Grave Shadows (21 page)

Chapter 86

I felt numb the whole next day.
The same feelings came back as after we learned our dad had died in the plane crash. We wanted the whole world to stop, but it didn’t. Everything kept on going like it was normal. Bryce and I didn’t feel like doing anything, but we agreed it would be good to keep going with our investigation.

“Okay, back to the last stuff Jeff said. What’s it mean?”

Bryce scratched his head. “I’ve been trying to think of some place we went only once. The whole bike trip was the first time we’d been to those places. But I still don’t know who DM is. And how could he know we were trying to solve a mystery?”

“Maybe he figured it out.”

“Yeah, I still had my helmet on when I talked with you.”

Ashley snapped her fingers. “Wait, maybe he meant the trip you, me, and Hayley took.”

Bryce stared at me.

At the same time we both said, “The tree house!”

We wanted to take our ATVs, but Sam has a rule about us not riding on main roads. Bryce suggested we call Hayley, and we met her at her aunt’s house. From there it was up the hill toward the haunted house.

We brought Hayley up to date on what we had learned, and she said they had heard nothing further about Gunnar. We rode side by side until a car came. Then we rode single file. Once a dark car passed us and kicked up so much dust we had to pull over and let it settle.

I couldn’t help thinking of Jeff. It seemed like only a few days ago that we were riding and laughing together. The road seemed even longer now. Finally, the house came into view. Instead of stopping and enjoying it, the three of us raced around the hill, past the house, and on to the graveyard. The way the shadows hit it made it look spooky.

I looked for the spot where Jeff had said his grave would be. There was no gravedigger in sight or upturned dirt.

We climbed up the tree and looked around. There were some old magazines piled in a corner and a couple of stumps Jeff used for seats. Jeff kept a waterproof radio on a branch, but we couldn’t find it. Bryce said Jeff and his dad had built it together and kept it up here to listen to Rockies games.

There was some plastic in the corner, and Bryce reached it before me. He pulled it away, but the space underneath was empty.

“I guess this tarp is in case it rains.”

Hayley sat on one of the stumps. We tried to think of any place all three of us had been with Jeff in the past few weeks. “I can’t think of anywhere else unless it’s in there,” Hayley said, pointing to the haunted house.

Bryce looked at the house. “It’s worth a try.”

Chapter 87

The sun was going down behind the mountain
when we walked inside the run-down kitchen. The old house was so big, I didn’t know where to start. Ashley walked quickly into the dining room, and I followed. On top of a ramshackle table sat a box, its top covered.

“This wasn’t here the last time we came,” Ashley said.

I grabbed the cover and pulled it off. We all gasped. The signed football, several pictures, and other memorabilia were inside.

“How did Jeff leave this here without us seeing?” Hayley said. “He stayed behind while we came in, didn’t he?”

I nodded. “He came in the secret entrance, but I don’t think he would have had time to put it here.”

Ashley shook her head. “I don’t get it.”

“Maybe Jeff didn’t bring this stuff in here,” Hayley said. “Maybe it was somebody else.”

“Who?”

“The construction guy,” Ashley said.

“How would Jeff know about that guy?” I said.

“Wait, is this all the stuff?” Hayley said.

“No,” I said. “There’s a lot still missing.”

A board creaked above us, and the three of us held our breath. I knew the windows upstairs were broken and that wind blew through and made noise, but this didn’t sound like wind.

“Keep talking like we didn’t hear anything,” I whispered.

“What are you going to do?” Ashley said.

I didn’t answer and stole outside through the kitchen. Ashley said something, and as I passed the broken window at the side I heard Hayley give a nervous laugh.

I found the secret entrance and slipped inside, taking the stairs two at a time, slowly, testing them to make sure I didn’t make noise. I held on to the sides of the narrow passage, supporting myself by pushing my hands against both sides. At the top of the stairs I paused and listened. All I could hear was Ashley and Hayley talking below.

I sucked in some air, grabbed the doorknob, and burst into the room.

A man with a full beard jumped back, losing his footing and tumbling. It was like a tiger being scared by a kitten.

Something on the floor caught my eye. I walked forward, my stomach in a knot. “That’s Jeff’s radio. What are you doing with it?”

He looked at it, then scrambled to his feet and headed for the door. He stopped short, staring at the hallway like another kitten had jumped at him.

Hayley and Ashley reached the top of the stairs.

“Gunnar?” Hayley said. “Is that you?”

Chapter 88

Gunnar reeled when he saw Hayley.
She stepped toward him like she wanted to hug him, but he moved back, looking at Bryce and the passage he was blocking.

“We’ve all been worried about you,” Hayley said. “Have you been here all this time?”

Gunnar clenched his teeth. “You don’t know what you’ve just done. All three of you. You have to promise you won’t tell anybody where I am.”

“Why?” Bryce said. “Give us a reason.”

“Yeah, especially since you stole a sick kid’s stuff,” I said.

“What are you talking about?”

I pointed at the floor. “The radio and the stuff downstairs. It’s Jeff’s. Why’d you steal it?”

“You’re crazy,” he said.

My stomach boiled. “Jeff’s dead. What were you going to do, sell it after you waited long enough?”

“I found a box under the plastic out there and brought it in. The radio too.” He ran his hands through his brown hair. I’d seen Gunnar’s picture at Hayley’s aunt’s house and in the newspaper. Though he looked haggard, there was something about him that was kind of cute.

“You have to leave and not tell anybody you saw me,” he said.

“We’re not going anywhere until you tell us what’s going on,” Bryce said. I could tell he meant it by the tone of his voice. “Why did you drown your Jeep? Why’d you leave your dog?”

“How is Jenny?”

“Fine,” Hayley said. “But answer the question. What’s going on?”

Gunnar paced in front of the window. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling and wafted in the breeze. This was the man everyone in Colorado was looking for.

Bryce pulled out his cell phone. “I’ve had enough of this.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you. Put that away.”

Bryce shoved the phone in his pocket and crossed his arms, still standing in front of the exit.

“I got in some trouble,” Gunnar said. “I had to run.”

Bryce waved a hand and pulled his phone out again. “Forget it. I’m calling the—”

“All right, I borrowed some money from some goons and couldn’t pay them back. I had to make it look like I was hurt or something.”

“Those guys who came to your house?” Hayley said.

Gunnar’s face turned white. “What did they look like?”

“Gorillas,” I said. “Nicely dressed gorillas. Arms the size of tree trunks. Sunglasses. Shiny car. One of them looked like a shark with his shiny suit.”

“That’s them,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t think they’d bother Mom.” He turned. “That kid who was with you—did he really die?”

Bryce nodded. “Yesterday.”

“You gotta believe me. I didn’t take his stuff. I was just looking through it and found the radio. There was a videodisc in there too. Had the name
Bryce
on it.”

“That’s me,” Bryce said.

“I’ll get it for you.” He rummaged through some plastic bags that looked like they were half trash, half uneaten stuff. “I know it’s in here somewhere.”

“Why did you need the money?” Hayley said.

He stopped rummaging and looked at her. “I made a few trips up to Cripple Creek.”

“Gambling?” Bryce said.

Gunnar nodded. “I’d been up there a few times and had done pretty well. I thought if I could get out of the hole I was in and show Taryn, she’d change her mind about me.”

“And you’d just quit gambling?”

“Yeah. That was the plan. But the more I played, the further behind I got. There was this guy offering loans. I didn’t have much other than my Jeep, but it was enough to get a few thousand. And the few thousand turned into more.”

“Why don’t you just go back and explain—?” Hayley said.

“There’s no way I’m telling Mom,” he said, cutting her off. “You know what my dad did to the family. I’d rather die.”