Ghost Falls (Haunted Souls #22)

11

Thankfully, Heidi stayed until the end of the group reading. There had been so many spirits stepping forward with family members desperate to speak with them that Cope and Ten extended the reading so that everyone could hear from their loved ones. Unfortunately, Rooster Jackson did not show up. Cope was starting to think he was the one person who could get his son to stand down from his foolish stunt.

“Heidi,”

Cope said, reaching for the woman’s hand. “Thank you so much for hanging in there with us.”

“You’re work is incredible. Very uplifting. I just wish there was a way you could use those gifts to stop my husband from going over the falls.”

“We’re working on it. Our husbands are at Cannonball’s meet and greet. They’re hoping to have a word with him when the event ends. Apparently, my niece gave a very detailed account of what’s going to happen on Sunday, which the guys typed up and gave to him. They’ve got a copy of it for you too. There’s a lot of physics and math involved, which is why I gave Stu my phone number. I’m hoping he can hook up with your husband to see if there’s a safer way to do the stunt,”

Cope said. It had been very fortuitous that a math whiz had been in the crowd for the group reading.

“A safer way?”

Heidi shook her head. “Is such a thing even possible?”

“We’re not sure,”

Ten admitted. “My daughter keeps checking to see if her vision has changed and so far, it hasn’t.”

“How is it possible that someone so young has those kinds of gifts?”

Heidi asked, wearing an awed look.

Ten laughed. “I’m not sure. I saw my first spirit when I was thirteen. Everly’s been seeing them since the day she was born. We used a surrogate to have her and the woman who helped us has incredible gifts herself, which Everly inherited. I’m doing the best I can to work with her so that she understands what she can do and to keep her safe. There are a lot of people who’d use her talent for nefarious purposes.”

Heidi nodded. “I can see where that would be a problem.”

“Especially now that more people know what she can do. I didn’t know she’d speak to Cannonball in front of a room filled with talented psychics, but now the word is out about her gifts.”

Ten sighed. Worry lit in his eyes. “But that’s another problem for another day. What was it that you wanted to talk to me and Cope about?”

Heidi sighed. “I don’t want my husband to die. I don’t want my son to grow up without his father. Do you know what’s going to happen to us if Cannonball…”

Cope exchanged an uneasy look with Tennyson. They both knew what was going to happen. The problem was how to present it in a way that wouldn’t send her running out of the room screaming. “Yes, we know what’s going to happen.”

Cope was very reluctant to detail Heidi’s future.

Looking back and forth between the psychics, she reached out for Cope. “Please, tell me. I can handle whatever it is.”

“Okay,”

Cope said, feeling weary to his bones. How the hell was he supposed to tell this woman that her entire life was going to collapse? “If Cannonball dies, you’re going to be hit with a ton of bills from the search and rescue teams that will eventually locate him and recover his body. We’re talking thousands of dollars here.”

“Oh, Christ. We don’t have that kind of money.”

Heidi shook her head. “What else?”

“You’ll be forced to sell your home and move in with your parents, just like Cannonball’s mother had to do,”

Tennyson continued.

“Over my dead body!”

Heidi swore.

Cope shook his head. “That’s what it will come to.”

“What?”

Heidi looked back and forth between them.

“All of the stress of the money troubles, combined with living with your parents will drive you to hurt yourself. Twice.”

Cope watched as horror and understanding hit Heidi like a tornado.

“I try to commit suicide?”

Heidi looked as if Cope’s words couldn’t have shocked her more.

Ten nodded. “The first time isn’t successful, but the second time is.”

Heidi’s mouth hung open. “I-I can’t believe I would do something like that. What about CJ? What happens to him?”

“He suffers greatly from losing you. Your parents will take him to a doctor and insist they medicate him. CJ will overdose on the meds and will end up in a psych ward.”

“For how long?”

Silent tears streamed down Heidi’s face.

“Years. Nearly a decade. He’s only released when your mother dies and the hospital bill stops being paid.”

It made Cope sick to his stomach to detail this family’s future, but maybe knowing what would happen might be enough to stop Cannonball from making it all come true.

Heidi turned to Tennyson, who simply nodded in agreement.

“By the time he’s released from the hospital, it’s too late to save CJ. He wasn’t mentally ill when he went into the facility, but he will be when he’s released. He’ll have severe PTSD and will be addicted to Xanax. That, combined with the fact that he has no education or work experience, will bring him to a very dark place. He won’t live to see his thirtieth birthday.”

As Cope watched CJ’s future play out in his head, he couldn’t help but think of Wolf. His son was bright and funny, just like CJ, he couldn’t imagine what losing his second set of parents would do to the little boy. The only consolation Cope had was that Ronan and Ten were listed as Wolf and Lizbet’s guardians. If anything did happen to him and Jude, at least the kids would be safe and protected with their friends.

“So, what you’re telling me is that my husband’s selfish fucking actions are going to lead to the complete and utter destruction of our entire family.”

“Yes,”

Ten said. “I’m so sorry to have to tell you this, but we think you need to know all the facts.”

“Do you think this information will change Cannonball’s mind about going over the falls?”

Cope asked, pretty sure he knew what the answer would be.

“When we got married, Carl and I said we wanted to have three or four babies. It was our dream to have a houseful of kids.”

“What derailed that dream?”

Ten asked.

“Carl did. He started working on his stunts when I was pregnant with CJ. It was just little things at first, jumping his motorcycle over one or two parked cars. About two weeks from my due date, he attempted to jump ten cars. He failed. Of course he did, the dumbass, and broke both legs and several ribs. He was still in the hospital in Phoenix getting steel rods put into his legs, while I was back in Michigan giving birth to CJ. I was all alone, with the nurses acting as my support system. Before the baby was born, we’d decided that Carl would be the one to stay home with him, so that I could go back to work. My income was what paid the bills and our health insurance was through my employer. With the time he was going to need in the hospital and at a rehab center, it was impossible for him to care for the baby. He was nearly six months old when Carl met him for the first time. Not only was I post-partum and paying off the bills that my insurance didn’t cover for the birth and Carl’s injuries and rehab, I was having to pay childcare costs. I almost divorced him then and there, but he promised he would stop with the stunts and would buckle down and be the kind of father and husband me and our son deserved.”

Heidi sighed. “Spoiler alert, that didn’t happen.”

As Heidi spoke, Cope got a front row seat to their marriage and Carl’s insistence that he continue trying to eclipse his father. He wasn’t going to say it out loud, by Carl had ruined his chance at a large and loving family. With this stunt, he was going to ruin the family he’d already built. “Why is he so insistent on being a better stuntman than his father?”

“The only time Rooster paid attention to Carl was when he was trying to be just like him. When he was a kid, my husband tried to jump his dirt bike over other bikes, other kids, piles of discarded construction materials, you name it. Rooster would go to the hospital with Carl and that was the only time they really had to bond with each other. Rooster’s been dead for twenty years. How much will be enough? If he does somehow manage to survive the falls. What the hell is next? Tightrope walking over the Grand Canyon? Base jumping from the world’s tallest buildings? I can’t take anymore. This is it for me. Either Carl quits the daredevil shit now or CJ and I walk away from him. I didn’t even want to come here, but Carl insisted his son be here to see his greatest triumph. I don’t think the thought of what seeing his father die would do to our son.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he’s thought of it either. Does Carl know you’re ready to walk away from him?”

Cope asked.

“No, I haven’t told him. He’s got so much on his mind with the barrel and the current of the river and the hundred other details he’s dealing with, that I didn’t want to add to his burden. I’ve told him I don’t think he should do this, that I’m scared of what will happen if he doesn’t survive, but he hasn’t taken that into account at all. I don’t think there is anything I can do or say that will make him change his mind. Not even the two of you telling him he’s going to die has changed his mind. Do you think he has a death wish?”

“I think that might be part of it,”

Jude said from behind Heidi. He, Ronan and Fitz had just walked into the ballroom. “We just finished speaking with him and I don’t think anything we said sunk in.”

“Ten said your daughter gave you a description of everything she saw about Carl’s attempt at the falls?”

Heidi’s eyes were on Ronan.

“Yeah, here it is.”

Ronan pulled an envelope out of his back pocket and handed it to her.

With shaking hands, Heidi opened it and pulled out the stapled pages. She began to read. Moments later, tears dripped from her eyes to land on the papers. “This is awful. I can’t believe your little girl saw all of this. Is she okay?”

Heidi swiped at her eyes.

“She is,”

Ronan said. “We do the best we can to explain the things she sees. I hate that our daughter has lost so much of her innocence, but Everly feels better when she knows she’s helping people.”

Heidi appeared to be pondering what Ronan said. “What will happen to her if Carl dies?”

Ronan stared down at his feet. Moments later, he cleared his throat and looked at Heidi. His eyes were damp. “We’ll have to explain to her that despite her warning, Carl chose to do the stunt anyway. Even if she doesn’t see the stunt with her own eyes, Everly will know what happens to him, all the same. All I can do is to reassure her again and again that she did everything she could to help.”

“I can’t even imagine.”

Heidi shook her head.

“It means the world that instead of worrying over your husband, your thoughts are with our daughter.”

Ronan set a hand on Heidi’s shoulder.

“And with Cope and Tennyson. You all will be able to see what happens too, right?”

Heidi turned her attention to the psychics.

“Live and in living color,”

Cope said. “Sometimes, Ten and I are able to feel what the person is going through.”

He prayed that wouldn’t happen this time.

“You mean you’ll feel Carl’s fear and will experience his drowning?”

Heidi wore an appalled look.

“Most likely,”

Ten agreed. “No permanent damage is ever done, but in the moment it will feel like I’m drowning too.”

“Sweet Jesus,”

Heidi muttered. “I swear I could kill him myself. Or at least push him down the stairs so he breaks his stupid legs again.”

Ronan snorted. “I had similar thoughts myself.”

“Same,”

Jude agreed.

“Don’t make me arrest your dumb asses.”

Fitz laughed along with the detectives.

“You’re a cop?”

Heidi asked Fitz.

“We all are.”

Fitz lifted his shirt to reveal his gold captain’s shield.

Heidi’s demeanor brightened. “Can’t you just arrest Carl and throw him in jail?”

“I wish we could,”

Fitz said. “We work for a police department back in Massachusetts and we’re five hundred miles outside of our jurisdiction here in Canada. I could slap the cuffs on Cannonball, but I’d could be arrested myself on charges of kidnapping and false imprisonment, which would also open me up to civil penalties as well as criminal.”

“What about the Niagara Falls Police? Can’t they arrest him? What if I call them and say he threatened me or hit me or something?”

Desperation filled Heidi’s voice.

“First of all, Cannonball told us that he has a permit to attempt the falls, so calling the police wouldn’t help in that regard. If you called to report an assault and the police knew you were lying, they’d arrest you for filing a false report. Not to mention how ugly it would look for Cannonball to be accused of domestic violence when he hadn’t actually done the deed.”

“There should be a law against being a stubborn moron of a dumbass.”

She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Agreed,”

Fitzgibbon said with a laugh.

“What else can I do?”

Heidi asked. “There has to be something.”

If there was, Cope didn’t know the answer. He was about to tell Heidi that very thing, when Jude spoke up instead.

“It’s obvious Carl is bent on trying this stunt. We’ve all told him what’s going to happen if he tries it. Nothing we’ve said has swayed his mind in the slightest. All you can do now is pray. Cope and Ten told you what’s in store for your future. Do whatever you need to do now so that you’re prepared for that outcome. Hire a lawyer who can help you navigate the repercussions of Cannonball’s death. Perhaps there’s a way they can get the fines and bills related to his stunt reduced or cancelled altogether so that you and your son don’t lose your home. Start a GoFundMe page and put it out there to all his fans. When I checked Instagram yesterday, Cannonball had over three million followers. Hopefully, they’ll be willing to help. Lastly, does he have headshots with him?”

Heidi nodded, looking numb. “Yeah, he brought three or four boxes of photos for the meet and greet and whatever else he does.”

“Good. Get him to sign them all tonight and make him put today’s date under his name,”

Jude looked and sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

“Why?”

Heidi asked, looking confused.

“They’ll be worth more once he’s dead,”

Cope said simply. “Also ask to keep the remains of the barrel and the clothes he’s wearing. You can sell them too. People will pay good money for death memorabilia.”

Heidi gasped. “Jesus.”

“If Cannonball won’t sit and listen to your concerns about his life, maybe preparing for your life after him will.”

Jude sighed. “To go one step further, ask him to take pictures of you for your dating profile. After all, you’re going to be a widow in forty-eight hours.”

“Jude!”

Cope slapped his husband’s arm. He’d never heard Jude be so callous in his life.

“It’s a good plan,”

Fitzgibbon said. “If I were in Cannonball’s shoes that would sure wake me the hell up.”

“Me too,”

Ronan agreed. “I’d even have CJ write him a goodbye letter. Give it Cannonball before he leaves Sunday morning.”

“Guys, I-”

Heidi began, but was crying too hard to continue.

“I know what we’ve suggested is harsh and cruel, but we don’t see another way into shocking him out of this foolish idea.”

Jude looked as if he were going to sit down and cry alongside Heidi.

“There is one last ditch thing we can try,”

Ronan began. “When we met with Cannonball this morning, we asked if he had anything that belonged to his father. He gave us a quarter Rooster had in his pocket when he went over the falls.”

“What will the quarter do?”

Heidi asked, drying her eyes on her sleeve.

“Sometimes we have better luck reaching a spirit if we have something that belonged to him,”

Cope said. “We can get together tomorrow night and give it a try. If Ten’s willing, we can have Everly join us.”

Ten nodded. “She’s had good luck with reaching out to people she doesn’t know. We’ve got some other tricks up our sleeve if Rooster appears.”

Cope knew Ten was talking about using Bertha Craig to make Rooster visible to his son. He wasn’t getting a feeling one way or the other if Rooster would appear, but if anyone could bring him to the table, it was Everly.

“Okay, so we have a plan.”

Heidi looked completely worn out. “Let me know if you find out anything else.”

She took out her phone and texted Ronan. “Now you have my number. Text anytime if you’ve got important information.”

She stood up and headed for the door. “Thank you all and thank Everly. I might not get the chance to say it later, if her vision comes to pass.”

With those words Heidi walked out of the room.

“Wow,”

Ten said on a sigh. “I have never had a meeting like that with a client before. I don’t think I want do that again.”

“Same,”

Cope agreed. “It’s bad enough for us to know what’s going to happen to Cannonball, but it’s so much worse to know how it will affect Heidi and CJ. There have been clients in the past that haven’t followed through with what I told them, but there’s never been this much at stake before.”

Jude reached for Cope’s hand. “Have you guys thought about how you’ll handle our little miss if the worst happens?”

Ten nodded. “There will be lots of hugs, I can tell you that. She’s never dealt with someone like Cannonball before. Usually she’s talking to spirits who need help. The worst has already happened to them. There aren’t any real consequences if the living person doesn’t listen to her or us. I hate to even think about it, but she might need a psychologist or someone in our line of work who can help her deal with what happens if Cannonball insists on going through with his stunt.”

Cope’s heart broke for Everly, Ten and Ronan. His heart was already broken for Heidi and CJ. What else could he possibly do to stop this tragedy before it happened?

At the moment, Cope was drawing a blank. He needed to come up with something and fast or three people’s lives were going to be irrevocably changed.

The clock was ticking.