by M J Waverly
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I straightened up.
“Lot going on.” He leaned back against the booth and stared out the window.
I unfolded my arms and reached for my coffee. “You may be right about Teresa. I never considered that she and George in life may have been lovers.”
He reached for my hand. A thrill shot through me alerting all my senses that Sidney Latimer might get lucky. It had been a long time since I’d been physically with someone.
Something pecked against the coffee shop window, and we both turned in unison. A crow tapped his black beak against the glass and then motioned with its wing toward the square. Across the square, Rudolph Clover stepped out of his statue and waved at me to join him.
I pointed out the window. “I see Rudolph.”
Jason threw his head back. “I guess he wants to talk to both of us.” We took our coffees and joined Rudolph on the bench in front of his statue.
“Good afternoon.” Rudolph levitated in front of his statue. “How goes the investigation at Thunder Mountain Park?”
We filled him in on Teresa’s death and the information we had gathered. He rested his chin in his hand and listened.
“You think it may be George’s wife, who killed him ten years ago, and then placed this dark magic spell on his spirit along with the other Nightstalkers in the cave at the end of Bear Falls Trail?” Rudolph placed his hands inside the pockets on his frock coat.
“I don’t know. The killing was an act of passion. The dark magic spell could be for another reason,” I answered.
“Revenge,” Jason suggested.
“Could be. Revenge is the motivation for many a terrible thing.” Rudolph sighed. “There is a lot of power in the mountains. Around Cloverville.”
“Who would want to control the power at Thunder Mountain?” Jason asked.
I envisioned the Blood Collector in his dark and evil cloak. I had a sudden insight that hit my brain like a fork of lightning. It was as if I found the lost piece of the puzzle. The Holy Grail of motivation. I slapped my hand against my forehead.
Jason’s expression became worried. “Sidney, what’s wrong?”
The Blood Collector and his followers, the Nightstalkers— they want to use the power of Thunder Mountain to open the Void and release him.”
Chapter Fourteen
I skipped class writing class. I never skipped class. Guilt swamped me as I texted Dr. Hawthorne with a brief explanation.
He wrote back. Be careful. Don’t forget about the Scream Dream screenplay deadline is in two days.
Screenplay deadline.
Oh yeah. I’d forgotten. I may not be able to meet the deadline. My stomach knotted with tension. I hadn’t finished my Poltergeist Party Girls screenplay, and disappointment filled me as my stomach knotted with tension. I had wanted to enter.
I mentally filed through my list of excuses as to why I hadn’t been able to write. George Abernathy the ghost. Still, my top priority was to stop him and the Blood Collector. My deadline? Tomorrow.
Jason and I agreed on a plan. Sort of. In the morning, we would arrive early at Thunder Mountain Park, find Babs Abernathy and stop her, using our abilities. Seat of the pants plan. But that’s what we had.
I secretly hoped my Book of Shadows would cough up information on how to stop the Blood Collector. I turned onto the road leading to Mom’s house.
“What the—“ I slammed on my brakes, Parked in my usual spot was a banged-up camper with steel belts hanging out from the tires. Lights glowed from inside the tin domicile. I checked the license plate. Colorado.
I groaned. Really? The last thing I needed before tomorrow. Dad and Taffy.
If Dad was inside the house, I needed to be prepared to call the sheriff’s office because Mom would be chasing him around the house with her cast iron frying pan like she did last time when he told her he was in love with Taffy. He evoked that reaction from her. From a lot of people.
I parked on the road away from Dad’s camper and silently snuck past. I slipped inside the house. Laney and Mom sat in a dark living room.
“Did you see it?” Laney asked.
“Yes,” I said.
Laney clicked on the lamp next to the couch. “He wanted to come inside and use the shower, but Mom wouldn’t let him. The deputies said Dad had to stay out of the house until in the morning, and then Mom is filing a restraining order.”
“Fun.” Nothing like family drama.
“Maybe Emma could pay a visit to Dad.” I plunked onto the couch next to Laney . My anxiety about the Blood Collector and George ebbed away but still squatted in a part of my mind like a huge, warty frog.
Mom snorted, and then the ice in a glass clinked as she took a sip. I caught the whiff of the expensive Scotch Mom stashed away for emergencies. This must have been a doozy of a night.
Is there anything I need to do in the morning? I have to leave early for Thunder Mountain Park.”
Mom shook her head. “No, Tim will handle everything in the morning.” Tim was Mom’s divorce lawyer.
“Call me if you need me. I have to find Babs Abernathy first thing in the morning.”
Laney stiffened. “Barbara Abernathy of Iceberg Coolers?”
“Yes. Why?” I pressed my lips together.
Laney glanced at Mom, and then back at me. “A guy from Iceberg Coolers called today and wanted to hire me to vend food at the festival on tomorrow. Seems they had some food truck cancellations.”
My instincts went on full alert like a nuclear-power -plant- leaked-in-the-cooling-pond-alert “What was his name?”
Laney rose and grabbed a piece of paper off the kitchen counter. “Rob McCloskey. He said he was married to Babs Abernathy.”
The blood in head drained down to my feet. Rob McCloskey had been on Uncle Joe’s list of witnesses, who had seen George’s death ten years ago.
I stood as I tried assimilate this latest bit of information. “Rob McCloskey is Babs Abernathy’s husband? You’re sure?”
“Yeah.” Laney held out the piece of paper.
I took it. Rob McCloskey and other information was written down.
“I told him, I couldn’t serve food at the festival. I’m committed to the Panda-Monster concert on Saturday. “
“That’s good.” Relief filled me. “You don’t want to be there, tomorrow.”
Mom frowned. “Sidney, I don’t know who or what you’re dealing with. But, be careful. Elizabeth dealt with dangerous situations.”
“I will, Mom, and I’m not alone. I have Jason with me.” I forced a smile on my face. Hard to make your lips quirk up when you’re tired.
“So, you’re talking to him, are you?” A grinning Laney locked her hands behind her back and then rocked back on her heels.
“We’re on better terms.” I couldn’t suppress the grin as I remembered our kiss. The way his body felt pressed against mine.
Mom snapped her fingers as if she suddenly realized something. “Someone called from a L.A. West Talent Agency. They wanted to speak to you. I wrote the information down by the phone.”
My stomach dropped. The same agency, which represented Camden. What could they want? Maybe Dr. Hawthorne had called them.
“Could this be something you wrote out in L.A.?” Mom’s eyes lit up.
“Possibly. I’ll call them in the morning. More than likely, it had something to do with Camden, or even his brother Van.”
“You’re not excited?” Laney held up her hands-in-a what-gives-gesture.
“I’ve learned to take these calls calmly. Until you have a signed contract, you don’t get excited.”
Mom nodded, stood and wobbled a little bit. “That’s smart. Keep a wait and see attitude. I’m going to bed. Since I have to deal with Edwin in the morning, I need my wits about me.”
“Good night, Mom.”
Once Mom was upstairs, and out of earshot, Laney leaned close. “Jason kissed you, didn’t he?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“You have that kissed-look about you.” My sister grinned.
“It just happened.”
Laney smacked me gently on the arm. “I want deets.”
Mandy was there. I walked away. Jason came after me, and then we kissed. It was as if someone had lit a powder keg on our attraction. Boom. Kiss.”
“How did Mandy take it?” Laney’s eyes lit up.
“Not well. She wanted me to take her home. I felt sorry for her because she seemed so lost and defeated.”
Laney cocked her head. “Be careful. Crazy exes can keep coming back over and over again.”
“I will, but she seemed really vulnerable and sad.”
Laney and I talked a little more until the need for sleep caught up to both of us. We said goodnight, and I retreated to my room.
Once inside, I closed the door. Something tapped at my window. I slowly walked over, muscles tense, heart thumping, I looked. A raccoon pointed at the window lock. I opened my window, slid it open, and the raccoon climbed on top of my desk, so we were sort of eye-to-eye.
The raccoon bowed, and it took everything I had to keep from scooping him up and hugging him because he was so damn cute.
“Greetings from Lady Kylantha. She requests your presence early tomorrow morning before the festival starts.” The raccoon twitched his nose and smoothed his whiskers with his paw.
“I’ll be there. Why does she want to see me?”
The raccoon pressed his paws together. “Lady Kylantha did not confide in me as to the reason for your meeting. Only to be there.”
I didn’t want to stress out the raccoon. He seemed a little nervous they way his nose kept twitching, and then smoothing his whiskers. Maybe a little OCD. “I will be at the park to meet with Lady Kylantha in the morning. I will need to bring my friend, Jason with me.”
The raccoon nodded. “I will inform her.”
He climbed out of the window, onto the roof and disappeared into the darkness.
I hoped Kylantha had information or a magical spell that would help me with George, the Blood Collector, or even the Nightstalkers. tomorrow at the festival.
I yawned, plopped down on my bed, and then stretched out. Snowball materialized and snuggled against me. I grabbed my blanket. When a ghost kitty wants to cuddle, it can be a tad cold.
I was ready for a good night’s sleep. Where did Rob McCloskey fit it in? He had been a witness to George’s death, so he could be a Nightstalker.
I couldn’t hold me eyes open any longer. I turned out my light. Hopefully, no nightmares or visits to other planes. because tomorrow I faced one. Babs Abernathy, George’s widow.
And murderer.
Chapter Fifteen
Thunder Mountain Park
Despite wearing a thick sweatshirt and jeans, my teeth chattered in the early morning chill. Stars twinkled in the crisp dark sky. It was still early. Six o’clock in the morning .
The festival opened in two hours. I glanced over at my messenger bag. Nana’s Book of Shadows was tucked inside.
My heart thumped wildly as I pulled into the park’s main entrance, past the normally locked gate. A large raccoon gestured like a parking attendant for me to enter.
“This is stranger and stranger.” I parked in one of the side parking lots because vendors were setting up in the main parking lot in front of the Visitor’s Center. I turned off the ignition in my truck. I searched for the raccoon, but he had disappeared. I would be meeting Kylantha and I prayed she had information or a solution to help with George, the Nightstalker, or the Blood Collector. Triple whammy today.
Headlights shone ahead. I gulped. I hoped it was Jason. His van pulled into the parking lot, and then parked next to my truck.
Relieved, I grabbed two flashlights, stuffed them in my messenger bag, and jumped out of my truck.
Jason’s tousled hair stuck out in several different directions. I resisted the urge to want to smooth it out. He jumped out of his truck. He wore a Hunsinger Automotive shirt, jeans, and some type of slip-on canvas shoes. Not hiking gear, but he held out two stainless steel mugs like a peace offering. “I made coffee.”
“Thank you.” Truly grateful, I lowered the flashlights onto the hood of the truck.
"Good morning." He held out a stainless steel mug, and I gratefully accepted it as he took one of the flashlights and placed it in his back pocket.
“Can’t wait to meet Kylantha” He sounded excited.
"Are you nervous?
Jason took a sip of his coffee and nodded. “A little. My mom would’ve loved meeting Kylantha. She loved fairies. When I think of fairies, I think of Tinkerbelle with Pixie Dust. Sparkles.”
“She’s different but nice.”I withheld the fact Kylantha was also Sophie the park ranger.
In front of the Thunder Mountain Park Visitor’s Center, people set up booths and tents that displayed their outdoor products. Among the crowd, Babs Abernathy stood next to a huge motorhome with the familiar image of the mascot polar bear waving on the side. Iceberg Coolers was written beneath the bear’s paws.
I shuddered. The only thing missing in the illustration were George’s blood red eyes.
“Does that guy look familiar?” I pointed at a man in an Iceberg Cooler baseball hat and a long-sleeved tee-shirt. His tattoos were mostly covered, but I could see part of them as he lifted his arm up. Geometric runes connected by strange lines, their energy radiated across the parking lot. He leaned down and kissed Babs.
“Yeah, he was on the full moon hike,” Jason said. “Why is he kissing Babs?”
I couldn’t breathe as I grabbed hold of Jason’s arm and squeezed. “That’s Rob McCloskey.”
Shock flew through me. I would’ve never known the long-sleeved shirt guy in a baseball hat from the full moon hike was Babs Abernathy’s husband unless he had told Laney when he tried to hire her food truck for the festival. Damn.
“They could be enchanting George, together,” Jason said. “What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know.” This was where the seat of our pants plan was supposed to happen. Except. It wasn’t working out. As usual, I was clueless as to the something bad and how to handle the situation.
More cars loaded with white-water kayaks pulled into the parking lot despite the increase in thunderclouds.
“Let’s just go over there,” I said.
Jason and I walked over to the Iceberg Cooler Company tent and motorhome. Rob McCloskey set out small stuffed Iceberg Cooler polar bears along with Iceberg Cooler water bottles on a folding table. Must be giveaways .
Dark magic radiated from his tattoos. Yep, this guy worked the evil mojo. I had found my Nightstalker.
“Hello, it’s the ghost talkers.” Babs gave a fake-smile, revealing really white teeth. She her blonde hair piled up in a goofy bun.
Rob avoided eye contact and pulled his baseball cap lower down onto his forehead. He shrugged and then gave a polar bear to a passing kid.
“I didn’t realize you were two were married,” Jason motioned at both of them.
“What do you mean?” Babs asked.
A squirrel went flying out of the tree, followed by a pirouetting George. He swan-dived into the next tree where several crows suddenly squawked and then flew away. The blood from my face drained down to my feet. I didn’t have time for Babs Abernathy’s denial.
Rob snapped his fingers. George’s polar bear head popped out above the tree canopy. His red eyes pulsed, and then his head whirled around several times. Then all of a sudden George faded away.
I released a deep breath.
Rob’s smug expression said it all and I knew.
I pointed an accusing finger. “You’re the Nightstalker, who awakened George’s memories and bewitched him with an evil spell,” I said.
Babs glowered and tapped her pink manicured nails on the plastic folding tabletop. “Listen cupcakes, enough of the George-is-here-haunting-the-park-routine. If Georgie wants to speak to me, then tell him to fly his ass over here, and we’ll talk.�
��
Inside the motorhome, the small dogs yapped.
“That wouldn’t be a good idea. The last thing we want is to antagonize George,” I kept flicking my eyes up into the trees, searching for any sign of him.
“What are you talking about? Antagonize George. I find out he’s been here all these years, and he didn’t bother to haunt me.” Babs blinked and wiped the corner of her eye.
“Come on, Honey” Rob reached out for his wife. The long sleeves of his shirt rose, exposing more sigils.
Babs pushed Rob away. “Don’t call me honey. Georgie called me honey.”
His pupils darkened to a black matte. “Babs ain’t talking to you, now go before I call one of the officers over here. I donate generously to their Christmas fund so they won’t hesitate to do as I ask. I heard from one of my personal friends that you were snooping around the factory, yesterday.
The Sheriff’s department had several officers directing traffic and keeping watch as more and more park attendees arrived. Uncle Joe wasn’t among them.
In the distance, thunder rumbled despite a clear sky. Rob smirked. “Looks like it’s a stormy day, honey.” He pushed back the sleeves on his arm. The tattoos glowed with even more power. He snapped his fingers, and there was a ripple in the air. “Babs, get back in the motorhome.”
Babs Abernathy’s face went blank as she fell under the power of Rob’s magic.
“Sure, honey.” She dropped the pamphlets onto the table and almost like a human robot and opened the motorhome door and walked inside.
Rob folded his arms across his chest. “I think you’ll find an extra special guest today, and he’s got plans for you. You’re a special prize that he wants all to himself.”
Jason stiffened. “Never.” Sparks burst from his fingertips.
All pretenses were over. I tapped into my abilities. Telekinesis at the ready. “You killed Teresa. George didn’t even know she was dead.”
Rob laughed. “Too bad about Teresa. Georgie Boy was supposed to bring her to me along with her Book of Shadows that protects this cursed mountain.”
“Except George couldn’t bring himself to hurt Teresa even under your spell,” I said.
