Dead Ringer Read online

  “No!” Greeley whined dramatically. “My dog likes Uncle Ronan better than me.”

  Ten laughed and hugged the boy tighter. “Don’t feel too bad. My dog likes Ronan better too. I’m chalking it up to Dixie having no taste at all. If Lola likes him better than you, it must be bad genes.”

  Greeley burst out laughing. “That’s for sure.” He pulled back from Ten. “You don’t feel so good, huh?”

  “Why do you say that?” Ten narrowed his eyes.

  “I don’t know. I could feel it when I hugged you. Not physically like you were shorter or had a lump or something else weird. You’re just off, somehow.” Greeley ran a hand through his dark hair and seemed to really be studying Tennyson.

  “Well, you’re right. Do you know anything about where Ronan and I went today?” He was torn about telling Greeley any of this, but it was leading him toward something else he’d been meaning to talk to the teenager about for a while now.

  Greeley shrugged his narrow shoulders. “Sort of, but not really. I know Dad’s kinda pissed about some dumbass thing Uncle Ronan did.”

  Ten barked out a rough laugh. “Yeah, that explains this situation in a nutshell. Let me call out for dinner and then I’ll give it to you in a bit more detail.”

  “What are you ordering?” Greeley’s eyes glowed. He rubbed his hands together as if he couldn’t wait to eat.

  “Couple of pizzas and salads from Greek Life. Is there anything else you want me to add?” Ten knew it was dangerous question to ask. Greeley ate like a plague of locusts.

  “Hot wings! Get the biggest order they have with extra hot sauce on the side.”

  “If I do that you have to promise to fart out on the deck.” Ten felt his dry heaves return. The last time they’d had hot wings with Greeley, he’d had to use up an entire bottle of Febreze to get rid of the stench. At one point, he was afraid they’d have to get a new couch.

  “Seriously, Uncle Ten?” Greeley giggled.

  “Your ass is a weapon of mass destruction. Do we have a deal or not?” Ten was not standing down on this point.

  “Fine.” Greeley sat at the table and sulked harder while Ten called in the order.

  After he got off the phone, Ten grabbed drinks out of the fridge and joined Greeley at the table. He set a Coke in front of the teenager and kept the bottle of water for himself. “Uncle Ronan got a letter from a convict at Walpole asking for our help because he was innocent of the crime he was convicted of committing.”

  “Ohhh, so that’s why he spent the night with us. You were pissed that he went down there. It all makes sense now. Continue.” Greeley folded his hands in front of him.

  Ten couldn’t help thinking this kid was something. “It all makes sense now?”

  “Yeah, that’s the prison where Uncle Ronan’s dirtbag ex is housed, right? Along with other baddies that he’s locked up over time. I can see why you’d be super pissed that he went. It could have been a trick so that some asswipe with a homemade weapon could have killed him. That’s how cons get street cred on the inside.” Greeley nodded like he knew all about it. “I watch Lockup Raw on MSNBC. You learn a lot about prison life on that show.”

  Tennyson had never seen that particular program before and was thanking Christ for it now. “You’re right about who’s housed there. Anyway, Ronan met with the man who wrote the letter. His name is Thomas Hutchins. Ronan got the vibe from him that he was innocent and asked me to go back down there with him and read Tom to see if he actually killed the woman he was convicted of murdering.”

  “That’s where you both went today?”

  Ten nodded. “A few seconds after the prison came into view, I got sick. I made Ronan pull over and threw up on the shoulder of the road. I was psychically overwhelmed.”

  Greeley’s eyes narrowed. “Like when I had too much homework in my GED classes and I just lost my shit?”

  Ten chuckled. “Something like that. I would liken it more to those video game arcades down at Salem Commons. There are so many sounds and flashes of light, combined with the crush of people. All of those things are bombarding your senses all at once. It was psychic overload with evil energies.”

  Shivering in the warm kitchen, Greeley reached out for Ten’s hand. “That sounds awful. How did you fight it?”

  Ten reached into his pocket and pulled out some black stones. They weren’t polished like most of the crystals he carried. They were in the raw. “Both pockets were filled with this.”

  Greeley let Ten’s hand go and picked up one of the stones. He closed his fist around it and shut his eyes.

  Amazement and pride flowed through Ten as he watched the young man work with the crystal.

  “This is off the hook!” Greeley’s eyes were sparkling when they popped back open. “What is this stuff?”

  “It’s black tourmaline. It’s good for blocking negative energy and psychic attacks. How did you feel when you held it and centered yourself with the stone?” Ten was interested to see how the crystal made Greeley feel.

  The teenager was silent, as if he were choosing his words carefully. “This is going to sound strange, but in my mind’s eye, I could see it moving through my body, cleansing me.”

  “It’s been called a disinfectant for the soul, so I can see where you’d get that impression from the stone.”

  Tennyson pushed the small pile of stones toward Greeley. “Why don’t you keep these? I have a feeling you’re going to need them. Keep one under your pillow. Carry one in your pocket. Put one in the car when you get one.”

  “Thanks, Uncle Ten.” Greeley scooped the dark stones up and held them in his hand. “So, the stones alone didn’t work for you today?”

  Leave it to Greeley to come back to what was wrong with him. “Not really. I had to push back against the dark energy with my own light. It’s an exhausting process. I managed to get through the interview with Tom Hutchins. He didn’t kill the woman he was sent to prison for murdering.”

  “That totally sucks.” Greeley shook his head. “Being in prison for a crime you didn’t commit. Of course, everyone on Lockup says they’re innocent too, but come on, they’re totally not.” He rolled his eyes dramatically. “You’re not going to have to go back there again, are you?” The concern was genuine in Greeley’s eyes.

  “Not right now,” Ten breathed a sigh of relief. “There’s a lead Ronan’s going to look into and another one that Hutchins’ private investigator is checking out, so I should be in the clear for now.”

  “Wow, this con has a private eye? What a cool job! Slinking around and getting the dirt on people.”

  Ten tilted his head. “Jobs like that can drag a man down rather than lifting him up. After a while, you start to think the only kinds of people in the world are the ones who cheat on their spouses or fake disability claims. A man with your kind of light would drown in a career like that.”

  Greeley nibbled his bottom lip for a minute. “I guess you’re right, Uncle Ten. Stakeouts look so cool and those guys always carry around those cameras with the big ass zoom lenses and drive pricey sports cars.”

  “You hear that, Ronan? My son thinks stakeouts are cool!” Fitzgibbon laughed as he walked into the kitchen. Ronan was right behind him.

  Ronan snickered. “Good, I’ll let him sit in the Mustang all night with a take-out bag from Taco Bell and their thirty-two-ounce soda. Just make sure you piss on the neighbor’s tree, not ours.”

  “What? Those guys take a leak outside? And you know what happens when I take a run to the Border. It’s followed by a run to the bathroom! Gross! I definitely don’t want to be a P.I. now.” Greeley wore a skeeved out look on his face.

  Fitzgibbon slapped a hand on Tennyson’s back. “I owe you big time for that. How can I ever repay you? With a Ferrari maybe? Christ, my blood pressure would have been through the roof if he’d become a private investigator.”

  “What was the other thing you wanted to talk to me about, Uncle Ten?”

  “Why do you think there’s some
thing else?” There was, but Ten wanted to know what gave Greeley that impression.

  “Every time I see you, there’s this look on your face like you want to ask me something, but you don’t have the right words to do it. Am I right?”

  Tennyson laughed. The kid was so spot on, it was ridiculous. “There is something I want to ask you about. It’s about something that happened at mine and Ronan’s wedding.”

  It was Greeley’s turn to laugh. “That whole day was wild, Uncle Ten. There are parts of it I’m still trying to process myself. That’s why I haven’t said anything to you when you had that word constipation look on your face.”

  “Word constipation?” Fitzgibbon grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and joined them at the table.

  “Yeah, you know when you’re trying to think of a word and it just won’t come. Just like when you’re in the bathroom trying to take a-”

  Fitzgibbon held up both hands. “Got you loud and clear.”

  Tennyson wasn’t sure where he wanted to go with the conversation. It was not a case of word constipation, but a case of maybe more happening with Greeley than just him having been able to see who was walking Ronan down the aisle. He’d been so busy dancing his first dance and cutting the cake and enjoying the wedding that he hadn’t had his eye on the teenager during the whole reception. “I saw one thing in particular that made me curious, but you saying the whole day was wild has me even more curious.”

  Greeley took a long slug from his Coke. His hands twisted around themselves after he set the can back on the table. “I’d read a lot about The Day of the Dead and All Souls Day. I knew that veil between the spirit world and the physical world was at its thinnest on that day. I also remember what we talked about in Kansas, Uncle Ten, with you thinking that I had above average intuition and how that would serve me well as a social worker.”

  “You put two and two together and opened yourself up to the possibilities of the spirit world, didn’t you?” Ten couldn’t keep a smile from blooming across his face.

  “Yeah, I did. I wasn’t sure what would happen or if anything at all would happen.” Greeley glanced up at his father who had a spellbound look on his face.

  “Tell me what you experienced,” Ten urged. He was sitting on the edge of his seat.

  “When I got to the Hawthorne Hotel, I had a feeling I was being watched. You know, like you hear about in those old horror movies. It wasn’t scary or anything. I was just aware that spirits were around. I had never felt anything like that before and haven’t since.”

  Ten nodded. He knew exactly what Greeley was describing. He’d gone through something similar when he’d first gotten his gift only the feeling of being watched stayed with him and developed into something much greater.

  “Then, when Uncle Ronan was walking down the aisle, he wasn’t alone.” He turned to Ronan, “I know we talked about your mother’s spirit walking with you, but I almost lost my mind when I saw her on your arm in that blue dress.”

  Ronan laughed. His blue eyes were misty with the memory. “You could see her?”

  Greeley nodded. “Not only her, Uncle Ronan, but the other redhead too. Who was she? I haven’t seen any pictures of her before. She looked a lot like Erin.”

  Ten exchanged a watery look with Ronan, who appeared to be on the verge of losing it. “That was our daughter.”

  Fitzgibbon’s mouth dropped open. “I-I.” His mouth shut with an audible clack. “How?”

  “I don’t know the exact hows and whys of it either, but Bertha was somehow able to use her power to make Erin visible to Ronan for a short time while he was getting dressed. He was able to catch a glimpse of our little miss then. She was somehow able to do it again when they were walking down the aisle because I could see them both too. Bertha and Erin have been telling me that they’ve been visiting her soul and I guess they thought we should have glimpse of our future on our wedding day.” A rogue tear slid down Tennyson’s cheek.

  Fitzgibbon opened his mouth to speak again, but no sound came out. He made eye contact with his son, but still no words came out of his mouth.

  “Dad wants to know if Bertha or Erin have seen my sister? The one that Madam Aurora told him about?” Greeley squeezed his father’s shoulder. Fitzgibbon nodded, but didn’t say a word.

  “I’ll ask them about that the next time I see either of them. It might help matters along if you and Jace got your acts together!” Tennyson shot Fitzgibbon a knowing look.

  “Well, the two of you aren’t making things easy on me with your serial killers and ghosts of serial killers and all of these god damned bullet holes.” Fitzgibbon absently fingered the scar on his chest over his shirt.

  “Good point. I have an idea that might make up for all of that.” Ten nudged Ronan’s knee under the table.

  “Oh, right! I almost forgot about our idea.” Ronan shook his head as if he was still stuck in the memory of his wedding day. “Ten and I have been trying to figure out where to go on our actual honeymoon.”

  “The two of you took a week off. Wasn’t that your honeymoon?” Fitzgibbon shot Greeley a confused look.

  “Seriously, Kevin?” Ten raised an eyebrow. “We spent three days helping the two of move into your new house and the rest of the time rubbing each other down with Icy Hot.”

  Fitzgibbon shuddered. “TMI, guys. I don’t need to know your cutesy nicknames for sex.”

  “Jesus, Kevin, Icy Hot isn’t a cute nickname for sex.” Ronan rolled his eyes. “It’s that pain gel Shaq hawks on television. We were so sore from hauling boxes we could barely move.”

  “This was a mistake,” Ten said with a sparkle in his eyes. “Whoever had the brilliant idea to take our friends to some tropical destination over the winter break should have their head examined. Ronan and I can just go alone to a place with a nude beach and all the free coconut oil we can slather on each other.”

  “Wait! You were going to take all of us on your honeymoon too?” Greeley’s green eyes popped wide open. “Seriously?” He elbowed his father. “Apologize, Dad.”

  Fitzgibbon laughed. “You want us all to go away together?”

  Ronan nodded. “When was the last time you actually took a vacation?”

  “When we moved into the house. You helped us move, remember?”

  “Allow me to rephrase that. When was the last time you left New England to go on vacation? And don’t say when you went to Kansas with us, because that was not a pleasure trip. Between dealing with Kaye and solving the Bradley case, it felt like all we did was work.” Ronan gave his boss a triumphant smile.

  “Ah, then the answer would be never.” Fitzgibbon folded his arms over his broad chest. “Smartass.”

  “Ditto for me!” Greeley agreed.

  “Talk to Jace, Kevin. See what he thinks about coming on this trip too. I know he’s had a lot to do after the death of his father with settling his estate but try to break him away from all of that. Make some time to get this relationship off the ground.”

  “I could even have my own cabin so you and Jace could get jiggy with it.” Greeley seemed thrilled with his plan.

  “And how do I know you and some crazy-haired teenager wouldn’t also be getting jiggy with it?” Kevin leaned forward in his seat.

  “Where’s the trust, Dad? Where’s the love?” Greeley tapped on his father’s chest.

  “Trust? Who was it that was looking at porn on the internet last night?” Kevin raised a skeptical eyebrow at his son.

  Greeley snorted. “That was Kaye.”

  “What?” Tennyson started to laugh. “My mother was looking at porn?”

  “I know, right!” Greeley looked stunned too. “She told me she was looking something up online and all of a sudden this video popped up. I told her to share her screen with me so I could see what was going on and that was when Dad came into my room. He saw three guys going at it and went ballistic.”

  Ronan was laughing so hard he was having trouble breathing. “What…was…she…looking…up?�
� He managed on a wheeze.

  “Daddy Bears,” Greeley said simply. “I found out today she meant to type in ‘teddy bears.’ I guess she wants to send something to Truman’s babies. They had a nice talk at the wedding. Anyway, she wasn’t wearing her reading glasses and typed it in wrong. Teddy came out as Daddy. She clicked on the first link that came up and voila! Instant supersized three-way.”

  “You mean the guys were really tall?” Ronan asked.

  Greeley bit his bottom lip and shook his head no slowly. He didn’t answer Ronan’s question. He just held his hands a foot apart.

  “Sweet Jesus!” Tennyson muttered. He guessed that him and Ronan holding hands at Kaye’s dining room table paled in comparison to the big-dicked gangbang Kaye had unwillingly witnessed.

  “That’s what Kaye kept saying too!” Greeley burst out laughing.

  17

  Ronan

  Ronan was lying in bed looking at different cruise line websites while Dixie was curled up on his right side. What was missing was Tennyson curled up on his left.

  After Greeley and Fitzgibbon went home, Tennyson had disappeared upstairs. Ronan heard the water running while he’d cleaned up from dessert, but when he’d followed with Dixie and his laptop, Tennyson hadn’t been waiting for him in bed. The door to their office was closed, so Ronan had assumed Ten was in there soothing his kundalini or something similar.

  “That’s okay, pixie-girl, right? You’ll help Daddy Ronan pick out the perfect spot for a tropical vacation we can’t take you on.” Ronan nuzzled the puppy’s fur and clicked on a cruise that would take them to the Panama Canal.

  As Ronan read through the trip itinerary, he couldn’t help thinking about Greeley’s experience at their wedding. He knew Bertha Craig made it possible so that he could see and speak to Erin on that special day, but what would it be like if he could talk to her everyday like Tennyson could?

  “Hey, babe.” Ten walked into the bedroom looking refreshed and relaxed.