“It’s all right.” I took her hand and squeezed it.
There were missing details here. Something vital. If a child disappears, a ghost isn’t the most natural suspect. Gram must have had a reason for going that way. What drew her to the pond?
“A presence existed. It was heavy, and we could both feel it. The ghost followed us around everywhere we went.” Della wrung her knobby, arthritic hands together. The struggle to remember was etched plainly in the distress of her eyes. She was clearly missing a chunk of her memory. A huge section. A three-other-missing-children sized piece of it.
I’d go back to those articles and read the names again. Surely, someone else in town still remembered what happened. Or maybe Max the reporter could be helpful. He could get me access to old copies of the Inquisitor. I’d have to offer him something for it, though. An interview maybe.
“I think the rhyme did the opposite because we never did see a ghost.” Della screwed her face up. She was trying her best to remember. I knew, though, I was only getting half a story. “But it summoned odd feelings. Something dark and heavy. It protected us. Watched over us.”
“Protected you from what?” I asked.
Della shook her head as a solitary tear rolled down her cheek. “I wish I knew. I want to do this for you, for Callie. I just can’t see it. Everything’s all black.”
I put my arm around her shaking shoulders.
The old woman covered her face. “Callie risked so much for me, and I want to be helpful to her now.”
“You did help me, a lot,” I said. Maybe a measure of helpful information was contained in what she was saying. That internet search I’d done at lunch revealed that Greenteeth lured children with a rhyme. Della might simply have it backward. Now, how would I find out which?
“Della?” Mrs. Hurst entered the kitchen and shoved between Della and me.
“She was friends with my Gram,” I said, a lame attempt at trying to come up with a valid excuse that didn’t make either of us sound looney.
“I think she’s had enough for today,” Garner’s mother said without looking at me.
“Della . . .” I started. I only wanted to thank her.
“Please, Sophie, just go.” Mrs. Hurst wrapped Della in a hug. She was protecting her mother. Now, I felt lower than a worm.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured and left to find Chi.
Chapter 10
“Wanna tell me what happened?” asked Chi. I hadn’t uttered a word since we’d left Garner’s. Now we were parked outside her house, and she wasn’t budging from the car.
I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. The whole afternoon had been weird. I couldn’t explain it all to Chi without revealing that I’d seen the apparition. Chi would have me in a psych ward faster than she could change outfits. Dad had wanted me to see a psychiatrist in Bangor after Christmas. Chi had been all for it. I’d refused. The doctor Mom was seeing had turned her into an overmedicated zombie. I used that as my excuse to get out of going, and Dad didn’t argue. However, it wasn’t a topic I wanted to debate again.
“Garner’s grandmother and Gram were once friends, back when they were our age,” I said. “They had some sort of fight, and then Gram moved away. The two of them never managed to get over issues they’d had, and now it’s too late. Della is devastated she’ll never get to talk to Gram again.”
It was mostly true. I had just left out all the crazy bits.
Chi reached over and pried my hand free of the wheel.
“Don’t say that, Sophie. She’s still here. It’s a miracle, and maybe there’s another one around the corner for you.” She rubbed the color back into my fingers and smiled, shining with hope I didn’t have.
I shook my head, unable to speak.
“Why don’t you come in and stay for dinner?” Chi pulled on my arm. “Grandpa is on the reservation tonight, so you won’t have to listen to Algonquin legends and stuff. Mom’s even making a completely normal meatloaf.”
“Dad needs help with Connor,” I lied. My father would probably have loved it if I stayed out with Chi, but I wanted to get home and study Gram’s photo albums again.
“Are you sure?” Chi arched an eyebrow at me. She knew I was lying.
“Positive.”
“Okay, then.” She grabbed her backpack and climbed out. I knew I’d hurt her feelings. Normal nights in her house were few and far between, and those were the only times she felt comfortable having me over. I couldn’t do it, though. I was too worn out.
When Sheldon and I pulled in, the police were at the house. I groaned as I shoved the car door shut. Two cars meant Chief Wallace and Officer McCloud were inside. They’d been staples around the house in the first month after Sam went missing. Then they came less and less often as it became clear the investigation was going nowhere.
They were seated at the kitchen table with Dad, sipping coffee.
“Hey, Sophie.” Chief waved me over. In his plain clothes, he looked less like a cop and more like a car salesman. “I’m glad we caught you.”
I rolled my eyes but sat in the chair Dad scooted out for me.
“Where’s Connor?” I asked him.
“Napping with your mom,” he said and jerked his head at our visitors. The cops had upset her, ripping the Band-Aid off all over again.
“We won’t stay much longer, Mike. We just have a few questions for Sophie.” Chief smiled at me as if we were old pals. McCloud rarely ever said anything. He was the muscle of the two, big and dumb.
“Do you know the Watsons?” asked Chief.
Ah, so that’s what this was about.
“I go to school with Leigh Kate. I heard about her sister,” I said. I shot a look at Dad. The lines around his mouth were more pronounced than ever. Looks like his Band-Aid had been ripped off too. I hooked my arm through his and leaned in close to his side.
McCloud spoke, and it startled me to hear his dry, barely used voice. “We hate to come with such bad news.”
“Is it related?” I asked.
“Very similar.” Chief nodded. “No sign of forced entry or a struggle. The front door was wide open. Nothing missing.”
“Except the kid,” I bit out.
“Sophie.” Dad squeezed me tight.
Chief, at least, looked sheepish. “Of course, Sophie, except for Cassie. I meant, nothing material,” Chief corrected.
“Will this heat our case back up?” I asked. Sam’s case hadn’t been officially labeled cold, but I watched enough TV to know that four months missing meant there wasn’t much hope, leaving the authorities to move on with other cases.
I earned a look of disapproval from McCloud for that comment.
Chief sighed. “We hope it does. We’ll be combing over every detail of the Watson case for any clues. Anything we find that could help us with Sam’s case, we’ll let you know immediately.”
He stood. McCloud followed. Dad and I remained seated.
“Sophie, has anyone approached you or mentioned anything to you about the missing Watson girl?” Chief asked absently, as if it was an afterthought. I didn’t think it was, though.
“No.”
I’d bet money that Principal Schwarz had called the cops on the reporter, Max. I wasn’t going to rat him out yet. I might need him. Besides, I still hadn’t heard from him since earlier at school.
“If anyone does, it’s important that I know, okay?” Chief patted me on the shoulder, and it took everything in me not to pull away. I hated his condescending manner as though I were a simpleton who couldn’t figure out how to find my way out of a paper bag.
“Sure,” I said, working hard at a fake smile.
We let them show themselves out. I sighed and rested my head on Dad’s shoulder when I finally heard the front door close.
“Wallace said there was a scuffle at school.”
I laughed. So, Schwarz had called them.
“It was nothing, Dad. That reporter tried to talk to me. The principal ran him off,” I
said.
“I called nurse Lisa. She’s going to stay with Gram tonight.” He stretched. “I think I might go lie down as well. You okay on your own?” I hadn’t noticed the bags under his eyes until that moment.
“Yeah, Dad. I was gonna read to Gram awhile.”
Dad kissed the top of my head. “Lisa will be here around eight.” Without another word, he got up and shuffled out of the kitchen. I dropped my head onto the cold kitchen table.
I wished the police hadn’t come and brought this into my home. We already had enough tension in these walls without the added stress of the reopened wounds Sam had left behind.
Dragging myself from the table, I walked down the hall to Gram’s room. She slept peacefully, as I’d learned coma patients do. I patted her on the leg and headed straight to the drawer that hid the photo albums.
Once I’d found the one I wanted, I returned to the bed and sat beside Gram.
“I saw your old friend, Della, today,” I said. “She’s a bit of a mess.”
That was a slight understatement.
“She tried to tell me about you and her and her little sister, Sophie.” I smirked. It was rather funny that I shared the same name as the missing little girl. “Something about a nursery rhyme and the pond out on Grimm Road.”
Gram, of course, didn’t say anything or even twitch. My eyes burned with unshed tears and exhaustion. I snatched up the album and ran to my room. I didn’t want to sit there and stare at her a moment longer.
Dropping the album at the foot of the bed, I kicked off my shoes and crawled under the covers. Another kid gone. Della. The cops and my dad, broken all over again. Today had been too much. I needed to hide for a while.
All mysteries would still be there in a few hours. I pulled the comforter over my head and cried silent tears into my pillow.
Chapter 11
The bed dipped, waking me up. I assumed it was Mom or Dad checking on me, but I stayed huddled under the blanket, warm, hidden from their questions. The hand that mussed my hair was gentle.
“Sophie, love.”
Her voice got my attention. I snapped my eyes open and threw the covers off. Gram smiled and drew her hand away. There were no tubes, no wires. She looked as she had before the stroke.
I curled into the corner and jerked the covers up to my neck, fearing the worst. “Are you okay? Did you come out of your coma?” Answering my own question, I said, “It’s a dream.”
“It’s the only way I can talk to you now.” She nodded and folded both hands in her lap primly, but I saw the sadness in her eyes.
“Are you . . . are you still with us?” I asked. My words were tentative because I hated to think that only Gram’s body was in the next room and that her spirit had already left.
“I am. I still have much to do. To help you,” she said.
“Are you in any pain?”
“I’m not. Lisa and your dad take good care of me, dear. Don’t worry.” She smiled again. Her shoulders were slightly hunched as if a heavy burden was resting on them. “I’m more concerned about you.”
“Why?” I scooted over till I was sitting next to her, my bare feet on the floor beside her slippered ones. Those old fuzzy slippers she loved so much. Seeing them made me tear up. I missed her.
“Greenteeth.” Her frail hand took mine. “I heard you when you said you went and saw Della. What did she tell you?”
“Not much. She was going to, but then she got all fuzzy-headed and couldn’t remember much.” I remembered the confusion written so plainly on Della’s face.
Gram nodded. “There’s such an air of secrecy in this town. I’ve always thought there was a spell. Why else wouldn’t people simply leave?”
“A spell?”
“Greenteeth is a witch, my dear, and a rather good one. I think fuzzy memories might be right up her alley.” She squeezed my hand. “Did Della tell you about the pond?”
“Yes,” I answered quickly. “But I’d found it on my own. Della couldn’t remember what you did there, other than it involved a nursery rhyme.”
“In the wispy dark of a foggy night, the children come. The children die. Jenny Greenteeth croons to them, her keening call they cannot deny,” she recited, and a shiver ran down my spine.
“Jenny?” I whispered.
“Yeah. Sounds like a sweetheart, doesn’t she?” Gram traced circles on the back of my hand. “There’s so much I should tell you.” She lifted her hunched shoulders with a heavy sigh.
I wrapped her in a hug. Even if it was just a dream, I wanted her to know how much I loved her.
“The rhyme doesn’t summon her, though.” Gram pulled away and stared down at our clasped hands. “I wish Della could forget and find some peace.”
“Gram?” I frowned at her.
“Sophie, I’d give anything for you to walk away from all of this,” she said.
“Walk away?” I blurted. Surely, she couldn’t mean what I thought she meant.
“Yes, gather up your parents and Connor and leave. Put me in a home. I’ll pass quietly. Mourn Sam as lost and move on with your lives.”
I stared at her. My eyes wouldn’t blink. I wasn’t going anywhere until we found Sam. Neither were Mom and Dad. Gram’s coma must have affected her mind if she thought we would move and put her in a home to die alone. I shook my head. This dream was quickly losing its charm.
“Honey, we never found Della’s little sister or any of the others who were lost. Greenteeth always wins. I don’t want you to get caught up in it and be stuck here for the rest of your life, hoping for something that’s never going to happen.” Gram took my face in her hands. “Please, listen to me.”
I jerked away and stood up.
“What made you decide a ghost witch was to blame in the first place?” I stalked over to my closet and leaned against the door before I could look at her again.
“There was a boy. You’ve met his grandson, Foster.” I spotted tracks of tears on her cheeks. “Della thought he was the cutest thing ever. He was the one who first told us about the pond.”
So, Foster Grimm’s grandpa knew something about this. I’d have to talk to Foster, ask him about his grandfather.
“And?” I asked sternly. I was being harsh, but she was the one who suggested I abandon her and Sam.
“Della and I saw Greenteeth while we were there.”
“Did the witch speak?”
Gram shook her head.
“If you won’t listen to me, you should visit the ocean across from that pond. It is beautiful there. It’s the best spot to sit and view the sunset. You should try it.” Gram finally looked at me. “A little something of beauty for you.”
I went back to sit on the bed with her.
“I didn’t mean to get angry with you,” I said.
“I know, love.” Gram took both of my hands this time. “I want you to steer clear of Greenteeth. You won’t, but it would be better for everyone if you did.”
“But you’re the one who sent me there. To Grimm Road,” I argued. She’d set me on this path. No turning back now.
“I know.” She sighed. “If we had any chance of saving Sam, it was in those first moments. Now, though, he’s gone, and I’m telling you it’s time to let go.”
Hot tears stung my cheeks. Her warm fingers wiped them away.
“Please understand. I don’t want to lose you too.”
Gram took my hands and squeezed them tight then stood up.
“You’re leaving?” I gripped her frail fingers.
“For tonight. We’ll chat again soon.” She kissed my forehead. “Give it some thought, Sophie. Stay away from Grimm Road. You won’t find the answers you seek there.”
“Where will I find them?”
“Nowhere. I’m afraid there aren’t any, my love.”
She shuffled out of my room, leaving me bleary-eyed and even sadder than when she’d arrived. I lay back on my pillow and tried to consider her words. Walk away. Forget about Sam. There was no way we’d put her in a
nursing home to die, but after she died naturally . . .
I rolled over and pulled the pillow over my head. After that? I’d think about it when I had to.
Chapter 12
School the next day was pretty much a blur. I’d awakened feeling shaky and drowsy. I was sure neither Mom nor Dad would have put up much of a fight if I’d asked to stay home, but I didn’t.
Chi was her usual bright self. She managed to catch me at lunch before I could escape to the library, so I found myself sitting at a table with her and Garner. There were whispers about Foster and me, but those dissipated throughout the morning when no one saw us together. Now, the boy was holding court on the opposite side of the cafeteria. I kept my back to him and his horde of pretty friends. The one time he did catch my eye, he winked. Chi snorted, and I went back to my apple.
After school, Chi wanted to hang out and work on the English paper we had due. I wasn’t interested in the slightest. I wasn’t even sure what the assignment was. I lied and said I had to take care of Connor.
Instead, I drove out to Grimm Road. I’d seen Foster getting in his shiny Mercedes with Luke Pennington after school, so I was pretty sure I’d have some time to myself out there without any annoying, cute boy interruptions.
Stopping Sheldon in the middle of the road, I stared out the window at the pond but didn’t get out. Was another encounter with Greenteeth really what I wanted? Maybe Gram was right and I should leave it alone.
I watched that fetid pond water until my eyes blurred. Today, there were no ripples on the surface or ghostly figures skirting the edges. Nothing out of the ordinary. But that wasn’t why I’d come.
Pulling over to the side of the road, I turned left and peered out the window. The ocean was calm today as the waves washed ashore . . . a gentler sea than I’d witnessed in a long time. It was well before sunset, and I wanted to watch the ocean from this side. As Gram had said to do. Maybe I would find something peaceful and beautiful. I sure could use a little peace.
The Curse of Jenny Greene Page 6