The Curse of the Old Woods Read online

  “You’re so, so funny, Julie. This is Maya,” Steve said, taking a step forward and gesturing to both women. “Maya, meet Julie, my onetime, wannabe apprentice.”

  Julie stuck out her right hand to Maya. “Nice to meet you, Maya, and I didn’t wanna be Steve’s apprentice. He begged me to work for him. I wanted my own deal, so I said no. He’s been nursing a grudge ever since I launched my own paranormal investigation agency and his folded.”

  “It didn’t fold. I’m retiring. Maya is taking it over,” said Steve in a snit. “And I never begged you to do anything.”

  Maya didn’t think she was going to like this Julie person. She seemed so arrogant, and Maya was quite fond of Steve. He’d taught her a lot about paranormal investigating. She wanted to protect him.

  “And I don’t hold grudges. I pity you. I think you made a mistake by not taking me up on my offer to impart my hard-earned wisdom,” Steve said.

  “Hey, Steve!” This was the young man with Julie who had been filming her.

  Steve broke from Julie’s gaze, walked over to him and shook his hand. “Hey, Jason. How’s it hangin’?”

  Jason slipped his camera into his bag and shrugged nonchalantly. “You know. Chasing another ghost.”

  Julie talked over Jason and leaned closer to Maya. “I see he found someone more amenable to his proposition. Are you his apprentice?”

  Julie stretched out the word apprentice like she was describing a bad smell.

  “No. I own what used to be his business now. He’s my consultant,” Maya said. She made a mental note to get Steve some business cards that identified him as such.

  Julie looked impressed and very attractive. The moonlight streaming through the trees highlighted her cheekbones and made her eyes sparkle. It was annoying how cute this Julie person was. Maya didn’t need any distractions when she was working. She owed it to Mrs. Forcier to be on top of her game.

  Penny cleared her throat. “Um, don’t you think we should, you know, get on with our investigation?”

  “Good point, Penny.” Maya nodded at Julie. “Pleasure chatting but we’ve got work to do.”

  “And so do we. Come on, Jason.”

  The two groups started off in the same direction. The way was narrow, so they ended up jostling each other. The EDIs beeped in unison. Jason kept trying to look at Steve’s readings and vice versa. Penny kept filming but complained that she couldn’t get a good shot without Julie and Jason crashing the frame. Jason complained that Penny kept bumping into him while he was also trying to get video. The final straw was when Julie stepped on the back of Maya’s sneaker. She stopped and turned to Julie who had been walking directly behind her. The sudden stop triggered Steve to crash into Penny, who crashed into Jason, who crashed into Julie.

  The two groups quickly reassembled and faced each other once more.

  “Okay, so what is this investigation you say you’re doing?” Maya asked. Julie wasn’t backing down. She seemed like the kind of girl who would keep charging ahead no matter what.

  “I really don’t have to tell you, but I will if it’ll get you out of the way quicker. We’re investigating a claim of the ghost of a young woman. Her sister said she disappeared in these woods years ago and wants me to see if we can get into contact with the ghost of her sister and find out what happened.”

  Jason piped up. “Mrs. Forcier said her sister’s ghost spoke to her.”

  Julie let out a breath of exasperation. “Yes, Jason. Thank you. Why don’t you give our competitors even more info?”

  He was about to keep talking when Julie elbowed him in the ribs.

  “Mrs. Forcier? Evelyn Forcier?” Maya said.

  “Yep. That’s who contacted us,” Jason said. That got him another elbow to the ribs.

  “I met with her today,” Maya said.

  Julie said, “So did I.”

  Maya crossed her arms over her chest and made a mental note to create a client contract that included some provisions for exclusivity.

  “Are you gonna bail?” said Julie. “Mrs. Forcier clearly hired me. You really don’t need to stick around.”

  “No way,” said Maya, turning her headlamp toward Katie’s trail. “I’m going to find Katie.”

  Chapter Four

  Meeting the competition

  As soon as Julie laid eyes on Maya, she got an intense, crazy, idiotic feeling. She felt dopey and free, her stomach in knots. The curly dark hair that looked kind of bushy, the inquisitive brown eyes, the smooth brown skin and the curve of Maya’s lips conspired to take Julie out of the here and now. She watched the movements of Maya’s hands as she talked. The movements were quick. Julie realized that Maya was probably always in motion even when she stood still. She wanted to touch her. She clenched and unclenched her fists and then stuffed her hands into her pants pockets to give them something to do that didn’t involve running her fingers over and through Maya’s beautiful hair.

  As Julie reflected on the evening after she got home, she decided that she had handled herself well. She wouldn’t have her head turned by this beguiling woman. For one thing, she was a rival ghost hunter. For another thing, Julie was still entangled with her ex-girlfriend. Gabrielle still exerted a strong pull on Julie. It was absurd, as Julie would be the first to acknowledge, that it should be like this, but she had so far been unable to simply walk away from Gabi and stay away. And Gabi made it clear that she knew how easy it was to get Julie to come to her when she wanted her.

  So maybe Julie hadn’t handled herself perfectly with Maya. Julie had been harsher when she first met Maya than she would have if things were different in her personal life and if they hadn’t been rivals. She had been brusque, dismissive, and arrogant, but she thought it was the best thing. She needed to distance herself from Maya, even though she wished they had met under different circumstances. Julie had spent the rest of the night in the woods chatting up Steve and Penny, trying to get as much information out of them as possible. She wanted the advantage. She wanted to solve this case. Then she would solve another case. And then another. Maybe word would spread. She’d get her own tv show and be able to afford to stop living with roommates.

  But back in the present and earlier that evening, she only spoke to Maya when she absolutely had to, when they found a spot where they encountered signs of ghostly activity.

  On that spot she had spent several minutes mostly standing still in a small clearing close to Maya. Occasionally, Julie would circle the perimeter of the clearing. Then Maya would circle the area. They nearly always ended up on the same spot, standing close to each other but not touching.

  As intrigued as Julie had been by Mrs. Forcier’s story and by the idea that she could solve a cold case, she had found the presence of a radiant living being like Maya almost irresistible. Even now, as she wrote up her notes from that evening’s foray into Promontory Woods, her mind kept returning to Maya. To help in writing up her notes, Julie watched some of the video Jason had taken. At one point, Maya had walked into one of his shots, or he had captured her as he swung his camera around. Either way, she was there all of a sudden. Her curly hair looked as though it grew upwards in an unruly tangle, but it also appeared sculpted and deliberate. Her curls bounced every time her head moved. And then there was her smile. She hadn’t shown it to Julie, but the camera had captured a moment when it glowed. Julie watched that bit of the video a few times before moving on to watch the rest of the footage. She told herself she was looking for signs of Katie.

  Julie noted on the to-do list for tomorrow morning that she had to get in touch with Mrs. Forcier and let her know the status of the investigation. She also needed to see if Mrs. Forcier really wanted or needed two ghost hunting outfits on the job. She really wanted the woman to stick with her and send Maya packing. That, of course, would mean that she’d see less of Maya, but the lesbian community wasn’t so big that she wouldn’t see her again at some point. It was around 2 o’clock in the morning when she finally fell asleep, pleased that she had ign
ored, for the time being, texts from Gabi who wanted a booty call.

  She woke mid-morning and heated up a croissant left over from a bakery run she had made yesterday. She got her coffee started. Her roommates had left her a note telling her that they had gone down to the diner on the corner for breakfast and that she should join them. Before she could text them to find out how long they were going to be there, her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number, but it didn’t appear to be a telemarketer, so she answered.

  “Hello. Julie here.”

  “Hi, Julie. This is Maya, from last night in the woods.”

  Julie gasped inwardly. Even though nothing had happened except ghost hunting, Maya’s voice —smooth and slightly husky—was suggestive of other things two people could get up to in the woods at night.

  “Julie? You there?”

  “Yes. Yes. Sorry. I had just bitten into a croissant when the phone rang. I probably should have chewed and swallowed before answering,” Julie said.

  “Then you might have missed my call,” Maya said, teasingly.

  “You could have left a message,” said Julie, taking a seat at her kitchen table. She hoped that didn’t sound as brusque as she was afraid she was last night. At least her excuse now could be that it was morning, even if it wasn’t that early. Julie was not a morning person.

  “A message doesn’t have the immediacy of talking to someone. Besides, most people don’t listen to their messages.”

  “I’d listen to yours,” she said softly. Egads! What am I doing? Stop flirting right now!

  Maya chuckled. “Good to know. Listen, I was thinking of contacting Mrs. Forcier to see what she’s up to. And I was thinking that you were probably thinking the same thing. I was also thinking that maybe we could go meet her together.”

  Julie was glad that Maya had gotten down to business. She didn’t think she could stand much more of the flirting without asking Maya out. But didn’t she sort of just ask me out? Or does she have some plan to steal this case from me?

  “Yeah, I guess that sounds all right.” Julie tried to sound reluctant, even a little resentful.

  “Look, it will be only a half hour, forty-five minutes tops. After that, we won’t have to see each other again because Mrs. Forcier will probably choose just one of us to continue with the investigation.”

  Julie bridled a bit at that because Maya’s tone seemed to indicate that Mrs. Forcier would choose her. She doubted that would happen, but there was always a chance.

  “Okay, sounds like a plan. And may the best woman win,” Julie said, her competitive side reasserting itself.

  “Oh, I will,” Maya said. This time Julie was sure that Maya knowingly made that last bit sound seductive.

  Julie stuck to sounding as business-like as possible as she told Maya what dates and times were good for her to meet with Mrs. Forcier. They agreed that the sooner they met with her the better.

  Chapter Five

  They meet Mrs. Forcier together

  Maya got to the Corner Grind just as Julie was opening the front door to let herself in. No baseball cap this time, but her long brown hair was in a high, bouncy ponytail, and her navy pantsuit was more business woman than ghost hunter.

  “Hey,” said Maya. She wanted to discuss some things with her before they faced their mutual client, but the moment they entered Maya knew she wouldn’t have the chance. Mrs. Forcier was already there, sitting at the same table Maya had sat at with her the day before. She seemed not the least bit fazed that the two ghost hunters she’d consulted both wanted to speak with her at the same time.

  Once the greetings were over and Maya and Julie had settled down with their drinks, Julie started things off.

  “We asked to meet with you together because we bumped into each other in the woods the other night when we both had gone there to see if we could find some answers about your sister’s disappearance. We were surprised to discover that you had consulted us both about this.”

  Mrs. Forcier seemed unperturbed and maybe a little puzzled as to why Julie would open things that way. She took a sip of her coffee.

  Maya cleared her throat. “The thing is, we’re not sure that’s the best strategy, hiring two ghost hunters to investigate the same case.”

  Another sip and a long pause followed by Mrs. Forcier’s trademark slight smile. “And why not? Two is better than one, in many instances.”

  Maya found her maddening. Okay, she hadn’t been in the business that long, but she knew how to find a ghost. She didn’t need anyone to double up on her work. “Look. We’d get in each other’s way. Two can be worse than one.”

  “No. You’ll act as a check and balance on each other. You’ll keep each other honest. Above all, I want honesty with regards to whatever happened to my sister. I don’t want any mumbo jumbo. No vague answers about her being in a good place. I want answers. I want the truth.”

  “Well, Mrs. Forcier, it’s like this,” Julie said. “We have very different approaches to investigating. I’m not sure they would mesh or complement each other. It would be much better if I worked alone.”

  Maya gave Julie some side eye, but Mrs. Forcier spoke before Maya could make the argument that she should work the case by herself.

  “You only just bumped into each other in the woods once? That’s hardly enough time to decide that your approaches are so different that you could never work together. Have you sat down and discussed this at all?”

  Maya and Julie shook their heads in sync.

  “Oh, this is going to work just fine. I have faith in you both. Whether you work as a team or as competitors, you’ll find Katie.”

  She took another sip of her coffee and signaled for a refill.

  They sat in silence.

  All Maya could think about was the possibility of figuring out how to work with someone who was so difficult and attractive at the same time, although according to Steve she already had a girlfriend. That could make the situation simpler.

  “Gabrielle is a real looker. Well, both of them are very good looking. I’m not sure if they’re still together. Most relationships end, so they may have broken up by now,” he had said. “You interested?”

  Maya had shrugged, trying to look cool and disinterested, even though she was wicked attracted to her. She knew next to nothing about Julie yet whenever she thought about her she felt an echo of that jolt she had felt when she first got a good look at her.

  Maya returned her focus to Mrs. Forcier. Maya noticed that Julie kept looking at her while pretending not to look at her.

  “My desire is for both of you to investigate my sister’s disappearance. I think you’ll work quite well together. I have a sense about these sorts of things. I’m a matchmaker of sorts,” Mrs. Forcier said.

  Maya was shocked and saw that Julie was alarmed at this idea, too.

  “Oh no. Not that kind of matchmaker,” Mrs. Forcier said with a chuckle. “I’d never presume to do anything like that. No. Over the years, I’ve discovered I have a knack for bringing together business people who end up being able to help each other build better businesses. That’s all. It’s just business.”

  Julie appeared relieved, so Maya relaxed.

  “Well, I’m willing to give it a go if Maya is,” Julie said. Her tone was cautious but jovial.

  Maya nodded. “I think we can work something out and get you the answers you need.”

  Mrs. Forcier clapped. “Thank you. I am so grateful to you both. Now what did you experience yesterday?”

  Julie talked about finding Maya, Steve, and Penny in the woods and guiding them all down the path marked in Katie’s last map.

  “I guided us as well, and we did find a paranormal hotspot,” said Maya.

  Julie kept talking. Mrs. Forcier didn’t seem to care who did or said what, just as long as progress was being made.

  “The hotspot I found was lukewarm,” said Julie. “Something ghostly was there recently, but I don’t know if it was Katie. I think I’ll need to spend the night
in the woods this time if I’m going to get anything good.”

  “That sounds perfect!” Mrs. Forcier looked gleeful. “I feel like I’m closer to knowing what happened to Katie than I’ve ever been. You know, it’s only three weeks until the anniversary of her disappearance. I hope you can find her before then.”

  The idea of spending a night in those woods sounded awful to Maya. All she could think about were the bugs flying and crawling about, but she was not going to be upstaged.

  “We will spend a night there,” said Maya. “But I don’t want to get your hopes up, Mrs. Forcier. You need to be prepared for the possibility that we may not learn anything of value.”

  “I’ll find her,” Julie added quickly. “Don’t worry.”

  Mrs. Forcier’s gaze moved back and forth between the two women before pausing at Maya. “I know you mean well, Miss Nicholas, but since my sister disappeared, it feels like my life has been nothing but living with the possibility of learning nothing of value with regards to Katie. I believe you will find her.” She nodded to Julie without taking her eyes off of Maya. “But your pragmatism will keep this one in check.”

  Maya knew there were people who had the ability to draw you into their orbit simply by the force of their personalities. The more time she spent with Mrs. Forcier, the clearer it became that Mrs. Forcier, despite a life shaped by her sister’s disappearance, was one of those people. When Mrs. Forcier had looked at Maya a moment ago, Maya really saw for the first time her resemblance to the long-disappeared Katie, and they both had that same straightforward, unflinching gaze.

  “I’ll do my best for you,” Maya said.

  “And so will I,” said Julie, a little louder.

  “Splendid.” Mrs. Forcier stood and clutched her handbag. “Please keep me apprised of the investigation, ladies. Thank you so much.”

  Maya and Julie shook hands with Mrs. Forcier and watched her leave.

  “Did you have the feeling that we never had control of the conversation?” Julie asked.

  Maya nodded. “Yeah. I hope we find the answer she wants and needs.”