Wraiths of Winter (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 3)

by Joy Elbel

  “Sure,” I replied. Just knowing that Lucas would check on me one more time made me feel so much better.

  He placed his hand on the door knob. “Lock up behind me. And if you need me, please call.” “I will.” I was trying to put on a brave face but the thought of being alone frightened me. What would I do if Jackson decided to break in before Dad and Shelly got home?

  Lucas waited on the other side of the door for the sound of the lock clicking into place before walking away. I sat down at the window to watch the tail lights of his car retreating as he drove away. Now, I was truly alone.

  There had to be some way to distract my thoughts, to keep me from jumping at the slightest little noise. I sat down on the futon and turned on the television. I flicked through the channels until I found a movie that looked interesting. About five minutes into what looked like a romance, I realized I was wrong—it was actually a thriller about a girl being stalked by a psycho. Just as the villain crept out of a darkened closet, I clicked the button on the remote with an air of authority and turned the TV off. Thanks a lot, Lifetime Movie Network—I feel so much safer now!

  Caffeine. That was the answer. Sleep is not your friend when someone is trying to kill you—I had to fuel my system up good for the long night ahead of me. With Coco padding along behind me, I went to the mini fridge for a diet soda. Just as I was about to open the can, I heard the first noise.

  WHACK! Something smashed against the bottom of the window by my desk and fell back down before I could see what it was. Oh, my God! I got down on my hands and knees to stay out of sight and crawled my way back toward the futon for my phone. All I had to do was call Lucas and he would be here in a matter of minutes, right? I stayed hidden behind the futon and reached around for my only link to the outside world.

  WHACK! This time the noise was louder and came from the window near the kitchen behind me. OH MY GOD! Hands shaking, I fumbled with the buttons on my phone until I found Lucas’s number in my contacts.

  I crouched down near the floor in terror as his phone rang without answer and another missile smacked against the side of the house. When his voicemail picked up, I ended the call without even leaving a message. Zach would have never left me hanging like this! Zach would have sat up all night with his phone in his hand and been ready to run if I needed him. And where were Dad and Shelly? They never usually stayed out this late when they both had to be up early! I wanted to call Zach but with my luck, my dad would get home only seconds after he got here and start World War III when he saw Zach’s car.

  Instead, for the first time in a long time, I did the smart thing—I dialed 911. I explained the situation to the dispatcher and she assured me that an officer was en route and just five minutes away from the house. Just five minutes. Five minutes is a long time when a killer is stalking you. I wanted to watch for the police car but with the lights on, Jackson would be able to see every move I made. So I crawled over to the light switch and turned it off. At least in complete darkness, I would have the upper hand.

  I snuck over to the window and peered through the crack in the curtain. When I looked down, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Instead of a crazed lunatic stalker, I saw Lucas packing a snowball and winding up for the pitch. I threw open the window and called down to him.

  “Lucas! What are you doing here?” Lucas tossed the snowball down onto the ground and yelled up to me. “Ru! Finally! I thought you were never going to hear me! Come open the door for me!”

  I slammed the window shut and tore off down the stairs. Breathless, I opened the door and flung my arms around Lucas who stood freezing cold on the doorstep.

  “Oh my God! What are you doing here?! I thought you were Jackson! And why didn’t you answer when I called you?”

  “As I drove away from the house, I came up with the perfect plan. I figured out a way for you not to be alone tonight. I parked my car at Silver Lake and walked back here. I was going to call you but I forgot to charge my phone this morning and the cold air sucked my battery dry. I knocked on the door but you must not have heard me so I resorted to throwing snowballs to get your attention. No arguments—I’m staying with you tonight, Ru.”

  Really!? I couldn’t hide my excitement over this news but how did he hope to pull it off? Wouldn’t his parents be wondering where he was? So I asked him all of the questions that were running through my mind.

  “Well, I’m eighteen now—my parents don’t ask questions anymore. As long as I don’t skip school and don’t get into any trouble, they stay off my back. I figured that as long as my car wasn’t here, your parents would never have to know that I was. It’s a big house—there’s plenty of room for me to hide.”

  The idea that he was technically considered an adult now and could do whatever he wanted had never entered my mind. Zach, on the other hand, still had a curfew his parent’s strictly enforced. And he was definitely right—with no vehicle out front, hiding him from Dad and Shelly would be easy. Hiding him from the police, though, was a different story.

  Two things happened simultaneously—my phone rang just as I watched two police cars cruise down the drive toward the house. I dragged Lucas inside the mansion and slammed the door behind him. With a look at my phone, I saw that the call was from Zach. I tossed my phone to Lucas and steadied myself for the lies I was about to tell the police.

  “Here—answer this! Go up to my room and tell Zach what’s going on. Stay up there until I’m done with the police.” Lucas was barely out of sight up the stairs when a heavy knock came at the door. My hand shook as I turned the knob knowing who was on the other side. I was the little girl who cried wolf. What would happen if I really needed help later and the police chose not to believe me?

  The door swung open to reveal two stern looking officers, neither of whom could have been more than past their mid-twenties. If I hadn’t been so scared about lying to them, I would have been mopping up the drool. What girl doesn’t love a hot man in uniform, right?

  “Miss Matthews?” the one with light brown hair, luscious blue-green eyes and a California sun kissed hotness asked.

  I nodded silently in response. I figured the less I spoke, the better. “We’re responding to a call that someone was trying to break into your house. Can we come in, please?” That was the one with dark hair and a face that should only be reserved for the most beautiful of sculptures, something straight out of a Milan museum. For real, Charlotte’s Grove should be in the record books for having the most attractive residents in such a small area.

  Again, I nodded and stepped aside so they could enter. How did serial killers do it? You know, the ones who kept bodies in the crawl space and torture chambers in the basement yet invited the police into their homes on multiple occasions before they were actually caught? Just having one live body hiding in the attic made me want to reach for the anti-anxiety meds.

  “You seem much calmer than the dispatcher described,” California Sun Kissed observed. “Is everything okay?”

  I swallowed hard as I watched them both look around suspiciously. “Everything’s fine. I just overreacted—that’s all. Snow fell from the roof onto my window and I thought someone was breaking in.” That sounded plausible, didn’t it?

  Milan Museum took a few steps forward and glanced up the steps. “Are you alone here, Miss Matthews?” I looked up to see a distinct trail of wet foot prints in the carpeting leading upstairs. How was I going to explain that?

  “Yes,” I blurted out just a little too loudly. “After I made the call, I figured out where the noises were coming from and went outside to see if I was right but by that time you were already on your way. I’m sorry for the false alarm. I’m sure my parents will be home any minute now.” Did I look and sound as nervous as I felt?

  Apparently so because Milan Museum wasn’t letting it go. “Do you mind if we take a quick look around?” His hand drifted a bit closer to the handle of his gun as he spoke.

  “No, go ahead.” I lifted my chin as I uttered the words in an
attempt to look more confident and less like the cat that ate the canary. Meanwhile, I was about to cough up a mouthful of feathers.

  I followed them into the kitchen where they checked the lock on the back door to make sure it was secure. Satisfied with that wing of the house, they back tracked toward the entrance hall and on toward the conservatory. Padding along quietly behind them, I grew more confident with each step. Once they saw that the ground floor was locked up tight, there would be no need for them to inspect the second floor or the attic.

  But when we got to the conservatory, they found something I wasn’t expecting. The door to the outside was unlocked and showed signs of having been recently opened. Holy shit! Was there someone hiding in this house besides Lucas?!

  California Sun Kissed looked up the spiral staircase and back to his partner. Milan Museum nodded and they proceeded cautiously up the winding stairs. As I began to follow them, Milan Museum stopped me.

  “Wait here, Miss.” I couldn’t have argued with that face if I’d tried. But now what? When they found Lucas in the attic, I would have to tell them I lied to them. Oh no, what if he surprised them and Milan Museum pulled that gun out too quick?! He seemed a little anxious and potentially trigger happy. Please don’t let anything happen to Lucas! He was here to protect me, not to get shot because of me! Why do bad things always seem to happen to people I love?

  Love. I said it again. I loved Lucas. I didn’t want to love him, why couldn't I just stop? I paced the floor of the conservatory fearful that I would hear a gunshot at any moment. Oh God, he couldn’t die in my bedroom—I’d never be able to sleep in there again! Would he come back to haunt me? Would I see his spectral face before me day after day, year after year? I lost Lee once—I couldn’t lose him again!

  But he wasn’t Lee! This was all so confusing! Was it really Lucas that I loved or merely who he reminded me of? Either way, I couldn’t let him die because of me. I had to get to the police officers before they found him. I had to tell them the truth. Even if it meant that Lucas wouldn’t be able to stay the night, I couldn’t let him get shot for being an intruder.

  I sprung up the spiral staircase hoping that I wouldn’t be too late. As I rounded the last turn and stepped into the ballroom, I came face to face with Milan Museum.

  “The house is clear, Miss Matthews but I thought I told you to wait downstairs for us.” He looked me straight in the eye and I wanted to confess to crimes I didn’t commit just so he would pat me down and slap on the handcuffs. Wow!! What was with me lately? It was like every boy I saw was a magnet and I was a giant chunk of metal! I’d never been this boy crazy in my entire life. Was this how Rachel felt at any given moment?

  I shook the hormones aside for a second and digested what he had said to me. “The house is clear.” That meant one thing—somehow I got lucky and they didn’t find Lucas. But how? I usually had rotten luck—what happened to change that now?

  I followed the officers downstairs and thanked them for coming out to check on me. As they opened the front door, I saw Dad and Shelly getting out of their vehicle with worried looks on their faces. Great—one more lie coming up.

  “Ruby!” Dad shouted as he ran up to the porch with Shelly close behind, “Are you okay? What happened?” “I’m okay, Dad. I just heard some noises and thought someone was trying to get into the house but I was wrong. They checked the entire place—there’s no one here.” Except for Lucas, of course, who had successfully remained hidden while the police searched for an intruder. Where was he anyway? And if he wasn’t discovered, was there a possibility that someone else could have eluded them as well?

  Shelly thanked the officers for coming out then announced that she would make me some hot chocolate to soothe my nerves. “Don’t worry about it, Ruby. Sometimes even I get a little scared when I’m here alone. This is an awfully big house—so many rooms, so many places for someone to hide. But we’re home now and you’re safe— that’s all that matters.”

  Was I? Jackson was still out there somewhere—or even in here somewhere. Shelly said it herself—there were so many places to hide in this house. officers could easily outwit even In a normal home, two the smartest criminal.

  Rosewood was a different story, though. With multiple staircases, couldn’t someone have slipped away from them unnoticed? Stupid question—Lucas already did. Jackson seemed stupid but something in his eyes told me he was craftier than he looked. Could he actually be in the house somewhere right now, too, hiding in silence until we all went to sleep?

  Sleep. It was a luxury I couldn’t afford tonight. I knew the hot chocolate would make me sleepy but I couldn’t refuse to drink it. I never turned down hot chocolate—ever. My not drinking it would be a dead giveaway that something was wrong. So instead, I took the steaming hot cup upstairs with me saying that I would drink it and go straight to bed. Dad and Shelly both offered to walk up with me to check that my room was safe one last time before I went to sleep, but I insisted that I was fine and walked up the steps by myself.

  Once out of their sight, I wanted to run to the attic at full speed to find Lucas but the nearly overflowing mug in my hand made that impossible. Even just trying to take the stairs two at a time caused a scalding hot splash of liquid to burn my hand. So carefully, I climbed the stairs feeling like I was walking in slow motion. My brain raced a full flight ahead of my feet, trying to figure out just where in the attic Lucas could be hiding. When I got to the third floor, I still had no clue.

  I snuck in quietly and locked the door behind me. Placing the mug on the coffee table, I looked around for my secret visitor. The kitchen and living room were clearly empty and without sufficient places to hide. My bedroom was equally empty. I even checked under the bed. The shower— that had to be where he was. I walked into the bathroom and whispered his name quietly.

  “Lucas?” I turned on the light and poked my head around the shower curtain but all I found was Coco curled up with a toy mouse. She stirred at the sound of the rustling curtain then tucked her head back down into her paws. Granted, her choice of places to sleep left something to be desired, but if I thought I could sleep as peacefully tonight as she was, I would have gladly given the shower a try. As it were, as soon as I found Lucas, I would be hooking myself up to a caffeine IV.

  I walked back into the bedroom bewildered. Where was he? Even the closet door was open to prove that he wasn’t in there. Wait. The closet door was open. I hadn’t left my closet door open like that in years. Once when I was about six or seven, I snuck a peek at a horror movie when my dad thought I was asleep. All I saw was an ugly demon-like thing crawling out of a closet and it was enough to make me turn off the television. For weeks I slept with a chair blocking the door in case my closet contained a similar such beast. Ever since then, I never left the door open when I wasn’t getting something out—not even a crack.

  Now, the door hung wide open inviting the demons to come out and play. Except there wasn’t anyone in there— human or demon. Every inch of the floor was covered in shoes but every pair was mine. Usually though, they were all lined up neatly and in order. There was only one spot not perfectly organized—my boots were in obvious disarray.

  “Lucas!” I whispered again but a bit louder this time. “Where are you?”

  From the other side of the closet wall, the muffled sound of footsteps met my ear.

  “Ru? Is that you?” Lucas’ voice sounded from within. “Of course it’s me!” I said out loud before I realized it then clapped my hand tightly over my mouth. I had to be quiet so that Dad and Shelly wouldn’t realize that I wasn’t alone. My dad already thought I was a shameless hussy after finding me in bed with Zach. What would he think if he found a different boy in my bedroom this time? Never mind that, I knew what he would think—he would think of the closest nunnery and drive me directly there himself. Sister Ruby Rose. Unfortunately, that name had a nice ring to it. I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life living humbly in a convent. And my best guess was that I would have to le
ave my straightening iron at home, too.

  As I pondered how differently my closet would look once my own things were replaced with an array of black tunics and sensible shoes, one of the panels in the back of the closet shifted and a hand appeared through the crack. As the opening widened, Lucas slid sideways through it and into view.

  “Whew! Glad to be out of there!” he whispered excitedly. “There are tons of spiders in there, you know.” “I know,” I said with a shiver, remembering the thick veils of webbing that shrouded the hidden parts of the attic. “But how did you know that opening was there? How did you know there was a room on the other side?”

  Lucas stood in front of the mirror and brushed the cobwebs out of his hair. “When I told Zach the police were searching the house, he told me where I could hide and not be found.”

  Zach. Of course it was Zach. He always seemed to come through for me when I needed him—even now when it meant pushing me closer to Lucas. As I snagged us both the first of many cans of diet soda from the fridge, I thought of Zach. He now knew that I would be spending the entire night with Lucas. He wasn’t going to need a single drop of caffeine—worry would see that Zach didn’t get a wink of sleep tonight. Fate once again took my hand and dragged me in the direction it wanted me to go.

  34. Shifting Fortunes

  It was going to be a terribly long night no matter what but it would seem excruciatingly endless without conversation. We would still have to whisper but I turned on the TV to help drown out the sound of our voices. Once I double and triple checked the lock to the attic door, I invited Lucas into my bedroom figuring that two locked doors were better than one. If Dad decided to come up to check on me, he would have to wait for me to unlock both doors before he could come in giving Lucas ample time to hide. Even if it was Shelly who paid me a visit, I would have an impossible time trying to talk my way out of this one. So for Lucas’s sake— and most definitely mine—two locks were infinitely better than one. Oh, and I almost forgot—there was still that pesky psychotic killer Jackson to worry about.