Chapter 10
"For all I'd been blessed with in this life
There was an emptiness in me
I was imprisoned by the power of gold
With one honest touch you set me free.
Let the world stop turnin'
Let the sun stop burnin'
Let them tell me
Love's not worth going through."
When Chris woke up, Ray wasn't there, but he could hear the sounds of someone playing softly in the living room. Was that Ray?
"If it all falls apart
I will know deep in my heart
The only dream that mattered
Had come true.
In this life I was loved by you."
Cellphone in one hand, and gun at the ready, just in case, Chris carefully peeked into the living room. And then he was bringing up his cellphone and switching on the video.
"For every mountain I have climbed
Every raging river crossed
You were the treasure I longed to find
Without your love I would be lost.
Let the world stop turnin'
Let the sun stop burnin'
Let them tell me
Love's not worth going through.
If it all falls apart
I will know deep in my heart
The only dream that mattered
Had come true.
In this life I was loved by you.
In this life I was loved by you."
And Ray went quiet, sitting in a chair by the window, with her guitar across lap, folding her arms across the top of the guitar, and seemed to get lost in her own thoughts, staring at something he couldn't see. Chris couldn't resist; he quickly switched off the video and snapped a fast photo, which would go into his private collection, a secure collection only Patton even knew existed because he'd helped him set it up in the first place.
After her nightmare, Ray had sobbed against him for a while, before falling asleep again, and he hadn't been far behind, despite his concerns. It had been nice sharing a bed with a woman and getting some actual sleep, despite the later nightmare and the threat of Mary popping in for a visit, which Ray had teased him about earlier.
"And if she does? Then what?" he'd shot back over dinner.
"Then you tell her goodnight and good-bye," Ray said, grinning. "And if you say it forcefully enough, she's not known for coming back unless she thinks something's wrong, and if she thinks something's wrong, trust me, she'll let you know."
"Yeah? Has that ever happened?" he asked.
"Twice that I know of. Once was when someone tried to break into the store, which how I convinced Miles to install the alarm," she said.
"And the second time?" he asked.
"I was sick with the flu, and because I wasn't taking care of myself properly, she was constantly turning on the taps to make sure I drank plenty of fluids."
"Sounds like a nice lady when she wants to be," he said, popping a nacho into his mouth.
"Oh she is, she is, but when she decides to get into mischief, heaven help us all. Last time that happened, one of my ex-dates found his underwear in the store freezer, frozen solid." Chris started laughing. "Yeah, that was funny, but what was funnier was the fact that one of my cashiers, Nina, was the real jumpy type. She was the one who found the underwear when she was reaching for the ice for her iced tea. Thing was, it was frozen solid and she was a bit of an innocent; never seen a guy's undies before. Private girl's school and all that."
"How fast did she run?" he asked, grinning.
"We never saw her again. Had to send her last paycheck to her mom; seems Mary had pulled one prank too many on the poor girl," Ray said, grinning widely. "Whoops."
But that was then, and despite the temptation of what could happen once they got under the covers, Chris putting his gun under his pillow was enough to dampen the mood.
"Sooner or later," he'd promised her, "we will get him, and then we will have our time."
"I'm gonna hold you to that, cutie," she'd muttered, trying to ignore the fact that he was less than a foot away from her and had as much clothes on as she did, which was basically sleep shirt and pants (and how easy it would be for her to get that shirt off).
But that was then. This was now, and it was morning.
She must've seen him out of the corner of her eye because she glanced up, and when she saw him, she smiled.
"Morning. Hope I didn't wake you," she said, getting up and putting her guitar in it's stand, which was also her chair.
"Didn't know where you were," he admitted, following her into her kitchen, where he could smell fresh coffee brewing. "You sleep okay?"
"Other than the nightmare, I'm good." she said, pouring them coffee. She seemed quiet and withdrawn, and again he wondered if that nightmare hadn't just been a nightmare, but something else. After all, Remi seemed to think Ray was psychic. Was she? Wouldn't be the first time NCIS had encountered one, like that case with the murdered sailor and his pharmacist ancestor, just before Sonja had left. And if she was, how would that affect things between them? Then he wondered, was she Kritanta, or Mercury, as Kritanta had said the last time?
He laid his gun and cellphone on the counter, and wrapped his arms around her waist once she finished pouring the coffee.
"Something's wrong," he said. She shook her head, burying her face against his chest. "Ray," he coaxed, stroking her hair.
"I'm just afraid the nightmare was real," she mumbled. "That Remi really did kill Dana, and that he's after me."
"I don't know if he did or he didn't, but I do know he won't get to you; I promise you that."
"Don't make promises you can't keep," she said.
He held up his pinkie. "What was that you did last time? Pinkie Pie promise?"
Her smile was watery, but she tugged on his pinkie with hers. "Okay."
He kissed her forehead. "Now, let's get some coffee in and figure out what we're going to do today."
"Well, for starters, I need a shower. And then you need to figure out how to set up an ambush."
"Yeah? Why's that?"
"Because I got an email from someone offering to let me dig through a house for glassware. Problem is, I'm not that stupid."
"Where's this house?" Chris asked.
"Half an hour outside of New Orleans. City records say it was abandoned about ten years ago and fell to one of the banks. Google Maps satellite says it's the perfect place to make someone disappear." She reluctantly left his arms and went over to her table, where her laptop sat open. It took her a few seconds to pull up the map and the email, but when she did, Chris had to admit she was right.
"You thinking Remi Simoneaux is trying to lure you out?" he asked, studying the image.
"Yeah, I do."
"Doesn't look like there's a specific time on that invite."
"No, just for me to send a message when I was heading that way and said sender would meet me there."
"If it is him, I can let Hannah know and we can set up something," Chris said, picking up his phone and dialing a number.
"While you do that, I'm going to go have a shower. I'd offer to let you join me, but that's your call," she said, getting up from the table and heading for the bathroom, leaving Chris chuckling.
"Chris, is Ray safe?" Hannah asked, when she answered the call.
"Safe and sound. She got an interesting email though, and we both think Remi might have sent it," Chris said.
"What sort of email?"
"An invite to a house about half an hour outside of New Orleans, for an opportunity to do some glassware hunting, except according to city records, the place was abandoned about ten years ago, and Google Maps is showing it to be the perfect place for an ambush," he said. "Thinking of flipping things on Remi Simoneaux and grabbing him when he tries to grab Ray."
"Send me the address and forward Patton the email," Hannah said. "I'll set him on tracing the email, and we'll go from there. If you're right, and Ray's willing, we'll coordinate with NOPD. But right now, we have a problem."
"Okay."
"NOPD found Dana Brown about an hour ago," Hannah said. "She's dead."
"What? How?"
"Her throat was cut and she was dumped over an overpass during the night."
Chris swallowed hard. "Ray woke up screaming during the night," he hissed. "Said Dana was dead, that she'd been dumped over an overpass like garbage, and her throat had been cut. How the hell did she know?"
"I don't know, but whatever the hell is going on, do not let Ray out of your sight. If it turns out that email is a trap, we'll get him," Hannah promised, ending the call.
Now what? Chris wondered, not sure what to think, or do, forwarding the email to Patton. Did Ray really see Dana Brown die? Was she really the seer that Remi Simoneaux was claiming she was, or was something else going on here?
And if she was a seer, a psychic, then what? She claimed she hadn't known what Remi Simoneaux was talking about when he'd tried to claim she was one. If she was, why was she hiding it?
Maybe she has her reasons. She did mention an abusive mother. Maybe that's why. She also mentioned she hadn't had much luck with guys. Maybe it's because of her abilities, because they're afraid of what they don't understand, or they can't handle the fact that she's comfortable with a ghost.
But can I be comfortable with something like that? he wondered. Maybe. If I'm given the chance to find out. But right now, I'm supposed to be protecting Ray, and that means not letting her out of my sight. Huh. Maybe I do need that shower, and we could conserve water.
He headed for the bedroom, seeing the bathroom door still open, and found Ray picking out her outfit for the day. "Spoke to Hannah; she said to not let you out of my sight."
"Well, that's going to be kinda hard to do when I need a shower and you won't join me," she said, her breath hitching at the way he was looking at her, and then her eyes went wide when he pulled off his shirt and tossed it to one side.
"Oh, you'll be having a shower all right," he said, drawing her into his arms and kissing that one spot on her neck, between her ear and jaw, that always seemed to make her shiver, "but not before I do what I should have done last night." And with that, he picked her up by her waist, and dumped her on her bed. "You're right; this bed's the right height for a lot of things," he continued, following her down. "This is one of 'em."
They did eventually get to that shower, and Chris did find out why Ray liked it so much. When she had renovated the bathroom, she had not skimped on the shower fixtures, including the rainfall shower head, but had managed to retain the elegance of the apartment's clawfoot bathtub that was definitely big enough for both of them.
Afterwards, they got a call from Hannah, asking them to come down to NCIS, as Patton had managed to trace the email, and the news wasn't good.
Tammy's eyebrows shot up when she saw Ray and Chris walk in.
"Decided to go for the western look today?" she teased Ray, who smiled, but the smile didn't seem to reach the woman's eyes, causing Tammy to wonder what was going on.
Ray had elected to wear a white blouse with a high neck, a black paisley ascot, green brocade vest, black jeans, a familiar pair of black Victorian ankle boots, and a long black cotton duster Anson Mount would have worn in Hell On Wheels, or any other western. On her head was a flat-brim black cowboy hat with silver band detailing. In fact, Tammy was convinced the only thing missing was a pair six shooters and a gun belt.
"I am in the business of antiques, so it kinda helps when I look the part," Ray said.
"What's up? You said Patton managed to trace Ray's email?" Chris asked, after being introduced to Detective Valdez. Dwayne was also there, just in case they needed certain resources, and so was Loretta, with her report on Dana Brown.
"IP address says it came from Remi Simoneaux's place last night," Patton said, throwing up a map on the flatscreen that showed the area of Remi Simoneaux's house. "And you were right; the address listed is an abandoned house."
"Amazing what you can find out through city records," Ray said. "I'm only there once or twice a month now, mostly when things get a bit busy there and they need a spare hand and I'm not busy at the store, so I still have online access to those records."
"Good to know," Chris said.
"If necessary, I might be able to find the original building plans, unless you already found them," Ray said.
Patton looked at her, highly insulted. "If I can find a picture of you in elementary school, I sure as hell can find building plans for a place like that," he said.
Ray laughed. "My apologies," she said, holding up her hands in submission. "If you can find my kindergarten picture, I will never doubt your abilities again."
Patton tapped a few things on his tablet and threw up a picture on the flatscreen. It was of a very young, beaming, Rayhannah Metcalf, her curly blonde hair in pigtails and in a pink blouse and denim jumper dress, clutching a worn Raggedy Ann doll. "You were saying?" Patton asked, causing a round of laughter.
"You were a cute kid," Chris said to Ray, grinning at her.
"How the hell did you find that? That school burned down in a bushfire ten years ago," Ray said to Patton.
"But not before they converted their files to digital," Patton said. "And that includes all of their student photos. Wanna see your junior high school Halloween picture?"
"You wanna be able to eat without using a straw?" Ray threatened, causing another round of laughter. "I am going to go get some coffee. You buncha yahoos figure out how you're going to capture that wacko named Remi Simoneaux before he tries putting a bolt gun to my head, because if he does, I swear on my Aunt May's grave I will come back and haunt this place so badly you will have to call the Ghost Adventures crew and six different types of priests and get them doing blessings on this place just to get me to leave."
And with that, she spun around, and headed for the kitchen, her duster swishing behind her as she walked.
Loretta smiled. "I'll go keep her company. You already have my report on Dana Brown."
And she followed Ray into the kitchen, leaving Chris to stare after them, a worried expression on his face.
"What's wrong, Chris?" Dwayne asked.
In a low voice, Chris told them what had happened during the night. "How the hell did she know? I swear, she was with me all night and I even checked her phone while she was getting her makeup on. Other than one message from Suzy, letting her know she was okay, no one called her or text her until this morning, and that was from Miles, asking about the police presence at the store yesterday."
"Marie did say Ray has some mediumship abilities," Dwayne admitted. "She also said Ray continues to try and hide those abilities for various reasons, mostly because she feels they've caused her nothing but trouble and heartache."
"So what do we do?" Chris asked.
"Nothing, other than try and be the kind of friends who will accept her for who she is, regardless of what she may or may not be able to do," Dwayne said. "For now, though, let's focus on that search warrant for Remi Simoneaux's house. Sebastian, you said that the blood test results came back."
"Yeah, the blood on the widow still was a match to Lieutenant Ryder, as well as Robbie Dawson, one of the other suspected victims," Sebastian said.
"So we can confirm that he was there, or at least his body was," Detective Valdez said.
"And I know a judge who can grant us that search warrant, one that Remi Simoneaux doesn't know about," Dwayne said. "He may have friends in the NOPD, but not on the JAG circuit, which I happen to have."
"And I know a SWAT guy who can be trusted," Valdez said. "He mentioned wanting to put his guys through a training exercise in the near future. A place like that would be good."
"It's creepy as hell. You seen the pictures?" Tammy asked.
"I saw and again, I know someone who can help us handle that. I don't trust Remi Simoneaux to pull something that would get us all hurt," Valdez said. "Been chasing after this guy for a while, so I've made a few friends of my own."
"Did Loretta find anything on Dana Brown connecting her to Remi Simoneaux?" Chris asked.
"She found skin and hair under Dana Brown's nails. Lab's running it now," Sebastian said. "But preliminaries are saying it's male, so there is that. As for what she was killed with, all Loretta could be certain of was that it was sharp enough to sever both carotid arteries; Dana Brown would have bled out in minutes."
"Based on what I know about him, Remi Simoneaux is very fond of his knives, particularly a knife that looks like a small machete he claims to have forged in the blood of his enemies," Valdez said.
"Does he know how to use it, do you know?" Hannah asked.
"I wouldn't be at all surprised if he does, but from what I've seen, he's more of the ambush type. He wants his victims whole and unspoiled, hence the use of the bolt gun," Valdez said.
"I asked Ray if she felt like being bait if we needed her for the abandoned house," Chris said. "She asked if she would be allowed to carry a gun, but then decided that wouldn't be a good idea because she might be too tempted to use it on Remi Simoneaux."
"So she's a go?" Hannah asked.
"If we need her, then yeah, she's a go," Chris said. "But if it comes to that, I am not letting her out of my sight."
"None of us will," Dwayne assured him. "Let's make some calls and gear up. Patton, can you send a reply to Remi Simoneax, making it look like it came from Ray's phone?"
"Have her type up a response and I'll send it," Patton said.
"Patton, is Ray licensed to carry?" Chris asked.
"She is, and she does," Patton said, throwing up a concealed weapons permit in Ray's name. "Records say she's currently carrying a Ruger SP101, and it looks like she's had it for a while because there's no record of her ever selling it, but I did find several records of regular visits to the local gun range, so she has kept her practice up."
"So she can defend herself if she needs to," Hannah said. "That's good. Let's hope she doesn't need to."
In the kitchen, Ray had removed her hat, revealing that her hair was pulled back with a silver bolo hair tie that went with the rest of her outfit.
"Ray, what's wrong?" Loretta asked, seeing the younger woman's eyes.
After biting her lip, Ray quietly told Loretta what had happened during the night, including the way Chris had held her.
"It felt so good, and I felt safe, for a moment, but what he doesn't know is that she hasn't left. She's hovering. They all are, just at the edge of my vision. They know something's wrong, and what's not helping is I can feel Dana's despair and grief. Remi betrayed her," Ray said, accepting the coffee Loretta handed her. "She realized what she was doing was wrong, what they were doing was wrong, and she tried to confront him about it, he killed her. Then he threw her away like garbage."
"Because, Ray, in his mind, that was all he saw Dana as; something to be used and then tossed aside when he no longer needed her," Loretta said.
"She realizes that now. She seemed to settle down, they always do, when I decided to play some tunes on my guitar. Think I woke Chris up with that though."
"Does playing music help you feel better?" Loretta asked.
"Yeah, it does. Starting to wish I'd brought my guitar with me, but that would have meant explaining a few things to Chris that I don't really want to explain, not right now anyway," Ray said.
"In that case, maybe I can help. It's good timing after all," Loretta said, smiling mysteriously. She disappeared for a moment, then came back with a black guitar case, which she handed to Ray. "It seems to me you are missing several birthdays, so consider this a very belated birthday gift."
What was in the case was a blue Epiphone PRO-1 Dreadnought acoustic guitar, and came with a black leather strap. "The store owner assured me it was already tuned and ready to go, so all you have to do is figure out what you want to play," Loretta said, watching as Ray's eyes went wide with wonder as she picked the gleaming instrument up.
Chris tilted his head at the sound of music playing, and, curious, he followed it into the courtyard. Then he was ducking back into the doorway and watching, grinning.
Ray was playing on a blue guitar, hat and duster off, seated at the table and chairs in the courtyard, with Loretta beaming proudly in the chair beside her. He didn't recognize the tune, but it sounded nice.
"Blues outside my door, I don't even know if it's raining
But I've been here before, and I don't want to be here again.
Every now and then, voices on the wind
Call me back to the first time
Far away and clear you can hear the teardrops
Falling for the last in love."
Dwayne joined him and was about to say something when he saw what Chris was watching and he went silent.
"If I let you down, all I can say is I'm sorry
Now it's all over town, so I don't want to hear it from you
Please don't look away, it's hard enough to say
This could go on forever
And when the night is clear I can hear the teardrops
Fall for the last in love."
Tammy joined them and was about to say something, when Dwayne held up a hand, silencing her. Her eyes went wide as she listened, watching Ray play with obvious enjoyment and skill.
"Every now and then voices on the wind
I may love you always and always
Far and clear you can hear the teardrops
Falling for the last in love
Calling for the last in love
Will we always be the last in love?"
"Which one was that?" Loretta asked, beaming.
"Last In Love, by George Strait. I grew up with his music, and I find it easier to play on the guitar, compared to some other artists," Ray admitted. "Collin Ray's not too bad; I was playing In This Life this morning."
Chris quickly pulled out his phone and showed his friends the video from earlier.
"She's got skill," Dwayne said.
Then Ray saw them and blushed. "What's up?" she asked as they came into the courtyard.
"Warrant came through," Dwayne said. "We're about to go hit the house and SWAT is ready and waiting to help take Remi Simoneaux down at the abandoned house, if you're still willing to play the game."
"Always," Ray said. "There's a catch, though."
"Okay," Dwayne said.
"I don't want Chris there," Ray said. Before Chris could protest, she held up a hand, stopping him. Then she removed the guitar and put it back in its case, before going to the agent. "Listen to me, deputy," she said, putting her arms around his waist. "I cannot have you with me because if you are, you're going to worry about me, and I'm going to worry about you worrying about me. I will be with the SWAT team, and you know yourself, they are some of the best around, next to a full-fledged SEAL team."
"I don't like this," Chris muttered.
"And I understand that, but if this is going to work, we all need to be on our A-game," Ray said. "Go serve the warrant on Remi's house and find the evidence that nails his sorry ass to a pair of concrete shoes, so you guys can finally toss him into the bayou for good." She reached up and stroked his face. "Let SWAT do what they do best, and you go do what you do best, which is gather evidence, and when this is all over, we'll have ourselves another date, one that doesn't involve us looking over each other's shoulders for the bad guy."
Chris smiled. "I can do that."
"Then go," she said, pulling his forehead down for a quick kiss and letting him go.
Before Dwayne left, Ray quickly whispered something to him.
"Have them go in armed; Remi had loyalists, ones who would kill at the drop of a hat for him, and they may be at the house."
"Understood," Dwayne said, keeping his voice low. "I'll let them know."