30. Ghost

We arrivedin Boone at six p.m. and decided to grab dinner before heading to Robin Tulle's home. The drive seemed endless until we finally reached a surprising sight—a large cabin with a wraparound porch. As the front door swung open, Robin Tulle emerged. I recognized him from the documentary we watched on my iPad during the flight.

We stopped the rental and stepped out of the truck. "Robin walked down to meet us. "You must be Delta Force. I'm so glad you made it. Come in and bring your bags, and I'll show you to your rooms."

"This cabin is beautiful," I remarked as we stepped onto the porch. We introduced ourselves to Robin as he showed us around.

"This was our grandmother"s cabin. We remodeled it and made it more modern. Grandma had dollies on everything, so we made it more manly with two master suites. I still lived here all year, Todd has a home in the city he would stay there, and sometimes here with me. He wasn't as fond of the quiet as I was. Neither of us married; I thought Todd would a couple of times," Robin explained as we walked to our rooms. Once that was resolved, we returned to the living room.

"Would you like something to drink?" Robin offered.

"I'll take a beer," I said.

"Same here," Rebel echoed.

"Do you want to tell us what's happening?" I asked as we were seated.

"It's really way out there, but it's true. I've seen my brother almost daily now; at first, it was only a few times a week. I guess he got better at showing himself. Or maybe he thought I wouldn't have a heart attack every time he revealed himself. Believe me the first twenty times I thought I would die."

"Did he say anything?" Rebel asked.

"So you believe me?"

"Sure, we believe you. We wouldn't be here if we didn't believe you," Rebel said, glancing at Robin.

"Todd and I were very close. Ever since we were born, it was just the two of us, and then someone told our Grandma about us, and she swooped in and brought us here. Our Dad was her son. She was ashamed of him because he was a drug addict. He would come here and beg for money. Grandma got eight hundred dollars a month from her Social Security. And that was all her income she had."

"Did Todd have any enemies?"

"Of course, anyone who is a billionaire has enemies. You just don't know who they are. We have always treated our employees well. I swear I don't know who Todd would let on his yacht. That was the place where he went to meditate. He didn't think about work when he was there. Sometimes, I would show up and stay a week or two. But I didn't care for boating. For two months a year, he stayed on it."

"What did the coroner say?"

"He said that Todd drowned; he had a knot on his head they said was from his fall. A couple found the yacht floating off the coast of Baja. Todd has always stayed along our coast. I don't know; there are just so many things wrong with this whole thing. Maybe I am crazy, like my cousin says."

"We didn't know you had a cousin."

"I have six cousins. All of them are in our business. They have their own diners, some with ten diners or more. They are all hard workers. We are all close; I talked to them about Todd visiting me, and they just shook their head. I'm sure he'll stop by and visit both of you while you're sleeping."

"Where are your parents?"

"They both died from overdoses. Who inherited Todd's money?"

"Todd left his money to all of us. But it stays in the business. We are all very wealthy."

"So, how many relatives do you have?"

"I have two uncles, two aunts, and six cousins on my dad's side. My mother has two sisters; we don't know them personally."

"But do they know you? Do they have children?"

"My parents never married. They were just shacked up. Todd and I both have checked up on them. One of my aunts has a daughter, and the other never married."

"Who is the daughter?"

"Her name is Kenzie. She lives on the outer banks of the Catawba River on a houseboat. She fishes and sells her fish to the restaurants I don't know if they know about us."

"They know about you. Your aunt's sister had two boys. Believe me they know it. Maybe if they were your dad's sisters, they wouldn't know, but they found out about you at some time because their sister had two boys."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Robin said, nodding.

"Did you notice any strangers at Todd's funeral?"

"There were so many people. I'll call the others and see if they noticed anyone. Plus, Kathleen notices everything. She's our assistant, who is our go-to person for info. If someone else were there, she would know."

"Good, let's see if we can determine what your brother is trying to tell you. Can he show himself if you call him?"

"I wish. He springs up at different times. If you hear me scream, it will be him showing himself. I made some peach pie, how about some pie and ice cream."

"I'm in," I said, ready to head into the kitchen. We all made our way to the kitchen. "I'll have to tell my wife how good your pies are. Can we have the recipe?"

"Sorry, I never give out grandma's recipe. "What about you?" he said, glancing at Rebel, "Do you have a wife?"

"Hell no."

"That is exactly how I feel. Every woman I've ever been with starts dreaming of my money. There was one I thought loved me for me, and then one day, she showed up with an Architect with designs for a new home in the city. After I kicked them out of my house, I got a bill for ten thousand dollars from the Architect. I paid that bill because I figured I was getting off cheap.

"I'm going to hit the hay, I'll see you in the morning," I said making my way to my room.

Something stirred me from sleep. Had I not seen the spirit with my own eyes, I might have remained skeptical. But witnessing Todd"s presence, whether in flesh or spirit, got rid of any doubt. Not everyone lingers on earth after death, but Todd seems to be an exception. I believe he"s attempting to protect someone else, perhaps his brother.

At four-forty a.m. Rebel was already in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee. "You're up early," he remarked.

"I couldn't sleep. Something doesn't add up. Either Todd is afraid that Robin will be killed next or someone else he cares about. He must have been meeting someone on his yacht, or someone surprised Todd and showed up unannounced," Rebel speculated.

"I agree. It"s frustrating not knowing who"s behind his death. Why are we here? Wouldn"t it be more productive if Robin hired a medium to establish communication with Todd?" I frowned, voicing my thoughts.

"I tried that. Todd wasn"t pleased and chased the medium away," Robin disclosed, entering the kitchen.

"Could Todd have been involved with a woman who was jealous?" Rebel inquired.

As we sat around the table, drinking our coffee, Robin ran a hand through his hair, clearly burdened with something he wished to share. "Just say it," I prompted.

"Todd might haunt me for eternity for revealing this when I shouldn"t have known in the first place. Todd was bisexual or perhaps gay—I"m not entirely certain. Maybe his relationships with women were a facade to throw me off. I stumbled upon him with another man on his yacht when I was supposed to surprise him. I left immediately," Robin confessed.

"Did you confront him about what you saw?" I asked.

"No, it wasn"t my place. But that might explain why he spent two months a year at sea," Robin elaborated.

"What happened to his yacht?" I asked.

"There were things in his will I wasn"t aware of. His lawyer mentioned Todd"s desire for privacy. I assumed it pertained to the man I saw him with," Robin explained.

"Do you think it was his lover who killed him?" I asked.

"I believe Todd had more than one lover. I saw him once in a restaurant when I was stopped at a stop sign. The way he was touching the man, I knew right away they'd been together. It was a few towns over from here. I thought he was trying not to be seen."

"We can discreetly investigate his relationships to determine if any of them had a motive to harm him. Can the lawyer disclose who inherited his assets?" I proposed.

"I requested that information when Todd's spirit first showed himself. He wouldn't even consider it. I could probably get a court order to make him tell me," he said, refilling his cup, "if we have to. I don't want anything about Todd's sex life to be spread all over the internet. One little whisper, and it would be everywhere."

"I'll talk to him. Once he understands Todd was murdered, he'll have to tell us. I'll tell him I saw Todd also, and maybe we won't have to get a court order," I said.

We all felt the wind rush through the room before a light appeared hovering in the kitchen. "Is Todd's spirit fading?" Robin asked, "We have to hurry and find out what he's trying to tell us."

Three days passed, yet we still wasn't getting anywhere, Todd"s spirit intervened whenever we discussed consulting the lawyer, implying his disapproval.

We were sitting on the porch when Robin looked at us. "Once, I walked into Todd's office, and he was there with David Snow. He has worked for us for six years. I'm not positive, but they both jumped apart when I opened the door."

"Did you ask Todd about David?"

"No, it was his business who he kissed or did anything else with. David is married and has two children. I was shocked when I saw them," Todd said.

We turned and watched an old vehicle coming down the driveway, then when the engine shut off we waited. It was an old truck that didn't look like it would go many more miles.

A young woman emerged and approached us. We stood up as she walked to the bottom of the steps. "I hadn"t planned on involving myself in your affairs, but circumstances have forced my hand. I"m Kenzie Russel, your cousin," she introduced herself, eyeing Robin.

"Kenzie, please come up onto the porch. Would you like a drink?" Robin asked.

She was probably twenty-five with blonde hair and the greenest eyes I'd ever seen.

"No, thank you. I"m here because a spirit visited me last night, nearly giving me a heart attack. I woke up and he scared me so much I fell back into the river, finally understanding what he wanted. Your brother spoke to me on the phone the night he died. It was our first contact ever. He mentioned discovering our connection a while back. During our conversation, he was interrupted by an unexpected visitor—a man accusing him of infidelity," Kenzie revealed.

"Then he urged me to stay on the line, he said ‘just in case.' Then he said what the fuck are you talking about? I haven't cheated on you. The man said he saw them together on the yacht the day before. And then Robin said, Hudson, what are you doing? Stay away from me, and then the phone dropped, and that was all."

"Robin sat down; his legs just gave out on him."

"So, now we know for certain he was murdered, and we have a name," Robin murmured.

"Yes, I believe he was murdered. I"ve documented everything we discussed. He left me some money and his yacht, but I have no interest in either. I"d appreciate it if you could speak to the lawyer; he"s been persistent about me claiming the boat. I have my own boat to take care of, and I don"t need his money. Here"s the letter detailing our conversation," she said, handing Robin the paper.

"Thank you," he murmured. "I knew he was murdered. Todd also visited us. These men are from the Delta Force Guardians. They are here to help me find Todd's killer."

"I'm sorry your brother was murdered. My mom didn't want me to get involved, or I would've called the police already. She was scared that the killer would come after me. But I'm not scared. If the police need to speak with me, I wrote my number down."

"I saw you at the funeral. Please stay awhile so I can get to know you," Robin urged.

"I'm sorry I have so much work to do. This is the mail I received from the lawyer. Could you please take care of that for me?"

"If Todd intended for you to have something, there"s little I can do to intervene. But I"ll speak with him," Robin assured her. We watched as she returned to her old truck and drove off.

"So, I guess we know who the killer is—Hudson, somebody. Do you know Hudson?"

"No, but maybe David does. I'm going to call him."

"If he's at work, maybe we should surprise him. You can call him into your office, and then we can talk to him face-to-face," I suggested, eager to resolve this and return home to my wife.

Rebel watched the truck until it was out of sight. "Wow, that was your cousin? You should keep an eye on her."

"Didn't you hear her say she wanted nothing from us?" Robin remarked.

"She declined your money and your yacht. But perhaps she"d appreciate your company. We should visit her before we leave, just to ensure her safety. Did you find your brother"s phone?" Rebel inquired.

"No."

"She mentioned hearing it drop. If the killer has the phone, they know who Todd was talking to last—your lovely cousin who just left," Rebel pointed out.

"Oh, God! He might try and kill her, too. Let's talk to David, and then we'll talk to Kenzie and tell her she needs to lie low for a while."

"We have a safe house where she can stay until this is all taken care of."

"I think that would be the best plan. We'll talk to David to see if he knows anything about this Hudson guy, and then we'll go visit Kenzie," I said. "She might have different ideas about going with us. We'll worry about that when we talk to her."

We left to talk to David. It took about an hour to reach his workplace, a magnificent building on the riverbank. As we entered, Robin was warmly greeted by everyone, many of whom were in tears.

David took over for Robin and Todd when they weren't there. Robin opened David's door and asked to see him in his office. He followed us into Robin's office.

"It's so hard being here without Todd. This is the first time I've been here since his murder," Robin said.

"What do you mean murder? I thought it was an accident," David said, puzzled.

"These gentlemen are assisting me in uncovering the truth about Todd"s death. This is Rebel and this is Ghost. We learned Todd was on the phone when he had an unexpected visitor. He instructed the person on the phone not to hang up, just in case. The witness heard Todd questioning the intruder before the call abruptly ended. She said it sounded like the phone dropped."

"Who was there?" David asked.

"Someone named Hudson. Has Todd ever mentioned Hudson to you?" Robin inquired.

"That fucker! Yeah, Todd said the guy was a real nut. He hooked up with him several times, and the guy became very possessive. Todd told him to stay away from him. Hudson enjoyed rough sex. Todd wasn't into that, but he said sometimes it was scary good. The guy has money, and I'm sure you'll have a fight on your hands that will get ugly."

"I don't care. What's his last name?" Robin asked.

"Mika Hudson."

"Fuck."

"Are we talking about Mika Hudson, the son of Gerald Hudson? I interjected.

"Yes, the very same one. We don't get along. Gerald Hudson and our Grandma got into a huge fight. He came in and thought we would hire his company to build our Diners. He freaked out when Grandma told him we already had someone we used. He tried to force us to use his company," Robin said.

"David, don't worry about me bringing your name into any of this. I'll tell them Todd told me about how crazy Hudson was," Robin assured him.

"I'm not concerned. When Todd died, I went into a deep depression and told my wife how much I loved him. She said she wondered if I was Gay, but she still wants us to be together for the kids," David said.