Prayer Walk Read online

  PRAYER

  WALK

  Book 20 of the Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Series

  Melissa Bowersock

  Copyright © 2019 by Melissa Bowersock

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publishers, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in an online review or one printed in a newspaper, magazine or journal.

  First Printing

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Cover image by coversbydesign.net.

  ISBN: 9781075593253

  About the Author

  Books by Melissa Bowersock

  Books by Melissa Bowersock

  The Appaloosa Connection

  The Blue Crystal

  Burning Through

  The Field Where I Died

  Finding Travis

  (No Time for Travis Series Book 1)

  Being Travis

  (No Time for Travis Series Book 2)

  Fleischerhaus

  Ghost Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 1)

  Skin Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 2)

  Star Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 3)

  Dream Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 4)

  Dragon Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 5)

  Demon Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 6)

  Soul Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 7)

  Blood Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 8)

  Castle Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 9)

  Murder Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 10)

  Spirit Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 11)

  Fire Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 12)

  Revenge Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 13)

  Gangster Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 14)

  Karma Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 15)

  Mystery Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 16)

  Bordello Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 17)

  Storm Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 18)

  Predator Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 19)

  Prayer Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 20)

  Mind Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 21)

  Deception Walk

  (Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud

  Mystery Book 22)

  Goddess Rising

  Lightning Strikes

  Love’s Savage Armpit by Amber Flame

  (Originally published as

  The Pits of Passion)

  The Man in the Black Hat

  Marcia Gates: Angel of Bataan

  Queen’s Gold

  The Rare Breed

  Remember Me

  Sonnets for Heidi

  Stone’s Ghost

  Superstition Gold

  PRAYER

  WALK

  Melissa Bowersock

  ONE

  Lacey pulled into the parking lot and parked her little SUV in a visitor’s spot and sighed contentedly.

  “What’s that for?” Sam asked. They were at his ex’s apartment to pick up his kids, Daniel and Kenzie, for the weekend.

  “I’m just ready for this,” she said as she turned off the car. “It’s been a busy few weeks, and I’m ready for popping popcorn and watching movies and turning my brain off for a while.”

  Sam chuckled. “I don’t know too many people who think taking on two teenagers for two days is the epitome of relaxation, but whatever works.”

  “It works for me,” she said. “Takes me out of my head. I need that sometimes.”

  They’d just concluded a knotty case that had triggered some buried memories for Lacey, and she’d started seeing a therapist. Doing normal family things with her normal step-kids was just what the doctor ordered.

  Sam caught her hand as they walked the concrete path to Christine’s apartment, and she sighed again. With her tall, handsome husband beside her, with the two smart, funny kids, how could she complain? Even if they didn’t have the most conventional life, talking to ghosts and clearing hauntings, they had a good one. She was grateful for that.

  Kenzie answered the door, but instead of displaying the eleven-year-old’s usual ready smile, her face was blotchy and her eyes were red. Her mouth turned down at the corners and she looked ready to burst into tears.

  The smiles on both Sam’s and Lacey’s faces drooped.

  “Honey?” Lacey asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “I hate Daniel!” the girl cried. Her chin quivered and she stamped a foot, then turned and ran up the hall, sobbing all the way.

  Christine came through the kitchen doorway. The woman rolled her eyes as she welcomed Sam and Lacey.

  “Are you sure you want them?” she asked with a humorless laugh.

  “What’s going on?” Sam asked.

  Christine shook her head. “I took Kenzie shopping last night and we got her a bra,” she said in a low voice. “It’s not much, you know, because she’s just starting, but she wanted it. Anyway, when she was getting dressed this morning, Daniel snuck her door open and took a picture of her in her bra, then said he was going to post it on Instagram. It’s been World War III since then.”

  Sam and Lacey exchanged looks. So much for a quiet weekend, she thought.

  “All right,” Sam said on a long exhale. “Let me see what I can do.” He left the women and walked down the hall toward the kids’ rooms.

  “How are Daniel and Tori doing?” Lacey asked quietly.

  “Bumpy,” Christine said. “Ever since they broke up and got back together again, it’s been iffy. They both seem hypersensitive. One minute he’s walking on air, the next minute he’s scowling.”

  “And terrorizing his sister,” Lacey added.

  “Right. I did get his phone and deleted the picture before he could post it. I just hope none of his friends know how to retrieve it.”

  “Is that possible?” Lacey asked.

  “No idea.” Christine shrugged. “They know a lot more about that kind of stuff than I do, but I hope not.”

  Lacey silently agreed. Boys could be such snickering little snots about girls’ development, something that was acutely, and often painfully, personal for girls.

  Just then Sam sauntered out of the hallway, his hand on Kenzie’s shoulder. The girl was wiping her nose with the back of her hand and dragging her backpack behind her. Daniel followed a few steps behind, and kept his eyes resolutely on the ground.

  “We’ll see you tomorrow,” Sam told Christine. He and the kids headed directly for the door.

  “Okay.” Christine smiled to Lacey. “Have fun,” she said with sympathetic sarcasm.

  In the car, the kids sat as far apart as they could get, Kenzie behind Sam and Daniel behind Lacey. As Lacey wheeled the car out of the parking lot, she could only guess what Sam might have said to the kids—or how much it sunk in.

  “You know,” Lacey said to Sam, “I saw things like this occasionally when I was still on the LAPD. Kids thinking it was just a harmless prank, only to wind up in jail when a judge ruled it possession and trafficking of pornography.”

  “What?” Daniel sat forward, his hands gripping Lacey’s seat back, his voice a mixture of shock and disbelief. “That’s not pornography.”

  Lacey shrugged. “What is and isn’t tends to be a pretty fuzzy, gray line,” she said. “But of course if you’re sitting in a jail cell for thirty days, you’d have plenty of time to think about it.”

  In the rearview mirror, Lacey saw Daniel’s eyes cut to Kenzie, then he flounced back in his seat and stared out the side window.

  “I’d much rather see kids think long and hard about what they’re doing before it comes to that,” Sam said, taking up the theme.

  “Me, too,” Lacey agreed. “It’s always a shame to see kids ruin their lives by doing something on the spur of the moment without thinking of the consequences.”

  She turned down their street and put her blinker on as they approached the apartment complex.

  “Too bad, too,” she said. “I was thinking of taking Daniel out for a driving lesson in my car, but I just don’t think I can trust him with it. His lack of respect doesn’t instill confidence.”

  Daniel lurched forward again. “I can be respectful. Come on, Lacey, can we?” he pleaded. “I’ll be careful.”

/>   She eyed him in the rearview mirror. “Well, it’s easy to say you’ll be respectful of my car, but words are cheap. I’d have to go more by your actions. Not just how you treat my car, but how you treat… everyone.”

  She wheeled into the parking lot and into her space next to Sam’s truck. A glance back at Daniel’s dark eyes revealed that the boy was thinking hard. And not happily.

  She parked and they all piled out of the car. Inside the apartment, the kids each went to their respective bedrooms to stash their backpacks. Kenzie came back out immediately and joined Sam and Lacey in the kitchen.

  “Hey,” Lacey said, “I didn’t get my hello hug.” She held her arms out and Kenzie came to her, smiling weakly. Lacey hugged her and kissed the top of her head, realizing the girl was starting a growth spurt. Getting taller and developing; lots of changes going on.

  “How many more weeks of school?” Lacey asked.

  “Just one,” Kenzie said with a grin. “Then summer vacation.”

  “Fun time,” Lacey said. “Then… middle school, huh?”

  “Don’t remind me.” Kenzie made a face.

  “Oh, you’ll do fine,” Lacey said. “Just remember that everyone in your class will be just as nervous as you are.”

  Just then Daniel sauntered into the kitchen, hands shoved into his jeans pockets.

  “Right, Daniel?” Lacey asked.

  “What?”

  “Everyone’s nervous in their first year of middle school.”

  He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.” He glanced at Kenzie. “Yeah, they are. They just don’t always show it.”

  Kenzie watched her brother suspiciously, not quite trusting his assessment. Daniel walked to her, hands still in his pockets.

  “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “About… earlier.” He glanced from her to the ground, clearly embarrassed.

  Kenzie considered his apology. She crossed her arms over her chest. “And you’ll never do it again?” she pressed.

  Daniel scowled. “No.” He peered at her. “Not unless you do something super goofy.” He gave her a wicked grin.

  “You mean like ‘is?” she asked. She put her fingers inside the corners of her mouth and pulled them out sideways, sticking out her tongue and looking as demented as possible.

  “Yeah,” Daniel said. “Too bad I don’t have my phone.”

  Lacey frowned. “Don’t have your phone? Where is it? Did you lose it?”

  Daniel’s face flamed. “Mom took it away from me. I’ll get it back on Monday.”

  “Oh.” Lacey had to work to keep from laughing. Good on you, Christine, she thought. That would certainly get Daniel’s attention.

  Kenzie continued to mug in front of her phoneless—and cameraless—brother, to Daniel’s dismay. When he huffed and walked out of the kitchen, she was instantly trailing behind him.

  “Hey,” Sam said, touching her arm. “Respect goes both ways. Keep it cool, okay?”

  Kenzie stopped and thought about that. Then she smiled wickedly. “Sure,” she said. But then she followed after Daniel, with only God knew what on her mind.

  Sam arched an eyebrow at Lacey. “What was that you were saying about a nice, normal, relaxing weekend?”

  “I forget,” she said, laughing. “But I’m wondering if we separate them for a bit, if they’ll calm down some.”

  “Separate them how?”

  Lacey picked up her car keys off the counter. “How about if we reward Daniel’s apology with a short driving lesson, and you take Kenzie miniature golfing?”

  Sam pursed his lips. “That could work.”

  She nodded. “Let’s give it a try.”

  ~~~

  TWO

  Lacey drove herself and Daniel to the parking lot of a rundown strip mall and pulled into the back service area. Many of the storefronts were empty or shuttered, so there was very little traffic, and Daniel could practice without interruption.

  “Okay,” she said as she stopped and set the brake. “Cars are all different, so you need to get a feel for the brake and the accelerator. Don’t assume it’s going to be just like your dad’s truck. Start out slow, okay?” Lacey angled a stern look at him.

  “Okay,” Daniel agreed quickly, but couldn’t hide the excitement he was feeling. Finally—he’d get to drive a shiny fire-engine red car instead of his dad’s work truck.

  They changed places and Lacey fastened her seat belt. “I’ve got the parking brake on,” she said. “It’s that pedal on the left. You step on it to set it, step on it again to release it.”

  Daniel released the brake and took the wheel in his left hand. With his right hand, he slid the gearshift into Drive.

  Off they went. Lacey tried not to panic as he drove closely past several dumpsters.

  “Try the brakes,” she suggested.

  He did, and the car lurched to a halt as both he and Lacey were pitched forward, stopped only by their seat belts. “Slowly,” she said. “Don’t stomp on them. Just use an even, easy pressure.”

  She had him drive the length of the service area, then turn carefully and start back the other way.

  “Now, backwards,” she said.

  Daniel blinked at her. “Backwards?”

  “Yeah. And no using your mirrors. Turn around so you can see exactly where you’re going. You should always be looking in the direction that the car is moving.”

  She had him back into a three-point turn, then move forward again. He did a slow 360˚, and she had him practice parking between the painted lines.

  “How far are you from the line?” she asked when he’d pulled in.

  He opened his door and looked down. “Uh, about four inches?” His hopeful quasi-question denoted his uncertainty if that was a good distance.

  “Too close,” she said. “Back out and try again. Get as close to center as you can.”

  Lacey noticed the grim set of his mouth. She had a feeling these repetitive basic maneuvers were annoying him. Well, tough, she thought. He needed to know the basics before he got out there on the street. He needed to be able to control the one-ton battering ram he drove.

  Her phone chimed. She pulled it from her pack and glanced at the screen. Ketchum Used Cars? Had someone noticed the driving lesson and was looking to sell them a used car?

  “Just park the car for a sec,” she told Daniel. “Let me take this real quick.” Then, pushing the answer button, “Hello?”

  “Hello? Is this Ms. Fitzpatrick?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “My name is Jerry Ketchum. I run a used car business, and I’ve got a few locations around the LA area. Maybe you’ve seen some of them…”

  Lacey rolled her eyes. “Sorry. I’m not in the market for—”

  “No, no, I’m not trying to sell you a car. I’ve got a ghost.”

  That caught her short. She covered the mouthpiece and hissed to Daniel. “Turn the car off. I need to take this.”

  Daniel shut down the car and Lacey returned to the call.

  “Let me get my notebook,” she told Jerry. “I’m in my car.”

  “Oh, sorry,” Jerry said. “Are you driving?”

  “No, just in the middle of a driving lesson. Okay,” she said, pen in hand. “I’m going to put you on speaker. What’s the location?”

  “It’s the office of my lot on Olympic.” He read off the address, his voice tinny over the phone’s speaker. “I’m desperate. I’m gonna have to close the lot down, because absolutely none of my employees will work there. Can you people come take a look at it?”

  Lacey glanced at Daniel. His raised eyebrows probably mirrored her own.

  “I’m sure we can,” she assured Jerry. “Why won’t people work there?”

  She heard him sigh heavily. “Because this… thing attacks them.”

  “Attacks them?” Lacey repeated. “How? In what way?”

  “It throws things at them. Pens, papers, desk items. Full cups of coffee.”

  “Like a poltergeist?” Lacey asked.

  “I don’t know what you call it,” Jerry said. “But it’s dangerous.”

  “Has anyone been injured?”

  “Yes. I mean, not badly, but one guy got hit in the face with a stapler and one woman got a bad burn on her arm. No one will work there, which is probably for the best right now, because customers could be hurt, also. But I can’t have a lot sitting closed. Hard to sell cars that way.”