He turned in shortly before dawn and was rewarded with restless sleep, filled with dreams of the PolterPal shrieking into his ears. If he could only understand what it was telling him…
When he woke and shoved off his sleep mask, sunlight streamed through the bay windows and the temperature was already climbing. Chris was unplugging batteries from chargers; they glanced over when Nigel sat up.
“Morning, doc.” They checked their watch. “Yep, still morning. Tina is sleeping in the trailer, and Oscar went outside to talk with Dr. Lawrence about the seance. We left you a microwaved breakfast burrito and some coffee.”
“Breakfast of champions,” he said, but his stomach growled.
When he left the house after eating, it was to find Dr. Lawrence and Ms. Montague under their shade, Ethan lurking nearby, and Oscar standing in front of them with his hands on his hips.
“I just don’t think it’s necessary,” Ms. Montague was saying as Nigel approached. “I understand your desire to investigate, Ruthie, but Robin is my primary concern.”
Dr. Lawrence’s pale skin flushed. “She’s my concern, too! Maybe it’s not my dreams she’s haunting, but I want her to have peace as much as you do. But Fox can’t even find her with Ullman rampaging around, blaring anger in every direction. Right now, finding Robin’s spirit is like trying to spot a candleflame in the middle of a bonfire.”
“Then get rid of Ullman!” Montague made an impatient gesture. “But this seance with Gloria is a waste of time. Have you forgotten about the storm?”
Nigel’s throat tightened. “Storm?”
“Ethan called in to check the weather this morning. The forecast has changed—there’s a tropical storm forming off Bermuda. One projected path has it making landfall along the Outer Banks four days from now. It probably won’t hit us, but if we do have to evacuate, I don’t want to abandon Robin’s spirit here a second time.”
Riding out a tropical storm on the island would be dangerous in the extreme. “Even so, if there’s a chance it’s heading our way, we need to wrap things up here as fast as we can.”
“If we can find out what Ullman’s so angry about, it will help us convince him to move on, and make it easier to contact Robin,” Oscar said. “Gloria was his daughter, so she might be able to tell us.”
“And if she can’t?” Montague challenged.
Dr. Lawrence flung up her arms in frustration. “Then we’ll have no choice but to try to communicate with Ullman more directly.”
“I’d prefer not to have him in my brain, if at all possible.” Oscar turned to Nigel and held out his hand. “Tina told us about the PolterPal surprise last night, by the way.”
Nigel wanted to kiss him good morning, but not in front of Ms. Montague. “It was indeed a surprise.” He turned to Ms. Montague. “I do think a seance will help us, if we do it safely. It won’t take all night, and if it lets us release Ullman from whatever is keeping him here, then we can turn all our attention to helping Robin.”
Her hands tightened on the silver head of her cane. “I see I’m outvoted.”
“Don’t be like that.” Dr. Lawrence leaned forward so she could put her hand on top of Montague’s. “We all want the same thing. But Fox is our medium, so we need to listen to him, even if he’s saying something you don’t like.”
“I suppose.” Montague’s eyes remained cold. “Just remember the child is a trickster. What she says probably won’t even be true. Ruthie’s memory may have faded, but she tried to spin the same yarn about buried treasure to us that she did to the Vanderwalls.”
“My memory is fine,” Dr. Lawrence said with a glare.
“She’s a child,” Oscar pointed out. “Maybe she believes there really is pirate treasure hidden here. We’ll be cautious, and we won’t believe her about buried treasure, I promise.”
Oddly enough, that seemed to relax Montague. “Very well. I can ask no more.”
“You should see the interview with the whole family.” Lawson leaned back in her chair. “Andy talks about Gloria in it.”
“Good suggestion,” Nigel agreed. “As soon as Tina’s awake, we’ll see what he had to say.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY
“This is an interview with Karen, Larry, and Andy Vanderwall, conducted by Patricia Montague and Robin Sawyer. Location: The Cottage, Devil’s Den Island, North Carolina. Recording starting at 20:05, June 17, 1983. Camera woman: Dr. Ruth Lawson.”
The Vanderwalls sit on the same couch as before, only this time their small son is between them. His brown hair needs a trim, and his hands are clasped tightly in his lap. Dark eyes stare fixedly at his shoes.
“Don’t be scared of the camera, Andy.” Robin smiles at him; both smile and voice are gentle, as if she’s soothing a frightened baby bunny.
He doesn’t look up. “I’m not.”
