Dead and Breakfast (19 page)

“I need you to do it. Remember? ‘It’s too dangerous for you, Autumn,’” She mocked Timothy’s know-it-all voice.

“Well, I thought ghost girl was visiting you in your sleep.”

“I can’t wait to do things on her schedule because she keeps trying to kill Liam. We have to put an end to this.”

Liam grabbed a white towel off the reception desk and wrapped it around his torso, hoping to dry his sopping wet clothes. Evelyn left stacks of towels around the Cayo, as if she expected guests to use the pool. Liam seemed to be the only one who actually used them. “I pawned the ring,” Liam said. “And she tried to kill me. Again.”

“I’ve also had phantom morning sickness for the past week,” said Autumn, rubbing her stomach. “We need someone who knows what they’re doing.”

“That’s clearly not you two.” Timothy straightened his turquoise bowtie. “Unfortunately, the problem remains. You’re still going to need something belonging to the spirit to force her to come to the table.”

That stopped Autumn’s momentum, and Liam could see the disappointment in her face. It did sound like an impossible task. Find something belonging to a strange ghost from fifty years ago.

Liam wanted to kiss her disappointment away. “Don’t worry. Maybe there’s a way around it.”

“Uh-uh,” Timothy said. “No loopholes when it comes to the dead. Also, I’m not contacting any spirit until Evelyn and Miss Glenda are gone from here.”

“We’re screwed,” said Liam.

“Not necessarily.” Timothy jutted his thumb toward the wall calendar. “The ladies are going to Miami tomorrow. They have a meeting with a bank, hoping to get a small business loan.”

“How long will they be gone?” Liam asked.

“Overnight,” he replied. “You have one evening to do this thing. Better find something of the dead girl’s quickly.”

Liam looked at Autumn’s expression. It was a mix of emotions he couldn’t quite figure out. Determination, maybe and . . . hope. It was at that moment that Liam had never felt more attracted to the Jersey girl.

“What?” she asked.

Liam just smiled, mostly to himself. “Nothin’.”

#

That night, Liam laid in bed in his boxer shorts and a holey Radiohead T-shirt that resembled Swiss cheese. It was after eleven and sleep would not overtake him.

His cell phone buzzed, and Liam grabbed it off the nightstand. It was a text

from Autumn.

I’ve searched the attic and turned up nothing.

No object. No séance. No control.

Frustrated, Liam threw his phone into the top drawer of his nightstand and heard a rattle. Liam fumbled around and pricked his finger on a sharp object. He sucked the blood droplet off his finger and picked up the St. Veronica’s pin he found in the Cayo’s backyard.

Leo said his grandmother had a pin too. Liam quietly opened his bedroom door and padded down the hall to Pops’s room. He listened to his grandpa’s rhythmic breathing. The old man was sound asleep.

Liam crept into the bedroom and slid his abuela’s jewelry box off the dresser and then snuck back out. He tiptoed to his bedroom and shut the door.

Liam clicked on his lamp, sat cross-legged on his bed, and opened the carved wooden box. He dug through gold earrings, Abuela’s wedding band, a cross, and lastly a round pin with the St. Veronica’s insignia. Liam held up both pins to the light. They were identical. Except, the clean pin was his grandmother’s. The other one still had dirt caked in the crevices.

Liam brushed off some flecks of dirt.
So whose pin is this?

He texted Autumn.
I think I may have found something.
He snapped a photo of the pin and hit send.

Liam put his phone and the pin on the nightstand and laid down for sleep with a burgeoning smile. He liked being the hero.

The next evening, Liam poked his head into the lobby. Mr. Fletcher stood at the reception desk, talking to Autumn, who was pointing at places on a map of Key West.

“Are they gone?” Liam asked, before fully stepping inside.

Mr. Fletcher raised a brow, and shook his head. “You kids.” He folded the map and slipped it into the pocket of his dinner jacket, the kind with suede patches on the elbows. Liam’s father used to have a jacket like that. He wondered for a moment if Mr. Fletcher had children and then shook the image from his head.

“Enjoy your dinner,” Autumn called to Mr. Fletcher as he left the lobby. The man nodded once before closing the door.

Timothy came around with candles. “Fletcher gone?”

Autumn nodded. “And Mrs. Paulson checked out this morning.”

“Good riddance,” he said. “We’ll go out by the pool since that’s where things, uh . . . began. Also, it seems to be a place of energy.”

Autumn pulled open the patio door and ushered the boys outside like a doorman. “Right this way.”

The anxiety that had settled in Liam’s stomach now radiated throughout his whole body. He shook his fingers, hoping to rid himself of the nervous energy. This nightmare couldn’t end fast enough.

Timothy pointed to a spot near the pool. Autumn spread out a flannel plaid blanket, the kind you might bring on a fall hayride or Christmas carriage ride. The three of them sat down, and for a moment, Liam enjoyed the blanket’s softness on his skin, until he reminded himself of what they were there to do.

Timothy set the candles around the blanket, careful not to get them too close to the flannel. “No need to be set on fire,” he joked, although his voice sounded strained.

Liam dug around his pockets for a lighter. It had been a few years since Pops gave up cigarettes, but Liam kept the lighter. He never knew when he might need it. Like now. Liam clicked the lighter, the small flame sprung to life, and lit the candles. On a stifling Key West night, there was little risk of a breeze blowing out the flames.

Once that was done, Timothy nodded as if to signal to everyone to buckle down. It was time to get serious. He sat cross-legged on the blanket and intertwined his fingers, which he positioned in his lap. Liam wasn’t sure what he was expecting. Yoga maybe. Liam decided to do the same and mimicked Timothy’s posture. Autumn sat on her knees. She looked at Liam briefly, but then turned her gaze on Timothy.

Timothy closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. “I’m finding my center.” So, it was like yoga. Timothy held out his hand.

Liam fished into the back pocket of his shorts and thrust the St. Veronica’s pin into it.

Again, Timothy took several deep breaths and called for Inez in a low voice.

The candlelight flickered. The cacophony of insects died down to a barely audible hum.

“Inez,” Timothy said. “If you’re here, please make your presence known. We would like to speak with you.”

Timothy’s voice grew deep and authoritative. Clearly, this séance was something he had done before. When and how often was he called upon to communicate with the dead?

“Inez,” Timothy said sharply. “Can you communicate with us?”

Liam heard a crackling sound. A pale silhouette emerged over the pool, startling him. Goosebumps erupted along his flesh, and he shuddered in the hot, humid air.

“She’s not coming,” Katie said.

Timothy opened his eyes. He slumped a bit at the sight of the blonde ghost.

Autumn deflated. “What’s going on?”

The skin around Katie’s eyes appeared dark and hollow. Usually, Katie’s colors were vibrant if only slightly transparent. But now her complexion seemed sallow and pale. “She’s angry.”

“Why won’t she talk to us?” Timothy grasped the pin. “She has to—we have a connection.”

Katie shook her head at the oval pin. “That’s not hers. It can’t be, or she’d be forced to come to the circle.”

Autumn scrunched her nose. “Crap. She’s screwing with us. She knows what she’s doing.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Katie said. “She’s unstable and confused.”

“I don’t think she is. She knows what she wants.”

Liam swallowed hard. “I’m afraid to ask what.”

Autumn hugged her arms around herself. “Revenge.”

“Lovely,” Liam said, standing up. He dusted off his shorts. His grandparents managed to piss off Inez, and now she wanted to seek revenge against him. It would be just like the adults in his life to do something stupid that he had to fix.

Timothy crawled to the candles and blew them out one by one. He went to collect them, but the glass was too hot to touch. “I hate to be involved in this more than I have to be, but we need to stop her. She tried to kill lover boy three times, and she’s doing something weird to Miss Katie.”

Katie nodded in agreement. “Her energy is dark and zapping mine.”

“And how do we stop her?” Liam asked, the anger seeping into his voice. He didn’t mean to come across as anxious, but deep down, Liam was freaked. He couldn’t quit and leave Autumn and her mom in the lurch. No one he knew would agree to work here. Plus, he felt uneasy about leaving Autumn alone in this place with the ghost. How could he assure himself she was safe if he couldn’t see her every day?

“We keep trying,” Autumn said, her voice firm. “We need to know more about what happened the night she disappeared. To do that, we need to start asking questions. I’ll talk to Aunt Glenda again and Mr. Blazevig.”

“I’ll keep poking around the attic,” Katie offered. Liam thought it was a nice gesture, considering Katie didn’t have to help. But being dead had to be boring, and perhaps this was the most entertainment Katie had seen in years.

“I’ll see what I can dig up in my mom’s old books,” Timothy said.

“And I’ll . . .” Liam’s voice trailed. He wanted to say, harass my Pops, but he still wasn’t sure he could do it. Instead, he made a suggestion even less appealing. “Call my dad. He might know some things.”

That seemed to satisfy Autumn and actually made Liam feel better. That is, until the candles exploded.

#

Glass shards exploded like shrapnel. Autumn ducked and covered her head with her hands. Luckily for all of them, the glass fragments sprayed the concrete patio, missing their legs.

“What the hell was that?” Liam cried out.

Timothy smoothed down his hair. “I guess miss ghost thang is not pleased.”

Autumn surveyed the damage. “Next time we do this, she’ll play nice. She won’t have a choice.”

Timothy let out a long sigh. It sounded to Autumn like he had been holding his breath for quite a while. “Maybe there shouldn’t be a next time.”

“What do you mean there shouldn’t be a next time?” Autumn asked as she headed over to the toolshed. She needed a broom to sweep up the mess. “We all agreed to get to the bottom of this. Don’t you want to know what happened to her?”

Liam pushed a giant glass shard with his sneaker and chimed in. “Not if it means pissing her off and getting hurt.”

Autumn reached into the shed. The floodlights illuminated the cluttered mess inside. She grabbed the broom and closed the door. “She’s already pissed off. But if we don’t . . . what’s the expression?” Autumn snapped her fingers.

“Kick her to the curb?” Timothy finished.

“Okay. If we don’t kick her to the curb, she’s likely to kill Liam and take down the Cayo with her.”

“Maybe, I should just quit,” Liam said, his voice barely a whisper.

“What? No.” Autumn knew her mother was going to fire Liam after Fantasy Fest, but she wasn’t willing to let go of him so soon. Besides, she had plans to convince her mother to let Liam work for the Cayo permanently. Autumn swept up the shards, until Timothy held out his hand. He nodded at the old clock on the patio wall. It was nearly seven. “I’ll do that. Don’t you have a ghost tour to lead?”

Mr. Blazevig. Shit. Autumn blew the bangs off her forehead. “This isn’t over!” The last part she yelled into the evening air, hoping Inez would hear her warning. Then she turned to Liam. “Don’t make any rash decisions just yet.”

Liam kissed Autumn’s forehead. “You neither. I’ll walk you to Duval.”

Autumn smiled and led the way out through the gate and into the street.

#

Early Friday morning, Evelyn barged into Autumn’s room and shook her awake. Autumn draped her arm across her face and groaned. “Mom, it’s barely light out.”

Evelyn bounced on her daughter’s bed. “I know, but we’re expecting a full house today.” Autumn slid her arm off her face and caught her mother’s giddy look. Her eyes twinkled. “To think, this place up and running at full capacity. If we can just make the Cayo Hueso the best hotel they’ve ever been to, then I bet they’ll tell their friends. It will certainly dilute those bad Vacation Rater reviews. And should help us secure a new business loan.”

The sunlight streamed in through the gauzy curtains. Autumn sat up and yawned. “This is going to be a great ten days. You’ll see.”

Her mother patted her daughter’s leg. “If things go well and the Cayo turns a profit, we can talk about college in the northeast.”

Autumn didn’t know what to say. Somehow, her mother insisting she go to college in Florida solved a problem she didn’t want to face. Did she want to stay here for Liam or not? One thing was for sure, she was curious about Fantasy Fest.

Evelyn bounded to her feet. “Get showered and dressed. I need you to run down to the florist for a fresh bouquet for the lobby. And please sweep the patio. I swear those palm trees drop those massive leaves to annoy me.” And just like that, the mother-daughter bonding moment was over as Evelyn submitted a list of chores for Autumn to do before breakfast.

Once Evelyn left, Katie appeared in Autumn’s room. Autumn gave her a friendly smile. “Well at least she’s happy.” Autumn cocked her head to the side and examined the ghost’s eyes. They weren’t blue anymore. Instead, her irises were black orbs.

“You okay?” she asked Katie.

Katie blinked slowly. “Inez is sucking up my energy. Like a vacuum.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Katie could barely glide over. “Bad hotel reviews are the least of your mom’s worries.”

Autumn approached Katie, who hovered cautiously near the window. Katie put her hands up and squinted at the bright sunlight. “What do you mean?”

“Inez has plans,” Katie said. “Big plans.”

But before Autumn could ask what Katie meant, she disappeared. Autumn felt a rush of cold air caress her skin, and she shivered. Autumn whirled around in a circle. “Katie?” But she’d barely had time to ponder the situation when Evelyn called her down to work.