The Crane Diaries: The Red Church by Apryl Baker

Author:Apryl Baker [Baker, Apryl]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Limitless Publishing, LLC
Published: 2019-07-01T16:00:00+00:00

She picks up on the fourth ring.

“Mattie, honey? Are you okay? Is Dan okay?”

The Malones don’t call me Emma either, and I never insisted they do. I’m Mattie to them. It’s what Eli called me.

“I’m fine, and so is Dan.”

“Thank goodness.” Heather lets out a huge sigh. I can imagine her standing by her kitchen sink, clutching it with one hand and her phone in the other, taking several deep breaths to calm down.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine, honey. It’s just…”

“Whenever I’m around, people tend to get hurt,” I finish for her.

“That wasn’t what I was going to say. Or at least not in those words.”

See? She knows me too well. If it weren’t for me, Eli would still be alive. It’s something that will haunt me until the day I die. Heather may have forgiven me, but I’ll never forgive myself. I know it wasn’t my fault. It was a stupid curse, but if I’d never met him, I wouldn’t be the reason he died.

“I know you wouldn’t put it so bluntly, and I don’t care that was your first thought, because it’s true. There are usually bodies left in my wake. But I am sorry that’s the first thought you have when it comes to me.”

“No, honey, don’t think like that. You never asked for what happened. You did everything you could to prevent it, to keep people safe. That’s what you should remember.”

I smile, knowing she can’t see me. It’s the mother in her that always tries to make me feel better. Sometimes she does, but most times she doesn’t.

“Anyway, I’m hoping you can help me with something.”

“If I can.”

“I got asked to help clear out a property of the ghosts haunting it. Our first job as The Hathaway Foundation. Only we discovered the real problem wasn’t ghosts. It’s something called a primordial evil.”

Heather swears. This lovely woman who I have never heard curse once lets out a string of curse words that would make the devil blush.

“Do you know what type?”

“Father David said it was a blood demon.”

“Father David…Mattie, what property are you clearing?”

“It’s known to the locals as The Red Church.”

“I…why would the church ask you to go anywhere near that place?”

“They didn’t. Father David didn’t even know it had sold at auction. The new owner asked us to help him. He thinks it’s just ghosts.”

“The property sold? Who would have sold it knowing what’s there?”

Well, she obviously knows about the place, so that’s good. Maybe I’ll get answers sooner rather than later.

“It was an accountant who didn’t check the code listed beside the property. He just saw a very valuable piece of land sitting stagnant and thought to make a quick profit for the church.”

“Who bought it?”

“A developer.”

I don’t have to be standing in front of her to know her face paled.

“He can’t break the protection seal…it can’t get out.”

“You know about The Red Church, then?”

“Yes,” she whispers. “I made sure to acquaint myself with everything having to do with Louisiana and New Orleans specifically when you and Dan went there after the funeral.

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