Ninth Key by Jenny Carroll

Author:Jenny Carroll [Carroll, Jenny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: United States, Juvenile Fiction, Horror & Ghost Stories, People & Places, General
ISBN: 9780743430517
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Limited
Published: 2002-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

"And you think you can stop Beaumont?" she demanded. "Honey, you've got a lot to learn."

I didn't think this was very polite. I said, "Look, lady, I may be young, but I know what I'm doing. Now, just tell me where he hid your body, and – "

"Are you insane?" Mrs. Fiske finally stopped laughing. Now she shook her head. "There's nothing left of me. Beaumont's no amateur, you know. He made sure there weren't any mistakes.

And there weren't. You won't find a scrap of evidence to implicate him. Believe me. The guy's a monster. A real bloodsucker." Then her mouth hardened. "Though no worse, I suppose, than my own kids. Selling my land to that leech! Listen, you. You're a mediator. Give my kids this message for me: tell them I hope they burn in – "

"Hey, Suze." Cee Cee suddenly appeared in the hallway. "The witch has given up. She has to consult her guru, 'cause she keeps coming up bust."

I threw a frantic look at Mrs. Fiske. Wait! I still hadn't had a chance to ask her how she'd died!

Was Red Beaumont really a vampire? Had he sucked all the life out of her? Did she mean he wasliterally a bloodsucking leech?

But it was too late. Cee Cee, still coming toward me, walked right through what looked – and felt – to me like a little old lady in a gardening hat and gloves. And the little old lady shimmered indignantly.

Don't, I wanted to scream. Don't go!

"Ew," Cee Cee said with a little shudder as she threw off the last of Mrs. Fiske's clinging aura.

"Come on. Let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps."

I never did find out what Mrs. Fiske's message to her kids was – though I had a bit of an idea.

The old lady, with a last, disgusted look at me, disappeared.

Just as Aunt Pru came into the hallway, looking apologetic.

"I'm so sorry, Suzie," she said. "I really tried, but the Santa Anas have been particularly strong this year, and so there's been a lot of interference in the spiritual pathways I normally utilize."

Maybe that explained how I had managed to summon the spirit of Mrs. Fiske. Could I do it again, I wondered, and this time remember to ask exactly how Red Beaumont had killed her?

Adam, as we headed back toward his car, looked immensely pleased with himself.

"Well, Suze?" he said, as he held open the passenger side door for Cee Cee and me. "You ever in your life met anybody like that?"

I had, of course. Being a magnet for the souls of the unhappily dead, I'd met people from all walks of life, including an Incan priestess, several witch doctors, and even a Pilgrim who'd been burned at the stake as a witch.

But since it seemed so important to him, I smiled and said, "Not exactly," which was the truth, in a way.

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