Home > Moonlight Scandals (de Vincent #3)(14)

Moonlight Scandals (de Vincent #3)(14)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Rosie knew the sound was coming, after all, but it still caused her to jerk and her heart to jump. Whatever was behind that noise was physical. It caused the camera to shake, and seconds later, she could hear the baby crying from inside his room.

“Damn,” she whispered. A slow smile crept across her face.

Not a full-bodied apparition, but there was definitely something in that house.

Whatever was caught on the camera might not seem like much to the untrained eye, but it was some sort of evidence, and it gave her hope they’d find more, because they’d just installed the cameras in the Mendezes’ home over in the Garden District on Friday. To catch anything this quickly was a good sign—to Rosie and her team.

Not to the poor Mendez family.

They’d contacted NOPE a little over a month ago. Maureen and Preston Mendez had bought the rather recently built home on Third Street a few years back. They didn’t have any trouble until their son came into the picture. According to what the Mendez family reported, it started off as disembodied footsteps and other sounds, like unexplained bangs and thuds. Then they started catching movement out of the corners of their eyes, and items would go missing and randomly reappear in odd places. Things that could easily be ignored or chalked up to the house settling or one of them being forgetful, but the behavior had been steadily increasing over the weeks and months. Both the husband and wife claimed to see a shadow figure in the upstairs hallway, near their son Steve’s room. The unexplained thuds grew louder, eventually shaking the entire house, like the one caught on the camera. Feelings of being watched and followed throughout the house had escalated into doors slamming and, according to the couple, the holy grail of hauntings.

Full. Body. Apparition.

Preston claimed he saw what appeared to be an older man in baby Steve’s room, standing by the crib. He described the apparition as being solid around the head, shoulders, and chest, while the lower body was more see-through. Preston had been so caught off guard by the sight, he hadn’t noticed the period of clothing or any other detail other than the room feeling colder than normal. The apparition had disappeared right before his eyes.

Afraid for their child’s safety, especially since the FBA was seen in Steve’s room, and more than just a little freaked out, the family called NOPE. Most ghosts never meant any harm. If they were active hauntings versus residual, they were often just curious. However, sometimes what people had in their homes weren’t ghosts.

Sometimes it was something else entirely.

Rosie lowered the laptop and flagged the segment of film. Saving the video, she sent the file over to Lance Page, who had the technology to isolate the images and magnify without losing quality. Reaching for the cushion beside her, she snatched up her phone and quickly sent a text to Lance letting him know he had film heading his way. Before she put her phone aside, she scrolled through her texts until she came upon her friend Nikki’s last text.

Face hurts like hell, but I’m okay.

Rosie stared at it for what felt like an hour but was only a few moments. She knew that Nikki was physically okay but emotionally? Mentally? That was a different story, and Rosie didn’t need her third unused bachelor’s degree, this one in psychology, to know that.

Dropping her phone on the cushion, she leaned forward and placed her laptop back on the coffee table. She tugged off her glasses and placed them on the laptop.

She glanced at the closed balcony doors. Night had fallen, but the hum of traffic and voices was still as strong as ever. When she closed her eyes, the most annoying image ever surfaced. She immediately saw Devlin standing before those doors.

Goodness, that man was good-looking, but he was also a certifiable douche nozzle—an attractive douche nozzle.

An arrogant, straitlaced, demanding, obnoxious douche nozzle about as warm and friendly as a haunted house.

A jerk who appeared to be very, very well-endowed. God. She did not need to think about that. She didn’t even need to think about him in general, but he was in her thoughts whether she liked it or not.

Opening her eyes, she pursed her lips. Saturday morning and that man had been dressed as if he were attending a business meeting, wearing gray trousers and a white button-down. He looked amazing, though, just like he had at the cemetery, but she doubted he owned a pair of jeans.

Recalling the look on his face when she called him a dickhead, she giggled. She wished she’d had the foresight to have had her phone in her hand, because that splash of shock would’ve been amazing to capture on film. She would’ve changed her Facebook profile pic to it just to be an ass.

Another giggle escaped her as she glanced up at the llama-shaped clock her friend Bree had gotten her. God only knew where she found a llama-shaped clock, but Rosie wasn’t complaining. The thing was amazing, and she had a soft spot for those adorably weird creatures.

It was close to ten, and she should be tired, having woken up so early yesterday and the same today to pull a shift at Pradine’s to get ready for the church crowd, but she was wide-awake and antsy.

And there was only one thing that cured restlessness.

Du Monde beignets.

Sadly, that meant she was going to have to get changed. Even though it was nighttime in the Quarter and there’d be all manner of people walking the streets, Rosie was not going out there wearing nothing but a tank top, boxer shorts, and thick, knee-high socks.

Beignets were worth the effort, though.

Popping to her feet, she’d started to turn when her phone rang. A smile appeared when she saw Lance’s name and the goofy pic of him wearing a headband with tiny plastic ghosts attached to springs.

“Hey, buddy,” she answered as she picked up her wine. “Thought you were on shift tonight?”

“Nah. Got off early,” he answered. Lance was an EMT, and boy, did his job never have a dull moment. “I saw the video. Haven’t been able to take a closer look, but whoa, I can’t believe we caught something already.”

“I know.” She took a sip of her wine. “It’s freaking out there.”

“We need to get back in that house and spend another night.”

“Yes, but the family hasn’t agreed to that yet.” They wanted their help, but NOPE had only been able to log a handful of hours investigating. “And if they don’t . . .”

Lance sighed. “If they don’t, then I am suspicious as fuck that we’re getting played.”

“Me, too.” Finishing off the wine, she carried her glass into the kitchen. NOPE debunked and discovered scams more than they found actual evidence, but that was the nature of the business. “Jilly said she’d be calling the family tomorrow with an update. You’ll have the film enhanced by then?”

“Of course.” There was a pause as Rosie placed her glass in the sink. “Doing anything tonight?”

“Nothing except I was thinking about walking down to Du Monde.”

“Want company?”

Rosie grinned. Lance lived off of Canal, and that was a bit of a hike to Du Monde, but, like her, Lance was a night owl and was up for anything. “If you’re sure you want to join me.”

“Babe, I always want to,” he replied.

Her grin faltered as she pushed away from the kitchen counter. There was something teasing about how he said that, but there was also something . . . more . Anxiety bubbled to life. Lance was cute and an all-around great guy, but he was one of her closest friends. She knew better than to cross those lines, no matter how easy it would be. And lately? Lance had been throwing off signals that could be read as him being interested in more. Dinner invites. Showing up unexpectedly at Pradine’s with her favorite drink—salted caramel mocha—or surprising her with her favorite snack, those Graze box thingies that were all garlicky and yummy and not easy to come by. Or he could just be an awesome friend and she was reading way too much into it.

Probably the latter.

“You there, Rosie?” he asked.

“Yeah.” She cleared her throat. “Sorry. Zoned out. Weird weekend.”

“Then even more reason to shut the weekend down with beignets.”

Relaxing, she rolled her eyes. “No truer words have ever been spoken. I just need about fifteen minutes to get changed. Okay?”

   
Most Popular
» Nothing But Trouble (Malibu University #1)
» Kill Switch (Devil's Night #3)
» Hold Me Today (Put A Ring On It #1)
» Spinning Silver
» Birthday Girl
» A Nordic King (Royal Romance #3)
» The Wild Heir (Royal Romance #2)
» The Swedish Prince (Royal Romance #1)
» Nothing Personal (Karina Halle)
» My Life in Shambles
» The Warrior Queen (The Hundredth Queen #4)
» The Rogue Queen (The Hundredth Queen #3)
romance.readsbookonline.com Copyright 2016 - 2024