by J. A. White
“What about the bikes?” Cordelia asked.
“I’m sure they already found them by now,” Benji said, wincing beneath the weight of the duffel bag. Despite Cordelia’s suggestion that they share the burden, he had insisted on lugging it around the entire day. “Hopefully that’ll throw them off and they’ll search the houses back there twice as hard. We should stick to the woods. I’m pretty sure they bring us close to the last house.”
“They do,” Cordelia said, picturing the map of Shady Rest in her head. “Let’s hope they don’t think of looking in here.”
“We’ll just have to be quiet.”
They headed north, trying to stay equally distant from the houses on their left and Oak Lane, which ran parallel to the woods, on their right. When a car drove by, or they heard voices, the kids froze like cornered deer until the danger had passed. Even with the duffel bag, Benji was light on his feet and somehow managed to avoid making a single sound. Cordelia’s feet, on the other hand, seemed magnetically attracted to every twig on their path.
It all worked out. Excluding scrapes and muddy sneakers, they reached the end of the woods unscathed.
They peeked between the branches. From here they had a perfect view of an ocean-blue house with a flat roof. Cordelia could see the ghost through the front window, an old man whose life windows were mostly views from aquarium webcams. He was currently entranced by a pair of sea lions.
To get to him, they only had to cross the street. Unfortunately, it was filled with people.
Their hunters were spread apart—like sentries on guard duty—and showed no inclination to move. Though a few of them were looking down at their phones, the rest seemed more diligent about their impromptu duty.
Crossing the street without being seen was impossible.
“This is bad,” Cordelia said.
“Can we go around?”
“There’s not enough time.”
A car came to a screeching halt. Kyle got out and slammed the door. Laurel was nowhere in sight. It was strange seeing one without the other.
“Any sign of her?” he called out.
Head shakes up and down the street.
“Unbelievable! What are we paying you people for? She’s just a girl, and she is somewhere in this village! She didn’t just vanish!”
“He doesn’t know I’m with you,” Benji whispered.
“That’s good.”
“Yeah. It gives me an idea, actually.”
“What idea?”
Benji took his phone out of his pocket, dropped it on the ground, and pummeled it with a nearby rock. The screen cracked in several places.
“Have you lost your mind?” Cordelia asked.
“That was painful,” he said with a grimace, “but I need a prop to sell this. You’ll have to get the last ghost on your own. Sorry.”
Cordelia grabbed his arm.
“What are you going to do?”
“Something either really smart or really stupid. Let’s find out!”
Benji ran out of the woods, making no attempt to avoid the employees who instantly closed in on him. “Kyle!” he exclaimed. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Cordelia’s here! We have to tell Laurel.”
“We know,” Kyle said with a suspicious gleam in his eyes.
“Oh, good,” Benji replied, all innocence. “Have you found her yet?”
“No. Why don’t you tell me where she is?”
Benji ignored the accusation in his voice. “I caught her taking pictures of the life windows. She said she was going to post them online. Even if people don’t believe her about the ghosts, all those video screens are going to look pretty weird. Someone’s bound to come investigate.”
This sounded realistic enough to give Kyle pause.
“How many pictures did she take?” he asked.
“Don’t worry,” Benji said, clapping Kyle on the shoulder like they were best buddies. “I grabbed her phone and smashed it to pieces. I don’t want anyone finding out about us. I’d lose my job!”
As proof, he showed Kyle the remnants of his own phone. That, more than anything, seemed to convince him that Benji was telling the truth.
“Good work,” Kyle said. “Do you know where she is now?”
Benji turned his back to Cordelia and pointed straight ahead.
“She went that way. You know the stone house on Evergreen? There’s a hole in the fence behind it. That’s probably how she snuck in. My guess is she’s going back the way she came—through the woods and onto the main road. Someone will probably pick her up there.”
Cordelia stifled a laugh. There really was a hole in the fence. They had reported it months ago during their weekly inspections, but no one had ever fixed it. Before settling on their current plan, they had even toyed around with the idea of sneaking into the village that way.
In Kyle’s mind, the mere existence of the hole must have somehow corroborated Benji’s story, because all doubts vanished from his face. “Everyone, follow me!” he exclaimed. “We need to search the woods and get some people watching the main road!”
Staying there would have looked suspicious, so there was nothing Benji could do but get in the car with Kyle. The rest of the employees formed a caravan and followed him.
Within moments, the street was empty.
Cordelia was worried about Benji, but she didn’t want to waste the opportunity he had given her. She sprinted into the blue house and quickly found the old man (who had moved from sea lions to penguins). The ghost catcher made a strange grinding noise when she started it up, like a garbage disposal trying to eat a spoon, but it quickly settled down and did its job.
“That wasn’t funny,” Cordelia said, taking the boo-tube.
She had just removed her spectercles when her phone dinged twice in quick succession. There were two texts from Dr. Roqueni.
Have Agnes. Know Benji is with Kyle. On way to get him.
Back exit. 15 min. Can you get there?
Cordelia quickly replied: YES ☺
The back exit was a gate that couldn’t be entered from the outside but opened automatically for any car leaving Shady Rest. There was no guard or anyone else to stop them.
It was only five minutes away. Maybe less if she ran.
Heart thudding, Cordelia exited the house. The street was still empty, but for how long? Fortunately, she knew Shady Rest nearly as well as Shadow School by this point, so she was able to limit her time in the open by cutting through houses. In the front door, out the back. She didn’t see a single car. Did Kyle order everyone to look for me in the woods? Cordelia imagined the entire staff, many in heels or dress shoes, stomping through the undergrowth. The dry-cleaning bills were going to be off the charts. If she hadn’t been so stressed out, she would have laughed.
Later. Over ice cream.
With ten minutes to spare, she found herself on Willow Drive. The back exit was right over the next rise. If Cordelia remembered correctly, there was a thicket of overgrown shrubs that would provide a perfect hiding spot while she waited for Dr. Roqueni to arrive.
She checked to see if anyone was following her and saw the purple house, where the only remaining ghost in Shady Rest waited to be saved.
“No,” Cordelia said. “Don’t be an idiot. Back gate. Do the smart thing for once. The safe thing.”
She started walking toward the exit, resolutely at first, then slower and slower.
Finally, she stopped.
It was strange that she had only one boo-tube left. That was kind of like fate, wasn’t it? And how bad could the phantom inside the purple house really be? Worse than Gideon? Esmae? Dr. Gill? Cordelia found that hard to believe. It wasn’t fair to save all those phantoms but leave this one behind. It had just been an innocent ghost before this cruel twist of fate. Life windows. Phantom cell. Those were the real terrors. This poor soul had already been punished enough.
While these thoughts ran through her mind, Cordelia had, almost without realizing it, been walking steadily
toward the purple house. She now found herself standing on the front porch. It had been a long time since anyone had gotten this close to the entrance, and the wooden boards creaked beneath the unexpected weight. Cordelia put the duffel bag down and pulled the set of keys from her pocket. They were all clearly labeled with street names, save a single key with purple tape wound around its shaft. Cordelia slid this one into the keyhole.
“If this doesn’t work, it’s a sign I shouldn’t be doing this,” she said.
The lock clicked open with ease.
Cordelia opened the door. The hinges didn’t squeak, but there was an airy sound like an exhalation of a long-held breath. Fixing her spectercles into place, Cordelia peeked inside. She could see the living room and most of the dining room. They were completely furnished. That baffled her for a moment, until she remembered that this had been the first house built in Shady Rest, and no doubt held a special place in Mr. Knox’s heart. He would have wanted it to feel special.
There was no sign of the phantom.
Cordelia took a long breath. They had already accomplished so much. What was one more ghost?
Everything.
She picked up the duffel bag and entered the purple house.
20
The Purple House
Cordelia had the odd sensation that she was trespassing.
It looked as though the house might actually be inhabited. Old magazines had been fanned across the coffee table. The logs in the stone fireplace were charred. There was even a coffee ring on one of the end tables. After a moment’s consideration, however, Cordelia realized that these were just meaningless details. If someone had truly been living here, there wouldn’t be such a thick layer of dust on the furniture or cobwebs hanging from the ceiling.
She checked her phone. Six minutes. That was enough time to take a quick walkthrough of the house. She decided to leave the ghost catcher in the living room for now. The duffel bag was cumbersome, and she didn’t want to put herself in a position where she couldn’t make a quick exit.
Just in case.
She started her search on the second floor. Mr. Knox had spared no expense. Every room looked like a postcard for a country inn. There was even a cozy library with fully stocked bookshelves. All the life windows were dark. After being bombarded by loud videos all day, the silence was eerie, though not unwelcome. Cordelia was tired of other people’s memories.
There was no phantom upstairs, so she tried the first floor instead. Nothing. The house didn’t have a basement, which was a nice change of pace.
The phantom was nowhere to be found.
She felt bad, but the safety of her friends was more important. Besides, there were still ghosts that had to get back to Shadow School before they burned through their boo-tubes. There was no more time to waste.
“Sorry. I tried.”
As she bent down to pick up the duffel bag, Cordelia caught movement to her left. She spun around, heart racing, and saw a ghost beneath the dining room table. He was sitting with his knees bent and ankles crossed, just like the photo she had seen of him on Facebook—though he had been sitting on a boulder that time.
Victor Price.
Cordelia knelt on the floor so she was eye level with the man. There was nothing about his appearance that made her believe he was anything other than a commonplace ghost. He was wearing khaki shorts with lots of pockets, a white T-shirt, and hiking shoes. If this had been Shadow School, she would have offered him a canteen.
“What are you doing here?”
The ghost didn’t look at her, but Cordelia could tell he was aware of her presence. He pointed to the floor between them. A large dark stain had seeped into the wood. Cordelia didn’t think it was cranberry juice.
“What happened here?” she asked, feeling very cold.
She looked back at the ghost and screamed. Victor’s appearance had changed. The right side of his head was caved in and oozing blood, and his glasses hung askew from one ear, revealing cold and lifeless eyes.
He answered my question, Cordelia thought. That’s what happened here.
This vision of Victor’s death was gone as quickly as it came. The next moment, he was only a ghost again.
“Was there some kind of accident?” Cordelia asked.
Victor shook his head.
“Did someone . . . do this to you?”
Victor nodded.
“Laurel?”
Victor didn’t need to nod. The answer could be found in the darkness that suddenly eclipsed his eyes.
Cordelia’s phone dinged.
No doubt it was her friends, wondering where she was. She needed to leave. Things were serious now, in a very real way that went beyond ghosts and phantoms. Laurel was a murderer! A murderer!
If she caught them . . .
That wouldn’t happen. Cordelia rose to her feet and picked up the duffel bag. Victor made no attempt to stop her, but his tormented face drove a stake through her heart. He was trapped here, in the place where his life ended, maybe reliving his final moments again and again.
She couldn’t just leave him.
“Hold on, Victor,” Cordelia said, setting the ghost catcher on the dining room floor. “You’re coming with me.”
The ghost saw the boo-tube in Cordelia’s hand and began to shake his head violently.
“It’s okay,” Cordelia said. “It’s just a—”
Victor flew upward through the dining room table and plastered himself against the ceiling, where he could look down at her from a safe distance. Cordelia was momentarily baffled, then realized the problem. Victor had worked at Shady Rest. He knew what happened to ghosts who went into the boo-tubes.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Cordelia said in a placating voice. “But I’m not Laurel. I’m not going to turn you into a phantom. I’m going to take you to a place called Shadow School. It’s the most wonderful place in the world. Think of it like an airport for ghosts. It’ll get you where you’re meant to be.”
Victor remained pressed against the ceiling, but at least he had stopped shaking his head. He was listening.
“How would you like to spend eternity, Victor?” Cordelia asked. She thought about what little she had learned about him. “Hiking?”
He gave a surprised nod.
“Okay. Imagine a forest filled with plants you’ve never seen before and fantastic animals that let you ride them, and each view is more breathtaking than the last. That’s where you can go, Victor. Or somewhere different, if you’d like. It’s up to you. But you have to trust me.”
Her phone dinged again.
“Sorry, Victor. I’d love to give you more time to weigh the pros and cons, but I’m kind of on a tight schedule here!”
The ghost offered a hesitant nod and floated to the floor.
“You won’t regret this,” Cordelia said, attaching the boo-tube.
Her phone dinged again.
“My friends are probably freaking out,” Cordelia said. “I better let them know I’m okay.”
She picked up the phone and her heart fell. The texts weren’t from her friends.
They were from Laurel.
I know you’re in the purple house. Come out now.
Waiting for you outside.
I have your friends.
Cordelia walked to the front window in a daze. The entire staff of Shady Rest was standing in the street. She could see Benji and Agnes in the back seat of Dr. Roqueni’s car, with the principal herself in the passenger’s seat. Kyle was leaning against the hood, tossing the car keys from one hand to the other.
There were three light taps on the door, like an early morning visitor who didn’t want to wake anyone else in the house. Cordelia didn’t bother looking through the peephole. She knew who it was. What’s she waiting for? The door wasn’t locked. There was nothing to stop Laurel from marching into the house and dragging her out the door.
Except an angry ghost.
She’s scared of Victor, Cordelia thought. That’s the real
reason she keeps this house locked up—and to hide the evidence of her crime.
Thinking frantically of a way she might be able to use that, Cordelia opened the door. Laurel stood on the front porch. The hatred on her face seemed like a living, breathing thing. Cordelia could practically feel it reach across the threshold and wrap its cold fingers around her neck.
“It’s over,” Laurel said. “But even though you tried to steal everything from me, I still don’t want to see you get hurt. So first things first, Cordelia. Come outside before the phantom finds you.”
“I’d trust a phantom over you any day.”
Laurel smiled. It was as cold as a ghost’s embrace.
“I know what you did,” she said. “But don’t worry. You can still make it right. From what I heard that old man tell my grandfather, your school is special, right? A smorgasbord of spirits. It should be easy enough to replace what you stole.”
“So you can turn them into phantoms?”
“Why not? They’re already dead. They won’t know the difference.”
“Is that what you really think? You don’t understand ghosts at all. They’re helpless, Laurel. You can’t just—”
“Ugh! You sound just like Grandpa. He spent his entire life helping the helpless. And when he died, do you know how much money he left me? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Apparently all those endangered animals and rain forests and starving people were more important that his own granddaughter.”
“He left you Shady Rest. That’s a treasure far more valuable than money. It shows how much he loved you.”
A flicker of regret crossed Laurel’s eyes, like a lightning bug on a starless night. After it had passed, only darkness remained.
“Well, that was his mistake. Because I’m going to use this stupid place to recoup all the money that should have been mine—and you’re going to help me do it. Step outside, Cordelia.”
“What if I say no? Are you going to kill me like you killed Victor?”
The color drained from Laurel’s face. When she spoke again it was at a whisper. She didn’t want the people standing in the street to hear her.