Devils night, p.22
Devil's Night, page 22
“This went on for almost two years. By then, I’d had enough. I wanted to ask for a divorce, but I was afraid that he’d stop taking care of himself if I did. All he cared about was getting back to Eden. He said he’d heard some woman speaking in the hotel, and he was sure that he could contact that ghost again. Find out what happened to her. This mystery woman, maybe Marian, who knows—she was more important to him than I’d ever been. That really hurt. But I agreed to go up to Eden with him. Just so he wouldn’t be alone.”
She wiped tears from her cheeks. “After he died, I was the one who got obsessed. I tracked down everyone who’d had ‘accidents’ in Eden. Anybody who claimed they’d witnessed something paranormal there. I talked to mediums, too, people like you. I spent all the life insurance money, all my savings. I gave up everything just so I could understand what I’d experienced.”
Penny’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She resisted the urge to look at it. Probably just Linden responding to her voicemail.
“You said you ‘know what I can really do,’” Penny said. “What did you mean?”
Helen went on like she hadn’t heard. “The hotel and the bank—those are the places where the hauntings are concentrated. People described hearing a woman’s voice in the hotel. Knocking on walls. Sometimes it came from the first floor; other times they were drawn to the upper levels. Some said they felt despair. Others said it was fear. But the bank was different. The presence there was dark. Angry, like you’d said that Devil’s Night when you were there. You’d told us it was Marian.”
“Because I’d heard other people talk about her.”
“No matter what year the incidents took place, they always escalated near Devil’s Night in July. I learned a lot in my research. Hauntings are often more powerful around anniversaries. More people visit a place, more emotions are at play. Ghosts can draw on that energy. But when a really sensitive person arrives—someone like you—paranormal phenomena can skyrocket. A medium amplifies the ghosts. Brings them more into the physical world. Old memories of events will replay over and over. But it’s vulnerable people like Jason who suffer for it.”
Penny got up from the bench. “You’re saying it’s my fault? What happened to Jason?”
“Of course not. We were the adults. We should’ve known better than to play with things we couldn’t understand. But Jason was permanently affected. You can’t deny the truth of that. Of the people who were injured in Eden over the years, almost all were men. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. That boy just the other night who got hurt at the bank—what about him?”
So this was the “truth” that Helen wanted her to know? It was just another version of Penny’s father’s theories. She stood at the creek’s edge, watching the water slosh over the rocks, wondering again if she should just leave. Helen could be out of her mind.
“I’m sure it’s easier to think a ghost caused Jason’s death,” Penny said gently. “But ghosts aren’t capable of that.”
A small push, maybe. A bruise. A lingering sense of violation. But it wasn’t enough. Couldn’t be.
“There’s no proof,” Penny said.
“But there is.”
“What is it?”
“I…it’s hard to explain.”
“Then I’ve had enough.”
“I’m the proof,” Helen cried. “I was there. I saw him die.”
Penny turned back. “What did you see?”
“It’s so hard. I was…I never meant…”
Helen closed her eyes and took a stuttering breath.
“We went back on Devil’s Night. Two years after that first visit. We started at the hotel—that’s what Jason wanted. But he didn’t feel any presence. It just seemed like a dead place. I don’t know if it’s because you weren’t there. Or if the ghost simply wasn’t active. All I know is, Jason was disappointed. But he didn’t want to give up. He decided we should go to the bank.”
Tears slid down her cheeks.
“I felt nothing when we went inside the bank. But Jason did. He said he heard a woman’s voice. He thought it could be her—the one from the hotel. She wanted him to come up. Come find her. The inside of the bank is all burned up, and the upper floors are mostly collapsed. But at the very back of the building, there are stairs built out of brick. Steep. No railing. Jason insisted on going up, and I…I followed him, trying to convince him we should leave. I was so frustrated with him for his stupid obsession, how it was ruining our lives. I started yelling. The feeling was all-encompassing—I hated him for what he’d done to us. To me. We made it to the third floor. Jason was looking out a window. It didn’t have any glass. It faced the canyon. I could see those cliffs with the sun setting over them. It was so bright it made my eyes water. It was a tall window, and he was right there on the edge. Just standing with his back to me. Like I wasn’t even there. So many strange thoughts were in my mind.”
Abruptly, Helen cut off her narrative. “I need a moment. Please. I’m trying.”
She wiped her face with her cardigan sleeve. When she spoke again, she barely reached above a whisper.
“I pushed him.”
Penny stared at her. “You…I’m sorry, what?” It had sounded like I pushed him. But that couldn’t be right.
Tears poured down Helen’s face.
“He didn’t move after he hit the ground. I drove back to Ashton and notified the police. They said his neck broke instantly. He didn’t suffer. I kept waiting for them to figure it out. But so many accidents had happened up there. Your dad assumed the ghost made Jason jump. I let him. He said I should go along with the accident story so we could spare Jason’s memory. But I guess I was saving myself.”
Penny had no idea what to say. The woman had just admitted to murder.
Helen lunged forward, grabbing Penny by the arms. Her eyes were wide and glazed.
“You have to believe that it wasn’t me. It wasn’t me. It was her—Marian. She made me push him. That’s why I know Eden is dangerous. It could happen again. And with you there, given that power that you have? You’ve drawn her out. You’re responsible now. Whoever she hurts next, it’ll be your fault.”
Penny wrenched out of Helen’s grasp. “I need to go.”
She started backing away. Then she ran. She was afraid that Helen would follow. But when she looked back, the woman was sitting on the bench again, looking at her empty hands.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Penny burst into her room, already pulling up Linden’s number on her phone. Somehow she’d avoided her family, which was good. She couldn’t handle them right now. Only her best friend could talk her through this. Make her come back to reality. Because right now, she was panicking.
Those things that Helen had told her—
You’ve drawn her out. Whoever she hurts next, it’ll be your fault.
Penny’s father had made similar claims. But Helen’s story had a different level of gravity. So much of what she’d said rang true. The woman’s voice in the hotel, the way no one on Matthew’s crew had any ghost encounters until Penny had arrived. A medium amplifies the ghosts. And Helen had actually confessed to pushing Jason from that ledge.
Linden didn’t answer her phone.
Penny had a text waiting—the one she’d received while with Helen—but it wasn’t from Linden. It was Tripp. Please tell Linden to call me. But why would he ask that? Couldn’t he just contact Linden himself?
Maybe Anvi knew where Linden had gone. She called Anvi’s number. No answer there. Anvi didn’t respond to a text either.
What was going on? If there’d been some emergency related to the festival, wouldn’t they have notified Penny? And why did it have to be now, when Penny was barely holding herself together?
She changed into fresh clothes, walked over to Linden’s hotel room and knocked. Then banged.
A door opened, but it wasn’t Linden’s. Tripp stuck his head out from the room next door. “Are you looking for her, too?”
“She hasn’t responded to my calls or texts. Neither has Anvi.”
Tripp’s eyes widened in a way Penny couldn’t decipher. “That’s odd, but I doubt they’re together. Could Linden be up at the trailer, but not getting service?”
Why wouldn’t they be together? Penny thought. “Maybe, if suddenly everything stopped working. When’s the last time you saw her?”
“Last night at dinner. Not since.”
Something didn’t sit right. Maybe it was just that unnerving conversation she’d had with Helen Boyd, but Penny was getting worried about her friend.
“I’ll call my mom and see if housekeeping has been to her room. What if she’s sick?”
A few minutes later, Debbie was striding down the hall holding a master key. She said hello to Tripp and turned to Penny. “Linden’s room hasn’t been serviced yet. I also spoke to Becky, our night receptionist, and she didn’t see Linden come in last night. Let’s go ahead and check on her, shall we?”
Penny’s mother was upbeat as always, but she must’ve been worried too. Why else would she be here, about to open up Linden’s room?
Debbie knocked brusquely for several seconds. She unlocked the door. “Linden, honey? Are you in here?”
The lights were all off, bathroom door open. The bed didn’t look slept in.
“Where else might she be?” Debbie asked.
Penny looked at Tripp. “We should go up to Eden,” he said. “Check the trailer.”
Debbie seemed like she might say more, but Penny didn’t want to wait. She grabbed her phone and purse, and they went to the parking lot.
Tripp had rented a Landrover in Aspen—he’d flown into their airport so he’d have access to luxury vehicles Ashton couldn’t provide. The seats were soft black leather, and the engine purred at a low hum. Penny realized she’d never been in a car alone with him before. Actually, they’d almost never spent time alone, except for the occasions when he’d stop by her desk or pass in the hall at work.
“Did Linden say anything to you last night?” Tripp asked. “Maybe she was upset?”
Penny was pulling nervously at the stitching on her seat. “Last night? No.”
She hadn’t spoken to Linden since before she left for Matthew’s house. And I didn’t think of Linden once till this afternoon. What if Linden needed her, but she hadn’t called because Penny was, well, busy with Matthew?
“Why would she be upset?” Penny asked.
Tripp grimaced, then laughed. “Because I was getting on her nerves? We had a tense conversation about work. Nothing major. She probably just wants to make me sweat.”
But what about me? Penny thought. Linden didn’t play games with her like this.
Something could really be wrong.
It was after five o’clock when they reached Eden. The vendors were setting up concessions, and a honey wagon had arrived to pump out the port-a-potties. Penny and Tripp drove past the parking lot and went straight for the Sterling PR trailer, which was out of sight from the main road.
Penny unlocked the door with her key. She went inside, the door banging after she’d shoved it.
“Linden?”
There were bottles all over the floor. Linden’s purse lay on her bed. But no Linden. No Anvi, either.
A phone sat on the kitchen counter. Penny grabbed it and hurried outside.
She held up Linden’s device. “She wouldn’t go anywhere—not to the bathroom, not across a hallway—without her phone.”
Tripp cursed. He walked a few feet and leaned down to pick something up from the ground. An empty white wine bottle, caked with grass on its side.
“Unbelievable,” Tripp said.
“We have to call the police.” Linden could’ve been assaulted. Or she might’ve been wandering around lost somewhere in the canyon or nearby hills. Penny stuck Linden’s phone in her purse, then pulled out her own device.
“No.” Tripp tossed the wine bottle aside, strode over, and plucked the phone right from Penny’s hand. “That’s exactly what she wants. She’s mad, and she’s trying to punish me by ruining the last night of Devil’s Fest. She knows I can’t afford to lose SunBev. I’m not playing along.”
“Ruin the—are you kidding? Linden would never do something like that.”
“Sorry Penny, but I know her a lot better than you do. She can be a manipulative bitch.”
Penny stared at Tripp, mouth open. She held back the insults she wanted to throw back at him, but only because he was her boss.
“Give me my phone back.”
For a moment she thought he’d refuse, but then he did.
“Linden is missing right now,” Penny said. “She could be hurt. I’m going to find her, and if you won’t help me, the security guards will.”
Penny headed toward Main Street. She passed a white tent where workers were setting up that night’s VIP closing party.
Ray, she thought. Maybe he’s working here again tonight. He could notify the sheriff’s office, talk to the right people to get this taken seriously. She looked up his contact on her phone and called.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Tripp said, rushing after her. “Linden is the most resourceful woman I know. She’s completely fine.”
Penny kept marching through the grass, holding her phone to her ear. But Ray didn’t answer. Really? she thought. Does no one answer phones anymore?
“Okay, how about this,” Tripp said. “You and I will look. We know she was up here at Eden because her phone’s here. Where could she have gone? Somewhere on Main Street, maybe? She might be over there screwing some security guard right now and just left her phone behind.”
Penny glared at him. Then a message came up on her phone—a text from her sister, Krista. Quickly she opened it, wondering if their mother had found some sign of Linden at the inn.
The message read, Did you see what Anvi posted this morning? Creepy much?
Krista had sent a link to Twitter. Penny clicked it. At three a.m. this morning Anvi had tweeted, Devil’s Night in Eden is when the guilty are punished.
Then a follow up text from Krista. This is your idea of marketing? Really poor taste, considering what happened to Scott two days ago. Not cool.
Too many things were happening at once. Penny’s head was spinning. She sent off a quick, apologetic reply to Krista, then tried again to call Anvi.
“Who are you calling?” Tripp demanded.
“Anvi.” Still no answer. Why did she have to disappear now, at the same time as Linden? She was off somewhere posting videos and tweets.
Penny left a voicemail—she was getting sick of those—and she held out her phone for Tripp to see.
“Anvi’s been posting weird stuff. She’s going way off our campaign.”
As he read the tweet, all the color drained from Tripp’s face.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Penny said, “but it seems like the entire world has gone insane today.”
Unless Linden was abducted and driven somewhere—too far-fetched an idea, even for the day Penny was having—then she had to be here in Eden. According to Tripp, Linden had been upset last night. And now, she’d gone missing.
Anvi was gone, too, after writing that disturbing tweet…All on the anniversary of Devil’s Night.
Hauntings are more powerful on anniversaries. Helen had told her so.
Nausea swept through her.
She’d spent so many years dismissing her father’s version of the events in Eden. She’d spent the last few days doing the same, even as the evidence kept piling up. The accidents in Eden; Scott’s claim that someone else had been inside the bank. Her own experiences inside the hotel. The hands around her neck and the voices intruding in her head. Now Linden and Anvi had gone missing.
She had to tell Tripp what Helen Boyd had said. He wasn’t going to believe it. But she had to try.
After she finished, Tripp didn’t speak for three full minutes. She knew because she kept checking her phone while she waited, hoping that somehow Linden or Anvi or even Ray would respond. All the while, Tripp’s jaw muscle twitched. She knew this look. He was in deep strategy mode. At meetings, she’d never known what to expect when he came back to the surface.
Over on Main Street, music played through the massive sound system: ACDC, “Highway to Hell.” A few weeks ago in Los Angeles, that might’ve seemed funny.
“Is this worth your job to you?” Tripp finally asked. “This—” He waved his hand. “Ghost story?”
“You’re making me choose between Linden and my job?”
“I’m not the bad guy here. I just need to know how serious you are about this.”
Penny had given up so much for her position at Sterling. If she got fired…She couldn’t think about that.
“A hundred percent. If I’m risking my job, then so be it.” Though she hoped to God she was wrong—even if Tripp fired her, at least Linden would be safe.
But what about everyone else at the festival? She had to push that possibility aside for the moment. Tripp definitely wouldn’t want to hear it. Once they found Linden, they could consider what other steps might be necessary.
Tripp studied her another moment. “Let’s say you’re not crazy, and this is true. There are malevolent ghosts in Eden, and they can have a powerful affect on people. Even kill people. And Linden—or maybe Anvi—could be in some kind of danger. Then…what? Where would they be?”
“The hotel or the bank. Those are the places where all the past incidents have occurred.”
The secret room at the hotel, she thought with dawning horror. What if Linden was in there?
Tripp looked toward Main Street, where the cleaning crew was making its final rounds. “It’s not even six yet. I’ll ask security to go check the bank; we’ll take the hotel.”
She nodded. Maybe he didn’t believe her, but he was actually giving her a chance. It was more than she’d expected. “But if we don’t find them? We can’t ignore the fact that they’re missing.”
“If they haven’t turned up, then we’ll call the sheriff. Okay?”
“Thank you.”
