The Mayhem on Mohawk Avenue

by Megan Atwood

  Brian shrugged, then took a swipe at his still-sniffling nose and exhaled loudly. Picking up a piece of grass, he kept his eyes trained on it as he twisted it to shreds.

  “This is my fourth move in four years,” he said to Jackson. “My last school...well, let’s just say I wasn’t exactly popular.”

  Jackson nodded. He and Jinx had something in common there.

  “So this year I wanted to make a big impression. And I started researching Portland and came across your site. I thought it was wicked cool.” He smiled at Jackson.

  Jackson shook his head and smiled too. “That’s all Jinx, man. She’s amazing at that stuff. The graphics and setup? It was all her.”

  “Yeah, it really is.” Brian said. “I mean that, even though she just shredded me out there.”

  Jackson could tell by looking at the boy’s brown eyes that he really did mean it. He truly admired Jinx.

  “Anyway, I decided I’d do the same thing. I just figured that no one probably knew about your site anyway, and if I came in I could just sort of take over that niche. I didn’t count on Jinx being so...”

  Jackson raised his eyebrows. “Protective?”

  Brian looked sideways. “Sure. That word could be used to describe her.”

  Jackson chuckled a little, and the boys fell silent for a few seconds.

  Then Brian said, “I have something else to confess. I wrote to you guys about a haunting. This was after I made the website.”

  Jackson’s eyebrows couldn’t have gone any farther up his head. “You’re Mayhem?”

  Brian nodded.

  “But didn’t you say you were in eighth grade?” Jackson asked. Even though he’d been avoiding Jinx, he still read the e-mails their potential client had sent her.

  “Yeah, well, since I had already made a website saying I was the ghost hunter in town, I couldn’t exactly tell the truth, could I? So when Jinx wrote me back...I had to get her off my trail. But she’s...”

  “Persistent?” Jackson said.

  Brian said, “Sure.”

  “So, do you really have a haunting?”

  Brian turned fully toward Jackson. “That’s the thing, man. I really do. I can’t get rid of it. And it only happens when I’m alone in the house.”

  Jackson shivered. How creepy was that? “Well, you really should hire us.”

  Brian looked at him like he was crazy. “Jinx will murder me. Then she’ll murder my ghost.”

  Jackson rubbed his chin. “I don’t think so. I mean, I’ll talk to her, and I’ll come with you to tell the story. But I think the possibility of a real case will override her sense of injustice. Plus, maybe you can both apologize to each other.”

  Brian nodded glumly. “When should we do this meeting then?”

  Jackson stood up, grinning. “No time like the present!”

  Brian went white and groaned.

  W

  hen Jinx got in the car, she was already talking. “...should have seen it, Jackson. Cards raining down like magic and that creep gone—”

  She glanced into the backseat, and Jackson watched her stiffen at the sight of the exact creep she’d been talking about. Jinx turned to Jackson and glared her meanest glare. He knew because he’d seen all of her mean glares. This one was definitely the meanest.

  “What. Is. He. Doing. Here?” She turned the glare onto Brian, who seemed to shrink away.

  “I told you this wasn’t a good idea, dude,” Brian murmured.

  “Yeah, that’s the understatement of the year.” Jinx folded her arms and looked at Jackson.

  “J, will you just do me this favor and hear him out?”

  Jinx sighed so heavily Jackson was afraid the vibrations would shatter the windows. But he also knew that she felt she owed him one after their first official case had revealed some trust issues on Jinx’s part.

  She glared at him one more time, then shifted to Brian, eyebrows raised and lips set in a taut line.

  “Talk.”

  Brian was so startled that he immediately jumped into almost exactly what he’d told Jackson. When he was finished, he added, “And I’m really sorry.”

  Jackson studied Jinx’s face. He knew that look. She felt bad for the kid and was trying to hide it. He even would have guessed that she felt bad about outing him at school.

  “So these things only happen when you’re alone in the house?” she asked.

  Brian nodded. “Yeah, it’s so weird. Things fly around and break, and then my parents come home and think that I did it. It’s awful. They say they don’t even know me now.” He hung his head again, and Jackson felt a pang of sadness for him. Brian’s loneliness wafted from him like it was a physical thing.

  Jinx twisted her lip. “Is there a time when your parents are going out of town soon?”

  Brian shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

  She smiled mischievously. “Well, maybe they could win something soon.”

  Both Jackson and Brian looked at her. “What?” they asked at the same time.

  Jinx rummaged through her backpack and grabbed her phone. “Jackson, don’t start driving yet,” she said.

  “OK.” Jackson shrugged.

  “You got a home phone? One that works? And are your parents around right now?” Jinx asked Brian.

  “Oh, yeah. I made that phone number up on the flyer. I didn’t actually want people to call.” At Jinx’s hard stare he went on, hurriedly, “Uh, what day is it? Thursday, right?” he asked. “Yeah, actually, they should be. My dad works in the mornings, and my mom doesn’t have class today. Why?” His expression turned suspicious.

  “What’s the number? A real one this time.”

  “Why?”

  Jinx just glared at him. He sighed. “555-3847.”

  She punched in the numbers, and Jackson could hear ringing. A woman’s voice answered on the other line.

  “Hello, is this Dr. Waters?” Jinx paused. “Well, I’m from the Ramada Inn downtown, and I wanted to tell you that you won the business card raffle! You and a guest can stay in the penthouse suite for one night this upcoming weekend.”

  Jinx was quiet for a minute, listening, then said a few uh-huhs. “Well, someone sure did, because you won right here,” she explained cheerily. “Well, I’m sorry, ma’am, but this weekend is the only time to redeem this special prize. Can I go ahead and confirm you’ll be joining us?”

  She hung up her phone and looked at Brian. “I hope the penthouse is open...I probably should have checked that first.” She shrugged. “Anyway, Jackson and I will come over Friday night and see what’s going on. But you have to call the Ramada and book that room.”

  Jackson looked out the window but didn’t say anything. He was supposed to go out with Haley on Friday. This was going to be tricky.

  Brian looked at Jinx with wide eyes. “How am I supposed to book a hotel room? And what if it’s not available?”

  Jinx shrugged. “You’ll figure it out. You’re pretty crafty yourself, from what I’ve seen.” She grinned at him. And for the first time since Jackson had talked to him, Brian grinned back.

  J

  inx checked her equipment bags once again. This time she’d told her parents she’d be staying at Haley’s house. Using that name never got old.

  She couldn’t stop rifling through her bags. Something was off—she was out of sorts. First of all, Jackson had been weird about plans for the night. Distant and sort of vague. Something was going on with him, but she had no idea what.

  But also, something was off about Brian’s story. Jinx didn’t think he was lying—she just felt she was missing something that would make everything else fall into place.

  Oh well, she thought. Tonight at least one mystery is gonna get solved.

  And if she could help it, she’d get to the bottom of the Jackson mystery as well. She could be persistent if she had to be.

  A car honked outside. Jinx grabbed her gear, yelled a hasty goodbye to her parents, and rushed for the door.

  But her
brother, Slime, stood in front of it, blocking her escape.

  “Move,” she said, shoving her bag into his skinny stomach.

  “Ow. And no.” He narrowed his eyes and grinned an evil grin. “I wanna know where you’re going.”

  “To a friend’s house.”

  Slime’s eyes lit up. “See, that’s the thing. You don’t have friends! So I know you’re doing something else. And I’m going to find out.” He paused for what Jinx imagined he thought was dramatic effect. “Or I’m going to tell.”

  She used her bag to move him physically from the door. “You’re crazier than normal tonight, Slime.”

  As she shut the door, she heard him say, “I’m going to find out!”

  Worry pecked at her. Slime could be persistent, too. And if he had got a whiff that she wasn’t telling the truth, could her parents know as well?

  Nah. Slime was motivated, that’s all. Her parents wanted her to have friends, so they would believe these stories for a while. Still, she didn’t want to get too comfortable. In the future she’d have to be a little more creative than just picking random girls’ names for her alibi.

  She got to the car and threw her gear in. Jackson smiled at her—a weird, dreamy sort of smile. His cheeks were flushed.

  She stared at him. “Are you on drugs?”

  That seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he was in. “No,” Jackson snorted. He backed out of the driveway and continued to Brian’s house.

  During the drive, he was unusually quiet. Jinx stared at him for a while and then finally said, “What the hell is—”

  At that moment, Jackson pulled into a driveway on Mohawk Avenue. “We’re here!” he said and jumped out of the car. Jinx stared up at the house. It was an old Victorian home with a roof that sent shadows over the lawn. The moon hung above the place like it was setting the stage for a murder. Every room in the house was dark except for one faint light in the front. She shivered a little. No wonder this Brian guy was lonely. If she lived in such a huge house pretty much by herself...Especially one that looked so dark and foreboding...She grabbed her gear and petted her new infrared camera through the duffel bag. It was going to be a good night—spooky house and all.

  Brian greeted them at the door and smiled hugely. “I’m so excited for this!”

  Jinx and Jackson looked at each other as they went into the house. Jinx wondered what he was excited about. Finding the ghost? Getting rid of the ghost? Or just having company?

  “I did a lot of research when I was, um, setting up my site, and this stuff is so cool!” Brian continued. “I even bought an EVP monitor.”

  Jinx dropped her stuff. “Ooh! What kind?”

  “Well, I splurged and got the Spirit Box?”

  Jinx stopped in her tracks. “Are you kidding me? I’ve wanted one of those—” She cut herself off and said, “Guess what I just got? My parents bought me an infrared cam.”

  Brian’s eyes got huge. “You have got to be joking. No way!”

  Jinx nodded big. “I know, right?! They’re so expensive, but my mom just got this new position at work—”

  Jackson interrupted, “Your mom got a new job?”

  “Yes, dumb-dumb, and you’d know that if you answered any of my texts.”

  All of a sudden, Jackson was all business. “Well, let’s set up and wait. Does it usually happen at night, Brian?”

  Brian scratched his hair. “It happens randomly, I guess. So it might not happen at all.”

  Jinx set up the tripod in the corner, setting her brand-new camera carefully on the holder. She had to stop herself from kissing it. She looked through the lens to make sure it was pointed in the right direction. Afterward, she took out the EVP device and set it on the table, then turned on her EMF device. “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time we waited for nothing, that’s for sure.”

  Brian kept talking. “It’s so weird, but our last house was haunted, too. We seem to be attracted to haunted houses.”

  Jinx thought he was lucky. She’d kill for a ghost at her place. She did one more check to make sure that everything was set and then looked at the DVD collection near the TV.

  “We could always watch a movie while we wait. It’s not like it would scare the ghosts.”

  Jackson and Brian both nodded enthusiastically.

  Before either boy could speak, Jinx yelled, “I get first pick!”

  “This isn’t a movie,” Jackson grumbled.

  Jinx munched on popcorn happily. “No, it’s better than a movie.”

  Brian smiled. “I thought I was the only Veronica Mars fan. It’s so old I didn’t think anyone else knew about it. Guess not.”

  Jackson huffed, and Jinx looked at him curiously. He kept texting someone on his phone, and Jinx was about to ask when Brian started talking.

  “I love Veronica’s dad. I love the relationship she has with him.”

  Jinx threw more popcorn in her mouth and nodded. “I know. They do a good job with that.”

  Brian was quiet for a minute. Then he said quietly, “At least he knows Veronica exists.”

  A loud bump sounded in the hallway. Jackson and Jinx both jumped. Brian’s face had turned stormy, and he didn’t seem to notice the noise. “Do you guys have good relationships with your parents?” he continued.

  Jinx, thinking she’d imagined the noise, answered him half-distracted. “Yeah. My parents are cool. Clueless, but cool.” She looked at Jackson, “Did you hear that noise?”

  “What about you, Jackson?” Brian asked.

  Jackson looked toward the hallway too. “Yeah, I did hear it.” Then he said, “I have a great relationship with my parents.”

  Jinx looked at him curiously. Parents? He had a great relationship with his mom, but...

  She decided to get to the bottom of things. “Where have you been lately, Jackson?”

  Jackson turned to her, eyes innocent. “What do you mean?”

  “Hey guys,” Brian said, “I thought we were having a conversation here?”

  Jinx went on like Brian hadn’t spoken. “I mean, you’ve been ignoring my calls and texts, acting strange. What is going on with you?”

  “So I have to check in with you for everything?”

  Jinx felt like she’d been slapped. Another bump sounded in the hall.

  “Can you guys talk about this later? I thought we were here to investigate things.” Brian’s voice had gotten louder.

  Something crashed in the hall. All three of them jumped, but Jinx wasn’t done. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she said to Jackson, her voice loud and angry. “We’re supposed to be best friends. Since when do you hide things from me?”

  Jackson responded just as angrily. “Maybe you’re hard to talk to sometimes! Did you think of that?”

  “Guys...” Brian murmured.

  “What is it you can’t talk to me about, Jackson?” Jinx yelled back. She was standing up and so was Jackson. They glared at each other, face-to-face.

  All of a sudden, the DVD case shot across the room.

  “Uh-oh,” Brian said. He looked to Jackson and Jinx. “Duck.”

  J

  ackson tackled Jinx to the floor as magazines, coasters, and remote controls flew through the air. Brian army-crawled over to them.

  Jinx smacked Jackson and hissed, “Get off, get off!” He leaned back and let go of her. For a minute, her smell lingered in his nose—Twizzlers and some brand of shampoo he couldn’t place.

  “I told you,” Brian said.

  Just as fast as the stuff had started flying, all the magazines and coasters fell down. Like the gravity in the room had turned back on. The three of them stood up slowly and surveyed the damage.

  Jinx ran over to her new piece of equipment, put her hand on her chest, and breathed out. The camera was fine.

  The living room, however, was not.

  Everything was scattered around, the remote controls broken, paper shredded, even throw pillows thrown. Jackson couldn’t believe the mess.


  “Does it happen more than once a night?” Jinx asked.

  Brian shrugged glumly. “Not normally. That was a pretty typical instance.”

  Jinx glared at Jackson. “Then I think I’ll take the equipment home and see what happened,” she said.

  Brian looked crushed. “You guys aren’t staying the night?”

  Jinx shook her head.

  Jackson sighed angrily. He normally never fought back with Jinx—it was pointless. But this time felt different. This time he’d cut his date with Haley short to work a case. For Jinx.

  He stuffed equipment into his bag and said, “Fine. Thanks for dragging me over here, Jinx. Per usual, all you think about is yourself.”

  Jinx turned around. “I’ll call my dad for a ride home,” she yelled. “Then you won’t have to think of me any longer.”

  Jackson glared at her. “Fine!”

  Jinx glared back. “Fine!”

  Jackson stomped out the door, leaving a bewildered Brian standing among pieces of shredded magazines.

  It wasn’t until the following Monday that Jackson heard from Jinx. He’d meant to call—he hated fighting with her—but something kept him from doing it. And he’d been spending a lot of time with Haley. A lot of time. In fact, they’d decided they were dating, something that thrilled Jackson to his core. And, for many reasons, also completely terrified him.

  Jinx found Jackson on her lunch break, in the middle of his counseling-office roamings.

  She walked up to him and said, “Truce?”

  Jackson sighed. “Truce. What’d you find out about the haunting?”

  Jinx leaned in, totally engaged, completely excited. Every once in a while Jinx opted not to hold a grudge. Jackson was thrilled that this was one of those times. “That’s the thing, I didn’t see anything. Not a thing. I mean, the camera caught the stuff being thrown around, but there was no other evidence of a ghost. Nothing on the EVP or EMF.”

  Jackson’s face scrunched up. “But there was clearly activity. I mean, the living room was trashed!”

  Jinx gave him a dirty look. “Yeah, I know. And I had to help clean it up while I waited for my dad.”