Karen looked thoughtfully at the dean. “I have a question,” she said. “When will construction begin on the new dorm?”
The dean seemed to blanch. He dropped his eyes and shuffled papers around on his desk. Clearing his throat, he said, “We’re waiting on the children to leave for the summer recess to begin construction. That way the noise won’t disturb classes,” said the dean.
Something in the dean’s mannerisms about when the construction would begin alerted me, and Karen must have picked up on it too, because she boldly asked, “Have you secured the financing for this construction yet, Dean Habbernathy?”
The dean scowled. She’d struck a nerve. “We expect to hear from our bank any day now,” he said. “As soon as the children have left for the summer and the bank approves our loan, construction will begin.”
“Aren’t you concerned about getting a construction crew out here on such short notice?” Karen asked. She’d dated John Dodge of Dodge Construction for three years—Karen knew about construction crews.
“I’m sure that won’t be a problem once we’ve secured the financing,” the dean said firmly, and we could all tell that his patience was wearing thin on that topic.
Karen changed tack. “How many children will the new dorm accommodate once it’s complete?” she asked.
“It will allow us to double our numbers,” said the dean smugly. “And as we are at max capacity and are having to turn away potential applicants every year, adding accommodations makes good business sense.”
Karen was quiet for a long moment as she tapped her chin and looked at the dean. Finally she stood up and said, “Thank you for your time, Dean Habbernathy. We’ll be taking our leave for the time being.”
I was startled that Karen had called such an abrupt close to our meeting, especially since I had my own argument for the dean lined up. “You’re giving up that easily?” I asked once we were out in the hallway.
“Hell, no,” she said, a look of determination firmly planted on her face. Once we were at the front door Karen handed me her keys and said, “You go wait out in the car. I’ve got a call to make. I’ll join you in a minute.”
I looked quizzically at her but followed her directive. Leanne trotted next to me, lending me her umbrella while the boys ran through the rain back to the van. “What do you think she’s up to?” Leanne asked me.
“Not sure. But knowing Karen, it’s bound to be spectacular.”
Little did I know the half of it. Karen joined me in the car a short time later and immediately began fluffing her hair and checking her reflection. “Want to let me in on what’s going on?” I asked.
She gave me a broad smile in return. “I’ve set up another meeting with the dean,” she said. “But this one’s going to be a little more private.”
My jaw dropped. “You’re going to seduce him?” I gasped.
Karen tilted her head back and laughed heartily. “Hardly,” she said. “No, the seducing is for someone else.” With that cryptic remark she started her car and drove us back to the lodge, where Karen ducked into her bedroom while Gilley got to making us some sort of lavish feast for dinner and Steven and I headed downstairs to check out the game room.
“Look!” said Steven, pointing to an air hockey table.
“Hockey!”
I giggled at his enthusiasm. “Do you play? ’Cuz I’m good.”
“Yes, I play,” he said confidently. “I will be mopping the flooring with you.”
I smiled wryly. “Really? Well, then, how about a little wager?”
“You want to bet some money?” he asked.
“I surely do,” I said, picking up one of the handles and flipping the switch for the air.
“How much?”
“How much do you have in your pocket?”
“Couple grand,” he said nonchalantly.
I frowned. “Okay, so an amount significantly less than that,” I said. “How about a hundred bucks.” That was my allowance for the week. If I lost it, I’d have to mooch off Gilley.
“You are on,” he said, picking up his own handle.
We played furiously for the next hour, and I had to admit Steven was good, but not as good as moi. I was one point away from collecting my moola when a loud thump, thump, thump came from outside. Steven looked up at the noise, and I smashed the puck with all my might. It slid into his goal and I threw up my arms. “Whoop!” I yelled.
“That is no fair!” Steven cried, and it was then that I realized he was shouting. The thump, thump, thump from outside was getting louder. “What is that?” he asked.
“Not sure,” I yelled. “Come on!” And we headed upstairs. Gilley was staring out the front window, a bowl cradled in one arm, a spoon in his other hand.
“What’s going on?” I shouted, and it was then that I noticed the trees across the large lawn were blowing and bending away from the house.
Gilley didn’t have to answer me, because the next moment a helicopter dropped down onto the front lawn. On the side of the helicopter it read, J. DODGE INC.
“Uh, Karen?” I yelled. “You need to come here, quick!”
Karen appeared a moment later looking so gorgeous it hurt to look at her. “Oh, good,” she said, glancing outside.
“My ride is here.”
We were all just staring at her with open mouths and wide eyes when the doorbell rang and we jumped.
Karen opened the door, and a man in a pilot’s uniform stood there on the front step. He tipped his head to her and said, “Miss O’Neal.”
“Charlie,” Karen said warmly. “It’s so nice to see you again.”
“We’ve missed you, ma’am,” Charlie said with a slight blush.
“That’s sweet of you, Charlie. Is Mr. Dodge waiting out there for me?”
“Yes, ma’am. He’s in the chopper. Oh, and these are for you,” he said, handing over a gigantic bouquet of flowers.
“They’re lovely, Charlie. I’ll have to thank John’s assistant for picking them out for me.”
“Oh, no, ma’am,” Charlie was quick to say. “Mr. Dodge selected that arrangement himself.”
Karen cocked an eyebrow at him. “Really?” she said, but I could tell she was secretly pleased at the revelation. Handing the bouquet to me, she said, “M.J., would you do me a favor and put these on the counter in the kitchen? I don’t want to be late for our meeting with the dean.”
I grinned, finally understanding why Karen had asked Dean Habbernathy if he’d already raised the funding for the new wing. “You got it, gal pal. Now go on and have fun, and we won’t wait up for you.”
Karen cut me a look that said that might be a good idea, then ducked under the umbrella Charlie had opened for her and crossed the lawn to the helicopter. The door opened and out jumped a tall, absolutely beautiful man with impossibly broad shoulders, a thin waist, ebony hair, and a strong jaw. He planted a quick kiss on Karen’s cheek and helped her into the chopper. A moment later they were gone.
When the trees had settled down again Gilley turned to me and demanded, “Dish!”
I shrugged my shoulders. “She hasn’t told me any more than she’s told you,” I said. “But my guess is that on the way over to that school Karen is going to convince John of the importance of receiving a decent education. And what better place to get a good education than at a boarding school. And every child who boards away from the safety and comfort of their own home needs to feel safe in that environment.
“She’ll point out that it’s too bad the children at this particular boarding school are in fear of their lives and are terrified to return to a school next year where they could at any moment be attacked by some wild demon!” I added with a dramatic flourish.
“She’s going to convince him to donate the funding and the construction crew to the school,” Gilley summed up succinctly.
“That’d be my guess. Dodge made Forbes’s Wealthiest Men in America list last year, so my guess is that man has money to burn. He’ll fork over a few hundred thousand
like it’s nothing, and that will give Karen the leverage she needs to convince the dean to let us go in and do our thing.”
“She is very clever,” said Steven.
“She is,” I agreed. “Now hand over my hundred.”
Steven slanted his eyes at me. “You cheated.”
“I did not cheat,” I insisted. “I merely took advantage of a lapse in concentration from my opponent to score the winning point.”
Steven reached into his pocket and pulled out his money clip. Peeling off one of the bills, he handed it to me. “I will want to rematch,” he said.
I snapped the money out of his hand. “Anytime, anywhere, Doc.”
“Snap, crackle, and pop!” said Gilley, swiveling his eyes back and forth between us. “You two have enough chemistry going on between you to be hazardous. I’m heading back to the kitchen. Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes.”
We ate a delicious meal of veal piccata and retired to the living room to watch television and wait for Karen to get back. By eleven thirty I gave up and stood, ready to call it a night and head to bed. “Looks like Teeko and John are hitting it off,” I said, stretching. “I’m going to bed.”
Gilley was on the other couch, and he gave a loud snore. I glanced over, surprised that he’d dropped off so early. Gil was usually the last one to bed. “He fell asleep an hour ago,” Steven said.
“Must be the mountain air,” I said. “Well, I’m off to sleep too. Good night, Steven.”
“I will join you,” he said, getting up from the couch. With a smile I noticed that he paused next to Gil’s couch and pulled an afghan from a nearby basket. After draping it over my friend, he followed after me. When we got to my bedroom I turned and said, “Good night,” again.
Steven looked over my shoulder. “Are you sleeping in here too?” he asked me with mock surprise.
“You know I am.” I giggled.
“Oh, well, my things are already in here, so we might as well share.”
“Doc’s a pretty bird!” Doc said from his perch. “Doc’s cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!”
“He’s got a million of ’em,” I said, glancing at my bird.
“He’ll keep it up all night if he wants to.”
“He is not liking me?” Steven said.
“He is not liking you with me,” I replied. “Doc’s pretty possessive. You should have seen what he did to a few of my ex-boyfriends. It takes him a while to warm up to the idea of someone else in the room.”
“We could leave him here and go into one of the other bedrooms.”
“Doc’s lonely!” my bird squawked as he fluttered his wings and started pacing along his perch. I could tell his agitation was increasing the longer Steven hovered near me.
“Doc wants Mama!”
I sighed. “Better take a rain check on that one, my friend,” I said. Inching up on my toes I gave Steven a light kiss, and that was the wrong thing to do because Doc went ballistic. “Pow!” he yelled, and the sound was eerily similar to a gunshot. “Gilley! Gilley, come quick!” he shouted, fluttering about and flapping his wings. “Doc’s been shot! Doc’s in pain! Doc’s going to the light!”
We heard footsteps running down the hallway toward us, and a bleary-eyed Gilley appeared. “What’s wrong with Doc?” he asked as my bird fluttered and squawked around in his cage.
“Nothing,” I said, giving Steven an apologetic look. “He’s just doing his possessive bird bit.”
Gilley blinked and seemed to take in how close Steven and I were standing. “Oh,” he said. “Well, he’s making a hell of a racket, M.J.”
“I know,” I said, moving across the room to open up Doc’s cage. “He’s just a little—Ack! Doc, no!” But it was too late. Doc flew out of his cage and headed directly toward Steven. Squawking and fluttering about Steven’s head, Doc bit him on the ear.
“Ow!” Steven said; then he started speaking angrily in Spanish.
“Gilley!” I said as I ran to Steven’s side. “Help me get Doc!”
But Doc was having none of it. He circled the room and aimed straight for Steven’s head again; this time, though, Steven got his arms up in the nick of time and Doc only scratched his arm.
“Your bird is loco!” Steven shouted and fled from the room. I quickly closed the door behind him, and Doc settled on the bedpost. Gil leaned against the door and said,
“Maybe you’re going to want to keep Doc in his cage for this job?”
I nodded. “And I wonder why I’ve been single all these years. Come here, Doc,” I said. “Now.”
Doc whistled long and low and twirled around on the bedpost twice before flying to my hand. I stroked his feathers and gave him a kiss. “Silly bird,” I said, and put him gently back into his cage.
“Did Teeko call?” Gil asked me, and at that moment my cell phone rang. I hurried over to it and answered.
“You’re in,” Karen said. “John and I have cleared everything with the dean. The only stipulation is that you three will have to wait two days to go in and do your ghostbusting. The dean doesn’t want any of the students exposed. Most of them should be gone by the end of the weekend, but if you see any kids left on the campus, you can’t tell them what you’re doing.”
“Got it,” I said. “Can I still talk to the faculty?”
“Yes, if you can find any. The dean said there really wouldn’t be anyone left on campus beyond Sunday. Most of the teaching staff will have cleared out as well.”
“Well, that makes things a little tougher, but we’ll deal with it,” I said.
“And there’s one more thing,” Karen said, and I could tell by the tone in her voice that she was pissed about the next bit of news. “You’ll have to get in there, M.J., and get rid of Jack in five days. We can’t go beyond a week from today.”
“Why not?” I asked, feeling like the pressure was really on now.
“John’s crew is available for only a few weeks between the week after next and the second week in July. He thinks he can complete the renovations by then, but he can’t delay construction by a minute past midnight next Friday.”
“Okay,” I said reluctantly. “Then we’ll have to make sure we work this one quick.” In the background of our call I heard birds chirping and singing. Glancing outside at the dark I asked, “Where are you that birds are awake and singing?”
“Paris,” Karen said. “John chartered a jet and we made it here about twenty minutes ago.”
“Ah,” I replied. “Then I guess we won’t wait up for you.”
“Probably a good idea,” she said. “Do you remember your way to the school?”
“Gilley’s got his mapping gizmo in the van. We’ll find it just fine.”
“Good. I’ll be back as soon as possible,” she said, and we said our good-byes.
“We’ve got the okay?” Gil asked from behind me.
“Yep. We’ll have to wait it out here until Monday, and we’re not allowed to talk to the kids if we see any, but we can do our baseline this weekend.”
“Perfect!” he said happily. “I can spend the weekend in the hot tub.”
The next two days passed slowly. It continued to rain, which left us all a little on edge. Gilley hung out in the hot tub, and Steven and I spent a lot of time in the game room. By five o’clock on Sunday we were all climbing the walls. “Let’s go into town for dinner,” said Steven. “My treat.”
We made our way to town and pulled into the Mirror Lake Inn, then headed toward the View Restaurant inside. We were seated at an elegantly dressed table overlooking the spectacular Mirror Lake.
This early in the evening the restaurant was only half-full, and most of the diners were of a somewhat older demographic. “Early-bird special,” Gilley teased, snapping open his menu.
“Good evening,” said a soft male voice next to me. I looked up to see a handsome waiter in a crisp white coat and black pants, with a name tag that read, ANDREW.
“Hi, Andrew,” Gilley said quickly, setting his menu down and sitting up stra
ight in his chair. Gil never met a handsome man he didn’t flirt with.
Andrew greeted him warmly, then asked us for our drink orders, promising to be back shortly to tell us about the specials. “He’s nice,” Steven said when Andrew had gone.
“Years from now I’ll tell people about the first time I laid eyes on my husband,” Gil said dreamily.
I smirked and reopened my menu, and that was when I got a hard thump on my shoulder. I scowled and ignored the thump. But whoever was bumping up against my energy wasn’t having it and kept thumping. I sighed heavily and closed my menu. I couldn’t concentrate with the constant bumping.
“What is the matter?” Steven asked, noticing my irritation.
“Someone’s trying to get my attention,” I said.
Steven and Gilley both looked around the restaurant.
“Who?” Gil asked.
“Not sure,” I answered. “But it began right after Andrew showed up, so my thinking is, it’s connected to him.”
My feelings were confirmed the moment Andrew came back to our table and set down our wineglasses. The thumping was so intense that I finally opened up my energy and thought, Fine! You win. Who are you and what can I do for you?
The name Richard impressed itself firmly on my mind. Glancing up at Andrew, who was reaching into his inside pocket to pull out a small notepad, I said, “Andrew, do you happen to know a Richard?”
Andrew smiled. “Yes, he’s working the back section. Would you prefer to sit at one of his tables this evening?”
In my mind I got the sensation of a vigorous head shake no. I reached out to the energy again and asked him for clarification. Again I got the name Richard, and I felt like the name in question belonged to this spirit who had crossed over. I smiled tightly at Andrew and tried again. “I’m sorry, Andrew, but I think I’ve asked this question incorrectly. Do you know someone who’s deceased named Richard?”
Andrew blinked dumbly at me for a moment, and then the look was replaced by one of confusion. “No,” he said carefully.
Inside my head I got an intense feeling he did. I glanced at Gilley, not knowing how else to proceed. “Andrew,” Gil said calmly. “I don’t want to upset or alarm you, but my friend here is a professional medium. Sometimes when she encounters a total stranger, someone from the other side will attempt to make contact through her. It appears that’s happening right now, and my friend here needs you to think hard, because if we don’t identify this person trying to make contact with you, none of us will be able to enjoy our meal.”