Wraiths of Winter (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 3)

by Joy Elbel

  “Actually, we didn’t even talk about him. He wanted to hear all about Lee first so I told him everything I knew.” I picked up the drawing Lucas made of me and admired it as I talked to Zach. Aside from the grossly inflated chest, it really did look exactly like me.

  More silence from his end. “Zach?” A heavy sigh reverberated through my ear. “You spent three hours with him and didn’t even ask him one single thing about his family?”

  Great. I didn’t even tell him that Lucas flirted with me and he was still mad. “No, but he really wanted to talk about Lee—about how they were different and how they were alike.” I opened the drawer of my nightstand and slid the drawing inside. “He wanted to know how Lee died. I can’t just cut to the chase without giving him what he wants first. Be patient.”

  “Giving him what he wants? I know exactly what he wants—he wants you!” Zach was right and I couldn’t deny it. But I also couldn’t reveal to him all of the things Lucas was saying. Doing that would cause more harm than good. “Even if he does, Zach, he’s not going to get it. I love you!”

  “I love you, too, Ruby, but I don’t like where this is heading. He’s just going to drag this whole thing out to spend more time with you.” The anger died away leaving nothing but the sorrow. “The worst part is that you’re falling for it.”

  “I’m not falling for anything, Zach! The next time I see Lucas I’ll dig for info—I promise!” After another awkward pause I added, “I need you to trust me.”

  “I do trust you—it’s him I don’t trust! You need to wrap this up fast. Do you hear me?” Why was everyone so against me talking to Lucas? Just because he was new in town didn’t mean he was dangerous. He moved here from Pittsburgh not San Quentin! Did the entire town start locking their doors at night after I moved to Charlotte’s Grove? Probably not, so why should they treat Lucas any different?

  It was too late and I was too tired to argue. “I’ll do my best, Zach. Mwah and see you in the morning.”

  “Mwah.” Click. Conversation over, apparently. Even though I was dead tired, I lay awake for the longest time unable to clear my head long enough for sleep to take over. When it finally did, though, I was dropped into a hideous nightmare.

  I found myself in an unfamiliar place but a place that on some level felt like home. Seated in a thick velvet-padded seat of the deepest burgundy hue, I surveyed my surroundings. The Bantam Theater. Even though I’d never been inside it, I knew that had to be where I was.

  I was sitting in the front row, the vast empty stage looming before me. A heavy burgundy curtain hung loosely at the sides exposing every inch of what it was meant to conceal. The place was dead quiet and I thought I was alone until I heard footsteps in the balcony above me.

  They were quick, frenzied steps—the sound of someone running for their very lives. Standing up to get a better look, I shielded my eyes from the glare of the massive chandelier to peer into the shadowy loft overhead. All I could make out were two figures struggling in the darkness. From what I could see, one of them appeared to be male, the other female. Whoever she was, she seemed to need help—more specifically, my help. I was seized with the idea that I was the only one who could help her. Without me, she would surely die.

  I raced to the back of the theater in search of the stairs that would lead to the second floor. Just before I reached the spot that sat directly under the edge of the balcony, a blood curdling scream pierced through the air and something toppled over the edge of the overhang. I knew before I even turned around what that thing was.

  There she lay, splayed on the frayed red carpet of the main aisle clothed in a blood stained wedding gown. Her neck was bent at an odd angle and a mop of tangled hair covered her face. Looking up, I saw her attacker slink silently back into the shadows and disappear.

  I knew it was too late to help her but I felt the need to comfort her anyway. As I brushed her hair back into place, one by one her features revealed themselves to me. When her face was wholly visible, I stumbled backward in uncontrollable horror.

  The girl who lay broken and bloody on the floor of the Bantam Theater was me.

  7. A Step in the Wrong Direction

  So once again, I had so much on my mind that I thought my brain might explode. Lucas was mysteriously absent from school the rest of the week and I had no other way of contacting him. No Lucas meant I was no closer to finding Lee’s biological parents. As each day passed, I could feel the urgency to end the situation grow stronger. Although he wouldn’t admit it, I knew that Zach was pissed at me. It didn’t help matters that I now had to explain to him that I was going to try to contact Allison Cornell in hopes of saving Crimson’s life.

  “No, Ruby, absolutely not! How can you even consider doing something so stupid?” Zach scolded me on the way home from school Friday afternoon.

  “I’m trying to help find Crimson before it’s too late. There’s nothing stupid about it.” I folded my arms across my chest and gave him a look of pure defiance. “You can’t change my mind and you certainly can’t tell me what I can and can’t do. If you don’t want to help me, Rachel will.”

  Zach released an exasperated sigh. “I should have known my sister was involved in this. I love her, but sometimes she just doesn’t think things through. You haven’t forgotten about that séance she arranged, have you?”

  Was he crazy? Of course, I didn’t forget. You don’t just watch some shadowy entity plow straight through your best friend and then forget about it a few months later. Sure, Rachel’s plan that night wasn’t exactly a stellar idea, but she never expected anything bad would happen to either of us.

  “Look, Zach, all I’m going to do is try to talk to Allison—try to find out who killed her. It won’t be like the other times. This time I know who I’m dealing with and I know how to help her,” I said biting back the harsh words I really wanted to say. “And besides, this is just a shot in the dark. There’s no guarantee that I’ll even be able to communicate with her. But regardless of whether or not I can, I need to know that you support me no matter what.

  Zach pulled down the drive toward the mansion and as we drew closer I could see that a black car with a Cold Eternal bumper sticker was parked in front. There was no one else in this town that I could picture driving that car—it had to belong Lucas. The calendar said December, but I braced for a fireworks display worthy of the Fourth of July.

  “I do support you more than you seem to realize! I’m just scared of what might happen to you. In more ways than one.”

  That , I knew, referred to Lucas. Who, by the way, was sitting in his car watching us intently in the rearview mirror as we pulled up behind him. If I had to guess, he was probably wishing he could read lips right about now.

  Arguing with Zach in front of him would only make matters worse so I played the only card I had. “If you don’t help me, something bad really could happen to me! Please, Zach, you’re my hero—I need you!”

  We both knew he couldn’t say no to that. “Fine, Ruby. I’ll help you but you need to promise me that you’ll think before you just jump into anything. And don’t hold anything back from me even if you think it might hurt me.”

  Well, we definitely weren’t talking about ghosts any more. Was Lucas right? Could Zach sense my growing attraction to him? He knew that there would always be a place in my heart for Lee and he was okay with that. But was Lucas now occupying that place along with Lee? I wasn’t sure and I was kind of afraid to find out.

  “Okay, Zach, I promise.” I leaned over to kiss him goodbye fully aware that Lucas was still watching us. Zach held my lips to his for a few beats longer than he normally would have. He must have noticed our audience, too.

  “I’ll give you a call after work,” Zach said, gently massaging my shoulder as he spoke. More theatrics. He was always affectionate but I knew that this display was as much for Lucas’s benefit as it was mine. “I’m going with you guys when you talk to Drake tonight.”

  We said we loved each other and I got out of h
is car. Zach and Lucas exchanged icy glares as Zach drove around him and away from the house. I felt like a mouse caught between two lions, not sure if they would pounce on each other or on me. I slung my bag over my shoulder and approached Lucas.

  “Hey, what’s up? You haven’t been in school for days,” I asked as I ducked my head inside his now open window. “A lot’s happened since I moved here. I just needed some time to think. Get in—there’s something I need to tell you.”

  The wind was freezing cold and Lucas had his heat on full blast so it was a welcome invitation. I opened the door and climbed inside without hesitation.

  “Look, Ru, I want to say I’m sorry about how I’ve acted with you—my hitting on you and all. I was just so overwhelmed by finding out I have—I mean had—a twin brother. And, well, I didn’t expect to feel the way I feel about you, either. Sometimes I don’t handle my emotions so well. Sometimes I do and say stupid things to cover up how I really feel.”

  What exactly was he trying to say here? How did he feel about me? It was so much easier to dismiss his sexual innuendo than it was to ignore this outright pour of emotion.

  “I understand. Finding out about Lee must have been a real shock.” Whatever feelings he had for me, well, I wasn’t going to ask him about them. He couldn’t just hint around and hope for me to come right out and ask him about it point blank. I wouldn’t say a word until he spelled it out clearly for me. And what would my response be when he finally did? I don’t know but I couldn’t help staring into his warm brown eyes and wondering what he was feeling.

  “You’re the best, Ru. I’ve never met anyone else like you,” Lucas said placing his hand on my shoulder and casually giving it a squeeze.

  It was a little awkward but I didn’t pull away. Did he do that as a show of affection meant to rival Zach’s from earlier? I had no way of knowing—but I did know that at the end of the day, I would have the most relaxed muscles of anyone in Charlotte’s Grove. If only they could figure out a way to release the tension piling up in my brain—now that would be freakin’ priceless.

  “When I confronted them, my parents admitted that I was adopted,” Lucas said sadly as he removed his hand from my shoulder. “All they could tell me was that I was adopted out of Allegheny County. They had no knowledge of Lee, either.”

  My heart went out to him. It had to be tough to learn something like that about yourself. “Well, at least now we know where to start looking. I’m sure there must be a website where we can request information or something.”

  “Yeah, I guess so,” he replied quietly. “Do you have time to help me start looking tonight?”

  I checked my watch for the time. “No, not really. Sorry. I have plans with Zach later. Tomorrow night maybe?” Lucas shook his head no. “Can’t this weekend—I’m spending the next two days in Pittsburgh. There’s still some stuff we need to clear out of the old house.”

  He fidgeted a bit in his seat like there was something else he wanted to say but didn’t know how to say it. Finally, he took a deep breath and just came out with it.

  “I don’t suppose there’s any way you could cancel your plans for tonight, is there? I was hoping to get started as soon as possible and I really don’t want to do this all by myself.”

  He looked so sad, so alone that I almost said yes. But Rachel was desperate to find Crimson and Zach would probably break up with me if I cancelled plans with him to spend time with Lucas. So I held firm and told him no.

  “That’s totally out of the question. I really am sorry, but I can’t. Next week sometime?” His disappointment was obvious and I instantly felt like a terrible girl...friend. I felt like a terrible friend. Why did I just look at him and think he was my boyfriend? Weird.

  “Sure, next week then. I guess I’ll talk to you in school.” Lucas turned the key and started the car. My cue to get out, I guess. Not that I wasn’t beyond ready for a little time to myself—more than just a little, as a matter of fact. I closed the car door behind me but reopened it quickly. On a scrap of paper, I scribbled my number and handed it to him. “Here. Text me.”

  He did the same and gave it to me with a smile. “Here. You can call me. Pittsburgh gets lonely, you know.”

  I nodded my head and went inside the house not sure of what just happened between us. A few hours later, Zach and I pulled into the driveway of the Sterling house. Rachel was already there impatiently waiting for us.

  “I told you guys to meet me here at seven—I was starting to think you backed out, Ruby,” Rachel said as we walked through the front door.

  According to my watch, we were only five minutes late. Five minutes to Rachel was apparently more like five hours. “Sorry, Rachel. You know how it is when Zach and I are together. We lost track of time.”

  Rachel gave me a wink and a knowing look but actually she had no idea. Zach and I weren’t late from making out. We were late from arguing. Arguing about Lucas. Again.

  In the end, Zach was happy to hear that Lucas would be gone for the weekend. So happy, in fact, that he told me he had a special date planned for me. He was taking me somewhere we’d never been before—to a place he’d wanted to take me ever since we started dating. He wouldn’t tell me where we were going but I didn’t care. This date would be some much needed alone time for the two of us.

  Boone and Drake were waiting in the living room with matching looks of skepticism on their faces. I pulled Rachel to the side and whispered to her, “How much do they know about me? Did you tell them about—”

  “Nothing,” Rachel interjected, “I told them nothing. Boone doesn’t even know about what happened this summer. That’s why they’re both looking at us like that. They think we’re just two silly girls playing detective or something.”

  “Thanks, Rachel,” I said, already feeling more at ease. “You, Zach, Rita, and Mr. Raspatello are the only ones who know the whole truth. I’d like to keep it that way.”

  “Wait? Did you just say Mr. Raspatello knows?” Rachel scrunched up her face and cocked her head to the side. “Never mind—you can tell me that story later.”

  Rachel plopped down on the couch between Boone and Drake and I snuggled up close to Zach in an oversized chair. We all just sat there looking at each other until Rachel got things moving.

  “Okay, Drake. I can’t explain any more to you than I already have but Ruby and I have a plan to help find Crimson. But first, we need to know all of the details about your relationship with Allison and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.”

  Sad Rachel was now gone but replaced by an even more confident Rachel than she was before this whole mess started. If this didn’t work, she was going to be epically disappointed. Epically disappointed in me. I was starting to understand what they meant by the phrase “performance anxiety”.

  “Look, Rachel, I know you want to help but….” Boone trailed off when Rachel shot him “the look”.

  “Go ahead, Drake,” she replied sweetly, pretending that Boone never interrupted. “Tell us how you met.” Drake ran a hand through his thick brown hair. “Well, I met her my senior year. Me and my buddies snuck into one of the big college parties over at the campus. We just wanted to get drunk and run with the big dogs for the night, you know. We weren’t even there five minutes when we heard sirens and somebody yelled ‘COPS!’. The whole place went nuts. They were telling everyone underage to run out the back so I just did what they said and ran for it. I got separated from my friends and I didn’t have a ride home so I started walking. That’s when I met Allison.”

  Something about his voice changed when he spoke her name. In that moment, I knew that Drake had been in love with her. She wasn’t just some girl he dated—she meant way more to him than that. Knowing how strongly he felt about her made me want to find out what happened to her even more. I knew what it was like to lose someone you loved. How much worse would it be to know that person was tortured and killed so sadistically? And that you were the only suspect? Zach wrapped his arms around me just a li
ttle tighter and I returned the sentiment. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Rachel and Boone did the same.

  Drake went on without displaying his emotions but I knew they were still in there just below the surface. “I was walking past that little park in front of the campus library when I heard this couple arguing. It was getting pretty heated so I thought I would check to see if she was alright. As I got closer, the guy saw me and just took off. So I walked up to her and she started crying. I asked her if she wanted me to walk her home and she said no. I was about to walk away when she asked if I would want to go have a cup of coffee with her. So I said yes.”

  Something about his story unnerved me already and he hadn’t even gotten to the part about her disappearance or murder yet. Maybe Zach was right—maybe I was getting involved in something I shouldn’t. But I couldn’t back out now—not if there was still a chance to save Crimson.

  Drake related the story of their relationship in depth. “Me and Allison went to that little coffee shop on campus where we talked for hours. She told me the guy from the park was an old friend from back home—not her boyfriend or anything. She wouldn’t tell me what they were arguing about just that she never wanted to see him again. After that night, we started dating.”

  I couldn’t even wait until he was finished with his story. I blurted out, “You think that guy from the park is the killer, don’t you?”

  “I don’t think so—I know so,” Drake said confidently.

  Zach spoke up. “But the police didn’t think so, did they?” “See that’s the thing, man. I had no proof that this guy even existed. She never gave me his real name—she just called him Mr. Fantastic. I didn’t see his face and I was too drunk that night to even be able to give the cops a rough description of him. Apparently I’m the only one she ever talked to about him, too. We met the fall of her freshman year and she hadn’t made any friends yet. Her roommate was the only person she ever talked about. Her parents insisted that she didn’t have any friends back home who used the nickname, Mr. Fantastic. The cops thought I made him up to cover my own guilt.”