“Yeah, but I’m tired of cutting people off at the knees. I think I might like cutting their hair and making them feel better instead of worse.”
Beverly grinned. “I’d like to recommend this school, but if you can afford it, there are a couple of places with names you’d recognize.”
“Like?”
Beverly glanced at her students. “I’ll write down the information for you later.”
***
Morgaine explained to Roz that she couldn’t just drive Chad to the museum. Spirit energy wasn’t like occupying a corporeal body. If he sat in the backseat, as soon as Roz rolled out of the alley and onto the street, the car would take off, and Chad wouldn’t. Apparently it made Roz picture an episode ofCasper the Friendly Ghostin her brain, and she laughed. Chad wasn’t amused.
The trio strolled up Brookline Avenue with the intention of walking Chad to the Gardner Museum. It was only a couple of miles, but for Morgaine it was a big deal. Agoraphobia meant fear of open spaces. Riding in a car could still be problematic, but walking outside, in public, made her chest tighten and her pulse race.Remember,she told herself,millions of dollars in reward money.
After that, their plans were fuzzy. Morgaine would try to summon Reginald and let the two spirits communicate while she listened in.
“Morgaine, thanks for speaking to Chad. Is he still with us?”
“Chad?”
“I’m here,” he communicated halfheartedly.
“Don’t sulk. You agreed to help Konrad, remember?”
“I’m not sulking. I’m looking at that big-ass bridge over the highway.”
Morgaine came to a halt. “B…bridge?”
Roz’s hand covered her mouth. “Oh, no. I read about agoraphobia. Fear of bridges was mentioned specifically.”
“Yeah. I feel pretty exposed on bridges. But I think Chad sounded nervous about it too. She took a deep breath and grounded herself. “Are you saying you might have trouble crossing the bridge, Chad?”
“It’s the wind.”
“What wind?”
“From the traffic below. If it kicks up at the wrong moment, I’ll be blown halfway to Brighton. If memory serves, the turnpike is always busy, so this bridge is almost always windy. It’s been nice knowin’ ya.”
Her jaw dropped. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
Roz cocked her head. “What’s wrong?”
A young woman wearing jeans and a sweater approached from the other side of the bridge. Her long, sandy hair suddenly lifted in the wind and wrapped around her face. She grasped it, twirled it into a ponytail, and knotted it behind her head.
Morgaine whispered furiously behind her hand to Roz. “Even if I manage to cross this thing, Chad says he could be blown off course by the wind from the highway below.”
Morgaine and Roz turned to each other and at the same time uttered a worried, “Oh, no.”
Roz looked crestfallen. “How are we going to manage this?”
Morgaine wrung her hands. “I guess it wasn’t such a good idea.”
“Hey, kids. Don’t give up so easily. I can try to use the two of you as a shield. If that doesn’t work, I’ll simply make my way back as soon as I can.”
Morgaine waited for the woman to pass them before she answered. The woman hung her head and didn’t make eye contact, so there was no need to say hello. When it was just the two—or three—of them again, Morgaine said, “Chad, that’s really decent of you. I didn’t realize you cared about Konrad so much.”
“I don’t, but you said something that made me think.”
“Really? What was that?”
