Spirits of Spring (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 4) (54 page)

When I heard that his mother died the same day I was
“ghost busted”, I felt bad but not for Lucas—for his mother.
Some may call it coincidence but I called it karma.
Lucas
finished his senior year the same way I contemplated doing—
cyber school. I also called that ironic.

After our conversation was over, I took one last look at
the school then walked away feeling slightly empty inside.
It
was over. High school was finally over. It didn’t feel real to me
but I knew that it was. I was going to miss it in an odd sort of
way. Just when I started to feel at home here, it was time to
leave. Zach and I would start over together in Ohio and create a
new life for ourselves. Things in Charlotte’s Grove would stay
the same but it would feel different every time we visited.

He and
I had one thing
planned before we
left
Pennsylvania—a road trip to Trinity. I wanted to see my old
home one more time and visit the stage where my mother used
to dance.
Zach wanted to stop at Scenery Hill cemetery so that
he could thank Lee for leading him to me when I was in danger.
We both kept an eye out for that giant crow but neither of us
ever saw it again. I guess we didn’t really need to—we had
each other to rely on now.

We skipped out on all of the graduation parties we were
invited to and went to The Hideout instead.
There, we talked
for hours about Zach’s new ability while we gazed up at the
stars. The path life had set for us wasn’t an easy one but we
were prepared to walk it together.

Several Years Later…
42. What Goes Around…

I’d been to Heaven’s Gate cemetery multiple times—to
visit
multiple
graves—but this
time
was
different.
Way
different. I’d never been here to see the headstone placed there
in Clay’s memory.

We both knew the spot well—halfway up the hill and
behind the towering obelisk. Dew collected on the toes of my
boots as we made our way through the well-manicured lawn of
the
cemetery.
A
lot
changed
here
after
the
mystery
surrounding Clay’s death was solved. A lot changed in
Charlotte’s Grove, period. But one thing remained the same.
Early June mornings in Pennsylvania were still cold so I pulled
my hoodie closer to me as we walked.

“Close your eyes until the grand unveiling!” Clay
exclaimed as he stepped in front of me to block my view of it.

I stood with my eyes closed while Clay described how
the new stone came to be placed there. He’d told me the story a
thousand times
but I never grew tired of hearing
it.
His
enthusiasm made me forget where we were for a moment. He
made this place feel so alive—like we were visiting the circus
not his place of burial.
When he finished with his story, I
inhaled deeply with anticipation and looked down.

Clayton Arnold Roseman
May 21, 1994-May 18, 2012
In Loving Memory of My Son

The headstone was shiny with an expertly carved image
of Clay’s Mustang in the top right corner. Clay was right. His
dad spared no expense when he purchased that memorial.

The information that came out during Jeremy’s trial set
the entire town on its ear. Time spent in jail helped Jeremy kick
his drug habit and he changed his original not guilty plea to
guilty and took half the town down with him.
When asked
what made him decide to tell the truth, he replied, “I’m doing it
for Clay. It’s the only thing I
can
do for him now.”

Jeremy’s confession set off an interesting chain of
events. He named Shane and Dylan as his immediate suppliers
but made it clear that he knew they had a boss somewhere in
town to whom they reported. He knew of enough crimes that
they’d committed that would send them both to jail for at least
ten years.
He also revealed that he had been visiting Mrs.
Roseman at the flower shop, stealing money every chance he
got.
No one sold me out like I originally thought they did.
Jeremy was in the stock room that day and heard every word I
said to Clay.

After Shane’s and Dylan’s arrests, they were given the
chance at a plea bargain—name their boss and walk away with
only
one year
sentences
in
the
minimum
security
county
prison. They took the deal and named their supplier.

Jack Wolfe. He owned the town in more ways than one.
A
search warrant
revealed plenty
more than
anyone was
expecting—especially me. Shane and Dylan weren’t the only
ones holding vital information and Clay’s death wasn’t the only
one he was indirectly responsible for.
As the house of Wolfe
came crashing
down, Misty
revealed more of the
story
to
escape an accessory after the fact charge.

The
tale
was
incredibly
twisted—so
twisted
that I
didn’t believe it the first time I heard it. After murdering Clay,
Jeremy walked away from the scene leaving no evidence that
he’d even been there. When Shane and Dylan found his car
there the next morning, they panicked thinking that Clay was in
the woods dead as a result of their beating. In frustration, they
destroyed the car then walked away with the only evidence
that tied them to Clay—his cell phone.

Looking for help in covering up the murder they hadn’t
even committed, Shane and Dylan went immediately to Jack
Wolfe. He took the phone from them and told them to lay low
until the body was found. Jack locked the phone in the glove
box of his new Mercedes until he could dispose of it.

The following morning, Misty took Jack’s car without
permission and set out on an adventure of her own. There was
a concert she wanted to attend. A Cold Eternal concert. But
there was one other thing she needed to do.
Go shopping. She
drove to an outlet mall on the outskirts of Harrisburg first.
On
the way back through, she stopped at a small convenience store
to get a soda.
Fresh out of cash, she opened the glove box
hoping to find money. Instead, she found a phone.

Her mind went back to how her mother learned that
her father was cheating on her—she found a second phone
inside his car, one he used only for conversations with his
mistress.
But the evidence she found inside that phone had
nothing to do with an affair.
There was only one reason for
Clay’s phone to be in Jack’s car—he was responsible for Clay’s
death.

She instantly knew that she’d hit pay dirt.
Jack was
hiding a lot of things and he was going to have to pay her well
to keep his secret for him.
Unable to wait until she got home,
she sent the first blackmail text as she drove onto the bridge.
That’s right,
Destiny
Bridge.

During a heated text battle over the incident, Misty
swerved and almost hit a milk truck.
That truck struck the
bridge causing its eventual collapse. I was on that bridge that
very same day. Inadvertently, Misty’s greed caused Lee’s death.
When I heard the news, I wanted to hit her more than I ever
had before.
But after what happened to Misty the night of
graduation, I figured that karma was already punishing her
enough.

The biggest charge to Jack’s rap sheet, however, was tax
evasion.
His personal files turned up plenty of white collar
crimes which were easier for the district attorney to prosecute.
In the end, his entire fortune went to the IRS. Well, most of it.

Jack’s crime spree stretched back over decades and
once
he
was
behind bars, people
started coming
forward.
People like Principal Lascher. Jack Wolfe paid him years ago to
take Garrett Mason out of the game so that his son could get
some football glory. He apologized to Garrett profusely, saying
that he
never intended to end
his career.
A
local lawyer
approached Garrett about filing a civil suit against Jack which
he eventually won. With Jack’s bank accounts frozen by the
government, Garrett walked away with the only thing left—
Mistyque.

Jack’s son disowned his father when he realized that
Garrett’s injury was caused for his benefit. But Scott Fox had
one more secret to learn. Clay’s mom knew exactly who
fathered her child but received liquid payment for keeping it
hush hush.
She was given a job and endless tab at The Crow
Hole—a bar owned by
Jack Wolfe—in
exchange for not
revealing Scott as the father.
Jack did it to punish Scott for
disowning him.

Jack Wolfe died in prison before he could even be put to
trial.
With barely any assets, his only son received just enough
money to buy his own son a headstone.

“Is he as excited to see it as he is every time he visits?”
asked Scott Fox from off in the distance.

 

“You know it!” I replied, happy to see father and son
semi-reunited yet again.

“I loved that kid even before I knew he was mine. I
scraped up every penny I had just to bury him.
I felt bad
leaving him with such a cheap headstone but it was all I could
afford.
I wanted to stay in his life after the break up but his
mother was such a train
wreck.
She and
I had been onagain/off-again since right after high school but her problems
kept getting worse. She made it impossible. I hope she’s
resting in peace now, too.”

Without her endless bar tab, Clay’s mom fell even
further off the wagon. She died of a heroin overdose less than a
year later.

“I’m sure she is,” I said but I had no real idea. I’d had
my hands so full dealing with Zach’s paranormal problems that
I didn’t have time to see if she was still lingering. Clay didn’t
seem to care. He had his father now and that was enough for
him.

I looked at my watch and saw that I was already late for
lunch with everyone. “I’m heading to the diner, are you going
to stay here with your dad for a little while?”

“No, I’m joining you guys for lunch. You don’t mind
stopping at my dad’s for a few minutes after that, do you?”

 

“No, that’s fine,” I said wondering why Clay seemed so
excited to sit and watch everyone else eat. “Let’s go.”

 

I left that cemetery not realizing how different my life
was going to be the next time I returned.
43. …Comes Back Around

We spent the five minute drive to the All American
Diner with the stereo blasting Bohemian Rhapsody. Over the
years, it kind of became our song. When things got rough and I
needed to clear my head, this was how I did it. I logged a lot of
miles to that song that first year in Ohio.

Everyone else was there waiting for me when I got to
the restaurant. I would have much rather gone to Amuse for
my birthday lunch but apparently my vote didn’t count. Amuse
was what the Masons renamed Mistyque when they turned it
into a restaurant/comedy club.
And a very profitable one at
that.

I dropped Zach off at their house earlier so that he
could spend some time with his twin nephews—Alex and Zane.
Rachel and Boone moved to Pittsburgh when he got drafted by
the Steelers straight out of college. A year later, Drake joined
them
there.
After their first Super Bowl win,
the Steeler
defense became known as the Sterling Curtain thanks to them.
Rachel ran an interior design firm out of their home so that she
could spend more time with their sons. By the size of those two
boys, the family football legacy was bound to continue.

Andy and Rita were there, too.
They got married in
Niagara Falls
on their three
year anniversary
as
a couple.
When Andy decided to take on another staff veterinarian, Zach
was
his
first
choice.
He accepted,
of
course,
and
we
immediately began our search for a house in Charlotte’s Grove.
That’s right, after years in Ohio, we were moving back home.

Dad and
Shelly turned Rosewood into a Civil War
museum
after
the
terrible run they
had at
their
bed
and
breakfast venture. The museum was doing well but they were
considering selling it when Dad retired. I’d already put first
dibs on it when it went up for sale. What can I say, I couldn’t
leave the past
completely
in the past. That house meant a lot to
me and always would.

Rachel blew me a kiss
when she
saw me
walking
through the door so I blew one back. I took the empty seat next
to Zach and gave him a real kiss. He smiled and kissed me back
but I could feel his leg bouncing nervously under the table. I
glanced around for ghosts automatically but saw nothing. His
abilities were stronger than mine—who knows
what
he was
seeing that I wasn’t. I squeezed his hand for comfort knowing
that he would explain what he saw to me later.
Someday I
hoped that he would let me tell his story the way I told mine. It
took
four novels
to document
coming
to terms
with my
abilities, but I was glad I did it. But it was his story to tell—I
had to wait until he was ready to do it.

Halfway through the meal, Rachel burst out in tears.
“What’s wrong, Rachel?” I asked wondering if I’d missed
something significant by being late.

“Nothing!” she said crying even harder. “I called you all
together here today to tell you that I’m pregnant! I was trying
to keep it a secret for a little while just in case something bad
happened but I just had my first sonogram and the doctor says
the baby looks fine. It’s a girl!”

The
table
erupted
into
instant
rounds
of
congratulations.
Rachel had been trying for years to have
another baby
but was
told the
odds
were unlikely.
She
especially wanted a girl, too.