Deep In Death: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

“Yes. There’s always something going on around here. Come on over and sit down.” He ushered me to the chair beside his desk where I usually sat. “So what brings you here?” He was hoping I was coming to offer my services. He could sure use my help… right now in fact. “Looking for something to do?”

  “Depends,” I answered. “Are you asking?”

  “You bet.” He smiled and his dimples spun around in his cheeks. I chuckled just to see them, and suddenly, I was happy I’d come. “I was hoping you’d stop by,” he admitted. “But after your arrest and all, I wasn’t sure you’d ever want to step foot in this building again.”

  “Hey, I couldn’t have made it through that mess without your help. We’re friends. That’s what friends do. I’d be happy to help, as long as you give me back my ID badge to make it official.”

  “Oh…yeah…that. I’ve got it here somewhere.” He made a big show of looking through his desk drawers to find my badge, although he knew right where it was. He didn’t want it to look like it meant so much to him. But deep down, he was excited to give it back. “Here you go.” He hesitated, thinking he could put it over my head like a medal or something, but since that might seem like over-kill, he just handed it to me.

  “Thanks.” I smiled to let him know I appreciated the sentiment and slipped it on. I was about to tell Dimples my reason for being there when someone’s scornful thoughts crashed into my mind. He was wondering what the hell I was doing there, and thought I had a lot of nerve to show my face in the police station again. I knew immediately who it was and turned to give Detective Bates the evil eye. His gaze caught mine and he flushed before sauntering over.

  “I never thought I’d see you here,” he said.

  “Why not?” I asked. “I am innocent you know.”

  “Did you clear this with the captain?” Bates asked Dimples, obviously ignoring me. “I know she used to work here, but are you sure he’s okay with that?”

  Dimples stood to face him, his features drawn tight and eyes blazing. He clenched his fists and Bates took an involuntary step back. Before Dimples could speak, the captain came out of his office. He took in the situation with a quick glance and pursed his lips, then focused on me.

  “Shelby! Good to see you. How’s the arm?”

  “Um…lots better,” I answered.

  “Good.” He glanced at Bates. “You have a problem?”

  “Uh…no sir,” Bates said.

  “Good.” He turned his gaze to me and noticed my badge. His face broke into a broad smile. “It’s nice to have you back, Shelby. I’m sure we can use your help around here.” At that he sent one more glare at Bates and strode back into his office.

  “That answer your question?” Dimples asked.

  “Whatever.” Bates frowned and hurried back to his desk. He was thinking he’d probably over-reacted, but his pride had been hurt. Besides, he knew that even though he’d been wrong about me being a murderer, there was still something I was hiding, so I couldn’t be trusted.

  Dimples sat back down. “Sorry about that. I had no idea he’d be such an ass.”

  “It’s okay. He’s just embarrassed that he was wrong and too proud to admit it.” That was the truth, and saying it out loud felt pretty good.

  “You got that right,” Dimples agreed. “Well…” he rubbed his hands together. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, when would you like to start?”

  “Um…I’m actually here for a job of my own. But I’m sure I can help you too.”

  “Oh? What job is that?”

  “I’m investigating a missing person’s report.” I pulled out my file and opened it up. “Her name’s Darcy Shaw, and she went missing about six years ago. Do you think I could look at your files and see if there’s anything I could use?”

  Dimples frowned. “From that long ago, it’s probably downstairs in the dead files room. Come on, I’ll show you where they are.”

  “Thanks.”

  I followed him to the hall and down two flights of stairs to the basement. He opened the door to a room and flipped on the light. Wall-to-wall filing cabinets filled the room, and a stale, musty odor permeated the air. From the smell, I’d guess no one had come down here in a long time, kind of how I imagined it would smell visiting a mausoleum. It seemed colder than normal too, and I realized that all of the files belonged to real people who had disappeared and were probably dead, and no one knew why or how.

  “Go ahead and take a look,” Dimples said. “They’re filed alphabetically.”

  “Um…yeah, okay.” I hesitated, not wanting to venture further into the room. It was so cold and dank that it kind of gave me the creeps. But I only needed one file. That wouldn’t take long.

  “When you’re done, come on back up and I’ll fill you in on a case I could use your help with.” Dimples was anxious to leave me to it, not because he had a lot to do upstairs, but because the room had kind of a weird vibe that he didn’t like.

  “You’re leaving me here alone?” I blurted.

  “What? You’re not scared are you?” He scoffed. “It’s just a room with files in it. There aren’t even any guns or crazy killers down here.”

  “Oh fine,” I said, still hesitating in the doorway and wishing I hadn’t heard that part about the weird vibe.

  “You want me to stay?” He folded his arms and raised his brow in challenge.

  “Of course not,” I said. “Like you said, I’ll be fine.”

  “Good. Hey…if one of those files attacks you…I’m right upstairs if you need me.”

  “Ha, ha.”

  He chuckled and left. I shook my head and hurried over to the cabinets. As I found the cabinet with “S through T” on it, the door clicked shut behind Dimples, sealing me in. It was deathly quiet. The only sounds in the room came from me. My breathing and the shift of my feet echoed from the walls, magnifying each tiny breath and movement I made.

  An unexplained sense of urgency rolled over me. I was alone in an enclosed space that seemed to get smaller the longer I stood there. A sudden stab of dread tightened my stomach, and my hands shook a little. It was mostly thoughts of the lights going out and leaving me in total darkness that did it. If Bates knew I was here, I wouldn’t put it past him to do that to me, and I wanted out of this creepy place as fast as I could.

  With renewed effort, I scanned the labels until I came to the right drawer and yanked it open. I quickly leafed through the folders and caught my breath to actually find the file. I swallowed with relief and pulled the bulky file out. Pursing my lips together, I set it on top of the other folders and opened it up checking to make sure it was the right one.

  A larger version of the same picture I’d received from Tiffany stared back at me. Her eyes held a haunting mixture of sadness and foreboding, and goose bumps broke out along my arms. A sudden chill ran up my spine and my heart picked up speed. All at once, it felt like I wasn’t alone, and someone was standing right there beside me. I froze. I didn’t believe in ghosts, but I didn’t dare look either.

  My mouth went dry and I hardly dared to take a breath. Glancing back down at the picture, I felt something cold and feather-like brush against my cheek. I inhaled sharply. It came a second time and I jerked my face away, hunching my shoulders to my neck with fear. “I…I’ll try and find out what happened to you,” I croaked. The chill intensified, then suddenly fell away in a cool breeze, leaving the scent of flowers behind, which I recognized as the distinct smell of gardenias.

  With my heart racing, I grabbed the file and slammed the drawer shut, then raced out of the room as fast as I could. In my haste, I left the light on, but I was too scared to go back and turn it off. The smell of gardenias stayed with me all the way up the stairs, but disappeared as I entered the office. With my chest heaving, I hurried over to Dimples’ desk and sat down, rubbing my cold arms.

  “Whoa. Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Dimples said with a teasing smile. I tried to smile back, but I couldn’t seem to form a coherent resp
onse. “Did you find the file?” he asked, drawing his brows together in concern.

  I nodded and took a deep breath which seemed to break the fear holding me hostage. “Yeah…I…did. It was kind of creepy down there. Have you ever noticed that?”

  He sat back in his chair and studied me, thinking I was a little paler than normal. “Honestly… yeah…I have. I guess I should have warned you about that. Since the room is in the basement, it’s kind of cold down there, and since it’s called ‘the dead files’ it’s easy to get spooked. It happens to a lot of people, so don’t feel too bad about it.”

  “Oh…right…that must be it.” I wasn’t about to tell him what had really happened. “Is it okay if I borrow this file for a while? I’ll bring it back.”

  “Sure, that’s fine.”

  “Do you know the lead detective that handled the case? I might want to ask him a few questions.”

  Dimples took the file from me and glanced through it, feeling a bit sorry he’d left me alone in that room, especially after all the ghost stories he’d heard. “Yeah, I know him. He’s retired now, but I can give you his phone number. Just let him know I sent you and he’ll tell you everything he remembers about the case.”

  “Great. Thanks.”

  Dimples brought up the directory on his computer, then wrote the name and number down on a piece of paper and handed it to me. “There you go.”

  I took it with wobbly fingers, surprised I was still so shook up.

  “Are you sure nothing happened down there?” he asked. He was thinking I probably wouldn’t tell him even if it did. But what if having premonitions also made me susceptible to seeing dead people? His eyes widened. Now that would really be weird. It would also explain why I was so spooked. Had I seen something?

  “No…no…it was just a little weird and I got spooked, that’s all.” I realized I’d just answered what he was thinking, but hoped it was close enough to his spoken question that it didn’t matter. “So…what have you got for me to work on?”

  He knew I was stonewalling him, but wisely let it go. “There was a homicide day before yesterday that’s got us all stumped. All the usual suspects have an alibi, and without any leads, I don’t know what to do next.”

  He went on to tell me about a woman who’d been killed by burglars in a possible break-in. She’d been stabbed and bled to death on the living room floor. Her husband had left earlier in the evening because of a fight they’d had and didn’t come back until the next morning. That’s when he’d found her lying there dead.

  “He seems like the prime suspect, but his alibi checks out for time of death. The other thing that doesn’t make sense is that if this was a burglary, then why was nothing of value taken? A few things were smashed up, and the door was broken in, but computers, the TV, her cell phone…it was all still there. It also seemed more personal. I mean…she was stabbed over twenty times…so that indicates a crime of passion to me.”

  “Hmm…yeah it does. What do you want me to do?” I asked.

  He frowned, wondering why I was asking that, but chalked it up to my traumatic experience in the basement since I still looked a little pale. “Um…you still have premonitions don’t you? I was thinking you could go to the crime scene with me…see if you can pick up anything?”

  “Oh yeah…of course.” I chuckled to cover my blunder, realizing I’d zoned out while he was talking because I was still in shock from getting scared. “That might work, only…blood makes me a bit queasy. Why don’t we talk to the husband again? I think that would be better. I mean…I get better reads off people than objects.”

  “Really? Hmm…okay. If you’re sure.” He could tell I was still rattled and wondered again if something had happened in the basement. Then he wondered if getting shot in the arm had gotten to me and I had post-traumatic stress syndrome. Maybe that was why I had over-reacted in the basement. He wouldn’t be surprised with all the close calls I’d had in the last few months, but if that was the case I should probably go see someone about it so I could get back to my normal upbeat self. He hated seeing me so upset that even my hands shook.

  What? He was serious, and I knew I’d better pull my act together. I stiffened my spine and looked him straight in the eyes. “Of course I’m sure. And there’s nothing wrong with me.” What did he mean I wasn’t upbeat? Getting shot made me more cautious, but it would do that to anyone. I certainly didn’t need to talk to someone about it, and I didn’t have a syndrome.

  “All right,” he said, realizing he’d struck a nerve with me but had no idea how he’d done it. “I’ll have to make up something to get him here. Can you stay a little longer?”

  “Of course.” I nodded pleasantly, eager to move on. “Why don’t you tell him we have a new lead on the case and we need him to come in to answer a few questions?”

  “Uh…yeah, that’s a great idea,” he answered. “I was just thinking that.”

  “Great minds think alike,” I said, tapping my finger to my head.

  He nodded and picked up his phone to make the call.

  With his focus off me, I slumped back in my chair. Always knowing what people thought of me was stressful, and I wondered if maybe I should have taken a little more time off to recover. I also had a bad habit of answering unspoken thoughts, and the last thing I needed was for Dimples to figure out I could read minds.

  My cell phone rang, and since Dimples was busy, I hurried to a quiet corner where I could talk in private. The caller ID said Thrasher Development, and my heart skipped a beat. I wasn’t sure I was ready to go back to work for Uncle Joey, but at the same time, I was happy to hear from him. Did that mean I really did need some kind of counseling like Dimples thought? At least around Uncle Joey I didn’t have to pretend I couldn’t hear his thoughts.

  “Shelby!” Uncle Joey said. “How are you doing? How’s the arm?”

  “Getting better,” I replied. “How are you?”

  “I’m all right…but I find myself in a bit of a quandary. Could you come to the office? I could use your help right now.”

  “Um…are there any dead bodies involved?” I asked.

  He chuckled. “No…nothing like that. I just need your special ‘touch’ to solve a minor problem. How soon will you be done at the police station?”

  I gasped. “How…How did you…? Oh…never mind. It might be about an hour before I can get there, depending on how soon things happen here.”

  “That will be fine,” he assured me. “See you soon.”

  He disconnected and I sighed. Getting mixed up with Uncle Joey was never a good thing. I should have told him I was busy, but part of me looked forward to seeing him. I really was nuts. It also bothered me that my first day back at work was turning into a lot more than I bargained for. Besides helping the police, I didn’t mind helping Uncle Joey where I could, as long as it wasn’t too bad. But I really should be concentrating on my client and her missing mother. Although from that creepy feeling in the dead files room, I had a pretty good idea she wasn’t just missing, she was dead.

  A chill ran up my spine. I’d never experienced anything like that before, and I was pretty sure I didn’t want to again. Maybe it was just my imagination getting carried away. After all, the room was pretty creepy and cold to begin with. I’d probably just imagined the brush of coldness on my cheek and the smell of flowers.

  My stomach clenched. As comforting as that sounded, I had a feeling it wasn’t the last time something like that would happen with this case, and just thinking about it gave me the shivers.

  Chapter 2

  I put my phone away and caught Dimples’ curious glance. He’d finished talking a few minutes before me and waited politely for me to finish. I smiled and joined him, hoping he didn’t catch the guilty flush on my face since I’d just finished talking with Joey “The Knife” Manetto.

  “We’re in luck,” he began. “The guy isn’t far from here and should arrive in about ten minutes.”

  “Oh…that’s great. Did he seem surprise
d?”

  “Actually, yes he did. But he also sounded a little relieved and more than willing to cooperate.”

  “Huh,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “That’s interesting.”

  “Wait…you think it’s him? It can’t be him. You know that, right? His alibi checks out.”

  “I’m not jumping to conclusions. I have no idea, but if what you said is true, who else could it be? Maybe he paid someone to do it. You never know.”

  Dimples’ brows drew together and he pursed his lips.

  “Don’t worry,” I assured him. “If it’s him…I’ll know…trust me.”

  He was thinking that I hadn’t let him down yet, so he might as well go for it. I smiled and nodded at him. He narrowed his eyes, thinking that I’d reacted as if I’d heard his thoughts, just like I’d done earlier with the whole “new lead” explanation. It bothered him a little, but he had to remember that working with me and my premonitions was like that and he just needed to go with the flow and not worry about it.

  His gaze met mine and I raised my brows. “Are you okay? You seem a little tense.”

  “Nah…I’m fine,” he said. But his eyes narrowed and he thought that if I really could read minds, I’d know what he was thinking right now. “So…what kinds of questions do you want me to ask him?”

  “Just the usual,” I answered, a little flustered. “Like, what he argued with his wife about, where he went after he left her, where he stayed the rest of the night… basically anything that will get him focused on his wife.” After I said all that, I realized it was exactly what Dimples was thinking.

  He nodded, thinking we were either totally thinking alike, or I was reading his mind. He was going to watch me close and see if it happened again. Then he’d know. He was a detective after all. He should be able to figure it out. Of course, if I really did read minds, it probably wasn’t something I’d want anyone to know. Saying I had premonitions had worked out pretty well for me.

  Then another thought hit him like a bolt of lightning. Was that why I worked for Joey “The Knife” Manetto? Did he know my secret and used that leverage to get me to do stuff for him? Reading minds made a lot more sense than the premonition thing. In fact, that was about the only reason he thought I would keep working for a slime-ball like him.