“Get him out!”
“I’m trying!”
Finally, after some desperate shoving and pulling, the door popped open. The chef scrambled out, brushing dust off his clothes. That’s when the attic light blinked out.
“The lights up here are so finicky,” Skye muttered.
“No matter,” the chef said. “I’ll be gutting and rewiring the whole place anyway.”
A loud bang made everyone spin toward the sound. One window at the far end had slammed open.
“Wind?” the agent offered weakly.
Then the opposite window banged open. Heads whipped that way. The first one slammed shut. Boxes rattled across the floor like an earthquake. The light snapped back on. The cage door slammed shut again.
“What the...? What the devil?” the chef stammered.
The realtor, pale as white bread, started to force out a whisper when a box tipped over behind them with a thud. They all jumped a foot.
The cage door swung open and slammed shut again.
“That’s it. No way,” the chef nearly shouted, diving for the stairs with the woman close behind.
“Do you want me to show you the way out?” Ocean called sweetly.
“We know the way,” the woman squealed, already halfway down.
Once the sound of frantic footsteps faded down the stairs, Ocean turned and found her mother glaring.
“Why are you smiling?” she asked.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Skye
* * *
Not surprisingly, the moment the agent and her client bolted from the attic, all the commotion vanished. Even the fickle light decided to behave and stay on. I put on my best mother face, what Ocean liked to call my not happy, don’t push it look.
Her smile disappeared and she shrugged in reply to my question. I told her we’d be continuing this conversation downstairs.
I went first, creaking down the attic steps. At the bottom, I caught a glimpse of her bedroom. Clothes everywhere, books tossed like confetti. Jo’s neat-freak ghost energy must’ve short-circuited at the sight. But I had bigger fish to fry than Ocean’s latest hurricane.
A couple of minutes later, she joined me where I was waiting in the front room. I couldn’t miss the change in her attitude, though. Her steps were lighter, her face brighter. She looked more at ease than she had since we’d first driven into Harbor View.
I crossed my arms, leaned my butt against my mother’s desk. She flopped onto a bench across from me with a dramatic sigh, now looking as if she’d been summoned to a courtroom instead of a chat.
“What’s up?” she asked, eyes glinting like she already knew she was in trouble but was willing to audition for innocence anyway.
“You two have met, haven’t you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.
“Which two?” Ocean blinked at me, all fake-innocent. “No idea what you’re talking about.”
“You weren’t afraid upstairs. In fact, you were enjoying yourself.”
She smirked. “Was I supposed to be? What’d I miss...something scary?”
Classic Ocean. And classic Jo. I should’ve guessed they’d find each other. Jo had never been able to resist stirring things up, especially with someone closer to her own age. She hadn’t had that chance since the days when I was still living here.
