Bijou Read online

  Getting up, I nudged Zoe toward the door. “See if he’s still there,” I whispered. Zoe knew I was not talking about Sawyer. Looking through the door opening, she nodded.

  Good. “See you later, Jack. I’ll come by the office.”

  I was almost had the door closed before I heard him say, “Give Ivy my regards, would you?”

  “Sure.” I shut the door behind me. Zoe stood in the center of the driveway, watching baby Justin. Sawyer was gone, back to the car, I hoped.

  I walked up to the hedge, looked up at the swinging baby. He did a little dance, a flip, and swooped down to stare me straight in the face. Behind me I heard Zoe take a quick breath.

  A cool breeze washed over us. Shadows leaned over us as the sun sank behind trees and hillside; it was getting late, I realized; the light dimmed, but not, perhaps, from the closing in of sunset. It had more to do with the wraith before me, huge, baby-blue eyes staring into mine not with innocence, but with a crazy vacant sort of malice.

  A chill encircled my throat. I kept Zoe behind me. I had never dealt with a soul-less wraith before, one whose being had been ripped away, causing a death that might not have been. “Justin. I want to help you.”

  I saw nothing in the baby-face asking for help. I saw no reaction at all to what I had just said. He continued to hang in front of me, bobbing up and down, as if held out by a parent’s hands for a kiss.

  The thought gave me an idea. Swallowing bile, I leaned forward, and kissed him on the forehead.

  Wriggling, he slid closer, still staring a great hole in me with those baby eyes. This time, I kissed him on the cheek. It was like kissing a cold, slimy toad.

  He continued to stare at me, and I shook my head. “Oh no, baby. Not the lips.”

  I could have sworn he shrugged, as he floated in front of me, inches away.

  “Justin. Tell me what happened.” Perhaps the direct approach worked with soul-less wraiths as well as it did with ghosts.

  A baby ghost doesn’t have the power of speech. They are all basic urges: food, warmth, and shitting. Justin watched me, making faces. Could he even understand me? It was bad enough dealing with a baby ghost, much less one without a soul. I wished I had a photo of Dominique to show him, or even of his father. All I had was the CD Jeff Nash had given us. No laptop to open it with, read it to baby Justin. I had to do something to open a channel to him, to get the information I needed from him.

  Zoe leaned against me. “Mom,” she whispered. “What are you doing?”

  “I don’t know,” I whispered back. “I’ve never dealt with this kind of thing before.”

  We watched Justin bobbing up and down for a few seconds. How does one communicate with a soul-less baby ghost? I wished Dad were here, or I had asked him about it when I saw him in Phantom City. But that gave me an idea.

  “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

  Zoe looked surprised as I ran back into Jack Easton’s house. He was in the living room, watching us through thick, expensive drapes. It took some convincing to get him to do what I wanted him to do, but he agreed when I promised that Justin would leave him alone forever if he cooperated.

  There was no time to warn Sawyer and besides, I didn’t want to alert Jack to his presence. We all piled into Jack’s fancy car, Zoe in the back, and pealed down the driveway and through the gate. At the sight of the car, Sawyer ducked into the seats of his BMW, and my heart sank as I saw Jack glance at it, but he said nothing, just continued following the winding avenue down to the highway.

  “Is he following?” I asked Zoe. Zoe knew I meant Justin, not Sawyer. She looked back and nodded.

  I couldn’t make out Justin’s shape, but he seemed to be happy to show himself to Zoe, so I relied on her. What I didn’t like was seeing Sawyer behind us, following. But of course that was what he would do, probably thinking Jack was threatening us. When we got to where we were going, I would have to convince Sawyer to keep his distance.

  Following an oak-lined two-lane road west, in minutes we reached our destination. The Sunola Water Tower had been built in 1910. Now ensconced in a regional park, it was safe, I hoped, from any purchase by the Delphine Easton consortium. Unless they were lobbying the legislature.

  Jack aimed his car down the center drive, parked in the unpaved lot. The Tower rose like a fae folly against a wall of forest and canyon. I got out of the car. I didn’t want to take Zoe with me, but I had no choice, since there wasn’t any other way to get Justin close to the portal.

  Jack Easton clung to the steering wheel. I bent in to look at him. “You don’t have to come. Just stay here no matter what happens or what you think you see.”

  He gave me a sharp nod, held onto the wheel as if he was afraid it would fly away. I didn’t trust him to stick around, but I hoped he would. Getting Justin to somehow tell me how he died was the only way to rid Jack of the haunting.

  Sawyer pulled into the drive, but prudently parked just inside the gate, much farther away than the requisite number of yards affirmed in Jack’s restraining order. If Jack saw Sawyer now, there was nothing he could do about it.

  Approaching the water tower, I could hear the roar. That was strange. The last several years the water temple was dry, water that once flowed from Pleasantville wells traveled in a buried pipeline. But now icy plumes foamed deep inside the cistern under the concrete and wooden dome. But it was more than just water. I could hear roars and screams and angry shouts.

  I halted several yards away. Zoe took my hand. Hers was cold. Justin swept past us, zeroing in on the portal. Dashing after him, I leapt and caught one of his baby legs before he was sucked into the vortex.

  But the vortex caught me next. It was fierce, and strong, and I had not expected this force. A terrible energy cycled around the portal.

  Zoe slammed into me as we were hoisted into the air. The water was the guardian! It had risen as we approached, to prevent us from entering; its soul reason for being was to drown, beat and shred our bodies.

  I wasn’t about to let go of Justin. Twisting my body, I gripped my daughter and pushed against the current of air, every bit as strong as the raging water in the Tower cistern, moving away from the open well.

  I was able to maneuver Zoe to a place where one of the Tower columns protected her from the vortex. STAY THERE! I shouted, and she nodded fiercely. I MEAN IT, ZOE. DON’T MOVE FROM THIS SPOT UNTIL I RETURN.

  I let go. The vortex spun me and Justin away. He screamed with joy at the strength of it. I thought I heard Zoe scream, too, but I couldn’t even turn around to check.

  The wind picked us up, carried us in a shrinking elliptical orbit toward the gushing water in the cistern below. The Tower columns whirled past, a crazy merry-go-round. Then, with a mighty pull, the vortex sucked us into the water and under.

  I felt as if my skin had been sliced away by a knife of ice, stealing my breath away. But I held on to Justin’s foot, and waited as the water tumbled and shoved and spit me out into a dry corridor lit with pale globes hanging overhead.

  I was dry, and unbruised. Only my heart thudded unpleasantly in my chest as I gasped for breath. Baby Justin lay beside me on smooth rock, one hand cradling his head. He looked annoyed.

  “Justin. Tell me what happened. Who took your soul?”

  Sitting up, he looked like a little Buddha. “Where do I start? My mother was a head case, all right? She’d shaken me pretty bad that time. My neck hurt like hell. Poor Mae shows up, has no idea Mrs. Innocence Nash is a goddamned murderer. I’ve seen two of my half-brothers in that play ground you call Phantom City. That’s a laugh. Ghosts who go there have no clue where the real evil is.”

  The bile rose to my throat again as I watched his baby face grow hard and angry, creases formed between his eyes, his mouth curled in a sneer. It was disconcerting. But I had to get the story. He gazed at me unpleasantly.

  “I’ve met evil face to face, and I didn’t like it much.”

  “Dominique Delphine.”

  If he could have spa
t, I thought he would have. “She saw the situation right away. Mae tried to appear all cool butter-wouldn’t-melt, but Dom was the real chilly item.” His eyes rolled back and forth in his head, as if he was looking for something beautiful to see, but having no luck. “I remember how she looked at me, all greedy-like. It was like having to smell the worst breath non-stop twenty-four-seven.”

  I felt sick just hearing his voice, seeing his disgust.

  “Then—” he stopped, turned his baby head away. “I don’t like to think about what happened next.” He looked back to me. “After, all I could think about was that blond guy, that slime, fart, lech. And I wanted to bother the hell out of him. Where is he? I miss him! I love hating him. Where is he?”

  Spinning around a few times, he seemed about to spurt away, but I grabbed his ankle again. “Justin. I have something to tell you. Listen to me.”

  He glanced back at me over his baby shoulder, eyes glinting with crazy glee. I swallowed a surge of nausea. “Dominique Delphine stole your soul. She took it before you died. You would not have died if she hadn’t taken it. Jack Easton, the blond guy, ingested some of it. That’s why you can’t leave him alone.”

  Justin glared at me. I knew he heard me, but I wasn’t at all certain that a wraith could reason, understand. Desperate, I clung to him as he struggled to slip away. “I can help you find a little peace.”

  “Yeah, right.” He slipped from my grasp, and shot like a rocket through the tumbling wall of water blocking the portal exit.

  I struggled to calm myself, to ward away the sick, dreadful feeling welling up inside me. How would I help him? I had only a theory, and I needed some expert advice. But there was no time to go back to Phantom City right now to see Dad. Maybe Ivy would know.

  I dreaded fighting the guardian water, but I had no choice. There was no other way back except to try one of the other portals, dogs, meth freaks and all, but Zoe was up there. And I had to get back to her.

  Taking deep breaths, I walked into the spilling water. Ice seized my muscles, sapping my strength. Forcing my legs to move, holding my breath until my head and eyes ballooned into twice their size. Red spidery lines formed in my head, threatening to crack my brain. But I held on to the thought that this cataract of mountain run-off was no threat to a Novak.

  Just as I knew I would have to take a breath, suck ice cubes into my lungs, the water spit me upward; the vortex seized me and hurled me away, as if I was a shred of trash.

  Landing hard on the cement beneath the water tower, I cracked my elbow. Roars and screams filled my ears, and angry shouting. As quick as I could collect myself I struggled to my feet, and ran toward the column where I had left Zoe.

  She wasn’t there. Panic shot up my spine, and I spun around, seeing the cistern rail, paint-flaked columns, trees hulked in shadow. No one in sight. I was the only living thing in the water tower.

  Turning, I started running toward Jack’s car. Then Zoe’s reason for leaving the place where I told her to wait for me became clear.

  Zoe stood on the drive between Jack’s car and Sawyer’s. She was watching the two men grappling with each other, flailing, grabbing. Oh great. That’s all I need.

  I ran to Zoe, told her sternly to go wait by Sawyer’s car and NOT MOVE AN INCH. I rarely spoke this way to Zoe; her eyes widened and she wasted no time obeying me. Just as she started to run away, I whispered, “Start blowing his horn.”

  Elbow throbbing, I ran to Jack’s car and did the same. But it didn’t work. The two men hammered on each other, ignoring the horns. Sawyer was getting the best of Jack, who was older, but they were both pretty fit. They tumbled to the ground, Jack tripping on Sawyer’s leg, bringing Sawyer down on top.

  Sawyer’s knee rested on Jack’s stomach. Wiping his mouth, Sawyer got up, backed away. A bulging bruise was forming on his cheek. Jack’s nose was bleeding as he sat up. Breathing heavily, they both stared wordlessly at each other.

  I approached. Dust swirled around them. The sun had dipped behind the hills, creating dusky shadows. I smelled sweat and blood. “What started this, you morons?”

  Neither of them would answer me. Sawyer rubbed his sleeve across his face and marched toward his car. I helped Jack to his feet.

  “That guy’s got a severe anger management problem.” Jack smeared his nose with the back of his hand. The bleed wasn’t too bad. It was already clotting. I didn’t think his nose was broken.

  I said, “Jack. I have to go. Listen. I think I know what to do about your haunting, but it’s going to take a few days.”

  Squinting at me, Jack shrugged. “Whatever. You Novaks are strange. Ivy is strange. I used to think you were the normal one.”

  Now it was my turn to shrug, but I didn’t. “I don’t know. All I know is this: you have to dissolve your partnership with Dominique. I don’t think you know what is really going on.”

  “I know enough.” He started toward his car. I didn’t see baby Justin anywhere; maybe he was off sulking because of my interference. I wasn’t making any friends today, seemingly. “Besides, it’s probably too late.”

  I touched him, and he looked surprised. “It’s not. You’re not in that deep.”

  I thought I saw a flicker of hope come and go in his eyes. He swallowed, inhaled. “Stop by the office. I think we could work something out. No harm in discussing.” His voice was firm, friendly. Jack the real estate agent was back again. He shook my hand, got into his car. “And, I mean it. Say hi to Ivy for me.”

  Stepping out of the dust as his car moved away, I felt sorry for him. I’d told him it wasn’t too late, but I didn’t really know. Could someone just stop using Bijou Xtra and not feel any affect? Would there be payback, a reversal of the years granted? A debt to be paid to the souls one has abused? I really needed to talk to Dad, but first, I had to get Zoe home, calm down Sawyer, and speak to Ivy. And Mae. All this I had to do, and the thought of it threatened to overwhelm me. Coming home to make sure Ivy was OK had certainly become a huger job than I ever imagined. I cleaned up one mess, only to have another bloom in its place.

  Zoe stood next to Sawyer’s car. Sawyer was in the driver’s seat. Giving Zoe a quick hug, I opened the back passenger door for her, then I got into the front beside Sawyer.

  He did smell sweaty and bloody. Jack had laid a good one on his left cheek. I could see the skin under his left eye beginning to swell.

  “You want me to drive?”

  He shook his head, started the car. After we pulled onto the highway, I asked, “What happened?”

  “I don’t know.” Sawyer’s voice was hoarse, probably from shouting at Jack. “He saw me, and came over. I warned him. I told him I was staying at my court-ordered distance, but he ignored me. God, he was pissed.”

  “Just by your being there?”

  “I suppose so. He started accusing me of ruining some of his deals. Your place, for example.” Sawyer glanced at me, then at the road. “Something about someone else pressuring to buy the place.”

  I wondered if Jack had told him that it was me. I decided to let that go. “You have nothing to do with that.”

  “Don’t I? I’m not being silent about what is going on. Everyone knows he’s a manipulative crook.”

  Swallowing, I said, “Do you know who his silent partner is?”

  He gave me a sneering smile. “Yes, I know.”“I know you don’t believe me, but I think he’s Dom’s dupe. He really thinks he is buying these places and going to make the world better, in his view.”

  Sawyer made a dismissive noise. “Right. Bringing pollution, congestion, global warming to the Valley will make our lives better.”

  “Sure, I agree with you. But Dom has something worse in mind, I’m sure.”

  “All the more reason to stop them.”

  He didn’t ask me what I really meant by my remark about Dom, and I felt relieved. I worried, though. How would I conceal all this Novak-Delphine insanity from him? Bijou, portals, all of it. He would think I was delusional.

 
Chapter Eighteen

  A Ghost in Flames

  It was nearly dark by the time Sawyer dropped Zoe and me off at Ivy’s. Declining my offer of dinner, he drove away as soon as I shut my passenger door. Zoe and watched him go down the street.

  “He seems kind of mad, Mom.”

  Nodding, I went inside without a word. Maybe what Sawyer thought of me wouldn’t matter. He seemed to have dismissed me from his life. I realized I had handed him a terrible day, starting with the visit to Jeff Nash’s house, my rendezvous with his ex, and finally agreeing to drive to his sworn enemy, Jack Easton. I hoped he would get over it, but with Sawyer it was hard to tell who he could forgive, and who he couldn’t.

  Ivy had dinner ready. She didn’t like to cook, but she was good at it when she did. Interestingly, Libra had joined Bruce for dinner. If she had seen her dad drop me off, she didn’t comment. As soon as Zoe and I were inside, Libra’s phone buzzed. I hoped it was a text from Sawyer.

  My elbow still throbbed, and I felt a worrisome, tender swelling and bruising there. I hoped it wasn’t broken. Ivy rooted out some Percocets for me and I took two. By the time dinner was on the patio table I was feeling OK, holding ice to my elbow and listening to Libra talk about some crazy political situation of which I had never heard. She was actually a very bright girl, I thought, when her hormones weren’t turning her mind to mush and her thoughts to sex.

  My phone buzzed with a text from Sawyer. My heart did a pleasant flip. Maybe he had forgiven me, wanted to meet. But all he told me was that he had emailed me Jeff Nash’s file. While Ivy sparred in a half-needling way with Libra, who could hold her own against even my sister, I opened my mail.

  I feel terrible this young girl Mae has been blamed. I wouldn’t have let this happen for a million dollars, but I love Dixie. She needs me. If I didn’t back her up, because she had no breaks at all, with that father of hers, and her brothers abusing her, then she would have no one. I am so sorry, Mae. I know you didn’t kill Justin. My heart bleeds when I write his name. Justin. Justin. Justin.