NINETEEN
The flashlight reflecting off the sharp blade has me in a choke hold. I can’t seem to move or think.
Britney is taller than I remember. Bigger. Like she could be in the WNBA or something. Thick blonde hair so long it touches her butt. And with a knife in her hand, she looks like a monster.
I turn to Jabari. “She killed your uncle?”
Jabari nods slow, half hiding behind Myah, who stares in disbelief.
“Who is this lady?” Myah snaps.
“I work with Asher,” Britney says with a slick smile. “Or used to.”
I think back to the night of the tour. She seemed so regular, so mousy, so … not crazy.
“Why did you kill Mr. Truman?” Myah snaps. “What did he do to you?”
Britney sighs, twirling her knife around.
“Asher and I, we had a chance to pitch our own ghost TV show,” she explains, sounding almost excited to tell us.
“But the producers said they only were willing to come to Savannah for something NEW and exciting. So, we made up a whole new story about a house in Calhoun Square. Told them some old slave was buried underneath here, causing all kinds of disturbances. I figured we’d do what we do best, make magic, just like on our tours.
And with a house like this, in the middle of Savannah’s most haunted square, it tracks. But Asher …”
“He didn’t want to do it?” I say.
She shakes her head. “He said it wouldn’t be ‘authentic.’ Ha! Like we ever were. I get paid every night to come on tour and show our doctored-up pictures of ghost attacks and pretend to fall. We’re making a killing! So, I said I would do it on my own. I have the connections.”
Something dawns on me, and I take a step forward.
“There is no Myers ghost, either, is there?”
Britney chuckles. “No. We made all that stuff up. No one named Myers ever even lived here. This place was just old and abandoned.”
My hands ball into fists as tears threaten to stream down my face. I can’t believe it. We’ve literally been chasing a lead to nowhere.
“But come on! This house is perfectly creepy,” Britney says with a laugh, glancing around.
“Anyway, in order to make our new story believable, I knew we needed one witness to back up our claim. And a Black historian, in a square known for being a burial ground for slaves … that’s television gold!
So I asked Tim Truman for a little help.
People definitely would’ve believed him.
All he had to do was go along with our story that haints haunted the Myers House and drove everybody crazy. ”
“So why did you kill him?” I mumble.
Britney sniffs. “That night … Tim and I had agreed to meet here, at the house. I was gonna tell him all the ways we were going to pull this off. But he came and told me he wasn’t going through with my plan, that it was wrong to lie about his ancestors just for money.
He said he planned to reach out to the producers himself and tell them the truth. ”
“He didn’t want you disrespecting the ancestors,” Jabari shouts through tears, Myah holding him back. “That meant everything to him.”
“There are ghosts all over this city!” Britney snaps.
“One more story wouldn’t have hurt anybody.
I had the costumes, the makeup, all the props and gadgets we needed to make it look real.
I’d asked Tim to come to the house, so he could see for himself.
But he just wouldn’t listen.” Britney’s eyes bulge.
“The TV show was going to be my big break. My chance to stop playing these bit parts, always the side character, never the lead. A chance to prove to my family that I’m onto something big so they’d stop looking at me like I’m some failure. And he was going to ruin everything!”
Myah stares in disgust. “You didn’t have to kill Mr. Truman! He was a good man.”
Britney shakes her head again, her eyes flooding with tears.
“I didn’t mean to do it. It was an accident!
We started arguing and I tried to stop him, to make him listen.
I pushed him and he fell. Hit his head on one of the stones in the basement.
Gone just like that. I had to move him, get him out of the house, or this place would have been a crime scene and the producers would’ve lost interest. But I didn’t know that nosy kid had followed us.
I didn’t know he was here or even missing until it came up on the news.
He must have been hiding in the shadows like a ninja or something.
” She glances at me. “And when Asher told me about the picture you took on the ghost tour, I realized the kid must have still been hiding in here.”
“So Asher knows about everything?” I gasp.
She scoffs, shaking her head. “Not at first, but I called him that night. I told him to meet me here, then help me move the body, or I’d tell everyone he was involved, and like I said, my family runs this city.
No one was gonna believe his word against mine.
I told him that we shouldn’t do tours in Calhoun Square anymore, it was too risky.
But he swore that if we didn’t carry on as usual, it would look suspicious.
’Cause what ghost tour doesn’t go to Calhoun Square?
! Your uncle knew that well,” she tells Jabari.
“Gosh, he would’ve made SO much money, and I even would’ve put in a good word with my father and the city council to change the square’s name, just like Tim always wanted.
It would’ve been a win-win for both of us! ”
City council? Wait! Her name is Britney Preston. She must be in the Preston family!
“Did you have your father rush the demolition of this house?” I demand. “Why?”
“Well … once the producers passed on my show idea, I realized I had to erase any evidence of what happened here.” She looks at Jabari. “Or any witnesses.”
Jabari whimpers into Myah, and she holds him tight.
“I knew you were interested in this house,” Britney says to me with a tight smile.
“Asher tried to throw you off the scent. But then I had lunch with Maverick. He told me he had met with some kids who were trying to get into ghost hunting. I asked him if you showed him a picture of this house and he got reallll nosy about it. But I swear, I didn’t mean to kill Tim Truman.
He just tripped. I think. Or maybe a ghost pushed him. ”
Britney is for real, for real crazy. There’s no denying it now. And with crazy people, you gotta take it slow and play their game.
“Well. You can just tell everyone it was an accident,” I say, trying to keep her talking, to buy us time. “What happened with Tim Truman. They’ll believe you. We’ll back you up.”
Myah looks at me like I got two heads.
“It’s too late for that,” Britney huffs. “And I’m not going to jail.”
“What are you going to do?” Myah spit out.
Britney sighs and pulls a roll of black duct tape out of her bag. “This building is coming down tomorrow. You four will be in the basement when it happens. No one will be able to hear you scream.”
Robby squeezes tighter to me, a whimper escaping him. This is it. There’s no way out. We’re all going to die in here. Just more ghosts added to Calhoun Square.
With the ancestors …
But the ancestors wouldn’t give up so easy.
They fought to the end and passed that down to all of us.
That’s why we’re all fighters and protectors.
Myah never gave up on wanting to help Tim Truman and his family.
Jabari did everything to protect his family, including living in this run-down house.
And Robby ran all the way from the gala just to help me.
“Now come on,” Britney says. “We’re going down to the basement. And no one try anything funny. I mean it!”
Trust your gut.
It’s my gut that knows what to do. My gut that tells me how to stay safe. My gut is my ancestors. Grandma, Mom, they’ve always had my back … they’ve been with me this entire time. Every time something happens, my gut is the first thing I feel. Maybe it’s not a ghost I’m feeling. Maybe it’s them.
Trust your gut.
I look down at the camera hanging around my neck as a plan forms. One side of me thinks it’s crazy, but the other side, the side that’s kept me safe, thinks it’ll work.
“Close your eyes,” I whisper to Myah.
“What?”
“Trust me. And when I tell you to, grab the boys and run.”
Myah swallows hard but gives a subtle nod.
“All right. Let’s go,” Britney orders, then points the knife at me. “You first.”
I take a deep breath and step toward her, prying myself out of Robby’s fingers. I don’t know if I can pull this off, but I’m gonna try.
Trust your gut.
Another step. Then another. Britney gives me a sly smile. A smile that says she’s won. When I’m a foot away from her, I quickly grab my camera, point, and shoot. The room turns blinding white.
“Ah!” Britney hollers, shutting her eyes tight.
“Now!” I scream at Myah, and shove Britney with both hands. She stumbles, tripping over a chair and falling to the floor.
Myah pushes Jabari and Robby toward the door. “Go! Go! Go!” she yells.
The boys hesitate but run out into the hall, sneakers squeaking.
Myah grabs the paint can and hurls it at Britney’s head. It hits with a loud DINK, bright blue paint splattering across the floor and walls. She screams, paint dripping into her mouth.
“Come on!” I scream, dragging Myah out and shutting the door. Right as Myah yanks a nearby chair to shove against the knob, we hear screams and a loud crash behind us.
“What was that?”
Robby’s howl from down the hall makes my insides ice over.
“Robby!”