Spirits of Spring (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 4)

by Joy Elbel

  After Shane’s and Dylan’s arrests, they were given the chance at a plea bargain—name their boss and walk away with only one year sentences in the minimum security county prison. They took the deal and named their supplier.

  Jack Wolfe. He owned the town in more ways than one. A search warrant revealed plenty more than anyone was expecting—especially me. Shane and Dylan weren’t the only ones holding vital information and Clay’s death wasn’t the only one he was indirectly responsible for. As the house of Wolfe came crashing down, Misty revealed more of the story to escape an accessory after the fact charge.

  The tale was incredibly twisted—so twisted that I didn’t believe it the first time I heard it. After murdering Clay, Jeremy walked away from the scene leaving no evidence that he’d even been there. When Shane and Dylan found his car there the next morning, they panicked thinking that Clay was in the woods dead as a result of their beating. In frustration, they destroyed the car then walked away with the only evidence that tied them to Clay—his cell phone.

  Looking for help in covering up the murder they hadn’t even committed, Shane and Dylan went immediately to Jack Wolfe. He took the phone from them and told them to lay low until the body was found. Jack locked the phone in the glove box of his new Mercedes until he could dispose of it.

  The following morning, Misty took Jack’s car without permission and set out on an adventure of her own. There was a concert she wanted to attend. A Cold Eternal concert. But there was one other thing she needed to do. Go shopping. She drove to an outlet mall on the outskirts of Harrisburg first. On the way back through, she stopped at a small convenience store to get a soda. Fresh out of cash, she opened the glove box hoping to find money. Instead, she found a phone.

  Her mind went back to how her mother learned that her father was cheating on her—she found a second phone inside his car, one he used only for conversations with his mistress. But the evidence she found inside that phone had nothing to do with an affair. There was only one reason for Clay’s phone to be in Jack’s car—he was responsible for Clay’s death.

  She instantly knew that she’d hit pay dirt. Jack was hiding a lot of things and he was going to have to pay her well to keep his secret for him. Unable to wait until she got home, she sent the first blackmail text as she drove onto the bridge. That’s right, Destiny Bridge.

  During a heated text battle over the incident, Misty swerved and almost hit a milk truck. That truck struck the bridge causing its eventual collapse. I was on that bridge that very same day. Inadvertently, Misty’s greed caused Lee’s death. When I heard the news, I wanted to hit her more than I ever had before. But after what happened to Misty the night of graduation, I figured that karma was already punishing her enough.

  The biggest charge to Jack’s rap sheet, however, was tax evasion. His personal files turned up plenty of white collar crimes which were easier for the district attorney to prosecute. In the end, his entire fortune went to the IRS. Well, most of it.

  Jack’s crime spree stretched back over decades and once he was behind bars, people started coming forward. People like Principal Lascher. Jack Wolfe paid him years ago to take Garrett Mason out of the game so that his son could get some football glory. He apologized to Garrett profusely, saying that he never intended to end his career. A local lawyer approached Garrett about filing a civil suit against Jack which he eventually won. With Jack’s bank accounts frozen by the government, Garrett walked away with the only thing left— Mistyque.

  Jack’s son disowned his father when he realized that Garrett’s injury was caused for his benefit. But Scott Fox had one more secret to learn. Clay’s mom knew exactly who fathered her child but received liquid payment for keeping it hush hush. She was given a job and endless tab at The Crow Hole—a bar owned by Jack Wolfe—in exchange for not revealing Scott as the father. Jack did it to punish Scott for disowning him.

  Jack Wolfe died in prison before he could even be put to trial. With barely any assets, his only son received just enough money to buy his own son a headstone.

  “Is he as excited to see it as he is every time he visits?” asked Scott Fox from off in the distance.

  “You know it!” I replied, happy to see father and son semi-reunited yet again. “I loved that kid even before I knew he was mine. I scraped up every penny I had just to bury him. I felt bad leaving him with such a cheap headstone but it was all I could afford. I wanted to stay in his life after the break up but his mother was such a train wreck. She and I had been onagain/off-again since right after high school but her problems kept getting worse. She made it impossible. I hope she’s resting in peace now, too.”

  Without her endless bar tab, Clay’s mom fell even further off the wagon. She died of a heroin overdose less than a year later.

  “I’m sure she is,” I said but I had no real idea. I’d had my hands so full dealing with Zach’s paranormal problems that I didn’t have time to see if she was still lingering. Clay didn’t seem to care. He had his father now and that was enough for him.

  I looked at my watch and saw that I was already late for lunch with everyone. “I’m heading to the diner, are you going to stay here with your dad for a little while?”

  “No, I’m joining you guys for lunch. You don’t mind stopping at my dad’s for a few minutes after that, do you?”

  “No, that’s fine,” I said wondering why Clay seemed so excited to sit and watch everyone else eat. “Let’s go.”

  I left that cemetery not realizing how different my life was going to be the next time I returned.

  43. …Comes Back Around

  We spent the five minute drive to the All American Diner with the stereo blasting Bohemian Rhapsody. Over the years, it kind of became our song. When things got rough and I needed to clear my head, this was how I did it. I logged a lot of miles to that song that first year in Ohio.

  Everyone else was there waiting for me when I got to the restaurant. I would have much rather gone to Amuse for my birthday lunch but apparently my vote didn’t count. Amuse was what the Masons renamed Mistyque when they turned it into a restaurant/comedy club. And a very profitable one at that.

  I dropped Zach off at their house earlier so that he could spend some time with his twin nephews—Alex and Zane. Rachel and Boone moved to Pittsburgh when he got drafted by the Steelers straight out of college. A year later, Drake joined them there. After their first Super Bowl win, the Steeler defense became known as the Sterling Curtain thanks to them. Rachel ran an interior design firm out of their home so that she could spend more time with their sons. By the size of those two boys, the family football legacy was bound to continue.

  Andy and Rita were there, too. They got married in Niagara Falls on their three year anniversary as a couple. When Andy decided to take on another staff veterinarian, Zach was his first choice. He accepted, of course, and we immediately began our search for a house in Charlotte’s Grove. That’s right, after years in Ohio, we were moving back home.

  Dad and Shelly turned Rosewood into a Civil War museum after the terrible run they had at their bed and breakfast venture. The museum was doing well but they were considering selling it when Dad retired. I’d already put first dibs on it when it went up for sale. What can I say, I couldn’t leave the past completely in the past. That house meant a lot to me and always would.

  Rachel blew me a kiss when she saw me walking through the door so I blew one back. I took the empty seat next to Zach and gave him a real kiss. He smiled and kissed me back but I could feel his leg bouncing nervously under the table. I glanced around for ghosts automatically but saw nothing. His abilities were stronger than mine—who knows what he was seeing that I wasn’t. I squeezed his hand for comfort knowing that he would explain what he saw to me later. Someday I hoped that he would let me tell his story the way I told mine. It took four novels to document coming to terms with my abilities, but I was glad I did it. But it was his story to tell—I had to wait until he was ready to do it.

  Halfway through t
he meal, Rachel burst out in tears. “What’s wrong, Rachel?” I asked wondering if I’d missed something significant by being late.

  “Nothing!” she said crying even harder. “I called you all together here today to tell you that I’m pregnant! I was trying to keep it a secret for a little while just in case something bad happened but I just had my first sonogram and the doctor says the baby looks fine. It’s a girl!”

  The table erupted into instant rounds of congratulations. Rachel had been trying for years to have another baby but was told the odds were unlikely. She especially wanted a girl, too.

  “I am so happy for you, Rachel!” I got up from the table to give her a hug. “Have you picked out a name?” “We haven’t decided on a first name yet but I want her middle name to be Ruby.” Cue the tears—this time from her and me both. After all this time, she was still my best living friend.

  When our waitress approached our table, I immediately thought that she looked familiar so I glanced at her name tag. Misty. She barely resembled the beautiful girl I’d shared the title of prom queen with so many years ago. Her hair was darker now and she had packed on some massive pounds. A thick scar ran across her right cheek, presumably something she acquired during the accident the night of graduation. When the karma bus finally caught up with her, it practically ran her over. Despite everything she’d put me through, I felt sorry for her. But in a way, hardship seemed to have made her a better person. She politely smiled and addressed me by name when she took my order. I did the same when she placed my meal in front of me.

  After the meal, I moved sluggishly to the door yet somehow I seemed to be the one moving the fastest. As I started to turn the handle, I felt a light tap on my shoulder accompanied by an electrical pulse almost as strong as the one I’d felt the day that Zach got shot. I was afraid to turn around. Slowly, I pivoted on one heel and looked…down.

  There he was, my Norse god, on one knee with one hand outstretched, fingers tightly closed. “You have the key to my heart,” he whispered. “Will you marry me?” He slowly opened his fingers to reveal a beautiful ruby and diamond ring.

  I dropped to both knees in front of him and took the ring from his hand. As our fingers touched, another wave of electricity radiated between us. My brain reverted to something primal, something instinctual so I made the only move that made sense.

  “Yes, Zach, I will most definitely marry you!” I cried, he smiled, and everyone else cheered as he slipped that engagement ring onto my waiting finger. There. Now I was truly home.