Sullivan's Secret
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“Great characters and a fascinating story with plenty of twists and turns”
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“Wonderful reading”
Sullivan's Secret - book excerpt
Chapter 1
Marie could still picture Billy Cooper's tear-stained face as she waited for Champ to drift slowly off to sleep. She tried to explain to him this was a routine surgery. But Billy just couldn't understand what surgery had to do with Champ not making babies anymore. Marie smiled and stroked the Irish Setter as she began to shave and disinfect the area where the incision would take place.
Just before making the cut, Marie spotted a shadow of a little boy out of the corner of her eye. He looked to be six years of age and was staring back at her. She immediately closed her eyes tightly and tried to push the spirit out of her head. When she opened her eyes, the little boy was gone.
She whispered softly to Champ, “Sorry about that interruption, boy. Let me continue what I was doing and get you back with Billy. The less time we spend in here, the better for him and his anxiety.”
After the surgery, Billy and his mother, Jane, carefully helped Marie load Champ into the back of their SUV. Billy was thrilled to see Champ wag his tail a little.
Marie reminded Billy, “Now remember to follow my list of instructions for Champ. He'll be a bit sleepy today, but that's normal. I wouldn't feed him anything until later this evening. You call me if anything changes, but I know he'll be fine.”
Billy smiled and started to read the instructions. “I'm going to memorize all of these so I can make sure Champ gets better. Thanks, Dr. Bartek. You're the best veterinarian ever.”
Marie waved and watched them drive off. She had almost forgotten about the spirit she saw in the operating room. She decided as soon as she finished the rest of her appointments, she would give her best friend, Gale Winters, a call and continue their conversation about the possibility of organizing a paranormal group. It had been almost eighteen years since her last encounter with a spirit. It was time she got to the bottom of why her ability was coming back.
At the end of her day, Marie strolled lost in thought to Gale's place. As she continued past Poe's Tavern, she loved the fact that she could walk to anywhere in town. Living on the beach made it convenient. It was also great to have Gale living only three houses up the beach from her place. She remembered the first time she met Gale when she moved to Sullivan's Island, SC. Loving antiques, Marie had stopped into Gale's shop and immediately fell in love with the antiques and Gale. They became fast friends.
It amused Marie how carefree and casual Gale lived. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind and put you in your place if needed. She was the complete opposite of Marie. Gale was a few inches taller with hair so black it reminded Marie of Carbon. Her eyes were just as dark, and she had olive-colored skin. She could wear shorts any time of the year and always looked as if she just came out of the sun. Marie envied Gale's tall, thin body but still felt comfortable with her own physique. She was confident she could give Gale a little competition in the good looks department. After all, some men had told her how they loved her long, blonde hair and green eyes. Not to mention the fact she had a lean swimmer's body. Swimming was a true passion of hers and the reason why she left the cold winters of Rhode Island to move to Sullivan's Island.
Marie turned the corner in the alley and spotted the Closed sign on Gale's shop. The pansies and petunias were overflowing out of the window boxes, and their colors popped in contrast to the pale aqua paint on the house. It was a quaint cottage with a bright red door and a haphazardly hung screen door.
Gale was taking the kettle off the burner when Marie peeked through the screen door. “Come on in, I'm in the kitchen,” she said when she heard the knock.
Marie let the screen door slam shut behind her and headed back toward an amazing aroma of cinnamon. She entered the kitchen and spotted the culprit. “Oh Gale, you know I'm on a diet. Why did you make these amazing cinnamon scones and torture me?”
Gale smiled and poured the tea. “Because we're both on diets, and I love company when I fall off the wagon.”
Marie laughed and bit into a scone. “Oh man, this is heaven. It's exactly what I needed after my day at the clinic.”
Gale grabbed a scone and sniffed it before taking a bite. “Yes, you were extremely vague on the phone. I can only assume you had another, shall we say, occurrence? It’s the third one this month. Why do you think it's happening so frequently now?”
Marie sat down and blew on her tea before taking a sip. “I don't know. But I'm so glad I've had you as a confidant. You know, I've been living here for about seven years, and I still can't figure out why this ability of mine has decided to creep back into my life. I thought I had banished it back in Rhode Island.”
Gale studied Marie's face as she slid back into her chair and propped her feet on the small stool. “That's right. You told me the last time this happened was when you were about twelve. You said your parents used to look at you as if you were nuts.”
Marie sighed. “Yeah. They never yelled or scolded me about it, but I hated the way they looked at me. Plus, our neighbors started to gossip about it and then questioned my family's religious beliefs. It also didn't help that my brothers used to tease me. I just think they were jealous.”
Gale reached over for another scone but decided against it. “Wasn't there a little boy you confided in? Who was that again?”
“Oh yeah, Davy McGee. He was a little weird.” Marie took the last bite of her scone and pictured Davy in her mind. “Did I ever tell you about his mother committing suicide?”
Gale winced. “No, you didn't. How sad.”
“Yeah, it was. He kept badgering me to talk to his mom’s spirit. He wanted me to find out why she did it. The thing is, everyone in town knew his dad used to beat on his mom. I think Davy was the only one who didn't know.”
Gale poured another cup of tea. “Were you able to communicate with his mom?”
Marie got quiet and swirled her spoon around the teacup. “Yeah, I did. She told me she couldn't take the abuse anymore, so she hung herself. Davy went ballistic. He said I was a jerk and a hoax. He never spoke to me after that. That was probably around the time I started to squelch my ability. I figured if that was how people were going to react, I didn't want to see and talk to spirits anymore.”
Gale replied, “I don't blame you. I wonder what the catalyst is for your ability resurfacing. So, on that subject, when do you want to begin organizing a paranormal group? We've been talking about it for so long, I think it's time we take some action. I think we have enough people interested.”
Marie nodded. “I agree. Who do we have on the list again?”
Gale picked up the paper, along with another scone. “Well, there's Mimi and Jim Rawlings. Mimi closes the pharmacy at six, and I think Jim can find someone to fill in for him at the mini-mart for an evening. Mr. gorgeous Tim Haines should be able to work out a free evening, being the Fire Chief and all. Myra Cummings is retired, so that won't be a problem unless she has a reading. And Harry Connor works during the day so he would be available in the evenings as well.”
“Harry Connor? Oh, that's right, he's the school counselor and demonologist.” Marie finished her tea and stood up to stretch her back. “How did he get into that anyway? In fact, I forgot why everyone was so interested in helping us organize this group, besides the obvious with Myra.”
Gale began taking the dishes over to the sink. “Well, I think just about everyone has had some kind of experience with the afterlife. Mimi and Jim saw an apparition when they were first married, when Mimi was pregnant with Amanda. I think Tim's just curious and intrigued. He claims he hears voices in the fire station at night. And Harry, well Harry said his second cousin twice removed was possessed, which is why he became a demonologist.”
Marie leaned against the counter. “Well, I'd say it's quite an interesting group. Why don't you call Tim and Mimi and Jim to set up a group meeting? I'll call Myra and Harry. We can make it for six o'clock at my place Saturday night and meet above my garage.”
Gale smiled. “Sounds like a plan to me. Oh, by the way, should we add Chief Miller to the list?”
Marie almost dropped her teacup. “Cory Miller? Why on earth would you ask that?”
Gale laughed and said, “Because I think you have a crush on him.”
“Very funny. I do not. Besides, he's made it quite clear that he's a skeptic.”
“How do you know that?” Gale dumped the tea leaves into the garbage.
Marie sat back down and sighed. “Because Myra told me she's had conversations with him about doing a reading on him and he politely declined.”
Gale began rinsing off the dishes. “Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't help change his mind. Many people don't believe in ghosts until they've experienced something unexplainable. After all, that's how I was. I became a believer after I saw my mother at the foot of my bed the day after she died. Nobody else in the family saw her. So, there you go.”
Marie smiled. “Yeah, I guess you're right. Cory is kind of cute, isn't he? I mean tall, dark, and handsome always seems to work.”
Gale laughed and picked up her cell phone. “I'll start making my calls now. Why don't you get my phone book and make your calls? Let's shoot for this Saturday.”
Marie opened the phone book and looked up the numbers for Myra and Harry. They were able to reach everyone and organize a meeting. She felt a flutter in her stomach as she began to realize this was actually going to develop. Or was the flutter coming from thinking about Cory? Every time she thought of an opportunity to get to know him a little better, she backed off because she knew her so-called ability would probably scare him.
She pushed Cory out of her mind just as she did with the little boy spirit from this morning. Those were two issues to be worked out at a later date. Right now, she wanted to concentrate on developing this paranormal group and get a handle on why she is able to see and hear spirits again.
Chapter 2
On Saturday, sleeping in until eight-thirty was a treat for Marie, especially when her days usually began before sunrise. The balmy sun felt good against her face as she tugged on her wetsuit. Even though it was June, the water temperature in the ocean was still a bit chilly. She went out to the enclosed sun porch, stretched her arms and legs, and smelled the salt from the ocean and the sweet scent of roses from her garden. The aroma of that combination never got old.
Once her muscles felt limber, she jogged the five hundred feet to the water's edge and slowly submerged herself. When the ocean floor disappeared from under her feet, she began to swim her laps. Every ounce of stress vanished from her mind and each stroke she took left her feeling exhilarated and renewed. Her thoughts were jammed and fuzzy when she first woke this morning, but as the ocean water splashed her face, her mind became clear.
She was excited about the paranormal group meeting at her place that evening. She tried to come up with a title for the society all week. There was one particular name that seemed to fit, and she hoped the rest of the group would agree.
She finished her final laps and headed to the shore to catch her breath and do her post-swim stretches. Her decision to swim in the ocean was a good one. Normally she swam in her indoor lap pool, but the day was too perfect to stay inside. She watched the seagulls swoop down to catch their breakfast as she checked her pulse. Rising to her feet, she saw a quick shadow out of the corner of her eye and then it disappeared. She shook her head and spun around in all directions but saw nothing.
Marie's walk back was less carefree than her earlier jog, but she ignored those feelings and chose to admire her buttercup wood-sided two-story cottage with the wraparound porch. The oversized, bright-red painted rockers gently rocked in the breeze. She felt blessed to have been able to purchase the cottage but having the loss of her favorite aunt and godmother was a heavy price to pay. Her aunt Ruth never married and died of breast cancer in the prime of her life. She left Marie a very large trust fund, which allowed her to purchase the beachfront property for a mere seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. In today's market, it could easily sell for a million and a half. Something Marie had no intentions of doing.
She arrived at her front porch and immediately smelled the breakfast blend coffee brewing. Having a timer on the coffee pot was a great tool. She poured herself a cup and grabbed a skillet from the dishwasher. Buckwheat pancakes were the choice for this morning as she poured the batter into the pan. After adding blueberries to the mix, she popped some bacon into the microwave, set the timer, and tried to wiggle out of her wetsuit. She grabbed some dry clothes from the laundry room and slipped them on. Swimming always gave her a huge appetite, and breakfast was her preferred meal of the day.
The views from her kitchen were magnificent with the ocean extending as far as the eye could see. A variety of seagrasses covered the dunes, and wild purple flowers fluttered in the wind. While waiting to flip her pancake, she watched the white-capped waves thrash as the early tide came in and left seashells behind on the sand.
Marie had breakfast on the sun porch and read The Island Eye News newspaper. She smiled at the article of the dedication to the Ben Sawyer Bridge. Marie planned on attending that ceremony, but she'd had an emergency bowel obstruction on a poodle. She spotted Chief Miller standing in the group photo.
“It is true what they say about men in uniform,” she said.
After breakfast, she poured another cup of coffee and meandered around the back of the house to clean up the palm tree fronds that were left on the ground after the last storm. Just as she set her coffee cup down on the porch railing, the little boy spirit who'd appeared in her clinic was standing two feet in front of her. Marie froze. After what felt like an eternity, she saw the little boy's mouth move but couldn't make out what he was saying. The only words she heard were help and danger. When she tried to ask what he was saying, he disappeared.
Marie tried to catch her breath when Gale popped up behind her.
Gale saw Marie's pale face. “Whoa, I didn't mean to scare you. Who were you talking to?”
Marie grasped the railing and sat on the deck step. “It was the same little boy from the clinic. Only this time I heard him talking.” She dropped her head into her hands. “I could only make out the words help and danger. Wow, that was really creepy.”
Gale sat down next to her and draped her arm on Marie's shoulders. “I think tonight's meeting is going to be very interesting, don't ya think?”
Marie picked up her head and faintly smiled. “Yeah, very.”
Gale took a quick sip of Marie's coffee and changed the subject. “Do you need any help straightening up the garage?”
Marie answered, “No, I cleaned last evening. I was having a little trouble sleeping. I got the ceiling fan working, plus the air conditioner. We should be plenty comfortable.”
Gale asked, “Hey, did you see the Ben Sawyer article? Didn't Chief hunk Cory look great? He asked about you, by the way. I told him about the poor poodle. He said he might stop by tomorrow to check up on how things are out this way, so to speak.”
Marie chuckled and said, “You are bent on getting us hooked up, aren't you? Look, let's go inside and start organizing our paperwork for SIPS.”
“What the heck is SIPS?”
Marie walked up the deck stairs. “It's the new name for the group. What do you think? Sullivan's Island Paranormal Society. I came up with it this week. I was hoping it would fit.”
Gale followed her into the mud room and almost tripped over a huge suitcase. “What is all this? I almost broke my toe.”
Marie pushed the case out of the way. “Oh, sorry, it's the equipment I've been gathering.” She noticed Gale's confused look. “You know a few digital voice recorders, some two-way radios, LED flashlights, and a digital camera. Hey, you didn't tell me what you thought of the name.”
Gale stepped over the case and sat on the bench. “Well, let me see. SIPS, it sounds kind of cool. I never thought we'd be calling ourselves anything.”
Marie opened the case and started to place the equipment on the antique walnut dining table she purchased in Gale's shop. “Well, of course, we're going to have a name. I want to trademark it and become official. There's a lot more to this than just hunting ghosts. Come on, help me take this stuff to the garage and get ready for our meeting.”
Gale moaned and helped move the equipment and some chairs into the room over the garage. “Gotta admit it,” she said, “you have a certain sense of style when it comes to decorating. When you bought those antique pieces in my shop, I had reservations about how it would look in a beach cottage. Who would have thought walnut furniture would go in a pale blue room with an oversized blue striped cushioned chair and flowered couch?”
They worked the rest of the day organizing the SIPS headquarters and preparing finger foods for the meeting. As the time drew near, Gale decided to head home to shower and bring back her tequila. She made it clear she wanted to have a few margaritas before they started talking about ghosts and paranormal activity.
Myra was the first to arrive. She brought chips and salsa and a huge binder stuffed with paper. She told Marie and Gale it was all of her notes and journals from the years of being a medium. Folks around Sullivan's Island thought Myra was a bit eccentric with the way she dressed. Tonight, she was wearing fuchsia pants and a blue paisley blouse with high heeled shoes. Her earrings matched the bright red blush she wore on her cheeks, and the oversized rings swirled around her bony fingers. Myra was only sixty-two, but all the years of smoking gave her the appearance of an eighty-year-old.
Jim, Mimi, and Tim arrived next. Jim and Mimi were obviously having a heated conversation because Mimi was spouting off to Jim, while Tim just shrugged when Marie opened the door. Tim barely fit through the door with his six-foot-five frame. He had the perfect build for a Fire Chief. He kept his brown hair cut in military style, but his most dominant trait was his piercing blue eyes, which Gale commented on quite frequently, although Marie was convinced it was Tim's very large hands and feet that intrigued Gale.
Jim and Mimi were complete opposites in their looks. Jim was as tall as Marie and weighed less than Myra, whereas Mimi was squat and a foot shorter than Jim. They immediately stopped their arguing and sat on opposites sides of the table and stared at each other. Everybody was used to their display and ignored them as they gathered around and sat down.
Harry was the last to arrive and quietly said hello to everyone before he sat next to Jim. His glasses had the usual tape on the sides holding them together. His gray hair was tousled and the second button on his vest was missing. Marie couldn't figure out how he could wear a suit in this kind of weather. The sweat trickled over his brow as he continuously wiped it with a handkerchief. No matter how hot it got, Harry never loosened his tie.
Marie poured her margarita and sat down. “Hi everyone, I'm so glad we were able to get together. I know how difficult it is to get our schedules organized. Gale and I have been talking about developing a paranormal group for almost five months. After putting out our feelers, I think we have a pretty solid group to begin with.”
Myra replied, “I'm excited to be doing this, Marie. You know I'll help out every way I can, but I don't have a clue about ghost hunting.”
Mimi stopped glaring at Jim and said, “I'm excited too. If I remember conversations from before, we've all had experiences in one way or another. Am I correct?”
Tim popped a vegetable pizza square into his mouth. “Well, I haven't had anything concrete. Just some strange things I hear at the fire hall. Although, some of the guys claim they’ve seen shadows.”
Harry wiped his brow again and placed the handkerchief back into his vest pocket. “I'd say I've experienced quite a bit of paranormal activity, as well as exorcisms. I'm a little skeptical about going out on ghost hunts, though. I don't believe in trying to find them. You can create more issues than you're prepared to deal with.”
Marie nodded. “I think having different opinions will only make our ghost hunts more precise. Jim, do you have anything you want to add?”
Jim drained his margarita glass and ignored Mimi's dropped open jaw. “Yes, I'd like to know how legitimate we're going to be.”
Marie smiled. “I'm glad you asked. I actually thought of a name for our group. It's really pretty basic. What do all of you think of SIPS, Sullivan's Island Paranormal Society?”
Myra smiled and nodded. “I like it. I think it fits well. Don't you, Harry?”
“I don't have anything against it,” he answered.
Mimi said, “Yes, I believe it suits us well. Don't you, Jim?”
Jim shrugged his shoulders. “Sure, that's fine.”
Tim poured his second margarita. “I like it. Gale, what do you think?”
Gale coyly smiled back at Tim. “I agree. I think the name fits perfectly.” She glanced over at Marie. “What do we have to do to make it official?”
Marie stood up and walked around the room. “Well, I determined what we need is a trademark for the name. I went out and searched the process on the U.S. Patent and Trademark website. I searched their database to make sure nobody has the name, then I downloaded the forms; I thought we'd go over them now. I don't want to waste any time because it will take four months to hear back if we've been granted the trademark.”
Book Details
AUTHOR NAME: Robin Murphy
BOOK TITLE: Sullivan's Secret (Marie Bartek & The SIPS Team Book 1)
GENRE: Crime & Mystery
PAGE COUNT: 172
IN THE BLOG: Free Cozy Mysteries
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