“Are you sure?” asked Mother, sounding as if she really wanted him to stay. “I haven’t even served the dessert yet.”
“I’ll take a rain check. Thanks for supper, but I really should be going. Johnny, I can drop you off at the bowling alley if you’d like. I’m going right past there.”
“Sounds good to me,” Blue answered. “I’ll play a song while we drive.” When he held up his trumpet, something fell out of his pocket and fluttered to the ground but I didn’t think much of it.
“If you need, I can even float you a few bucks to go bowling,” offered my father.
“Oh, no, but thanks,” said Blue as they headed out the door. “I really don’t need any money.”
“Mrs. Birchfield, I’ll help you clean the table,” said Candy, collecting up the dirty dishes. I could see my mom’s eyes tearing up again.
“Just leave them,” she said. “I’m sure you girls have homework.” She headed off to the bathroom. I walked over, spying the cat playing with something that Blue dropped.
“Oh, no!” I gasped, bending down and picking up a crunched twenty dollar bill.
“Where did that come from?” asked Candy.
“Blue dropped it,” I told her. I ran up the stairs and burst into my bedroom, getting down on my knees and looking under the bed. I pulled out the backpack and rifled through it, looking for the stolen cash. “It’s gone,” I told Candy who had followed me up there.
“What’s gone?” asked my mother, now standing in the doorway.
“Mom, come in and sit down,” I said. “I have some things to tell you that you are not going to like and certainly not going to believe.”
Chapter 10
“So, you want me to believe that this money is stolen – by your brother?” asked my mother, fingering the twenty dollar bill.
“Yes. And no,” I told her, pacing back and forth. “You see, Johnny isn’t really Johnny. He’s Jonathon Wolsey – or Blue as he likes to be called.”
“Little Boy Blue,” added Candy.
My mother, sitting on the edge of the bed, rolled her eyes. “Girls, this is ludicrous. And Raven, you need to stop making up lies about your brother.”
“I’m not!” I shouted. “When we first moved here, I dug up an old book of nursery rhymes that I found with this crystal.” I picked up the crystal attached to the black silk cord I wore around my neck to show her.
“That looks like one of your Aunt Bestla’s crazy possessions,” said Mother.
“Maybe it was, I don’t know,” I answered. “But I do know that ever since it happened, weird things have happened. For example, I’ve been possessed by the evil Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, and Candy’s life was almost ruined when she turned into Little Miss Muffet.”
“Raven, stop it,” warned Mother, closing her eyes slightly and holding a hand to her head. “I have a lot on my mind and I don’t need you making up stories about your brother because you are jealous of him.”
“Jealous? Of Johnny?” I almost laughed aloud. “Mom, he’s not my brother,” I shouted. “Johnny can’t play the trumpet and you know it. That should prove it.”
“Raven, I said that’s enough.” Mother got to her feet. “Now, I don’t know where you got this money, but I’m going to hold on to it for now. I have a feeling you’re up to no good again, young lady.”
The phone rang and my mother ran downstairs to answer it.
“Raven, your mother doesn’t believe us,” said Candy.
“You didn’t believe me when I first told you either. I really didn’t expect her to, Candy. And if she doesn’t believe us, then she is going to be no help at all in trying to save Johnny. If he stays in the other realm any longer, I’m afraid there is a chance we might never get him back.”
“What are we going to do?” asked Candy.
“Girls, I have to go to the diner for a few hours to help Ida. The busboy called in sick again and one of the waitresses had to leave early.”
“Bye, Mom,” I said, secretly glad she was leaving, because she wasn’t going to like what I was about to do.
As soon as I heard the front door close and the car pull away, I ran for the phone.
“Who are you calling?” asked Candy from behind me.
“I’m calling Dex,” I said.
“Dex?” Candy’s eyes opened why. “Why?”
“Because if I can’t count on my own mother to try to help save my brother, I’m going to have to ask someone else.”
“Dex is going to help us?”
“Well, he and Brett were there to help when you turned into Muffet, even if they didn’t really know the truth about it.”
“That’s true,” said Candy. “What are you going to ask them to do?”
“The first thing we have to do is go find Blue and try to figure out where he’s taking the money.”
Ten minutes later, Candy and I were riding in the car with Dex, Brett, and to my horror, also Janelle. I didn’t expect her to be in the car when the boys pulled into the driveway. I was going to object and forget the whole idea, but it meant so much to Candy to be there since she liked Brett, so I didn’t back out.
Instead, I released a deep sigh and slid onto the front seat next to the obnoxious and pretentious Janelle.
“Janelle, I didn’t know you’d be here,” I said, trying to make polite conversation.
“Why wouldn’t I?” she snidely remarked. “After all, Dex is my boyfriend.” She clasped her hand over his.
“Oh, I thought you were taking a break from each other,” I said.
“No, we’re not. Who said that?” She looked over and glared at Dex.
I felt terrible because maybe Dex hadn’t told her that part yet. Then again, maybe he’d just lied to me, trying to play the field. Who knew? Right now, I couldn’t think about that. We had to find Blue so we could find my little brother.
“Janelle came over just as I hung up the phone with you,” explained Dex. “I hope you don’t mind, Raven.”
“Mind?” screeched Janelle. “Why do you care what she thinks?” Janelle let go of Dex’s hand. I heard Dex mumble something under his breath and it made me smile. Maybe they really were going to break up after all. That made me happy because then I’d hopefully have a chance with Dex. How awful of a person was I to want to see them split up? “Where are we going?” asked Janelle.
“We’re looking for Raven’s brother, Johnny,” said Dex.
“What? Why?” she complained.
“Janelle, I’m afraid my brother might be in trouble and I need to find him.” I figured there was no need to tell her more, even though I’d explained to Dex and Brett that I thought Johnny was hanging out with the wrong crowd and possibly involved in something he shouldn’t be. Janelle would be no help, so she didn’t need to know any more.
“Raven, I thought you might want to know something that happened recently,” said Dex. “Since you were asking about robberies, and all. I heard this from my father.”
“What is it?” I asked, wanting to know, but at the same time dreading what he might say. This information could put Johnny in a heap of trouble.
“It seems someone’s been digging holes in that little graveyard at the back of your house.”
“They have?” I asked, wondering how I hadn’t noticed.
“My dad said all the cops were talking about it, since one of them said they thought they saw a ghost in there the other night.”
“They did?” asked Candy from the back seat.
Brett laughed. “There are no such things as ghosts.”
“Are you sure?” asked Candy, throwing Brett a sly smile.
“Did you want to go check out the graveyard?” asked Brett, after driving around for about twenty minutes without seeing Blue anywhere.
“Sure,” I said.
“No!” spat Janelle. “It’s nighttime. I’m not going to be traipsing around a cemetery in the cold at night. You’re crazy!”
“Janelle, this is important,” said Dex, coming
to my rescue. “We need to find Raven’s little brother.”
“Well, I’m not going,” she snapped. “Dex, let’s go back to your place now.”
Dex let out a breath of air from his mouth. “I’m sorry, Raven,” said Dex, throwing me an apologetic look.
“It’s all right,” I told him. “Actually, just drop Candy and me off at the corner and we’ll walk home. I might cut through the graveyard to see if I can find out more.”
“Aren’t you afraid?” asked Janelle.
“I’m not afraid of anything,” I told her, especially meaning her.
“Do you want me to come with you?” asked Brett.
“Don’t bother,” I said as Dex’s car came to a stop. “We’ll be fine.”
“We will?” asked Candy, looking like she really wanted Brett to come with us.
“We need to get home, Candy,” I told her. “We’ll just cut through the cemetery and get home before Mom realizes we went out.”
“All right,” agreed Candy, getting out of the car.
“Oh, Raven, I forgot to tell you something,” said Dex, leaning over Janelle to talk to me through the open window. “My dad said there has been a group of teenage boys hanging out like a gang in the neighborhood. They spotted them and chased them the other morning, but they all got away. Some of the neighbors reported seeing them by that old abandoned house. You know, the one Candy used to live in.”
“Oh, thanks for letting me know,” I said, waving as they drove away.
“I’m cold,” said Candy, pulling the collar of her coat up around her. “Can we go home now?”
“Sure,” I said, knowing we had to pass Candy’s old house. As we walked by, I noticed a small light coming from inside.
“Look!” I grabbed Candy’s arm and stopped her.
“There shouldn’t be a light on in there,” said Candy. “No one lives there anymore.”
“I know,” I said. “I think we need to investigate.”
“Raven, that house always creeped me out in the daytime,” said Candy. “I don’t really want to go in there at night since I don’t live there anymore and don’t have to.”
“Then stay outside the door, I don’t care. But I’m going in.”
I hurried to the front door and tried the knob, but it was locked. Then I walked over to a window, wiped away some dirt and tried to see inside. When I couldn’t, I decided I’d try the back door.
“Come on, I’m going in the back,” I told Candy.
“Wait,” she said, stopping me and pushing open a window. “This window never locked so I knew it would be open.”
“You sure you don’t want to come inside?” I whispered.
“I’ll wait out here and run for the cops if I hear you screaming.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Nervously, I lifted one leg over the sill and stepped inside the house. I listened, hearing odd squeaks and groans. Or maybe it was just my imagination. Out of habit, I rubbed the crystal of my necklace, hoping it would cause me to be brave. I kept thinking about the tarantula that Candy’s stepfather used to have. I knew it was dead now but, still, the thought frightened me that maybe somewhere in the house it had babies.
Making my way through the bedroom, I opened the door and peeked out. Sure enough, I saw Blue sitting at the kitchen table with a few guys I didn’t really know but recognized from school. They were bad news, of that I was sure. I think one of them had even been arrested in the past.
“Johnny,” I said in a whisper, knowing my brother was in there, even if he was being controlled by a ghost. Blue turned his head as if he sensed me, and I dove back behind the door.
“I can’t believe all this money we found,” said the boy whose name I thought was Ed.
“So, Blue, that was a good call to dig up the cemetery,” laughed the other one.
“Snake, you know this money is all mine,” said Blue in his low voice.
“What the hell!” spat the one they called Snake. “That’s not what you said when you asked us to help you find it.”
“Whose money is it anyway?”
I peeked through the crack in the door and saw Ed fanning himself with a stack of bills as he spoke.
“It’s my father’s money,” said Blue.
“Your father? Oh, you mean that weird guy,” said Ed.
“I thought you hated him,” added Snake.
“I do hate him, and I’m going to make sure he never gets this money back,” said Blue, making me fear and hate him both.
“You give us our share of the money or we’re going to rat you out,” threatened Ed.
“Really?” Blue stood up and grabbed Ed around the neck with one hand, squeezing so hard that Ed couldn’t breathe. “You just try to, and I’ll kill you.”
I gasped hearing this coming from my brother, even if it wasn’t really him saying it. My hand flew to cover my mouth but it was too late. They heard me.
“Someone’s in here,” said Blue, looking over his shoulder. “Put the money back into the hiding place and I’ll see who it is. And don’t even think of taking any, or I swear I’ll hunt you down.”
“Sure thing, Blue,” said Ed, barely able to speak.
Blue walked over to the bedroom, the floor creaking beneath his feet. He stopped just outside the room and cocked his ear to listen. I could see him through the crack as I hid behind the door. I didn’t dare breathe or even move. I never thought I’d be hiding from, and be scared of, my own little brother.
“Hey, Blue, I hear a car outside,” said Snake. “The money’s hidden and we’re going to split.”
“Yeah, let’s get out of here before we’re caught,” added Ed.
I watched as Blue turned and walked away. I let out the breath I’d been holding, trying to still my rapidly beating heart. I figured I’d better tell Candy, so they wouldn’t see her. I stepped out from behind the door and screamed as something closed around my wrist.
“I thought it was you,” snarled Blue, digging his fingers into my wrist so hard that I thought he would break it. Johnny didn’t have this kind of strength. No, he was a wimp. So I wasn’t used to this, and I certainly didn’t like it.
“Blue, let go of my arm,” I commanded.
“How much did you hear?” he asked, squeezing my burned wrist harder.
“I heard enough to know that you are up to no good. Now, leave my brother’s body and never return.”
He chuckled, sounding like some kind of serial killer. I kept thinking of how he told his friends he’d kill them and wondered if he was going to try to do the same thing to me.
“Let me go,” I pleaded. “You don’t really want to do this.”
“Don’t I?” he asked, and chuckled. “You’re not going anywhere. And I can’t leave loose ends. That would never do.” He pulled something out of his pocket. I heard a noise and looked up to see the sharp blade of a pocketknife in his hand.
“What are you doing?” I asked, still struggling against his hold.
“What does it look like? I told you, I can’t have loose ends.”
“Johnny, don’t do this! I’m your sister,” I cried, hoping somehow I could contact Johnny from the other realm and get him to help me. “Johnny, push Blue out! Don’t let him hurt me.”
The knife came closer and I tried to move away. “Candy,” I cried, hoping she would hear me. “Candy, help me!”
Then, just as the knife came closer to my throat, Blue doubled over as if in pain. I kneed him in the groin and heard him groan. I pushed him to the ground and the knife flew out of his hand and slid across the floor.
“Raven? Are you all right?” came a male voice from the kitchen. I saw a flashlight scan the area, not sure who was there and not knowing what to do. Blue lay on the floor, not moving.
“Raven, where are you?” came Candy’s voice next.
“I’m in here,” I called out, feeling the comfort of having my good friend there. Especially since she used to live here – even though I wasn’t sure why that mattered
.
The flashlight scanned the area and two people entered the bedroom. Then I heard the flick of a switch and a light lit up the room.
“Dad?” I said, seeing my father standing there with Candy. His crooked cane was in one hand and the flashlight in the other.
“What’s going on here? Are you all right?” asked my father. “What are you doing here and so late at night?”
My eyes roamed over to Johnny lying on the floor, still not moving. My father noticed.
“Good God, is that Johnny?” He flicked off the flashlight and kneeled down next to him.
“Dad?” came my brother’s faint voice, making me so happy that it wasn’t Blue’s voice I heard.
“Come on,” said my father, pulling Johnny to his feet. “I’m taking all of you home right now.”
I was happy my father saved us, but I wasn’t at all excited about the fact he would no doubt tell my mother about all of this. And once he did, I’d for sure be grounded once again.
We got home and my father walked us all into the house. Of course, my mother wasn’t there because she was still at the diner.
“Dad, what were you doing at Candy’s old house?” I asked. Johnny looked pale and shaken and didn’t say a word.
“Candy’s house?” he asked.
“Yes, I used to live there until a few months ago,” Candy told him.
“In that broken down house?” asked my dad. “I wouldn’t live there if I were a ghost.”
Johnny’s head popped up at the mention of a ghost, but he still didn’t say a word.
“So, why were you there?” I asked again.
“I was just passing by, and thought I heard someone calling for help,” said my dad.
“Really,” I said, not buying a word of it. There was no way my dad would have heard me when I was inside the house and he was at the street.
“Johnny, are you all right?” asked my dad. “You haven’t said a word to me since we got in the truck. You were very talkative earlier. It’s almost like you’re a whole different person now.”
“What do you care?” snapped Johnny. “You left us on my seventh birthday.”
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