Shadow of a Life (18 page)

I couldn’t have been more
excited about reading the article.
This
information has to be helpful.
If only we
could find a way to get to Haiti . . .

“
Hello.”

I was startled from my thoughts by a
person standing over me. He was one of the most handsome
boys—men?—I had ever seen. He had piercing blue eyes that made my
heart flutter a little. It was the first time I’d felt some an
attraction to an older college student. The thought made me a
little nervous.

“
Umm . . . hi.”

“
What are you
reading?”

“
An article.” My heart still
fluttered.

He laughed. “I can see that.
What’s it about?” He leaned over and read the title. “Ahh. The
infamous
Mary Celeste
. Why are you so interested in something like that when it’s
so beautiful outside?”

I glanced at the windows. I
didn’t want to reveal too much to the prying individual so I tried
to refocus the conversation on him. “Why are
you
in the library on a holiday
weekend?”

He laughed again. “Touché. Actually, I
came here for the same reason as you. Research.”

I didn’t say anything. I hoped that if
I just stopped talking he would take the hint and move on. I wasn’t
so lucky, and he sat down in the empty chair next to me.

“
I saw you outside. I
thought you looked like the kind of girl I’d like to
meet.”

The tacky pickup line made me
uncomfortable and I looked around for an excuse to slip away. Dad
would not be happy if he thought I was trying to flirt with a
college student, and of course I’d chosen a table all the way in
the back where no one else in the library could see us.

“
My dad should be here any
second to meet me,” I lied and stood up quickly, closing the
journal and picking it up off the table.

“
I’m sorry. I’ve made you
uncomfortable. Let me start over.” He stood up, too.

There was something in his eyes—a look
that was almost pleading. I felt oddly drawn to him. I don’t know
why, but I sat back down again.

“
The truth is, I did see you
outside, but I was going to come in here anyway. You left the
reference computer pulled up on your search and I saw that you were
researching the same subject as me. I followed you, but I’m not a
stalker. I promise.”

“
You’re researching
the
Mary Celeste?
”

“
Yes, ma’am.”

I smiled at his formal tone,
although I was pretty sure he was mocking me. “Why are
you
researching an old
ship?”

“
Well, someone else I know
has been studying it and I decided to see what all the fuss was
about. I think I remember hearing something about it a long time
ago, but I don’t remember the details.”

“
You must not be from around
here, then.”

“
No. I’m just here for
school. What can you tell me about the ship?”

“
Well, there’s a lot to the
story, but I’ll just give you the short version. Back in 1872
the
Mary Celeste
was found adrift in the Atlantic. There were no signs of any
of the crew, the captain, or his family even though the ship was in
sailing condition. No one ever heard from them again. Basically,
it’s one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the sea.”

“
Remind me of the names of
the Captain and his family?”

“
Captain Benjamin Spooner
Briggs, his wife Sarah Cobb Briggs, and their daughter Sophia
Briggs. You know, you could easily find out that much information
by doing a simple internet search.”

He appeared thoughtful. “I know, but I
like to do things the old-school way. There’s a lot more
satisfaction in that. I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your
name.”

“
I’m Jamie.”

“
It’s nice to meet you,
Jamie. My name is Nicholas Trenton, by the way.”

I jumped up so fast I
knocked the wooden chair I was sitting in over and it clattered to
the ground, shattering the peaceful silence of the library. I
hastily scanned the room in search of an escape route and wondered
if I should scream. Sophia said ghosts
could
hurt humans and I did not trust
that one, deserter that he was. He had to be working with the
Goodwins.

“
Stay away from me,” I
yelled, panicking.
How did he find me and
how does he know I’m helping Sophia?

I grabbed my purse and ran. I didn’t
get very far before Nicholas cut me off. I should have known that
outrunning a ghost who was much bigger than me was probably
impossible. He grabbed me and covered my mouth with his hand,
preventing me from making any noise. He pulled me behind the last
of the tall shelves of books and pressed my back up against the
wall, holding me there with the arm that covered my
mouth.

“
Shh
,” he hissed. “I don’t want to hurt you. Honest.”

I whimpered and he loosened his grip
just a little.

“
Why did you
run?”

I couldn’t exactly answer him since he
was covering my mouth. I blinked a few times instead and I think he
understood what it meant.

“
I’m going to let go of you
now, but you have to promise not to scream . . . or run. I just
want to talk to you.
Please.
”

I blinked again and he slowly let go
of me. I folded my arms and hugged myself in an attempt to form a
barrier between us.

“
Why did you run?” he
repeated.

“
Because.”

“
Because, why?”

“
Because I know who you
are.” I had no doubt. He looked exactly like Sophia had described
him.

“
Who am I?”

“
You’re a ghost.”

He looked genuinely stunned. “You know
about ghosts?”

“
I’ve met one or
two.”

“
Really? Maybe that’s why I
felt compelled to follow you today. I think you might be my soul
saver.”

I couldn’t believe what I’d
heard.
His soul saver?
There was no way I was helping the jerk. He ruined Sophia’s
life. Literally. For all I cared he could just continue to rot in
his miserable shadow of a life.

“
Why are you so angry?” he
asked.

“
Because I know who you are,
Nicholas . . . Nick . . . whatever you call yourself.”

“
You know
me?
”

I nodded.

“
How could you possibly know
who I am? I didn’t have any family left when I died.”

“
Well I guess that’s your
fault, isn’t it?”

“
What are you talking
about?”

“
Sophia. You left
her.
You’re
the
reason she was killed.” Tears spilled from my eyes and ran down my
cheeks, but I didn’t care. I felt so much hate for the ghost in
front of me that I forgot to be afraid of him.

“
Sophia? You know about
Sophia?” He was unexpectedly baffled.

I didn’t say anything, but I could
tell by the look on his face the exact moment that realization
struck.

“
Sophia became a ghost,” he
whispered.

I nodded slowly.

“
Were you her soul saver?
How long has it been since she was here?” he asked
quietly.

It was my turn to be
confused. He acted as if he didn’t know that Sophia was still
around.
Isn’t that why he’s been following
me—to get to her?
Am I really supposed to
be his soul saver, too?

“
Why did you leave her on
her eighteenth birthday? You were supposed to marry her and you
deserted her. She wouldn’t have died if you had just kept your
promise to her.”

“
Jamie, I don’t know how or
when she died. How could I have killed her?”

“
You left her and she was
forced to marry the old bachelor, Michael Mason. He attacked her on
their wedding night. She tried to get away, but she fell on a fire
poker and it went through her chest. She died instantly,” I snapped
at him.

Nick took a step back until he bumped
against the bookshelf. He slowly slid down until he was sitting on
the ground, his head in his hands.

“
Sophia . . . Sophia . . . I
had no idea.” He was crying and I wasn’t sure what to do. Half of
me felt sorry for him and half of me loathed him. I wondered if I
should try to run again.

“
I didn’t leave her. Honest,
Jamie. Her father, Captain Goodwin, somehow found out about our
plan to run away together and he had two of his men from the
Mist Seeker
kidnap me
that night. I tried,
believe
me, but I couldn’t fight them both off. They tied
me up, threw me in a wagon, and hid me in town until they could
stow me away on the
Mist
Seeker
. I was there for a couple of days
before Jeremiah came to tell me that Sophia had just been married.
I remember him laughing and mocking me. He called me a snooping
fool and told me he didn’t want a poor nobody like me working for
him anymore. Then . . . he pulled out a pistol and shot me in the
head. He didn’t even hesitate. It was as if he’d done it a million
times before. They threw my body into the Chesapeake Bay. It sounds
like I died the same night as Sophia.”

It was my turn to slide down to the
ground. I struggled to process everything I’d just heard. I’m sure
we made an odd-looking pair sitting on the floor in the back of the
library, tears streaming down both our faces.

“
After I died and became a
ghost, I thought about going back to Sophia’s new home so I could
see her one last time. I decided against it. I thought seeing her
with her new husband would hurt too much. We may be ghosts, but we
still have feelings. I spent the next decade and a half haunting
ships at sea, biding my time until I could finish my business. I
hit a low point and decided to go back and spend some time haunting
the Goodwins, but I never dared venture over to Sophia’s farmhouse.
I figured by that time she must have children of her own. I never
heard the Goodwins discuss her and she never came to visit. Now I
know why.”

“
Nick, she’s spent a hundred
and twenty years thinking you left her and didn’t want to be with
her.”

“
Oh, man,” he moaned and
shook his head. “I can’t even imagine her pain. I assume she’s gone
now. How long has it been since she was here?”

I hesitated for just a second and then
decided he had a right to know. “I was with her just a few hours
ago. She’s still here, Nick.”

He jumped up and let out a whoop. He
pulled me to my feet and threw his arms around me, picking me up
off the ground as he twirled. I couldn’t help but laugh a little.
His eyes were sparkling just like Sophia’s always did.

“
Where is she? Can you take
me to her? I never dared dream that I would actually see her
again.”

“
Nick, remember, she thinks
you left her. I don’t know if it’s a good idea for you to just
waltz back into her life without warning.”

“
Will you help me, Jamie?
Convince her that I’m telling the truth. When her parents died I
was there and I saw that they became ghosts. I’ve been following
them off and on for years. They’re up to something and I feel like
I’m always just one step behind them. After talking to you, I’m
pretty sure it’s her they’re looking for and I don’t want them to
find her.”

“
I’ll try.”

“
Thank you.” He hugged me
again. “Let’s go.”

“
Nick, I really did come
here with my dad. He doesn’t know anything about ghosts so I think
maybe you should just disappear for a while. Give me a chance to
talk to Sophia and then we’ll meet you somewhere
tomorrow.”

“
Okay. That makes sense.
Gosh, it’s going to be a long night.” He ran his fingers through
his hair and paced back and forth in front of the shelf. “Where
should we meet?”

I thought about the cemetery back in
Marion, but realized that the next day would be Memorial Day and it
would be full of people paying tribute to their loved ones. I
didn’t think it was a good idea to bring Nick to my house so I gave
him the address of our high school and told him to meet us by the
football field at two in the afternoon. I really hoped Sophia
believed him—because I did.

I started to walk away, but Nick
grabbed my arm once again.

“
Wait . . . Jamie. Is Sophia
Goodwin really Sophia Briggs?”

I nodded.

He nodded back. “I get it
now. I couldn’t figure out why the Goodwins were spending so much
time trying to find ghosts that had connections with the
Mary Celeste
. Was Sophia
kidnapped by them as a girl? Did they take all of the Briggs
family?”

“
I think you better wait and
have Sophia tell you the story herself. She’s not the person you
thought she was all those years ago.”