Page 12 of Dead Evil
“Can you see what they have planned?” Ronan asked.
Everly nodded. “Sort of, but it doesn’t make any sense. There’s something going on with a doll.”
Ronan and Jude’s eyes widened.
Ten’s full attention was on Ronan. He had no idea what doll Everly was talking about and why Ronan and Jude looked absolutely terrified.
“Do you know her name?” Jude asked.
“Yeah, but I’m not going to say it. I don’t know why, but I’m scared to tell you. All I can say is that her initials are A.L.”
“Agatha Louise,” Ronan said.
Everly nodded. “I can see her. One green eye, singed orange hair, dirty dress.”
“Don’t say another word,” Jude cautioned.
“Boys, what the heck is going on? Why do you all look scared and how can a doll possibly terrify two grown men?”
“The doll is haunted, Kaye,” Jude began. “Possibly by a ghost, but more than likely, by a demon. She’s killed seven people.”
“What a bunch of baloney!” Kaye laughed and got up from the table. She grabbed a ginger ale from the fridge and poured some into a cup for herself, before setting the rest of the can in front of Ronan.
“Nine, Uncle Jude,” Everly’s voice was soft.
“Nine? Who are the other two?” Ronan turned to Jude.
“In all of the research I’ve done about the doll, I’ve only ever come across seven victims. Poppy’s parents, brother, grandfather, the grandmother’s neighbor and two people who visited the doll at the museum in Florida. Who are the other two?” Jude’s full attention was on his niece.
“Bob Taylor worked at the museum as a janitor. He had cancer in his lungs and was in a lot of pain. He begged the doll to take away his pain. Bob died in his sleep that night.”
“Everyone believed he’d died from the cancer?” Ronan asked.
“Right. Bob was buried and didn’t have topsy, whatever that is.” Everly shrugged her shoulders.
Ten knew exactly what Everly meant. Bob hadn’t been given an autopsy. He was chilled to his bones listening to his daughter talk about a killer doll.
Ronan wrapped an arm around Everly. “Who’s the ninth person?”
“The other person hasn’t happened yet. It’s a man, but I can’t see anything else. Not how or when.” Everly climbed into Ronan’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Ronan held on tight.
“Let’s go put on a princess movie.” Ronan stood up and brought Everly into the living room. He came back into the kitchen for her half eaten dinner and brought it to her.
“God, almighty,” Ronan said when he took his seat at the table. “Did you see any of this?”
Ten shook his head. “To be honest, I don’t know what the hell she’s talking about. Who is this killer doll?”
Ronan went over the story Jude had told him earlier in the day. “Do you remember Devin Forrest?”
“The guy who owns that oddity museum in Florida?” Ten remembered meeting him when he helped ghost hunters Trip and Marlowe with a cursed doll, who, if memory served, Devin purchased for his museum. Ten couldn’t help but wonder if the two dolls knew each other.
“Yeah, that’s him. After the doll killed the grandmother’s neighbor, Devin bought and installed her in his museum, where she killed two more people and nearly a third. According to Jude, Devin takes the doll to the Paranormal Phantasmagoria convention every summer in New Orleans. He wasn’t going tobring her to Salem, because the ride is so long, but there had been so much public interest, that he relented and agreed to bring her to the con. He’s driving up from Tampa.” Ronan turned to Jude. “Find out what you can about Bob Taylor. The facts and any urban legends, if there are any.”
“You know how much I love you boys,” Kaye said. “So please understand I’m coming from a place of love when I ask if the two of you need a mental health evaluation. A killer doll? A toy that has taken eight, soon to be nine lives? You seriously believe this?”
Ronan smiled at his mother-in-law. “You believe that God sent a son to walk among us, who he later had horrifically crucified, just so that he could be miraculously resurrected three days later. Now, you tell me which one is harder to believe in, a possessed killer doll or a zombie lord and savior?”
“Ronan, please don’t talk that way about Jesus. He isnota zombie.” Kaye rolled her eyes.
