"Truth is New Orleans had the highest morality rate back in those days. 'Course when you mix all that death born in a town in chaos, crime, and culture, spirits tend to roam. Spirits like Confederate sailor Cornelius LaRue, who plunged to his death on All Saints Eve, 1867. Some say we went crazy cause of the fever, but trust me… he isn't roaming the streets to this day 'cause he was sick. He was murdered!"
Emma Swan arrived at the scene only a half hour after reports of a sailor jumping of the roof of the Edgar Pharmacy in the French Quarter. It was three days before Halloween and she always hated Halloween. It always seemed like the crazy people came out, especially in New Orleans. It didn't help that tonight was a full moon.
With a coffee in her hand and her phone in the other, Emma was interviewing the main witness to the crime. The young woman was a tour guide and was giving a ghost tour to a group of rotary citizens from a small town in Maine. She had just been in the middle of telling the story of Cornelius LaRue, when she saw the man fall from the rooftop and fall to his death.
"Swan. Swan!" A British voice called over the crowd.
Of all the days, he just had to show up. He being Killian Jones. Killian was the NCIS liaison to the NOPD. Every time a sailor went missing or came up dead, Killian Jones always had to show up and ruin her day.
"What do you want, Jones?"
"I want to know about the case? I was sleeping off my night on Bourbon when I got the call."
"Ghost tour, rotary club from Maine. They all saw the same thing and thought it was apart of the ghost tour. But the tour guide new better."
"What do we know about the victim?" Killian pulled out a small white bottle and popped a few pills into his mouth.
"Petty Officer Taylor James. He arrived in town just yesterday on emergency leave. I'm still waiting to find out why." Emma explained. "Are you taking this case from me again, Agent Jones?"
"I wouldn't dream of it, love. A joint investigation means less paperwork for me." Killian flashed a brilliant smile. "Any one say if he was pushed or if he fell? It is rather ironic that a sailor fell from the same rooftop that Cornelius LaRue fell from 150 years ago."
"Who is this Cornelius LaRue? The tour guide mentioned him as well?"
Emma had moved to New Orleans from Tallahassee just over a year ago. She had a bad break up with a partner back in Florida and needed a fresh start, NOLA seemed to be the answer.
"Right after the Civil War, part of the cities history. City lore we take seriously and rightfully so."
"You are not even from this city, Jones."
"I've spent over a decade here. It's as much my city as any place I have ever lived. And it includes all the spirits and ghosts."
"That explains all the creeps that have been hanging around. Hurricanes and Crawfish I'm good with. Ghosts and voodoo not so much."
The medical examiner confirmed that the victim did die from the four-story fight. However, she also included that the body had defensive wounds. It was unclear if he was pushed of if he fell, but that was Emma's job. Or at least her job with Jones' help.
The NCIS forensic team confirmed that two sets of shoe prints were found on top of the roof. Blood spatter was consistent with a struggle and the recovery of Petty Officer James' phone confirmed he was on the rooftop before his death. The sailor's sister explained that he was in town because of his grandmother's passing and that he was going over a few last minute things.
Emma was standing in the middle of the NCIS bullpen with Jones and his team explaining that James' house had been ransacked. They had found a voodoo séance in the middle of the grandmother's bedroom.
"So what, our Petty Officer was trying to summon the ghost of his dead grandmother?" Killian couldn't help but chuckle.
"Everyone grieves in their own way. Don't mock it." Killian's partner David Nolan spoke.
"Yeah you do not want to mess with that stuff." Emma piped in.
"Wait a second. Are you scared of ghosts, Swan?"
"What?! No- of course, I'm…no. I'm just saying. We don't know what we don't know. So, let's just focus on what we do know and that is the case."
The problem was that between the two agencies there was not much to go on. Petty Officer Taylor James was clean. About as squeaky clean as any person could get. His CO granted him leave to help with his Grandmother's funeral. However, there was a fingerprint found on one of the candles from the séance, belonging to one local con artist William Anglin.
"Hey, I know that guy!" Emma shouted at the HD screen where the perps photo had popped up. "He was one of the creeps at my crime scene."
"You mean our crime scene, love." Killian playfully nudged Emma.
"Stop it, Jones. This is not the place or the time." Why did he always have to be so annoying, Emma thought to herself. "Let's just go find this guy." She marched out of the office as fast and as loud as she could.
David and Killian both exchanged looks before they followed the blonde out.
"What happened between the two of you? Emma looked antsy and like she couldn't leave fast enough." David mentioned to Killian as they drove, following Emma to Anglin's address.
"I don't know. Everything was going great. We had drinks a few weeks ago and then she changed. She became closed off and she hasn't talked to me much since. She won't return my phone calls or texts and I swear she has been avoiding cases so that we don't work together." Killian sighed.
It had taken him so long to finally get Emma to open up to him and when she finally did her walls went back up just as fast. Was that night not as good as he thought. He had been quite proud of himself after his performance.
It was after sunset when the trio made it to the LaLaurie mansion. It was here that slaves were tortured at the hands of Delphine LaLaurie. On April 10, 1834, a fire broke out at the luxurious house owned by Delphine LaLaurie. The fire not only destroyed part of the house, it brought to light seven slaves who were starved, tortured, and chained to the upper part of the building. The house was said to be the most haunted house in al of New Orleans.
"David, you and Jones take the front, I will take the back." Emma instructed the two men.
"Or. And I am just spit balling here, you and Killian take the front and I take the back. We all know that I am the fastest and it the perp runs I will be the one to chase him down." David argued.
"Agreed." Killian said before Emma could protest. It didn't help that David was already drawing his gun and heading towards the back of the mansion. She didn't have time to argue as they had little time to get this done before the night tours started.
"You take the stairs. I am will go this way." Killian pointed to the dark and eerie staircase with his flashlight and gun.
"Okay." Emma took a deep breath and stepped a few feet closer to the staircase.
The moment the glow from Killian's flashlight faded, Emma got a sinking feeling in her stomach. She could feel the cold air around here, though she attributed it to the unusual cold front Louisiana was experiencing. But even her own light and gun were not enough to ward off the uneasy feeling.
A sudden gust of wind outside the old house had Emma jumping "Uh… you know what? Maybe we shouldn't split up. Protocol, so…"
"If you need me to protect you, all you have to do is say so, Swan. I won't let the big bad ghosts get you."
"I am not afraid of ghosts!" Emma tried not let her voice show her fear.
"Uh huh. Come on, then."
To say the mansion was creepy was an understatement. Emma could see why this place was a highlight on the ghost tours. Every board creaked beneath their feet, the lanterns and lights flickered with every gust of wind (at least that is what she told herself). They had cleared the first floor and were working on the second floor when Emma took a moment to calm down her racing heart. Why had they decided to come here at night? Couldn't David and Killian have done this alone? And why did Killian's ass look so good?
She was too busy admiring the backside of the federal agent in front of her, that Emma failed to notice a shadow across the hall from her. It wasn't until the door slammed that she let out a blood curling shriek. Her hand immediately went to cover her mouth and she knew what was coming.
"You are petrified of ghosts." Killian spoke with his gun raised high, ready to shoot whatever had caused Emma to scream.
"Shhh…. I hear something." Emma waved him off and listened to the sound.
"You are trespassing. The tour is over." A man stepped out from the room with the slamming door.
"FEDERAL AGENT."
"POLICE! Hands up."
Why did they always have to run? Couldn't a suspect just do what they said for once and go willingly?
Both Killian and Emma chased Anglin through the upstairs of the mansion thorough every dark and spooky room. "Stop! NCIS! Freeze!" She could hear Killian shouting ahead of her. She was sincerely regretting her boots right now.
They continued to follow him around the corners, down the stair, and through the kitchen where the infamous fire was started. Anglin and Killian made it through the room three seconds before Emma came racing through the first door. But as soon as she made it to the second, both doors slammed shut at the same time. He juggled with the knob of the first door and then ran to check the second. Neither door would move.
"Killian? No! No! No…no" She scanned the room in a panic, looking for a way out. Why today? Why did this have to happen on tonight of all nights?
"NCIS! STOP!" David barreled straight into the man that had just bolted out of the kitchen door into the courtyard.
"I didn't do anything. I'm innocent." Anglin pleaded from beneath David's knee.
"Then why did you run?" Killian pulled the bloody idiot up from the ground and began to cuff him.
"Where is Emma?" David happened to notice that the blonde detective was missing.
"KIILLLIIIAAANNN!" Emma screamed from the kitchen where she was still trapped.
"Oops." Killian smirked and went to help Emma.
Watching Killian and David interrogate the suspect was interesting to say the least. David was clearly the good cop while Killian played the role of the bad cop. They found out that Will had conned the Petty Officer's grandmother. The old woman had come to Anglin to find the truth about the family secret. She had spent her whole life looking for a secret. Anglin thought he could humor the woman by doing a fake séance and making a few bucks. But after she had passed he claimed to have heard her speaking to him…beyond the grave. Killian said a quick prayer and hoped that not of this spirt bullshit would come after her. She did not need any of that in her life.
Anglin went on saying the woman told him he had to seek out her grandson, Petty Officer Taylor James. And it wasn't twenty-four hours later that the sailor ended up dead. Apparently, the kid believed the fake medium and thought there was something to the whole family secret.
As a team they decided to investigate further. They decided to check into Will's alibi and pull phone records.
"Want me to retrace his steps?" Emma offered, hoping she could some time away from Killian. Last night at the mansion had been too much. The moment Killian released her from the terrifying room, Emma had jumped into his arms scared out of her mind. But Killian had put too much thought into the action. He had offered several times to escort her home and continued to text her throughout the night to 'check up on her'. What she needed was some space.
"No. I want you and Killian do to it." David answered quickly. "That's an order. I don't know what is going on between the two of you, but whatever it is, work it out!"
St. Louis Cemetery was the last stop Petty Officer James' made before he ended up at the rooftop across from Edgar's pharmacy. The cemetery was establish in the 1700's and the oldest cemetery in the city. This above-ground cemetery with it's extravagant tombs and crypts was the finally resting place for Marie Laveau, a voodoo priestess whom many worship. Delphine LaLaurie, Homer Plessey, members of Jean Lafitte's pirate crew, and the future resting place of Nicolas Cage.
"I always did admire Jean Lafitte. A man who knew what he wanted and did not give a shit about anyone else." Killian remarked as they passed by one of the pirate tombs. "Not only was the man sharp and resourceful. It was said that he enjoyed drinking, gambling, and women. And was devilishly handsome. Someone I can relate to."
Emma huffed and rolled her eyes. "We are not here to talk about your man crush on some mediocre pirate. We need to find out what Petty Officer James was doing here."
"Actually, I was hoping that since we were alone, that perhaps we could talk about something else."
"Ugh… let's not."
"Swan…"
"No. Just no." She couldn't do this. Not right now.
"Emma. This tension between us, it's not just affecting us. It is affecting our job."
"Look, I am sorry but I can't do this right now, Killian. We are friends and let's just keep it that way."
"Swan, I get why you do not want to be more than just friends. Whatever happened to you back in Tallahassee was tough. But after the other night, I do not know how to go back to being just friends and colleagues."
God, why did he have to bring this up? In a cemetery no less. Emma thought over what he said and tried to think of the right words to say. "It's not like anything has changed. Has it? You are still Jones and I am Swan. Look, the other night….it was a one-time thing."
"I was hoping it meant something. I was hoping you would feel it to. But I believe in good form, Swan. And I will not push you. You see, because when I win your heart…and I will win it. It will not be because of any trickery. It will be because you want me."
Shaking her head, Emma stepped away from Killian. How could he say something like and she not melt into his damn arms? Fuck him and is beautiful face and poetic words.
"Emma…"
"I don't believe it."
"Look, I am sorry, I just…"
"No no no no. Not that. Look."
Emma point her finger to the tomb in front of her. At the bottom of the list of names was one Cornelius LaLRue. Why would James come here to the LaRue's finally resting place? Did this have anything to do with his death at the same spot the former Confederate soldier die?
Killian and Emma met back up with David at the NCIS team headquarters. David filled them in on what the medical examiner had found. At the moment, all they had was that the petty officer was looking into a family secret that might be related to LaRue. Based on evidence that was found in Taylor's grandmother's home, the family secret that Grandma James was looking into was that the James' were related to LaRue.
Mapping out the Petty Officer's last stops, David and Killian tried to make sense of it all. How did any of this end up getting a man killed.
"I think I got!" Emma spoke up as she got off the phone with a forensic analysist. "Forensics found mold spores on Petty Officer James' shirt. But here is the kicker. The spores are over 150 years old. Same age as Cornelius LaRue. This is starting to look more and more suspicious."
Exchanging looks between them, Killian cocked a brow. "What are you trying to say, Swan?"
"That it was a ghost. The ghost of LaRue." David added quickly.
"Bloody hell not you too. You believe in all of that voodoo and spirit shit too," Emma rolled her eyes.
"Emma, this is New Orleans. You cannot live here and not believe in it."
"I've made it this far."
It took them three days to piece everything together. Killian and Emma continued to retrace all of James' steps and came across the house of the Gold family. The house belonged to the Edgar family. The same one that founded the Edgar Pharmacy. First and oldest pharmacy in the nation. As Killian questioned the family about why Taylor James would be at their home investigating Cornelius LaRue, Emma scanned the photos that lined the mantle. They all seemed to be from the late eighteen hundreds and showcased the history of the pharmacy and the family. She was just about to turn away when she noticed the last photo. It was a picture of Edgar and LaRue standing outside of the old Apothecary. According to Belle Gold, the direct descendant of Whitman Edgar, the photo was of the opening. From the way the men shook hands and smiled at the camera it could only mean they knew one another.
It was clear that the death of LaRue and the death of the petty officer were more connected that had been previously thought. This led Agent Jones and Detective Swan to the family archives.
"So what Taylor was trying to prove that LaRue was murdered? That there was more to this family than originally thought?" Killian voiced from the driver seat of his company issue suburban. "Not sure how he could do that now."
"I don't know. Apparently, someone thought he could. How else do you explain someone else being on the roof waiting?"
"What is the point. The killer has been dead over a century, so it is not as if someone could get revenge."
"Maybe it is not about revenge. Justice is just as satisfying 150 years later."
"Perhaps we could call for LaRue's ghost ourselves and ask him. It would make this case go by so much faster." Killian smirked.
"You are teasing me. Are you trying to make me punch you?" Emma already had her fist balled and ready to strike.
"Tell me, love. Do you believe in ghosts or not? And if not why are so you afraid of them?"
"First off, I am not afraid of anything jackass. Second, I don't know if I believe in them or not. I believe in what I can see and prove. It is why I am a cop. So it freaks me out a little when unexplainable things happen."
"Is that why the thought of love has you putting up that wall of yours?"
"We are here." Emma nodded to the old brick building that was illuminated only by the street lamps across the street. "Do you think this is where James inhaled the old mold spores?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, love. But it looks like this place could use a through cleaning if you ask me." Killian pulled on the chain to the single bulb that lit up the small room.
The two combed through the archives looking for any sort of clue. They stumbled upon a box that had a disturbed layer of dust. Killian flipped through the old journals and log books as Emma waited not so patiently for him to finish.
"Hurry up, Jones. This place creeps me out."
"This box is from 1860 to 1880. This has to be what James was going through before his death. It looks like old registrar papers and name approvals." Killian continued to scan and find the smoking gun they needed.
"What was that?" Emma jumped closer to Killian.
"What?"
"Did you hear that?"
"Are you trying to make up another excuse to get closer to me, Swan?"
"Seriously, Jones no is not the time to talk about my feelings for you."
"Oh so you do have feels for me?" His voice was laced in sarcasm and obvious interest.
"I'm not kidding." Emma's whispered with panic in his eyes. "Please, just hurry up."
"This is interesting." Killian proceeded to tell Emma about a Benjamin Larue, Cornelius' son. The document was an approval for a name change.
"He probably doesn't want to be associated with a ghost. I don't blame the guy."
"It's not that, Swan, look what he changed his name to."
"James." Emma whispered.
It was at the same time she said the name that the lights flickered, and a rattling started. The sounds only got louder until Emma couldn't take it anymore. "Just take the file and lets get the hell out of here."
As it turned out the file revealed that Benjamin LaRue had in fact changed his name to Benjamin James to distance himself from the legend of his father. But what David had found was even more mysterious. Back in the eighteen hundreds, Corenelius' widow had sent in a letter asking for the investigation of her husband's murder. The entire time Petty Officer James had been home from leave he was trying to solve the family secret of who killed LaRue and why.
Reports that a fire had broken out at the old archives made the two agents and detective suspicious that someone was trying to hide something in connection with the murder of LaRue. Looking into the soldiers past revealed that he had just come back to New Orleans after Medical school, just before he died. As it turned out, Edgar and LaRue had gone into business together to start the Apothecary which was now worth a fortune. This meant that the James family was owed half of the fortune.
Tire tracks were found at the scene and cross referenced with make and models. It was revealed that the tire matched a Land Rover 4x4. The same car that Belle Gold had parked outside her house. This lead Killian and Emma to the Edgar mansion, ready to arrest Belle. She claimed to know nothing about the archives and that she car was still parked out front. But upon further inspection the keys to the Rover were gone as well as the car. That is when all thoughts started pointing to her husband, Robert Gold.
Several hours later, Killian was standing on the rooftop across from the pharmacy and the sport where Taylor James had fallen. It was Halloween night and he watched as the drunks tried to remember their way back to Bourbon street or the couples who were snogging, not so subtly, in the dark allies.
"Your gun. Slide it over to me slowly, dearie." A high pitched voice spoke from behind him.
Killian turned toward the man, slowly as not to cause the man to become trigger happy. The way Robert Gold looked at him, he knew this wasn't the first time he had held a gun in such a manner. It also hadn't been the first time he had been on this roof.
Taking his Glock out of his pocket, Killian carefully slide it towards the older man.
"So you've been rather busy the past few days, I see." He spoke calmly.
"Well, you see, I had to figure out what Taylor had. What he was looking for." Robert replied.
"Because he told you the family that you married into stole money from his. And when you couldn't find the prove at his house or his grandmother's you followed him here. Killed him before he could find out the proof." Killian took a half step away from the man, only to be that much closer to the edge of the roof.
"I wasn't sure what he had. I still do not. But that sailor knew he had something."
"Jones!" Emma called up from the street. "What are you doing. We don't have all night."
Killian looked between Emma and Gold unsure of how this was going to play out. "So what are you going to do? You cannot push me off the roof like you did Petty Officer James. I am a federal agent and my partner is waiting for me down there. You will never make it out of here."
"Jones, come on, already. Do you see anything or not?"
"There her there is nothing here and that you are coming down. Unless you want the both of you to die tonight. I am not above getting rid of two more pains in my ass tonight. NOW!"
Killian took a deep breathe and stepped to the very edge. He said a silent prayer that Gold would not backstab him and push him.
"Nothing is here…. Emma. All good, Detective Swan."
Emma knew something was wrong the moment he called her Emma. It was always just Swan with him, never Emma or Detective Swan. She drew her gun and dashed into the building making her way to the roof top.
"So now what? The secret is out, Gold. We won't be the last cops to figure out what happened here."
"Maybe. Maybe not. Absent proof leads to just another ghost story in this town dearie. And you will just add to it."
Gold held the grip on his gun firmly and Killian could only stare at the barrel as he knew what was coming next. He just wished he had gotten a chance to say goodbye to Emma first.
"DON'T DO IT!" Emma's voice rang clear.
The sounds of shots fired made Killian lunge forward to try and tackle the gun out of Gold's hands. He managed to get the gun free but not before he was knocked to the ground. Gold went to through a punch, but Killian was able to dodge it and push Gold away.
Everything else happened so quickly. Gold was dangling from the ledge and Emma was holding out her hand to pull him up. But no amount of talk was enough to keep Gold from letting go and hitting the pavement. Emma shrieked and instantly hide her face into Killian's chest.
He held her and comforted her until the ambulances and back up arrived. She was shaking he could feel her tears through his shirt.
"Thank you for saving me, love." Killian rubbed at her back and pulled away just enough to cup her chin and wipe away a stray tear with the pad of his thumb.
"I knew something was wrong when you called me, Emma. A-and I couldn't help but imagine something terrible was happening." She admitted.
"I am sorry about what I said at the cemetery. I know you have this weight that I cannot possibly imagine, but even thought you and I are different I would think you trust me by now to open up."
"Is that what you that that was about. That I do not trust you?"
"Is that not what it is about?"
"Of course I trust you."
"Then why do you keep pulling away."
"Because everyone I have ever been with has left me. I can't lose you too."
"Well, love you don't have to worry about me. I'm in this for the long haul." With that Killian closed the gap with a passionate kiss. "So how about drinks?"
"I was thinking my place instead." Emma answered with kiss swollen lips and a bright flush on her cheeks.