Dead Famous Read online

  The image quickly switched to that of my Grammy’s smiling face. I focused on it and smiled, picking up the glove. Closing my eyes, I let the energy surround me until I was taken to where the energy pulled.

  A blonde woman was sitting alone in a diner booth next to a glass window drinking a cup of coffee. It was dark outside but not enough for me to tell if it was night or the wee hours of the morning. A newspaper was sitting open. An obituary for Thomas Faraday was circled in red and crossed through. Confusion folded around me, and an image of my father appeared on the screen.

  “Focus, Cree,” Doc Stone whispered.

  I pushed the confusion away and refocused on the blonde’s energy. She was walking out of the diner, slipping on black gloves, when I joined her again. She tugged her jacket tighter around her body as she slipped a phone out of her pocket and dialed a number. I watched the digits as best I could before she put the phone to her ear. “It’s done. Wire the money into my account.”

  Just as quickly as she’d placed the call, she ended it. This woman apparently wasn’t much of a talker. She turned the corner down a back alleyway next to the downtown hardware store. She whistled nearing the end of the building, and a man stepped out of the shadows.

  The man looked extremely familiar, causing me to pause. He had the same eye color as Faraday and the same body build and bone structure, only younger. There was no question in my mind that the two were somehow related.

  She ran into his arms and kissed him deeply on the lips. Several seconds went by as I surrounded them, being a silent witness to their reunion.

  He broke the kiss and stared deeply into her eyes. “Did you make the call?”

  “Yeah. They all think you're dead. That was easy money, baby. No one will ever figure out what you did with the Mariant painting. The money for killing you is being wired into the offshore account just like we planned.”

  “Perfect.” He kissed her again, and I watched in horror as he slid a knife out from behind his back. He didn’t even break the kiss as he shoved it into her chest.

  Her eyes widened in terror as she stared into his eyes. “Shh,” he whispered. “I made it quick.”

  She gurgled, and blood dripped from the corners of her mouth as she struggled to breathe and break from his arms.

  What the hell was I watching?

  He lowered her to the ground as the life drained from her body. He slid the backpack off her shoulder and pulled the phone out of her pocket and stuffed it inside. He reached inside her bra and pulled out her ID and some of the cash she’d stashed inside.

  I moved to stand next to him and glanced at the ID. Genevieve Bartell was on the ID.

  “I have to pull you, Cree.” Doc Stone’s voice was but a whisper.

  “Not yet.” I wasn’t ready to leave. I couldn’t. Not until I had some answers. I watched as the man pulled out a gun and twisted on a silencer. The shot was overkill; the woman was already dead. “I’ll see you in hell.”

  He pulled the trigger just as my eyes flew open.

  Shivers racked down my body as I turned on my side, balling into a fetal position. Doc Stone and Charlotte were covering me with more blankets. A frosty breath escaped my lips as I stared at Faraday. The implications on what we’d all just witnessed were written into the lines of his hardened face.

  My eyes slid closed of their own volition, and I slipped into the long over-deep sleep that even a dead singing actress couldn’t wake me from.

  West Archer

  Chapter 3

  West paced inside the ballroom. Jitters, the geeky computer guy, had already left. Cree was sound asleep on the hospital bed, and Doc Stone sat quietly nearby monitoring her vitals.

  West couldn’t believe what he’d witnessed. Seeing Calinda’s smiling face, for even the brief second it flashed, sent his heartbeat into overdrive. Faraday walked over to West and handed him a beer. “Let’s go outside.”

  West followed behind him, glancing at Cree one last time before shutting the door.

  “Shouldn’t she be awake by now?”

  Faraday shrugged. “Using Insight takes a lot out of her.”

  “Then why does she use it?” West asked, twisting the top off the beer and taking a long deep swig. He’d seen with his own eyes exactly what that machine could do. The explanation he’d been given was short and evasive. She used it to assist in solving her cold cases, giving everyone a look at the stuff going on in her mind when she tuned in. If he’d questioned her authenticity before, he no longer could. She was the real deal.

  “The details,” Faraday answered and took a seat in a rocking chair, leaving West with the hanging swing. “She can tune in without it, but she’s always worried she might miss a detail.”

  “I had no idea she sees images like that.”

  “I still remember the first time I met her dad. I thought he was nuts when he came into the police station. I’d just made detective; so of course, they pawned the crazy guy off on me.”

  “He wasn’t crazy though, was he?”

  “Nope. He was one of the smartest men I’ve ever met, kind soul and a good heart. She reminds me of him, you know.”

  Chirping crickets and croaking frogs filled the silence while West let the old man get lost in his thoughts.

  “He came to me with a missing person. He said he’d seen it on the news. I asked for proof…that was all it took. Within a year he’d designed Insight, and the rest is history. Cree took his death hard. She’d always tried to make him proud, but he was so caught up in that damn machine that he didn’t stop to notice, much.”

  They sat there for fifteen minutes until West finally had to ask. “What happened to him?”

  “He stayed under Insight too long. We were working a serial killer case, and he was determined to catch the guy. When they tried to pull him out, he was in full cardiac arrest. It was like the blood in his veins just froze up.”

  “Why would Doc Stone let him stay under that long?”

  “Cree uses Doc Stone. The one her father used was Doctor Jamison.”

  “Well then, why didn’t Jamison stop the procedure?”

  “His daughter was one of the serial killer's victims. All of us were determined to catch him.”

  “And did you?” West’s rocking stopped.

  “Nope, but we found the bodies and the missing person cases were solved. We never did get him ID’d, but Cree’s daddy led us case by case to all of the remains. I took him a couple times to help pinpoint the locations. He always said the answers were in the details, and he never missed a single clue.”

  “So Jane Doe wasn’t your only unsolved cold case?”

  “Yeah, she was. The other case wasn’t mine. We were just trying to help.”

  West let out a long sigh and started rocking again enjoying the evening breeze while sipping his beer. This was country living compared to where West lived. He could get used to living like this. His country was so much more hectic than this place. Or maybe it was just his life in general. Either way, these moments to relax were few and far between.

  “Cree’s always been stubborn. She never shows fear. She never knows when to give up.”

  “Is that why you tried to shoot her?”

  “You know about that?” Faraday asked.

  “I make it a point to know everything about the person I’m going to be working with. I read the case file and saw the police reports.”

  “I was trying to scare some sense into her. I don’t want her to end up like her dad, so engrossed in a case that it steals her life too. She needed it. She can’t save everyone, and she isn’t trained to deal with the scumbags she goes chasing.”

  “She saved you.” West pointed his beer at the old man. He’d been privy to that information too. She hadn’t pressed charges and took the old man in after his house had blown up. She was either extremely loyal or missing a few screws, and West hadn’t decided which one fit best. One thing was certain. Cree Blue was one of a kind.

  “Yes, she did.” Farada
y rose from his seat.

  “The killer on the screen looked like you,” West blurted out.

  “He should,” Faraday answered. “He was my brother.”

  “Judging by the obituary that Cree saw in her vision, either you thought he was dead or you helped cover it up. Which is it?”

  The silence lingered again as if Faraday was deciding how to answer. Faraday looked like a man with many secrets. West would know. They were similar in many ways. He was sure if he picked and prodded at Faraday’s past, West could find all of the skeletons the cop had tried to bury, but he hadn’t had the time, not yet.

  “We were estranged, and we were told he died in a car bomb. The heat from the accelerant incinerated him.”

  “How’d they jump to the conclusion it was your brother?”

  “A witness ID’d him getting into the car seconds before it exploded.”

  “Sounds like your witness needed glasses.”

  “He’s going to need more than that by the time I’m done interrogating him. Are you leaving tonight or in the morning?”

  “The morning.”

  Faraday nodded. “Good, she needs her rest.”

  Faraday headed for the door and opened it. He paused and turned to West. “Don’t break her heart.”

  “You’ve got the wrong impression. I’m only here to get her help on solving a case,” West was quick to answer.

  Faraday nodded. “So was Mason.”

  Faraday walked inside and shut the door, leaving West alone on the porch. He sat back on the swing contemplating his next move. Cree had been dating the cop two months ago. It was evident by the way he’d kissed her, and it was written in her starry eyes. He’d seen that look before. He knew it well.

  The cop being out of the picture would work in his favor. She’d be more focused, and that was exactly the way he needed her. There was too much riding on them solving the case and retrieving the diamond. One small misstep, one wrong move, and this case could take an unsalvageable turn.

  An hour later with his beer long gone he was still debating the possible outcomes. Regardless of what she might find, he needed her. He slipped the phone out of his pocket. His fingers hovered above the keys. If he even tried to explain about that machine, no one would believe him. Not that he reported to anyone besides the Prince of Wellington himself.

  The door opened, and Doc Stone walked out, with Cree following behind him. Her hair was wet, and she’d changed her clothes. She smiled at the doctor and pulled the cardigan tight across her body.

  “Make sure you get plenty of rest, Cree,” the doc said.

  “I will.” She smiled, waved, and sat down next to me. She had a cup clasped in her hands, steam coming from the top.

  “Coffee, this late?” he asked.

  “Warm broth. It helps me fight the after-chill.”

  “That was some show,” West said, resting his elbows on his knees.

  She nodded. “I think I gave Faraday more unanswered questions than answers.”

  “When you said Calinda was visiting, I never would have thought…”

  “That she’d be dressed in a ball gown and wearing a tiara?” Cree chuckled. “That must be the movie star in her.”

  “I don’t want you to use Insight on Calinda’s case.”

  She tilted her head, her gaze questioning. “Why not if it could help us find her?”

  West rose from his seat and slid his hands into his pocket. “She had secrets that I’d rather not have broadcast to your friends.”

  “You’re worried about them telling someone?”

  “Let’s just say, privacy might be an issue.”

  “Um…okay?”

  “Get some rest, Lady Blue. We’ll leave in the morning if you feel up to it.”

  West left Cree on the porch and headed to his room. He stepped inside and closed the door before pulling out his phone. He fired off a text to his royal best friend.

  Last chance to call off the search. Cree Blue is good, and she’ll get to the truth, whether you want her to or not.

  Seconds ticked by as West waited for his reply.

  You can deal with the ramifications; just bring me back that stone.

  Consider it done.

  Chapter 4

  I’d been in California for less than thirty minutes and one thing was for sure. I wasn’t in the bayou anymore. Charlotte would have loved this place. The beach, the tan bodies, the Zen of it all. Since we weren’t using Insight, there was no reason to bring her along this time.

  West was tipping the bellhop as I walked into our presidential suite. A ginormous crystal chandelier as tall as me hung from the ceiling over the marble floor. A baby grand piano sat across the room. My experience consisted of knowing how to play “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “Hot Cross Buns,” but then again, I’m sure the refined people who had the funds to stay in places like this probably were much more musically inclined.

  Fresh flowers filled vases next to a welcome basket, and a bottle of champagne waited on ice. The divine elegance was wasted on a southern girl like me.

  I sauntered over to the floor-to-ceiling windows to admire the view. The sun was lowering below the horizon as waves broke against the shore. Surfers lingered in the water on top of their boards. This was exactly how I pictured California, minus the weird monstrous dinosaur-looking lizards that I’d seen crawling around outside.

  “Is it everything you thought it would be?” West asked, coming up behind me.

  “It’s very Pretty Woman-ish. Only you aren’t a billionaire CEO, and I’m not a hooker,” I answered as he opened the balcony doors, took my hand then lead me outside.

  “If you want, we can find some questionable clothes and I can pick you up on Rodeo Drive.” His smile turned genuine while staring down at me. The twinkle in his eyes glistened under the moonlight. He was everything I knew I didn’t need, but that look, that twinkle, was hard to resist.

  “You aren’t that lucky, and I’m not that easy,” I teased. “I need to call home and check in.”

  He guided me back inside to one of the rooms and pushed the doors open. “Take your time and get settled. I need to make some arrangements for the morning, and I’ll order us some room service.”

  “No need for room service.” I grinned. “We already have dinner plans.”

  “When did you have time to make those arrangements?”

  “Last night after you went to your room.”

  “Let me guess, Calinda told you the best places to eat?”

  “Nope, she’s been scarce the last twenty-four hours.”

  “What are our plans?”

  A smile split my lips. “We’re going to see my friend.”

  “You have friends in California?”

  “Some people like me. Is that hard to believe? I’m witty, even fun to be around, and my kind of crazy isn’t all rainbow-colored tutus and flying unicorns because that’s just too weird without having a magic wand and fairy dust.”

  “I’m sure you have a ton of friends.” West winked.

  Maybe if counted my imaginary ones. I shrugged and headed for the room, slowly shutting the door behind me. We’d made excellent time getting to California. That kind of stuff kind of happened when traveling via private jet. When flying commercial, it was always hard to ignore the hovering ghosts that were flying for free.

  I slipped my phone out of my purse and texted my favorite singer; Butler Spade. I’d once thought the lead singer of Force Fire was in on a heist of some stolen coins and had even accused him of such. My bad. Good thing the singer didn’t hold a grudge. When he’d called to thank me for pushing him to release his new single, I mentioned that I had travel plans that included California.

  “We still on for tonight?”

  “Absolutely and I have a surprise for you.”

  “If it isn’t Dean Winchester sharing his apple pie, I’m not sure I want it.”

  “You’ll want this.”

  “If you say so. I’m looking forward to cat
ching up.”

  “Call me if the lord ditches you again. I’ll be the Watson to your Sherlock.”

  “That might make it too hard to sneak around looking for the bling.”

  “You’re in Hollywood, babe. Bling is our state bird.”

  “I guess I’ll follow the bling to your house.”

  “No need. Be ready in thirty minutes. I’m sending your ride.”

  “Is it a Chevy Impala being driven by the Winchesters?”

  “You’ve got a thing for those Winchester boys on Supernatural.”

  “You have your gods, and I have mine. At least they know how to get rid of ghosts. I could use some tips.”

  “Stay weird. It’s one of your many admirable qualities.”

  “Is there any other way to be?”

  “See you soon.”

  I opened the door to the bedroom to find West lounging on one of the many couches in the living room with the phone pressed to his ear. “You’ve got thirty minutes, or I’m leaving without you.”

  “She’s leaving without me if I don’t get off the phone.” He cocked his brow and repeated my words to whomever he was talking to. He lifted the phone from his mouth. “The prince sends his regards.”

  “Tell the prince you’ll call him when we have an update.” I swirled around and headed back into the bedroom. I unzipped my bag and started pulling out some of my dresses. What exactly did one wear to dinner with a rock star? Someone should write an etiquette book on proper attire while traveling. That would have made things so much easier.

  I settled on one of my vintage dresses. The same one that I wore for good luck when mailing my mysterious letters that changed lives, detailing visions that I see. The last time I’d worn it, a serial killer had been caught. Since then I’d started referring it to lucky and not in a you’re-getting-some-tonight kind of way.

  I headed for the bathroom to change and run a quick brush through my long tresses. I was never classified as high maintenance, no matter what my momma tried to instill. When I came out of the bathroom, West was lounging on the bed.