by Apryl Baker
“You’re staying, aren’t you?” I ask, alarmed, when he looks like he’s getting ready to leave. He can’t leave! Don’t get me wrong, I love that Eli’s here, wrapped up all around me, but Dan is my safety blanket, my Woobie. I need him here with me, too.
“No worries, Squirt.” He ruffles my hair just like Caleb has a habit of doing. “I’m staying. I need to make calls and get cleaned up. Then I’m passing out on the cot. It’s been a long day and I need sleep.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding and feel my whole body relax. For the first time all day, I feel safe and loved. Both my boys are here.
We’ll figure everything else out in the morning.
Chapter Thirteen
Tomorrow turned into three days. My concussion was worse than any of us thought and the doctor refused to let me out until he was positive I wasn’t going to have some kind of epic brain seizure. Nancy stopped by to check on me. She just shook her head when she saw me, the concern apparent in her eyes. She also wanted to tell me they’d gotten the DNA results back and it confirmed Ezekiel Crane was my father. I already knew that and I think she did too, but her instincts, like mine, screamed danger. Not a lot she could do though, since he is my biological father. She said they’d arrange an initial meeting once I was home. I didn’t tell her I’d already had that initial meeting. She’d have flipped out.
“We’re home,” Mary says, pulling into the driveway of the Cross house.
I look up and see her mom weeding the flowerbeds. There are flowers everywhere. I grimace. No way will I ever get down and play in dirt. I can’t stand being dirty.
Mary laughs at my expression. “I know just how you feel. She tried to get me into it last year and when I ran across a worm, I went screaming into the house. There’s not a force alive that can get me back out there.”
I chuckle and get out of the car. Mary and I are so much alike sometimes, it’s scary. We like a lot of the same things, have the same bizarre sense of humor, and we both have a fierce sense of loyalty when it comes to family. If past lives are possible, Mary and I were definitely sisters at some point or another.
Mrs. C waves at us as we walk up the steps. I still haven’t spent an entire night in the place. All I really want is to get into a real bed and sleep for like two days. Mary opens the door and we are hit by the cold whoosh of air from the AC. The temperature outside today is over ninety, but to me it felt freezing cold. Mary, however, appreciates the air conditioning.
Shaking my head at her sigh of relief at escaping the heat, I follow her. Or try to. I hit an invisible barrier that bounces me backwards and I fall, tumbling down the steps and cracking my head again on the concrete walkway.
Mary and her mom come running, but I lay there and stare up at the blue sky. Ignoring their questions, I sigh. Just my luck. Caleb said he ghost-proofed the house. I have more ghost energy now. Hence, I can’t get in the house. My life really and truly sucks.
“Call Caleb,” I tell Mary. “He needs to take down the ghost-proofing.”
“What?” she asks, startled. “Why?”
“Apparently, I can’t get in the house with all of it up,” I say irritated. “I’m Ghost Girl, remember?”
Poor Mrs. C looks so confused. Having people come in and ghost-proof her house must have been an experience she never thought she’d have to deal with. Now she’s staring at me like I’ve grown two heads because I can’t get in. I hear Mary talking to someone, presumably Caleb. She’s whispering and my head hurts so I don’t even try to listen. My poor head has taken a beating these last few weeks.
“Here, Mattie, let’s get you up.” Mrs. C finally snaps out of her dazed state. “Did you hit your head again?”
I let her pull me up and then lead me to the porch swing. She checks my head, clucking when she feels a new knot. Right there with you, Mrs. C, I think. She leaves and returns a few minutes later with a bottle of water and Motrin. God bless ibuprofen. Where would we be without that little miracle?
Another fear has crept in while I’m waiting for Caleb to come over. It might not be the ghost-proofing that repelled me. Caleb demon-proofed the house, too. Silas had insinuated that I’m a demon. What if he’s right? What if it isn’t the ghost-proofing that’s keeping me out, but the demon-proofing? Eli and his family hunt demons. If I’m one, what will they do? Will Eli even be able to stomach being in the same room as me?
By the time the boys actually arrive, I’ve worked myself into a mess of tangled nerves. Eli bounds up the steps and sits beside me. “I’m sorry, Mattie, I should have thought about this after you reacted so badly to the iron.”
I just shake my head, watching as Caleb starts working on whatever he did to the door. I can’t really see what he’s doing. Mary is frowning at me, realizing something is off. She’s a smart cookie. I’m terrified to try and walk through the door again. What if I’m a demon? I can’t be that. No freaking way.
When Caleb straightens, he turns to me, his expression concerned. “All right, you should be able to get in the house now. The windows are still salt sealed, but that shouldn’t hurt you. It’s only meant to keep things out, not in.”
I stare mutely at the empty doorway, dreading what might happen. Resolutely, I stand up. Best to just rip the band-aid off instead of torturing myself. I lift my head up and march towards the door, never hesitating. I walk straight through and my relief is palpable. I can get into the house. I’m not a demon, just a girl with freaky ghost energy.
Then the nausea hits like a freight train. The bile rises up and I barely make it to the porch railing before my lunch comes back up. Spots appear in front of my eyes as I empty out my stomach, heaving. Eli is there, pulling my hair out of my face and rubbing my back. He’s murmuring words of sympathy, but all I can think is that maybe I am a demon. No, no, no. I can’t be a demon. Please don’t let me be a demon.
“Caleb, are you sure you fixed it?” Mary asks, her voice skeptical.
“Of course I fixed it.” He definitely doesn’t like to be questioned. “Besides, it shouldn’t have made her sick…Mary, why is your face turning green…?”
Mary is leaning over the railing beside of me, puking as hard as I am. I peek at her out of the corner of my eyes. Realization hits. Food poisoning. We’d stopped at that new place on Tryon Street and ordered chicken sandwiches. They must have been tainted. I giggle. I can’t help it. Shock maybe. Mary groans and slips down the railing, stretching out on the porch floor.
“Never, ever again,” she whispers. “No more chicken salad for me.”
“Food poisoning?” Mrs. C sighs. “Come on, girls, let’s get you upstairs where you can throw up without the neighbors seeing it.”
I giggle again. The thought of all the people out mowing their lawns watching us have an epic throw up marathon is hilarious. Mary joins me in the gigglefest and soon we’re laughing. Eli and Caleb stare at us like we’ve lost our minds, but maybe we have.
Another wave of nausea hits and I groan, trying my best to keep it down. Throwing up is the absolute worst feeling in the world. I hate puking. It always leaves me drained and feeling weak. I give a little shriek when somebody hoists me up and I’m carried into the house. My, my. Eli is much stronger than he looks. I glance over his shoulder to see Caleb carrying Mary into the house.
My stomach heaves. “Bathroom,” I bark and Eli takes off at a dead run. He barely deposits me in front of the toilet before the next wave hits.
“I’m good now,” I wave him off and lie down on the cold tile. “You and Caleb go home.”
Eli frowns down at me. “Mattie…”
“NO!” I say a bit more forcefully than I meant to. “Please, Eli, can you just go? There isn’t a girl alive who wants a guy to see her like this. I’ll call you later once I feel better, okay?”
“The house isn’t protected from ghosts anymore, Mattie,” he says grimly.
“I’ve been dealing with ghosts for most of my life,” I remind him. “The one the other day just got th
e jump on me is all. Won’t happen again. Just please, don’t argue and go home. Let me be miserable and embarrassed alone? Please?”
He purses his lips, but slowly nods. “Call if you even suspect a ghost is around, okay?”
“Sure, sure.” I wave at him and scramble back to the toilet as another wave hits. I hear him walking away and am grateful. No way do I want him to see me like this.
Three hours and two showers later, I manage to drag myself to my room and into my pj’s. I’m wrecked. My stomach hurts, my throat aches, and my head is pounding. Getting into bed, I wrap myself up in the blankets. My shivering is worse than before. The hospital has never been able to explain why my temperature never goes above 96 degrees. I could tell them it’s because of the ghosts, but I’m betting that’d land me on the fourth floor with the rest of the nut jobs. Eli’s warmth would be welcome right about now. He never did get around to explaining why he becomes a walking furnace around me. I’ve got to remember to ask him about that. It’s just weird.
There’s a knock at the door and then Dan pokes his head in. “Hey, Squirt, you feeling better?”
“I’ll live,” I tell him.
“Food poisoning, huh?” he asks sympathetically and sprawls out next to me.
“Yup,” I nod. “Maybe tomorrow I’ll end up with Ebola or some other exotic disease.”
“Don’t borrow trouble,” he says. “You are feeling better, though? Mrs. Cross said you hit your head again.”
“I have a little bit of a headache, but it’s not bad.”
“Okay, what’s wrong?” he asks, turning over to look at me.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I mutter.
“Mattie, I know you. Something’s wrong.”
I sigh. Leave it to Dan to want to talk things out. “I’ve just been thinking is all…”
“That’s never a good sign.” He laughs. “You tend to get morose when you do that.”
“I do not,” I deny. Well, I do, but still.
“Come on, Squirt, what’s up?”
“I was thinking about everything that’s happened since I first saw Sally’s ghost and have come to the realization I’m not the same person I was then.”
“Well, no, Mattie, you’re not. You’re growing up, getting more mature. It’s not a bad thing.”
“But I don’t like who I am right now!” I all but shout before taking a deep breath. “I’m scared all the time and not just for me. I worry about you and Mary and her mom. I have people now, Dan. I’ve never had people before. It was easier when I didn’t. All I had to worry about was me. I used to be tougher, harder than I am now, you know? I was a snarky little witch and I liked that. No one messed with me. I’m just not that person anymore. I’ve lost my edge.”
I twist so that I’m lying on my back, looking up at the ceiling. “Then I think about you and what you’ve lost because of me. If you’d never met me then your family wouldn’t be going through this right now. How can I ever make that up to you?”
“Mattie, this is the last time we’re going to have this conversation. What my mom did to both of us wasn’t your fault. Secrets tend to get found out no matter how hard you try to hide them. It’s just a fact. If it wasn’t you, something or someone would have exposed my mom’s secrets.”
“Maybe,” I say doubtfully. I can keep secrets like nobody’s business.
“I have thought about what my life would have been like if I hadn’t met you,” Dan says, surprising me. “Before you, I went about my business believing only in what I could see, what I could touch, what I could rationally explain. My life was orderly, easy. Then I met this weird girl who claimed she could see ghosts.” He shakes his head. “At first I thought you were only trying to cope with maybe being a little psychic. That’s as far as I was willing to go. I could see you needed help, needed a friend, someone to believe in you and I wanted to help you. Then the more I got to know you, the more I realized just how special you were. Here was this tough as nails kid who refused to let anything or anyone get in her way, but she had soft spot, too. She cared more about people than she let on, maybe even more than she knew herself.”
Dan pauses for a moment and rubs his eyes. He looks tired.
“The more time I spent with you, the more you challenged my beliefs. I had to admit there were things out there science couldn’t explain. That was a huge leap of faith for me. Then you went missing on me and I realized just how much that snarky, arrogant kid had come to mean to me. I went a little crazy thinking I couldn’t protect you. I still think about those three days you were missing and I don’t know what I would have done if you’d died on me, Squirt. You’re family to me. You give me hope and faith that good things come from even the worst situations.”
“But I ruin everyone’s life I care about,” I whisper.
“No, Mattie, you don’t. Where would Mary be right now if you had been selfish and ignored Sally? She’d be dead, her mother devastated. You saved her life. How many other kids would Mrs. Olson have kidnapped and tortured before killing them? I don’t even want to think about it. You save people, Mattie, because you have the courage to stand up and make us all pay attention. Mary owes her life to you. Would you honestly want to take that back?”
“No, of course not, but—”
“No buts,” he interrupts me. “I know you think you destroyed my family, but you didn’t. Without you, I wouldn’t have found my brothers, my sister, my father. As much as all this hurts right now, I’m glad I found them. Eli might be a pain, but he is my brother and I’m trying. I wouldn’t have that chance if not for one stubborn Ghost Girl.”
“I hate that name.” I smile softly. How does Dan always know just what to say to me when I’m in a funk? Maybe he’s right and I’m not the destructive force I think I am. I did save Mary, after all.
“More than Hilda?” he grins.
“God, no!” I declare. “Hilda is just…” I shudder.
“He’s never going to stop calling you that,” Dan laughs.
“I know,” I sigh. “I’m stuck with it until I can find an equally horrifying one for him.”
“I have complete faith in you.” Dan sits up. “Feel up to talking some shop now that we’ve got you out of your morose state?”
“I wasn’t morose,” I deny, “but yeah. You find out anything from your friend in Mooresville?”
He nods. “Yeah, took a little longer than I thought it would. The girl who went missing is the daughter of the mayor. The case is being looked at very closely, but Tony managed to make me a copy of the file.”
“The mayor’s daughter?” I ask. “That’s a little risky, isn’t it? Even for an experienced serial killer?”
“You been reading the books I gave you?” Dan asks, nodding in approval when I agree. “You’re going to make an excellent cop.” I make a face, which he ignores. “Her name is Addison Fowler. She’s went missing at a party on the lake. Her body hasn’t been recovered as of yet. I have a list of witnesses the investigating detectives talked to and figured I’d do my own interviews tomorrow.”
“There are eight girls, though,” I frown. “Did you check the NCIC database for similar crimes in the surrounding areas?”
Dan grins and I grit my teeth. I refuse to even think about being a cop. That’s just…it’s just…it makes me want to hurl. Police and I don’t get along. It’s not my fault I think like one. I blame it on all my juvenile arrests.
“Course I did,” he says. “I ran your sketches through the DMV and the NCIC and came up with two more matches. The girl from Concord was a foster kid and the girl from Ashville was the mayor’s daughter.”
I frown. A foster kid and the mayor’s daughter? Oh my god! I shoot up and stare at Dan, who nods grimly. It’s someone who knows me and Meg and is pissed at us both. One name comes to mind. “Tommy?”
“That was the first name I thought of too, so I checked with his parents. He’s been up at his brother’s place in Virginia all summer.”
Tommy James was Meg’s e
x-boyfriend and a real piece of work. He treated her like garbage and had cheated on her more times than I could count in the few weeks I’d known him. He’d even hit on me several times, but I’d shut him down. He really hates me, too. I beat the crap out of him when he tried to get in my face and intimidate me. Meg, on the other hand, dumped him for Dan. If someone has a grudge against both us, it’s him.
“That doesn’t matter,” I say. “I don’t know when these girls died, just that they did. Ghosts don’t always find me the minute they die. Sometimes they need to gain strength or just sort through their own confusion. He could have killed them before he went to Virginia.”
“Addison went missing two weeks ago,” Dan shakes his head. “Tommy wasn’t here.”
Well, fudgepops. There goes that theory. “Were you able to find anything out about the other two girls?”
He nods. “Sheila Prescott from Concord went missing on a Saturday afternoon. She’d told her foster mom she was going to a movie and never came home. That was in March of this year. Abbey Canton from Ashville disappeared from a party, same as Addison. She disappeared in June. According to the notes I read, there were no witnesses to the abductions.”
“So aside from the foster kid, mayor’s daughter angle, are there any other similarities?”
“The mayor’s daughters were both blondes, and the foster kid had dark hair, same as you.”
“This is s-o-o-o not good,” I whisper. Not only do I have to deal with vengeful ghosts trying to kill me, but a person who might potentially be obsessed with me and Meg. “Dan, the killer always goes after their main target eventually.”
“I know, Squirt.” He gives my hand a squeeze. “I think between my brothers and me, though, we can keep you and Meg safe.”
I sincerely hope so.
“I wanted you to know what was going on,” he says. “I need to swing by and talk to Eli and Caleb before I head to my parents. Dad asked if I’d stay at the house for a while. I think he needs a buffer between him and Mom. It’s going to be okay, Squirt.” He leans down and plants a kiss on my forehead before ruffling my hair. “I promise.”
