Return To Stony Ridge

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“What ghost?”

All three children whirled at the sound of Teri’s voice. She stepped into sight from the hall and offered them her most reassuring smile.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I was looking for Lucky.”

“You didn’t scare me,” the taller boy protested, recovering quickly.

“I’m glad. I’m Teri. You must be Ian. And you’re Nola so this must be Boone. Your mothers were telling me about you.”

Ian regarded her with a trace of belligerence. Boone peered up at her silently. The girl took her measure while resting a reassuring hand on her brother’s arm. Lucky trotted forward, stubby tail wagging. Gratefully, Teri scratched him behind the ear.

“Thanks for keeping Lucky out of trouble while I was talking to your mothers. I’m a friend of R.J.’s. I told him I’d watch Lucky, but I got to talking and forgot about him.”

“That’s okay. Lucky likes us,” Nola told her.

“I’m not surprised. Hanging with you guys would be a lot more fun than a group of boring adults. So you’re looking for secret passages, huh? I bet a spooky old house like this one has all sorts of secrets.”

The three children exchanged glances. As the oldest, Ian was obviously the spokesman.

“Heartskeep has lots of secrets,” he agreed. “There used to be secret passages upstairs, but someone tore them down.”

“Bummer. I’d love to find a secret room or see a ghost or two.”

“You believe in ghosts?” Nola asked skeptically.

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “I’ve never seen one, but I think just about anything is possible, don’t you?”

Ian eyed her suspiciously. “My mother says there’s no such thing.”

“She could be right. I like to keep an open mind.”

“I’ve seen one,” he announced boldly.

The children stared intently, waiting for her reaction.

“Was it scary?” she asked.

Lucky nudged her hand. Teri went back to petting him.

“I wasn’t scared.”

“Were too,” Boone argued. Then he glanced at Teri and drew back, as if afraid he’d said something wrong.

Her heart hurt for the fearful child. This could be Corey in a few years if she wasn’t successful in getting him away. Nola patted Boone’s arm reassuringly in a motherly fashion that made Teri ache for her as well.

“I was not!” Ian bragged unfazed.

“Did I hear you say you saw the ghost the night the missing woman disappeared?” Teri interjected quickly.

Ian fell silent. His glance at Nola seemed to be asking her opinion.

“Ian says he did,” Nola responded primly.

“I did!” he insisted hotly. “He was out back, near the fountain. That’s where they found her cell phone, you know. It was all crushed and everything.”

“Ian thinks the ghost took her,” Nola put in, “but I told him ghosts don’t hurt people.”

Ian rounded on her. “How do you know?”

Teri stepped into the breach, fighting a wave of mingled fear and excitement.

“What did the ghost look like?”

The children fell silent. She’d let her tension come through and scared them. She had to go slower, win their trust.

“There are scientists who study ghosts, you know.”

Three sets of eyes regarded her mutely.

“They have trouble because most adults never see one.”

“I see him all the time,” Ian bragged.

Nola pursed her lips but didn’t argue.

“Will you tell me about him?” Teri asked.

Uncertainly, he looked at the others.

This was important. Teri knew Ian had seen something. Unfortunately, Betty Drexler chose that moment to appear in the doorway across from them.

“Mrs. Norwhich said lunch will be ready in about five minutes. The children need to go and wash their hands.”

Teri tamped down her impatience as the children were ushered out to wash their hands. There was nothing she could do but go along to the kitchen with everyone else a few minutes later.

The women were still uneasy around her as they settled at the large table in front of yet another huge fireplace. Teri understood their mistrust all too well. They all had a good reason for caution, but it made things hard. She’d already discovered that none of them wanted to talk to her. They especially didn’t want to answer any questions.

Two of the women were sporting obvious injuries. Ian’s mother appeared to have the most physical damage. Her right arm was in a cast and a sling, and bruises mottled her face. Teri suspected there were more bruises hidden by her clothing.

She fought the burning rage and bitter helplessness that churned in her stomach when she looked at these women. Life was so unfair. But as the last person entered the dining room, she looked around with a sinking feeling.

“Where’s Corey? I thought R.J. said only Valerie disappeared.”

The women exchanged uneasy glances. It was the taciturn and rather eerie-looking Mrs. Norwhich who answered as she carried over a tureen of soup and placed it on the table.

“Wyatt had him placed in foster care yesterday.”

Chapter Four

“Corey’s gone? Who has him?”

The skeletal woman speared her with beady eyes. “You’d have to ask Wyatt.” Turning, she ghosted back to the counter.

No one else met her eyes. If any of them knew the answer, they weren’t going to tell her and she couldn’t help wondering if R.J. had known Corey wasn’t here. While he hadn’t mentioned it, she hadn’t put any special emphasis on Corey either. In fact, quite the opposite. She’d wanted him to think Valerie had been her priority.

Earlier, she’d asked to see the room Valerie had used. Mrs. Norwhich had given her a tight, suspicious look before shaking her tightly permed head.

“Room’s locked. You’ll have to ask Wyatt’s permission to go inside.”

Teri had no intention of talking with the chief of police if she could avoid it, so Ian was her only hope. While he also eyed her with suspicion, the boy was the most approachable person she’d met so far. Besides, she had a feeling he saw more than any of the adults sitting at the table. Somehow, she had to get him alone and convince him to talk to her.

Tension hovered like an uninvited guest over the meal. The women ate quickly or picked at their food. Even the children were subdued.

The groundskeeper joined the group late. Will Leftcowitz was a lean, tall man in his sixties. While pleasant and friendly enough, he said very little and looked at Teri with enough speculation to make her nervous. He ate quickly, excusing himself from the table the moment he finished.

Teri tasted nothing of the meal and didn’t participate in what seemed to be the only safe topic of conversation, the coming birth of Alexis Crossley’s baby. Even that subject seemed to make everyone uneasy with Teri in their midst. Valerie’s disappearance must have left them feeling more vulnerable than ever. Teri saw no way to turn the conversation to what she really wanted to know.

Who had Corey?

She was relieved when the meal finished and the dishes were carried to the kitchen sink. Mrs. Norwhich waved them out, bustling peremptorily about the room. One of the women announced she was going to the library in search of something to read. The youngest of the group scurried for the back staircase without a word to anyone. Timid and plump, only her eyes spoke of inward scars.