Ice Maiden Read online

  “Maybe that’s a good thing,” he said. “It means nothing to me either, or at least it didn’t, but apparently he’s a consultant for the police.”

  “Ah,” she said, “so is that a good thing then, because honestly you sound quite disturbed by it all.”

  “Yeah,” he said, “disturbed is a good way to look at it.”

  “Now you’re talking in circles, and you’re scaring me again.”

  “Actually I’m a little scared myself.”

  She waited for him to explain, but he remained silent, and then she said, “Okay, Detective, enough with the puzzles. What’s going on?”

  “He thinks you’re being possessed by a ghost.”

  She stopped and stared; then she started to giggle and then giggled and giggled some more. “Oh my, so you get some crazy person phoning you, and now you believe him?”

  He grinned. “You know what? That was my initial reaction too, but this guy is pretty legit. He does all kinds of work for the police all over the world.”

  “All kinds of people do all kinds of work for the police,” she said blissfully. “That does not make somebody legit.”

  He nodded slowly. “And I must admit, I don’t really know what to think.”

  “Well, I’m not being possessed. How is that even possible?”

  “So how do you explain your behavior earlier? You just closed down with a hard snap.” And she stared at him wordlessly. He nodded. “That’s the thing. If you’re not possessed, what is the explanation for that behavior?”

  “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I was really hoping we could just ignore that footage.”

  “Or the fact that you’re in a hot bath because you’ve got hypothermia.”

  She winced. “You didn’t have to tell anybody.”

  “Maybe,” he said, “but I did have to tell some people because we must get to the bottom of this.”

  “Doesn’t sound like there’s much of a bottom,” she said.

  “Maybe not, but, at the same time, we need answers because, the next time you do it, I might not be around to rescue you.”

  “Oh,” she said and stared off in the distance. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Neither do I,” he said shortly. “So talking to Stefan wasn’t exactly something that I thought to do. Dr. Mica contacted him.”

  She stared at him in shock. “The psychiatrist?”

  He nodded slowly.

  “She thought something serious enough was going on that I needed to talk to somebody else about this? Not just any somebody … but a psychic?”

  “I think she is just as disturbed as I was,” he said, “and I must admit that I’m still pretty disturbed.”

  “Duh,” she said, “I am too. Just think. Now we have somebody else, a completely different element to consider. And what would have caused this …?” she said, waving her hand in the air, sending bathwater everywhere. “What if I was possessed by a spirit?” she said. “Why would this spirit want me to go dancing outside in the middle of a bridge in the midst of a winter snowstorm?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “I was hoping that maybe you would know.”

  She stared at him, seeing the quirk of his lips at his attempt at humor.

  “I haven’t a clue,” she said. “That makes absolutely no sense to me.”

  “No?” he said. “Me neither.”

  “Honestly it’s all just so bizarre,” she said.

  “It is, but we also have to consider the murders.”

  “Oh, my God,” she said, staring at him in horror. “Please tell me that they’re not related.”

  “I don’t know. I have no idea,” he said, holding out his hands, hoping to calm her down.

  “What do you know?”

  “I know that I talked to Stefan on the phone. I asked him how we could tell if you were actually possessed, and he said he had a way of finding out. He got off the phone to do his check or whatever. Then he called me back and said it was official.”

  She snorted. “And you believe it because he said so over a phone call?”

  “Maybe,” he said. “I don’t know what to say. I’m still kind of in shock myself.”

  “Well, it’s not exactly your normal diagnosis, is it? I was thinking you would contact somebody to get me mentally examined to see if I were sane or not.”

  “It crossed my mind,” he said, “and honestly it would be preferable to what we’re talking about here.”

  She thought about it and nodded slowly. “I hear you,” she said. “That actually sounds like it would be a better deal right now.” She sat up, reached for the towel he had dropped beside her, and said, “I guess I want to get out now.”

  “All right,” he said. “Are you okay to stand up on your own?”

  She pulled the towel up to cover herself. “I think so.”

  “Take it slow,” he said.

  She nodded, and he closed the door behind him for the first time. She sat there at the edge of the bathtub, totally shaken. Possession? What the hell? Was that even possible? And how would it have happened? What did it even mean? And who was this person driving her world crazy, and why? What could she do about it? Then she heard another voice in her head.

  I can help, he said, but I’m not sure how easy it will be.

  “You’re the one who got me into this,” she said in a snarky tone.

  First came a moment of surprise, and then the voice said, No, I’m not.

  “What do you mean?”

  I’ve never spoken to you this way before.

  “Who are you?”

  My name is Stefan. I just spoke to Damon on the phone.

  She took a long slow breath, looking around the bathroom. “Are you in my head?” she asked furiously. “How did you get in my head?” she asked. “You realize you’re making me crazy?”

  Well, I’m not making you crazy, he said in a humorous tone. But who else is talking to you in your head?

  “I don’t know,” she whispered, “but I thought I heard someone in there.”

  You thought you heard someone?

  “Meaning,” she said, “somebody has been talking to me, laughing at me, and, at first, I assumed it was my imagination, but then I heard it a couple more times.”

  Explain. Details, please.

  She told him the little bit that she could remember and then said, “I just figured I was going crazy.”

  Interesting.

  “What? That I’m going crazy?”

  No, not necessarily, he said, just that you’re hearing these voices.

  “No, not voices,” she said. “One voice. Well, voices I guess, counting you. But, if I’m hearing you, maybe you’re making me crazy,” she cried out. At that, a knock came at the door.

  “Are you okay?” Damon asked. “What’s taking you so long?”

  “I’m okay,” she said. “Sorry.”

  “Just get dressed and get out here, will you?”

  As soon as Damon backed away, she whispered out loud, “See? This is what happens when people talk to me in my head. People look at me like I’m nuts.”

  So, don’t talk out loud, he said. Talk to me the way I’m talking to you.

  She blanked out at that and then closed her eyes for some reason, finding that way easier, and said, Like this?

  Exactly like that, he said with a note of surprise. You’re doing this very easily.

  No, she said, I don’t think so.

  Oh, I do, he said. Why are you in this area, at this location? I’m trying to figure out why this spirit is after you.

  I have no clue why I’m being possessed, she said. I came here for the winter, for the snowboarding, just for fun. It was supposed to be like our one season before we settled down to full-time jobs, and my best friend was here with me.

  Was? Is that one of the dead women? he asked.

  She winced. No, Wendy and I came here for the winter to spend it together, she said. We’ve been best friends for years. She always knew that I wanted to com
e, and she also said she wanted to come, so we had this planned out for a couple years. We finally made the trip, and, since we got here, it’s been just nothing but a nightmare.

  I’m sorry, he said. Plans like that are supposed to be relaxing, not end up in some traumatic murders.

  Well, the nightmare part is happening, she said, and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do about it.

  First, let’s see if we can figure out the how and the why.

  I’m getting a hell of a headache.

  Okay, he said, let’s take a break. Get dressed, go out and visit with Damon. Then we’ll switch and talk on the phone.

  And, just like that, he disappeared from her mind. Thinking for sure she was going crazy, she got dressed. She opened the door and stepped out and walked over to the gas fireplace, where she sagged onto the floor.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m not sure I’ll ever be okay again,” she said. “I just had the most bizarre reaction ever.”

  “In what way?”

  “I think Stefan was just talking to me in my head.” At that, she felt Damon immediately withdrawing. She held up her hands. “I know. I know. You’ll think I’m crazy. But he did.”

  “You also said this other person spoke to you in your head.”

  She winced. “Right, so that’s just more confirmation that I’m losing it. Great.”

  Just then his phone rang. He pulled it out, shook his head, and said, “Wow.” He held it up, so she could read the Caller ID. Psychic.

  She frowned. “Well, I gather that’s Stefan?”

  “Maybe, but the last time said Private Call or Unknown Caller or whatever, and the time before that showed something completely different.” He shook his head. “Bizarre. Yes, Stefan. I’m here,” he said. He put it on Speakerphone and set it beside her.

  “I told him that you were talking to me in my head,” she said. “Damon thinks I’m crazy now.”

  Stefan sighed. “It’s never this easy,” he said, “but, yes, I was using telecommunication.”

  “Seriously?” Damon asked, clearly not convinced.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, that’s just a little hard to believe,” he said. “I’m a detective, and this sort of thing is not normal for me.”

  “Nothing is normal about this,” he said, “but just because it’s not normal doesn’t make it wrong. And, of course, I’ll prove it to you, which is not what I wanted to do.”

  “In what way can you prove it?”

  *

  With that, Stefan jumped into Damon’s mind. Now I’m inside your head. Are you crazy too?

  Damon bolted to his feet, then looked around to see his phone still on the floor. “You’re not on the phone call anymore.”

  She looked up at him, puzzled, then held up his phone, but the call had ended. “He’s gone.”

  No, Stefan said. I’m in your head. So, just like she got to experience it, now you’ve gotten to experience it.

  But I didn’t want you in my head.

  Neither did she, Stefan said cheerfully. But it’s not all that hard to do.

  Oh, my God, he said. Seriously? You’re really there, aren’t you?

  My voice is there, he said, that doesn’t mean I’m physically in your head.

  Damon sat down into the big recliner, staring at Gabby. That’s what you did to her?

  Yes. Now I’ll jump out, he said, and you’ll see a golden orb. And, with that, Stefan jumped out of Damon’s head.

  Damon slowly sagged down beside her, snatched up his phone, and said, “I can’t believe he just did that.”

  “Was he talking in your head too?” she asked, her eyes huge.

  “Yes,” he said.

  “Oh, my gosh, that’s so good,” she said.

  “What the hell is good about it?” he asked, staring at her.

  “It means I’m not crazy,” she said.

  “Maybe, but does it mean that I am?”

  She stared at him in shock, shook her head, and said, “No, surely not.”

  And just then came a weird buzz. She moved closer to Damon, until they sat beside each other on the hearth. And right in front of them formed this great big golden orb.

  “He said that he would get out of my mind, and next I’d see a golden ball.”

  “And that’s me,” Stefan said out loud, and the ball vibrated with the slightest of shimmers. They stared slack-jawed at the vision. “Now, could you guys just close your jaws, accept that life is different than what you always thought it was, so we can move on?”

  “I’m all for moving on,” she said, “and you can bet I’ll never tell anybody about this, since nobody would believe me.”

  “Nope, they sure wouldn’t,” he said. “Now back to you. I want to run some scans, and I want you to share the history on those tarot cards.”

  She stopped and stared. “What do you mean by a history on the tarot cards?”

  “I mean, I want you to find out why the package was open and who might have touched it before you did.”

  “Okay,” she said, puzzled. “I can ask my boss, Jerry, but I don’t think anyone knows the answers to those questions. And what good will that do?”

  “I’m not sure,” he said. “Then I want a list of all the people you talked to and gave a reading for.”

  “I’m not sure I know exactly who they were,” she admitted, “but I can try. I’m new to the area, and, if they were a tourist or a resident, I wouldn’t necessarily know them. And if they paid cash …”

  “Well, do your best,” he said. “We need it. Listen. I can’t keep this form for long. California is a hell of a long way from Aspen,” he said, with half a laugh. “But I wanted to make sure that you were on the same page and that both of you believe in each other because that’s really important.”

  “Why is that?” Damon asked.

  “Because, whatever the spirit is doing, they’re not done.”

  “But what do you mean?” she said. “What is the spirit doing? I mean, if it’s just a case of me out in the snow without a coat, dancing like a fool, that’s not so bad.”

  “I’m pretty sure the spirit is doing a whole lot more than that,” he said. “Remember the Death card? Remember the message you got from him?”

  “Yes,” she said. “What’s that got to do with it?”

  “I suspect—and I mean I highly suspect—that this person is capable of moving from one person to another.”

  “What?” She stared at Damon. Damon stared at her. “I don’t get it.”

  “I’m sure you don’t,” he said. “But the fact of the matter is, you don’t understand an awful lot here. We are dealing with something that is much more sophisticated than I would have expected, but that’s what we always end up finding in these cases.”

  “Okay, you’re losing me here,” she said, staring at Damon.

  Damon stared back, then asked Stefan, “What do you think this person is doing?”

  “I thought it was obvious,” he said. “This person is using Gabby to further their own ends.”

  “What ends are those?” she asked.

  Damon interrupted, “Are you saying the murders are involved?”

  “I can’t say for sure yet,” Stefan said, “but I can tell you for sure that this person has a purpose, a reason why they’ve come back. Now I don’t know what or why or how long they’ve been trying to make this happen, but, Gabby, you’re now the weak link, via touching those tarot cards, I presume, allowing the ghost back into existence.”

  She swallowed hard. “I don’t like the sound of that,” she whispered.

  “I will stay in touch,” he said. “I don’t want you two to separate.”

  “We have to,” she said. “We both have jobs, different jobs in different places.”

  There was silence for a moment. “Then I don’t want Gabby to ever be alone, let’s put it that way.”

  “I don’t know that I have that choice,” she said.

  “We’ll work it out,” Damo
n said in a harsh voice.

  “Good,” Stefan said. “I’ll get back as soon as I can.”

  “But how—” Only it was too late. The golden orb disappeared right in front of them.

  She bolted to her feet and walked over to where it had been, using her hand to waft through the area. “Dear God,” she said, “what did we just see?”

  “I’m not sure,” said Damon said, “but that was pretty incredible.”

  “No, it’s incredibly scary,” she snapped. “Incredible doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

  “Whatever it is,” he said, “we must deal with it.”

  “But what is going on here?”

  “From what Stefan said, he thinks somebody is here on a revenge mission, and they found a weakness when you opened those tarot cards. Now they are using you to get back at whomever.”

  “But how are we supposed to know what that is?” she asked.

  “I’m pretty damn sure we won’t like the answer, but I’ll pop it out there anyway.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I think what we must do is follow the bodies.”

  She stared at him in shock and horror and slowly fell silent.

  Chapter Twelve

  What did Damon mean by, follow the bodies? There had been two so far. Two of her friends. Were there more? Had Gabby missed something? Had he known something as a detective on the case that he wasn’t willing to share? Did he think she knew more than she had told him? She didn’t know what to even say, but she stared at Damon, struggling with whatever nightmare this was, trying to figure out how to get to the bottom of it.

  She was also struck by Stefan’s comment about using the tarot cards as an opening. She reverted back to that because it was a whole lot easier than the other discussion. “What did Stefan and you mean by the tarot cards being an opening to my system?”

  “That’s one of those questions I don’t know the answer to,” he said. “And I don’t understand much about using tarot cards. We always hear rumors about Ouija boards being nothing that you should play with because of that, you know, open-door type of thought process.”

  She looked at him. “Tarot cards are nothing like Ouija boards.”

  “How do you figure?” he asked curiously.