Whisper of Memory (Whispering Woods Book 2) (8 page)

“What is this?” I cleared my throat and shifted uncomfortably.

“Some footage from a new show about recent sightings of unexplained phenomena. It was on
Tales of the Awesome and Eerie
,” Em answered. “It’s some footage from Goliath.”

“Oh.” I wasn’t sure if that explained anything.

The voice narrating pointed out a glow of light on the screen. The light was dim and didn’t illuminate much as it bobbed over some railroad tracks. The narrator explained the theories surrounding the light and the legends that townspeople had handed down through the generations.

A reporter appeared in the camera view. “Scientists who study the phenomenon tell us that there is no clear explanation for the appearance of the light. Let’s see what the citizens of this small town have to say about it.”

The reporter then moved from person to person allowing each to give a theory about the light.

“I think it’s the railroad worker lookin’ for his head. It got chopped off,” said a little boy wearing a T-shirt with a tractor on the front.

“It’s electricity given off by quartz,” said a man standing beside the boy. “That’s all it is.”

At the end of the video segment, all three of my friends turned to me in unison and looked at me expectantly. I stared back, uncertain, and stood while chewing the edge of my nonexistent thumbnail. They all began to talk at once.

I held up my hand. “What’s with the clip? I can see I missed something,” I said.

“Think of this as an exercise in finding Waldo,” Austin said.

Tiny turned back to the mouse and clicked to start the clip again. His deep rumbly voice narrated as he periodically stopped the footage to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

“Don’t watch the kid. Look at this crowd in the background. Here we have this black pickup truck with the spotlight mounted on the top. These dudes are talking with their backs to the camera. Got the camo gear on so they look like every other hunter wandering around town. This one on the right turns sideways and…now look at him.” Tiny stopped the video.

I moved closer. “Oh. Nuh-uh. It can’t be,” I said.

But it was, or
he
was. Pete looked taller. His shoulders looked broader, and he’d gained weight.

Now I stood directly in front of the monitor, fixated. “He posted this video?” I asked.

“No,” Em answered. “We never said that. He didn’t post this. We were looking for a clue about Goliath. We wanted to know if there would be some reason that the guy who broke into your house would take you there.”

“Pete’s in Goliath. He’s been there this whole time? Is that what you think?” I paced in the narrow space along the wall. Each step came faster than the last.

Austin threw out an arm to stop me. “He’s there for a reason. No, we don’t think he decided to move to Goliath. This mysterious light and Pete are connected somehow. And you. We need to figure out what’s going on.” He squeezed my hand.

“I know that.” I looked at Em and Tiny. “You guys need to stop keeping things from me.”

“You kept secrets from us too,” she said. Em’s voice held no recrimination. Today she wore a flannel shirt over a black T-shirt. The combination might have been a standard in my closet but not in Em’s. Her hair was held back in a ponytail, another uncharacteristic style choice for her. “At first, you didn’t tell us about your synesthesia, about meeting Regulus and Arizona—”

“Yes,” I answered. “You’re right. I was scared you’d think I was a freak. I needed you.” I broke eye contact with her. “Things are different now.”

“True,” Austin said. He picked up a yellow stress ball with a smiley face from the floor and threw it from hand to hand as he talked. “The way I see it, we’re now a team of superheroes. You know, fighting to save the world from ultimate doom. But without the leotard outfits.”

I grinned. Austin always made me smile, and I hadn’t let myself go with him for a long time.

Em walked over and grabbed the stress ball in midair. “And we have a little more brain than brawn.”

“And only one of us has superpowers,” Tiny said.

Em looked at Tiny, smiling. “Tiny’s written some code that puts a cookie on any computer that visits his website. At GameCon, he thought that turnabout is fair play. If someone put a tail on him online, then why couldn’t we do the same?”

I nodded and attempted not to look too amazed at all they had done while I wasn’t paying attention. “Did anything turn up?”

“Yeah. I detect several IP addresses that are watching my activity. I don’t like people in my business, but I hope they keep hanging around. I have something special planned to blow their minds.” Tiny chuckled, sounding devious.

“Tiny is doing what he does best. In the meantime, we’ve contacted a ghost hunting team and we’ll meet them in Goliath this weekend. We don’t think Regulus and Arizona should be there. If Pete is around, he won’t come forward if they’re with us.” Emily threw the stress ball in my direction.

I grabbed the yellow, squishy ball. “Pete was obviously trying to warn me against Dr. Bleeker when he’s left messages in the past. Why can’t Regulus and Arizona go with us? What in the heck does a ghost hunting team have to do with this?” I stopped the rush of questions to take a breath and sat on the edge of a wooden table to stop myself from pacing.

“This is a coming clean meeting. I have something else to tell you.” Austin rarely sounded so serious. His dark hair hung over his eyes like a shield while he focused on his knees. “Pete’s contacted me and Tiny.”

“What?” I managed the words in a barely a whisper. I looked at Em and she looked back with no apology.

“On
Quest.
We’ve run into him a couple of times online.” Austin finally peered at me between strands of hair hanging over his eyes.

“When? How many times and what did he say?” I didn’t have time to get mad or let my feelings get in the way. I made the decision to suck it up.

Austin sat back and relaxed at my calm tone. “Two times,” he said. “Both were very brief. No hanging around and shooting the breeze. He mainly wanted to either ask a question or tell us something.”

“He sent you a chat message in
Quest
two times?”

“That’s not what I said. He didn’t chat. He showed up. Playing the game.”

“Using his old character?” I couldn’t imagine that he would do that since he had been in serious hiding all this time.

“Of course not,” Tiny said. “But it was him. Came right up and joined us while playing.”

“How do you know it was him?” I hated to sound skeptical, but I had learned some lessons in trusting people. Just because something walked like a duck and quacked like a duck, it didn’t mean it was a duck. Maybe it had feathers and a beak, but…

“We know in the same way that you would know. You can’t fake some things. It’s Pete.”

“Back to the questions. Let’s assume it’s him. What did you find out?” I asked.

“Number one is that Pete asked me and Tiny to look out for you. Like you’re in some kind of danger,” Austin said. “Number two, he doesn’t trust your boyfriend and his devoted sidekick.”

“I think he doesn’t know Regulus and Arizona so he’s not trusting anyone outside our circle,” Emily said quickly with a smile. “Don’t let Austin make you think you have to choose between your boyfriend and your brother. They’re not on opposite sides.”

“OK,” I said. I appreciated Em’s effort to keep the conversation civil and fair. “I’m going to tell Regulus and Arizona about what you’re telling me today. It’s not because Regulus is my boyfriend. It’s because I can’t live with secrets and not trusting everybody. I trust them even if you don’t.” I looked pointedly at Austin and Tiny.

“Sure. I knew you would. It took this long for us to decide that it all has to be out in the open between us.” Austin leaned back. “Another question?”

“Number three?” I asked.

“The Goliath connection is important,” Austin said.

“I had that feeling already. What’s with the ghost hunting? You think there are ghosts there?”

“No. Pete advised that we hook up with them because there’s safety in numbers.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Nothing will happen to us when we’re there because we’ll be part of a documented group that caters to strangers in town.”

“That’s sort of brilliant,” I said. “It’s like a cover.”

“And there’s some crazy stuff going on in that town, and they have nifty equipment,” Austin said. “One thing you have to agree to.”

“Shoot,” I said.

“Leave Regulus and Arizona out of the trip. Tiny won’t go either. Just you, me, and Em.”

I stared at him for a moment before letting myself look over at Em and Tiny. Their faces were expectant. They had already discussed this.

“OK.”

“Oh, there’s one more little thing Pete said the last time.” Austin looked uncomfortable.

“What?”

“Your mother works for Bleeker, and you shouldn’t trust her. Ever.”

“No news to me. Same relationship I’ve always had with her.” I hesitated and then added, “Correction. We don’t have a relationship, Austin. Thanks for the tip.”

T
he sound
of a sports announcer on the downstairs television told me that Dad was probably napping in his recliner. He always said football games were the best for lulling him to sleep on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

“I think that you need to know more about the people coming through the portals,” Em stated. “The corporation listed on the business card you think Pete left is legit. They’re doing some good research.”

“Uh-huh,” I said with a certain amount of skepticism. She hadn’t been with us last month when we’d found the dead bodies. Of course, I had told her everything. But hearing about an experience and actually being there are miles apart.

“Seriously. If I didn’t know what I know—about Bleeker I mean—it would be hard to criticize the Aidos Company.” Em lay back on my bedroom floor to join me as I reclined, staring at the ceiling. “They did find that injections of a certain mouse gene might cure diabetes in humans.”

“Mice. So they have a legitimate front. He’s still a murderer.”

“I’m not saying that he’s not. And I’m not sure you can link him to this company based on a hunch. I’ve looked at every reference that mentions the company. No Bleeker is ever listed as an employee or scientist working for them.”

“I figured that. Bleeker’s probably an alias. I don’t know how to find out the real name. And then he might not be using his real name at Aidos.”

“Tiny’s been doing a lot. He knows that he can find out something if he can break into some national security information.”

My jaw dropped. “No way,” I said, shaking my head back and forth. “He cannot do that. Even if he could do it, he can’t risk getting caught. That’s like federal offense type stuff.”

“I said the same thing to him,” Em said.

We both lay looking at the ceiling in silence for a few moments. Biscuit sauntered over, plopped down next to me, and laid his chin on my arm. Comforted, I rubbed his head. “And he’s doing something that could land him in federal prison.”

She cleared her throat. “He said he’s finding other ways. He says that he can eavesdrop on key players in government because they often use private e-mail addresses and websites to discuss stuff that people should only be discussing on a highly secured site. Tiny says he’s less likely to get caught this way.”

“He can get in less trouble.”

“Maybe.” She shifted and turned to lie with her arm thrown up above her head. “Listen.”

“All ears.”

“Couldn’t you leave all this alone?” She hesitated for a moment and then continued. “I mean, if Bleeker would kill to test out his gene stuff, he’d kill you. Dead.”

“I know.” I tried to speak nonchalantly so she wouldn’t think I was scared. My voice betrayed me by squeaking.

“You’re not responsible for finding Dr. Bleeker. I’ve been thinking. We could leave and go to college out of state. You and Regulus could see each other. We could drive home most weekends. We could be roomies.”

“I couldn’t do that.” I shook my head. “Why would I do that?”

“Because this is a dangerous situation. Pete disappeared, and we don’t know how related that was.” She started to pick at the carpet between us. “You’re putting your dad in danger. Your friends in danger. Yourself.”

Em knew I would do anything to protect my dad. It was unfair of her to bring him into this argument, and she knew that. That hadn’t stopped her.

I took a deep breath. “You can stay out of it. I won’t hold it against you. If you’re scared of what’s happening, I’ll understand.”

The silence sat thickly between us.

Em rolled to look up at the ceiling again. “You shouldn’t say that. I’d never leave you in this alone. I wanted you to see that there are alternatives.”

“I see that there are no choices, Em.”

“Everybody has choices. The question is whether you will choose to see them or not.”

“
H
ey
, watch out.” A slim man with a shiny head unloaded supplies and equipment from the back of his SUV. His mustard-colored turtleneck sweater made his neck seem long and narrow. I thought of a giraffe carrying boxes and suppressed a giggle.

Em and I scooted away a couple of feet to clear a path for unloading. Since they said we couldn’t touch anything until they organized the equipment, we both stood awkwardly watching. Austin had disappeared in search of sodas after being told to wait.

We were a couple of miles from Goliath. Everyone’s cars sat in a small circle of bare earth that served as a makeshift parking lot. Although we weren’t far from the freeway, no other cars, not even one, rumbled along the dirt road. The dense foliage lining the nearby railroad track hid the outside world from view, giving us a view of only the metal rails and occasional discarded timbers.

I shoved my hands into my pockets and shivered. Goliath was
cold.
My hoodie was warm enough, but I wished that I’d worn gloves.

Em looked toasty in her wool sweater, gloves, scarf, toboggan cap, and boots, ready for a blizzard. “Here, take my scarf. I’m hot,” she said.

I smiled. “You sure?”

“Yeah, yeah. My mom made me put all this on. It’s not that cold out here.”

“OK, then. Thanks.” I reached for her pretty pink scarf. “How’d you get permission to stay out all night?”

“Said it was a school assignment. Sounded really legit.”

“Smart.”

“They’re afraid I’ll let my grades slip since it’s our senior year. I could tie anything to a grade and they’d say yes. What about you? Your dad doesn’t care?”

“Nah.”

“Your dad traveling this month?”

“Not every day.” We hesitated to talk about anything more personal as the crew worked around us, carrying bags to an area near the railroad tracks.

A brunette wearing a navy suit approached. I studied her polished looks and briefly felt envious of her and Em. The feeling quickly passed. At least Em was naturally pretty. This woman’s makeup would take an hour at least.

“Hello, girls,” the woman said, her teeth blinding.

“Hi,” Em answered with a bright smile.

The brunette looked around, and then her gaze returned to us. “Busy around here this morning.”

Em and I nodded awkwardly. I snuck a look at Em and raised my eyebrows. Shifting from foot to foot, I waited for the woman to say something.

“I’m Alexandria.” The woman held out her hand. I zeroed in on her shiny silver rings and red nails.

Em took her hand. “Emily.”

I wondered if the woman belonged with the crew. “Mia Taylor,” I said, without taking her hand. I wasn’t trying to be unfriendly, but wished she would clue me in. “Alex, are you with our group?” I asked.

“Alexandria.” Her smile irritated me. “Yes, I’m here as an observer.” She leaned forward and whispered, “I’m a reporter. They don’t allow reporters to attend, so I’m here as a participant.”

That was interesting. I wondered if they would throw her out if they knew. This group had been pretty no-nonsense, judging from the sign-up process. Alexandria’s clothing should have been a clue that she didn’t add up to the usual guest. Her kitten heels yelled “suspicious.” Em was fashionable but prepared in her barely-worn suede boots. Alexandria was ready for a business meeting. Or a photo shoot. I toed the dirt with one sneaker.

Austin parked and hopped out of his Jeep. “Hello, ladies.” He held three cans of soda.

“Thanks.” Em took a can from Austin. “This is Alexandria. She’s a guest. Like us.”

Not like us
. I pursed my lips and stopped before the words popped out of my mouth.

“I’m Austin.” He smiled at her, then looked at me. “Here’s yours.”

I took the soda and glanced from Austin to Alexandria. I really wanted her to leave before she got too comfortable. She wasn’t with us, and I wanted it to stay that way.

“Here, would you like a drink?” Austin held out the soda can to her. My mouth dropped open. He was offering her his soda and thus inviting her to be part of our group. I wanted desperately to stop him.

Alexandria smiled brilliantly. “Oh, I couldn’t take the last one. Isn’t this one yours?”

“I’m really not thirsty. I wanted to get a look at the place and that gave me an excuse.” Austin practically shoved the can into her hand.

“That’s what I needed,” Alexandria said. “Thank you so much!” She gave him an even bigger smile, and I wondered how much dental work she had. All she needed to do now was start waving a stiff hand from a convertible while wearing a sash.

A package slid to my feet as a guy walked by me. I bent for it, and my head hit something hard. “Ouch!” I straightened, blinked, and laughed.

The guy facing me rubbed his forehead. “Sorry about that. I might have a concussion. What about you?”

“I’ll live. Oh, here.” I handed him the brown package. I examined the twentysomething guy and decided immediately that I liked him. He had an honest face and exuded a warm yellow aura. I smiled back.

“You guys are first timers, right?” The guy asked our little group.

“Yes,” I answered. “It’s that obvious?”

He chuckled. “Bob tends to make the new ones stand back and watch in awe of our scientific processes. I’m Cade, by the way.”

Austin stepped forward a little. “I’m Austin. This is Mia, Em, and Alexandria,” he said, nodding his head toward each of us.

Great.
Beauty queen was now officially part of our group.

“Want to give me a hand?” Cade asked Austin.

I frowned at the sexism. “I will. Point to something, and I’ll be happy to carry it.”

“Sure. Follow me.” Cade led the way to a van parked beside the SUV. I walked beside him with Em close behind. Austin and Alexandria brought up the rear.

Cade gestured inside the van. “There’s a few more things to grab. We’re going to set up a tent canopy as headquarters. We’ve got some chairs and a small card table to go underneath it. Put the canopy over there.” He pointed.

After watching him walk away, I grabbed some chairs in nylon bags, finding them bulky rather than heavy. Em located another armful of chairs to carry. We lugged them toward the designated area. Austin lifted the folding table and tucked it under his arm. I glanced over my shoulder to see Alexandria standing with her arms folded, staring at the inside of the van. She shrugged and followed.

A smacking sound came from somewhere behind me, and I turned. Beauty Queen’s heels had stuck in the mud. The sucking sound made me grin.

I stopped short of the area Cade had indicated, where he waited with an armload of stuff. “Austin, if you can set up that table, I’ll put some of these electronics on top of it.” Cade turned to me. “You can put those chairs anywhere. We can set that canopy up first.”

Em and I followed orders and began the setup, removing chairs from the nylon bags and unfolding them into seats. Again, Alexandria stood watching, pouting a little.

“Is this what you do full-time? As a job, I mean?” I asked Cade.

“Hell, no. You don’t think I get paid, do you?” He laughed while assembling the telescoping rod that would be one corner of the canopy frame. “I work for the fire department here in Goliath. The rest of our team’s from nearby towns. Nobody here does this for a living.”

“Oh.”

“It’s a hobby…or obsession for us. We love it and would pay to do it. Actually, if you count the investment in equipment and travel expenses out of our pockets, most of us do pay.”

“Why do you guys charge, then? For us, I mean.” I didn’t want to sound rude. The ticket price wasn’t much. I didn’t even have to ask my dad for the money but paid it out of my savings jar.

“We’d like to have some equipment in the future. A thermo-imaging camera would be nice.” He hesitated and looked around for anyone who might be listening outside the five of us. “It’s really a luxury we don’t need. Totally unnecessary. Bob thinks we need it.”

“You do this every weekend?” I asked him.

“Pretty much. Someday, I’ll be married and have a family that will tie me up. For now, it gives me something to do that I’m interested in.”

“You have a girlfriend?” Alexandria asked.

I thought the question was extremely rude since we had only met the guy. Em’s eyes met mine and I guessed she felt the same.
Beauty Queen must be interested.

“No,” Cade answered nonchalantly.

“How can you expect to date if you’re doing this every weekend?” Alexandria wanted to know.

I decided to save Cade some embarrassment. “The chairs go under the canopy, right?”

Cade turned to me and smiled. “Yes,” he said as he walked over to grab one nearby. With his back to Alexandria, he winked at me. “We need chairs in case people get tired.”

While Em and I arranged chairs underneath the newly erected canopy, Austin helped Cade unpack a few electronic items on the table—a laptop, an audio recorder, a small, handheld video camera, and a digital thermometer.

One of the gadgets wasn’t familiar. “What’s that?” I asked.

“EMF meter.”

“What do you do with it?” I picked up the small handheld that resembled a walkie-talkie.

“Detects fluctuations in electromagnetic fields.” Cade picked up a notebook and pen. “Anybody here a good note taker?”

“Don’t look at me.” I nodded my head at Em. “She’d be great. She takes the best lecture notes of anybody at school.”

“Em it is,” Cade said as he handed Em the notebook. Em appeared so pleased at the assignment that I would swear she glowed.

“Why electromagnetic fields? What’s that going to show us?” Austin asked.

Cade turned toward him. “Paranormal phenomena will have lots of EMF activity recorded in the area around them.”

“What about me? What can I do?” I asked. I pushed up my sleeves to emphasize the fact that I was there to work. I stole a glance at Alexandria, who sat in a chair beside Austin. Her head was turned, and she wasn’t listening but instead watched the other members of the team. The head guy, Bob, walked along the railroad track talking to a woman wearing a camo hunting jacket.

Cade picked up the video camera. “You know how to work one of these?”

“I bet I can figure it out.” I took it from him and examined the buttons. The camera fit nicely in the palm of my hand with an LCD screen that flipped out to the side. “Battery life?” I asked.