by Nathan Roden
“Very much,” she said.
“The video games are a lot of fun,” I said. “I used to play them a lot, but I haven’t played any games at all in a long time. Have you ever played a video game?”
“Of course,” she said. “The pub back home had two tables of them.”
“Tables?” I asked.
“Sure,” she said. “One of them was like ping-pong with a little square ball. The other one was fancier. It was called Pac-Man.”
“Oh,” I said. “Hey, why don’t I loan you my Playstation? I’m not using it and I think you would get a kick out of those Tomb Raider games.”
“Well, sure,” she said. “That would be nice.”
“No trouble at all,” I said. “In fact, we could go get it right now, if you want.”
“That’s not necessary, Wylie, really. I’ve made it this far in life without the Tomb Raider.”
I shrugged.
“I’ve got nothing else going on,” I said, “and Toby would love to see you. We don’t have many visitors. He could show you his toy collection.”
“He has a toy collection?” she asked.
“He has so many toys that it’s embarrassing. The funniest thing is, if you hide just one of them, he’ll look for it forever.”
“Why do you hide his toys? That is just mean—”
“No, no. I would never…I mean, yeah, there was that one time that I accidentally fell asleep—”
“You promise me right now that you will never hide that precious puppy’s toys. I mean it.”
“I promise, okay? Jeez.”
“Let me put on some proper clothes, then.”
“That will leave me both relieved and disappointed,” I said.
“I’m only doing what the girls at the Tan Saloon told me,” Holly said. “They said that I have to make sure and use the tanning butter and moisture cream before and after so that I don’t end up looking like an old orange alligator. Greasy legs inside of long pants make me feel like I’m covered in worms.”
Holly and I were on the way out of the castle when we heard the front door open. We stood aside and I held the door open for two men who were carrying a large box.
According to the print on the outside, the box contained an electronic keyboard. Not just any keyboard. This particular brand and model was out of reach for most people. Quentin is not most people. The men sat the box down and went back to their truck.
I held the door open for Holly and followed her out. I saw Quentin shake hands with a man before the man ducked into the passenger seat of a big German luxury sedan. Q watched it pull away.
“Hey, you two,” Q said.
“I didn’t know you were here, Wylie, or I would have introduced you.”
“Was that…? That looked like Billy Jo—.”
“Well, when you decide to take up the keyboard again, shouldn’t you talk to a piano man?”
“You play the p—? Wait. That was really him?”
“Consultant fees are tax deductible, I think,” Q said.
“What?” I said.
“You play the piano, Mr. Lynchburg?” Holly asked.
“My mother was a piano teacher so I was dragged through it for a few years, kicking and screaming,” Q said. “And so, I became one of a million kids who wished that he had stuck with it. It’s never too late, though, huh? A man can only build so many birdhouses.
“We left most of the equipment at the condo. He seemed to think that would be the best place for a couple of recording rooms. I’m supposed to hear back from another guy who knows a lot about that sort of thing—”
Q’s cell phone rang and he looked at the display.
“Well, speak of the Devil,” Q said.
He smiled and winked.
“Bruuuuuce! What’s happening, my man?”
“Toby, Toby. Your friend is back,” I said.
Toby slid around the corner into the kitchen. He didn’t give me a second look.
“Traitor,” I said.
“How is my little fur ball?” Holly said as she dropped to a knee. Toby jumped into her arms.
“Ooof,” Holly said.
“Make that my thick and heavy fur ball.”
“Oh, yeah, he’s solid,” I said.
She stood up.
“So, where’s your…” she said pointing her finger in different directions.
“Bathroom,” I said. “Down that hallway, second door on the right. Toby, come back here. Let’s make a trip outside, young man.”
Holly joined us outside a few minutes later.
“You didn’t tell me you had more than one roommate,” she said.
“Huh? Oh, yeah—the gang. I probably shouldn’t keep them in the living room. Kind of creepy.”
“I don’t know which is the most disturbing,” she said. “The vampire or the half-naked man.”
“Hey, that’s Bruce Lee. He was half-naked for most of his life. I’m not even sure if he owned any shirts.”
“And the man with the guitar?” she asked.
“That’s Hank Williams,” I said.
She shrugged.
“He was a famous country music singer. He died when he was only thirty years old,” I said.
“It must be dangerous, this country music singing,” she said. “What about the other one?”
“What?” I said. “That’s all of them.”
She had a funny look on her face. She shrugged again.
I opened the patio door and Holly followed Toby into the house. As I walked in I looked up at the picture of my brother and me. I realized that for the very first time I had walked past the picture without talking to him.
My stomach flipped and sank. I’m not used to having guests, but that is not an acceptable excuse. I won’t forget him. I can’t.
“I love you, Chunky Dunky,” I whispered.
Holly spun around. Oh, man. Not again.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I wasn’t talking to you. I promise. I was…”
She wasn’t listening. She pushed me out of the way and squinted at the picture.
“Who is that?” she whispered.
“That’s my brother, Duncan,” I said. “He’s—”
“He died,” she said.
“Yes,” I said, “Ten years ago.”
Holly looked like she was going to throw up. She hurried past me through the kitchen, through the dining room, and into the living room. Toby followed her and I followed Toby. Holly stood in front of the sofa. Toby whimpered for a moment and then he jumped onto the sofa. He curled up against the arm on the left side the same way he had been doing lately.
“Holly, what’s going on?” I said. ”You’re kind of freaking me—”
“Shhh!” she said.
I shushed. Toby’s ears perked up.
“Are you going to tell me—?”
“I’m thinking, Wylie. Shush.”
“Why does it have to be me?” she said.
She was pacing now—talking more to herself than she was to me. Her voice was little more than a whisper.
“Who am I? I’m nobody special. I never had an explanation—not at six years old and not any time since. I’m just thrown in there with them and now everyone I know is gone. My parents are gone, my uncle is gone, and I have no one to talk to—no one to ask for advice. How do I know what to do? Huh? How do I keep from going stark raving mad, Wylie? You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”
I shook my head.
“Of course, you don’t,” she said. “How could you? I’m left to make all these choices on my own now, and who knows if I’m doing the right thing or not? Who do I tell? What do I keep to myself? I have no one to ask, and I’m only…”
She covered her face with her hands for a moment and then let them fall away.
”I’m just a girl. A naive, sheltered little girl who’s all alone now, except for—”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Holly. But I’ll always be here for you. Always. I promise,” I said.
&nb
sp; I reached for her hand but she drew back.
I was afraid for her. I was even afraid of her. I thought she might be on the verge of a mental breakdown or something.
“I have to trust someone, Wylie. Do you trust me? There’s no going back,” she said.
“No going back? What does that mean?” I asked.
“Are you truly my friend? Do you trust me?” she said. Tears were sliding down both of her cheeks.
I had to fight to keep from throwing my arms around her.
“Yes. I am your friend, and I trust you,” I said.
She nodded and turned her back to me. She waved me to her side. I was shaking now, too, because I was either in love with a crazy girl or something really weird was about to happen—or both.
I stood beside Holly in front of the sofa with an uncomfortable Toby on one end. Holly took my hand. That was really ni—
Oh.
My.
God.
The form of a man faded into view. He was lying on his side with his back to us.
My brain was trying to make sense of this. It was failing. The next thing I was conscious of was Toby’s whimpering. Without thinking, I put my hand on top of his head.
I jumped when Toby did. Toby jumped onto the man’s side. I tried to catch Toby before he attacked the man. I didn’t need to bother. Toby was attacking him by licking his face.
“Hey! Hey! Down boy, easy Toby!” the man said, trying to fend off the Westie tongue.
It wasn’t the voice of a man—it was more like the voice of a boy—a familiar voice. The boy rolled onto his back, laughing and trying to hold Toby at arm’s length.
I couldn’t believe I was still standing up—or that I still had on relatively clean underwear.
“Duncan?” I whispered.
The boy looked at me, at Toby, at Holly, and back at me.
“Wylie? You can see me?”
Thirty-two
Wylie Westerhouse
Branson, Missouri
I have no idea how long the next pause lasted.
I do know that there was no justifiable reason that I was still standing up. I was also no longer certain about the state of my underwear.
“Duncan?” I said again, and the only other thing I could come up with was,
“How?”
He looked down at my hand, which was crushing one of Holly’s hands. My hand was white from loss of circulation. I shuddered and let go of her. I immediately became so dizzy that I almost fell.
“No,” Holly said, reaching for my hand with both of hers. My vision cleared but I felt a little off center.
“You can’t let go that quickly, not yet, anyways,” she said. “That’s the way it works.”
“What?” I said, looking at her, and then at Duncan.
“How long—?” I said—the only two words that I was capable of at the moment.
“Just got in a couple of weeks ago, Wyles,” Duncan said. “Mostly all Interstate, don’t ya know; I-90 to I-84, so on, so forth. Made dang good time—”
That was as far as Duncan could get before he cracked up laughing.
We used to make fun of our Dad and all the visiting men-folk when they started all their conversations with the details of their road trips. It was like they had built their cars all by themselves and had been forced to outrun renegade Comanches and Apaches all through the Rocky Mountains—just to get to someone’s house for a turkey dinner.
That memory and being reunited with Duncan’s sense of humor washed over me like a warm bath. I laughed right along with him.
“Be sure and fill ‘er up soon as you get below half a tank,” I said. “And keep those tires inflated to thirty-two p-s-i—otherwise, you’re flushin’ yer money right down the old toilet.”
Duncan laughed again. He reached down and grabbed a couple of inches at the side of his waist.
“Look, Wylie. I’m Chunky Dunky again.”
Why this set me off, I don’t know.
My vision began to swim and I fought to remain on my feet. I lost that fight.
My hand slipped from Holly’s grip and I fell toward Duncan. He lifted his hands to meet mine. I fell right through him face-first into the sofa as I began to sob like a baby. My skin grew cold, and I had the sensation of passing through several years’ worth of memories in one instant.
I don’t know where Duncan went to.
I do know that all the grief that I had kept inside for years spilled out me over the next several minutes. When it was over, I was being held like I had wanted to be held for a long, long time.
By someone who smelled of an exotic perfume and cocoa butter tanning lotion—and the kiosk at the mall that sells the giant cookies.
“I’m sorry,” Holly said. “I’m so sorry, Wylie. I had no right—we should have discussed—I don’t know what I’m doing anymore…”
This is the…this is what I like to refer to as a defining moment in the life of Wylie Westerhouse.
I was being hugged against the chest of a young woman who I was terrified of and in love with—a girl I had only known for a few weeks. This girl had somehow enabled me to see and talk to my dead brother. This might explain the strange things that were happening inside the seven-hundred-year-old castle that stands just a few miles away.
I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.
I caught my breath and sat up. Holly and Duncan were petting Toby. I think. I’m not sure if Duncan has petting capabilities. Even Toby was looking at me with concern. Was I the weakest link? Man, just how pitiful was that?
“I don’t know how I got here, Wyles,” Duncan said. “The first thing I remember was being at our old house. It was empty. Then Mom came home and I waited for Dad to show up but he never did. Mom came home dressed up like she had been to a job or something, which made no sense because Mom never had a job before. But she came home every night and turned on the TV. Then she would start crying and fall asleep on the couch. I wondered if Dad was…you know. Dead.”
“Dad finally came over one night and that’s when I found out that they had split up. I followed him to his new house but that place was so…crazy. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. One night I went to sleep...did you know that ghosts sleep? I dreamed that I was flying. When I woke up it was pitch dark and I was staring at them.”
He was pointing at my cardboard guys.
“Toby ran into the room and barked at me but I knew that he couldn’t see me,” Duncan said. “He still sleeps with me, though. He’s always nervous, but I kind of think that he knew that I was here. And you still talk to me, every day. That means a lot to me.”
I laughed and sobbed and choked all at the same time.
“I remember you—every day.”
“Man, you’re all grown up,” Duncan said. “You look so much like Dad that it’s…”
He looked sad. “You need to shave. I don’t know why I’m here, Wylie. Do you?”
I shook my head.
“Do you know, Holly?” I asked.
Holly closed her eyes and shook her head.
“I don’t get any clues,” she said. “I don’t know anything. Why am I the only one that can see him—and the others? I was never struck by lightning, or visited by an angel.
“I’ve never seen a light in the sky or been spoken to by an animal or a bush. I just…I can’t stand to be the only one anymore. Why would your own brother be here if you weren’t to know about it? What sense would that make?”
She held up her hand with her thumb and forefinger a centimeter apart.
“I’m this bloody close to spending the rest of my days locked up with them in a padded room.”
“How many more are there?” I asked.
Holly looked at Duncan and then at me.
“I’m by myself,” Duncan said. “I saw some others back in Boston, but I didn’t talk to anyone. I was afraid.”
“I’m not sure how many are here,” Holly said. “But there are more than we can deal with, even with the one
s that I’m friendly with.”
“The tours…the stuff flying around—the fire,” I asked. “You could see them? Whoever was terrorizing us?”
She nodded.
I had a sudden realization.
“The diary…” I said. “The girl in the diary. Is she…do you know her? Is she…”
She looked nervous.
“Well?” I said.
“Nora McIntyre, and her sister, Charlotte,” she said. ”Their parents, Baron Dallas McIntyre and Lady Elizabeth. And the Baron’s great, great aunt and uncle, David and Arabella.”
“Oh my God,” I croaked, another wave of the unbelievable washing over me.
“They are my friends, Wylie,” Holly said. “I’ve known them since we moved into the castle when I was six years old. The spirits who are causing trouble are from here. Some lived here, but some just died here.”
“So, these ghosts that came with you—what do they want?” I asked.
“They didn’t come with me. They didn’t even come here on purpose,” Holly said. “Their home was taken apart a piece at a time and they ended up inside the turret room by accident. It all started with Charlotte’s picture.”
“The horse picture,” I said.
I pressed my palms against my temples and squeezed my eyes shut.
“This is too much right now. I’m gonna need some… some time to…”
“Hey, Wylie,” Duncan said.
I looked up at him.
“No matter what, we got some more time, right?” he said.
I started to lose it again and nodded.
“Am I right, or am I right, Little Brother?” he said. “Or is it Big Brother now? This is confusing, ain’t it?”
I sniffed and wiped my eyes with my sleeve. I held my hand close to his shoulder.
