Read Phantoms of Fall (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 2) Online
Authors: Joy Elbel
I met up with Rachel at our lockers after school. The
school board meeting to determine Zach’s fate was scheduled
for 4:00 pm so she was understandably on edge.
“I really hope things work out for him—he’s worked
so hard the last few years. To lose it all now, well, it would
absolutely kill him.”
I wanted to break down and cry again. It was my fault
that he was in this situation but there wasn’t anything I could
do to get him out of it. And I couldn’t show any emotion over
it, either. I didn’t want anyone else to see how much I still
loved him—especially not Rachel.
So I slapped a generic
smile on my face and acted like nothing was wrong.
“I hope so, too.” I couldn’t keep up the façade—I had
to get out of there fast. “Let me know how it goes.” With a
friendly wave, I walked to my car. Walked until I was out of
sight and then I started to run. I drove home barely able to
see through the tears.
I waited impatiently for news from Rachel. Pacing the
length of my room, I thought of nothing but Zach. They had to
let him back into school. He worked too hard to lose it now. I
tried to think positive thoughts but positivity wasn’t what I
did best. For every good thought, two negative ones slithered
into my brain.
I was just picturing him wearing a Chicken
Shack uniform at the age of forty when I heard the buzz of my
phone.
So that’s what Misty meant by her remark. She kept
him from getting kicked out so now he owed her.
Owed her
big. And I knew exactly how she would try to collect. My joy
at his good news was devoured by the idea that she would
now try to use it to get what she wanted from him.
The
question was—would he consent because he felt that he owed
her that much?
No. I couldn’t think about it. For one thing it wasn’t
any of my business anymore. I couldn’t be with him and I had
no say in what—or who—he did. The second reason—it hurt
like hell to imagine him with someone else. Once I allowed
myself to really feel the pain, I was afraid that I would never
be able to see past it.
I had other things
I
needed to
concentrate on.
I had a ghost to banish and a homicidal
English teacher to avoid. If I lost focus now—if I slipped up in
any way—I could be Mr. Raspatello’s next victim. Mourning
my lost love would have to wait.
I walked into Something Wick-ed Saturday morning,
miserable and without a clue of how I was going to solve my
myriad of problems. Rita was busy packing her equipment in
the back of her SUV when I got there.
“Ruby, I heard nothing but good things about your
performance last weekend!
So glad you decided to take this
job.”
“Excellent! We got some amazing EVPs and we caught
a few shadow people on camera. We’re heading to Maryland
today—there’s a headless apparition in a small town church.
There have been a lot of sightings recently. I’m hoping I get
lucky enough to be among them!”
I shuddered involuntarily.
I would give anything to
never see another ghost again and here she was driving to
other states
hoping
to
catch a glimpse.
Would I ever
understand her? No, I don’t think so.
“So I notice you didn’t bring your laptop with you this
time. Did you check out the filing cabinet last weekend?” She
closed the hatch on the back of her vehicle and grabbed the
last of her things.
“Good.” Rita settled into her seat but before she drove
away she made one last comment. “In case you didn’t notice,
the last file in there is empty.
I was hoping maybe someday
you could help me fill it.”
She drove off before I had a chance to answer her.
What happened to me over the summer was so personal, so
private, that I never thought I would want to share the details
in such a way. Until recently, that is.
My story needed to be
told in the hopes that it might help someone else in my
situation. I was happy that Rita wanted me to be a part of
telling it.
I spent every spare moment I could find reading file
after file of Rita’s ghost hunting adventures. The more I read
the more I started to notice a pattern. In a lot of these cases, it
seemed that ghostly activity increased around the time of the
anniversary of their deaths. Maybe that was the piece I was
looking for.
Mostly, it seemed that anniversary hauntings
were residual so that not only did you get a look at their
deaths, but also at their killers. If I could get a look at details
only the killer would know, I might have a way to catch Mr.
Raspatello red handed.
I knew exactly
where I
needed
to
be and
what I
needed to do.
The only catch was it would involve breaking
into the school. It would be risky, for sure, but I couldn’t see
any other option. I had three weeks to come up with a plan.
Three weeks to plan what
had
to be the perfect crime.
These were the facts as I knew them. Garnet died in
the girl’s locker room during the Halloween dance.
According to the newspaper article I found, she was last seen
alive at 6:30 and her body was found at 7:00. Halloween was
on a Sunday this year so the school was guaranteed to be
empty at that time. Though I still wasn’t happy about Rachel’s
and Shelley’s plans for a costume party at Rosewood that day
to celebrate, I may be able to use it to my advantage. No one
would leave their own party to break into the school, right?
No one in their right mind anyway.
As
much as
I hated the idea of helping
plan
the
dreaded soiree, I had to fake interest so that I could get all of
the details. I had to have a hand in determining what time it
started
and
ended.
My
break-in
would
have
to
fall
somewhere in the middle of the party’s timeline. Something
Wick-ed closed at five on Sundays, so I would have enough
time to go home, be seen at the party, and then find a quick
excuse to leave for that half an hour.
If I helped plan the
party, I could say that I was leaving to pick up snacks or
something that I forgot to do on the way home.
Now all I
needed to do was
figure out how to get into the school
unnoticed and preferably without causing any damage.
I drew out a quick sketch of the school on a piece of
scrap paper. There weren’t any security cameras so the only
thing that stood in my way was a locked door.
Damn me for
always being such a good girl! With no criminal activity in my
background, I didn’t have the first clue on how to pick a lock.
I bet Shelly—master of all things mystery—would know how.
But I couldn’t risk asking her. She was a bloodhound and if
she heard that someone broke into the school so shortly after
my asking her how to do that very same thing she would
know instantly. No, there had to be another way.
Then it hit me. The locker room was in the basement
of the school so the windows in there were near the ceiling
but still at ground level. No one ever opened those windows
so that meant no one would ever check to see if one was open
before closing down on Friday night.
I let my after school
running activities fall by the wayside in the midst of all the
drama, but I was sure that Coach Hunter would be happy to
have me back on the track. I would wait for my opportunity
and then unlock the window. Once it was unlocked, I could
pry it open from the outside and bingo—I was in!
Now that my plan was in place, the first thing I needed
to do was tell Rachel that I wanted to help plan the party. It
was almost closing time, so I texted Rachel to ask her if there
was anything I could do to help when I got home.
She sent
numerous texts in such rapid succession that I feared my
phone might spontaneously burst into flames. Even if it had, I
wouldn’t have cared. Phase one of Operation Catch a Killer
was successful!
Rachel slid a card across the desk to me. It had frayed
edges and looked like an ancient piece of parchment. In fancy
gothic script, the words “You’re invited” appeared in gray ink
rimmed with purple shading.
I opened the card hesitantly.
This party was the last thing on earth I wanted but the one
thing I needed for my plan to work. The script inside was the
same.
Seven? That was too late! The party had to start no
later than six for my plan to work! But Rachel already had the
invitations printed—how could we possibly change the time
now?
Why did I always seem to be a step behind where I
needed to be?
“What do you think? Do they look okay? I got
so
lucky
that Crimson and the rest of the band were going to be back in
town by then.
She loves Halloween and she jumped at the
chance to play here that night! And it just so happens to be
Drake’s team’s bye week that weekend, so I got Boone to
convince him to come, too. If there’s anything you think I
should change, though, just let me know.”
“It’s a Sunday night—maybe we should start the party
earlier, you know, since we’ll all have school the next
morning,” I said casually, meanwhile praying she agreed with
me.
“I can’t believe you’re so into this whole party thing.
When I first told you about it, I could have sworn you hated
the idea!”
Sometimes she was more perceptive than I gave her
credit for. Other times she would be willing to believe me if I
told her grass was blue and the sky was green. Lucky for me,
this was one of those times.
“Okay, then. If you think the invitations look good, I’ll
print one up for everyone. I highly doubt everyone will come,
but I’m sure we’ll get a good turn out.”
“Oh, who do you think won’t come?” Please say Misty,
please say Misty, please say Misty! If I thought it would help, I
would have clicked my heels together three times for good
measure.
“Well, Zach for one. I don’t know what exactly
happened between you two but it sure must have been a big
deal. Oh, and Ryan of course—he won’t come within fifty feet
of you after that beating he took.”
My already hollow heart felt emptier than ever.
He
hated me so much that he wouldn’t even attend the party his
own sister planned because it was in my house. If only I could
have made the summer last forever. Zach and I would still be
together and my life would be perfect.
Ghosts were real—
why couldn’t time travel be real, too?
With everything else that happened, I forgot all about
Ryan. The last time I saw him he looked like he’d argued with
a meat grinder and lost. “So how bad was he hurt—Ryan I
mean?”
“Broken nose, broken jaw, two cracked ribs—Zach
really messed him up. His high school football career is over.
By the time he heals, the season will be long gone.”
Don’t get me wrong—I hated Ryan. He was nothing
but a pig who thought girls were only good for one thing. But
did he deserve the punishment Zach dished out to him?
The
answer was no. As much as I loved him, Zach turned into a
beast that day and what he did was beyond wrong.
I had to change the subject. “Do you think Misty will
come?” I got busy mentally concocting a scheme to lure her
into the old tunnels and lock her in there. I was entitled to
some
amusement, wasn’t I?
“I don’t know—she’s hard to gauge sometimes. She
may show or she may just send her minions.
Either way, I
won’t be surprised.” Rachel saw the look on my face and
added, “Don’t worry, though, this is your house. You can be
her personal chaperone—you can kick her out the second she
misbehaves.”
“That’s a good idea, actually. Chaperones, I mean.
With so many people here, Shelly might want to think about
finding some backup—in case of any fights or anything.”
“Yeah, but just the cool ones.” If I could get Mr.
Raspatello to help chaperone the party, I would know without
a shadow of a doubt that he wouldn’t catch me in the school.
It was going to be the twenty year anniversary of Garnet’s
death.
Who
knows, maybe he
would show up there to
celebrate the milestone like the creepy killer he was.