End of the Road (Ghost Stories Trilogy #1) (33 page)

Chapter Seventy-Three

Eric’s Jeep wasn’t in the
parking lot at my apartment building. When I got in, I saw the note he left on
the coffee table. It said he was at the gym and had laundry to do. He’d call me
later. I curled up on the sofa and started flipping through the channels.
Nothing held my attention and I grew drowsy, eventually falling asleep.

An annoying buzzing broke
through my slumber and I cracked my eyes. The living room was completely dark
except for the glow from the clock on the cable box and my cell phone, which
was shimmying on the coffee table.

Yawning, I reached for
the phone, but it had already gone to voicemail. Gavin’s number showed as a
missed call. By the time I turned on the lamp next to the sofa, he had left a
message. He was supposed to meet with the medium this afternoon and I quickly
dialed in to retrieve it.

“Hey Elena, it’s
Gavin. So, uh, the meeting went well and Adele is willing to help us, but we
need to go over some stuff first before she commits. Call me back.”

My hands were literally
shaking as I dialed Gavin. He answered on the first ring.

“That was fast,” he said.

“I didn’t get to the
phone in time.”

‘Ah, I hate it when that
happens.”

“Yeah, so what happened
with Adele?”

Gavin launched into a
recap of his meeting. He said Adele was very quiet and calm. She looked at some
of the pictures we had taken of the handwriting in the sand. She listened as
Gavin told her about the ghosts, who they were and what they wanted. “She
really didn’t say much at all, just nodded her head. I thought she’d take notes
or something, but she didn’t. I think she knew what was going on before we even
met.”

“What do you mean?”

“I only mentioned the
ghosts who are still here, not the ones who crossed over. She asked about
them.”

“Holy shit!” I almost
dropped the phone.

“I told you she’s the
real deal.”

“So what does she want in
exchange for helping us?”

“Okay,” he paused and let
out a sigh, “I don’t know if you’re going to like this…”

I imagined the small
amount I had stashed away in my savings account was about to disappear.

“She knows we’ve been
filming and I’m doing this as a project for school.”

“And…”

“She wants the whole
process to be recorded    and wants to be able to use the footage in her
portfolio and on her website as proof of her abilities.”

My stomach dropped at the
idea of going public. Gavin’s class of twelve other film students, half of whom
were probably stoned all the time, was a relatively controlled environment and
a small concession I was willing to make. The experiences with my rescue video
going viral did not endear me to Adele’s stipulation.

“Uh, that’s not going to
work. I think I need to talk to her.”

“Yeah, she figured you
might want to.”

“Of course she did.”

Gavin must have picked up
on my tone. “She’s legit, you’ll see,” he said before reading off Adele’s phone
number.

“Whatever,” I mumbled,
writing down the information on the edge of the newspaper. We said good bye
soon after that.

I was frustrated and
immediately wanted to react by calling Adele to tell her no way. Instead, I
called Eric, knowing he’d be able to talk me down. As his phone rang it dawned
on me how much I missed having him as an outlet. After avoiding calling him at
all costs, I was quickly picking up where we left off.

“Hey,” he answered after
the third ring, sounding out of breath. Muffled music could be heard in the
background along with metallic clanking.

“Are you still at the
gym?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Can you come over when
you’re done? I need to talk to you about the medium Gavin met with today. Oh,
and I told my parents we are back together.”

After a brief pause, he
said, “Okay...be there in a bit.”

Now I was wide awake,
restless and hungry. Figuring Eric would be too, I went into the kitchen to
make something for dinner. Unlike my mom, who has every possible ingredient and
food item under the sun in her pantry, my stores had dwindled to nothing during
the past week. I ordered a pizza to be delivered, then went to freshen up,
hoping Eric would be spending the night.

***

Eric showed up before the
pizza. I opened the door and let him in. His navy tee shirt was traced with white
residue from evaporated sweat. He set his bag down on the floor and pulled me
towards him.

“Ew no, you’re gross!” I
shrieked, but he didn’t stop. I was pressed up against his damp shirt and he
was kissing me despite my protests. I tasted salt on his lips. “You need a shower.”

“Want to join me?” he
asked, arching an eyebrow and giving me a crooked grin.

At that moment I
regretted having ordered a pizza. I shook my head and explained to him why.

“Later then,” he promised,
giving me another sweaty kiss before walking down the hallway to my bedroom.  

I sat at the dinette
table and checked email. My parents must have still been in shock because they
had yet to call.

The pizza arrived and
after paying the young, greasy-haired delivery driver, I locked and bolted the
door. I set the pizza box on the table and grabbed plates from the kitchen.
Eric wandered in and as he walked past me, I inhaled the scent of coconut body
wash. He had used mine and I smiled.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing, you definitely
smell better.”

He pretended to be offended
and reached for a slice of pizza. “So how did it go with your parents?”

“It went surprisingly
well. I’m a little shocked, actually.”

“Really? Your mom didn’t
flip out?”

“No, she didn’t.”

“Huh. Well, that’s good,
right?” I nodded since I was in the middle of inhaling my pizza. He sat down at
the table next to me. “What’s going on with the medium?”

He listened and chewed as
I explained the conversation Gavin had with the medium. Eric was there when I
got my ass handed to me for the video of my rescue. He knew the Sheriff’s
stance on extreme publicity so I fully expected him to share my misgivings.

“I understand your
concern, but this is bigger than anything you have ever done. You’re making a
difference in people’s lives now as a deputy, but imagine what you can do with
your new ability?”

I set my half eaten slice
down on my plate and stared at him, not quite believing what I was hearing.
“Eric, God knows why I started seeing dead people out of the blue. This so
called ability might be gone tomorrow. If I do this and go public, my ass will
be so fired. Why the hell are you all for this now anyway?”

“You’ve been given a gift,
Lena, I see that now.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call
it a gift.”

Eric ran a hand through
his hair and shook his head. “I thought you were crazy and this whole thing was
crazy, but can you imagine being one of them…just stuck there?”

“Yes, I think about it
all the time.” No longer hungry, I picked at the pizza, peeling cheese and
pepperoni off, leaving it in little piles on the side of my plate. “It makes me
realize I don’t want to be alone.”

“Is that why we’re
together again?”

“No. I never stopped
loving you, but Peggy gave me some advice.” 

“Too bad she isn’t around
anymore for me to thank her.” Eric smiled at me before raising a glass of water
to his lips. I watched him swallow, enjoying the movement of the muscles in his
thick neck. “So, what are you going to do about the medium?” he asked and set
his glass down.

“I don’t know. Honestly,
I thought you’d be against her proposal too. I’ll have to sleep on it, I
guess.”

‘That can be arranged,” he
said and reached for my hand, pulling me out of the chair. We went into the
bedroom, leaving our plates and the half eaten pizza abandoned on the table.

Chapter Seventy-Four

I knew what Adele looked
like from visiting her website, but when I first met her, I was surprised. She
was tiny, the very definition of petite and I felt huge next to her. She said
hello in a soft voice and gave me a surprisingly firm handshake before sitting
down.

We agreed to meet at a
small tea house in Old Town Scottsdale. Even though it blended with every other
business from the outside, inside the décor was very Victorian with a lot of
lace and rose-colored fabrics. Dark wood furniture gleamed in the sunlight streaming
through the storefront windows. Our server recognized Adele and within a few
minutes brought a pot of tea over without taking her order.

“Do you like petit fours?”
Adele asked me.

“I don’t think I have
ever tried them.”

“They’re little cakes and
just perfect with afternoon tea.” She requested a tray of petit fours and
turned her attention on me. That’s when I realized her soft voice and neutral
appearance was a cover. The power of her mind was evident in the intensity of
her gaze. The depths of her large, gray eyes told their own story – she had
seen beyond our world.

Windows to your soul
,
I thought and quickly looked away, afraid of what she might be able to discern
from mine. I took a sip of hot tea and cringed, almost choking on the
bitterness. Setting my teacup down, I used small silver tongs to add two cubes
of sugar.

“Not a tea drinker?”
Adele asked.

“No. Pretty obvious,
huh?” I took a tentative sip and relaxed, swishing the now sweet liquid around
in my mouth before swallowing.

“A little bit. You let
the leaves steep too long, so it’s probably really bitter.”

Ah.” I nodded and took
another sip.

Our server returned with
a beautiful polished silver, two-tiered serving tray full of tiny square cakes
that were artfully arranged by color of frosting; like a painter’s palette all
in pastel blues, pinks and yellows.

I placed two cakes on a
porcelain dessert plate decorated with a delicate floral pattern and didn’t
know if I should fancy myself a fashionable lady at tea or if I was Alice
meeting the Mad Hatter.

“So, you have concerns
about what I want,” Adele said, getting right to the point.

“Yes, what I agreed to
have filmed so far is for Gavin’s class and not for the public. I’m a private
person and need to preserve my anonymity – especially if I want to keep my
job.”

“Is that what you want
even after being given the sight?”

“The sight?”

“The ability to see
spirits. It’s hard to maintain normalcy when you can see things others can’t.”

“When did you start
seeing ghosts?” I asked before popping another petit four in my mouth.

“I can’t remember a time
when I didn’t see them. My parents said I always stared at things they couldn’t
see and I had too many weird imaginary friends for their liking.” She laughed,
but I could tell it was forced. “They’re accepting of who I am, but I don’t
think they really understand it. You’re different though. To just suddenly be
able to see spirits, not to mention interact with them, is rare.” She cradled
her tea cup with both hands and leaned back in her chair. The antique wood
creaked in protest. “Your ability is powerful. Are you sure you never
interacted with ghosts before?”

“Yes, I’m positive.”

“Hmmm…” She tapped a
forefinger against the porcelain and stared past me, deep in thought. “So you
don’t know the woman who is serving us is in fact a ghost?”

I coughed and sprayed tea
across my cake plate. Brown liquid dribbled down my chin, which was practically
resting on my chest since my mouth hung open with astonishment. “What? No!”

Leaning forward, Adele
placed her tea cup back in its saucer and stood up. She whispered something,
but I only saw her lips move. Suddenly the waitress materialized out of nowhere
and appeared next to our table. Aside from her grand entrance, the young woman appeared
as solid as a regular human. Her clothes, a long floral skirt and white
t-shirt, may have been a decade behind in fashion trends, but seemed normal
enough.

She looked at me
expectantly. Her eyes were kind and the corners crinkled up when she smiled.
“Hello, I’m Amelia.” She held her hand out and after a brief hesitation I took
it. I was able to shake her hand and this is where the likeness to being human
stopped. It felt like I was squeezing a water balloon; cold, soft and squishy.
Not a real hand made up of bone and muscle covered with skin. I resisted the
urge to rub my palm against my jeans afterwards. Amelia continued to stand next
to me so I took the time to really examine her. She had long dirty blonde hair
with bangs that framed her face and a slender build. There was something
familiar about her; especially her wide set gray eyes.

“Wait a minute,” I glanced
back and forth between Amelia and Adele, noticing the similarities. “Is she a
relative of yours?”

Adele smiled and said,
“Yes, Adele’s my twin sister. She died eight years ago.”

That was it - Amelia was
a younger version of Adele. “Wow, are you, um, were you a medium too?”

“Yes.”

“Why are you still here?”
I asked, beginning to doubt Adele’s ability to help me if her own sister’s
ghost was still hanging around.

“I can leave anytime I
want and have crossed over before, but I come back when I miss Dilly or if I
sense that she needs me. She called on me to be here today to test your sight.”

I thought about Juanita,
Tobin and Peggy. They never returned once they crossed over.

“Is that normal? Can
spirits come and go as they please?”

“No, it’s not,” Adele
answered. “I think Milly – sorry, Amelia - is one of the exceptions because of
her extrasensory abilities…and mine. Plus, we’re so tightly connected.”

“Huh.” This new
information was interesting, but confusing too.

I’d already run a
background check on Adele and knew her twin sister had died - a suicide if I
remembered correctly- and her website claimed that she called on the spirit of
her sister, I just thought it was bullshit. Clearly there was a lot I needed to
learn.

We eyed each other across
the table while Amelia glanced nervously back and forth between us like a
referee waiting for a player to make the first move. I broke the silence.

“Listen, this isn’t going
to work if we don’t trust each other. You know what I want and Gavin explained
your terms to me. I’d prefer to do this anonymously because my job is on the
line.”

“I understand that, but I
need to get something out of this in return and I prefer to use my ability as a
business.”

“So, I’ll pay you.”

“No. Evidence – proof
that I’m legitimate and not of those annoying fakes – is worth more money.
Besides, you have a gift, Elena. It’s okay to embrace it.”

“I understand that. What
if you blur my face out and don’t mention my name?” I countered.

“To have a member of law
enforcement involved. That endorsement is so valuable,” she said, leaning
forward, practically pleading.

“No, I can’t do it.” I
started to stand and Adele held her hand out gesturing for me to wait so I did.
A few minutes passed and Adele let out a sigh.

“Okay, fine, we’ll do it
your way,” she said. “I agree to those terms.”

I sat back down on the
velvet cushioned seat and smiled, more out of relief than satisfaction. We’d
reached a compromise and I was one step closer to keeping my promise.