Grave Possession (Wraith 3) (11 page)

“So, basically, you had a totally unhelpful talk with a ghost.”

“Pretty much.”

I sighed. “I’ll try to do some research, but I’m not sure what all I can dig up on this one. Maybe we just need to try to convince her to move on.”

“After a century or so? Doubtful.”

Annoyed that Connor didn’t offer any of his own ideas, I picked up my pace and put my
headphones back in. He caught up quickly, but kept quiet. We jogged side by side for a couple of miles until we looped back toward the dorm. When the building came in sight he said, “Jane?”

I turned down the music.

“I’m sorry about the other day – before break. That was really inappropriate.”

I kept my eyes forward. “No harm done.”

“It was rude. I know you’re dating Louis and that’s not cool.”

“Yeah, I didn’t tell him if that’s what you want to know.”

“You didn’t?” he asked.

We neared the dorm and I slowed to a walk. “No. We only had so much time together and I didn’t really want to spend it talking about you.”

“Oh.”

“Thanks for the run,” I said, catching my breath. “I would have slept in if you hadn’t texted.”

He smirked. “I know.”

I play-punched him in the arm. “Since when did you become the responsible one between the two of us?”

“People change,” he said, walking away backwards. “Sometimes for the better.”

I was well aware that people changed. I just needed to know if it was going to stick. For good.

*

Procrastination sucked for my classwork, but it was perfect for mindlessly researching
ghostie stuff on the Internet. I started by searching the dorm address. Until recently, it was a hotel. This made it easier to find basic information. Unfortunately, most of it focused on the conversion done by the college.

I entered variations of Hazel’s name and came up empty. I added a couple of other terms: child, murder, armed gunman, but nothing surfaced. Nothing related to her at least.

A slew of strange stories popped up though. Disappearances. One woman gave birth to healthy twins in the bathroom. Numerous police calls. The most bizarre was a spontaneous combustion in a third floor bathroom. Weird stuff, but nothing that seemed relevant to Hazel.

I closed the laptop in frustration. Leaving Ava a note, I grabbed my coat and headphones, locking the door behind me.

“Oh, sorry,” I said, pulling up short so I didn’t bump into Denise, one of the girls on the hall. She’d just exited the bathroom.

“No problem,” she said, walking past me, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

“Hey, girl, what’s up?” Amber asked, also coming out of the bathroom.

“Not much.”

“I’ve been meaning to tell you, I keep running into your ex.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yep,” she said, raising her eyebrows and biting her bottom lip. “I had this idea for my design project and I needed a tagger. His name came up.”

“Ah, right.” I took a couple steps down the hallway, attempting an escape. No luck. She followed close behind. “Connor’s definitely talented in the art of tagging.”

“I know. His stuff is really great.”

“He showed you his sketchbook and photos?”

“Yes, but then I asked to see the real deal,” she grinned. “He took me to see his current work. He’s staked out some area down near the beach. I’m hoping we can go back again.”

“Sounds awesome.” I fake-checked the time on my phone. I’m not jealous that he’d taken her to see his work and not me. Not at all.

I was such a lying liar that lies, but Amber didn’t need to know that.

“Uh, I’ve got to go run some errands before I head back to the studio. I’ll see you later, okay?”

I rushed off before she could respond, because really, no. Just no. I don’t have time for some sort of Connor and Amber relationship drama. Mostly because I don’t want to think about it. Even if they were just friends and it was just some kind of project-related situation. I had my own priorities, like figuring out what was going on with Hazel and the creepy dream I had. Hazel bothered me because she was a little girl – like Tonya – and it seemed even more important to help her.

I wandered around campus thinking about Hazel until I found myself in front of Connor’s dorm. I considered leaving, but how many times had he shown up at my room unannounced? And this was business. Not pleasure. I took a deep breath and waited until someone walked out. I slipped in behind them since I didn’t have a security number. Sure, I could call Connor and he’d let me in, but what if he wasn’t home? Did I want him to know I just happened across this dorm? What if he thought I was implying something else? Something more? Ugh. It was easier just dropping by.

At the top of the first flight of stairs, I passed two guys and asked, “Can you point me toward Connor Jacobs’ room?”

“Third door down,” one said, giving me a look over.

“Thanks.”

I found the door cracked open and him playing video games on his bed. I knocked once and his eyes met mine.

“Hey,” he said, scrambling to his feet. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you about something,” I said, peering into his room. I saw someone against the far wall. “Oh, sorry.”

“Yeah,” he said, rubbing his neck. “They’re fixing my heater.”

“I’m about finished,” I heard. I looked over at the fix-it guy and realize it’s the same man who repaired our bathroom leak. He knelt in front of the furnace and adjusted a series of levers. “Some kind of glitch with the thermostat, I think. I need to order a part.” He turned around and saw me.

“Hi.” I waved.

“We meet again,” he said.

Connor tilted his head. “You know each other?”

“Just in passing – we have a chronic bathroom problem at the dorm,” I said.

Mr. Williams picked up his tools and sorted them into his tool box. He stood up and walked to the door. “That may hold for a couple of days, but I’ll get the part and be back next week, okay?”

“Thanks. We’ve been burning up in here.”

“Yep. Broken thermostat,” Mr. Williams repeated and left with his hand up in a wave.

Connor closed the door and leaned against it. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Hazel.”

“Did you find anything?”

“No – nothing. Except that this hotel/dorm used to have some freaky weird stuff going on.”

“Like what?”

“Well, let’s just hope that none of the ghosts that bug you are from the spontaneous combustion situation.”

He gave me an odd look but said nothing. He rolled out his desk chair and offered it to me. I sat, noticing how clean his side of the room was. Connor’s room at home had been a disaster.

“Very tidy,” I said, eyeing his made bed.

“One of those program quirks, I guess. It’s funny, when I got home from the hospital I was even messier than before. I think just because I could be. But the wilderness program taught me a lot about responsibility and stuff.” He shrugged. “Makes it easier to have friends over without them seeing all your crap.”

I didn’t want to know what sort of friends he was impressing with a neat bed, so I let that comment pass. “So, yeah, other than some weird hotel deaths, I’m at a standstill with Hazel.”

“She’s not bothering anyone, so it can probably wait.”

“I don’t like to let these situations linger. I learned my lesson with that one. I’d rather figure it out and move on.”

“What do you suggest then?” He leaned his back against the wall, letting his long legs hang over the edge of the bed.

“Can we talk to the other guy? Maybe he knows something.”

“You think they’re in cahoots or something?” he asked.

“No, not
cahoots
. But Hazel is really young. Maybe this guy knows something she doesn’t understand.”

“Okay, we can try that. I usually see him at night – out front. Can you come back later? It will be quieter around here and since it’s cold not many people will be outside.”

“Sure.” A drawing across the room caught my eye and I stood up to study it. It was a charcoal with scary faces and gnashed teeth. Not the kind of artwork I’d want hanging over my bed every night.

“Tom made that – he’s into all this super-dark stuff. I don’t even know what it’s all about. Don’t want to either.”

“Is he an okay roommate?”

“He’s fine. Sort of quiet. He’s actually a sophomore. I’m not sure how he got stuck with a freshman.”

“Probably a punishment of some kind,” I laughed.

An amused grin crossed his lips. “What? Living with me is a punishment?”

My phone buzzed and I checked the messages and saw that Ava was ready for dinner. “I’ve got to go. What time do you want me to come back?”

“Eleven? Want me to walk you over?”

That seemed like a bad idea. Too much time alone. “No, um, do you care if I bring Ava back with me?”

“It’s your conversation. Fine by me.”

I walked to the door and rested a hand on the knob. “We’ll be back at 11.”

“I’ll see you then,” he said. He’d closed the distance between us and I couldn’t deny the fiery charge I felt. But I resisted it because I just can’t even go there. Not in my mind. Not with my body.

I left his room and listened to the door click behind me. I took a deep breath and walked away.

*

“You guys seem a little under-prepared,” Ava said, holding up the juju bag around her neck. We’re sitting around a picnic table on the grounds outside Connor’s dorm. She’s got on combat boots, black jeans and leather gloves. She also had a backpack filled with supplies, including the Shadow Bound book, “just in case.”

“I tried to explain to her it wouldn’t be like last time,” I told Connor, pointing to the container of salt.

“We’re just talking to him. Helping him. I doubt he has nefarious ideas.”

“Yeah, you thought that last time, too.” She narrowed her eyes accusingly at Connor. “How do you plan on getting this guy’s attention anyway?”

“We call him?” I suggested. “Hey, ghost dude…”

Connor rolled his eyes. “He’ll appear. I see him down here all the time.”

Ava looked skeptical. “Why are you down here all the time?” From the look of things, this was a smokers’ area.

He lifted his ridiculously broad shoulders. “I hang out down here with friends.”

“This is a co-ed dorm, right?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

Ava and I shared a look. Connor was impossible to get details out of. Always had been.

“Hold up,” he said, standing up. We followed his gaze and I spotted the ghost. A man in his 40s or so, wearing a brown suit. It looked dated, with a wide collar and baggy legs, like it was from the 70s or something.

“What?” Ava asked, her eyes searching the grounds. “Do you see him?”

“Over there,” I pointed. “That’s him, right?”

“Yeah,” Connor nodded.

“What do we do?” I asked.

“I’ll go over,” he said.

I frowned. “Alone? No. I’m going too.”

“Jane.”

“Connor.”

We stared hard at one another. I know I had on my angry-belligerent face, my “don’t mess with me,” face. He just looked worried.

Ava groaned and said, “You both go and I’ll wait here. Stop being morons.”

I led the way and Connor shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets. We approached the confused-looking man and Connor said, “Hey, man. What’s going on?”

“Um, nothing.”

“You look sort of lost.”

He frowned, thick lines creased his forehead. I noticed purplish bruising around his neck. “I’m looking for…”

“For what?” I prompted.

When he didn’t respond, Connor said, “We can help you. What do you remember?”

“Not much. I just was in my hotel room one minute and then… I’ve just been wandering around out here for a while. I can’t remember my room number.” He rubbed his forehead.

“Were you with someone?” I interjected.

“No. Well, I’m not sure. My memory is fuzzy.”

“Do you know your name? Where we are?” Connor pressed.

He shook his head.

Something I read popped into my mind and I said, “Um, Connor can I talk to you for a second?”

“Yeah,” he frowned, but said to the man, “Don’t go anywhere.”

We walked back over to Ava. She looked between us expectantly. “What’s going on?”

“Remember how I did some research on the motel and found all kinds of weird stuff?”

“Yeah.”

“There was this one guy who showed up with amnesia. Couldn’t remember anything, not his name or address. They had to take him to the hospital. The story implied that he had suffered head injury. Maybe that’s him and he just showed up here when you moved in.”