Paranormally Yours: A Boxed Set

by Alisha Basso

  "I thought I heard voices?"

  "Probably the computer. I was playing a bunch of YouTube videos."

  "Oh." Abby didn't appear to know what to say to that. She looked uncertain for another moment before awkwardly backing out. "Maybe turn the volume down, so it's not quite so disturbing."

  Cassie tossed her a carefree smile. "Sure, Mom, no problem."

  She watched as the door shut, then tilted her head to listen to her mother's retreating footsteps. Only then did she turn back to the still grinning Todd. She held her finger up to her lips.

  Todd laughed. "It's not me you need to worry about."

  Cassie rolled her eyes. "I know. I can't seem to remember to keep my voice down around you. When you show up in public places, I come off looking like a mental case."

  "No problem. That's a normal state for you."

  On impulse, Cassie threw her pen at him. And watched in awe as it slipped right through Todd and fell onto the coverlet. She'd go nuts thinking about this stuff. Keeping her voice down, she asked, "Would you have seen those druggie friends of yours on Friday night?"

  Todd sat up again, his face a confused puzzle. "What do you mean?"

  "Could they have called you to come and join them somewhere? Or asked you to pick them up? Or do a delivery for them?" Frustrated, she threw out her hands. "Someone you know had to be in that car with you. Unless you picked up a hitchhiker?"

  His brows veered together. "I don't pick up hitchhikers unless I know them."

  "Maybe you picked up one you knew? Your vehicle went off Pinnacle Point. A mile or so away from your house."

  He frowned, swinging his legs over the side, facing her. "I know it well. I always slow down, particularly when I'm coming from the North. It's got a brutal hook from that direction."

  "That's where your car went over." She paused, considering. "I'd like to go see it." She stood up and stepped over to the window. "I could walk there after school tomorrow or maybe on the weekend. Maybe Jessie would come with me."

  "Him?" he spat. "Why him?"

  Startled, Cassie spun around to stare at him. "Because I don't have any male friends but you. And it creeps me out to think of going there alone, that's why?"

  "I can go with you." He strode over to where she stood, reaching out to grab her shoulders.

  She glanced down at his hands, sinking into her shirt. So, soft and gentle, like a fairy's stroke. Yet she felt it. She was in awe of the sensation.

  "I can feel your hand." She lifted her arm, her fingers, gentle and soothing stroked down the side of his cheekbone. Those clear emerald eyes, so intent and sharp, glowed. His eyelids drifted closed at her touch, his head tilting, disappearing into her palm.

  Tears came to Cassie's eyes.

  "Why did this have to happen to you?" she whispered.

  He opened his eyes. "I don't know. And I don't know how long I can stay here. Things are starting to fade. It's getting harder to communicate sometimes."

  Cassie's lower lip trembled. "But I…"

  "Shh." He lifted one finger, gently stroking along the plump line of her mouth. "It's okay. I'm getting used to this. I'll be alright."

  "Yeah, and what about me?"

  A sad look slid over his face. "You will be fine too. You'll miss me, and I'm grateful someone will." As she made to speak, he placed a finger against her mouth. "No. I know how things stand. There's nothing like having lots of time on your hands, being able to travel anywhere at any time and listening to conversations without people being aware…to get a good idea of how they truly felt about you."

  Turning her head away, Cassie closed her eyes at the thought. She whispered, "I imagine that's a little difficult."

  "Let's say it gives one a unique perspective on human dynamics."

  "Too bad we can't have that perspective without dying first," she said bitterly.

  "We could, only most of us can't be bothered to do anything as constructive as being the best we can be." A mocking laugh escaped. "We'd much rather do for ourselves than for others."

  His beloved features faded, before dissipating altogether in front of her.

  Tears sprang to her eyes as he vanished. She should have asked him some more questions. Questions about the conversations he might have heard. People talked. And the one who been in his vehicle would say something to someone someday.

  Todd had sounded so different at the end. So…mature. As if dying had hurt in ways unimaginable. And his experience was so different from hers, she didn't know what to say, what to think. He was expanding her world with every sentence, and she had no time to absorb everything. No time to process. No time to re-evaluate her beliefs about life and death – and that place somewhere in-between.

  Where Todd existed.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Ten minutes after last bell, Jessie slouched against the school gates, waiting for Cassie. She'd called at lunch with an odd request.

  He wasn't keen on going to the crash site. Still, he wouldn't let her go alone. True, she was obsessing over the missing phone, but he understood her determination. He respected it.

  Todd had been lucky to have her as a friend.

  "Hi, Jessie. Thanks for coming with me." She stood before him, a vision in yellow. Her hair bounced in a high ponytail held together by a yellow clip that matched her bright t-shirt. Fresh and pretty as spring flowers, she pleased him in ways he'd never known before.

  Straightening, he gave her a goofy grin. "No problem. Let's go, though. I have a ton of homework."

  They fell into step and turned toward the Shake Shop.

  "I do, too. I figured we could grab a coffee on the way." When Jessie's face scrunched, she smirked. "My treat."

  His sidelong glance made her laugh out loud. "It's not that bad, surely?"

  "Right."

  They picked up coffees, then headed to Pinnacle Point, just out of town. The traffic was steady. However with a wide shoulder they weren't bothered. Fifteen minutes later they could see the turn up ahead, with all its warning signs in bright yellow. Cassie's footsteps slowed at the sharp reality. Jessie stopped at her side.

  "Rough corner."

  "No kidding." The pavement had black skid marks going around the bend in both directions. The gravel was scuffed up and there were distinct tracks heading off the highway. Silence fell between Cassie and Jessie. What was there to say? This is where his brother had driven off the highway to crash below. The gas had leaked and supposedly, within a short time, the vehicle had been engulfed in flames.

  Todd had been found many yards up the hill, dead.

  ***

  Cassie stood at the corner, staring down at the horrific skid marks, scattered metal pieces and charred marks centered on one huge black spot. Shivers settled in on her spine and wouldn't stop. She pulled her sweater out of her backpack and put it on. Her heart sank. Poor Todd.

  With a quick sideways look at Jessie, Cassie noted his grim features before turning her attention to the accident site below.

  Todd stood below her, waving wildly at her, a big grin on his face. Cassie turned to Jessie. "I'm going down."

  "What?" He glanced around to see if anyone might bother them. The highway was empty. "Are you sure you want to?"

  "I'm here. I might as well."

  The hill had a surprisingly steep slope. She couldn't imagine what it had been like inside a car smashing over and over again. Here goes nothing. Cassie started down, only to have Jessie pass her with his first jump. Half-sliding, half-skidding, they made it down to where the car had come to its final resting place. The car had been hauled away. Still skid marks, a large burned area and a mess of footprints that had churned the soil up, easily pointing to the spot.

  At the bottom, Cassie smiled at Todd, after a quick look in Jessie's direction. She managed to keep her mouth shut. Jessie would freak if he knew. She wandered around trying to decipher the mess left behind from the recovery operations. There were scorch marks and burnt shrubs making it easy to see where the vehicle had be
en, but where had Todd dragged himself to?

  "Cassie, what are you looking for?"

  She didn't know, just knew she'd recognize it when she saw it. Cassie had the presence of mind to check who was speaking before answering. "I don't know, Jessie. Anything. Something to help determine if a second person had been in the vehicle."

  Todd walked over. "There's nothing here. Or too much; look at the footprints. Looks like a freakin' party happened." Todd wandered around the same area as Cassie. "I don't feel any connection to this place. I don't get it." Moodily, he kicked at a rock and hissed when his foot went through it.

  Wanting to answer him, and not knowing how to with Jessie around, Cassie could only give him a commiserating look and keep an eye on Jessie. She needn't have worried as Jessie wandered around the far side of the site. Cassie widened her search, heading around the brush and trees. "Todd," she whispered. "At least try to help. Search for your cell phone. That's why we're here."

  "Hey! What are you two doing down there?" A strange voice hailed them from the top of the embankment.

  "Uh, oh. Now you've done it." Todd smirked at Cassie.

  She shot him a dirty look before holding a hand to her eyes to block the sun so she could see who spoke. The sun was still too bright for her to see the speaker. "Nothing. Just looking for a friend's cell phone."

  "That's not a good place to be right now. Didn't you hear a kid died down there a few days ago?"

  Cassie glanced at Jessie, who only shrugged. "We're on our way up."

  With Cassie leading the way, they struggled back up the side of the hill. The old timer was still there. Cassie gasped for breath as she glanced around. An occasional vehicle passed, but there was no sign of this guy's vehicle. She studied the scrawny senior citizen in front of her. Mid-seventies, gaunt. Suspenders held up his pants, and his long sleeved shirt was clean and buttoned to the neck. She smiled at him. "Are you walking, too?"

  "What? No, I live up there." He pointed to a barely visible rooftop in the trees on the opposite side of the road.

  "Really?" Cassie studied the hidden location. "Wow. I've lived here all my life and never knew that place existed." Even now that she knew, it was hard to pick out the house. If he hadn't pointed it out, she'd never have seen it. There was a driveway of some kind, but it was half hidden in the bushes. "I guess this is a bad corner for accidents, huh?"

  The old man rubbed a hand over his thin head of hair. "Terrible. That boy's was something awful to see. I called for help right away. The last thing we needed was to have that fire take off. If it hadn't been for the heavy rain these last few days, it would have burned down quite a patch. "

  "Did you see what happened?" Jessie asked curiously, stuffing his fists into his jean pockets. His mannerisms were so like Todd's, Cassie had to turn away. She searched the area for Todd, but there was no sign of him.

  Turning her attention back to the conversation, Cassie watched the two men interact. One old, with a weather-lined face, probably from having seen so much he'd like to forget and Jessie, so young he couldn't imagine what the other had forgotten.

  "Like how it happened? Nope. Not that I saw it exactly. I heard it, then saw all that fire. It had to have been over quick."

  "Yes, except the boy managed to get out of the vehicle. He never was injured by the fire." Cassie studied his wrinkled face, hoping he'd remember something.

  "Is that right?" He hitched up his faded jeans, tucking his plaid shirt in as he looked down at the burn area. "Figured he'd have been burned to a crisp by the time the police got there."

  Cassie couldn't resist asking, "Did you see him moving around at all? Getting out of the vehicle? Or anyone crawling up the hill? Voices? Anything? We'd like to find out if Todd was alone, or if he had someone in the vehicle with him."

  The old man directed his sharp blue eyes at her, before saying in a slow, thoughtful way, "Ain't that for the police to figure out?"

  Cassie looked at Jessie and both turned to face the stranger. "They've decided he was drinking and driving and was alone in the vehicle. Todd was Jessie's brother and my best friend." She lifted her chin. "He didn't drink and drive."

  The stranger studied them. "Well, I can see as you might be a tad upset about their ruling. Did you speak to them about it?"

  "We both have, actually. They were going to get back to us on a few questions that we raised. Like where's Todd's cell phone?"

  "You thinking he called someone?"

  The sun came out from behind a cloud. Cassie rubbed her temple, wishing she'd remembered to bring her sunglasses. "He often picked up friends who had been drinking and gave them rides home."

  "Still, he'd have been behind the wheel, right?"

  After a moment, Cassie nodded reluctantly. "Probably. He loved that car. It was his first one."

  At that the old man rubbed a hand along the side of his cheek, pondering her words. "Well, I could ask Martha, I suppose. She stayed outside to keep an eye on the fire while I went to call the police."

  "Oh. That would be great! It would make us feel so much better if we knew the truth."

  "It can't do any harm. That Martha, she's got the eyes of hawk, she has. But she's resting right now and I won't be waking her for this."

  "No, not necessary." Cassie fished around in her purse, looking for a piece of paper, when Jessie held a small notepad under her nose.

  "Use this."

  With a grateful smile, she snagged up one of the half-dozen pens lying at the bottom on her purse and wrote down both their names and numbers. "After you talk to her, would you contact one of us and let us know what she says?"

  He read off the names and nodded. "I reckon I can do that." Spearing them with sharp blue eyes, he added, "It might not be tonight, you know. Martha's in a bad way and has been known to sleep for a long time sometimes."

  Jessie smiled. "No problem, sir. Tomorrow or the day after would be fine. My brother's funeral is tomorrow."

  "Is it now? Well, you give that young man a good send-off. It's too bad he's gone so young, however, we can't have everyone thinking he'd done something he didn't do, now can we – not if there's another explanation."

  "No, we can't. Thank you so much." Cassie smiled brilliantly at him. "We really appreciate it."

  They waved good-bye and started down the long road into town.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Friday was a crappy day to be buried on. Okay, so it's not like there was a good day but everyone hates Mondays, so why not then? On the other hand, Todd had loved Fridays. Maybe he'd appreciate this choice.

  Cassie didn't. The whole concept depressed her and would most likely ruin her whole weekend. She'd wanted Penny to come with her, only she couldn't get out of her shift at work. She'd asked Suzie. Suzie's excuse was that she detested funerals and graveyards and that 'whole dead thing,' as she put it. Jessie would attend with his family. She'd called Ivan and Bryce, but they'd already left for the ceremony.

  That meant Cassie had to go alone. She'd thought about asking her mom to go with her but had vetoed that idea pretty fast. Her mom hadn't liked Todd. She wouldn't insult her best friend by bringing people who hadn't appreciated him. Their loss, not his. So Cassie found black jeans in the back of the closet and paired them with a navy t-shirt and a black pullover.

  Thankfully, the forecast for rain had turned out to be wrong and the sun had chosen to bless the day. Afraid of being late, she took the back way into the cemetery and joined the small group surrounding a simple raised wooden casket. Todd stood beside Jessie, a mocking grin on his face as he watched the proceedings.

  Cassie beamed at him and gave him a little wave, only to blink in horror as people turned to stare. She stuffed her hand in her pocket and tried to hide amongst the gatherers. Looking around, she hated that less than two-dozen people had attended, and that included the family, the minister and Todd. She recognized the school principal and several teachers. That made her grin. She figured Todd would appreciate the humor that his teachers showed u
p for his funeral, when he hadn't bothered to show up for their classes.

  "A perfect day for a perfect service, don't you think?" Todd appeared beside her, making her jump. Cassie shuffled to give him room only to belatedly realize he didn't need any, having squeezed in, between her and another person. She glared at him, wanting to punch him, only not wanting to draw attention to herself. She rolled her eyes at him instead. He was so juvenile sometimes.

  Noticing the strange look at her from another student, Cassie stared forward and concentrated on the proceedings. The ceremony took so little time, she didn't notice it was over until the casket was lowered and Jessie and his mom threw dirt on top on top of it.

  Where was Todd's father? There, in a rumpled suit, his nose red and bulbous. He followed behind his ex-wife and son.

  Cassie waited until most of the crowd had dispersed before standing at the end of the grave. She'd only ever attended Grams' funeral, which had been a church service and not a service beside an open gravesite. She figured Todd would prefer this one.

  "Oh, Todd." Pressure built up inside. She hated crying in public but figured that funerals might be the one place where it was allowed. She sniffled and sighed. "Damn it, Todd, why did you go and get yourself killed?"

  "Like it's my fault now, huh?"

  She glanced sideways to see that killer grin of his. As he stared down at his own coffin the grin fell away. "Makes it a little too real, doesn't it?"

  "Yeah," she whispered. "Then having you stand there as a ghost is fairly disturbing, too."

  "You know me, always gotta have some drama in my life."

  She smiled. A little watery, but it was a smile. Resolutely she turned and walked away. Several cars and a limousine stood at the cemetery gate. By coming through the back, she'd missed seeing everyone arrive. Jessie stood beside his parents, speaking with the principal.

  "Cassie, come on over here." Principal Macintosh called to her, a concerned look on his face. "How are you doing?"