“If it makes you feel better, Em and I are taking the upstairs. That’s where we saw the ghost.”
“So you really did see a ghost?” Bri asked.
“We think we did.” A door slammed upstairs, and Em winced. “Sorry,” she murmured, thinking she’d offended the ghost. “We saw a woman in the turret window, and we heard a lot of door slamming.” A red ball bounced down the stairs.
Josh grinned. “And Em played ball with a ghost kid.”
Quinn swore under his breath, putting an arm around Raine’s shoulders and drawing her close. “Your plan isn’t going to work, Josh. Not if the kids hear or see any of what you’re talking about. They’ll be back every weekend.”
“Let me worry about that. For now, put your lantern on the fireplace mantel, Raine, and then you and Quinn hide in here.” Josh walked to the wall beside the fireplace and pressed his palm against it. A segment of wood paneling popped open, revealing a hiding place. “Cool, eh? Neil told me about it. There’s a peephole so you’ll be able to see what’s going on.”
He typed on his phone, and theirs all pinged. “It’s a link to an alarm like the one Em mentioned. If you press activate, a siren will blare, and lights will flash. So if the kids get out of hand or we think someone’s going to get hurt, we’ll sound the alarm. I texted Izzy so she knows what to expect. She’ll tell the kids the house is monitored and to get out before HFPD arrive.”
Raine sent a nervous glance up the stairs. “Why can’t we just do that now?”
“Because, if everything goes according to plan, they’re going to come in and look around and see nothing but an old house in need of renovating.” Car doors slammed, and they could hear kids laughing. “Places, people.” He motioned for Em to follow him, lighting the way with the flashlight on his phone.
“Okay, so how do you plan to get the ghosts to cooperate?” Em asked, sprinting up the stairs after him.
As they hurried past the bedrooms to the front of the house, he called out quietly, “May, Clara, Willy, we know you’re here, and Em is going to help Jenny clear your names. But right now, we need you to stay quiet. Just until the kids leave,” he said as they reached the turret room.
Em stared at him. “You actually think that’ll—” She broke off at the sound of a woman softly weeping.
“Did you hear that?” she asked Josh, who’d crouched near the window, looking outside.
He nodded and then turned to her, mouthing Showtime. Staying low as he crossed the room, he motioned for her to get behind the half-open door and joined her there.
Downstairs, the front door opened. “It’s just a lantern. Don’t be a bunch of lame-asses. Mike’s dad must’ve been working here and left them on. Come on, or do you want me to hold your hands?”
Josh rolled his eyes, obviously recognizing the voice. Em imagined he knew the majority of the kids coming into the house. And from the stampede of footsteps, there were a lot of them.
As if he read her mind, he held up his hands, closed his fingers, and held them up again. At least twenty teenagers. He must’ve seen them coming up the path. They were roaming around downstairs. “Hey, don’t touch anything. It’s private property, Drew.”
Izzy, Em mouthed, and Josh nodded.
“You’re such a goody-goody.” It was the smart-ass kid who, Em figured, must be Drew. “Let’s check out upstairs. You should probably stay down here, Johnson. We wouldn’t want you to freak…” A high-pitched cry was followed by, “What the hell was that?” The panic in Drew’s voice came through loud and clear.
Josh muttered, “Damn it.”
A bunch of the kids started laughing. “She got you good, Drew.”
“Maybe I should lead the way,” they heard Izzy say. “We wouldn’t want you to freak out, Drew.”
Em and Josh smiled and high-fived each other. Ten minutes later, they did it again when some of the kids started complaining that coming to Seaton House had been a lame idea. At the sound of them heading down the stairs, Em and Josh stepped out from behind the door in the turret room.
“Okay, I have to admit it. Your plan totally work—” Em began.
She was cut off by a muffled scream coming from the living room, a scream that was echoed by several of the kids, followed by the pounding of feet as they raced for the front door.
Josh bowed his head when it slammed behind the kids before raising his gaze to hers. “Looks like we’ll be spending our Saturday date nights hanging out at Seaton House.”
From downstairs they heard Raine say, “I couldn’t help it. A rat ran across my feet!”
Chapter Fourteen
Josh walked down the hall of Highland Falls Elementary. It was a stone’s throw from the high school, which made it easy for his mom to have him run errands for her. Today was her volunteer day, and she’d forgotten her lunch.
She’d called him ten minutes ago, asking him to pick her up something to eat. He’d been too busy to leave the campus and brought her his lunch instead. But as he approached the kindergarten classroom, he heard a familiar voice and knew he’d been had.
He leaned against the doorjamb, watching Em, who sat in a kid-size chair at a round table finger painting with a group of kindergarteners. She wore jeans, a green sweater, and a frown on her face.
“Thanks. I like your tree,” she said to the boy beside her, who was holding up his artwork.
“It’s not a tree. It’s my dad,” the boy said, and Josh pressed his lips together to keep from laughing.
“Oh, he’s, uh, tall,” Em said and went back to dabbing her orange-and-yellow-coated fingers on the paper in front of her.
“Do you like my painting?” the little girl beside Em asked.
“I do.” Em nodded. “You did a good job painting your dad.”
“It’s not my dad. It’s a tree. Like yours,” the little girl said, her bottom lip pushed out.
Josh could almost hear Em swearing in her head. She leaned over as if getting a better look. “You’re right, it is. Only your tree is better than mine.”
The little girl beamed, and a dark-haired little girl with pigtails across from Em held up her painting. “What about mine?”
“It’s really good,” Em said.
“No, you’re supposed to say what it is,” the dark-haired little girl said in a demanding voice that didn’t bode well for Em if she guessed wrong.
Josh pushed off the doorjamb. “Hey, how come no one told me it was finger painting day?” He grinned at Em, who looked like he’d saved her from a fate worse than death.
“Look at mine, Coach. Look at mine!” several of the kids in the class called out, holding up their artwork.
He usually stopped in once a day when his mom was volunteering. Although he’d recently begun staying away when he’d discovered Allison Parker, a woman he’d dated six months ago, was their substitute teacher. She was at the speed-dating event Saturday night, and she’d opted to give him a second chance.
“Wow. They’re amazing.” He leaned over Em. “Good job, Picasso. Is that Gus?” he teased, knowing full well it was a tree stump.