by Apryl Baker
Where are they, though? Why aren’t the girls here? Most ghosts show up around their bodies, and considering they’ve been trying to kill me, I’d assume they’d be here, but no. There is an absence of cold here. There’s no ghost energy anywhere near here.
“You’re bleeding.”
I see Ava pulling off her shirt. She must have put it on after I went to sleep. She’s dabbing the scrapes along my arm and then presses it against my bloody knee. It didn’t even hurt until I looked at it, but now that I’ve seen it, it’s hurting like nobody’s business. I wince as she presses on it.
“I think she’s in shock,” Ava says, her eyes worried.
“Yeah, I think she is too, Sis,” Eli agrees. “You might grab Caleb and Mary before they get here. We don’t want any more people trampling over the crime scene.”
“Crime scene…?” Her voice trails off and she sees what the rest of us do. Her brown eyes get huge when she nods and walks away from us, heading for the trees.
“NO!” I make her stop and look at me. “Don’t…don’t go in there by yourself.”
“What’s wrong?” Eli asks. “Hilda, you’re even whiter than before.”
“Don’t go in there,” I whisper. “There’s something in there.”
“Someone’s in there?” Dan stops speaking into his phone and stares from me to the woods. “Did you see someone?”
“Not someone,” I shiver. “Something.”
“A ghost?” Eli frowns.
I shake my head. “Not a ghost, it’s something else, something dead and empty, but not a ghost. It…it chased me and I almost…I almost didn’t get away.”
“Shhh,” Eli whispers, hugging me tighter. “It’s okay, Mattie. You’re safe now.”
“Mattie.” Dan squats down in front of me. “You said someone chased you?”
“Where were you?” I ask, the accusation deep in my voice. “I woke up and everyone was gone! Why did you leave me alone?”
“Mattie, we didn’t go anywhere, you did. We were on the dock, unloading the food from the boat. When we looked to where you and Mary were sleeping, you were just… gone. We’ve been trying to find you for over an hour.”
“I swear you were gone,” I whisper, confused. “No one was there. I called out and you didn’t answer.”
Dan’s face becomes troubled. “Mattie, are you sure you didn’t…”
“Didn’t what?” I ask.
“Remember when we went to rescue that old lady’s pet and you fell through the floor? You just sorta disappeared in front of me. Are you sure you didn’t do that again?”
“I fell through The Between then, Dan,” I say. “There wasn’t any snowy stuff anywhere this time. I just woke up alone and went looking for you in the woods…no, wait. There was something in there and I had this urge insane urge to go in and find it.”
“It lured you in there?” Ava asks, horrified.
“I thought I was dreaming,” I confess. “I don’t know why, but I had to go in those trees. Then I got scared, Dan, worse than when I was trapped with Mrs. Olson. That thing, it…it didn’t have a soul. It was just empty.”
“Chalk it up to another thing to question your father about.” Dan sighs. “If you managed to go from point A to point B without us seeing you, it’s just become harder to protect you.”
I nod and my eyes stray back to the hand. “That’s Addison, Dan.”
“What?” he asks, startled. “How do you know that?”
“The bracelet,” I tell him. “I remember her putting it on.”
Dan lets out a slow breath. “The police are on the way. We need to get off the crime scene. Mattie, do you feel up to going back to the boat? We’ll be with you this time, so you’ll be safe.”
My heart rate goes into overdrive, but I nod. I won’t let it terrify me to the point I won’t face it. I did win our last altercation.
“Good girl.” Dan smiles at me. “Ava, stay close to us. I’ve already texted Caleb and Mary to meet us at the boat, too.”
Eli helps me up and then we make our way through the dark woods. I can still feel it watching me, but no one else seems to be able to sense it. Dan and Eli both watch me, especially when I jump at small sounds. I think they expect me to freak and flip out, but that’s not me. I don’t do terrified for long.
We make it back to the boat in about thirty minutes. Caleb and Mary are both waiting when we emerge from the woods. She runs straight to me and throws her arms around me, forcing Eli to let go.
“Where were you?” she shouts into my ear and I wince. “Do you know how much you scared me?”
“I was in the woods,” I tell her. “I’m sorry I scared you.”
“Cavalry is here,” Caleb says, pointing to the water. Six boats are headed for us and I sigh. It’s going to be a long day. We’re in for hours of questions. All I want to do is go find my father and demand answers, but that’s going to have to wait until the cops are done with us. Joy.
Chapter Twenty-One
I stare at myself in the mirror, nervous about how I look for the first time in forever. Nancy set up a supervised introduction for me and my father. She’ll be there the whole time, refusing to let Dan or Eli come with me. Dan, however, will be waiting outside in his truck. He doesn’t trust Zeke and nearly had a fit when Nancy balked at him intruding on this meeting. Nancy wanted me to have time alone with my father so I could begin to get comfortable with him. She says I use Dan and Eli like a comfort blanket and I need to stop doing that.
Personally, I don’t think that’s true, but Nancy knows me better than anyone except for Dan, so maybe I do. I am a little self-conscious today, though. Nancy wanted me to wear a dress, but I don’t own one. I’m a jeans and tee shirt kind of girl. I have two skirts, but they’re party wear—for high school, not a formal meeting with one’s father. I’d be embarrassed to wear those things. Instead, I put on my nicest jeans and a green tee that makes my hazel eyes look softer.
Nancy smiles when I emerge from the bedroom, but I can tell she’s upset about my choice of clothes. Instead of scolding me, she ushers me out the door. I don’t think we’re late, but who knows. Maybe Zeke changed the time or something
It’s not until we’re pulling into the private parking area of an uptown high rise apartment complex that I realize why Nancy is being so weird. She’s nervous! I watch as she fidgets with her hair and straightens her dress in the elevator up to the penthouse apartment. O…M…G! I think Nancy has a crush on Zeke!
I frown, not sure how to feel about this. I mean, he’s still married to my mother, even if she is in some kind of zombie-like state. Nancy shouldn’t be crushing on Zeke. Before I can think too much about it, the elevator doors open and we’re in a hallway looking at massive double doors.
“Relax, Mattie,” she tells me and rings the doorbell. “I’m right here and I promise I won’t leave you alone.”
I force my hands to unclench and let out the breath I’m holding. Nancy’s right. I might be upset with her having…thoughts…about my father, but she is the only other person in my life I sorta trust. Dan’s outside the complex, too. He texted me a few minutes ago to say he’d arrived well ahead of us. It’s not like Zeke’s going to hurt me, anyway. He’s my father, right?
My mouth hangs slightly open when an older gentleman dressed in formal black and white answers the door. My dad has a butler? I mean come on, a butler?
“Mrs. Moriarity,” He smiles warmly at Nancy. “Good to see you again.”
AGAIN? Nancy’s been here before today? So not cool, Nancy.
“And you must be Mattie,” he says, bringing my attention back to him. His blue eyes, despite his age, are sharp and brimming with laughter. They remind me of Eric and my gut twists at the thought. I miss Eric so much and it hits me at odd times, like right now. I wish he was still here, constantly nattering at me and teasing me mercilessly. He would have gotten me through today.
“Yes,” I murmur.
“I’m Montgomery.” He holds the do
or open wider. “Mr. Crane is on a call that he had to take. He asked me to apologize, but the call couldn’t wait, as much as he’d like it to. Would you like something to drink while you wait?”
He escorts us into what I guess might be the main living area of the apartment. I don’t see a TV, but there are two cozy couches and an armchair surrounding a very elegant black coffee table. I’m a little overwhelmed. Signs of wealth surround me. I’ve been to Meg’s house tons of times and she has a NICE house, but it’s nothing like this. This place screams old money. I mean, come on! Dude has statues in his living room! It makes me feel completely out of place and I want nothing more than to bolt out of here.
“Mattie?” Nancy nudges me.
“Hmm?”
“Montgomery asked if you wanted something to drink,” Nancy reminds me gently.
“Oh…um…no, thank you.”
“Let me know if you change your mind, Miss Mattie.” Montgomery smiles kindly at me before leaving the room.
“You okay?” Nancy asks.
“I don’t know,” I say. “I’m just not used to all this.” I wave at the room in general. “I didn’t grow up like this. What if…what if I end up embarrassing him or something?”
“Never happen, Mattie.”
My head whips around. Zeke is standing in the doorway. He’s dressed much more casually today, in jeans and a button-down blue shirt. His hair is pulled back with a leather tie and he looks much younger than he did before.
“Mr. Crane.” The bite is back in Nancy’s tone and she’s got that protective look back on her face. Did I misread her before? This does not look like a woman crushing on a man. Or, maybe she doesn’t want him to know she’s crushing on him? Either way, I feel much better. This is my Nancy, not the one who is lusting after a married man.
“Mrs. Moriarity,” he greets her warmly, despite the frost in her voice. “A pleasure, as always.”
See, that’s what I mean. He has impeccable manners. I don’t. I probably would have just said hi or ignored her altogether. Does he expect me to learn all those perfect manners? I don’t want to make him look bad in front of his friends. Dang it, I just want to go back to Mary’s!
“Now, Mattie.” Zeke turns his attention back to me. “You could never embarrass me, even if you tried your hardest.”
Nancy snorts. “You don’t know our girl yet.”
That makes me smile. I’ve embarrassed Nancy on sooo many occasions.
“Oh, I’m sure she’s more than capable of it.” Zeke laughs. “I just don’t care. The only thing that matters to me is I have my child back.”
A warm fuzzy feeling fills me at his words, despite my better judgment.
“You’re concerned about not knowing how to act around people who were raised with money, yes?” he asks.
I nod.
“One thing you’ll learn about the Cranes is that we’ve never cared what anyone thinks about us. If you wanted to walk around in the middle of a party wearing a hotdog suit, it wouldn’t bother me. I’d just smile and shake my head and laugh with you.”
“Sir,” Montgomery interrupts us. “Mrs. Banks wanted me to let you know lunch is ready and to ask where you want it served.”
“On the balcony, Montgomery,” Zeke replies. “Thank you.”
Wow. The balcony is like an oasis. Beautiful flowers are everywhere and the furniture is white and blends in perfectly with the garden scenario. I could sit here for hours and just draw to my heart’s content.
The smell of food distracts me when my stomach rumbles loudly. I hadn’t really eaten yesterday since I’d spent most of it at the police station answering questions, and then I’d been too nervous this morning to even think about food. Unfortunately, my stomach is now protesting rather loudly.
“Your mother does that, too.” Zeke laughs and pulls out a chair for me. “She used to blush six shades of red every time it betrayed her when we were first dating. Took her a while to realize I didn’t care. I found it endearing in her and in you.”
My eyes land on the feast arriving and my mouth waters. Dear God, we have cheeseburgers and cheese fries topped with bacon. Heaven.
“I’m rather fond of cheese fries and thought a burger would be something you’d feel comfortable eating.”
“You like cheese fries?” I ask. Zeke looks more like a fine diner, not a junk food person.
“Cheese fries and Papa John’s pepperoni and bacon pizza are my weaknesses,” he confides with a wink. “Just don’t tell Mrs. Banks. She thinks I adore her pizza above all others. She might actually decide to quit if she ever found out I sneak out and order it on the weekends when she’s off.”
I find myself smiling. He seems so…normal, not the arrogant dangerous man I’d previously met. Maybe that’s just a façade he puts on around other people? It’s weird. I take a bite of the bacon cheeseburger and nearly moan as the taste hits my tongue. It’s the absolute best burger I’ve ever had and I consider myself a burger connoisseur.
“Mrs. Banks will be pleased.” Montgomery laughs and sets a glass of ice and a can of Coke beside my plate. “She hoped you’d like it, Miss Mattie.”
“I think she can be assured of that.” Zeke laughs as I shovel more burger in my mouth, not caring if I look like some ill-mannered buffoon. It’s awesome sauce!
“Not a fan of burgers?” Zeke asks Nancy, who ignored the junk food and opted for the salad.
“I’m a vegetarian,” she replies.
“I do apologize. Had I known, I’d have made sure to have had more options for you.”
Nancy waves it off as she always does. “No worries. As long as you keep Mattie well fed, that’s all that matters.”
“I heard you had the quite the adventure yesterday, Mattie,” Zeke says as he pops a fry into his mouth.
“I certainly wouldn’t call it an adventure.” Nancy warns him with her eyes. She’s been so upset over learning I’d stumbled upon a grave site for murdered girls. This, after everything else that’s happened to me. She even blessed out Dan and it wasn’t his fault Mary and I got sick and needed to stop.
“No, I don’t suppose I would, either,” Zeke sighs. “It was the only thing I could find to describe a situation she shouldn’t have been in to begin with. You do seem to get into trouble around the Richards boy, don’t you?”
My eyes go wide. Zeke doesn’t like Dan at all. I can hear it in his voice and see it on his face. It was his mother, after all, who is partly responsible for my kidnapping, but that doesn’t mean he should blame Dan for his mother’s actions. Dan’s off limits to him.
“Usually, it’s Dan that gets into trouble around me. He didn’t do anything yesterday to land us in that situation, either. I got sick and he pulled over so I could rest. Wasn’t his fault we landed on a serial killer’s burial ground.”
“Mattie’s right about that,” Nancy confirms. “She usually ropes Dan into unusual situations. He’s a very respectable young man who spends his time trying to do the right thing. If it weren’t for him, you and Mattie wouldn’t be together now. He forced his mother to tell him your name.”
You go, Nancy! Tell him!
“Furthermore, if you have any ideas of trying to keep them apart, you’d best think again. Dan is as much her family as you are, probably more so right now. You’ll do Mattie more harm than good by forcing Dan out of her life. Trust me when I say I personally would fight you tooth and nail on that and you want me in your corner, Mr. Crane. Think carefully before you say anything more.”
Zeke’s eyebrows hit his hairline and disappeared. I don’t think anyone has ever spoken to him like that. He looks so shocked I want to giggle, but I suppress it when Nancy sends me her death glare.
“And if you did try that,” I pipe in, “when I turn eighteen, that’d be the last you see of me. I won’t lose Dan for anyone. Not even you.”
Zeke’s eyes travel from one to the other of us. This is definitely a new situation for him. I don’t think he’s ever been outnumbered by females
before.
“I was merely making an idle observation,” he says at last. “I didn’t mean to imply I’d try to force anyone out of Mattie’s life. I’m working hard to fit into hers.”
I have the distinct impression he’d whisk me away on the next flight out if he could.
“Speaking of which, I brought all the paperwork you need to sign with me.” Nancy pulls her briefcase out and starts to rummage through it. “We still need to discuss several things, one specifically being Mattie’s name.”
“My name?” I pause with a fry midway to my mouth. “What about my name?”
“Your legal name is Emma Rose Crane,” Nancy replies and pulls out papers. “You’ve been Mattie for a long time, though. We need to discuss what your father would be willing to do in regards to your name.”
Not be Mattie Hathaway anymore? The very thought makes me want to hurl up all the food I’ve just consumed. They’re trying to strip everything away, or at least that’s how it feels. My name is all I have left of my mom. They can’t take that from me. They can’t! I am Mattie Hathaway, it’s who I’ve always been, who I’ll always be. No one can take that from me, no matter what any stupid piece of paper says.
“Do we really need to discuss this now?” Zeke asks, watching me. I’m sure every emotion I’m feeling is plain on my face.
“Unfortunately, yes, we do,” Nancy says, her voice firm. “The sooner we get the legalities out the way, the sooner you two can work on more important things.”
“Somnum.”
Montgomery catches Nancy before her face hits the plate. I stare. What the heck did he just do? Zeke said one word and boom, down she went. Whoa. He may look all relaxed and casual, but he’s still the dangerous animal I’d met earlier.
“She’s perfectly fine,” Zeke assures me. “She’s simply asleep.”
I’m up and moving before I even realize it. Zeke follows me inside with Montgomery carrying Nancy. He lays her on the couch. I’m standing behind the cushy arm chair, with the door at my back.