“Energy can be a crazy thing. If I’m overwhelmed by ghosts, I’ll grab for Joseph’s hand. Sometimes he can see or feel them, sometimes he can’t. When he can’t, it drains him quickly. Chief, Rory, and Dom, you need to be close to him and grab his hand if you see it happening. You’re all very big and I’m hoping the energy will try to move through all of you, not just one.”
“Will it hurt?” asked Rory.
“No. At least I don’t think so. For Noah and I it feels like the worst sort of exhaustion you could possibly have, almost as if we’re being anesthetized.”
“That must be awful, Julia,” frowned Fitz.
“Sometimes,” she nodded. “But most of the time I’m helping them and they’re so grateful it’s as if they pour the energy back into me. It will be cold by the sea. I’m going to grab a jacket and then we can leave.”
They waited until she was gone and looked at Joseph.
“Is this going to be too much for her?” asked Wes.
“I’m not sure. I never know until we’re right in the middle of it all and she’s fighting for every breath. The most terrifying shit ever and I can’t do a damn thing to help her.”
“But you see ghosts as well, right?” asked Dom.
“Sometimes. Sometimes it’s as if they’re frightened of me. If this has anything to do with a ghost and he’s evil, he might not come at a man bigger or stronger than him.”
“Don’t worry, brother,” said Rory as they left the room, “we’ll all be there for her, and for you.” Joseph just smiled and nodded.
“I never doubted it for a minute.”
CHAPTER SIX
The ride to Kilkee was one of the most beautiful rides the team had ever experienced. Loaded into a multi-passenger van, they drove the winding, narrow roads of the Irish countryside, to the pond where the car had been found. When they arrived, two police officers were waiting just as promised.
“Are you the American lads?” said one of the officers. He looked at Julia and nodded. “Sorry. And lass?”
“That’s us,” smiled Marc. “Is this where the car went into the pond?”
“Right over there,” he said pointing to the broken barrier. “It’s concrete and steel. Took a lot of speed to get through that and as you saw, it would be difficult to speed along here.”
Rory, Dom and Fitz walked closer to the water, staring over the small rise at the end of the pond. Julia walked up behind them, touching Rory’s arm.
“Are you alright, honey?” he asked in a low voice.
“Yes. I’m sorry, I’m just unsteady right here. I’m not getting a ghost presence here but I feel as though the girl was taken from here. But she was already dead.” She frowned at the three men, careful to not raise her voice for the officers to hear. “Why would they take a dead woman?”
“Maybe to cover up the crime?” shrugged Dom. “Look over there. Someone was dragged by those plants but there aren’t any footprints for the person or persons who dragged them.”
“That’s very odd but to answer your question about a cover up. No. No, I don’t think so,” said Julia. “Everything feels strange, feels odd to me.”
“Can you be more specific?” asked Rory.
“I wish I could but it just feels wrong. Either way, I’m not getting anything right here. Maybe we can speak to the villagers and see if they know anything,” she said walking back toward the others.
“Julia,” said Joseph turning to face his wife. “This officer was just telling me about a story around a castle ruin not far from here. Castle…?”
“O’Shan, miss, Castle O’Shan.”
“It sounds lovely,” smiled Julia.
“No. Not at all. It’s a terrible place and not somewhere you should visit. The castle has been in ruins for nearly three-hundred years now. The old stories say that the Aire, that’s the family head, he was absolutely mad and the cruelest man ever to walk this earth.”
“Jock! That’s enough,” said his partner. “Ignore him. He likes to scare the locals.”
“He’s not scaring me and I don’t think he’s trying to scare us,” said Julia. “What do you know about this place?”
