Shadow of a Life (19 page)

“
Okay.” He paused. “Thanks,
Jamie. I really appreciate this.”

I smiled at him before stepping out
the door. I met my dad at his office and we began the drive
home.

“
You’re mighty quiet this
afternoon,” he said after we’d driven in silence for five or so
miles.

“
I’m just thinking. That’s
all.”

“
That must have been some
book you read back there at the library to have you think this
much.” He playfully jabbed me in the arm.

“
It was about long lost
lovers finding each other again.”

“
I thought you were more
into mystery and suspense than you were into romance.”

I laughed. “There’re a whole lot of
secrets and suspense involved in this story, too. I haven’t gotten
to the ending yet and I guess I’m trying to solve the mystery in my
head.”

With the return of Nick, I thought I
knew what Sophia’s unfinished business was. It scared me. I wasn’t
ready to say goodbye to her.

*****

When we got home I excused myself and
ran up the stairs to my room. I really hoped I wouldn’t find Sophia
there. I whispered her name and then said it a few times a little
louder, just to see if she was lurking in the shadows somewhere. I
didn’t get a response so I called Camille and told her everything
that had happened at the library in New Bedford. She was just as
shocked as I was. When I got to the part about Nick actually being
a “good guy” she squealed into the phone. She was definitely the
romantic in our little duo.

It grew late and we agreed to meet to
tell Sophia in the morning. I flung myself across my bed, stared at
the ceiling, and called Peter. He answered on the first
ring.

“
Hey.”

“
Hey, yourself.”

“
Any ghost business going
on?”

I loved that it was such a casual
subject with him, as if he did that kind of thing every day.
“Actually, yeah. Peter, Sophia’s old flame is alive. I mean, he’s
dead, but he’s a ghost.”

“
Do you mean Nicholas
Trenton or Michael Mason?”

I cringed at the thought of Michael
still being around. “Nick. Nick’s still here. I met him in New
Bedford today.”

Except for Peter’s breathing, the
other end of the line was quiet. Finally he spoke. “What’s he doing
here? Is he trying to hurt Sophia again?”

“
That’s what I thought, but
it turns out he’s been following the Goodwins, who are also ghosts.
Peter, they’re bad news. Jeremiah had Nick kidnapped and then
killed him so he couldn’t marry Sophia.”

“
Wow . . . this story just
keeps getting crazier.”

“
I know. I can barely
believe it. I keep hoping I’m going to wake up and find that I’ve
been having a wicked crazy dream and it’s still the last week of
school.”

There was silence on the other end of
the line again. “I don’t think I want this to be a dream. I’m kind
of having a good time.”

I paused. “Actually, I’m having a good
time, too.”

Peter agreed to meet with the rest of
us in the morning as well. I texted Sophia and then I quickly fell
asleep, once again dreaming of kidnappers, lovers, and old
ships.

CHAPTER 14

P
hysically and emotionally drained the next morning, I forced
myself to get up, get dressed, comb my hair, and put on some
makeup. After all, I
would
be seeing Peter. I trudged down the stairs to
where Dad stood in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher.

“
Good morning, sunshine,” he
greeted me.

“
Mornin’, Dad,” I
mumbled.

“
What are your plans for the
day?”

“
Cam and Sophia are coming
over in a little while. We’ll probably hang out
somewhere.”

“
Sounds fun. I need to get
some paperwork done this morning and then mow the lawn this
afternoon. The rain we got last week is making the grass grow like
weeds.”

I sat down with a bowl of cereal and
noticed for the first time the bouquet of brightly-colored tulips
sitting in the middle of the table, reminding me it was Memorial
Day. My eyes skimmed past the vase and into the living room where
the urns of my father’s parents sat on the mantle of our fireplace.
They both died when I was very young and their cremated bodies had
always sat in a prominent position in the living room, but I hadn’t
ever really given them much thought. My mom’s parents were dead,
too, but I think they were buried in Ft. Lauderdale or something
like that. I wasn’t exactly sure. Since Dad’s parents were cremated
and we didn’t have a headstone to visit on Memorial Day he always
brought home a bouquet of fresh flowers for the house instead to
help us remember. I thought it was a sweet gesture. As I sat there
eating my cereal, I wondered if Grandpa and Grandma Peters had ever
been ghosts, hanging around their bodies in our living room. I
hoped not. The thought gave me the creeps.

Peter arrived first. We’d all agreed
to meet at 10:30 and he rang the bell at 10:25. Dad’s eyes widened
when he saw who was standing on the front porch and he looked at me
quizzically.

“
Mr. Ashby. It’s nice to see
you. I don’t think you’ve come over since you and Jamie were in
grade school. How have you been?”

I blushed. My dad was completely
embarrassing me. There had been one birthday party of mine when I
was young—ten, maybe?—that Mom actually planned and attended. She
invited everyone in my class so that included Peter. It was true
that the party was probably the last time he’d been over even
though his parents and my dad were acquaintances in the academic
world. Peter’s parents were archaeologists and traveled the world
researching this and that, often presenting their findings at the
nearby universities. They went on a lot of speaking tours across
the country and I think Peter was alone a lot.

“
It’s nice to see you, Mr.
Peters.”

“
How are your parents
doing?”

“
Great, I guess. They’re on
a cruise ship somewhere in the south Pacific right now.”

“
Ahh . . . research or
pleasure?”

“
Supposedly pleasure, but if
I know them they’ll find something to study when they get off the
boat.”

We were still standing in the doorway
when Sophia pulled up to the curb. I was glad there would be
someone else to join in the awkward conversation. Camille jumped
out of Sophia’s car, too. I was relieved that the two of them had
become friends. It made my job as the supposed soul saver a little
easier. They greeted my dad and the four of us ventured into my
backyard where we took up residence on the patio furniture. Camille
lay down on a chaise lounge chair and Sophia sat at the table. I
sat on the porch swing and blushed yet again when Peter sat down
next to me.

“
So what’s the big news you
have for me?” Sophia asked.

Camille was about to bubble over with
that news, but I wanted to tell Sophia gently.

“
Well, there’re a couple of
things. First, I did a little more research at the Newton library
in New Bedford yesterday. I found out where the final resting place
of the
Mary Celeste
is.”

“
Seriously?”

“
Seriously.”

“
That’s so neat. Where is
it? Can we all go there together? Maybe I’m meant to say goodbye to
the ship and the memories of it before I’m extricated. This could
be my unfinished business.”

“
It’s in Haiti.”

“
Haiti
?” Peter exclaimed.

I guess I’d forgotten to tell Peter
and Camille that part of the story. The part where Nick suddenly
reappeared kind of overshadowed the rest of what I’d
learned.

“
I don’t think there’s any
way my parents would let me take off for Haiti,” Camille said.
“Besides, don’t you have to have some sort of special visa or
something like that to even get into that country?”

“
I’m not sure. Are you
thinking of Cuba? I think maybe you can get into Haiti with just a
normal passport, but that doesn’t really matter. Dad would never
let me go either.”

“
The sad thing is that my
parents would probably think it was a great idea for me to go, even
with the cholera, kidnappings, and crime they have there.” Peter
sighed.

“
I think this is something
Sophia is going to have to do on her own,” I said.

“
I can’t believe it. This
could really be the answer. I would miss all of you if I
disappeared, though,” Sophia reassured us.

“
There’s more, Sophia, but
I’m not really sure how to tell you. Umm . . . have you ever
wondered if Nick didn’t come back for you because maybe he
couldn’t?”

“
What are you talking
about?”

“
You said he gave Jeremiah a
note when he left. What if that wasn’t true? What if he wasn’t
really the one that wrote it? Did you actually see the
note?”

Sophia raised her eyebrows and shook
her head.

“
That’s what I thought.” I
smiled.

“
Jamie, if you have
something to tell me, please do so. Now.”

“
Sophia, Nick is still
here.”

“
What? That’s not
funny.”

“
I saw him yesterday,
Sophia. He’s a ghost.”

“
I don’t believe
you.”

“
It’s true. He found me in
New Bedford. He thinks I’m
his
soul saver, too.”

“
You’re not going to help
him, are you?” she said accusingly.

“
Actually, I am. Sophia, you
need to listen. He told me what happened all those years ago and I
believe him. His story is just as tragic as yours.”

“
Tragic? Let me guess. He
met someone in town that was prettier than me so he decided to run
away with her instead, but then she didn’t want him after all and
he was left all alone. Oh . . . poor Nick.” She mockingly put her
hands on her cheeks and shook her head. Apparently she hadn’t
forgiven him.

“
Sophia, he was killed at
the same time as you.”

“
You’re not making any
sense,” she yelled.

“
Your father, I mean
Jeremiah, found out about your plans and had him kidnapped. Then,
on the night of your wedding, he
shot
him.” I yelled, too.

My dad opened the patio door and stuck
his head out. “Is everything okay out here?”

“
We’re fine, Dad. Sorry if
we disturbed you.” I didn’t sound very sincere and I wouldn’t look
him in the eye.

His eyes lingered on Sophia, who was
wiping away tears, but he didn’t say anything and went back inside.
I continued. “Sophia, it might sound like a made-up story, but I
believe him. He was really upset when I told him about what
happened to you and he feels awful. He didn’t know you were a
ghost. He wants to see you today.”

Camille and Peter had remained silent
during our exchange, but Peter finally chimed in. “Sophia, I think
you should see him. What if Nick is the reason why you haven’t been
able to move on? Maybe the two of you were really meant to be
together and it just took this long to find each other
again.”

“
I’m scared.”

“
If he’s as cute as you
described, what’s there to be scared of?” Camille asked.

We all looked at her like she had lost
her mind, but then Sophia laughed, and the rest of us joined in. It
helped.

“
Sophia, he still loves you.
He’s been following the Goodwins for years because he wanted to
stop them from hurting other people.”

“
Wait . . . is he the other
person that the cemetery ghosts said was asking about Sophia?”
Camille asked.

“
I hadn’t thought about that
until now, but I’m sure you’re right, Cam.”

“
Where’s Nick now?” Sophia
whispered.

“
He’s planning on meeting us
at the high school at two.”

“
Oh, man,” Camille
moaned.

“
What’s the problem?” I
asked.

“
My parents made me promise
to be home by one. We’re having our annual Memorial Day barbecue
with my mom’s sisters and their families.”

“
That sucks. I’m glad I’m
not you.” Peter grinned at Camille who glared at him in
return.

“
This is going to be the
reunion of the century—literally—and I’m going to miss it.” Camille
was distraught, but the rest of us found her reaction kind of
funny.

“
You better promise to bring
Nick over as soon as you reunite. I’m dying to meet him. Uhh . . .
no offense about the whole dying thing.”

“
No offense taken.” Sophia
stood up. “Okay, if I’m really going to go through with this, I
want to go change my clothes and freshen up a little before it’s
time to go. Do you need a ride home, Camille?”

I couldn’t think of anything Sophia
could possibly do to make herself look better. She had her thick
blond hair pulled into a ponytail that showed off her long neck,
and she wore cute khaki capris with a yellow tank top. As usual,
her makeup was impeccable.