The Ghost Files (The Ghost Files - Book 1)

by Apryl Baker

  “Can you?”

  He shrugs. “I like her.”

  “That’s all that counts, I guess.” I pick up the cards he’s given me and do my best not to cringe. I do know how to play poker and I’ve been dealt a losing hand. Dang it.

  “What about you, Squirt? What do you do for fun?”

  “I draw,” I say, “but you already know that. I have a secret love of Star Trek too, but only the newer ones. Captain Picard is awesome.”

  “You’re a closet Treky?” he laughs and arranges his cards. “You do not look like a Treky. I’m going to have to take you to Vegas to one of the conventions so I can see you all dressed up in full Klingon costume.”

  “And how, pray tell, do you know those are held in Vegas?”

  “Because my dad is a Treky. I grew up watching Deep Space Nine and Voyager. I guess that makes me one by default too.”

  “Your parents are nice,” I tell him, changing the subjects.

  “Yeah, my dad is great. Mom’s usually a lot friendlier. I don’t know what was up with her.”

  “She wasn’t expecting you to show up with a teenage girl in tow,” I say. “Unless you bring home jailbait every day?”

  “No, I don’t bring girls home very often. I think I’ve only ever had two of my girlfriends over before.”

  Curious. Most guys tended to bring their girlfriends home. Jake had practically dragged me home after three dates.

  “Can I ask you a personal question?”

  “Sure, Squirt.”

  “Have you ever thought about finding your parents? Your birth parents that is?”

  He sighs heavily. “Yeah. I did. I used to think about it a lot. I always wondered why, ya know? Was it because my mom was poor and couldn’t afford to keep me or was she forced to give me up? Or was it something worse? The more I thought about it, the more I realized it didn’t matter. I had two people who loved me, who raised me and who would give up everything for me. That’s really what life is about. The people who love you. It’s all I needed. So I didn’t go looking for my birth parents even though I could have. Mom and Dad would have supported me and helped me any way they could, but I didn’t need to find what I already had.”

  I nod. “I think about trying to find my dad.”

  “Your dad?”

  “I don’t know his name. Mom never told me, but I don’t think he’s dead. I wonder about him all the time.”

  “If you want to find him, Mattie, then we’ll find him.”

  My head snaps up. “You would help me find my father?”

  “I’m all in, Mattie.”

  And he is. I can see it. But why? “Why?”

  “Hell if I know, Squirt,” he grins at me. “I don’t know why you matter to me. I mean, I barely know you, but I need to know you’re safe, that you’re happy, and that you have everything you need. You’re important to me. That’s about all I’ve figured out right now, at least until you get a little older. You really are jailbait until you turn eighteen.”

  My mouth falls open. Did Officer Dan just admit he likes me?

  “Close your mouth, Squirt.” He smiles at me and his brown eyes are full of warm chocolate gooeyness. “Pick up those cards and let’s play. I want to win at least a few hands.”

  Well, he did win a few, but he threw me for a loop there with that admission. I mean come on! This puts a whole new perspective on things for me. Am I ready to think about Dan like that? Can I think about him like that? Danged if I know.

  Instead I turn my concentration back to the game and take him for every dime in his wallet.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I growl in frustration. This is supposed to be easy, but it’s not. I stare down at the pans in hopelessness. Jake is coming over and I told him I’d make him breakfast. Well, it was almost eleven, but breakfast sounded easier than lunch. I figured eggs and bacon would be a piece of cake to make. Not so much. The bacon is shriveled little black things in the blackened pan and the eggs… well, the eggs don’t need to be discussed.

  After all, I want to do something nice for Jake since he’s put up with so much from me over the last little bit. I’d buried myself in research on Mirror Boy while I was in the hospital, thanks to Mrs. O bringing me my laptop and the hospital’s free wifi. There was no real information about him, though, other than what Dan had already told me. I know he’s the key to this, but I just don’t know how. I think I’m gonna have to be brave and try to contact him again –even though he scares the bejeezus out of me.

  “Do I smell burnt bacon?”

  I turn to see Jake leaning against the doorframe to the kitchen and sigh. Well, I never said that I could actually cook, only that I would. “Sorry,” I say with just a hint of disgust as I start scraping food into the sink so I can put it down the disposal.

  Jake laughs and strolls over to inspect the mess. “It’s the thought that counts, Matts.”

  “I wanted to do something nice…”

  He shushes me with his lips and I melt as always. He sure does know how to kiss, I’ll give the boy that.

  “Let’s get this cleaned up and then we’ll go down to the diner for some food.” He picks up the pan I’d dropped and shakes his head. “This needs to soak.” He runs a sink full of hot water, cleans the egg pan and then drops the burned bacon pan into the water.

  I watch him, bemused. Most guys I know would never pick up a dish and wash it. They’d think it was beneath them, but not Jake. He just jumped in and started helping with the clean-up. I take the dishrag from him and clean the counters and the stove. He amazes me really. Sometimes I wonder how long I can keep him. He deserves better than me. He deserves someone as nice as he is. I’m a lot of things, but nice is not one of them.

  Then I throw the rag in the sink and grab my coat. It’s gotten a lot colder this week. Usually we never drop down below thirty degrees in Charlotte in the winter, but it’s barely twenty two degrees outside. The wind tastes like snow too. I absolutely hate the snow. It’s one of the things I don’t miss about Jersey. We always had snow in the winter, but not so much here in the Queen City. We only get the occasional ice storm. Snow is rare.

  The ride to the diner is quick and as soon as we are in the door I realize why Jake was so quick to suggest it. The Rock Band tournament is today. I’d forgotten all about it, but it’s been advertised for like the last month or so. I remember Jake telling me he wanted to enter the drum solo competition. The place is packed with people. A huge fifty-inch screen TV has been placed on the far wall and the tables moved away to make room for the mock stage which is really just the drum set and three big red X’s where the singer and the two guitarists are supposed to stand. It’s not fancy by any means, not like the big tournaments they hold in downtown Charlotte, but everyone is having a blast it looks like. People I’ve never seen before are milling around and I assume they go to some of the other schools and colleges in the area.

  I hear my name and turn to see Meg waving at me from a booth that’s just a few feet from the stage. How early did she arrive to get that table? Jake and I weave in and out of the mass of people and slide in one side.

  “Isn’t it so exciting?” Meg asks right away. “Tommy is signing up for the guitar solo competition.”

  “I guess,” I murmur. It seems like a bunch of nonsense to me. I know Jake loves the game though. “Jake, didn’t you say you wanted to do the drum thing?”

  “Yeah,” he says. “I need to sign up. Give me a sec.” With that he’s gone and I look around for the crazy old woman who’d sent me to rescue her snake from starvation. I am so gonna let her have it, even if I have to go into the bathroom and lock the door. She is conspicuously absent though. Hiding. No wonder she’s hiding. She’d almost gotten me and Dan killed.

  “Infinity, you are up for your practice round in five minutes.” I look up to see Steve Giles at the mic. He’s the local DJ and renowned amongst the high schools as THE DJ to have for your parties. I’d seen him around here and there. He does some good wor
k.

  “Well, what do you want me to do about it? I can’t help that Jim’s appendix ruptured. If we can’t find a drummer like right this second, we have to forfeit.”

  That’s a voice I would know anywhere: Officer Dan. He is standing with another guy and some blonde chick. They are all dressed in black jeans and jean jackets. His band I presume.

  “Yeah, well, we are gonna lose anyway. It’d be better to forfeit than get embarrassed.” The other guy sounds disgusted. He is about Dan’s height with chocolate hair and gray eyes. Very cute.

  The blonde speaks up. Her voice is high and whiny. “What do you mean we are gonna lose? Dan is awesome, you play pretty good and so does Jim.”

  Cute Guy stares at her pointedly.

  She lets out an outraged squeal. “Are you saying we are gonna lose because of me?”

  “Yup, sure am.”

  Kudos to the cute guy for standing up to the bimbo.

  She rounds on Dan. “Are you going to just stand there and let him insult your girlfriend?”

  Girlfriend? Jeez. I thought Dan had more taste than that.

  “Jennifer…”

  She gasps. “You think I sing bad too?”

  He winces. I laugh. I can’t help it. He looks torn between lying and just telling her to shut up. He hears me, though, and looks around. I don’t know how Dan can pick out my laugh in the mix of voices in this din, but he does and smiles at me. The blonde chick frowns and looks to see what he’s smiling at. Her eyes narrow when she sees me and Meg. I bet she’s trying to figure out which one of us he’s smiling at. Meg and I are both hot girls. We know it and we do tend to flaunt it given the chance.

  Dan comes over to the table and takes a seat.

  “Problems, Officer Dan?” I ask him.

  He sighs. “We’ve been practicing for the last month and my drummer’s in the hospital. If I can’t find a replacement we can’t play. You don’t know how by chance?”

  “Me?” I scoff. “Foster kid here. Game systems were not in my vocabulary growing up. I’ve never played before.” I see Jake frowning at Dan and making a beeline for the table. His jealousy is so adorable. Then I have an idea. “But Jake can play. He signed up for the drum solo thingy.”

  “Jake?” Dan perks up and then almost grins at the glower on Jake’s face, but barely manages to control himself. “Hey. Mattie says you know how to play the drums. I need a drummer. Wanna sit in? We can’t play unless I find a replacement.”

  “I don’t know the songs you guys practiced,” he says and sits beside Meg since Dan took his seat next to me.

  Dan gives him the lineup of songs and Jake is nodding. It’s ones he’s played before. They get into a discussion on difficulty levels and I zone them both out. Games are not my thing. Meg is ogling Dan and I grin at her. She looks around sheepishly for Tommy when she sees me grinning then shrugs. I think she might actually be getting tired of him and I am so glad.

  Next thing I know the blonde is huffing over to our table, cute boy in tow. Dan introduces them as Jennifer and Greg and then tells them Jake will be playing the drums.

  “Infinity you’re up!” DJ Steve yells into the mic and the guys move to the stage to take their positions. They actually sound pretty good at least until Jennifer starts to sing. I wince and want to cover my ears.

  She’s belting out the lyrics and completely ignoring the people around her openly laughing or booing. I feel bad for everyone else on stage.

  “She’s not singing, that’s caterwauling,” Meg tells me with a wrinkled nose. “No way can they win with that awful voice.”

  I nod. The first song finishes and the scores pop up. The guys all come in at 95 and up, but Jennifer has barely managed to pull out a 55. Meg’s right. They are so not gonna win.

  “How’s the ankle?” Meg asks while we try to stop laughing at the awful sounds coming out of Jennifer.

  “It’s a little sore. I tore a couple muscles or it wouldn’t have hurt as much as it did.”

  “So what’s up with you and Dan?”

  “Huh?” I pull my eyes away from the stage and focus on Meg. She’s grinning like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you two are hanging out a lot lately. Even Jake mentioned it to me the other day. He thinks you might be crushing on him.”

  “Dan just a good friend, that’s all.”

  “Uh-huh. You have to admit it’s weird that he seems to be there every time you get hurt. That implies that you and he are spending a lot of time together.”

  I roll my eyes at her. “Honest, that’s all it is.”

  “So if I asked him out, you wouldn’t try to bitch-slap me?”

  “No.”

  Well, that isn’t exactly true. A part of me did want to hold on to Dan and yell ‘Mine!’, but if it’s from jealousy or something else, I can’t tell. It’s not like when I think about other girls dating Jake, this goes a little deeper than that. It’s almost an innate response to hold onto him.

  “Good. I’ve heard stories about you from some of the other high schools. You’re pretty scary, Mattie.”

  I let out a long, low chuckle. Yeah, I did have a bit of a reputation, since more than once I beat down some chick because she got in my face. Nice to know that my reputation precedes me.

  “So I take it you and Tommy aren’t getting along anymore?”

  She grimaces. “I don’t know what’s up with him. He has been pretty distant lately. I think he might be seeing someone else.”

  I try to look shocked, but honestly, I already figured that out. He leers way too much at other girls, including me. “Have you said anything to him?”

  “No,” she sighs. “I almost don’t want to. I love him.”

  “But if he’s cheating on you…”

  “It’s none of your business,” Tommy snarls at me. Meg and I both look around, startled. Neither of us had heard Tommy sneak up.

  “It is so,” I snarl back. “Meg is my friend. That makes her my business.”

  “You have no idea who you are messing with little girl.” He leans down and gets right in my face. I can smell his breath. He’s been drinking. “I can hurt you in ways that you’ve never even thought of.”

  “Really?” My right fist connects firmly with his nose. I hear a nasty pop and blood flows. I twist so that my legs are free of the booth and place a well-aimed kick at his kneecaps. He goes down hard. I’m up out of the booth before he can even catch his breath and I get in a kick to his stomach.

  “Better people than you have tried to hurt me,” I tell him softly. “I learned a long time ago how to take care of myself. You come near me again and I promise you, I’ll hurt you in ways you never thought of.”

  “Bitch,” Tommy snarls.

  “I know you are, but what am I?” I smirk.

  “Mattie, you okay?” Dan and Jake have scrambled off the stage and rush to my side.

  “I’m fine,” I say. “He might need some ice for that nose. I broke it.”

  Dan hauls him up. “You wanna press charges?”

  “Yeah, I sure the hell do!” Tommy spits out. “She attacked me.”

  “I wasn’t talking to you, shit-for-brains.” Dan glowers at him. “Squirt?”

  I shake my head. “Nah, he’s not worth the paperwork you’d have to fill out. Just get him away from me.”

  “That I can do,” he says and forces Tommy away from the table and towards the door. I know, I know, I over-reacted. Probably shouldn’t have hit him, but it’s a built in defense most foster kids have. Hit first, hurt them before they hurt you. We learn it early and it’s a lesson that stays with us forever.

  Jake is looking at me strangely as I sit back down. It’s a look I know. Most guys who get to know me eventually give me that look. It says: ‘Who are you and what did you do with my girlfriend?’ I knew it wasn’t gonna last, I’d hoped I could keep him a little longer. After today, though, that might not be an option. My chest hurts. The thought of losing Jake is making
me sick to my stomach and my heart actually hurts. He’s the first guy who’s ever seen past my walls. I glance at Meg and she is staring at me, too.

  “Damn, Mattie, remind me to never, ever get on your bad side,” she whispers. “Where did you learn to fight like that?”

  My mind drifts back. “David Green.” I half-smiled. “He and I got put into the same foster home together when I was ten and he was sixteen. He said that I needed to be able to protect myself and he spent almost six months teaching me how to fight.”

  “You guys must have been pretty close,” she nods.

  “Not really.” I shrug. “Foster kids just take care of each other. He used to get picked on a lot and Eric taught him how to fight and he was just paying it forward.”

  Wow. It’s been years since I thought about David. He’d been as close as a big brother as I’d ever had. I might shrug it off to Meg, but we had been close. He’d taken care of me and took most of the beatings our foster dad dished out. He said if it hadn’t been for Eric he’d have never survived. Eric had saved him and he’d saved me.

  Wait.

  Eric Cameron.

  No, it couldn’t be. OH. MY. GOD.

  “Mattie?”

  That was why Eric was so familiar to me. I know his freaking name.

  Mirror Boy had been a foster kid.

  Chapter Eighteen

  It’s all I can do to sit still while the bands play. I can’t believe Mirror Boy was in the system. I don’t know if he was when he died or not. He could’ve been adopted or something, but now I have a starting point. I have to start researching this angle. I want to do it now! Nancy will be my best chance, but how am I going to get answers out of her without twenty questions? Now, that’s going to be the tricky part, but I’m a sneaky girl by nature. I’ll figure it out.

  My phone starts buzzing. I frown and pull it out of my back pocket. It had better not be Mrs. O. She’s been freaking out recently over the smallest things. Just yesterday, she yelled at all the little kids for playing too loud. I mean seriously, they’re kids. It’s what they do. They like to laugh and squeal. The woman needs to chill and cut them a little slack.