a little afraid of the answer. “Why not Jack? He’s working the same case.”

“Sometimes spirits seek a strong protector. That was certainly the case with Father Dylan. With Gabe, my guess is they sense he could bring them justice and put their souls to rest.” She frowned. “And Jack isn’t being haunted. The ghost that sometimes follows Gabe will attract more spirit energy.”

“Gabe was married before the quake, but he lost Victoria in the fire. Shadow led the ghost away the night I met him and I’d hoped she’d found rest. If you’ve seen her then she’s not gone, she’s still haunting him.” I swallowed, but it didn’t help. Truth left a bitter taste in my mouth. “He doesn’t know. I haven’t been able to bring myself to tell him.”

The car stopped. Officer Polk came around to open Isadora’s door. She held the handle, forcing the door closed again, and looked me in the eye. “You did the right thing, Delia. All you’d accomplish by telling Gabe is to hurt him. His wife’s ghost will leave when he’s ready to let go, not before. Now, let’s go inside.”

She let Polk open the door and help her out. I slid out behind her, relieved that Gabe had been too involved in giving Henderson instructions to notice our conversation. That relief was rooted in guilt over keeping secrets, even if Dora did think them best.

Jack and Sadie stood to the side, head to head and deep in their own intense conversation. Not wanting to intrude or appear to eavesdrop, I turned away. I needn’t have worried. Until Dora called to them, they saw nothing but each other

Shadow shimmered into view on the porch, blocking the way into the house. Dora took my arm and marched me up the steps, pausing one step down from the ghost. “Go. I’ve no plans to surrender Delia to you, now or ever. You won’t cross my threshold until I call you. Now leave.”

Green eyes sought mine looking for a reprieve, but I echoed Dora. “Go until she calls you. It won’t be long.”

She came apart, shattering into a pearly powder that swirled away on the wind. The ghost hadn’t gone far. Shadow’s presence was still there, a second heart beating in my chest. She never left me.

Isadora winked at me before turning to address our friends. A change came over her, something more than the flamboyant persona she donned for visitors to the Pan Pacific. The gestures and the stance were equally dramatic, but I couldn’t put aside the sense that this was more than playacting. Fear rippled up my spine, unexpected and out of place. “Friends.” Dora extended a hand, naming each of us in turn. “Sadie, Jack, Gabe, and Delia, come inside. Welcome to my home.”

We stood there for a few seconds, staring at her and one another. Dora threaded her arm through mine again, the air of being more than just a fortune-teller gone. “I need a drink. Who wants to join me?”

She held my arm tight and practically dragged me over the threshold. The sensation of something oily sticking to my skin made me jump. Gabe brushed at his cheek and looked puzzled, but Sadie and Jack didn’t react at all.

Dora whispered in my ear. “Keeps out the boogeyman. Relax, nothing will hurt you.”

A parrot squawked loudly from deeper inside the house, followed by the sound of Daniel yelping and the clang of an iron cage door slamming shut. The screech from the bird that followed was earsplitting, even from a distance. Daniel screamed right back, but in a tongue I didn’t understand. After a few seconds of man and bird both yelling, the noise died down. Either Daniel had thrown a cover over the cage or they both got tired.

“I don’t know which is worse, Daniel or the wretched bird.” Dora sighed and hung up her coat. “At least we’ll be in my workroom where it’s quiet.”

Daniel chose that moment to come padding down the hall and into the entryway. He was barefoot, dressed in a pair of loose cotton trousers tied below his waist, and wasn’t wearing a shirt. His dark curly hair was mussed, as if he’d been sleeping and come back down to tend to the bird. Sadie and Dora didn’t seem bothered by his state of undress, but no doubt they were used to seeing him this way. I stared at a painting on the wall, cheeks burning, reminding myself sternly that this was his home and we’d intruded on him.

He nodded to the rest of us and held his hand up to show Dora. “Blasted bird bit me again.”

“Ungrateful creature.” She kissed the bright red welt on his palm and trailed her fingers down his chest. My blush burned hotter, but I don’t think either of them noticed. “Go on up to bed, darling. Let me take care of this séance for Delia and I’ll join you.”

Daniel kissed Sadie’s cheek in passing and nodded to the rest of us again. He yawned broadly and started up the carpeted staircase, tugging the loose trousers up as he climbed. “Have a good evening, everyone. Call me if you need anything, Dora.”

Gabe waited until Daniel disappeared and cleared his throat. “How long have the two of you been married?”

Dora sidled over to him, smiling coyly. “We’re not married, Lieutenant. I’m afraid Daniel and I have rather bohemian views when it comes to marriage.”

For an instant, I thought Jack was going to choke trying not to laugh at the look on Gabe’s face. Sadie swatted him on the shoulder. “Behave, Jack. Dora, stop teasing Gabe. Start the séance so we can get the unpleasantness over with.”

Dora let out a dramatic sigh, but sobered right away. “You’re right, it’s late and the sooner this is done the better. I don’t want to be in the middle of a summons at midnight. Follow me.”

Isadora led the way down the darkened corridor, back the way Daniel had come from. She opened a door, the oiled wood dark with age, and waved us all inside. “Delia, sit between me and Gabe if you would. That will lessen the static.”

He gave both of us a puzzled look, but didn’t say anything. I followed Sadie in, curious about what Isadora’s workroom was like.

The room smelled faintly of sandalwood and cinnamon. A round table sat in the center of a fringed carpet. The table was draped in blue velvet that fell to the floor and a shorter, white silk square canted at an angle on top. White candles filled freestanding iron candelabras in all four corners of the room. I brushed a hand over one and any fears I had of it tipping vanished. The stands were near as tall as me, with a heavy base that weighed as much or more than Sadie.

Heavy white damask drapes covered the windows. The walls were bare with the exception of one large mirror, mounted in a heavy gilt frame carved with vines and flowers. It hung in an odd spot, not centered on the wall but closer to a corner. Two cherry cabinets sat underneath the mirror, doors closed.

Finding the chair I was meant to take was easy. A large crystal ball, mounted in a cast silver stand, marked Isadora’s place. I sat in the chair to her left, Jack to her right, and Sadie took the chair between Gabe and me.

Dora left the room and returned with a wicker basket of bread and apples. The basket went in the middle of the table, behind the crystal ball. Isadora lit the candles and took her seat. The scent of cinnamon grew stronger.

“Sadie and Jack know this, but I need Delia and Gabe to pay attention.” Candle flames swayed in the breath of air that seeped past the drapes, and fingers of alternating darkness and light caressed Dora’s face. A normal thing, not in the least tied to ghosts, but one that still stirred quivers of uneasy in my stomach. “Once we start it’s imperative that you stay in your seat and not drop the hand of the person on either side. You’re perfectly safe as long as the circle remains unbroken.”

Skepticism was the kindest word I could think of for Gabe’s expression. “What happens if the circle is broken?”

“That depends entirely on the spirit who answers the summons. Some try and possess a person in the circle if the medium’s control is broken.” She shrugged. “It’s not unheard of for a ghost to take up residence in the house where the séance was held. I’d rather not have my house haunted. Getting a haunt to leave again can be difficult.”

Gabe looked to Sadie and Jack. Their expressions were equally as serious as Dora’s, full of belief. “You’re not joking this time. You really mean this could be dangerous.”

“Yes, Gabe, I really mean it. Keep in mind that this ghost, Shadow, might not be the only spirit to answer the summons. Not all entities are benign. And I still have my doubts this ghost is harmless as she appears to be.” Isadora leaned forward, arms resting on the table and hands wrapped around the crystal ball, any hint of her earlier playfulness gone. “We all know the spirit following Delia is strong enough to take over her dreams. It takes a great deal of energy to become visible to a group of people, but Shadow managed that today as well. But unless I’m mistaken, she’s only spoken twice and both times all five of us were together. Am I right, Delia?”

“I hadn’t thought of it, but yes.” I kept my hands folded and tucked in my lap, an act of self-control that kept me from twisting the velvet tablecloth. “If Shadow was able to speak to me, I might have had answers long ago.”

Dora rubbed the crystal globe with her thumbs, staring at her reflection. “I’d guessed as much. That tells me she’s pulling power from the living to do so, but needs more than Delia alone. Something about the makeup of this group allows her to gain that power. This ghost is strong, but not as strong as I feared.”

Jack’s puzzled frown grew deeper. “I’ll admit I heard a voice both times, in the tent and at the Stone Rose. But I haven’t seen anything. Sadie told me about what happened in the restaurant on the way over. Why didn’t I see the ghosts, too?”

“Maybe you’re just not her type.” Dora smiled, impish and teasing. That she’d made light of his question caused me to pay closer attention. “I can’t say for certain right now, but with luck we can find out. Let’s get started. Hold hands everyone and don’t let go until I say.”

I took Isadora’s hand first, then Gabe’s. The shock I’d half expected didn’t happen, a relief that must have showed on my face. Dora squeezed my fingers and took Jack’s hand, closing the circle.

“Spirit, we bring you gifts from life into death. Commune with us, help us learn your name, and move among us.” Isadora’s voice grew louder. “Show us if you hear my summons. Make your presence known.”

Three times she repeated her summons and then fell silent. We listened for some sign Shadow had answered. I listened inside as well, searching for a change in the constant pulse that was the ghost’s presence.

We didn’t wait long. The table jerked sharply, rocking and jumping as if trying to fly toward the ceiling. I jumped as well and almost dropped Dora’s hand, but she held tight and didn’t let me go. Gabe held tighter as well.

“Do you remember your name and who you were in life, spirit?” Dora kept her eyes on the crystal ball, her gaze intense and focused. Vague shapes moved inside, glimmers in the gloom. “Knock once for yes, twice for no.”

A hollow sounding rap came from under the table, as if Shadow knocked on an empty box and not the solid wooden top. Shadow’s presence itched along my skin, stronger than I’d felt before, but I couldn’t see her. Dora’s control or the protections on the house kept the ghost contained and from showing herself until called. Isadora had said as much, but I’d still expected the ghost to appear.