CHAPTER SIX
Shortly before bedtime, Autumn was on her knees rummaging through an old steamer trunk in the attic when Timothy appeared.
“Girl,” he said, his voice hinting at annoyance. “Your mother heard noises up here and sent me to check it out. Do you think I like running up and down the stairs?” He fanned himself in the doorway. “What are you doing up here? It’s hotter than hell.”
Autumn wiped a line of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. “Just give me a sec.” She removed an old black-and-white photo from a box in the trunk and sat back. “Well, freak me.” In the photo stood a group of four young sailors, their arms around one another’s shoulders.
Timothy rolled his eyes. “What are you playing at?”
Autumn crouched, careful of the steep slant in the ceiling. She waved the old photo at Timothy, who plucked the picture from Autumn’s fingers before turning it over. “Duncan, Ralphie, Mick, and Leo, 1966.” He furrowed his brows. “What made you go looking for this? Besides pretty boy looking exactly like his grandfather.”
Autumn peered at the picture. “Is that who it is?”
“Who else would look just like him? Anyway, how do you think he got the job? Boy didn’t even get his high school diploma, and your mama agrees to hire him.”
“You don’t have a college degree,” Autumn pointed out.
“I’m working toward it.” Timothy sounded huffy. “Anyway, what made you think to look for this?”
Autumn pointed to the top of a dusty box where she had set the ring. Her voice teetered on giddiness. “I channeled her.” Her chest swelled with pride. At the Cayo, lots of people saw ghosts, but no one had ever channeled a spirit before. This was big.
“You what?” Timothy’s voice rose an octave.
“I got inside her memories. The ghost’s name is Inez. I don’t have a last name, but she knew Duncan and Leo and Mick.”
Timothy picked up the ring and examined it. “This must’ve been hers. But how did you get it?”
“It was at the bottom of the pool. I bet it slid out of Liam’s pocket when he fell in.”
“You mean was pulled in, don’t you?” Timothy carefully set the ring back on the box. “So your pretty boy and this ghost are connected somehow.”
“That’s the thing. I think it’s Liam’s grandfather with the connection to the ghost. The resemblance is uncanny. Besides, too many coincidences can’t be coincidence. And he’s not my pretty boy.”
“Sure he isn’t.” Timothy fanned himself with the photo. “Go see your mama. We’ll figure this ghost thing out another time.”
Autumn grinned.
“What are you so happy about?” Timothy asked. “This doesn’t have anything to do with you.”
“It doesn’t yet.” Autumn snatched back the picture. “But it gives me a chance to investigate—just what I need to earn that journalism scholarship.”
“Girl, you’re going to insert yourself into a mystery you have no business being in. And besides, the minute you mention the word ghost, you can kiss that scholarship opportunity goodbye. You better give pretty boy back his ring. Something tells me he needs the ring more than you do.”
“I’ll give him the ring when he asks for it.”
Timothy clucked his tongue. “Give Liam back his ring. And don’t channel ghost girl.” He pointed at her. “Evelyn said to tell you it’s time for bed. I’m heading home.” And with that, he strode away.
Autumn’s face soured. It’s not even ten yet. Autumn waited until she could no longer hear Timothy’s steps. She picked up the ring and slipped it on to her finger and waited for the black dots to appear. This time she was ready.
#
Liam woke sometime after midnight covered in sweat. He had dreamed that the brunette from the pool clawed out his eyes before her face morphed into Autumn. Despite the malfunctioning air-conditioner in his room, Liam couldn’t rid his body of the goosebumps that had erupted along his arms and neck. He rose from the bed and threw on a pair of black mesh shorts and an old white undershirt before finding the keys to his scooter. He slipped out his bedroom window, so as not to wake his grandfather, and quietly rolled his scooter to the end of the block. Then he started the engine and drove back to the Cayo.
At this time of night, Key West was quiet, but not eerily so. The only sounds were the buzz from his scooter and the laughter of a few tourists staying at a nearby hotel.
Liam drove along Fogarty and then traveled to Eisenhower. He parked a few houses down from the Cayo, just in case Evelyn or Autumn were still awake. He didn’t want to explain his presence at this time of night.
Liam unlatched the old white gate and slipped into the Cayo’s darkened patio. He sidled around the edge of the pool, careful to avoid the inky black water. He swallowed a lump in his throat. Find the ring and get out of here.
Liam glanced up at the Cayo’s darkened attic windows. He sucked in his breath, turned on the small flashlight on his cell phone, and aimed the beam toward the water’s surface. He felt like an idiot having driven here in the middle of the night. He shouldn’t have lost the damn ring in the first place.
The light only skimmed the top, and he couldn’t see the pool’s floor. Liam decided to check the pool filter. It was possible the drain sucked the ring into it.
Liam’s heart raced as he walked around the lima-bean-shaped pool. He squatted, quietly lifted the plastic lid off the filter, and aimed the flashlight into the hole. Nothing glinted. He removed the strainer and rummaged around. Liam grimaced and shuddered as his hand grazed thick dead beetles and slimy leaves. Unfortunately, he came up empty.
“Looking for this?” A husky voice breathed into his ear.
Liam nearly toppled into the water, his heart hammering in his chest. He rose from his crouch to face Autumn, dressed in plaid boxer shorts and a thin blue tank top. His gaze trailed her body and then landed on her hand, outstretched in front of her, the diamond ring catching the moonlight.
Liam let out a breath. “Thank you. I thought it was lost forever.” He reached out to take the ring off Autumn’s finger, but she snatched her hand back.
Autumn waved her pointer finger at him. “No, no, sailor. This isn’t yours. You don’t get to take it.”
Sailor? “Autumn, are you okay?”
Autumn stepped forward so that mere inches separated them. She smelled like jasmine, and her T-shirt was so painfully thin. Liam tried to look everywhere but directly at her. His thoughts were jumbled, and it took him a moment to find the words. “Can I have my ring back? It was my abuela’s.”
Autumn tapped her finger against Liam’s lips. “Shhhh.” Liam stared into Autumn’s dilated pupils. She laughed or cackled—Liam couldn’t decide which.
“I could’ve been yours, Lion,” she cooed.
“Give me the ring, Autumn,” Liam said firmly.
“No.” Autumn drew her face in close and brushed her lips against Liam’s mouth.
Liam’s body tingled as if an electric current had passed through Autumn’s lips and into his mouth. But this moment seemed wrong. Felt off. He cried out when Autumn bit his lower lip. He pulled away and ran his tongue over his mouth, tasting blood. He pushed Autumn off him.
“What’s wrong with you?” He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. A streak of red, like the smear of paint, bloomed on his skin.
Autumn cackled again and wiggled her fingers in some kind of seductive wave before slipping through the sliding glass doors.
She never did give him back the ring.
What the hell just happened? Liam rushed out of the patio and ran to his scooter parked down the block. His breath came out in huffs. He straddled the bike and was about to flee until he remembered that Autumn called him Lion.
That was Pops’s nickname in the navy.
#
The next morning, Autumn adjusted the strap on her messenger bag and climbed the steps to the Keys of Excellence Charter School. Her eyelids felt as though small weights
were pulling them down. She’d had a restless night’s sleep, possibly dreaming about Liam, but she really couldn’t remember now.
Someone yelled out, “Hey, Joisy girl!”
Autumn squeezed her eyes shut and pretended not to hear. She stepped toward the entrance and a lithe blonde girl blocked her way. “Going somewhere?”
Even without looking up, Autumn knew it was Victoria Canton who stood there with her hands on her perfect waist. There were girls like Victoria back home in Jersey. Rich. Entitled. Nasty. But Autumn never had confrontations with them. And in the unlikely event she had gotten cornered by one of the bitchy girls, Natasha had been there to back her up. God, what she wouldn’t have done to have someone on her side now.
“Just to class, Victoria.” Autumn didn’t bother hiding her exasperation. “Same as everyone else.” Victoria remained in her path. Autumn saw from the corner of her eye a group of Victoria’s friends off to the side. They stood at attention like soldiers waiting to be called into battle. “You need anything from me or can I get to class?”
Victoria glanced at her friends and then back at Autumn. “Yeah, I need the notes for American Lit. I heard McNulty is giving a pop quiz later this afternoon.”
Autumn lifted the flap of her messenger bag and thumbed through her folder. She found the stapled group of notes, four pages on Hemingway, and handed them over to Victoria. To be honest, Autumn felt sorry for Victoria since no amount of money seemed to help her do well in school.
“Thanks,” Victoria said, without a hint of gratitude in her voice. “How you can study with all those ghosts thrashing about is beyond me.” She leaned in and said in a loud whisper, “Do they talk to you?” The soldier clique snickered in the background.
Autumn sidled past Victoria. “Actually, yes. Hemingway was ‘thrashing’ about in one of the guest rooms, and he had plenty to say about himself.” She tapped the side of her head with her finger. “I’m going to ace this pop quiz. Hemingway said so.” Autumn grinned, surprised by the sudden surge of bravery in confronting her bully.
Victoria growled. Her two leggy friends headed over, until Victoria held up her hand to stop them. Her attention fixated on the street where a tanned guy was pulling up alongside the curb in his beat-up scooter. Autumn watched Victoria bound down the cement steps, crying, “Liam!”
Autumn couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Figures,” she mumbled. Of course, Liam of all people would know Victoria Canton.
Liam pressed the kickstand to the asphalt with the toe of his sneaker and dismounted the bike. He removed his helmet and set it in on top of the seat. Victoria went to wrap her arms around Liam’s neck, but he grabbed her wrists and gently pushed her back. Victoria pouted like a three-year-old.
“I didn’t come to see you.” Liam tilted his chin at Autumn by way of greeting.
He must have come to ask her about the diamond ring. Autumn sighed. Timothy was right. He must need it for something. But, of all places, why had he felt compelled to talk to her here? Autumn wondered if she could slip away undetected. She needed more time with the ring if she was going to discover what happened to the ghost. She retreated toward the steps, but Liam called out, “Autumn!”
She slumped her shoulders and scuttled down the steps. Just get this over with. But the moment she came face-to-face with him, she felt this desire to both kiss him and scratch his eyes out at the same time. What is going on with me?
“Your lip is all puffy,” Autumn said.
Liam arched his brows so high Autumn thought they’d fly off his forehead. “Uh, yeah. That’s what happens when someone bites your lip.”
Autumn glanced from Victoria to Liam and grimaced.
Liam’s eyes widened. “Uh, no.”
Autumn shrugged. “What you do in your own time is your business.”
Liam crossed his arms and stared intently at her. She fidgeted under his gaze.
“You mean, you don’t remember?” he asked.
“Remember what?”
Liam’s eyes darted to Victoria, who stood there with her hands on her hips. “I think we should talk about this later.”
Victoria’s lip curled up. “How do you even know each other?”
This time, Liam answered. “I work for her great aunt.”
“At the haunted hotel?” Victoria’s eyebrows shot up into perfectly manicured arches.
“A job’s a job. We can’t all be born rich.”
Victoria frowned, but then she purred, “I didn’t break up with you because you didn’t have money.”
Now, it was Autumn’s turn to be incredulous. “You guys used to date?”
Victoria smiled and moistened her lips. “We did more than date.” She laughed and linked her arm through Liam’s elbow.
Autumn’s stomach soured. “I’ll see you back at the Cayo.” She ran up the stairs, hoping to reach homeroom before the second bell. Autumn thought she heard her name again, but this time, when she ducked her head down and pretended not to hear, no one got in her way.
When Autumn returned to New Jersey, Victoria Canton and her god-awful friends would be a distant memory.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Liam watched Autumn enter the school building. He shouldn’t have come here. He should have gone straight to the Cayo. He could have spoken to Autumn later. But his shift would end before she got home from school, and he really needed that ring back. Plus, he didn’t think Evelyn would like it if he hung around after he was off the clock.
Well, the ring was safe at least. But Liam’s skin crawled just the same. Did Autumn really not remember kissing him last night? Or was she playing him?
One problem at a time.
Liam pinched the bridge of his nose and said to Victoria, “Why did you have to say that?”
She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “Say what?”
“‘We did more than just date,’” he mimicked. “You know that isn’t true.”
She scoffed. “You can’t possibly care what she thinks. She’s related to a crazy woman. Plus, she’s from New Jersey.”
“You really haven’t changed one bit, have you?”
Victoria skimmed her finger down Liam’s shoulder and drew circles along his forearm. She knew how to touch him, how to get his pulse to quicken. She also knew how to use him for a good time, before throwing him away. Liam brushed her hand off his arm. “Quit it, Vicky. I’m not interested.”
Liam noticed that Victoria kept glancing back at her group of friends, who were staring at them as if hypnotized. “You’re such a hypocrite. What do you care what they think? They told you to dump me because I was a loser.”
Victoria whipped her head back and faced him. “No one tells me what to do. Besides, I never said you were a loser.”
Liam straddled the scooter and buckled his helmet on his head. “No, you just treated me like one. I have to go to work. I only came here to ask Autumn something, and you scared her off.”
“Sure you didn’t,” Victoria said, laughing. “You know I go here.”
“Whatever, Vic.” Liam inserted the key into the ignition.
Victoria touched Liam’s hand. “I heard you need some start-up capital for a business venture. Maybe, I can help you with that.”
Liam cursed under his breath. “Randall.”
“Stop by my house sometime. And we can discuss how I can finance your operation.” She hurried up the steps to join her group of friends. Liam watched as the girls bowed their heads and laughed.
“Breyer!” A deep voice barked his name.
Liam startled as a black SUV rolled up alongside him, sandwiching him between the street and the sidewalk. Mick Canton sat in the passenger seat, his arm draped over the open window, his Rolex glinting in the sunlight. He cracked his neck muscles before adjusting his sunglasses atop his full, albeit graying, hair. Mick’s driver, a burly man with a flattop, rested thick fingers on the steering wheel.
Liam had learned early that the best way to handle Mick was to pretend like t
he man didn’t intimidate him. Key word: pretend. Mick thrived on weakness, and he could smell it like a shark smelled chum in the water.
Liam feigned a smile. “Can I help you, Mr. Canton?”
Mick flicked a mosquito off his forearm. “Doubtful. I thought you were making your money in the Dakotas, drilling for oil.” The way Mick said it made it seem like Liam had gone off to earn money on Mars.
Liam felt a burgeoning headache. “Didn’t work out.”
“Course not,” said Mick, his wide mouth turning up at the corners.
Liam cringed. “Okay, well if that’s all—”
“Not quite young man. Now that you’re back, I want to make it clear that you should stay away from my granddaughter.”
Liam watched a beetle scuttle along the sidewalk. “I promise you that Victoria and I have no plans to get back together. That ship has sailed.”
Mick sucked on his teeth. “No hard feelings, son. I just don’t want her getting hurt.”
“She broke up with me,” Liam said.
Mick smirked. “That’s not what I meant. You see, a girl like Victoria, with money and influence, is an easy target for boys like yourself.”
Liam balled his fists. He stepped toward the SUV and Burly Flattop opened his car door. Mick put his hands out to stop him. “Not necessary, Finn. Young Liam wasn’t making any threatening movements. Were you?”
Liam didn’t respond.
Mick chuckled and motioned for Finn to start the car. “I hope not to see you around, Breyer.” Then the SUV sped off, kicking up bits of gravel on its way out.
With shaky hands, Liam turned on the scooter. He was late for his shift at the Cayo. After his confrontation with Mick, taking orders from Evelyn would be a treat.
#
Autumn always cut through City Cemetery on her way home from school. The Cayo was directly on the other side of the cemetery, off Pine Street. When she and Evelyn first moved there in the spring, Autumn used to spend hours reading the creepy epitaphs, sometimes gliding her fingers along the ancient skulls embedded in the headstones. Eventually, she realized that despite the cemetery being a huge tourist destination, some people in Key West still had beloved family members buried there. Like Mr. Blazevig, who, on most days, tended to the graves of his dead wife and son. Today was no different.
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