by Cameo Renae
“That’s encouraging,” I exhaled.
“Just relax. I’m the best driver in the world.”
When the bike lurched forward, I tightened my grasp around his waist. My stomach twisted, and goosebumps riddled my body with excitement. The last time I’d been riding on the back of anything was with Michael. I relived the memory in my mind and failed to realize I’d rested my head against Mason’s back.
Catching myself, I loosened my grip and leaned away from him, but he glanced sideways with a broad smile on his face.
Crap. He probably thought I was cuddling up to him.
The ride home seemed a lot faster on the motorcycle, and it was fun. I missed the thrill of the ride. Michael always drove a little fast, just so I’d hug him tighter. I never minded though. And now with Mason, it felt good to have his warm body to cling to, yet guilt settled in my stomach as I thought about enjoying this moment. I felt comfortable around him, which made me feel as if I was cheating on Michael.
Pulling into Emily’s driveway, he killed the engine. I hopped off the back and slid off the helmet.
“Thanks,” I said. “You could have just taken me to your place.”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t want you to walk.”
“It’s twenty feet.”
“Still,” he said with a smile. “It’s all the way, or no way.”
Mason was a gentleman too. A little rough around the edges, but there was a kindness to him I was sure not too many people saw.
“Thanks again.” I handed him his helmet, and when he went to grab it, our hands touched. We both paused, no one pulling away from the other.
He cleared his throat, breaking the moment. I looked to his townhouse and asked,
“Are you going home?”
“I don’t think so. The police trashed the place. I don’t want to deal with any of it right now.” He pulled the helmet over his head.
“Stay,” I blurted. What the hell was I doing? I hadn’t even asked Emily.
He lifted his face mask. “What?”
“Stay here for a bit. Emily’s making dinner.”
He smiled, and I thought he’d accept the invitation. “Thanks, but I need some time alone.”
I was a little shocked. “Okay. If you change your mind and want to talk, you know where to find me.” I had no idea what was coming over me. I would never invite a stranger to dinner, let alone invite him to talk—since when did I want to hear about other people’s problems? I had more than enough of my own.
He gave a nod, lowered his face mask, and backed out to the road.
As soon as I walked through the door, Emily was standing right there.
“Oh my God!” I brought my hand up to my chest. “How the heck do you keep doing that?”
“I’ve been stalking you. Now, come on, I have some dessert.” She led me into the kitchen and sat me at the counter, then served me a piece of strawberry cheesecake with a hot cup of coffee.
“Thanks, Em.”
“You’re welcome.” She grinned, leaning her elbows on the counter. “I’ll let you finish your cheesecake, but then you need to give me the four-one-one.”
“Deal,” I said, taking a slow bite to savor it. “Mmm, this is so good.”
“Yeah, you still know how to kill me slowly. But remember, my dear friend, karma is a bitch.”
“Karma and I are very close friends,” I said. “There is nothing she can do that would be worse than what has already been dished out to me.”
Emily’s face dropped. “Yeah, and you didn’t deserve any of it.”
“Such is life, huh?”
“But the truth is, you endured. You are stronger than I could ever be, and you don’t know how much I look up to you. I know if the roles were reversed, I wouldn’t be functioning. But look at you. You are not only surviving, you’re helping others. If anyone deserves a second chance at happiness, it’s you.”
“Thanks,” I said, holding back tears. “But I know you. You would have survived.”
“And that makes one of us,” she said, swirling the tip of her finger in my strawberry topping and sucking it off her finger.
“Hey, get your own,” I said, pulling my plate back.
“Oh, hurry the hell up. I need answers. You’re being cruel.”
“Then you shouldn’t have given me food first.”
“I was being a nice friend.”
“You were buttering me up.”
“One and the same.”
I finished off the cheesecake and proceeded to give her the low-down on everything I knew about Logan, Liam, their mother, and…Billy.
She grabbed both my arms, her eyes were the size of saucers. “Holy crap, Lizzy. Do you realize you’re the only one who has the information on who killed him? You have to go to the police.”
“That’s my problem, Em. They’ll want to know how I got my information. I don’t know anyone from here. I can’t outright tell them that it came to me from a spirit.”
“You should call Tyler’s dad. Maybe he can make some calls to the station here, give you some creditability.”
The front door opened, and Tyler called out, “I’m home.”
“Hey babe, we’re in the kitchen. Can you come here?” Emily yelled back.
When he walked in, his eyes narrowed on me. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yes, I'm all right.”
“No, she’s not,” Emily butted in. “She had a visit from the dead guy who was with Logan. Billy.”
“Are you serious?” he questioned. “Where did this happen? What did he say?”
“I saw him wandering down one of the hallways on the ICU floor. He told me everything that happened, and then I helped him cross over.”
“Holy shit,” Tyler said, amazed.
“Babe, he told her the name of the guy and where he lives. And he was linked to the girl who drowned,” she added, getting excited. “Do you think she should talk to your dad first before doing anything?”
“For sure. I’ll give you his cell phone number. He’ll take your call. You know how much he respects your gift.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I feel I need to tell someone, but just don’t know who.”
Tyler gave me his dad’s number, and I punched it into my phone.
“He should be home now,” he said.
“Call him, Lizzy,” Emily urged.
“Yeah, I’ll go do that now,” I said.
“I’m so sorry,” Emily ran around the table and hugged me. “This is the last thing I wanted to have happen. I’d planned for you to come down and have fun, to get away from all the bullshit,” she said sadly. “I’m here if you need me. Please let me know if I can get you anything, okay?”
“I will,” I said, hugging her back. “I’ll make the call and let you know what he says.”
Back in the bedroom I sat on my bed and collected my thoughts.
I wasn’t even sure if Officer Cross could do anything for me, but it was worth a shot. I had to tell someone what happened, and maybe he could give me some advice and point me in the right direction.
I finally hit the call button, and after the first ring, he answered.
“This is Cross.”
“Officer Cross, this is Elizabeth Hayes. I’m sorry to be calling your personal cell, but I have a bit of an emergency, and Tyler gave me your number.”
“Hello, Elizabeth. Is everything all right down there?” he asked in his deep, happy voice.
“Yes, it is. I mean…Tyler and Emily are okay…we’re all fine, but I’ve come across a problem. It has to do with my gift.”
He cleared his throat. “Okay. Lay it on me.”
“One of Tyler and Emily’s neighbors, in the townhouse next door, just went into the hospital for a drug overdose.” After I had said those words, I cringed, as I was basically telling him his son was connected to a drug crime.
Officer Cross was quiet through my entire retelling, and I knew it was because he was taking notes in his little notebook. It’s what
he did. He collected data, analyzed it, and looked for evidence to support it. When I finally finished, he sighed deeply.
“Elizabeth, are you sure this information is from a source you can trust? This guy was on drugs. And I have to have some kind of solid evidence, or they won’t do a thing.”
“If they run blood tests on all three victims, I’m sure they’ll find the drug present in their systems is a common thread.
“Yeah, that sounds like enough, and I agree with you. If you were up here, I’d have all the tests run immediately. But this is out of my jurisdiction. They’ll want to know how I received this information, and if I’m going to tell them through a verified medium we’ve used in the past, I’ll need something substantial. Some kind of solid evidence for them to dig further.”
“I have the name of the killer and where he lives. His name is Anthony Hoffer, and he’s known as Antman in the drug world. He lives in a blue apartment complex called the Blue Lagoon on Sunset Street. Third floor, room thirteen.
“The dead guy told you this?” he asked.
“No,” I replied. “The dead girl, Betty Brown. The pregnant girlfriend who found me at a beach party last night. I helped her cross over. She has no idea he knew about the baby, or that he killed her because of it.”
“We still don’t know that yet,” he said.
“I do,” I replied. “These brothers are murderers, and if we don’t catch them, other students down here could be next. They’re dangerous.”
“All right. I’ve taken down all of the information. If you happen to run into any more spirits, ask them for some hard evidence, something I can present to make the police take a look. Meanwhile, I have a friend who works for the LAPD. I know it’s not his jurisdiction, but maybe he can help. Give me a day or so to call around, and I’ll call you back.”
“Thank you, Officer Cross. You’re the best.”
“I’m just doing my job. And you, young lady, please don’t do anything that would put yourself in danger. We don’t want a repeat of what happened a few years ago. Do not make contact with those people, and please tell Tyler and Emily to do the same. If anything happened to you, and your mother found out I talked to you, she’d kill me.”
I laughed because he knew my mom well.
“Oh, and speaking of your mom, I happened to run into her today at the market. She asked if I knew whether you were having fun down there or not. You should give her a call. She worries.”
“Okay, I’ll give her a call before she heads down here looking for me.” I chuckled.
“Give Tyler and Emily my love. I’ll be in touch. Goodbye, Elizabeth.”
“Bye, Officer Cross.”
After hanging up the phone, I felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Someone knew. Someone I knew I could trust, who was in a position to help.
I quickly shot over a text to my mom.
Me: Hey mom. Just checking in. Tyler & Em are keeping me busy, but I’m having fun. Love you. See ya in 5 days.
Mom: Good to hear. Love you. Be safe. See you soon.
If she only knew. If she did, I’d be on the next flight home. But I couldn’t go yet. Not without settling the mess happening here.
As I helped Emily prepare the stew for dinner, I heard the rumble of a motorcycle.
“Sounds like Mason’s home. I don’t think I’d be able to sleep in that house,” Emily said. “Not after what happened.”
“Yeah, me either.” I sighed, continuing to stir the contents of the pot.
She went to the fridge and pulled out some carrots and green beans. “Hey, would you mind chopping these up and throwing them in the stew? I’ve got to talk to Tyler about something,” she asked.
“Of course,” I replied. “I’ve totally got this stew-stirring thing down to a science.”
“Good. I’ll be right back.”
She turned up the radio and left.
I chopped the carrots and green beans, then threw them into the pot. The song that came on the radio was one of my favorites, so I turned it up and sang. I looked behind me to make sure the room was empty so I could dance my butt off. Using the ladle as a microphone, I went to town. When I turned back around, Emily, Tyler, and Mason were standing behind me.
I gasped, horrified. “How long have you been there?”
“Long enough to know you can’t hold a tune, but can shake what your momma gave ya,” Mason replied with a sly grin.
“Oh my God.” I could feel my cheeks turn three shades of red.
“Don’t stop on our account,” he added.
“Yeah, get it, girl,” Emily cheered, dancing toward me. “Dance party in the kitchen.”
I turned around, completely embarrassed, and began stirring the pot again.
“Hey, Mason, want a beer?” Tyler asked.
“Sure,” he replied.
Tyler grabbed a few beers from the fridge and led him out into the living room.
I turned to Emily. “What did you do?” I hissed through my teeth.
“Nothing,” she replied coyly.
“Yeah, sure. That’s what you always say. Why is he here?”
“Hey, you said yourself you wouldn’t want to be alone in that house. So, I invited him over for dinner.” I could see in her eyes that she was holding something back from me. There was a look that only a best friend would know.
“What else did you do?”
“Who me?” she asked, pointing to her chest and batting her eyes.
“Yeah, you,” I tried to say in an angry voice, which didn’t come across the way I’d planned. It was probably the smile fighting for space on my face that ruined the effect. “Spill.”
Her brow rose. “I planned a surprise trip tomorrow. The company called me this morning when a space opened up, so I invited Liam, and he agreed. I thought it would be fun because it seemed like you two really hit it off. But then, Liam texted me before you got home and said he couldn’t make it, so…” She paused and turned back to the living room. “I invited Mason. And it turns out, he’s free tomorrow.”
“Surprise,” I said sarcastically with jazz hands. “Everyone is free, Em. It’s spring break.”
“Yeah, well lucky for us, huh? The tickets are expensive, and it’s too late for a cancellation, so I needed a replacement.”
“And where is this expensive ticket taking us?” I hummed, stirring the pot.
“Somewhere around eight hours away. We’re leaving after dinner so we can be there bright and early in the morning.”
“Are you serious?” I said.
“Dead,” she said wiggling her brow and throwing her arm around my shoulder. “So, suck it up, buttercup. You promised to roll with my antics this week.”
“Yeah, but you promised not to invite anyone without my permission.”
“True, but these tickets were a lot of money, and non-refundable. I couldn’t let a good seat go to waste,” she added. “Besides, I saw something last night between you two I can’t quite put my finger on.”
“Stop,” I moaned.
“Okay, okay,” she said throwing her arms up in the air. “I was just telling you what I saw. Maybe it was utter contempt for his rudeness, but you can’t tell me he wasn’t a little bit charming.”
She held up her thumb and pointer finger, and I closed the distance between them, leaving a thread of space. “Maybe that much.”
“Hey, it’s not closed all the way, which means there’s hope. And you believe in hope, right?”
I shot her a glare. “Em.”
“All right. All right. I concede.”
“Good,” I replied.
Dinner was less stressful than I thought it would be. Mason wasn’t very talkative, but neither was I. Tyler and Emily did most of the chattering, and we only spoke up when we were asked questions.
Mason was sitting across from me, and I couldn’t help but glance up once in a while. The left side of his face was bruised, but the swelling had gone down. His brown hair was a disheveled mess, and it work
ed well on him.
There was something about his grin that made my stomach twist. And as the night went on, I realized how many things he and Michael had in common.
The one huge difference was how stand-offish, and arrogant Mason was at times, whereas Michael had been consistently friendly. He’d always made everyone feel at ease like they’d known him for years.
After we were all finished, Emily leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table.
“All right gang, we leave in exactly one and a half hours. That should give you enough time to shower and pack a small bag for tomorrow. Make sure you have jeans, a long-sleeve top, and they did suggest you bring a hat.”
“I don’t have a hat,” I said.
“I have a few baseball hats,” Mason said. “One of them is brand new. I’ll bring it for you.”
“Thanks,” I said. “But I don’t want to take your new hat.”
“I didn’t say you could have it, I said you could borrow it.” He smirked. “You can give it back to me when you’re done.”
I narrowed my eyes but gave a small smile. “Fine. And thank you.”
The corner of his mouth lifted as our eyes locked.
I didn’t want to look at Emily because I knew she’d have some kind of twisted facial expression I didn’t want to deal with.
Mason stood from his seat. “Thanks for inviting me over for dinner. It was delicious,” he said to Emily. His eyes found mine once again, “And the pre-dinner entertainment was pretty top notch.”
“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet,” I said, laughing.
“Truth,” Emily added. “Lizzy here has a ton of hidden gifts, just dying to come out.” She glanced at me. “Pun intended.”
“Ha!” I barked, then kicked her under the table.
“Oww—”
“What’s wrong, babe?” Tyler asked.
She tilted her head toward me. “Oh, nothing. Just a pain in my ass.”
I giggled, and when I looked up, Mason was watching me with a smile. The flecks of yellow in his eyes seemed to be highlighted.
His eyes. I was lost somewhere in them when Emily kicked me back. “Hey Buttercup, want to help me gather the dishes?”
“Of course.” I stood and took Mason and Tyler’s bowls and carried them to the kitchen sink.
