The Cursed. Heather Graham

know if we could have heard anything from outside besides that,” Judy said.

      “Shelly screamed really loudly,” Yerby said, nodding.

      “And, by then, even Stuart was pretty hysterical,” Mark added.

      “Wait a minute,” Pete said, frowning. “I do remember hearing some kind of...thrashing. I went to the window in the back to look out, but I didn’t see anything. Although I didn’t look long. Shelly was hysterical, and we all ran out to see what was going on. But you have to remember—they were convinced they’d seen a ghost. None of us even began to imagine she might have seen a real man.”

      “Back to the drunks in the hoodies. Did you notice any of them earlier?” Dallas asked. “Think about it. You notice people in hoodies down here. This is a vacation city. You mostly see shorts, halter dresses, tank tops, swim trunks.”

      Pete frowned thoughtfully. “You know, earlier in the evening—before the tour—we were having a drink, and I do remember seeing at least one hoodie hanging over the back of a barstool.”

      “Where were you? Do you remember?” Dallas asked.

      “Yeah. A really cool Irish bar toward the south end of Duval. O’Hara’s,” Pete said.

      Liam groaned.

      Dallas turned to look at him. “Someone should be able to help us out there, don’t you think?”

      “Oh, yeah, I think so,” Liam said.

      “Yeah?” Pete asked. “How come?”

      “My sister-in-law’s family owns the place,” Liam said.

       4

      “I’ve been watching the news all day. They still aren’t letting out much information,” Katie O’Hara said. She indicated the television above the bar and the wide-screen in the main room. “They went over the same few facts so many times it was ridiculous.”

      “What exactly have they said?” Hannah asked.

      “That an as-yet-unidentified man was found in an alley, his throat slit. That even once he’s identified his name will be withheld pending notification of next of kin. They’re warning people to stay in groups and stick to well-lit streets.”

      “Hmm,” Hannah murmured. She’d told Katie about what had happened, and she didn’t feel she was violating anyone’s trust. She hadn’t revealed anything Agent Samson had told her, only confided in Katie regarding the ghost of the dead man. Besides, Katie was married to David Beckett, Liam Beckett’s brother, and she was sure to know what had happened through the family.

      And, like Liam, Katie and her brother, Sean, had their own strange and unearthly Key West experiences. They all shared a strange bond because of that.

      Hannah had desperately needed to talk to someone, and Katie was not just a good friend, she was a friend who knew all about souls who hung around after death because something was keeping them from moving on.

      “What about Melody and Hagen?” Katie asked.

      “I haven’t seen them since early this morning,” Hannah said, and winced. “I accused them of playing tricks. I think they’re mad at me.”

      “They’ll come back. They love you—and the house,” Katie said drily. “But you say this Agent Samson is a hard case?”

      “Rude. Obnoxious. And suspicious of me, for whatever reason.”

      “I don’t think I know him,” Katie said.

      “He said he grew up here.”

      “It’s an island, but people come and go. Did he leave the Keys when he was young?”

      “He’s supposedly friends with your husband.”

      “Really? Well, he might have been. But he hasn’t been back here long, right?”

      “I don’t really know. He and Liam seem to work well together, but I’m in a difficult situation.”

      “Because he’s on your case and you have information that can help him, but you can’t tell him what you know because a ghost told you,” Katie said.

      “Something like that. Except, of course, I can tell Liam.”

      “I say you call Kelsey,” Katie told her. “Your cousin Kelsey O’Brien, not Liam’s wife.”

      “I thought about that. I mean, she’s FBI, too—with a special unit that handles this kind of thing.” Hannah paused, then said decisively, “All right. I’ll call her.”

      “No, I mean, like, now,” Katie said.

      “I just hate to bother her,” Hannah said.

      “Let’s see—dead FBI agent in your alley and another one thinking maybe you had something to do with it. And she’s not only an agent, too, she’s part of the Krewe of Hunters and specializes in paranormal cases. I don’t think calling her in these circumstances counts as bothering anyone,” Katie said.

      Even as she spoke, Hannah’s phone—sitting on the table by her coffee cup—began to ring, and the screen identified the caller as Kelsey O’Brien.

      Katie stared at Hannah. “You two have telepathy now?”

      “No,” Hannah said with a dry smile. “She probably heard about what happened.”

      She picked up the phone, and Kelsey started off by asking her how she was. Hannah lied and said she was fine. “But I was about to call you,” she added. “Have you guys up there heard about the murder in the Keys?”

      “We always hear when something like that goes down. This is...bad. I’ve spoken with Logan, and we’re coming down.”

      Logan Raintree was the head of Kelsey’s special unit. They were also a couple. Hannah was pretty sure they had either gotten married already in secret or were planning on a quiet wedding soon. She would have expected their relationship to be taboo, but apparently they really were very special agents and the tight-knit community in which they worked didn’t discourage close—even intimate—relationships between agents.

      “That’s great,” Hannah said. “I can’t wait to see you.”

      Katie, watching her, nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

      “But until I get there, hang with Liam and Katie, okay? Just to be safe.”

      “Because this has to do with Los Lobos?”

      Kelsey was quiet for a minute and then she said, “Yes. So you do know.”

      “Yes, I know it’s all related. But, why would I be in any danger? I didn’t see what happened,” Hannah said, surprised.

      “There were cops, agents and crime scene techs stomping all over your yard today, right?” Kelsey asked.

      “Yes, but...the only two people who saw any part of what happened are headed back to Miami—or there already, depending on who was driving,” Hannah said.

      “Los Lobos has a long reach. I wouldn’t count on them being safe,” Kelsey said.

      “They didn’t see the killer, just the dead man.”

      “I’m sure the police are doing everything they can,” Kelsey said. “And there’s always the possibility that Jose Rodriguez can help us himself.”

      “He can’t.”

      “You’ve seen him already?” Kelsey asked, surprised.

      “Yes, and he gave me the names of the people he was with, but he’s not sure whether they were involved or not. And he has no idea who came up behind him.”

      “What else did he say?” Kelsey asked. “Did he tell you he was going to be working with Dallas