Jude shook his head. “According to everything I’ve read, the death was ruled a suicide. The idea of murder never came up. Rumors had swirled around that Mary Lou knew something about where Kotter hid the missing money, but nothing ever came of that because she was as poor as a church mouse after her husband died. It wasn’t until she married her husband, William Conrad, two years after Kotter’s death, that her fortunes turned around.”
“Who’s the husband? Is there anything we need to know about him?” Fitz asked.
Jude went back to his phone. “All I can find out about him is that he’s a successful contractor from Florida. He moved to New England a year after Kotter died. Baxter uses his firm to help with repairs at the park. He doesn’t have a criminal record, not even so much as a parking ticket.”
“Maybe you should try to reach out to Kotter again when the two of you go home tonight. If he doesn’t respond, then, well, we’ll know there’s nothing left to do.” Cope took his phone back from Ronan and set it on the table beside him.
Ronan felt his blood pressure kick up a notch. “I thought we all agreed there wasnocase here.” These sleepover nights with no kids in the house didn’t come around very often. Ronan wanted to take full advantage of his night alone with Ten, and that didn’t include reaching out to the ghost of a dead theme park owner.
“I think what Fitz says has merit.” Ten sighed. “I want to enjoy our night alone as much as you do, but what if Brighthouse didn’t appear because we were with his widow and son? I’ll call out for him, and if he appears, he appears. If he doesn’t, then let the naked Olympics begin.” Ten snorted.
Ronan knew Ten was making a good point. Even if Brighthouse did show up, it wasn’t like he was going to stay the night like a ghostly third wheel. He’d tell Ten what he needed in order to be at peace, the light would appear, and he’d cross over. Bing. Bam. Boom.
Only Ronan had a bad feeling it wasn’t going to be that easy.
10
Tennyson
With the kids safely tucked into bed at Fitzgibbon’s house, Tennyson was ready to go to work. Ronan was of the mind that all it would take was a few kind words, and Kotter Brighthouse would be ready to cross over. If it were truly that simple, Brighthouse would have already gone into the light without Ten’s intervention.
“Are you ready to do this so that we can get down to pound town?” Ronan asked, seductively licking his lower lip.
Ten snorted. “Why do I put up with you?”
“Because you love me.” Pulling Ten flush against his body, Ronan kissed him. “And because I’ve got a big dick and know how to use it.”
“Big ego, you mean.” Ten rolled his eyes and took a seat on the sofa. It felt so empty without Everly and her army of stuffies ready to watch a movie.
“It’s not ego if you have the skills to back it up!” Ronan waggled his eyebrows and took a seat on the opposite side of the sofa. “Okay, so, what do you need me to do?”
“Sit there and be quiet.” Ten knew it was a near-impossible feat. Ronan was always running his motor mouth.
Ronan simply nodded.
Taking a deep breath, Ten focused on Kotter Brighthouse. In his mind’s eye, he replayed the vision of the man falling to his death from the top car of the Ferris wheel. “Kotter, are you here? I’d like to speak with you.”
There was no answer. “Mr. Brighthouse, can you hear me?” Ten couldn’t help but wonder if Fitzgibbon had been right when he suggested the spirit could be caught up in a memory loop and was unable to communicate.
Ronan got up from his seat and walked into the kitchen. He came back seconds later holding the souvenir mug he’d bought for Tennyson’s morning tea. “Here, give this a try.”
“You think this is going to help me connect to Brighthouse?”
Ronan shrugged his left shoulder. “We don’t have anything that belonged to the man, but this is from the park, so maybe it will help.”
“It’s worth a try.” Ten took the mug from his husband and cradled it in his hands. It featured the Viper and its death-defying double loop. The ceramic warmed in Ten’s hand. He shut his eyes and pictured his time in the park, riding the teacups with Everly, Aurora, and Brooke. Holding Ezra on one of the merry-go-round giraffes. Perched at the top of the Ferris wheel. “Kotter, you asked for my help, and I’m offering it, but I don’t know what you need.”
Again, there was no response. Ten knew this would be easier if Everly were sitting here. Her extra power might just be the thing he needed to reach Brighthouse’s spirit.
“The new park is beautiful,” Ronan said. “I went there once a year as a kid, and I’ll never forget how much fun it was. It was the one day a year when I could be myself and just let loose and have fun. I wanted my kids to experience the same things I did. The sense of freedom, fun, and adventure. I was just a kid from a small town outside of Boston, but at your park, I felt like I was the king of the world.”
Ten was touched by Ronan’s speech. He was about to call out Kotter’s name again when he felt a presence in the room. “Mr. Brighthouse, is that you?”
“Help me,” a small voice called out.
Ronan’s eyes widened. Obviously, he heard the voice as well. “Help you with what? Tell us what you need.”
Ten had never felt more proud of his husband than he did in that moment. The Ronan O’Mara he met all those years ago at West Side Magick wouldn’t have had the time or the patience for this conversation. “Do you want to say goodbye to your son?”
