Secrets and Specters

by Raven Snow

  “You should have said something,” she told Conners once Ms. Poole was finished.

  “I did,” Conners said, blunt. Lady suspected he very much wished he had kept everything to himself given what he was currently putting up with. “Why do you think they’re here now?”

  “You should have said something to me.” Shannon reached across the desk again and took Conners hand in both of her own. “I’m partly responsible for all this. You should have come to me. I would have done something.”

  “Yeah? What?” Conners slipped his hand out of hers. His features were annoyed but softened when she winced. “Look, this really isn’t your fault. None of what happened was ever your fault. We’ve talked about this.”

  Shannon didn’t look so convinced. “You still should have said something,” she muttered, quieter this time. Lady thought she was starting to see another reason why Al disliked Shannon so much. It was like Shannon was trying to be Conners’ second mother. He definitely didn’t need one of those.

  “Shannon,” Lady began, trying to get her to change gears some before she drove Conners any further up a wall. “I was gonna ask, do you know where Chet is?”

  “Chet?” Shannon’s eyes widened when she said the name. “Why do you want to know about him?”

  “I wanted to ask him some questions.” Lady nodded in Dom’s direction. “He thought it might be a good idea.”

  “We’re having him over for dinner tomorrow night, actually,” said Shannon, though she still sounded puzzled. “He just got back from a convention yesterday. He always comes and has dinner with us when he gets back from one of his trips.” She waited a few seconds after saying all that, like she was waiting for someone to offer more clarification. “Why do you need to talk to him?”

  “We have some questions about Lawrence’s family,” said Dom without the hesitation Lady was feeling. She shifted on the hard, wooden desk a bit, growing more uncomfortable by the second.

  “Lawrence? I don’t think I know a Lawrence,” said Shannon, brow furrowed. “What does his family have to do with anything?”

  “Lawrence was, ah, the man that I shot and killed,” said Conners. His words were stilted. He linked his fingers together and looked down at where they rested on the table.

  “Oh,” said Shannon, quietly. “I’m sorry.” She paused for a moment, letting awkwardness fill the silence for a few seconds. “That’s right,” she began again with dawning realization. “Chet knew him from high school.” She looked to Dom. “That was so long ago, though. I don’t think he knew him well. And I doubt he knew Lawrence’s family at all. What do you need to talk to Chet about them for?”

  Ms. Poole spoke up before Dom could explain. “Lady has a theory.” She turned to address Conners directly. “Have you kept up with what’s been going on with Lawrence’s family?”

  Conners looked up from his desk. “I reached out to them once,” he said. “I knew they probably wouldn’t want to hear from me, and they didn’t. I left the door open in case they ever wanted to get in touch. I know he had a son. I thought he might have questions someday. I know I would.” Conners shook his head like he was annoyed with himself for going into more detail than was necessary. “They never contacted me again and I never reached out again. It didn’t seem… right.”

  Ms. Poole nodded. “Well, maybe you knew the wife was sick then?”

  Conners exhaled slowly, like he could already guess where this conversation was headed. “I’m sure I’d heard something to that effect. I offered to help if I could, but they didn’t want any charity from me. I can’t blame them.”

  “People can be stubborn when they’re emotional,” agreed Ms. Poole. She didn’t need to point out that Al had basically done the same thing with Shannon’s charity. “Well, unfortunately, it seems his wife has passed.”

  Conners sighed. “And the kid?”

  “I don’t know,” said Ms. Poole. “I’m not sure how I would know. I’m not in touch with the family, and that’s not the sort of information you see published.”

  “Right. Sorry.”

  “What does this have to do with anything?” asked Shannon. “You said Lady had a theory?”

  “She thinks Beatrice may be this shadowy figure Conners has been seeing.” She watched him as she spoke, like she was trying to measure how he reacted.

  Conners folded his hands on his desk again. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it. His expression was difficult to read. He was definitely considering what she had said at least. He hadn’t shot it down immediately.

  “You think it’s the wife?” Shannon sounded a little angry, like the very idea offended her. “Why? Why would she still be angry? Surely enough time has passed that she would have accepted what happened. It was clearly her husband’s fault. I was there. I can tell you from first-hand—”

  “Shannon,” said Conners, warning her.

  Shannon wasn’t dissuaded. “I’m sorry, but it doesn’t make any sense.” She motioned to Conners. “Like just now! Just now you said you even tried to contact them, to make things right.”

  “I reached out and offered assistance. This isn’t the kind of thing you can just make right.”

  “People can be biased,” offered Ms. Poole. “They’ll believe what they want to believe. I’m sure that no one wants to think the man they loved brought his death on himself. She was probably looking for someone to blame. If Lady’s theory is correct, she’s still looking for someone to blame.”

  Shannon huffed. “Well, I still think it’s absurd.”

  “Well, you can tell that to her vengeful spirit,” said Dom, sounding annoyed with the whole conversation.

  “If it’s even her,” Lady added quickly.

  “That’s the first thing we need to determine,” Ms. Poole agreed. “Conners, I know you said this started a few weeks ago when last I asked. Can you be more precise than that? When did this shadow being first begin manifesting?”

  Conners spread his hands. “I don’t know. Like I said, a few weeks… Three weeks, I think? That’s not to say it wasn’t there before. Apparently, Lady saw it when I was asleep. For all I know, it’s been standing over me for a while and I just haven’t woken up.”

  Distracted from the serious topic at hand, Shannon gave Lady an appraising sort of look. “You’re living with Conners now?”

  “No, I just spent the one night with him,” Lady stammered, caught off guard. “Platonically,” she added for good measure. Getting things back on topic, she raised her phone. “I couldn’t find anything about when Beatrice died online. The guy who was friends with Lawrence said there wasn’t an obituary in the paper. I couldn’t find one with any of the local funeral homes either. I don’t think she even had a memorial.”

  Conners put a hand on his desktop’s mouse and gave it a wiggle, waking up the monitor. “I can probably find something about when she died.”

  Lady hadn’t thought of that. Conners would have access to that sort of information, especially if she had passed at home and someone had been called to pick up the body.

  “So, what are you going to do if it’s her?” Conners asked, typing and clicking. Lady couldn’t see much of what was happening on the screen.

  “That depends,” said Ms. Poole. “If it’s Beatrice herself, we’ll need to pacify her somehow, get her to see that you didn’t murder her spirit in cold blood. That’s the best-case scenario.”

  “Is it?” Lady could think of at least a dozen scenarios that would be more ideal than dealing with a vengeful spirit.

  “It is,” Ms. Poole insisted. “The other possibility is that it’s a manifestation of all her rage.”

  Shannon hummed thoughtfully. “That would be tricky.” It was easy to forget that Shannon had been raised a witch as well. Lady had no idea how powerful she was, but she seemed to know her stuff at least. “I would approach this as a haunting. Even if it is a manifestation of rage, it could still respond to making amends.” She gave another huff. “Not that amends need to be m
ade.”

  “Not that amends can be made, you mean?” Conners had turned away from his computer screen. “You do remember the part where I said the family didn’t want anything to do with me, right? I’m not going to harass them.”

  “No one’s telling you to harass them,” Ms. Poole said calmly. “But you may have to reach out to them again.”

  “Which I’m not willing to do, especially at a time like this. I’d sooner be haunted than harass some kid.”

  “Are you sure?” Lady had been on the wrong end of his shadow person’s wrath once. She wasn’t sure it was something that could go ignored for much longer. Heck, if Conners hadn’t helped, she might have suffocated to death. Not the best way to go.

  “Speaking with the family may be what’s best for everyone.” Ms. Poole maintained her calm exterior. “What if what’s haunting you is Beatrice? Do you think it’s right to let her soul remain in a state of unrest just because you don’t want to make her family a little uncomfortable?”

  Conners didn’t have a good comeback for that. He looked back to his computer. “I’d like to make sure it’s her before we do anything rash.” That was probably the best compromise they were going to get.

  “Find out when she died yet?” asked Dom.

  The way Conners squirmed uncomfortably where he sat suggested he had. “Based on the date of death, it could be her,” he conceded. “But I’d still like more proof.”

  “I can do something about that.” Ms. Poole didn’t share what she could do about that exactly. “I want to know you’ll be open to what I’ve been talking about, though. You’ll need to talk to the family.”

  “If it comes to it.”

  Lady really didn’t blame Conners for being so stubborn. She had her own reservations about talking to the family, and they didn’t have nearly as many reasons to hate her. “So, about Chet…”

  “Hmm?” Shannon perked up. “Oh, well, I don’t know if he’s free today, but you’re all welcome to come to dinner at my place tomorrow.” She smiled brightly, like dinner plans were just that. “It’d be nice to have you all over. I’m cooking meatloaf. Casual clothes, of course. It’s just a little family get-together.”

  “They’ll be there,” said Ms. Poole, implying that she wouldn’t be there. She gave Lady and Dom meaningful looks.

  Dom didn’t argue. “Sounds like a plan,” said Lady.

  “Is that it?” asked Conners. “If that’s all you guys have to say, I should be getting back to work.”

  Dom raised a hand, calling attention to himself. “I can probably guess the answer, but I can keep an eye on your house if you want, Conners.” Lady had talked about that with him earlier. She knew he meant it both literally and figuratively.

  Shannon clapped her hands together. “Oh, that’s a good idea.”

  “No,” said Conners, shooting the “good idea” down immediately. “I’d rather not give you the ability to spy on my apartment at all hours, thanks.”

  Dom gave a shrug of indifference. “Suit yourself. Though, I’d like to point out that you’re not the kind of person I’d spy on for fun.”

  “Implying you do spy on people for fun,” Conners shot back.

  “Boys,” Ms. Poole said, cutting off the back and forth before it could go any further. “While I don’t think Dom putting one of his eyes in your apartment would be a bad idea, I don’t believe it’s strictly necessary. Conners won’t be alone tonight.”

  This seemed to be news to Conners. He rolled his eyes. “I don’t have a say in any of this, do I?”

  Chapter Ten

  “Sleepover!” sang Otsuya, leaping over the back of the loveseat to flop down on its cushions.

  “Manners,” Lady warned, not sure Conners would appreciate a grown woman jumping on his furniture. He was still in the entryway with Lady. Given the soft muttering she couldn’t quite make out, she figured he wasn’t thrilled with it.

  Otsuya’s head popped up over the back of the sofa. “Sorry,” she said without sounding like she particularly meant it. “I’ve never been to a sleepover before.”

  “Didn’t you used to go to a boarding school?” Lady asked, sitting Lion down on the floor. He scampered off to join Otsuya on the sofa. “That’s basically a sleepover, right? And I’ve definitely woken up with you in my room before.”

  “That doesn’t count.” Otsuya waved a hand dismissively. “That was a shared living space and sleeping in your room is to sleeping over what pitching a tent in the living room is to camping. It also doesn’t count.”

  “And how does this count? It’s more business than pleasure, isn’t it? Ms. Poole made us come.”

  Otsuya shushed her. “Don’t say that. You’ll ruin it.”

  “If Ms. Poole is forcing you to be here, you’re both welcome to go home,” Conners offered. He walked to the kitchen and got a beer from the fridge. “I won’t tell anyone. Promise.”

  Otsuya shushed him as well. “We’re happy to be here.”

  “Speak for yourself.” Lady went to flop down on the sofa beside Otsuya. “You didn’t get tackled by a shadow monster last night.” She glanced back to Conners. “No offense, Conners.”

  “Again, might I point out that you are welcome to leave…”

  “Oh, come on.” Otsuya gave Lady a pat on the shoulder. “You’re both safe as can be with me here. I’m good with ghosts. Very friendly. They love me.”

  Lady would have to take her word on that, assume that Otsuya was good with ghosts simply by virtue of also being one. “And if it’s that other thing Ms. Poole said it could be? A manifestation of anger and negative energy and stuff?”

  “Yeah, that’s pretty scary. I don’t know what to do about that.”

  “Great.”

  “But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a fun evening!” Otsuya reached for the remote. “Someone order a pizza. I’ll find us a movie to watch. Conners, do you own any movies?”

  “No,” said Conners from the kitchen.

  Otsuya didn’t seem to be having much luck flipping through what few channels he had. “Okay… fine… No worries. I’ll just go… rent a movie.”

  “Is there a rental place in Dark Lake?” Lady looked to Conners. He shook his head. “I don’t think people rent movies anymore, Otsuya.”

  “What?” Otsuya looked from the television to Lady then back again. “That doesn’t sound right. Ms. Poole still has movies.”

  “Ms. Poole still hasn’t mastered using a cell phone,” said Lady. “Most people stream movies these days.”

  “Whatever. Hey, Conners, do you have any streams?”

  ***

  Pizza for a second night in a row wasn’t ideal, but it made Otsuya happy. Plus, it wasn’t like Lady had never lived off pizza for weeks at a time. There were worse things to repeatedly have for dinner.

  Conners didn’t have any streaming services on his television, but he had a laptop. Lady found a way to illicitly stream superhero movies. They crowded around the coffee table to watch the tiny screen while they ate.

  Otsuya found the whole thing delightfully scandalous. “Breaking the law with a police officer,” she said, giving Lady a conspiratorial grin while she found them another illegal stream to watch.

  Conners was slouched back on the sofa, opening his third beer of the evening. “I’m not too worried about it.”

  All things considered, it was pretty close to a sleepover. Not that Lady had been invited to many of those growing up. She had never had the opportunity to host one. She had gotten a few pity invites when she was young. They had all been kind of awkward. She had seldom ever been at one school long enough to get to know anyone, so it was mostly her forcing awkward laughter while they gossiped about people she’d never met.

  This was nice though. Lady hadn’t been in Dark Lake all that long, but she knew Otsuya’s circle of friends rather well by now. “You know who I think is kind of cute?” Otsuya asked, when the movie they were watching turned boring.

  “Who?” Lady asked, curious
even though she felt a little too old for cute guy talk.

  “Dom,” Otsuya said, like she was whispering a secret to Lady even though everyone in the apartment was close enough to hear her no matter the tone of voice she used.

  Lady wrinkled her nose, trying her best to look disgusted. Her heart just wasn’t in it, though. “Yeah,” she conceded. “You’re kind of right, I guess. Too bad his personality spoils it.”

  “I dunno,” Otsuya said in a singsong voice. “He’s tough and mean on the outside, but I bet it’s hiding a soft and squishy interior.”

  “I think you’ve watched too many movies.”

  “He’s big and strong and gruff, but he’ll protect you because deep down he’s just a teddy bear.”

  “Or just a regular bear.”

  “You think he’s gay?”

  “No, I meant like—” Lady reconsidered the question. “I dunno. I’ve wondered if he and Crispin have a thing. They seem super close.”

  “They’re just super close,” Otsuya said, sounding sure of herself. “They’ve been best friends forever. Crispin thinks of him like a brother, so it’d be weird.”

  “I think I’m gonna call it a night.” Conners stood. Lady had almost forgotten he was there.

  “Aww, come on.” Otsuya sounded genuinely sad to see him go. “You can do sleepover talk with us. Who do you think is sexy?”

  “My bed. Eight hours of sleep.” Beer in hand, he headed for the bathroom. “Either of you need to get in there before I take a shower?”

  “I’m good,” Lady called after him. Otsuya didn’t say anything. Lady wondered if she even needed to use the bathroom. She didn’t need to eat either, but that never seemed to stop her. What happened to the food, Lady wondered. Maybe it was one of those things she was better off not knowing.

  Otsuya waited until the door was closed and the water in the bathroom was running before she continued. “You know who else is cute?” Otsuya asked suggestively. She paused for Lady to take a guess, but it was unnecessary. They both knew who she was about to say. “Conners isn’t a bad looking guy, huh?”

  Lady looked at the closed bathroom door. She didn’t have a sleazy mind, but she was hard pressed not to imagine him stripping in there now that Otsuya had called her attention to his looks. “He’s kinda hot, yeah.”