Dead Is a State of Mind (2 page)

"No, it's okay," she said.

I was ladling out the soup when the doorbell rang. Rose went to get it. I could tell it was Nicholas by the tone of her voice. I telepathically picked up on a stray thought of hers that made its way into the dining room.
Trouble.
What did Rose mean?

She came back with Nicholas a minute later.

"Hello, Nicholas," Mom said.

"Mrs. Giordano," he said. "Just who I wanted to talk to."

"Mort's Mortuary is having a few problems," Rose explained. "Nicholas and his dad would like us to look into it."

Instead of saying yes, Mom said, "Please sit down. We'll talk about it as we eat."

Poppy helped me to dish up the plates, and then we sat in silence for a moment as we ate.

"What kind of problems?" Mom finally said.

"Things have been ... out of place," Nicholas admitted.

I asked eagerly, "You think it's something supernatural?" My specialty. "Someone at school mentioned she'd seen lights and heard strange noises coming from the building. What's going on?"

"Let's just say that the Tranquility Room hasn't been very tranquil," he said.

" They're not sure what's causing the disturbance," Rose said. "Mom, can you help them?"

"We can try. I'll see if I can get a reading."

Just then her cell phone went off. "It's Chief Mendez. I'll have to take this." My mom worked with the Nightshade police squad on a lot of cases.

She put the phone to her ear and had a low-voiced conversation. When she hung up, she said, "Nicholas, I'm afraid we'll have to table this for another time. I've been called to a case. But tell your dad the girls and I will be glad to help."

She stood and came over to kiss my forehead. "Daisy, dinner was delicious."

"But you've hardly touched your pasta. And it's your favorite," I protested.

"Save it for me. I'll eat it when I get home." She left the room.

"Let's go over to Mort's and see if we can get a reading," Rose suggested.

"But what about Mom?" Poppy said.

"You heard her," Rose replied. "She said 'the girls and I'will help."

My help? Doubtful. My psychic powers were not the most reliable, even at the best of times.

Chapter Three

When we arrived at Mort's, Nicholas unlocked the door and let us in. I guessed the locked door meant there wasn't a viewing scheduled. Good thing. I'd seen exactly one dead person (or, as it turned out, undead) and I wasn't looking forward to seeing another.

We checked in with Mr. Bone, who was sitting in his office. Not much wiped the smile from Mort's face, but the chaos in the mortuary had left him pale under his golfer's tan. He showed us where the trouble was and retreated quickly. The Tranquility Room was the nicest room at the funeral home, decorated in tasteful beiges. A large fire roared in the fireplace.

"Who lit that fire?" Rose asked.

Nicholas shrugged. "Nobody knows. That's the problem."

"What is that smell?" I asked. It sure wasn't funeral flowers.

"It's cologne," Poppy replied, sniffing the air. "Dreamer by Versace, to be specific."

Since when had she become a men's fragrance expert? Then I remembered the parade of one-time-onlys that had crossed our threshold in the past few months. Not one, single guy had been granted a repeat date.

"Which one of your guys used that?"

She stared at me for a minute. "None of them," she said. "Don't you remember? It's what Dad always smelled like."

I tried not to wince. I didn't remember. In fact, I didn't want to remember.

"I guess that means our ghost is most likely a male," Rose said.

"Do you think it's him?" Poppy said hopefully.

"No, Poppy, I don't think it's our dead father paying us a long-overdue visit," I snapped. "In the first place, he's probably living in Ohio with some woman, a pack of kids, and a minivan."

I could feel someone watching me. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. We weren't alone. A large vase on the mantel started to shake. The vase rocked faster and faster until it flew off the mantel and whizzed by my head. It crashed to the floor and shattered.

I turned to Poppy. "Did you do that?" I thought she might be playing tricks with her telekinesis again. But she wouldn't scare the heck out of me just for kicks. Humiliate me, yes. Like when I borrowed one of her sweaters without permission, and it floated off me during my first date, leaving me hanging in the breeze.

Poppy looked pale and frightened. "No way!"

"This sort of thing has been happening constantly," Nicholas said. "The room is unusable."

"Looks like a textbook haunting to me," Rose said.

The fire roared higher and higher until I thought it was going to jump out of the hearth. Despite the heat of the flames, the room was terribly cold.

Suddenly, the fire went out, leaving the room full of smoke. When it cleared, I saw Poppy picking up a small piece of paper off the floor.

"Look at this," she said to us. "It's a funeral card. For a guy named Gage Atwood. He died last year around this time."

Rose peered at the card. "Amazing," she murmured.

"Whoever he is, he seems pretty ticked off," I said, looking at the shards of broken glass littering the floor.

"Can we check your dad's records for Gage Atwood?" Rose asked Nicholas. "It might help us if we find out how he died."

They left the Tranquility Room, leaving me with a troubled-looking Poppy.

"I'm sorry what I said before—about Dad." I said quietly. The truth was, we didn't know whether he was living or dead. But either way, he was gone.

"It's okay," she said, grabbing a tissue from a box on a small side table. It was a funeral home, after all. The place was littered with them. "I just need to be alone for a few minutes."

"Here?" I looked around the room. I could still feel a presence. "I don't know if you're alone, exactly."

"I don't mind," Poppy said.

"Are you sure it's okay to leave you?"

"He threw a vase at you, not me." She waved me off. "Go ahead. I'll see you at Slim's."

I left her in the wrecked room but stood in the hallway out of sight for a few seconds before leaving. It sounded like Poppy was trying to talk to the ghost. I checked my watch and finally decided she'd be safe enough. Rose, Nicholas, and Mr. Bone were there if she got into any real trouble.

If I'd had any idea what was going to happen, I would never have left her alone with a ghost. Not for a second. So much for my psychic skills.

Chapter Four

Slim's was your basic fifties-type diner. Red-leather booths, lots of stainless steel, and a permanent greasy smell. One of the servers was Flo, a fixture at Slim's, who waited on you if and when she felt like it. If you ever had the nerve to hand her a pink uniform, she would have handed you your head on a platter, with a little garnish of parsley.

Flo was in her early twenties, with serious tats. Her uniform consisted of blue jeans and a variety of T-shirts. Today's shirt read,
COME TO THE DARK SIDE. I HAVE COOKIES.

The diner was crowded, and I spotted a bunch of kids from school clustered around Duke at a booth in the back. I wasn't in the mood to worship the new guy—fortunately, there were still a few empty tables by the door. I sat down to wait for Poppy. The door jingled and I looked up. It was a stranger, a girl about my own age. She had long dark hair and gorgeous full lips, but it was her unusual amber eyes that sent a shiver through me. She hurried to the counter to pick up a to-go order.

"Three rare steaks, right?" I heard her ask Flo.

The jukebox abruptly kicked on, although no one had put in any money. None of the regular clientele even looked up. Everyone at Slim's was getting used to the jukebox's weird ways. It played whatever it wanted, whenever it wanted to play it. The song it had decided on this time was "Lovers and Liars" by Matchbook Romance. Sometimes I felt like the jukebox—which I liked to call Lil—was trying to send me messages with its song choices, but I didn't always quite get what it was trying to tell me. As I pondered the meaning, the mysterious girl slipped past me out of the diner and into the night.

Duke spotted me sitting alone and broke free from his clinging admirers.

"Daizee," he said. He practically had to bodycheck Penny to get her off his arm. He came rushing over.

"Hi, Duke." He was everywhere these days.

"Would you like to join us? I'm reading tea leaves for some of my new friends."

"Uh, thanks, but I'm waiting for my sister."

"I would be honored if you would introduce us," he said. He looked so hopeful that I couldn't say no.

"Sure," I said. "She should be here any minute."

Just then, Poppy walked in and plopped down in a chair. I noticed she had a rather large bandage on her hand.

"What happened?" I asked anxiously. I was ready to kill that ghost for hurting my sister, except for the obvious fact that he was already dead.

"It's nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing."

Poppy shot me a warning look and then looked at Duke. "Are you going to introduce me to your friend, Daisy?"

"Oh, yeah, this is Duke Sherrad," I said, still distracted by the thought of a violent ghost.

"So pleased to meet you, Poppy," Duke said, and kissed her unbandaged hand. She blushed. This guy didn't quit. After charming my sister for a few minutes, he said, "Please excuse me. I need to obtain fresh tea leaves for the reading."

" The reading?" Poppy said it with a straight face, but she had a gleam in her eyes when she looked at me.

I glanced at an imaginary spot above her head. It wasn't polite to laugh in someone's face. "Flo will get you a tea bag if you ask."

"I have my own loose tea," he explained, "but I need a fresh cup and some hot water."

He'd passed the first test. If he would have used a tea bag instead of the proper loose tea, it would have given him away as a phony.

As soon as Duke left the table, I went back to hounding Poppy about her injury. "So what did that ghost do to you?" I demanded.

"He was just a little ... irritated, what with being dead and all, but we came to an understanding."

"Did he happen to mention what's got him in an uproar?"

"Nope, but I read him the riot act. He helped me clean up."

"He what?"

Poppy looked at me with amusement. "Just because he's incorporeal doesn't mean he shouldn't have to take responsibility for being a jerk."

She looked especially pretty with some color in her cheeks. She was wearing a hoodie that exactly matched her eyes. Ghost or plain old guy, he was no match for Poppy's big blue eyes. She glanced over to where Duke was leaning on the counter. "So what's up with this new guy?" she asked. "He's hot. And he seems rather anxious to please you."

"Unlike my boyfriend." I muttered it underneath my breath, but Poppy heard me.

She raised an eyebrow. "Trouble in paradise?"

"It's nothing," I said.

She raised her eyebrows. "It doesn't sound like nothing to me," she said.

I gave in. "It's just that ... Ryan hasn't asked me to prom yet. And I think something else might be wrong—"

Just then, Duke came back with a steaming teapot and cups. "First the tea must steep," he announced. "You must drink it first. It is the finest tea from China."

"Me?" I said. "No way. I'm not doing it."

Poppy mouthed, "Chicken."

I glared at her and then snatched up the teacup. "I'll do it." I blew on the tea gently to cool it and then sipped it slowly.

"Now take the cup and swish it like this." Duke demonstrated by cupping my hand in his. His hand lingered as he did it, and Poppy stared at us as if mesmerized.

I handed him the cup, and he peered into it.

"I see a chain," he said. "It's broken, I'm afraid."

"So?"

"It means that you have a hidden enemy," Duke said.

I glanced across the restaurant at Penny, who glared daggers at us. Maybe my enemy wasn't exactly hidden, after all. I relaxed my shoulders. Big deal, Penny Edwards didn't like me. It wasn't going to make headlines, not even in the front pages of the
Nightshade Gazette.

Poppy was chattering away to Duke. It wasn't hard to figure out that Duke was a flirt, but I was a little miffed that he'd transferred his interest from me to my sister so easily. He was a good listener, though. He didn't talk much about himself, but instead spent the whole time asking Poppy about herself.

The bell jingled over the front door again, and I looked up, hoping to see Ryan. But it was only a couple of the teachers from school.

A minute later, Duke said, "Please excuse me. It has been a pleasure to become more well acquainted with the two of you, but I have seen someone I must speak with."

After he left our table, I used the opportunity to try to convince a reluctant Poppy to head for home. I wanted to look something up. Did a broken chain even symbolize a hidden enemy, or was Duke bluffing?

She glanced around Slim's, and I knew she was looking for Duke, but there was no sign of him. He must have slipped out when we weren't looking.

"I made peach ice cream," I coaxed. It was Poppy's favorite, so we were soon headed back to our house.

Rose and Mom still weren't back when we got home. Mom always said she worked late on this or that case, but I wondered if she spent some of her time doing something else. It had even crossed my mind that she was dating Chief Mendez on the sly. They did spend a lot of time together, but somehow I just couldn't quite picture it, especially since I was dating his son.

And a part of me didn't like the idea of someone replacing my father, even though he'd been the one to leave. Or vanish, to be completely accurate. One minute, my father was a devoted, loving husband and dad; the next, he was just ... gone. The rumors swirled that he'd abandoned us for another woman, but we never found out for sure.

Maybe that's what Mom was up to. Whatever she was doing, I was sure she was hiding something.

I combed our bookshelves looking for a book on tea reading, but I couldn't find anything.

"Poppy, have you seen a book about fortune-telling anywhere?" I called out. "I was sure Mom had one here."

"Mom isn't some hack like your friend at the diner," Poppy said, emerging from the kitchen, her mouth full of peach ice cream. "She's a professional." I guessed my sister's infatuation with Duke was over. Poppy could be temperamental, but she was usually a pretty good judge of guys.

I continued scanning the shelves. Mom had tons of books on the paranormal, a couple on police procedures, a few novels, and Dad's old textbooks. I avoided those, then finally found what I was looking for.
The Big Book of Fortune-Telling
told me that a broken chain did indeed mean a hidden enemy. But did that mean Duke was the real deal or just good at research?

The next morning, I saw Ryan in the quad during the mid-morning break.

"Daisy, there's something I want to talk to you about," he said.

Duke Sherrad's arrival interrupted Ryan's train of thought.

"Daizee, how are you this morning? I was unavoidably detained last night and couldn't return to continue our talk."

"It's okay, really," I said.

"What conversation?" Ryan said.

"Poppy and I ran into Duke at Slim's last night."

Ryan frowned but didn't say anything. I could tell he was upset.

When the bell rang, Duke walked with me to class. Ryan didn't. He stomped off in the other direction, with a curt "See you after school." I wanted to remind him that he'd see me in gym class, but I didn't think he was in the mood for any smart remarks.

I could count on the fingers of one hand how many months we'd been dating, but he was taking me for granted already?

I sulked my way through statistics and then stomped off to enjoy lunch by myself, but Duke caught up with me.

"Daizee, please allow me to take you to lunch to apologize for abandoning you. I did not mean to leave you or your charming sister." He looked so earnest that I couldn't say no. I didn't have any plans with Ryan or anything. Besides, it was a bit of a pleasure to get Penny's nose out of joint. She was hovering so hard that I finally took pity on her, though.

"Penny, would you like to join us?"

She shrugged but then trailed after us to stand in the lunch line. To my surprise, Ryan was right in front of us. He grabbed my hand. "Hey, sorry I was so grumpy earlier. I'll buy you lunch to make up for it."

Why was everyone suddenly trying to feed me? "I'm having lunch with Duke—and Penny," I added hurriedly when his face started to cloud. "Why don't you join us?"

He grabbed his tray and went to pay without a backward glance. I sighed. I wasn't any good at this relationship stuff. Where was Samantha when I needed her? She had Sean wrapped around her well-manicured finger, and I needed boyfriend tips.

Luckily, Ryan and I had a standing date on Tuesdays after school—it was the only day he didn't have baseball practice. Today we were going to have the house to ourselves. Poppy had gone back to Mort's for some reason, Mom was at a forensics seminar in Santa Cruz, and Rose was out with Nicholas.

I raced around the kitchen. I wanted the night to be perfect. I felt like I hadn't spent any time alone with Ryan in forever. I was sure we'd be able to clear up all our misunderstandings after a little quality time together. Maybe he'd even take this opportunity to finally ask me to the prom.

When the doorbell rang, I smoothed my hands down the front of my apron to wipe away my suddenly sweaty palms, then took off the apron and went to the door.

I opened it, expecting to see Ryan, but no one was there. I peered out into the night. I would have sworn that I had heard the doorbell.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something moving in the bushes near the front gate. There was a strange snuffling noise and then a squeal, which was abruptly cut off.

I shivered as I closed the door. It dawned on me that I was alone in the house, vulnerable to whatever was out there. I shook the thought off. I was perfectly safe, I told myself. But I still made sure to bolt the door.

The doorbell rang again a few minutes later, and this time Ryan stood in my doorway. But he looked stiff and uncomfortable, almost like this was a first date again.

I invited him in, but he just stood there.

"Is something wrong, Ryan?"

He doubled over, grabbing at his stomach as if in a huge amount of pain.

I put my hand to his forehead. He was burning up.

"Uh," he managed to get out, "I'm not feeling well. We'll have to reschedule."

"Ryan, let me drive you to the doctor or something. You have a fever."

"No!" he said. be fine. It's just a bad ... case of the stomach flu."

It looked like more than the flu to me. His skin had been hot to the touch, and his complexion looked gray. He was shivering uncontrollably.

Before I could do anything else, he bolted, got into his car, and drove away.

I stared after him in disbelief for several minutes, then went inside and shut the door. Boys. Sometimes they were the biggest mystery of all.