Free Eternal Bloom - Book 5 (The Ruby Ring Saga) by Chrissy Peebles

tried to give her comforting words but she was in no mood for it. I understood where she was coming from. If I had lost a loved one, I don’t think anybody could make me feel better. I wondered if we should even be interviewing her when she was so grief-stricken. I made my thoughts known and the woman told us not to leave and to please stay. She said her story needed to be told. So I sat back down and made myself comfortable. Well, as comfortable as a nine month pregnant woman could get. 
    Beth grabbed a pen and notebook from her huge purse. “Tell us your story from the very beginning.”
    The lines hardened on Erica’s face. “You’re not going to believe me.” 
    “We’re very open-minded,” Beth said. “Trust us on this one.”
    “How open-minded exactly?” Erica asked.
    Liz pointed to Beth and I. “They’re both paranormal researchers. They investigate the unknown, from ghosts and angels to Bigfoot. You name it and they did it one time or another.”
    Liz failed to mention Beth and I were now both retired. 
    “I investigated many cases,” I said. “But I specialized in proving the existence of Bigfoot.”
    Erica met my gaze. “Okay, that takes a special kind of nut. So if you believe in that, you’ll definitely believe my story.”
    Liz went to retort when Beth tapped her hand. “Don’t worry, Liz. Sarah and I are professionals. We get that kind of gruff all the time. We’re used to dealing with it in our line of work.”
    But we’re retired, I thought. I shook my head and let Beth continue her interview.
    “Okay, I’ll trust you.” I nodded and Erica continued. “My brother got into a fight with a group of men that he called, The Immortals.”
    I looked at Liz, and then Beth. This woman wasn’t a lunatic, she was the real deal. I was sure not many people had run-ins with Immortals and lived to talk about it. 
    “Billy told me he discovered they had incredible powers and that they were these immortal beings. Of course I laughed at him. A few weeks went by and he never mentioned it again. Honestly, I even forgot all about it. Then, when I went to his house last week, on the day he was ruthlessly murdered, I saw something I’ll never forget.” Her voice trailed off.
    “And what’s that,” Beth softly coaxed. 
    “My brother had picked me up because my car had broken down. Those Immortals didn’t know I was there. I was upstairs using the bathroom. I heard the commotion. My gosh, I thought my brother owed money to a loan shark or something. So I kept quiet.” She took a deep breath as tears slipped down her face. “I saw a man in dark clothes with his hand placed on my brother’s chest. And all these blue sparks leapt from his chest as he screamed. So I hid upstairs in the closet.”
    I gently hugged her. “I’m so sorry.”
    She wept into my arms.
    “My brother and I were recording a video for our mother in Florida. She hates Skype. She’s not into the computer or any kind of technology. When I left, my brother forgot to hit pause. The whole murder was caught on tape.”
    Liz gasped. “You have them on film!”
    “Yes,” she answered, wiping her eyes.
    “Why haven’t you turned it into the police?” Liz asked.
    “Because it could disappear. I’m playing it on national television first.”
    Liz’s jaw dropped. “You’re going to expose this video footage?”
    She reached for a tissue as she wept. “Yes, they’re going to pay for murdering my brother.”
    “Can I see it?” I calmly asked. “I promise not to harm the footage.”
    She retrieved her video camera and hit play. I watched the scene play out before me in the view screen. Nausea flooded over me as I watched the senseless murder. The Immortal muttered something but it went by so fast I didn’t catch it. “Rewind it,” I said. I hated to watch the horrible footage again, but I needed to know exactly what they said. I had almost picked it up the first time, but not quite. The woman replayed the video and I