by Megan Atwood
Todd grinned at Devon and said, “This is going to be a hard one to explain to Mom and Dad.”
Devon laughed. “I’ll buy us some more liquor and glasses before they get here. And we’ll clean this up. Though the smell might stay around...”
Todd’s face turned serious. “Honestly, I don’t think they’ll care. As long as they know we’re all right. Both of us.”
Devon swallowed and nodded. “Yeah. We’re pretty lucky to have people who care about us.” The brothers looked at each other, and Todd slapped Devon’s shoulder.
Jackson watched Jinx go to her laptop to make sure it wasn’t damaged. He honestly didn’t know how she’d live without her computer. Within seconds, Jinx was engrossed in whatever was on the screen.
Jackson, Devon, and Todd started cleaning up. The sound of clinking glass filled the room. Soon Jackson was joking with the brothers about accidentally getting drunk from all the alcohol fumes. He made sure to walk carefully around the huge pile, hoping he wasn’t just grinding glass into the floor.
“Hey, Jinx,” he called over, “maybe you want to get off your butt and help us clean?”
Jinx held up one palm. “I’m researching.” Devon and Todd shared a small smirk.
“Hey guys,” Jinx said suddenly, sitting up in her chair. “Listen to this.” The others paused as Jinx continued. “So, according to this article from 1984, the person who owned this bar before died here.”
Todd and Devon looked to each other. “Well, duh. That was John,” Todd said. “Right, Dev?”
Devon nodded. “Oh, yeah. That’s where Mom and Dad got the name from. I could never really tell if they actually thought it was the guy’s spirit, but they always joked that it was cool to have a ghost around.”
Todd smiled. “Yeah, although I don’t think they had nights like tonight in mind.”
“Wait,” Jinx said, “it gets better. Er, sort of. Guess what the guy died from?”
Jackson, Devon, and Todd all looked at her expectantly.
“A drug overdose.”
No one moved for a minute. Jinx went on. According the article, John was survived by a brother.
“All he says in the article is that he could never convince John to get help,” Jinx said. “It’s almost exactly the same situation as you guys!”
Maybe the ghost had coasted on the memories of better times, she thought. Until the brothers disrupted that.
Devon said, slowly, “And that’s why we heard ‘listen.’” He looked at Todd. “John was trying to get me to listen to you. Like he didn’t listen to his brother.” He smiled at Todd. “And I am listening. I promise. When daylight hits, we’re going to a treatment program.”
Todd slapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll be right by your side.”
A slight breeze came from nowhere Jackson could think of and moved around the room. Suddenly he felt peaceful and light. He felt good. Looking at the others, he knew they felt the same.
“I think John approves,” Jackson said.
“S
o, you never got to use your banishing stones, huh?” Jinx snapped off the end of her Twizzler with her teeth and cuddled into her couch. Ghost Hunters played on the TV, and Jackson stared at the episode intently.
“What?” he said.
“Gah, Jackson, are you that bored? We’ve seen this episode a million times.”
He turned to her. “Yeah, it’s just I never paid much attention before to the techniques they use, trying to get a ghost to manifest. It’s, um, fascinating stuff.”
Jinx’s face crumpled up in confusion. “Why would you want a ghost to appear? I thought we are trying to get rid of them.”
Jackson shrugged. “Anyway, what did you say before?”
Jinx took another bite of her Twizzler. “The banishing stones,” she said. “You never got to use them.”
Jackson ran his hand through his hair, still half-watching the episode. “Yeah, well, Todd and Devon almost seemed to want to keep their ghost there.”
Jinx nodded. “Well, really, the ghost is what got them to actually talk instead of fight. And now Devon’s in that program...I guess the ghost really did help, even if it threw some shot glasses along the way. And I have to admit, the atmosphere in there did feel nice and cozy. Even if John hid your car keys.”
Jackson’s face went dreamy, and Jinx snapped her fingers in front of his face. “What is going on with you today?”
Jackson seemed to snap back to the present. He slapped Jinx’s hand away and grabbed a Twizzler. He seemed extra happy all of a sudden. Jinx shrugged it off.
She grabbed her laptop. “Jackson, we are going to get so many more page views after I post this stuff from the tavern.” And then Haley won’t forget my name, she thought to herself. Nobody will.
“Also, I want to show you these T-shirts I designed.” She could sense Jackson’s eyes rolling.
“Why do we need T-shirts again?”
She sighed. “We need to be competitive, Jackson,” she explained in what she thought of as her most patient voice. “Get our brand out there.”
“For what?”
“For money, of course!” Jinx looked at him indignantly. Why else would she be doing this?
Jackson smirked. “Like how we got so much money from Todd?”
Jinx squirmed and shifted her attention back to her computer. “That was different. That was a special circumstance.”
“That had nothing to do with the fact that you thought Todd was cute?”
Jinx could feel herself start to blush. “What are you, a girl?” she snapped. “I just couldn’t charge him while his brother was going through all that.”
Jackson nodded—a little smugly, Jinx thought.
Just then, a ping sounded on her computer—the alert that told her when she got an email from the Paranormalists website. She looked at Jackson. They hadn’t had an actual email before. Lots of comments to her blogs, for sure (a few of them for hair-growth products or weight-loss pills from spambots), but never an actual email.
She squealed a little. Even Jackson seemed a little excited.
He leaned over her shoulder as she opened the message.
Dear Paranormalist Investigators:
I’m new in town, and I came across your website. I see you’re from Portland. That’s good, because I need some help. Some local help.
You see, I’m in danger, and so is my mom. Our house is haunted, and we can’t get rid of it. Can you help us? What is your rate?
Sincerely,
Mayhem on Mohawk Ave
Jinx looked at Jackson. She could feel tingles up and down her spine. She smiled huge at him.
“Looks like we have our next case.”
CASE 1:
THE HAUNTING OF APARTMENT 101
Jinx was a social reject who became a punked-out paranormal investigator. Jackson is a jock by day and Jinx’s ghost-hunting partner by night. When a popular girl named Emily asks the duo to explore a haunting in her dad’s apartment, Jinx is skeptical—but Jackson insists they take the case. And the truth they find is even stranger than Emily’s story.
CASE 2:
THE TERROR OF BLACK EAGLE TAVERN
Jinx’s ghost-hunting partner Jackson may be a jock, but Jinx is not interested in helping his football buddy Todd—until Todd’s case gets too weird to ignore. A supernatural presence is causing chaos at the bar Todd’s family owns. And the threat has a connection to Todd that’s deeper than even he realizes . . .
CASE 3:
THE MAYHEM ON MOHAWK AVENUE
Jinx and Jackson have become the go-to ghost hunters at their high school. When a new kid in town tries to get in on their business, Jinx is furious. Portland only needs one team to track down ghosties! But Jinx’s quest to shut down her competition will lead her and Jackson down a dangerous path . . .
CASE 4:
THE BRIDGE OF DEATH
Jinx is the top paranormal investigator at her high school, and she has a blog to prove it. Jackson’s her gh
ost-hunting partner by night—former partner, anyway. After a shakeup in the Paranormalists’ operation, the two ex-best friends are on the outs, and at the worst possible time. Because a deadly supernatural threat is putting their classmates in harm’s way . . .
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MEGAN ATWOOD lives in Minneapolis, MN, and gets to write books for a living. She also teaches writing classes and reads as many young adult books as she can get her hands on. She only occasionally investigates paranormal activity.