Cadaver Lab, page 10
She eyed his hand on her shoulder. “What are you doing?”
He leaned low and said too close to her ear, “Couples are less suspicious. Now shush.”
She didn’t think she looked suspicious whether she was part of this sham couple or not, and she really didn’t like being shushed by him or anyone, but she didn’t argue. Instead she strained to listen to what the leader of the group said.
There could be clues all around them. Something that could help Gabe.
Liam, on the other hand, seemed to be looking everywhere except at the tour guide. Not a surprise. Far be it from him to actually listen to someone else talk.
They moved from the well-lit public area of the distillery through a doorway and descended into the formerly secret tunnels used during Prohibition.
“This is more like it,” Liam commented.
She took that as an opportunity to shush him this time as she listened to the names and dates their guide listed. The guide mentioned historical figures she was familiar with and others she hadn’t heard of but Gabe probably had. She wished she had a notebook and pen to take notes for him.
Ooo. She did have her phone. There were apps for that.
She pulled the cell out of her bag and was about to try to locate a recording app while not completely missing what was being said when she saw him—a man standing off to the side.
He hadn’t been with them on the tour. He wasn’t wearing the logo shirt like the employees she’d seen. He was older, but not frail.
There was a toughness about him as he leaned against the wall, arms folded as he watched people go by. But not one person looked at him—and finally it hit her that was because they couldn’t see him. But she could.
She reached out to grip Liam’s forearm. He frowned down at her.
“Hang back,” she whispered.
He slowed his pace then stopped. When the group had moved far enough away, he asked, “What’s up?”
“Don’t look but I think—we’re not alone.” She’d mouthed the last three words while facing him and away from the possible specter.
He frowned, then his eyes widened. “Oh. You mean…like at home?”
She nodded and held up one finger to indicate there was only one possible ghost there with them.
He leaned low and pressed his mouth to her ear. A shiver ran through her and she felt almost woozy from the heat of his lips against her.
“How about you ask him some questions?” Liam’s whispered suggestion knocked her back to reality.
She pulled back and glared at him.
Was he crazy? Talking to Gabe was one thing. He was familiar. Like a friend. She trusted he’d never hurt her. In fact, he protected her privacy from the others.
But she didn’t know what other ghosts were capable of.
No doubt not all were kind and gentle. Some had to be malevolent. At least they were if there was any truth to any of the stories ghost hunter reality shows or even movies were based on.
Could he hurt her? Was he capable? And what would he do once he knew she could hear and see him? She already knew ghosts liked to get way too close.
Afraid to speak lest she give away her ability, all she did was catch Liam’s gaze with her own wide-eyed one and shake her head.
“You scared?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
“But—”
She covered his mouth with her fingers. “Shh.”
He rolled his eyes and pulled her hand away, keeping it held captive in his, which was completely distracting but not unpleasant. Comforting, actually.
“So you’re just going to give up? Go home and tell poor murdered Gabe you can’t help because you’re too afraid?”
At the name Gabe, the man in the corner perked up. His gaze zeroed in on Liam, then moved to her.
“Shit,” she breathed.
“What?”
“He heard you.”
Apparently all spirits had no sense of propriety or personal space. The male moved closer, then closer still until Natalie had to pull her arms in front of herself, curling in her shoulders to avoid brushing up against the ghost.
“Is he right there? Next to you?” Liam asked.
She nodded.
“Okay. Enough. Dude. Back off and she’ll be happy to listen to whatever you want to say. It’s a pretty good deal since I’m thinking you don’t get many living people who can see and hear you.”
Liam was still directing his heroic monologue to the space next to her shoulder. But as soon as he’d addressed the spirit, it swooped backward, all the way to the wall of the tunnel.
“He moved,” she told Liam, before she turned to the spirit. “Look. What he said is true. I can see you. If you talk I should be able to hear you too. And I’m happy to listen to whatever you want to say. But I’d really like to hear what you know about my friend Gabe. He was murdered—stabbed—we think nearby very recently and I promised him I’d try to find his killer.”
The ghost snorted. “Not nearby. It all went down right here, doll.” His voice was gruff. His speech akin to that of an old timey gangster from the movies.
Now that she thought about it, her life had become more and more like a movie lately.
“What do you mean, here?” she asked.
“Right here in the tunnels. Just about where you’re standing, then the killer dragged him off thataway.” He tipped his chin toward where the tour group had gone.
“Are you sure?”
He was standing too closely again and as interested as she was in what he had to say, she had to take a step back. For her own sense of comfort. And her sanity.
“Yeah, I’m sure. I saw the whole thing,” he reported.
She forgot about putting space between them at that and leaned forward. “You saw it?”
“Saw what?” Liam demanded. “What are you two talking about?”
“Gabe being stabbed.” She glanced at Liam. “It happened here.”
“Here, here?” Liam glanced at the dirt and stone floor, then up at her. “We need a black light. It’ll show any traces of blood.”
She waved away his amateur forensics and turned back to the ghost. “How did you know his name was Gabe? Did he talk to you—ghost-to-ghost—after he died?” she asked.
The spirit shook his head. “He was still alive and breathing when he dragged him away.”
“You said he. So it was definitely a man who stabbed him?”
The ghost nodded. “Dames don’t go for knives usually. Even the tough ones. It was a man for sure and he called your friend by name. Said, ‘Hey, Gabe,’ clear as day. And Gabe turned and said, ‘What’re you doing here?’ The guy said something about following him and Gabe should know why. There was a lot more conversation. A bit of a tussle. Your friend turned to leave and the yellow-bellied coward grabbed the knife right out of the sheath on Gabe’s belt and stabbed him in the back with it. Then he dragged him out of here.”
“And no one saw?”
He shook his head. “The place was closed. I was the only one around to see. Knife must’ve gotten him in the lung. Poor bastard was gurgling. Probably drowned in his own blood.”
The shock of that image had Natalie silent until she felt Liam’s hand on her shoulder. “What?”
She drew in enough breath to say over the sound of her pounding heart, “Gabe knew his killer.”
Liam blew out a curse beneath his breath.
They were closer to finding Gabe’s killer than she ever believed they’d get. All because she’d spoken to this ghost, like Liam told her too—which stung. She really hated him being right.
“Thank you—um. I’m sorry. I don’t know your name.”
“What? You don’t recognize me, doll?” he asked with a grin.
She shook her head. “Sorry. No. I’m not from around here. Oh, wait. Are you—you’re not Dutch Schultz, are you?”
Was she speaking with the famous gangster? The man who knew exactly where the treasure would be? She couldn’t believe her luck.
He laughed. “Hell no. I was just kidding you. I’m a nobody. And I happen to know Dutch moved a good amount of the hooch but he wasn’t the mastermind behind the operation that everyone gives him credit for. That was Patrick Ryan, the owner of the farm. He was the brains behind it all. And he’s the one that would have gone down for it after the bust in 1932. Except he had connections from being a former cop and all.”
“Then who are you?”
“I worked here back then. During Patrick Ryan’s time before he sold it. I bought the place thirty years later. That was in the late sixties after a bunch of owners had fucked it up. It was everything from a commune to a slaughterhouse before I got it.”
“Wow,” Natalie breathed.
She’d have never known. It had been brought back to its Prohibition glory today to draw in the tourists.
“Wow what?” Liam asked. “You have to get better about keeping me in the loop.”
Ignoring him, the ghost continued, “Those other owners never knew the secrets. Never found the rest of the tunnels or the storeroom. But I know. Charles Adams, at your service.”
Natalie smiled. “Nice to meet you, Charles.”
“Who the hell is Charles?” Liam hissed from just behind her.
“Who’s this cake-eater?” Charles lifted a chin toward Liam.
“A pain in my neck,” she mumbled.
“He carries himself like a G-man.” Charles eyed Liam with a suspicious stare. “He a fed?”
“He’s former military. And now he’s a doctor of sorts, I guess. Not a…G-man or a fed. I promise.”
He nodded. “Good. Never trust a fed.”
“I’m waiting for an answer,” Liam said while actually tapping his foot. “And I’m not a doctor of sorts. I’m actually a doctor. When are you going to believe that? Do I need to show you my med school diploma?”
She drew in a breath. “Doctor William Walsh, meet Charles Adams. He worked here for the original owner of the distillery, Patrick Ryan.”
“As in during Prohibition?” Liam stared at her.
“Wouldn’t have been much money in cooking up and smuggling moonshine if it hadn’t been during Prohibition, now would it?” Charles said snarkily.
“Yes,” she answered Liam and ignored the ghost with the attitude.
“Then why haven’t you asked him about the treasure? If it’s here, won’t he know?”
Liam did have a point. She’d been distracted with solving the murder—her reason for being here. But the treasure did seem to be connected to the murder. And as long as they were here, she might as well ask.
“Did you ever hear anything about Dutch Schultz burying gold, diamonds and cash somewhere around here?”
“That was the rumor. Sure.” Charles nodded.
“Rumor? You don’t believe it?” she asked.
He shrugged. “It wouldn’t do much good to hide the loot then run your mouth off. If he did hide anything around here, why would he tell everybody about it? Nah. Dutch could be a cocky bastard but he wasn’t that dumb.”
She nodded in agreement with what Charles said as Liam prodded her in the side with two pointy fingers.
“He doesn’t think it’s here,” she said to appease him before he poked her again.
Liam visibly deflated. She couldn’t deal with him now since she heard the tour coming back in their direction.
“We’re going to have to go. But you’ve been very helpful. Thank you so much,” she said to Charles.
“No problem, doll.”
She turned, planning to rejoin the group when they got close enough, when a thought struck her and she pivoted back. “Wait. Can you leave here? You’re not trapped in the tunnels are you?”
“Hell, no. I can go all over the property. But it’s most fun to scare the tourists down here.” He grinned.
She couldn’t help but smile. “Have fun, Charles.”
Turning back to Liam, she saw his unhappy expression as he mumbled, “I don’t like being on the outside looking in.”
Finally, payback for all of his rude, not to mention antisocial behavior.
“Sorry,” she said with not much sympathy before flouncing her way back to the main group.
nineteen
“There has to be more,” Liam insisted while the hamburger poised in his hand dripped grease into the take-out container below it.
“I told you every word Charles said to me.”
Liam rolled his eyes. “You can’t remember every word.”
“Sure I can. I have a very good memory,” she lied.
She hoped he didn’t ask her to remember what she’d had for dinner last night because she had no idea. But when it came to important things, like ghosts talking about witnessing murders, a person tended to remember.
Liam shook his head. “I don’t believe there’s no treasure. First of all, rumors have to start somewhere. From some ounce of truth. Second, someone killed Gabe over this treasure.”
“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t some crazy treasure obsessed person willing to kill over just a rumor.” She looked pointedly at Liam, who had definitely become treasure obsessed. “What’s with you and the treasure anyway? Do you need money?”
If so, she could relate. She too had taken on a piece of real estate that had turned into a money pit. Old buildings might sell for cheap, but the real cost was in the renovation and maintenance. She’d learned that too late.
She could only imagine what Liam’s building was like inside and how much work he was doing to turn it into an operating lab.
He set down the remaining piece of his burger with a sigh. “You ever hear of the Treasure of Nimrud.”
“No. Wait. Is it a book? Or was it a movie?”
He shook his head. “It’s all the gold and jewels and artifacts that were discovered in some ancient queen’s tomb in the late eighties. It was called the greatest discovery since King Tut. It’s considered priceless and it all disappeared from the Iraq Museum in Bagdad. I was stationed in Bagdad with my unit so we were definitely aware of the treasure.”
“And you searched for it,” she guessed.
“Actually the treasure of Nimrud was found but we knew there was still a lot of Saddam Hussein’s gold hidden somewhere. Probably right in the city. My buddy and I used to joke about searching for it and what we’d do if we ever found it. Fantasy stuff, you know. I wanted to buy an island. He wanted to open a casino…” His voice trailed off.
“Well maybe after we figure out who Gabe’s killer is you and your buddy can pick up Gabe’s search for this treasure.”
The search for Dutch’s treasure might have already proven dangerous—at least to Gabe—but she had to think it was safer than going to Iraq.
“My friend…died.”
“Oh.” That she hadn’t expected. “I’m sorry.”
He responded with barely a nod before standing. “I’m taking a shower.”
“Okay.” She watched him walk away as questions swirled in her brain. Questions about the circumstances of his friend’s death. About what else Liam had gone through in his years of service. Questions she knew she’d never ask. And even if she did, she doubted he’d answer.
The conversation, as short as it had been, did maybe explain one thing though. Why Liam was obsessed with this treasure. He was pursuing the dream he and his buddy shared. Carrying on the torch his buddy couldn’t.
She supposed she had to respect that. She could even understand it. Finding Dutch’s stash would be cool. Even if they did donate it all to a museum or whatever she wouldn’t mind finding it. The publicity might even help the shop.
But first, Gabe’s murder… That was the priority.
Shoving the last piece of her chicken sandwich into her mouth, she chewed while she logged into her email. Still no answer from the landlord. And there’d been no phone call or text either.
If he didn’t get back to them soon, they would have no evidence that Gabe was missing to bring to the local police. And how in the world was she going to get the police to look in the tunnels for blood? The killer had moved the body so it wasn’t found there.
She was still making her head spin with circular arguments about how she could or could not involve the police when the bathroom door opened and Liam emerged wearing nothing but a towel around his hips.
Then there were no more thoughts of tunnels or police.
Holy hell!
He might be a doctor—or so he said—but he was built more like an Olympic athlete. All lean muscles and that vee that guys got from having wide shoulders and a narrow waist.
“Sorry. I forgot to grab clean clothes before I went in.” He glanced at her from beneath the fall of wet hair hanging low over his eyes.
She swallowed hard and tried to find words as he turned to dig through is bag.
“Uh, that’s fine. No biggie. Nothing I haven’t seen before.” She let out a manic sounding laugh.
His brows rose as his gaze shot to her briefly but he didn’t comment as he continued to paw—one handed as he held the towel with the other—through the clothes in his bag.
Grabbing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt while still holding that precariously poised towel with his other hand, he went back into the bathroom.
“I’ll be out in a second then the shower is all yours.”
“Oh sure. Yeah. Thanks.” The door closed again and she let out a breath.
She’d shower. And after that… Swallowing hard she glanced at the one and only bed in the room.
twenty
Natalie woke slowly. Her brain seemed to take longer than her body to function.
She opened her eyes and tried to place where she was. The room was still dark but as her eyes adjusted, cheap ugly hotel furniture in the small square room came into focus.
The motel. With Liam. Together. In the one and only bed.
Holy shit.
She’d actually slept but now she was very much awake…and so was one particular part of Liam. That part was currently poking her in the butt.
Afraid to move, afraid to breathe, she froze, her body stiff… and that wasn’t the only thing that was stiff in that bed.
