Brush With Death (10 page)

T
he bell over
the door jingled and Yuki and Emma walked into the restaurant.  They’ve always
been opposites, one blond and dressed all in white and the other dark haired
and all in black, but tonight those differences went deeper than appearances.

Yuki cast furtive glances around the room, eyes never
resting on one person for long before turning her gaze to the floor.  Her
sleeves were pulled down over her hands, shoulders hunched and black and hot
pink hood pulled up, as if she were trying to hide inside her hoodie.  When she
sat in the empty chair beside me, she drew her booted feet up onto the chair
rung and wrapped her skirt and arms around her legs like a cocoon.

Where was the Yuki that I knew?  Would that vibrant
butterfly ever emerge again?

After a worried glance at Yuki, Emma strode into the room
making a beeline for Simon.  Her eyes never left his face, as if they both communicated
their entire day through that one look.  Emma looked intense, confident, and…in
love.

I was used to seeing those things in Yuki, but now she sat
hunched beside me, her body language screaming “stay away, don’t touch me,
don’t hurt me.”  I had involuntarily lifted my hand to reach for hers, but let
it drop to my lap, thinking better of it.  What would I do if she flinched away
from me?

I didn’t think I could handle that right now, not after
Simon’s biting words.

“Hey, Yuki,” Gordy said.  “I ordered you a loaded veggie
pizza, extra cheese.”

“Thanks Gordster,” she said. 

A tiny smile fluttered across her face, but all too soon it
was gone.  Like a frightened bird that smile wouldn’t settle into place,
choosing instead to fly away to safer ground, leaving Yuki staring blankly at
the steaming slice of pizza on her plate.

“So, like, what was that wolf doing in the park?” Katie
asked.  “I mean, shouldn’t we call animal control or something?”

I tried not to groan.  Of course Katie would have remembered
seeing me at the park in my wolf form.  She may have been too startled, and
focused on Yuki’s safety, to say much at the time, but she had had an hour to
sit here and wonder about it.  Spotting a wolf this close to town was
definitely strange.  In fact, the only wolves around for miles were werewolves.

Our pack made sure to keep track of wolf activity, since a
wolf sighting in the area could bring unwanted trouble to my people.  And now
I’d gone and risked discovery because I was too focused on protecting Yuki. 
The last thing my pack needed was animal control combing the woods, looking for
wolves.

“Um, well, it didn’t hurt me or anything,” Yuki said.

“But wolves are wild animals,” she said.  “And it was huge. 
I think I would have died of fright if I saw that thing while walking at the
park.  Aren’t they, like, dangerous?”

That thing?
  I liked Katie and knew she was more
comfortable with her nose in a book than out wandering the wilderness, but her
reaction to my wolf form stung.  Yuki obviously needed saving, she just wasn’t
focused enough to keep up her side of the conversation, but my mind kept
returning to Katie’s comment like a tongue worrying at a sore tooth.

Thankfully Simon and Emma came to the rescue.

“Actually, love, wolves are quite harmless,” Simon said. 
“It’s humans you have to be wary of.”

“Right, like the Graduation Grabber,” Emma said.

“So what’s all this about the Grabber anyway?” Yuki asked. 
“You said a girl went missing?”

“Yes, the Graduation Grabber, the worst serial killer to
ever plague the streets of Wakefield, is back in town,” Emma said.

I
sighed with
relief as Gordy and Katie said their goodbyes.  Trying to answer their
questions while keeping secrets made my head spin.  But as soon as the
restaurant door closed, all of the remaining eyes at the table turned to me.  I
fidgeted under the curious stares of my friends, knowing that they were all
dying to know about the new ghost in my life.

But I was just dying to go home.

While I picked at my pizza, Emma had relayed the information
she heard on the evening news report.  I hoped my parents didn’t catch the late
night broadcast.  They never would have let us go out for pizza if they’d known
that a girl from my school had gone missing.

Gordy, Katie, Simon, and Cal all had stories to add to the
conversation.  We had all heard tales about the Graduation Grabber.  He was the
bogeyman of Wakefield, a monster who returned each year during graduation week
to abduct and kill innocent teen girls—until four years ago when he seemed to
disappear.

When the killings stopped, most Wakefield residents went on
with their lives.  The popular theory was that the Grabber had been arrested
for murders elsewhere, and remained in prison.  People said that he was dead,
some even going so far as to speculate that the Grabber had been killed by his
final victim, Rose Peterson.

Rose’s body has never been found.  But I had a nagging
suspicion where it might be buried…and who my mysterious new ghost pal was.

Of course, I couldn’t talk about ghosts and smell
impressions while Katie and Gordy were having pizza with us.  Now that they
were gone, it was time to talk. 

Instead, I dipped a piece of fried zucchini into a cup of
tomato sauce and filled my mouth.  Even though I’d been starving earlier, I
hadn’t eaten much of my pizza.  I spent most of the evening trying not to jump
at every sound.  I clenched my teeth for so long, my jaw ached.

But I continued to take bites of the zucchini, delaying the
questions I knew would come.  I was so tired.  I wanted to go home, crawl under
the covers, and pretend that today hadn’t happened.  Too bad sleep is where the
nightmares were always lurking.

Terrifying dreams of sweaty jock assailants and leering
grins from the J-team were there every night now, every time I closed my eyes
and fell asleep.

I put down the fried zucchini and pushed my plate away, the
food turning to ash on my tongue.  I swallowed hard and focused on the dull
throb where I’d bit myself earlier, trying to ignore the fear that gripped my
chest and twisted my stomach. 

It was ironic, the fear.  I dealt with ghosts and werewolves
all the time, but a couple of football jocks had reduced me to a cringing girl
fearful of her own shadow.  I felt like such a wimp.  I tried to sit up
straight and take a deep breath, but dread still strangled my lungs in its
vice-like grip. 

I settled for nodding to my friends.

“I know this is hard,” Emma said, keeping her voice low. 
“But we have to know.  You said you found a body near one of the park trails,
and that a smell impression led you there.  Did you learn anything from the
ghost?”

“Do you think it’s the missing girl from your school?” Simon
asked.  “The one who just went missing?  If so, her parents deserve to know
she’s gone.  They’re worried bloody sick about her.”

“No, it’s not Sarah Randall,” I said.  I took a sip of water
and cleared my throat.“The body I found was just a skeleton.  Just a skull
really, I didn’t dig any farther once I could tell it was human.  But the
person must have been buried there for quite awhile.”

“What can you tell us?” Cal asked, giving me a weak smile. 
“We want to help.”

I dropped my head onto my fist and stared at a congealing
blob of cheese on my plate.  There was no escaping their questions and worried
looks, but where to begin?

“It’s like I was saying to Gordy and Katie,” I said.  “I had
an art project to finish, so I rode my bike to the park hoping to find a nice
outdoor scene to paint.  What I didn’t tell them is that when I got there I was
hit with a strong smell impression.”

“What did it smell like?” Emma asked, leaning in across the
table.

“It smelled, continues to smell, like roses, lanolin, and
darkroom chemicals,” I said.  “But mostly, it smells like roses.”

“And this ghost clung to you like you were its best mate,
and led you to a human skull?” Simon asked.

“Yeah, something like that,” I said.  “I followed the ghost
for a long time, until it stopped at a section of old broken wall.  Growing up
the wall was a huge climbing rose bush, so I took a break from riding and
decided to paint the location.  The roses were beautiful…I didn’t know there
was a dead body buried there.”

Cal gave my free hand a quick squeeze, but I wasn’t all that
scared now.  I had been afraid of someone trying to hurt me, like the J-team
tried a few months ago, and how someone had possibly done to the body in the
ground.  The fear had lingered, but talking about it was helping.

The body in the woods had been buried in an unmarked grave
in a secluded location.  The ghost probably wanted a proper burial.  If a
murder had taken place, then someone needed to be brought to justice.  And if
the ghost had family, it may want them to know what really happened—why they
had disappeared. 

This ghost had unfinished business, and I was going to help
it set things right.

“A ghost who smells like roses and was buried beneath a rose
bush,” Emma said.  “Is it me, or does that sound like a possible match for Rose
Peterson, the last girl to go missing before the Grabber disappeared?”

“They never found her body,” Cal said.  “It could be her.”

The smell of pizza was immediately replaced by the strong
scent of roses.  I grabbed my head in both hands and bit my lip. 
Oh yeah, I
think we have a winner.

“Are you alright?” Cal asked, placing his hand on my back. 
“You just went really pale.”

“How can you tell?” Simon asked, raising one eyebrow.

“Har, har, har, very funny Simon,” I said, wincing.  “Well
if the staggering smell impression and mind sucking headache is any indication,
I’d say we’ve found Rose Peterson.”

The ghost backed off, giving me room to breathe.  She hadn’t
gone far.  In fact, Rose hadn’t left my side since we met at the park.  She
would give me space, but this ghost wasn’t leaving—not until I discovered what
unfinished business she had in our world. 

Great, just what I needed.  I had one week to pass my exams
and graduate high school.  Now I also had a ghost to babysit and a mystery to
solve—all while a serial killer lurked in the shadows waiting for his second
victim. 

But for the first time in weeks, I was beginning to move
forward.  The tendrils of fear that tied me up inside retreated.  I finally
felt like my old self.  I sat up straight and placed my booted feet on the
floor.

It was time to help a ghost with its final wishes, and add a
new member to my army of the dead.

Y
uki stopped
slouching like she was trying to implode and a smile slid across her face.  She
met my gaze across the table with a steely glint in her eye. 

“Let’s go find out what this ghost really wants,” she said.

Yuki reached out with her fist and we bumped knuckles across
the table.  I finally had my friend back. 

But I knew she still needed help.  You can’t cure PTSD with
pizza, though Yuki would argue that fact—she thought pizza cured everything.  No,
the ghost of Rose Peterson was a temporary distraction.  I still had a lot to
discuss with Yuki, but that conversation would have to wait. 
Relax,
ssshe’ll be fine.

I took the advice of the sibilant voice in my head and tried
to focus on the task at hand.  I had to admit that the mystery surrounding
Yuki’s new ghost pal was intriguing.  I’ve assisted Yuki in the past on her
mission to help spirits of the dead find peace, but the discovery of this
ghost’s remains, and the connection to the Graduation Grabber, brought this
case home to roost. 

Poor Rose Peterson. 

I hadn’t known Rose, I was in middle-school when she went
missing, but I could easily identify with her.  Rose was the age I am now, when
the Grabber took her.  We went to the same school, had the same teachers,
walked the same halls, and lived in the same town.  And now it was graduation
week, the same time of year when she had been abducted.

Rose never had a chance to graduate, or grow old, but we
could give her one thing.  We could help bring her killer to justice.

We could prevent the Graduation Grabber from killing again.

“We need to find the Grabber before he kills Sarah Randall,”
I said.

Simon and Calvin nodded their agreement, but Yuki sucked in
a breath and grabbed her head between paint stained hands.

“I think…” Yuki said.  “I think that Rose would like that.”

“Good,” I said.  “Then we need a plan. But first, let me order
some hot water and I’ll brew you up some tea for that headache.”

“Okay,” she said, turning green.

“Emma, love, do you have to do that here?” Simon asked,
gesturing to the other diners.  “I’m sure some of these people would like to
enjoy the rest of their meal without smelling one of your concoctions.”

“Why don’t we head over to the cabin,” Calvin said.  “It
will be easier to make our plans there and we can open the windows while you
brew the tea.”

“Good idea, mate,” Simon said.  “I was getting sick of whispering.”

“Can we order more pizza to go?” Yuki asked.  An impish grin
slid across her face.  “I’ll need something to wash Emma’s tea down with.”

I rolled my eyes, but agreed.  Yuki finally had her appetite
back.  That was a very good sign.  My friend may not recover overnight, but
together we could solve this mystery and help put back the pieces of Yuki’s
life.

If that took a massive order of udderly disgusting cheese
covered pizza, so be it.

I
buried my
face in another box of meat lover’s pizza, trying to avoid the smell of Emma’s
teas, tinctures, and tisanes.  I shook my head against the sharp herbal tang
and wet hay scents that wafted in to mix with the delicious smell of beef and
pork.  I pinched my nose and shoved a slice of pizza into my mouth.

Werewolf heightened senses could be a sodding pain.

“That’s disgusting,” Yuki said.

The girl had a smile on her face for the first time in
weeks, so I didn’t bother to argue—just snorted my disdain, which led to a fit
of choking and coughing.  That sent Yuki into fits of laughter, until Emma
shoved a mug of steaming medicinal tea into her hand.

Joke’s on you, love.  Now who’s laughing?

I’ve had the displeasure of tasting Emma’s herbal remedies
before.  They tended to taste like old leaves mixed with squirrel droppings,
but don’t ask me how I know that.  I’m a wolf, I just do.

Calvin stood hip to hip with Yuki and gave her a sympathetic
smile and a squeeze on the shoulder.  I don’t know how he tolerated standing so
close to the noxious brew in Yuki’s hand.  Glad I wouldn’t be kissing that
later.  There was no mouthwash on the planet that could combat Emma’s herbal
cures.  Calvin was going to taste wet leaves and rodent droppings for a week.  I
snickered and started to choke again on a slice of pepperoni.

You’d think I’d learn.

“Here,” Emma said, waving an amber bottle in my face. 
“Place a drop of this under your tongue.  It will cure that cough.”

I rushed backward so fast, I shattered a lamp and the milk
crate it was resting on.

“Dude, that was my nightstand,” Calvin said.

“Yes, very ghetto chic,” I said.  “I’ll be sure to replace
it tomorrow.  I’m sure I can find something comparable at the town dump, or one
of the alleys I was searching earlier today.”

“Fine,” Calvin said, running a hand through messy hair. 
That kid should really think about a professional haircut.  “Just remember, you
live here too.  If you bring home something that reeks of urine and rotting
garbage, we all suffer.”

He had a point.

“You sound fine now,” Emma said.  She cocked her head,
giving me a critical look over.  “No more cough?”

“Yes, love,” I said.  “Cured by your ethereal beauty.  No
medicine necessary.”

“I’ve died and gone to Hell,” Yuki said, muttering into her
cup.

“At least you don’t have to live with him,” Calvin said.

“You’re no picnic, mate,” I said.  “You snore.”

“It’s true,” Yuki said.  “One time, I thought zombie bears
had come to eat our brains, but it was just Cal taking a nap.”

“Hey!” Calvin said.

“I have a remedy for snoring…” Emma said.

“No,” we all said in unison.

Yuki giggled and Cal shook his head and slapped a hand over
his mouth in mock horror.

“Fine, then let’s get on with our planning,” Emma said.  
“We have a girl to save and a ghost to lay to rest.”