Vivien waved her hand in dismissal. “He’s outside getting nails for Heather.” She started typing on her phone.
Lorna took a deep breath and fanned her face. She moved to look at the thermostat on the wall. “Is anyone else hot? I would have sworn it was ninety degrees in here.”
“I think it’s okay,” Sue answered when Vivien kept reading her phone, frowning.
“Viv?” Lorna asked.
Vivien turned off her screen and looked up. “Fry cook was horsing around last night. He slipped and hit his head. They took him to the emergency room. He’s fine. A couple of stitches. I sent a group text to all of the managers for a mandatory safety meeting again.”
“I’m glad to hear he’s not seriously hurt,” Lorna said. “Let me know if that changes. We can take a trip wherever he is and help.”
“I think he’s wearing the stitches as a badge of honor,” Vivien said. “The manager told me the others gave him the nickname Slippy. He’s been asking for the security tapes so he can put the video on social media.”
“Ah, teenagers,” Lorna chuckled. “Gotta love ‘em.”
“What were you asking?” Vivien turned her full attention to Lorna.
“Oh, I was just saying I thought it was hot in here.” Lorna lifted her arms and fanned her armpits for effect. “I’m on my period and sweating under my boobs.”
“I really need to start knocking before I walk in here,” William said from the doorway with a rueful shake of his head. “Ready, my love?”
“Coming.” Lorna moved to follow him. Before she left, she said to Vivien, “Hot flashes suck ass. Fuck growing old empowerment. We were wrong.” As she walked through the door, she cried playfully, “Retreat, retreat, retreat!”
“You’re wrong. We’re awesome, beautiful, strong creatures,” Vivien yelled after her. “Don’t you forget it.”
“Look who I found,” Heather said, coming back inside.
Sue had met January briefly when Martin stopped by the theater to drop her off. The ten-year-old girl looked a lot like her father. It wasn’t just her dark hair and eyes, but the way she carried herself. She wore a long-sleeve t-shirt and cargo pants that had tiny splatters of white paint on them like she’d been working on a construction site. She carried a backpack.
“Hey there, Jan,” Vivien said. “Are you hanging out with us today?”
The girl nodded. “Heather, can I read in the tower?”
“Sure,” Heather said. “Say hi to Sue first.”
“Hey, Sue.” Jan frowned.
“Hi January,” Sue answered, smiling. “What’s the tower?”
Jan shrugged and edged away from her.
“Cupola,” Vivien answered. “That small thing on the top of the house. It served as a lookout toward the ocean.”
Jan tugged at Heather’s hand and whispered none too softly, “Whose that angry guy with her? He looks mean.”
Sue shot up from her chair and spun around. Her heart leaped in her chest, and she found it hard to breathe. She didn’t see or smell anything.
“It’s nothing. We’re taking care of it. Head on up,” Heather urged the girl.
“Can I help with the exorcism?” Jan asked.
“Not with this one,” Heather said. “Maybe next time. Go on.”
January ran up the stairs two at a time.
Vivien had also stood. “Heather?”
“I don’t see anything.” Heather frowned.
“I should go,” Sue said. “It’s not safe for me to be here.”
“Nonsense,” Vivien denied.
Sue glanced toward the ceiling. “Not with Jan here.”
Vivien nodded. “Grab the clothes. We’ll go to the theater.”
“I’ll call Martin and have him come back to pick her up,” Heather said.
“Nonsense,” Vivien denied. “You can’t see him, and if we’re not allowed to séance him, there is nothing we can do but wait. That girl needs your steady presence. Besides, if Hank is popping in unannounced and unnoticed, we need you to start applying any protection measures you can think of to keep danger out of this place. Smudge the whole damn house until smoke is rolling out of the windows, and it looks like it’s on fire if you have to.”
“Call me if you need me,” Heather said.
“We will.” Vivien helped Sue carry the clothes to the car. “I know you’re worried, but I promise, we’ll figure this out.”
They kept saying that, but Sue wasn’t so sure they would figure it out. None of them had realized Hank had been in the room with them. Was he beside her even now? She glanced back at the house to see January watching her from a third-story window. Sue tried to smile at the girl in reassurance. Seeing ghosts at that age couldn’t be easy. The child’s worried expression didn’t change.
“Let’s go,” Vivien said, slamming her trunk shut.
Sue jumped at the sound and hurried to get in the car.
Chapter Fourteen
“I don’t want to hear any excuses. That is fear talking. You’re going on this date tonight.” Vivien held up two dress choices—a red and a black. “You can’t live your life in fear of what Hank’s ghost is going to do.”
Sue shook her head, not moving from her place on the bed. Her wet hair hung around her face. She’d taken a shower, which was a nerve-racking feat considering she kept imagining perverted spirits watching her. Now she sat wrapped in a towel, watching Vivien pick out an outfit for her date.
“Hank is an abuser. He’s selfish, narcissistic, and only cares about himself. That is what those types are like. In his mind, if he can’t have you, no one can.” Vivien dropped the red dress and tried to hand Sue the black one. “He wants you scared and hiding. He doesn’t want you out there having fun and living your life. This is your chance to kick him in the cosmic balls and tell him to go fuck himself all the way to hell.”
“Jan said he was angry. I know what he’s like when he’s angry. There is no reasoning with him. What if he tries to hurt Jameson?” Sue hadn’t thought things through when she’d slept with Jameson. What if Hank saw? What if he knew? “What if he hurts you, or Lorna, or Heather? I can’t live with that. I have been thinking, and maybe it’s best I go back to St. Louis by myself.”
Vivien dropped the hand holding the dress. The slinky black material bunched on the bed. “Try it.”
“What?” Sue asked in surprise at her tone.
“I said try it.” Vivien pursed her lips together and arched a brow.
Sue lowered her gaze.
“You are our friend, Sue. You might not believe that yet or understand that true friends are always there for each other no matter what, but we’re not going anywhere. You can go back to St. Louis, but your delusional if you think I won’t jump into the car and follow you there.” She again held up the dress. “I think you should wear this one.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “No one has ever fought for me before.”
“Tell me this. If a demon was going after Lorna, or a spirit convinced Jan to burn down Heather’s house, or my first husband kept trying to lure me to my death in the ocean, would you just step back and let it happen? Or would you do all you could to help?”