A Grave Conjuring

by Michelle Dorey

  The reader circled fast like it was getting impatient or something. Then it shot to the “S,” “K,” “Y,” “L,” “A” and came to an abrupt stop on the “R.”

  “Skylar?” In answer to Leah’s question it shot to the “Yes” word.

  Preston spoke again, “What about the fairy circle, Skylar? You said body. Is your body there or near there?”

  The planchette shot away from the “Yes” and then back to it.

  Ashley had heard enough. And a glance at Maya told her that her sister was frozen with fear. “We should stop. Put it on “Goodbye,” Leah.”

  But Leah shook her head. “We need to find out more. If there was a body there in the fairy circle wouldn’t we have seen a grave marker or a fresh pile of dirt if it was recent?”

  But the reader wasn’t through yet. Ashley watched with horror as the object continued the message, “K,” “I,” “L,” “L,” “E” and ended with “R.”

  “Enough! Put this board away!”

  Leah knew enough not to argue with her shouted words. She pulled the planchette to the “Goodbye.”

  Maya pulled her hand back and looked over at Ashley. “That was creepy.”

  Preston blew out a long sigh. “Yu...yeah.”

  Ashley’s gaze flew to him and then Leah. Preston didn’t even seem to notice that his speech had changed during the session. But Maya had. She peered at Preston.

  Leah blew out the candle that was set on the bedside table beside her. “I don’t think we reached a bad spirit. She’s asking for our help. Maybe we’re the only ones who can give her any peace. Should we go back there?”

  Ashley thought of the crazy woman running at her from her yard. Mrs. Kovac. There was no way she wanted to go by her house again—not if she could help it.

  “Yu...you have the ih...internet now. Wuh...why not start thu...there?”

  Ashley looked at Preston. “Yeah. Skylar’s not that common a name. Let’s do a search for anyone with that name.”

  SEVENTEEN

  ASHLEY SAT AT THE KITCHEN TABLE with her laptop while Leah perched like a vulture next to her. Across from them, Maya and Preston were scanning Maya’s tablet.

  Maya looked over. “Wow. It feels like forever since I’ve been online.”

  Ashley rolled her eyes. “It was only three days, Maya. Give it a rest.” She typed the words “Skylar” and “Saranac Lake” into the search bar and hit enter. “Huh. There’s a couple Skylars here on Facebook.” She kept scrolling while Leah pulled out her cell phone.

  “Speaking of Facebook, I should update the group on what just happened. Maybe someone else had an experience like this.” Her thumbs flew on the tiny keyboard.

  Ashley noticed the web page change to headings centered on the location, Saranac. She clicked on the Facebook link of the first Skylar. It showed a bunch of pictures of a young girl and her dog. The person had posted a comment today so that couldn’t be it.

  The Skylar they’d contacted was dead and had spelled out the word “killer.” She looked over at Preston and Maya. “If Skylar was murdered and her body is somewhere near that fairy circle, shouldn’t we let the police know?”

  Leah snorted. “And tell them what? That we contacted a spirit? And the spirit said their body is in a fairy circle? They’d think we’re crazy kids. And maybe they’d tell my mom about what we’ve been doing. I still think we should go back there. We may have more luck than trying to find anything on the internet.”

  Preston looked up from the tablet. “Muh...maybe there’s suh...something on the shu...sheriff’s office wuh...website. A mi...missing person.”

  “Yeah! Good thinking Preston!” Maya smiled and then went back to using the tablet. She yelped, jerking back as her glass of pop tipped and then smashed on the floor. “Shit!”

  Ashley looked at the dark stain covering Maya’s shorts, “You spilled your pop?” She rose to her feet. “Be careful, clumsy.”

  Maya stared at Preston who shook his head. “I...I didn’t duh...do it.”

  Maya rolled her eyes. “Well, I didn’t!” She got up from the table stepping carefully to avoid the shards of glass on the floor. “I’ve got to go change out of these wet clothes.”

  Leah looked over at her brother. “Don’t move till we get that glass cleared away.” She got up and joined Ashley who was grabbing the roll of paper towels to sop the mess up.

  They had just cleaned it up and were on their way back to the trashcan under the sink to dump the garbage when a scream upstairs pierced the air. Ashley froze for a second.

  Maya.

  Ashley dropped the wet towels and raced across the room. She took the stairs two at a time; her friends’ footsteps behind her barely registering. When she got to Maya’s bedroom, her sister stood in the center of the room trembling. The whites of her eyes showed, and she darted over to Ashley.

  “What happened?” Ashley held her sister close, rubbing her back. She eased away to look closely at her.

  “I saw her!” Maya’s eyes flooded with tears, and her face had blanched of all color.

  The hair on the back of Ashley’s neck spiked, and a shudder rippled through her shoulders. “Who, Maya? Who or what did you see?”

  Maya spun and she pointed at the window. “She was there! It was a young woman. She was staring at me from the window when I came in to get changed.”

  Ashley stared at the window. They were on the second floor. “Maya, that’s not possible. Are you sure you saw a face?”

  Leah stepped forward and her hand rested on Maya’s shoulder. “What did she look like?”

  Maya sobbed while her hands rubbed the tops of her arms, closing in on herself. “She had blond hair but her eyes...Oh God. There was only black where her eyes should have been!”

  It was Preston who went over to the window looking out. When he turned, he looked at Maya. “There’s nothing out there.” He went over to her and pulled her into a hug.

  Ashley’s heart pounded like a racehorse and she gulped air. She grabbed her inhaler from her pocket and took a long breath of the medicine.

  Leah looked at each of them. “It was her. This Skylar girl. It had to be! Oh my God. I can’t wait to post this to the group.”

  Ashley took another deep breath and went over to stand next to Maya. She stroked her head and then spoke, “You’re sure you saw a face? Could it have been a trick of the light? Some kind of weird reflection like the sun coming out from behind a cloud?”

  “No,” Maya squeaked out between sobs. “It was a face. It was horrible. She looked angry.”

  Ashley spun around glaring at Leah. “You said it would be fine in here. Well it isn’t fine, Leah. Fix this! Do whatever it takes. Maya is scared to death because of that stupid Ouija board. That’s it! I’m throwing it in the trash.”

  She stomped out of the room ignoring Leah’s protests. This was Leah’s fault for wanting to use the board in the first place. Her and her stupid Facebook group! She yanked the bottom drawer out and grabbed the board. She debated whether to burn it in the fire pit or just take it out to the shed and tuck it into the garbage.

  When she passed by the room and saw Maya crying, still being comforted by Preston, she made up her mind. Maya needed her. Burning it would take too long. As long as it was out of the house they’d be okay.

  She passed Leah coming up the stairs with her knapsack and the bowl of salt. For once she had the sensitivity to look ashamed, barely meeting her eyes. And so she should be!

  The screen door banged behind her and she marched over to the shed. She lifted the lid of the gray metal container and shoved the board deep into the bag of trash. Good riddance.

  She raced back to the house, looking up briefly at Maya’s bedroom window and then to the pine across the driveway. With the sun still so high overhead it didn’t seem possible that it could have caused a shadow creating an illusion in the window.

  No. As much as she hated to admit it, Maya had seen a ghost.

  She sprinted up the stairs an
d then stood for a moment gasping for air. When she felt calmer she walked into Maya’s bedroom. Already, threads of smoke from the burning bundle in Leah’s hand drifted in the air.

  “Maya?” She walked over and pulled at Maya’s hand leading her from the room and shutting the door.

  “It’s okay, Maya. Leah will fix this and the board is gone.” She led Maya to the bathroom. “Have a shower and I’ll bring you some clean clothes. When you get dressed, it will all be over. No need to worry about it.”

  Maya’s eyes were bleary when she looked at Ashley, “Why couldn’t it have been Mom I saw? Why that girl?”

  Ashley’s heart broke looking at her little sister. “I don’t know. But you won’t see her again. I promise.” She tried to sound confident even if she didn’t entirely feel that way.

  And as much as she knew Leah would be angry, she had to tell Aunt Claire about this.

  ***

  Ten minutes later Ashley leaned against the bathroom door waiting for her sister. Leah and Preston were still in Maya’s room and she could hear the muffled chant from across the hall. She stood straighter, hearing the hiss of the shower stop. “Maya? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m fine now.”

  Ashley let out a long sigh of relief. When Maya’s door opened and Leah stepped out, Ashley glared at her. “Are you finished? Did it work?”

  Leah sighed. “I think so.” Her eyes closed for a moment. “No. I know so.” When she spoke again, she kind of flinched, “I’m sorry, Ash. This is my fault.”

  Ashley’s resolve softened a little watching her friend. She could tell that Leah really regretted this. “I shouldn’t have gone along with it. It’s my fault too.”

  Preston stepped out and glanced at the closed door of the bathroom. “Is Muh...Maya all right?”

  Before Ashley had a chance to answer the door behind her opened and Maya slipped out. She had on a pair of capri pants and a cotton shirt and her damp hair hung in wet strands over her shoulders. She looked at each of them. “I’m okay now, I think.” She looked at Leah. “Is it gone? Will it come back?”

  Ashley lifted a lock of hair from her sister’s cheek and tucked it behind her ear. “You can sleep with me tonight. Nothing bad is gonna happen to you, not with me there.”

  “Did you get rid of the board?” Leah winced bringing it up. She hung on to the strap of her knapsack on her shoulder like it was a lifeline.

  “Yes. I put it in the bottom of the trash bag in case Aunt Claire would see it when she throws any garbage in.” Ashley’s shoulders squared. “But I think I have to tell her about this.”

  Leah was shaking her head the moment Ashley brought up telling. “No. Please don’t tell her. It’s over and we can forget about all this. She might tell my mother and then I’ll be grounded. I might not be able to see you again.”

  Preston’s eyes widened as her words sunk in. “Nuh...no. Muh...maybe we can fi...fix this.”

  Ashley gaped at him. “Fix it? Some girl is dead and now she’s somehow latched on to us to help her? With any luck she won’t be back to scare the hell out of Maya or me but we have to tell Aunt Claire. She might know someone at the police department, someone she sold a house to, that she could ask about this Skylar girl.”

  Maya added, “We could ask her to not tell your mom. Aunt Claire is nice. She wouldn’t want you to get in trouble and not be allowed to see us.”

  Leah looked like she wasn’t entirely convinced. “This Skylar needs our help. If we can find her body, she’ll have peace and leave us alone. Can you just put off telling your aunt for one day? Give us a chance to try to solve this mystery on our own? I really don’t want my mother finding out.”

  Ashley didn’t feel right about not telling Claire but she also hated to get Leah and Preston in trouble at home. She looked at Leah. “Are you staying over tonight? I’ll wait one day but only if you’re here. Just in case...” Her gaze flitted to Maya.

  “Absolutely! I brought my PJs. I knew you’d ask me to stay.” She looked over at Preston. “Mom’s picking you up at five. You’d better act normal and keep quiet about this.”

  “Ca...can I tuh...tell Henry?”

  “I don’t care. He was here the first night we used the Ouija board so he’s okay, I guess.” Leah turned to Maya. “I’ll even sleep on the floor so you can have the spot next to Ash. With the two of us with you, there’ll be no worries.”

  Preston made for the stairs. “I’m guh...going to keep looking on the ih...internet. Muh...maybe we’ll find out more. A...about thi...this Skylar.”

  Leah followed him, and she looked over her shoulder at Ashley. “I’m going to post this to the group. There are a few people who have experience with ghosts. Maybe I’ll pick up something.” She stopped with her foot on the stair. “But you know...if we went to the fairy circle we could nose around. We wouldn’t have to step inside it.”

  Ashley’s eyebrows rose. “The old bat down the road scares me more than that circle. That’s a last resort. But if we can’t find out anything today or tonight, we need to go back there. With Aunt Claire.”

  Her cell phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her pocket. When she saw the name come up, she smiled. Oooh! Mason Sherwood! She read the message,

  “Looking forward to a day at your place. We’re still on, right?”

  Her chest lightened. He hadn’t said it’s still on. He’d written We’re still on.

  She held back from the others who were going down the stairs. Leaning against the railing she typed a reply.

  “Can’t wait. Absolutely, we’re still on. Pray for sunshine.”

  She peered at the “pray for sunshine.” Did she sound too eager with that? She backspaced the cursor, erasing it.

  “Hope for sunshine.”

  She smiled and followed the others.

  This time they settled in the living room without any drinks when they did their research. Ashley searched the police website and found nothing. She kept clicking and found a website that dealt with missing persons. There was a national registry. God. Who knew so many people went missing? She typed in the first name “Skylar.”

  Leah looked over at her. “Hey! There’s this girl in the group who went through a true haunting. She just joined. It’s pretty creepy what she went through.”

  Ashley scowled at her. “I hope you aren’t putting our real names on this site.”

  Leah affected a deep voice, “The names have been changed to protect the innocent.” She grinned. “I’m not totally crazy, Ash. It is the internet.”

  EIGHTEEN

  CLAIRE HUNG UP THE PHONE AND CLOSED HER EYES. Lucas’s words rang in her ear—he was disappointed and hurt that she was canceling their evening. She’d thought about breaking it off when she called, but she couldn’t do it with a phone call. She would, the next time she saw him. But hopefully that could wait a few days. Maybe he’d start to realize that it was over and it would be easier.

  The negatives of staying in a relationship with him had tipped when he’d lied to her about being at the casino. And when the girls had told her about him killing that bird, the final penny dropped. He hadn’t even thought enough about killing something to mention it? That was just cold.

  At the tap on her office door she looked up. Gerry filled the opening with his squat and rotund body. There was a small sheepish smile on his face. “Can you do a favor for me?”

  Uh oh. But he was her boss, so she forced a smile. “Sure. What’s up?”

  He let out a long sigh and he slumped lower. “I scheduled an open house at the Mountain Estates tomorrow evening, six to nine. I forgot it’s my wedding anniversary. If I don’t take Marjorie out for dinner, I’ll be in the doghouse for a month. Can you cover for me?”

  Tomorrow the girls had asked Mason and the gang out to build that raft and then have a BBQ. She had wanted to be there. Shit. Trust Gerry to screw up his dates. She stood up. “Of course. No problem.”

  “Thanks Claire. I owe you.” Gerry gave the doorframe another q
uick tap and smiled. “I hope you sell it; I even put an ad in the paper for the open house.” He turned around and left whistling a tune.

  Well, it wasn’t like she had to be at the girls’ BBQ to chaperone. Hell, there were enough kids to do that. And she could have everything set up before she left anyway. She put her listing book and tablet in her case and was just about out the door when her cell phone buzzed with a text. She paused and pulled it from her purse. It was probably the girls wanting her to pick something up something on her way home.

  Her brow furrowed seeing Carol’s name pop up on the screen. She read:

  “Hey, remember that hooker I saw with Lucas? I just saw a poster with her picture on it. She’s missing.”

  Claire’s eyes narrowed as she typed.

  “Maybe she met a sugar daddy and left for bigger places. Speaking of Lucas...I’m breaking it off with him.”

  Her chest slumped with the weight of what she’d written. Now it was official and she couldn’t put it off much longer. She’d miss some things about him. But the relationship had gone past its “best before” date.

  She smiled seeing Carol’s answer pop up.

  “About time! There’s plenty of fish in the sea. You hooked up with him too soon after the divorce. IMO.”

  “Yeah. I think so too in hindsight. 20/20, right? Gotta go. Spending evening with girls—movie night.”

  “They’ll love that. Have fun.”

  Claire put her phone away and left the office. As she drove from the small town to her new home she thought about what Carol had written—that girl going missing. And Lucas. But surely in that lifestyle, hustling in a casino, there was no permanence. The girl could be in Miami by now sipping a margarita by some rich, old man’s pool.

  As she got closer to her house, she noticed a beige sedan pulling out of her driveway. She peered at it as it passed by and waved seeing Preston and his mother. Ruth Mitchell barely managed a smile waving back. The woman was the original “Church Lady” off Saturday Night Live from back when she was just a kid. She’d seen enough You Tube videos to know Ruth could put Dana Carvey to shame.