Ghost Town (40 page)

Trevor smiled. “When I was a kid, you were a hero of mine, Arthur. When I grew up, though, I began to view you as a showman, a carnival barker of the paranormal shouting for people to hurry and see the freak show. But after this weekend . . . well, let's
just say that as far as I'm concerned, you can bust a ghost with the best of them.”

Carrington inclined his head. “Thank you, my friend.”

“And if I do end up writing a book about this weekend, I hope you'll consider penning the introduction for it.”

Carrington smiled. “It would be my honor.”

The six of them talked for a while longer, but when Trevor suggested that they get some lunch, Carrington and Erin begged off. Despite his rested appearance, Carrington said that he was still tired and wanted to return to the bed-and-breakfast to rest, and Erin was his ride. They all exchanged contact information and promised to stay in touch, but Trevor wondered if they would. He knew what it was like to live with the memory of a traumatic experience, and sometimes the last thing you wanted was a reminder of it.

When Carrington and Erin had gone, Trevor said, “I got an e-mail from my editor this morning. She's really excited about the Lowry House book, and she's decided to put it on the fast track to publication. She's already working on scheduling a book tour, and she's come up with a cool publicity angle. She wants me to sign books in towns with paranormal sites that I can investigate.” He grinned at Drew and Amber. “And she wants the two of you to come with me.”

Drew and Amber looked at each other, silently conferring. Amber smiled and nodded, and Drew said, “I'll have to see what I can do about taking time off work, but why not? It could be fun.”

“Excellent!” Trevor said. He turned to Jenn and asked, perhaps a bit too casually, “And you?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry. I was thinking that I need to go pack up my book table. They'll be closing the Exhibition Hall soon.”

Trevor glanced at Drew and Amber, and they both gave him encouraging looks.

“How about I come along and help?” he said.

She gave him a small smile. “Sure, thanks.”

He told himself that it wasn't a lack of enthusiasm he heard in her voice. It was just weariness.

They didn't speak
at first as they walked through the hotel's hallways. The day before, the halls had been filled with conference attendees, many of them in costume. This day, there was hardly anyone around besides Trevor and Jenn, and those who were present wore street clothes.

“How are you doing?” Trevor finally asked.

Jenn didn't answer at first, and when she did, she didn't look at him. “I honestly don't know. I should feel all kinds of emotions, but I don't feel much of anything. I just feel numb.”

“That's only to be expected,” Trevor said. “After everything you went through—”

She did turn to look at him now. “But you went through it, too, and so did Drew and Amber. But none of you seem all that upset. The easy way you were talking . . . and you even joked a little.”

“Believe me, we were shaken up by this experience, too. It's just that we've lived with the knowledge that the supernatural is real ever since we were teenagers. And then, after what happened at the Lowry House . . .”

“You get used to it?”

He shook his head. “No, but it helps you deal, you know?”

She gave him a blank look, and he knew she didn't understand. He decided to let the subject drop. She needed time to process her emotions, he told himself. She would be fine. Eventually.

Time to try again, he decided. “Would you like to come along? On the book tour, I mean.”

They reached the Exhibition Hall and walked in. Half of the booths and tables were empty, and the remaining vendors were in the process of packing up.

“Why?” she asked. “I mean, I had nothing to do with the Lowry
House. Hell, until yesterday, I didn't believe things like that existed. Why would your publisher want me to come along?”

They reached Jenn's table. She walked behind it, picked up a cardboard box from the floor, set it on the tabletop, and began filling it with books. Trevor grabbed another box and began doing the same.

“The publisher doesn't want you to come,” he said. “I do.”

She stopped packing and turned to look at him. Her expression was unreadable, and Trevor, suddenly nervous, hurried to explain.

“I thought maybe it would be good for you to get out of town for a while. It might help you get some distance from what happened. And it would be great to have you along. You know, so we could spend more time together.”

She smiled and reached out to touch his cheek gently. “Trevor . . .”

He forced a smile of his own. “Uh-oh. That doesn't sound good.”

“It's sweet of you to ask, and under different circumstances, I think I would take you up on it. But you're part of what happened, and so are Amber and Drew. I don't know if I could stop thinking about this weekend if I came with you. How could I, with the three of you signing your book about the Lowry House and investigating spooky sites in the towns you visit? I would be living with the paranormal in one way or another every day.”

“But things like last night aren't exactly common occurrences,” he said.

“I used to think they couldn't occur at all. Can you promise me that something like that won't happen again?”

Trevor sighed. “No, I can't.”

“That's what I thought.” She lowered her hand from his cheek. “I'm going to clean up the mess in the bookstore and then put it up for sale, cheap. After that, I'm going to move away from Exeter. I don't know where I'll go yet. I have relatives in Alabama I haven't
seen for a while. Maybe I'll visit them. But I don't really care where I end up, just as long as I get out of this town.”

“I understand,” Trevor said, working to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

“Now, listen to me closely, Trevor Ward. I am
not
saying I never want to see you again. I just need some time, OK? I fully expect you to call, text, and e-mail me from time to time. And you damned sure better ‘like' all my status updates on Facebook. Understand?”

“Sure.”

She gave him a long hug then, and he hugged her back, holding on to her as long as he could.

“How do you
think it's going to go?” Drew asked.

“You're the psychologist,” Amber said. “You tell me.”

“
You're
the psychic.”

She shrugged. “I don't know. But she didn't seem very warm toward Trevor, did she?”

“No, she didn't.”

“Poor Trevor.”

Drew nodded. “So how are you doing?”

Amber thought for a moment. “Good, I think. As good as can be expected, anyway.”

“The more I think about accompanying Trevor on his book tour, the less sure I am that it's a good idea for us. For that matter, I'm not sure it's a good idea for him.”

“Why?”

“Over the last few months, the three of us have had not one but two encounters with the supernatural. Both experiences were, to say the least, extreme. All three of us have been traumatized by these events to one extent or another, and if we were to continue investigating paranormal incidents, who's to say we won't encounter something else just as bad, if not worse? The psychological toll could be more than we can take.”

“I admit it's not easy living with the things we've seen. But we have to focus on the people we've helped and the lives we've saved. That's what matters most in the end, right?”

Drew smiled. “Right.”

Amber grinned. “Besides, regardless of whether the three of us should stop, do you really think we can?”

Drew didn't have an immediate answer for that, so Amber gave him a kiss and excused herself to go to the restroom. She went to the same one she had used the day before. Once inside, she checked to make sure she was alone, and then she stepped up to the sink and looked into the mirror.

“Hello, Greg.”

His face—his true face, hairless and burn-scarred—smiled at her from behind the glass.
“Hi, sweetie. Long time no see.”

“I'm glad you're OK.”

“Aside from being dead, I'm just peachy.”

“When Connie woke up as herself again, I wasn't sure what happened to you. But I think I've figured it out. When the wave hit, it caught the Dark Lady off balance. As you'd pointed out, her power was already stretched thin, and when Jenn and I distracted her, you made your move. You left Connie's body, grabbed hold of the Dark Lady, and carried her with you over to the Other Side.”

Greg grinned.
“Excellent deduction, Watson.”

“And when you took her, you took every spirit that was a part of her. All of them.”

“Every ghost, specter, and spook in Exeter. It is now officially the Least Haunted Town in America. But you didn't come in here to verify your theory any more than you did to pee, did you?”

“I came to thank you—and to tell you that if you ever decide to help us again, we don't want you to possess anyone like you did Connie. All right?”

Greg made a pouty face.
“Party pooper.”

“But without you, we never would've been able to defeat the Dark Lady, so . . . thanks.”

“You're welcome. And thank you for believing that I was sincere in my desire to help, even though you had every reason not to trust me. I have to say, I'm impressed by you, Amber. You've grown a great deal over the last couple of months, both personally and in power. But be careful. The stronger you become, the more dangers you'll be exposed to.”
His smile broadened.
“And the more temptations.”

An image flashed through her mind: the expression of stunned disbelief on Mitch's face as he impaled himself on her psychic sword.

“I'll be careful. Good-bye, Greg.”

She turned to leave, but before she could go, he said,
“You'd better be. Because if you thought the Dark Lady was bad, wait until you see what's coming next.”

A chill grabbed hold of her at Greg's words, but she didn't look back as she walked out of the restroom, his laughter echoing in her ears.

All is only possible because my loving family. My wife, Kristen, my daughters Samantha, Haily, and Satori, and my twin sons Austin and Logan. You are the reason I wake every morning. You are all the reason I am where I am and I am who I am. You have all made my dreams possible and you walked this path beside me.

Jody Hotchkiss, thank you for everything. We changed the world all from a lunch meeting in CT. You had a vision and we had a dream.

—Jason

I'd like to thank my loving wife, Reanna, and my three amazing sons for their never-failing support of me in these various projects. My family and my good friends Mike, Chris, and Chris, for always sticking by me. Tim, of course, for weaving a better story than we ever could, and Jody for making it all happen. And to all those out there, still searching for answers to the unknown, your pioneering spirit is an inspiration to us all.

—Grant

As always, thanks to Jason and Grant for allowing me to play a small part in their paranormal adventures. Very special thanks to Larry Segriff and Emilia Pisani for picking up the ball and carrying it all the way for a touchdown.

—Tim