Read Online Unhallowed Ground by Heather Graham - Free Book Online Page B

said. That was vague enough. But she was still looking at him curiously, and he found himself going on. “Sometimes, when a person has lost a loved one, they’re convinced that they’ve smelled that person’s cologne or heard their footsteps. I had a friend in college who was certainhis home was haunted by his grandmother. He swore he could smell her Italian cooking. What has been proven is that some people do have what we call extrasensory perception—you know, when a mother knows that her child has been injured halfway across the world, that kind of thing.” Both Roberta and Sarah were staring at him now. He was beginning to feel as if he’d suddenly grown horns. “Hey, what do I know? We’re all in the dark, guessing about the great beyond. No need to fear, though, Roberta—I certainly wouldn’t want to drive away any of your local ghosts. I say, if they’re bringing in the tourist dollars, more power to them.”
    He saw a small smile start to brighten Sarah’s features. Then she said, “Oh!” suddenly, and stood up as if she’d just remembered something. “You’ll have to excuse me, but I have plans I almost forgot all about.” She stared at Caleb again, as if carefully debating something, then apparently made a rather grudging decision to include him. “I’m meeting a few friends, and my cousin Will for drinks and dinner. You’re welcome to join us.”
    “I’ll be happy to, if you’re sure you don’t mind,” Caleb told her.
    “I just asked you,” Sarah said.
    Which didn’t mean she didn’t mind, he thought. Too bad. She had asked, and he was going to take advantage of that to spend some time with a beautiful woman.
    “Sure. I haven’t eaten yet. Sounds great,” Caleb said, and stood, too. “I can even protect you from the curiosity seekers on the way,” he said.
    “I’m not really the type who needs protection,” she said.
    Everyone needs protection, he told her silently. If you had seen half of what I’ve seen in this life…
    “You two have a good time,” Roberta said. “I’ll see you both at breakfast.”
    They thanked her for the tea and headed for the door. Outside, Caleb asked Sarah if she wanted him to drive.
    “We’re only going about four blocks,” she told him. “Unless you can’t walk that far,” she added just a shade too sweetly.
    “I should be fine,” he told her. “Where are we going?”
    “Hunky Harry’s.”
    “There’s really place called Hunky Harry’s?” Caleb asked incredulously. “Is there really a Harry? And is he hunky?” he teased.
    “There is a Harry, and he’s been old as long as I can remember, so he’s got to be…really old. And he likes to think he’s hunky. It’s a popular place with locals and tourists alike. So popular that he changes the name periodically, when he gets sick of the crowds.”
    “So Harry is a real character.”
    She shrugged, walking toward Avenida Menendez. “Maybe you’ll get to see for yourself. He may or may not be around tonight. He comes in when he feels like it. When he does, he cleans tables, washes glasses, even cooks up a few appetizers. Yes, he’s a real character.”
    She was keeping a definite distance between them, he noticed. She still didn’t trust him; he wouldn’t be here at all, walking with her, planning to spend time with her friends, if it weren’t for Adam.
    “So exactly why are you here in town?” she asked.
    “Jennie Lawson,” he said.
    She looked at him. “The woman who disappeared last year?”
    “Yes. You heard about it, I take it?”
    “I wasn’t living back down here then, but Caroline showed me the newspaper this afternoon. Jennie Lawson was mentioned because of Winona Hart, the local girl who just disappeared. The article said they don’t know that she ever got to St. Augustine.”
    “I know, but according to her mother, she was heading here.”
    “And you think you can find her— here —after all this time?”
    “Her mother doesn’t think she’s still