Haunted Ever After Read online

  ‘How do you feel?’ he asked.

  I twisted my lips and gazed at the sky. ‘Tired. Sad. But free, and hopeful.’ I looked at my finger again and gasped.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘The ring. Nancy’s ring!’ I looked around for her. She was wandering aimlessly around the garden, but caught my eye and I gestured discreetly for her to come over. Luckily, Lorena and Georgie appeared deep in conversation and were no doubt giving me and Ty some privacy to say our goodbyes. ‘Nancy, did they ever find your wedding ring?’

  She thought for a moment. ‘No, I don’t believe they did. Oh, poor Chris probably thought I pawned it or threw it out or something!’

  ‘Tell me again, what date did you, um…’

  ‘Die?’

  I nodded, and she told me. I thought back from then to now and couldn’t recall that we’d had any rain during that time. The ring could still be stuck between those bits of metal outside the hotel window!

  ‘Oh my God, do you think it’s still there?’

  ‘It could be! Are you able to go there somehow, get a glimpse and see if it is?’ I asked, unsure of the logistics of her ghostly transport capabilities.

  She shook her head. ‘I can’t, not by myself. Just thinking about it overwhelms me with grief. Like when I tried to visit Chris the first time.’

  ‘Okay, don’t worry. What if we could go there and have a look?’ I turned to Ty. ‘If I could get the ring and return it to Chris, he might believe me!’

  ‘You might be onto something there,’ he said, then looked at Nancy. ‘What hotel were you in and what was your room number?’

  I got a little thrill at the reminder that he could see her too.

  ‘The Renshaw. Room 814.’

  ‘Hang on,’ Ty said, plucking his phone from his pocket and swiping the screen.

  ‘What are you doing?’ I asked.

  ‘Calling them to ask if we can get into the room.’

  ‘We?’

  ‘Yeah. You don’t think I’m letting you deal with this on your own, do you? I know you have bendy and stretchy arms, but I’m not letting you dangle over that balcony.’

  I smiled. ‘What, now?’

  ‘I’m cool with that if you are.’ He tipped his head towards my friends. ‘And I can drive there, then drive you home.’

  ‘You sure? If we’ll be allowed in, then yes, let’s go.’

  Nancy jumped on the spot.

  Ty moved a bit further away so Lorena and Georgie wouldn’t hear. A little while later he slipped his phone back into his pocket and returned to my side. ‘All set. They wouldn’t let us in without booking a room, so we can have the room at one pm. But no longer than an hour, they have a guest arriving at three or four.’

  ‘Great! Okay, I’ll tell the girls.’

  Mel walked out of the house at that moment, accompanied by her bags and a slight hangover.’Ow, too bright,’ she said, putting her bags down to withdraw sunglasses and put them over her eyes. ‘Hi, Ty. And bye, I guess. Was an absolute treat having you grace us with your presence this weekend,’ she said.

  ‘It was my pleasure.’ He lifted Mel’s hand and kissed it too, then took her bags to the car for her. Still a big suck. But I liked it.

  ‘Um, guys, a slight change of plans.’ I threaded my hands together and twisted them nervously. ‘Ty’s going to drive me home, after he, um, takes me out for a while. Lunch and stuff.’

  ‘Oh, you sure, Ty?’ asked Lorena.

  Mel kicked her leg gently. ‘Of course he’s sure, Lorena,’ Mel said.

  ‘Well okay then, but you’ll come straight to my place later and stay over?’ Lorena asked. ‘I’m taking tomorrow off work to help you get your things from the house while Greg’s at work.’

  Oh, that’s right. The weight of what lay ahead pushed down on me for a moment. I’d be packing up my things and moving in with Mum and Dad. They just didn’t know it yet. ‘Sure am. Thanks, hun.’

  ‘Then I’ll see both of you later on. Text me when you’re close and I’ll put the kettle on.’

  I smiled and gave her a hug. ‘Thanks for this weekend. I know it wasn’t exactly as planned. But despite all the drama, I had the best fun with you guys and your silly games. I won’t forget it.’

  ‘I won’t let you forget it. Besides, we’ll have to do it all again. Once this bubba comes out I’ll need regular time away to catch up on sleep and goss.’

  I hugged Mel, and Georgie too. ‘Georgie, what did I ever do to deserve such a great friend who cooks gourmet meals?’

  ‘You became a great friend to me, that’s what.’ She kissed me on the cheek.

  ‘And Mel, I’ll be waiting on the other end of the phone once you’ve talked to Michael. Let me know what happens.’

  ‘I will,’ she said with a knowing nod. We all had things to deal with when we went back to our regular lives, and now that I’d seen what could happen to someone so young and healthy like Nancy, I vowed to never waste a minute of the life I’d been given.

  * * *

  ‘I’ll go back home first and sort out Cody, see if the neighbours can keep an eye on him,’ Ty said. ‘Otherwise he’ll have to join us.’

  ‘That would be fine.’

  He drove back to the scene of my near-miss car accident and I waited in the car with Nancy.

  ‘I know you have to get over Greg and all, but seriously, Sally. Don’t let that one get away.’ She tipped her head in Ty’s direction.

  ‘Oh, I don’t know. We probably wouldn’t work. And he lives over an hour away.’ It was then that I remembered I wouldn’t be living in my house anymore, and would have to find a new place. Maybe closer to the hospital, which was halfway between home and Barron Springs. Not that my nurse’s wage would afford me much luxury without Greg’s income. But that didn’t matter. I didn’t need much; I just needed a clean, safe place to live.

  ‘Distance schmistance,’ Nancy said. ‘It doesn’t matter at all, location can always be changed.’

  ‘I think it’s a bit early to be thinking about this, I can’t just leap into a new relationship when I was supposed to be getting married this weekend.’

  ‘Fair enough, but if I’ve learned anything from being “dead”,’ she made quote marks with her fingers, ‘it’s that time waits for no one. Do what you want, when you want it, and you’ll be much happier. You did everything right with Greg and look how that ended, no offence. Why not take a risk for once?’

  ‘I’m a bit risked out after this weekend. But I promise, I’ll try to be more spontaneous and risk-taking from now on, in honour of you, okay?’ I offered her a smile.

  ‘I’ll be watching.’

  ‘Oh, I know you will.’

  Ty came back with a plastic bag and something poking out of it.

  ‘What’s in there?’ I asked, as he got back in the car.

  ‘My old Inspector Gadget extendable arm claw. Just in case our human ones don’t cut it.’

  I laughed. ‘You kept that from your childhood?’

  He nodded. ‘Cody loves it now. He’s always picking things up with it, it’s actually quite precise. I thought it might come in — pardon the pun — handy.’ He winked. ‘I also brought a magnifying glass, and a zip-lock bag for the ring.’

  ‘Wow, you’re well prepared.’

  ‘Well, I was a boy scout.’ He grinned, holding up the hand sign for ‘scout’s honour’.

  Ty said that the neighbours would collect Cody in about half an hour and take him to town for lunch, then bring him back home. So it would be just the two, er, three of us.

  ‘Since we don’t have to be at The Renshaw till one, how about we stop in the city for lunch first?’ asked Ty.

  ‘Sounds good.’

  ‘Oh you two are such big teases! I’m dying for a hamburger!’ Nancy giggled.

  * * *

  After eating a burger with the lot in Nancy’s honour (not my usual choice of meal), we arrived at the hotel with our high hopes and bag of retrieval equipment.

 
‘Here’s your room key,’ the receptionist said; a young male with sculpted black hair that looked like plastic. ‘Don’t forget, it’s only for the hour, so we’ll see you back here at two pm.’

  ‘Yep, don’t worry, we don’t need long.’ Ty accepted the key.

  ‘Well, if you find you do go over time, I’m afraid we’ll have to charge for another hour.’

  ‘I understand, but as I said. We won’t take long.’

  The young man tried to hide a grin, and his colleague, a blonde beauty, eyed him with a look that told me they thought we were here for something naughty. Great. They probably think I’m a prostitute! I pulled a strand of hair from my ponytail and dragged it over the side of my face in an effort to hide myself.

  When Ty turned around from the reception desk, a bulky man accidentally bumped into him, knocking his plastic bag to the floor and exposing the Inspector Gadget arm. Ty picked it up quickly and shoved it back in the bag, and as we walked away I saw the young guy whisper to the blonde woman and laugh. Wonderful! Now they probably think it’s some kind of bedroom toy! At least they didn’t see the magnifying glass; I hated to imagine what they thought we’d be using that for.

  The rising of the elevator matched the rising of my heart rate, so by the time it pinged to signal our arrival on Level Eight, my heart was going overtime. I wasn’t the biggest fan of heights, but had forgotten about this until now. Blood I could handle, and burns and torn skin, but not so much heights. Or spiders. And anyway, what if the ring wasn’t even there and this was all a big waste of time and further disappointment for Nancy?

  We stepped out of the elevator and walked the long corridor to room 814. The shiny numbers on the door gave me an ominous feeling, knowing something bad happened in there. I doubted the hotel staff informed guests of the history of the room… ‘Special offer! Come stay in our most sought after room — scene of a terrible accident!’

  Ty unlocked the door with a slide of the key, and light flooded the room as he switched on the overhead light. The afternoon sun was filtered partly through the sheer curtains, the rest hidden by heavy drapes. Ty went straight for the balcony and pushed aside the drapes.

  ‘Nancy?’ I asked, turning around. She wasn’t with us.

  ‘Where’d she go?’ Ty asked.

  A swirl of colours appeared and she seemed to float through the door. ‘Sorry, this place isn’t making me feel too well.’

  ‘It’ll be okay, and we have an hour, so no rush.’

  Nancy’s breathing quickened like she was about to get on stage in front of hundreds of people, then a jolt shot through my heart when the bedside lamp cracked open and collapsed.

  ‘What the?’

  Ty went to the bedside table. ‘How did that happen?’

  ‘Oops, I’m sorry! I think I did it. Somehow. I’m feeling quite tense.’ Nancy looked guilty, and a little terrified.

  ‘Unfortunately,’ Ty said, ‘I don’t think this can be fixed with super glue like the one at the guest house.’

  ‘Damn. We’ll have to pay for it. Don’t worry, I’ll cover it,’ I said.

  Crash! The light shade on the overhead light exploded, including the globe, shattering all over the floor and partly on the bed.

  ‘Oh no! Nancy, try to stay calm!’

  ‘Sorry! God, what is happening to me?’ She held out her hands in disbelief.

  ‘Don’t worry, it’s okay, let’s just focus on what we’re here to do and then we’ll be out of here. Can you show us where you dropped the ring?’ I busied myself cleaning up the shards of glass while she readied herself. Ty picked up a garbage bin and I placed piece after piece in there. The vacuum cleaner would have to do the rest.

  Nancy drew a deep breath. ‘Okay, the ring. I can do this. Right…’ She inched across the room as slow as a tortoise, until she came to the balcony door. Ty unhinged the lock, slid the door back, and a gush of cool air pushed past us into the room.

  ‘Whoa, even I felt that!’ Nancy said.

  To encourage her, I stepped out onto the balcony, followed by Ty. The junction separating the room from the balcony was like an embodiment of my comfort zone. I steadied my breathing and focused on the task at hand. The railing was high enough for safety, but the builders obviously didn’t account for someone leaning over it, trying to extract a dropped wedding ring.

  ‘I was standing here, and…’

  Crash! A terracotta pot splintered and broke, spilling soil and plant material onto the balcony floor.

  ‘Oh no! I’m a walking disaster!’

  ‘No you’re not, just stay focused, don’t worry about that right now.’ Though I was a bit worried. We could probably have afforded a two-night stay for the cost of what we’d have to replace.

  ‘I leant against the railing here, holding my ring. Stupid of me, in hindsight, but what can I do?’ She re-enacted her movements from that fateful night. ‘And when I sneezed, it fell from my hands, down there.’ She pointed.

  Ty and I peered over the railing and down below. Between a narrow slit of metal, a diamond sparkled in the afternoon sunlight.

  ‘It’s there! It’s still there!’ Nancy exclaimed.

  Relief flooded my veins and I exchanged a smile with Ty. It could be possible to retrieve it. Though there was no way I was leaning over the balcony. Ty was taller, so I hoped he’d be up for the job. No wonder the police hadn’t found it, it was slightly underneath the balcony, and not viewable unless you arched your head a certain way. The sneeze or direction of the night breeze must have guided it to its resting place. And with her history of depression, and the fact that camera footage showed no one had been seen entering her room, meant that foul play had been ruled out. To them it was clearly a suicide. To us, it was a sad, silly, terrible accident.

  ‘Maybe I can just grab it myself,’ said Ty, angling his body over the railing.

  I tugged on his shirt. ‘Wait! Let’s do this slowly, cautiously. It may look achievable, but as we know, looks can be deceiving.’

  ‘Then let’s try our best available option.’ He turned to the door. ‘Go-go Gadget arm!’ His humour at this critical moment seemed out of place, but funny nonetheless, and even Nancy managed a tiny smile.

  Ty returned with his extendable arm claw thing.

  ‘Hang on, let’s practise!’ I dashed inside and took my lonely engagement ring from my purse, and placed it on the floor of the balcony.

  Ty lowered the plastic arm and pulled a lever to expand the tiny claw at the end of it. When one part of the claw hooked under the ring he released the lever and lifted the arm, the ring captured by it.

  ‘See? Easy.’ Ty handed the ring back to me and I put it away.

  ‘But this is in a trickier spot. Maybe we should just flick it off, then rush downstairs and get it from the ground before anyone else.’

  ‘It could get stuck further down the strip of metal where we can’t get it, see how it gets narrower?’ He pointed and I gripped the railing tightly as I looked. ‘Or it could land in a drain down there, or on someone’s head. We’re too high up to do it properly.’

  ‘I guess you better take the opportunity to practise your surgical skills then. I’ll hold onto you so you don’t lose balance.’ I gripped his hips as he manoeuvred over the balcony railing and leaned forward.

  With Ty in front of me I couldn’t see the mission in process, but I heard the sound of Ty extending the arm and pulling the lever. A tinkle of metal followed.

  ‘Damn! Got it but dropped it again,’ he said.

  ‘Oh no, can you still get it?’

  ‘I think, I just…need to…’ he grunted, and a moment later lowered back onto the balcony, slowly carrying the toy arm over to safety. A diamond ring hung delicately from the claw, and a victorious smile hung on Ty’s face.

  ‘You did it!’ My eyes widened in happiness.

  ‘My ring, oh, my ring!’ Nancy cradled her ghostly hand around it, desperate to touch it.

  ‘Let’s get it inside before the breeze wafts it away,�
� Ty said, holding onto the ring and not activating the claw lever until it was safely on the desk in the hotel room.

  I picked up the ring and held it up to the light.

  ‘You’re the light of my life ~ Chris’

  I read the inscription on the inside of the band. My heart warmed at this simple sentiment, and I looked at Nancy. ‘You were very lucky to have him.’

  ‘I know,’ she whispered, then reached forwards gently. ‘Can I try? To hold it?’

  ‘Do you think you can?’

  ‘I held your underwear and flung it about, didn’t I?’ she said with a smile.

  ‘What?’ asked Ty. ‘Just what did you girls get up to before I became privy to your presence, Nancy?’

  ‘You don’t need to know.’ I slid a glance his way.

  ‘Fair enough.’ He smiled.

  Using the ring finger on her left hand, Nancy teased the ring as I held it up. A tingle of energy ran across my hand as she tried to grasp it. After focusing intently and gently sliding her finger between the unbroken circle, it took. It stayed there, as though she was really here and it was really on her finger. Delight lit up her face and she slowly rotated her hand around in front of her, admiring the sparkle and solidity of the ring against her semi-translucent hand.

  I exchanged a wondrous smile with Ty, who was shaking his head at the miracle. If anyone walked in right now they’d see a ring floating in midair.

  After a few moments, the ring went straight through her finger and dropped to the carpeted floor. I quickly picked it up, not wanting to let it out of my sight. Ty handed me the zip-lock bag and I secured the ring inside, then placed it into my handbag.

  ‘We did it,’ Ty said with a smile.

  ‘You did it,’ I corrected. ‘Thank you.’

  Nancy held her hands up to both our cheeks and a cool then warm tingle spread across my face. ‘Thank you both,’ she said. Ty touched his face with his hand at the remarkable sensation I knew he’d felt. I wondered if his parents were here, somewhere, witnessing this, watching over him.

  Nancy seemed restored, and that cheeky expression I’d come to know (and hate, in the beginning) returned. ‘Before we go, can I have some fun?’

  ‘Not if it involves causing more expensive damage, but apart from that, knock yourself out!’ I said.