Free The Ghosts Of New Orleans (A PARANORMAL RESEARCH AND CONTAINMENT DIVISION (PRCD) CASE FILE) by Terri Reid

the sun on
her body.  Finally, the all of the sounds of the sea were gone.
    She opened her eyes and found herself
in Paul’s arms, back in the motor home.  She struggled a little, but he held
her close.
    “Are you okay?” he asked, concern
creased his face.
    She nodded, but then belied her
actions by trembling.
    “Where the heck did you go?” asked
Sally, peering over Paul’s shoulder. “One second we’re talking about the evil
Madame Lalaurie – the next second you’re all white and cold.  And look, you’re soaking
wet.”
    “Let’s get you changed and into a
hot shower,” Paul said, and carried her back to her bedroom without waiting for
a reply, “Sally, get some water going for tea.”
    Paul kicked the bedroom door closed
with his foot and sat down on the bed with Eloise still in his arms.
    “Paul,” Eloise said, pushing
against his chest, “You can put me down now, I’m fine.”
    Paul laid his cheek against the top
of her head and let his breath out in a long shudder. “Well, you’re a liar and
I’m certainly not fine, so let’s just sit here for a moment. Okay?”
    Eloise smiled slightly and let
herself relax against Paul’s chest, enjoying the temporary comfort of his arms.
    Paul tightened his arms around her.
“Okay, so what happened?”
    Eloise shook her head. “I don’t
know, one minute we’re discussing evil and the next moment I’m back at the
beach fighting for my life.”
    “Your experience, was it just like
last night?”
    “Almost, but there were a couple of
significant differences.”
    She shifted and sat up in his arms,
so she could see his eyes.
    “I was in the marshes – not on a
sandy beach in Sumatra. I saw a woman standing on the beach.  I think that she
was or at least represented Madame Lalaurie – she was dressed in 1800s attire. 
She looked right at me – like she knew me.  Then she smiled…”
    Eloise trembled a little and Paul
tightened his arms.
    “It wasn’t a friendly smile.  Then
the laughter started again.”
    “The same laughter you’ve heard before?”
Paul asked.
    Eloise nodded. “Yes, it felt like
it was everywhere.  I kept losing my footing and the villager...but maybe not
the villager...was leading me out into the water.”
    “What do you mean ‘not the
villager’?”
    “This time the villager had a face that
looked like it had been sutured in a thousand places.”
    “So, how did you escape?”
    Eloise paused for a moment and then
looked up, met Paul’s eyes and said, “You saved me, Paul.  The water was over
my head, I could feel its pull and I knew that I was losing when suddenly you
picked me up and lifted me out of the water.”
    She shrugged, and turned her head
away from him, just a little, “Once I was in your arms, the laughter stopped,
the storm ceased and I knew that I was no longer in danger.”
    They remained silent for a moment;
then she looked up into his eyes and was caught by the tenderness she saw
there. He tucked her back into his embrace and held her tightly.
    “You scared the hell out of me.  I
didn’t know what else to do, so I was going to take you to the medic. When I
picked you up, you seemed to respond.”
    “Well, you obviously did the right
thing. Thank you.”
    “Eloise, I know this is hard for
you – but for now, can you trust me enough that we can work as partners?”
    “How can I say no when you just
saved my life?”
    “Good point. Now you owe me,” Paul
answered smugly, and then he stood and nearly dropped her on the floor, “Now go
take a hot shower. It’ll make you feel better.”
    Eloise, a little surprised by his
change in attitude, grabbed her robe and marched into the bathroom.  With the
door firmly locked, she called out.
    “Well, fine, why don’t you go help
Sally with the tea.  I’ll be out in ten minutes.”
    She swore she could hear a chuckle
as she heard her bedroom door close.
    “So, Major, what’s the scoop on you
two?” asked Sally, when Paul walked back into the