CHAPTER 11
T
he telephone in Todd's room rang promptly at six. He rolled over and grabbed for the receiver twice before bringing it to his ear.
“Good morning,” Emma said. “This is your wake-up call.”
Todd shook his head. The phone had pulled him out of a dream; it took him a second to realize where he was.
“I didn't order a wake-up call,” he grumbled, squinting at the clock.
“Oh. Well, since you're awake, why don't you come down to my cottage? I've got something I want to show you before I start work.”
He yawned and rolled a kink out of his shoulder.
“Give me ten minutes,” he said, and hung up.
Todd stepped out of the front door and shivered. When the rain left that morning, it had taken the cloud cover with it and the temperature had dropped noticeably. The puddles and tree branches were glazed with ice and the grass looked as sharp as knives. He thrust his hands into his pockets and started down the path toward Emma's cottage, his breath leaving a trail of white puffs in his wake. If he couldn't figure out how to open the suitcase soon, Todd thought, he'd have to find a store where he could buy some warmer clothing and heavier boots. He could already feel his toes getting numb.
What was it that Emma wanted him to see? And why was it so important that he come right then, before she started work? He smiled. Maybe there wasn't anything to show him. Maybe it was just an excuse for the two of them to be alone.
Since seeing Emma last night, he'd been thinking a lot about the summers they'd spent together as kids. She was Todd's first crush, the first girl he'd ever thought of as something other than a giggling, finicky annoyance. There'd been times in the past when he'd wondered if their feelings for each other had been blossoming into something more than a summer romance, but then he'd remind himself that it was foolish to dwell on what-ifs and put the thought aside. As the years passed, the question of whether or not he and Emma might have been falling in love became a moot point.
Todd felt a twinge of guilt as he realized how excited he was to be seeing Emma again. He and Gwen were together now; they were about to become engaged. Fantasizing about another woman was not only childish, it was disloyal. How would he feel if Gwen were off somewhere flirting with an old boyfriend? Whatever Emma had to show him, he was determined not to stay for long.
The cottage was in sight now, its whitewashed siding and periwinkle blue shutters a cheerful contrast to the wintry weather. Someone had removed the overgrown shrubs that had once shrouded the tiny structure and replaced them with a neat row of dwarf boxwood. Unless he missed his guess, there would be day lilies in the planting beds come springtime. The Spirit Inn might be an imposing Victorian mansion, but Emma's cottage looked like a cozy English dollhouse. He wiped his feet on the welcome mat and knocked.
Todd heard whispering inside, then quick, light footsteps. The door swung open.
“Surprise!” Emma said.
Before Todd could ask what the surprise was, Archie dashed through the doorway, jumping and barking, whirling like a dervish.
“Archie!” he cried.
He scooped up the little dog and hugged him gratefully. Archie was okay! He wasn't trapped; he wasn't starving; no bear or coyote had mauled him. Todd felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It was like witnessing a miracle.
He buried his face in Archie's fur.
“Boy, you smell good,” he said.
“That's baby shampoo,” Emma told him. “I just finished blowing him dry.”
Todd stared at her. “You did?”
“Come on in,” she said, laughing. “I'll tell you all about it.”
His first impression of the cottage as a dollhouse was reinforced when Todd stepped inside. He'd remembered the place being much larger, a maze of supplies and broken appliances that Emma's grandmother had used as the hotel's de facto storage shed, but which he, Claire, and Emma regarded as their personal clubhouse. What he'd thought of as a vast space was in fact a studio apartment with scaled-down appliances in its efficiency kitchen, a table for two, and a sleeper couch. Todd looked around at the modest, tasteful furnishings and felt pleased that his old friendâa rootless, unhappy orphanâhad been able to create such a warm and inviting home for herself. He tried not to contrast it with the cold, avant-garde furnishings that Gwen had recently filled his own house with, reminding himself that it wasn't fair to compare the two, especially since his girlfriend wasn't there to defend herself.
“Archie showed up this morning around two,” Emma said. “He was muddy and it looked like he'd rolled in every sticker bush on the property.”
She picked a wicked-looking burr up off the table and handed it to Todd.
“This was stuck in his right front paw.”
Todd stared at the sharp, yellowish spines, which were nearly an inch long.
“That's a spiny cocklebur seed,” Emma said. “The plants are invasive around here. Livestock that eat those things get sick; some of them die.”
“Poor guy.”
“I picked the burrs out last night,” she said, “and saved the bath for this morning.”
Mud? Cockleburs? A bath? Todd was blown away. Gwen would never have done so much for an animal that wasn't hers, especially one that had interrupted her beauty sleep.
“Thank you,” he said. “I can't tell you how much this means to me.”
He set the burr aside and gave Archie a gentle shake.
“You had me worried, you little poop.”
Emma smiled. “He ate pretty much everything I had in the fridge, but you'll need to get him some dog food before you go to Claire's. And don't blame me if the pizza gives him gas. It wasn't my idea.”
Pizza?
Todd decided not to pursue it. Emma had saved his dog. If Archie turned into a stink bomb, at least he was still alive.
“Anyway,” Emma said. “I checked with the weather service and the roads should be clear in another hour or so. I'm sure you'd like to get back on the road.”
Todd felt his good mood evaporate. He'd been so glad to have Archie back that he'd forgotten it meant there was nothing to stop him now from leaving. It felt as if he'd just arrived. Did he really have to go so soon? Todd was in no hurry to get rid of Archie, and he and Emma had barely had time to catch up with each other. Besides, she'd washed his dog and comped him a room for the night. Didn't he owe her something for that?
“Maybe you'll let me do some chores around here to pay you back before I go.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I thought you had to get to Claire's.”
“Her place is only an hour away.” He shrugged. “I'm not in a hurry if you don't mind my hanging around awhile longer.”
Emma shrugged.
“No, I don't mind. I'm sure my handyman, Jake, could find something for you to do.”
Todd glanced at his dog.
“Can Archie stay in here?”
Archie, who'd been happily panting as he listened to their conversation, reeled in his tongue and cocked his head.
“It's fine with me,” Emma said. “After the day he had yesterday, it might even be better if he got some more rest.”
She pointed to the pillow and blanket she'd given Archie the night before.
“He's welcome to hang out here until you're ready to go.”
“Excellent,” Todd said. “And in the meantime, I'll try to make myself useful.”
“Are you sure? You don't have to, you know.”
Todd set Archie on the pillow and tucked the blanket around him.
“I'm sure.”
“All right,” Emma said, grabbing her coat. “If you knock on the back door and tell the kitchen staff I sent you, they'll give you some breakfast. I'll talk to Jake when he gets in.”
Todd was about to tell her that he could pay for his own breakfast, but Emma was already halfway out the door.
“I'll see if we can get you some work clothes, too,” she said. “Come by my office when you're ready to get started.”
In the kitchen, Todd was treated to a farmhand's breakfast: pancakes, eggs, and hash brown potatoes filled one plate; a second was piled high with bacon and house-made sausage. Looking at all the food in front of him, Todd couldn't help thinking about the wheatgrass smoothies and egg-white omelets that Gwen swore were the keys to a long and healthy life.
Oh, well,
he thought.
When in Rome . . .
When he'd finished, he thanked the cook, handed his plates to the dishwasher, and went back to his room to call Gwen.
Five more rings and another message left on her voice mail. As Todd broke the connection, he began to wonder what Gwen was doing that she didn't have time to call him back. It wasn't like her not to return his calls. Then again, maybe her cell phone was out of range. Service out on the island could be pretty spotty.
He walked down to the lobby and saw Clifton at the front desk. The man gave him an unctuous smile.
“Good morning, Mr. Dwyer. May I help you?”
“Is Emma around?”
“Miss Carlisle is in a meeting,” Clifton said. “As soon as she's free, I'll let her know you're here.”
Todd looked around for a place to sit, but all the chairs were taken by people he assumed were there for the convention. They were a well-dressed bunchâeven moneyed, perhapsâwho nevertheless gave a strong impression of the counterculture. As they milled around, conversing with one another, the general mood of the room was one of excited anticipation. Whatever these ghost hunters had come looking for, it seemed that some of them, at least, had already found it.
After a few minutes spent wandering around the lobby, curiosity got the better of him and he approached a middle-aged couple who looked as if they might know what was going on.
“Excuse me,” Todd said. “Are you here for the convention?”
“Indeed we are,” the man said in a voice more suited for the theater than the inn's modest foyer.
He offered a slight bow.
“I'm Professor Lars Van Vandevander. This is my wife, Vivienne.”
“Viv.” The woman smiled. “Lars is one of the featured speakers.”
“Oh. Congratulations.”
Todd introduced himself and the two men shook hands.
“Are you a member of SSSPA?” the professor said.
“No,” Todd said. “Just a guest, but I'm curious. What does âspa' stand for?”
The Van Vandevanders glanced at each other and smiled.
“The Society for the Scientific Study of Paranormal Activity,” the professor said.
Viv nodded. “We're ghost hunters.”
“I see.”
“Lars and I have been touring Washington's haunted places in preparation for his lecture tonight.”
“A fascinating journey,” the professor said. “New Mexico, of course, is touted as
the
state for encountering UPsâ”
“Unexplained phenomena,” Viv whispered.
“âbut for my money, the Pacific Northwest has a far more interesting mix of both PA and EVP activity.”
Todd nodded. “So, as far as you're concerned, this place is genuinely haunted?”
“It certainly is. It's on the NRHP.”
“The N, R . . . ?”
“The National Register of Haunted Places.”
The Van Vandevanders shared an anxious look.
“However, you mustn't worry,” the professor said. “Most encounters are benign.”
His wife nodded. “Poltergeists are notoriously shy.”
“In fact,” Lars continued, “there was one here just last night.”
Todd looked nonplussed. “An encounter?”
“More of an auditory anomaly, really; a sort of piercing wail, or keening. Viv and I heard it, as did several of the other guests.”
“When was that?”
Viv screwed up her face. “Oh, I don't remember. Do you, dear?”
Lars shook his head.
“Around midnight, perhaps? I'm afraid I didn't notice the time.” He looked at Todd. “I'm sorry you missed it.”
“I'm sorry, too,” Todd said. “I stayed here several times as a kid and I don't remember ever encountering a ghost.”
He glanced back at the front desk and saw Clifton waving him over.
“Looks like I have to go,” he said. “It was nice meeting you both. Good luck with your lecture tonight.”
“Perhaps you'd like to come,” Viv said hopefully.
Todd shook his head. “I didn't pay for the conference. It wouldn't be fair.”
“Oh, pish posh,” the professor said. “I'm allowed a guest or two, and Viv would be thrilled. Wouldn't you, dear?”
His wife nodded. “I felt a strong harmonic resonance with you as soon as we met.”
Todd pursed his lips thoughtfully.
“Let me think about it,” he said.
“Good!” Lars said. “We'll be in the Energy Room. Viv will save a seat for you in the front row.”