Dead and Breakfast (6 page)

Liam hated how his grandfather had such little faith in him. “Cuz, Pops, I need money. College costs a whole lot of money.” He stared out the back door and thought about Evelyn bossing him around. “No, I want to work for myself.”

“Okay, sport. Just don’t be surprised if this all blows up in your face.” He nodded at Liam’s borrowed polo shirt. “You gonna go back to the Cayo? You’ll make me look bad if you don’t.”

Liam didn’t think the Breyer family could look worse, but he didn’t want to disappoint the old man. “Yeah, I’ll go back.” He remembered Cora’s cookies and tossed the brown paper bag onto the table. “For you.”

Pops peered inside the bag and smiled. “Job perk for your old grandpa.” He reached inside and then frowned. “They’re all wet.” Pops shrugged and popped a piece of cookie in his mouth. “Still good. Did you get a few bucks for the ring at Louie’s?”

Liam’s mouth went dry. “I’m gonna do it tomorrow.” He felt bad for lying, but Pops already lacked confidence in Liam. Confessing he lost his abuela’s ring wouldn’t help his cause. Liam wanted to go back to the Cayo and search for the ring, but was too embarrassed to face Autumn or her mother. He’d have to return later when no one was there.

“You look pale,” said Pops. “You all right?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m just gonna hit the hay. I’m spent.”

“Hung-over, you mean,” Pops mumbled.

“Unlike you, I didn’t mean to drink so much.”

“Thanks for the judgment.” Pops rolled his eyes. “You’re eighteen years old and you went to a party. I didn’t expect less.” He nodded toward a piece of scrap paper tacked up on the fridge by a broken magnet. “Your father called. He’s doing better. Wants you to give him a call soon.”

Liam took down the piece of paper with an unfamiliar area code scribbled on it. “Sure, Pops. Will do.” He headed toward his bedroom and crumpled the scrap of paper inside his palm. When he passed the bathroom, he dropped it inside the toilet and flushed.

Shortly before bedtime, Autumn was on her knees rummaging through an old steamer trunk in the attic when Timothy appeared.

“Girl,” he said, his voice hinting at annoyance. “Your mother heard noises up here and sent me to check it out. Do you think I like running up and down the stairs?” He fanned himself in the doorway. “What are you doing up here? It’s hotter than hell.”

Autumn wiped a line of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. “Just give me a sec.” She removed an old black-and-white photo from a box in the trunk and sat back. “Well, freak me.” In the photo stood a group of four young sailors, their arms around one another’s shoulders.

Timothy rolled his eyes. “What are you playing at?”

Autumn crouched, careful of the steep slant in the ceiling. She waved the old photo at Timothy, who plucked the picture from Autumn’s fingers before turning it over. “Duncan, Ralphie, Mick, and Leo, 1966.” He furrowed his brows. “What made you go looking for this? Besides pretty boy looking exactly like his grandfather.”

Autumn peered at the picture. “Is that who it is?”

“Who else would look just like him? Anyway, how do you think he got the job? Boy didn’t even get his high school diploma, and your mama agrees to hire him.”

“You don’t have a college degree,” Autumn pointed out.

“I’m working toward it.” Timothy sounded huffy. “Anyway, what made you think to look for this?”

Autumn pointed to the top of a dusty box where she had set the ring. Her voice teetered on giddiness. “I channeled her.” Her chest swelled with pride. At the Cayo, lots of people saw ghosts, but no one had ever channeled a spirit before. This was big.

“You what?” Timothy’s voice rose an octave.

“I got inside her memories. The ghost’s name is Inez. I don’t have a last name, but she knew Duncan and Leo and Mick.”

Timothy picked up the ring and examined it. “This must’ve been hers. But how did you get it?”

“It was at the bottom of the pool. I bet it slid out of Liam’s pocket when he fell in.”

“You mean was pulled in, don’t you?” Timothy carefully set the ring back on the box. “So your pretty boy and this ghost are connected somehow.”

“That’s the thing. I think it’s Liam’s grandfather with the connection to the ghost. The resemblance is uncanny. Besides, too many coincidences can’t be coincidence. And he’s not
my
pretty boy.”

“Sure he isn’t.” Timothy fanned himself with the photo. “Go see your mama. We’ll figure this ghost thing out another time.”

Autumn grinned.

“What are you so happy about?” Timothy asked. “This doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

“It doesn’t yet.” Autumn snatched back the picture. “But it gives me a chance to investigate—just what I need to earn that journalism scholarship.”

“Girl, you’re going to insert yourself into a mystery you have no business being in. And besides, the minute you mention the word
ghost
, you can kiss that scholarship opportunity goodbye. You better give pretty boy back his ring. Something tells me he needs the ring more than you do.”

“I’ll give him the ring when he asks for it.”

Timothy clucked his tongue. “Give Liam back his ring. And don’t channel ghost girl.” He pointed at her. “Evelyn said to tell you it’s time for bed. I’m heading home.” And with that, he strode away.

Autumn’s face soured.
It’s not even ten yet.
Autumn waited until she could no longer hear Timothy’s steps. She picked up the ring and slipped it on to her finger and waited for the black dots to appear. This time she was ready.

#

Liam woke sometime after midnight covered in sweat. He had dreamed that the brunette from the pool clawed out his eyes before her face morphed into Autumn. Despite the malfunctioning air-conditioner in his room, Liam couldn’t rid his body of the goosebumps that had erupted along his arms and neck. He rose from the bed and threw on a pair of black mesh shorts and an old white undershirt before finding the keys to his scooter. He slipped out his bedroom window, so as not to wake his grandfather, and quietly rolled his scooter to the end of the block. Then he started the engine and drove back to the Cayo.

At this time of night, Key West was quiet, but not eerily so. The only sounds were the buzz from his scooter and the laughter of a few tourists staying at a nearby hotel.

Liam drove along Fogarty and then traveled to Eisenhower. He parked a few houses down from the Cayo, just in case Evelyn or Autumn were still awake. He didn’t want to explain his presence at this time of night.

Liam unlatched the old white gate and slipped into the Cayo’s darkened patio. He sidled around the edge of the pool, careful to avoid the inky black water. He swallowed a lump in his throat.
Find the ring and get out of here.

Liam glanced up at the Cayo’s darkened attic windows. He sucked in his breath, turned on the small flashlight on his cell phone, and aimed the beam toward the water’s surface. He felt like an idiot having driven here in the middle of the night. He shouldn’t have lost the damn ring in the first place.

The light only skimmed the top, and he couldn’t see the pool’s floor. Liam decided to check the pool filter. It was possible the drain sucked the ring into it.

Liam’s heart raced as he walked around the lima-bean-shaped pool. He squatted, quietly lifted the plastic lid off the filter, and aimed the flashlight into the hole. Nothing glinted. He removed the strainer and rummaged around. Liam grimaced and shuddered as his hand grazed thick dead beetles and slimy leaves. Unfortunately, he came up empty.

“Looking for this?” A husky voice breathed into his ear.

Liam nearly toppled into the water, his heart hammering in his chest. He rose from his crouch to face Autumn, dressed in plaid boxer shorts and a thin blue tank top. His gaze trailed her body and then landed on her hand, outstretched in front of her, the diamond ring catching the moonlight.

Liam let out a breath. “Thank you. I thought it was lost forever.” He reached out to take the ring off Autumn’s finger, but she snatched her hand back.

Autumn waved her pointer finger at him. “No, no, sailor. This isn’t yours. You don’t get to take it.”

Sailor?
“Autumn, are you okay?”

Autumn stepped forward so that mere inches separated them. She smelled like jasmine, and her T-shirt was so painfully thin. Liam tried to look everywhere but directly at her. His thoughts were jumbled, and it took him a moment to find the words. “Can I have my ring back? It was my abuela’s.”

Autumn tapped her finger against Liam’s lips. “Shhhh.” Liam stared into Autumn’s dilated pupils. She laughed or cackled—Liam couldn’t decide which.

“I could’ve been yours, Lion,” she cooed.

“Give me the ring, Autumn,” Liam said firmly.

“No.” Autumn drew her face in close and brushed her lips against Liam’s mouth.

Liam’s body tingled as if an electric current had passed through Autumn’s lips and into his mouth. But this moment seemed wrong. Felt off. He cried out when Autumn bit his lower lip. He pulled away and ran his tongue over his mouth, tasting blood. He pushed Autumn off him.

“What’s wrong with you?” He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. A streak of red, like the smear of paint, bloomed on his skin.

Autumn cackled again and wiggled her fingers in some kind of seductive wave before slipping through the sliding glass doors.

She never did give him back the ring.

What the hell just happened? Liam rushed out of the patio and ran to his scooter parked down the block. His breath came out in huffs. He straddled the bike and was about to flee until he remembered that Autumn called him Lion.

That was Pops’s nickname in the navy.

#

The next morning, Autumn adjusted the strap on her messenger bag and climbed the steps to the Keys of Excellence Charter School. Her eyelids felt as though small weights were pulling them down. She’d had a restless night’s sleep, possibly dreaming about Liam, but she really couldn’t remember now.

Someone yelled out, “Hey, Joisy girl!”

Autumn squeezed her eyes shut and pretended not to hear. She stepped toward the entrance and a lithe blonde girl blocked her way. “Going somewhere?”

Even without looking up, Autumn knew it was Victoria Canton who stood there with her hands on her perfect waist. There were girls like Victoria back home in Jersey. Rich. Entitled. Nasty. But Autumn never had confrontations with them. And in the unlikely event she had gotten cornered by one of the bitchy girls, Natasha had been there to back her up. God, what she wouldn’t have done to have someone on her side now.

“Just to class, Victoria.” Autumn didn’t bother hiding her exasperation. “Same as everyone else.” Victoria remained in her path. Autumn saw from the corner of her eye a group of Victoria’s friends off to the side. They stood at attention like soldiers waiting to be called into battle. “You need anything from me or can I get to class?”

Victoria glanced at her friends and then back at Autumn. “Yeah, I need the notes for American Lit. I heard McNulty is giving a pop quiz later this afternoon.”

Autumn lifted the flap of her messenger bag and thumbed through her folder. She found the stapled group of notes, four pages on Hemingway, and handed them over to Victoria. To be honest, Autumn felt sorry for Victoria since no amount of money seemed to help her do well in school.

“Thanks,” Victoria said, without a hint of gratitude in her voice. “How you can study with all those ghosts thrashing about is beyond me.” She leaned in and said in a loud whisper, “Do they talk to you?” The soldier clique snickered in the background.

Autumn sidled past Victoria. “Actually, yes. Hemingway was ‘thrashing’ about in one of the guest rooms, and he had plenty to say about himself.” She tapped the side of her head with her finger. “I’m going to ace this pop quiz. Hemingway said so.” Autumn grinned, surprised by the sudden surge of bravery in confronting her bully.

Victoria growled. Her two leggy friends headed over, until Victoria held up her hand to stop them. Her attention fixated on the street where a tanned guy was pulling up alongside the curb in his beat-up scooter. Autumn watched Victoria bound down the cement steps, crying, “Liam!”

Autumn couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Figures,” she mumbled. Of course, Liam of all people would know Victoria Canton.

Liam pressed the kickstand to the asphalt with the toe of his sneaker and dismounted the bike. He removed his helmet and set it in on top of the seat. Victoria went to wrap her arms around Liam’s neck, but he grabbed her wrists and gently pushed her back. Victoria pouted like a three-year-old.

“I didn’t come to see you.” Liam tilted his chin at Autumn by way of greeting.

He must have come to ask her about the diamond ring. Autumn sighed. Timothy was right. He must need it for something. But, of all places, why had he felt compelled to talk to her here? Autumn wondered if she could slip away undetected. She needed more time with the ring if she was going to discover what happened to the ghost. She retreated toward the steps, but Liam called out, “Autumn!”

She slumped her shoulders and scuttled down the steps.
Just get this over with.
But the moment she came face-to-face with him, she felt this desire to both kiss him and scratch his eyes out at the same time.
What is going on with me?

“Your lip is all puffy,” Autumn said.

Liam arched his brows so high Autumn thought they’d fly off his forehead. “Uh, yeah. That’s what happens when someone bites your lip.”

Autumn glanced from Victoria to Liam and grimaced.

Liam’s eyes widened. “Uh, no.”

Autumn shrugged. “What you do in your own time is your business.”

Liam crossed his arms and stared intently at her. She fidgeted under his gaze.

“You mean, you don’t remember?” he asked.

“Remember what?”

Liam’s eyes darted to Victoria, who stood there with her hands on her hips. “I think we should talk about this later.”

Victoria’s lip curled up. “How do you even know each other?”

This time, Liam answered. “I work for her great aunt.”

“At the haunted hotel?” Victoria’s eyebrows shot up into perfectly manicured arches.