SIXTEEN
I sluggishly roll out of bed around noon.
Robby and I stayed up until one in the morning finishing the robot.
I’ve never been a night owl. Grandma always said I was the queen of naps and decent bedtimes.
I could use about three more hours of sleep, but there’s too much to do today.
I have to meet Maverick to pick up the equipment, bring it back to the house for Robby to attach the thermo-thingy to the robot, pack the gear, and then head to Calhoun Square to meet Myah.
We have our stories set: Myah is going to say she’s spending the night at our house.
I’ll claim I’m going on a ghost tour. Tonight is the historical society gala, so Lena will be too busy to notice Robby is gone.
As long as we’re all home before midnight, everything will be fine.
It doesn’t leave a lot of time to catch a ghost, but we have to work with what we got.
At the breakfast table, Dad is slurping a coffee, watching the local news. He perks up at the sight of me.
“Good morning, Mony.”
“Morning,” I say, sipping some orange juice.
Dad smiles. He’s taking my reply as a sign I’m talking to him, which I’m definitely not.
On the TV, I hear:
“Coming up next, updates on the search for Rebecca Hutton …”
Still no mention of the search for Jabari or even about the investigation into Mr. Truman’s death. It’s like it never happened, like that part of the city doesn’t matter.
Dad clears his throat. “So. Remember we got the gala tonight. You still want to come?”
“No,” I snap.
“But … it’s in a museum. And the mayor’s gonna be there. I even pulled out the suit. Sure you don’t want to get fly and join us?”
“Not interested. In fact, I don’t think I can make any of your shows ever again. I’ll be too busy getting ready for this new school I’m supposed to go to.”
Dad puts down his mug. “Mony. Please … I—”
“I need money,” I say without looking at him.
He blinks. “Huh? What for now?”
I start to make up some excuse, but feeling bold after his betrayal, I puff out my chest.
“Ghost-hunting equipment. I found a haunted house.”
Dad groans, rubbing his face. “Harmony, didn’t we talk about this.”
“Yeah. But I guess there’s a lot we should’ve been talking about instead.”
He leans back as if I slapped him. “Harmony, I’m worried about what you up to.”
I whip around to face him. “I’ve been on ten ghost tours in ten different cities. And I always go alone. You never ask me about them. You never even look at my photos or nothing. You haven’t taken anything I’ve said about them seriously. Now you’re worried about what I’m up to?”
“What you talking about? I’m always worried about you. Everything I do is for you!”
I shake my head. “You always do what you want to do, no matter what. All my life you’d leave me for weeks with Grandma while you toured.
And even after she died, you were ready to go on tour and leave me alone with her ghost. We went everywhere you wanted to go.
Stayed where you wanted to stay, even here with some lady I never even heard you talk about but considers us family!
You never want to do anything that I want to do, so why you caring now?
If you did care, you would’ve known that all I wanted to do was get in that program at the Studio Museum.
That all I wanted to do was go back home, and now I don’t have a home to go back to ’cause you got rid of our place because you wanted to.
It’s always about you. When is it going to be about me? ”
Dad is speechless, his mouth stuck open, his eyes wide.
“So, let’s just go back to what we know. Can I have some money now? Please?”
Dad rubs his face with a sigh. He pulls out his wallet and hands me a wad of cash. It looks like the entire amount he’s made on tips this week.
“We’re not finished talking about this,” he warns, his voice a little scratchy.
“When do we ever talk about anything?” I shoot back.
Dad gets up and heads to the guesthouse, shutting the door hard behind him. My heart aches at the sight of him so hurt. We’ve never fought like this. The whole interaction makes my skin itch.
I take a deep breath and shake it off, making a quick bowl of cereal. A few minutes later, Robby emerges from his bedroom in dinosaur pj’s, rubbing his eyes. I hold in a laugh at the sight of him. Sometimes I forget that he’s really just a kid.
“Where are you going?” Robby asks, taking in my appearance.
“Meeting Maverick, remember?”
He nods, yawns, and walks around the table to grab a bowl for cereal.
“Do you have the money? ’Cause we could—” He cuts off for a moment, eyes widening at the TV. “Isn’t that Asher?”
I turn around and read the caption on the screen: CITY COUNCIL MEETING DISCUSSING DEMOLITION OF CALHOUN SQUARE PROPERTY.
“What?!” I yelp.
Robby runs to the remote and turns up the sound.
“Local residents and leaders took to the City Council meeting to raise issues over the demolition of an abandoned property that is scheduled for tomorrow. Residents have concerns about the implosion method selected …”
“Whoa! They’re going to blow it up!” Robby shouts, seeming both excited and a little shocked by this.
I push up my glasses and squint. In the very back of the council meeting, there’s Asher, leaning against a wall, his hat tipped low, scanning the crowd.
“I thought he didn’t know anything about that house?” Robby asks with a frown.
He could be there for other reasons. Or maybe he does know more than he’s letting on. Maybe that’s why he was warning us to stay away from it. Maybe he’s on the side of the city that’s trying to tear it down because whatever is in there is too evil for people to be around.
I’ve got to find Asher. I need to know what he knows before we walk into the house tonight.
“Right on time,” Maverick says, sitting with a black duffel bag on a bench in City Market.
“I have some of the money,” I blurt out.
He pauses. “Then you’ll get SOME of the gear.”
“That’s fine,” I agree, too tired to try to negotiate.
I pick three things: the dowsing rods, a thermal meter, and an EMF reader. As Maverick counts his money and I repack the items, I check my phone again, hoping I’d get a missed call from Asher. I tried contacting him every way I could on the bus ride over.
“Um, do you know other ghost tour guides? Like, personally?” I ask.
Maverick nods without looking up. “A good amount of them.”
“I was hoping to find this guide I had a few days ago. His name is Asher.”
He laughs. “Asher? You mean that little Orbs and More group? Ha! I have pants older than that guy.”
“So you know him?” I ask, feeling hopeful. Maybe he has a way to get in contact with him.
“Well, we all KNOW Asher,” Maverick says in a dramatic voice. “He’s a fake, a phony! He doesn’t know anything about real paranormal expertise. He’s more like an actor. He makes up stories as he goes along. And he’s just focused on getting some TV show made.”
“Oh yeah, he mentioned something about that,” I say, remembering.
Maverick looks at the equipment, then back at me. “Is that what you want this equipment for? For some house he told you about? I wouldn’t waste your time or your money.”
“No! This place is really haunted.”
He raises one eyebrow. “How do you know?”
“I just … do.”
He stands. “Tell me all about it.”
My stomach knots and I’m instantly on edge. I take a shaky step back.
He must sense my hesitation, and he clears his throat. “Look, finding a new haunting down here, it could bring big business. You tell me where it is, and I’ll see to it myself. You won’t need any of this stuff. I’ll give you your money back. Just … tell me where it is.”
He seems hungry for information. More like starving.
“You mean you’ll keep it for yourself, right?” I snap. “I gotta go. Thanks for the gear.”
Maverick jumps in front of me. “Hey! You bring me evidence of haunting, and I’ll make sure we make a lot of money off of it.”
“Is that the only reason you’re into ghosts? For the money?”
“The paranormal world can be pretty competitive,” Maverick says as if apologizing for something. “Everyone got a story out of Calhoun Square, but a new one can really drum up some new eyes.”
I shake my head. “What about helping the people who are ghosts?”
Maverick snorts. “You can’t help the dead the way they can’t help you.”
My mind clicks back to that day in our apartment in Harlem. The day that started me down this road of haints, ghosts, and demons. Was that Grandma or not?
Wait! I never told Maverick about Calhoun Square. I never even mentioned it. How did he know?
“So. We got a deal?” Maverick asks.
My throat closes up, sweat dripping onto my shirt. How does he know about the house? Was he following us?
I straighten, deciding to play it cool. “Any last tips?”
Maverick thinks for a moment. “Yeah. Trust your gut. Your instincts know more than science can explain.”
I blink. It’s like he took the words right out of Grandma’s mouth.
When you think you’re being followed, you gotta take the long way home.
You walk slow, around lots of people, to blend into the crowd.
I spend almost two hours zigzagging my way through the Historic District.
I walk the whole riverfront and side streets, stopping in stores I would never buy a thing in.
But I don’t spot Maverick anywhere. He’s not, like, a spy or anything.
He can’t be that good that I’d miss him.
By the time I make it back home, Robby is dressed and ready to go.
“You got everything?”
“Yup,” I say, dumping the bag on Robby’s bed. He inspects the equipment and immediately attaches the thermal meter to the robot.
“Did you talk to Asher yet?” he asks eagerly.
“No. But … I did talk to Maverick.”
Robby frowns. “And?”
I wonder if I should tell him. Admit that Maverick was acting sus and gave me the creeps. But I decide not to bring it up. It’ll only scare Robby, and I need him focused.
“Nothing. He said to trust our gut.”