Page 42 of Possessed By Shadows

“Sure. We leave around eight-thirty. There’s room in the van.”

“Thanks, man. Appreciate it. And if you hear from Lukas before then, let me know, okay?” I held up my phone.

“Pleasure is all mine. That video from your brother’s house is gold. Incredible stuff seems to happen when you’re around.”

“What video?”

“Your dad’s? Of the attic? He let us have it. Said we’d probably get better use out of it than he did.”

I didn’t point out that I hadn’t been there when the video was taken, only caught the movement when it was replayed. Was my dad still there and experiencing strange stuff? I headed for the door; at least the haunted mansion was only a few streets over. “Catch you later then.”

“Looking forward to it,” Jason agreed.

I headed out into the bright light of the morning, keeping an eye on the time. It was bad enough my brother was flaking on his shop hours. I wasn’t about to do the same.

My dad was awake and already working on the house. He had the rental truck parked out front with large pieces of drywall tucked in it, coming and going with each piece. That was a lot of work for one person. I grabbed a piece, hefted it, thankful my hip was having a better day, and headed for the house. He paused when he saw me, but then waved at me to enter before making his way to the truck.

It took over a dozen trips for the two of us to empty his truck. All the pieces propped up against the wall in the dining room. There was also a giant tarp stretched out with a dozen cans of paint, nails, and random tools. My dad came in after he’d locked up his truck, and I asked, “Have you heard from Lukas?”

“Nope,” his answer was short.

Okay. I worked to not grind my teeth together. “You gave them the video from the attic? The ghost team?”

“Yep. Sounds like it’s a way your brother makes money.”

“Would making money from filming ghosts be a more legitimate job than working in a retail shop?” I wondered out loud.

“More legitimate than sleeping with your boss.”

“That would be incest. Lukas is my boss.”

He grunted.

Had he always been this infuriating? “Well, call if you hear from him then.” I needed to be free of this place, of my dad, and the secrets of my brother’s life. It was unreal how much it hurt to know he’d hid all this from me. Like two different people.

My father didn’t even respond as I walked out the door. But my phone rang before I was even a half block down. Sky.

“Hey, did he come home?” I asked as soon as I answered.

“No,” she said, and her voice sounded shaky, like maybe she had been crying. “Can you come over? To his place, I mean. I think I found some stuff. I mean I probably shouldn’t have been looking through his things, but I couldn’t sleep or sit still…”

“I’m not far. Give me like ten minutes,” I promised. “You be okay that long? Should I call Micah?” He probably would be just getting up, maybe halfway through the first cup of coffee, but he would come if called.

“I’ll be okay. Let Micah rest. We can fill him in later. Maybe I’m overreacting.”

Sky was not known for overreacting, not unless she was doing some drama cosplay bit. Regular life stuff, well she went through so much shit on a daily basis that even I couldn’t compete with her calm disregard. Not much ruffled her anymore. She’d even learned to sass back with thick burns when someone tried to misgender her. It always brought a smile to my face to watch her take the ‘phobes down.

“Maybe sit on the stairs outside till I get there?” I wondered. “I could stop and get you beignets.”

I could almost hear her salivate over the phone. “Really?” That girl could eat.

“Really. Will take a few minutes longer, but they aren’t usually backed up this early in the morning.”

“Okay. I’ll wait on the step.”

I hung up and hightailed it to Jackson Square, thrilled with no line at Café Du Monde. Winter and early morning, meant very few tourists, so I got an almost instant plate of powdered sugar with maybe a few donuts beneath and was heading back toward Lukas’s place. Sky was sitting on the stairs leading up. Lukas had a second-floor walk-up from a back alley. His didn’t have any fancy balcony, nor was it on any of the party routes. Probably a perk for him more than being in the party zone would have been.

“Have you seen Lukas’s car?” I asked Sky. I knew he had a rental spot in a parking garage. It was within walking distance. Maybe I’d check it before heading home. None of his owned properties had parking on the street, or driveways. Most any close to the Quarter didn’t, they wouldn’t have needed them when it had all been built. I held out the plate of sugar for her. The stuff wasn’t really my thing. Give me the pralines any day over the puffy mess that was the beignets.