Freddie vs. the Family Curse by Tracy Badua

Author:Tracy Badua
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-03-29T00:00:00+00:00

Seventeen

“THAT WAS INGO,” RAMON SAYS. “I AM SURE OF THIS.”

I uncross my legs and push myself up to standing. “Then why was he so upset when we mentioned you?”

If somehow Sharkey and I lost touch and someone called me up seventy years later about it, I’d want to catch up. How can this be the same Ingo that was Ramon’s best friend?

Ramon crosses his arms. “I’m a ghost, not a mind reader. If you hadn’t scared him away, we could have—”

“I didn’t scare him away,” I say. “It’s not my fault the mention of your name upset someone who’s supposed to be your best friend.”

Ramon’s eyes narrow into a fiery glare, but I don’t back down. Finding Ingo is just as important to me—maybe even more so. It’s not like Ramon’s going to die again.

Besides, this Ruiz family curse goes all the way back to Ramon’s time. Ramon had the same thirteen days to fix it. I know he’s probably hurt at that man’s reaction, but he has no right to be angry at me.

“Can we focus, please?” Sharkey cuts in. With her sprain keeping her stuck at the desk, her patience must be paper thin. “If you’re absolutely sure that this Domingo Agustin is the right Ingo, then we should look up his address at this Oasis place.”

I blow out a breath, letting some of my bad mood go with it. I grab Dad’s laptop off my nightstand. Normally, my parents wouldn’t let me use this without a good school-assignment-based reason. But apparently they trust super-responsible Sharkey enough to keep an eye on me this afternoon. (I’m a little bit insulted by that.)

I brush a few crumbs off it and pull up the internet browser. No replies to any of my dozen emails to Uncle Ritchie yet. I’d be more disappointed if we didn’t have this solid lead.

It takes less than a minute to find the address of Oasis Elder Care in Henderson, Nevada.

I angle the laptop to show Sharkey and Ramon. In his excitement, Ramon tries to grab it.

“Perfect,” Sharkey says. “You can just mail Ramon and the amulet to this Oasis place, right, Freddie? Curse broken, problem solved.”

Both Ramon and I frown at the idea.

“I don’t know about mailing it,” I say.

Ramon nods. “It’s too risky. With our luck, I could get lost for another ten years.”

“And I won’t have another ten years if I don’t stop this curse countdown.” I start to pace, my fingers running along the five notches on the amulet. That means eight more days of spirits trying to ruin everything, then kill me.

Even safely hunkered down at home today, I’ve managed to rip my pajama pants right down the backside, spill mouthwash all over the bathroom rug, and shatter a shelf in our refrigerator. I had to move all the food out so I could clean up the glass. I nicked myself twice, and I’ve got the Robo-Warrior Band-Aids to prove it. “Where is Henderson, anyway?”

Sharkey tugs the laptop closer to her and pulls up a map.

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