Ghost Falls (Haunted Souls #22)

18

Sunday dawned bright and sunny, without a cloud in the sky. He kept an eye on his phone throughout the morning, but hadn’t gotten any messages from either Heidi or Cannonball. He was going out of his mind not knowing if the ride over the falls was on or off.

Jude had finally gotten a text from Cannonball around half past eleven. It was simply a selfie he’d shot with three Coast Guard rescue swimmers. Cannonball flashing a thumbs up. He knew in that moment the stunt was still on.

Thanks to Everly’s vision seeing Cannonball survive the falls, Heidi decided that she and CJ would attend the stunt. The television crews filming the event made room for them to stand at the railing on the edge of the Horseshoe Falls, opposite from the side of the falls Cannonball’s barrel would plummet from. She’d asked Jude, Ronan and Fitz to stay with her, just in case. Everly and Wolf wanted to be there too, with Aurora preferring to stay at the hotel with Nana Kaye, Lizbet, and Ezra.

After some serious negotiations on Jude and Ronan’s parts, Everly and Wolf were allowed to attend the stunt as well. Both kids argued that they wanted to be there for CJ. Cope and Ten didn’t have the heart to deny them that. However, Jude and Ronan were under strict orders to get the kids away from the falls if something went wrong.

The trip had been so busy that this was the first chance Jude had to stand at the top of the Falls and follow the path of the water. From the hotel, he could see the water flow over the edge, but standing beside it, hearing the roar of the water was a whole different experience.

“You okay?”

Ronan asked from Jude’s left side.

No, Jude definitely was not okay. “You hear that?”

Jude shouted to be heard. “Can you imagine what it must be like inside the barrel? Hearing the water pound against the hull and feeling the water’s chill? I’m terrified of Mother Nature’s power and all I’m doing is standing here watching.”

“Men have always wanted to prove they were stronger than the elements. Think of the men who sailed with Columbus who didn’t know if they were actually going to sail off the edge of the earth. Men who braved the snow and ice of the North and South Poles. Ditto to the explorers who mapped the Amazon or flew in space. I guess I’ve never been so macho that I needed to do something like this.”

“Bullshit,”

Fitzgibbon muttered. “Who was the asshole with three fresh bullet wounds in him who checked himself out of the hospital against medical orders to catch a serial killer?”

“I was trying to stop a killer, not having a dick measuring contest with a raging waterfall. There’s a big difference.”

“No, there’s not,”

Jude said with a laugh.

“No, there’s not,”

Ronan agreed. He looked like he had more to say on the matter, but stopped when Heidi approached them.

“The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation invited us to watch their video feed of the stunt. Will one of you hold my hand?”

Heidi was fighting back tears.

“We all will.”

Jude set an arm around Heidi’s shoulders and led her to the news van with the large red logo. It was called the Butterfly, but to Jude it looked more like a rose.

When they reached the van, there was a large screen displaying a news anchor sitting behind a desk. “Let’s go live to banks of the Niagara River, where our own Mike Walton is standing by with the man of the hour.”

The screen switched to a live shot of the reporter standing beside Cannonball, who was wearing a bright red suit with the United States Coast Guard logo on the left side of his chest. “I’m with Cannonball Jackson, who is seconds away from climbing into his barrel to make his historic trip over Niagara Falls. How are you feeling this morning, Cannonball?”

The daredevil grinned into the camera. “I’m great, Mike. It’s a beautiful day to make history.”

“It sure is,”

the reporter agreed. “The one question that I can’t get out of my head is what your family think of this attempt at the falls? My wife would kill me if I even thought about trying something this dangerous.”

Cannonball chuckled with the reporter before looking directly into the camera. “My wife and son have been my greatest supporters through all of this, even though they both wish we’d gone on a family vacation to Disney World instead of being here. I love them both with my whole heart and that’s why I’m announcing my retirement today. Going over the falls will be my last stunt.”

The reporter wore a shocked look. “You heard it here, folks. Cannonball is hanging up his daredevil shoes, if he survives his trip over Niagara Falls, and standing here on the banks of the river, that’s a mighty big if .”

Jude watched as Cannonball’s million watt grin dulled. He turned and walked away from the reporter.

“Jesus, what an asshole,”

Cope said. He was standing on the other side of Heidi and had an arm around her waist.

The camera panned away from the reporter and focused on Cannonball who was having a chat with members of the coast guard. After nodding several times, Cannonball shook their hands and headed toward the barrel. No one spoke as he fitted himself inside. He flashed a thumbs up and the capsule was sealed. Moments later, the members of the guard Cannonball had been speaking with, took hold of the craft and carried it toward the water.

Jude couldn’t help thinking it looked like pallbearers carrying a coffin. Judging by the looks on Ronan and Fitz’s faces, they were thinking the same thing. Everyone watched in silence as the barrel was shoved into the current and began its journey toward the falls.

A countdown timer appeared on the lower right hand side of the screen, with approximately how many minutes it would take for Cannonball to go over the falls. It read just a few ticks over two minutes.

Finding it hard to breathe, Jude bent over, resting his hands on his knees. He couldn’t imagine the fear Cannonball was experiencing inside the barrel in the dark. Was he thinking of his wife and son? His father? Or was he praying for his own survival. Seeing the way Heidi was standing tall and stoic, Jude straightened up. If she could get through this moment with grace, so could Jude.

“Countdown’s got thirty seconds to go,”

Ronan said, offering his arm to lead Heidi to the railing beside the falls.

CJ ran to his mother, and reached for her hand. Everly did the same, offering Heidi a smile. Jude stood beside Ronan with and Ten and Cope on the other side. Everyone joined hands. Fitzgibbon had gone to stand beside members of the Coast Guard, who were in communication with the boats in the river.

Peering over the edge of the waterfall, Jude spotted two United States Coast Guard boats. Their lights were on and flashing, ready to speed into action after the barrel came over the falls. He said a silent prayer that the rescue would go off without a hitch.

A loud cheer went up from the crowd as the bright red barrel bobbed toward the precipice. Jude could see several news cameras pointed at the falls, while others were trained on Heidi and CJ. Thousands of people were crowed around the falls, some cheering, some crying, while other were silent.

Jude took a deep breath as the barrel reached the edge of the falls and tipped over. It felt like it was all happening in slow motion. The barrel, which was shaped like a bullet, fell horizontally, like Everly predicted. Jude followed the path of it until the mist rising from the base of the falls obscured the barrel.

“Christ, he’s down,”

Cope said, as he and Jude watched the Coast Guard scramble into action.

Both boats zipped toward the base of the falls, until they too, were engulfed in the mist. The lights from the boat were still flashing, making a strobe-like effect, which only added to the surreal feeling Jude experienced.

“Swimmers are in the water,”

Fitzgibbon said, when he reached Jude’s side. “There’s more mist this afternoon than was originally anticipated.”

Jude knew that meant it was going to make finding the barrel that much harder if it was trapped under the falls.

“Where the hell is he?”

Heidi asked, doubling over.

“Breathe, Mrs. Cannonball,”

Everly said. “Everything is okay. Just breathe with me.”

“She’s something, huh?”

Ronan asked, with his eyes on his daughter. “We’re all freaking the fuck out and she’s as cool as a cucumber.”

“Everly constantly amazes me.”

It was true. Jude was his niece’s biggest fan, but even so, he had no idea how she was managing to calm Heidi.

“That’s the five minute mark,”

Fitzgibbon said, turning his phone to show Ronan and Jude the stopwatch ticking the seconds away. “They don’t have a lot of time left to find him.”

“Capsule’s only got about ten minutes of oxygen,”

Heidi said. “Cannonball told me that last night, as if it would help make me feel better. She eyed Fitzgibbon’s phone screen. The timer had just passed six minutes.

The rim of the falls was strangely silent. All of the people crowded around to watch the stunt had stopped talking and shouting. Only sound of the water roaring over the edge was left.

Jude held his breath when Fitzgibbon’s timer showed Cannonball had been in the water for seven minutes. Heidi said there were ten minutes of oxygen available in the barrel, but he had to wonder if that was with Cannonball breathing normally or with his heart rate racing and panic setting in. The thought made him sick to his stomach. He hoped Heidi wasn’t wondering the same thing.

CJ, who’d stood stoically by his mother’s side, turned to her with tears streaming down his cheeks. “Daddy’s not gonna make it, is he?”

The question brought Heidi to her knees in front of her son. “Let’s keep sending your father good thoughts, okay?”

She looked up at Jude, who saw she’d begun to cry as well.

Everly walked toward Ronan, who picked her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Jude could see her whispering to him.

“You sure?”

Ronan asked, with Everly nodding. “She says they’re having trouble getting the hatch open.”

Jude turned to Cope and whispered the news to him. Cope, in turn passed the news to Tennyson.

The crowed watched in growing horror as the first Coast Guard boat came out of the mist. The vessel’s lights were no longer flashing. Jude didn’t know if that meant good news or bad.

Seconds stretched into minutes. Fitzgibbon shoved his phone back in his pocket when the stopwatch hit the twelve minute mark. Looking around, Jude could see nearly everyone, including the members of the media, crying.

“He’s gonna be okay, right, Daddy?”

Wolf asked.

Jude scooped the little boy into his arms. He debated how to answer his son and figured telling the truth was for the best. “I’m not sure, buddy. Let’s keep watching.”

Every instinct in Jude’s body told him to take his son and move away from the edge of the falls. He didn’t want to see the second boat emerge from the falls, with Cannonball’s sheet-covered corpse on the deck.

“The lights are moving,”

Fitzgibbon pointed to the heavy mist. Seconds later, the boat emerged from the fog. A man in a red suit, stood on the bow, looking like Jack Dawson in Titanic . He raised his arms high above his head and waved to the crowd. Hooked up to the winch on the back of the boat was Cannonball’s barrel, looking none the worse for wear.

“He made it!”

Everly shouted, as a loud cheer engulfed them.

Cannonball blew kissed from side of the boat facing the crowd, as it moved toward the Hornblower Tours boat dock. They watched as the boat was moored.

Jude could see Cannonball hug all the members of the Coast Guard boat, before jumping onto the dock and racing toward the funicular, which would bring him up to street level.

Several members of the Niagara Falls Police Department surrounded Heidi and CJ, rushing them toward a waiting car that would take them to reunite with Cannonball.

“Thank God he’s okay,”

Ronan said, sounding shaken up. He hugged Everly tighter.

“I’m glad Cannonball’s okay, Daddy,”

Wolf whispered into Jude’s ear, “but I don’t want to be a daredevil anymore.”

A rush of relief flooded Jude’s body. “No? What do you want to be instead?”

“I’m gonna join the Coast Guard and rescue dumbasses like Cannonball!”

Wolf smiled brightly and started to laugh. Jude joined in.

“I’m hungry, Dad,”

Everly said to Ronan. “Let’s celebrate with some bubblegum ice cream.”

“You got it, little miss.”

Ronan set Everly on the ground and knelt in front of her. “You were very brave today helping Mrs. Cannonball the way you did.”

“She’s gonna name her babies Everly and Erin, so she’ll never forget me. Isn’t that cool, Dad?”

Ronan nodded, looking overcome with emotion. He took his daughter’s hand and led her in the direction of Clifton Hill and most likely a double serving of ice cream.

“At least that mystery is solved,”

Cope said, pressing a kiss to Wolf’s cheek.

“What, that Heidi’s babies are twin girls?”

Cope nodded. “I turned off my gift so I wouldn’t see if they were boys, girls, or one of each, and later accidentally spill the beans.”

Jude laughed. “Are you in the mood for some ice cream too?”

“Nope! I want some funnel cakes smothered in powdered sugar. What about you Wolfie?”

“I want ice cream and funnel cake!”

Wolf grabbed Jude’s hand and tugged him forward.

Taking one last look at the falls, Jude grinned and followed behind his son and husband. One thing was for certain, he’d never forget his trip to Niagara Falls.