Page 19 of The Curse of Redwood

“Maybe now you’ll stay away from there.”

Unlikely.

Ben and I went over to a long table and sat down with the book. The leather binding was falling apart, and I got a feeling we’d get some kind of disease if we breathed in the dust.

“Stop holding your breath,” Ben said with a snort.

“What if we get the plague?”

“The only plague here is you,” he retorted, opening to the first page. “I should be writing, yet I’m here chasing down ghosts.”

“Don’t be a sourpuss, Ben. You know it’s interesting.”

He smiled. “Can’t argue there. Now, let’s look in this damn book so we can get out of here.”

We didn’t find anything on Ezekiel. Nothing about his life or death, other than the one mention of the year he was born. However, we learned there’d been alotof people who’d lived—and died—at Redwood. The body count in that place was staggering. Charlie Michaels had really done thorough research.

“Hey, look here.” I pointed to one of the entries. “Elizabeth Shaw moved in with her husband and two children in the 1890s. Her husband died from a fever less than a year later.”

“Shaw,” Ben said, furrowing his brow. He snapped his fingers and flipped around to face me. “Mrs. Shaw! I remember hearing some kids talk about her when I first moved to Ivy Grove. She supposedly killed her two children before killing herself.” His face paled a little, and he said with much less enthusiasm, “They also said she haunts the place now… and can be seen in a black gown.”

“The woman in black,” I said, gaping at him. “Do you think it could be… her?”

“I don’t know.” Ben pushed the book away from him and ran a hand down his face. “I think I’m done researching for the day.”

Theo waited for us in the foyer as we walked through the door a while later. Ben kissed his cheek before walking down the hall to his office without another word. The click of a door shutting sounded moments later.

“The outing didn’t help, I see,” Theo said, his body flickering like an old television trying to find a channel. “Coffee and bagels always cheer him up. I don’t understand.”

“After breakfast, I took him to the library,” I responded, glancing at my feet. Might as well tell the truth. I felt like a kid about to get scolded by a parent. “We researched Redwood, and it put him in a weird headspace. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked him to help me.”

“You’re his friend, Carter. Of course he’d help you.” Theo drifted closer to me. “But I beg of you. Please do not get him involved again. His mind is a beautiful place, yet it can also be a prison. Those chains cannot set him free if you don’t let him move on from his trauma.”

He hasn’t moved on from it at all, I wanted to say. The book he was writing was proof of that. However, it wasn’t my place to tell Theo. That was something Ben would have to do himself in his own time.

My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I jolted before checking it.

Rich:Dude, where r u??? Your shift started 2 minutes ago.

“Shit!” I’d gotten so absorbed at the library that I’d forgotten I had to work that day. I yanked open the door and yelled over my shoulder to Theo, “Sorry! Gotta go to work. Tell Ben I’ll talk to him later.”

I made it to the mall in ten minutes. Rich stood behind the counter talking to a customer as I darted into the store. Weekdays usually weren’t too busy, but the store was packed that day. School was starting back up on Friday, so people were probably doing last minute shopping.

A group of teenagers stood around theMy Hero Academiadisplay. One of the girls held up a shirt with two of the main characters of the anime and gushed over it before the guy beside her snatched it from her and said he’d buy it.

That’s love, I thought. Anime was life.

As I waited for the teens to approach the counter with their purchases, I moved my tongue over my lip ring, playing with it like I often did when bored.

“You gonna tell me why you were late comin’ in to work?” Rich asked, leaning on the counter beside me. “Another rough night of sleep?”

“Nah. I slept great.”

“That’s good at least. But you’ve been acting kinda weird all week, man. What’s up?”

Rich wouldn’t understand. He didn’t even believe in ghosts. And honestly, the last thing I wanted to do was bring another person into my mess. Ben was damaged enough.Because of me.A pang of guilt smashed into my gut at the thought.

“Nothing’s up,” I answered, putting on my best smile. “Have you talked to that girl again? What was her name… Danielle?”