Page 43 of The Haunting Plot

Jonah rushes into the kitchen before Raven has a chance to answer. “We’re going to the park so I can’t help you today.”

“No problem, little man. Next time.”

“Don’t do all the painting without me,” he says as he rushes over to pull on his shoes.

“I promise!” I call as he runs after McKenna and Bella, the door slamming behind him.

Throwing back the last of my coffee, I toss the cup in the trash and head for the stairs.

“Where are you going?”

I turn back to Raven. “I’m going to finish framing the wall between Jonah’s bedroom and bathroom. Might be kinda loud, so I hope you have earplugs.”

She waves me off as she walks over to her desk, sinking into her chair.

When I open the door to Jonah’s room, I gasp. “Raven! Come here!”

Seconds later, she’s stomping down the hall toward me as I lean against the doorframe, blocking Jonah’s room.

“What is it?” she huffs. “Need me to kill a spider for you?”

“You flinched too.” I point a finger at her.

She rolls her eyes. “Get on with it. I need to get back to writing.”

“Does Jonah normally arrange his room like this?” I ask, stepping aside so she can peer inside.

Several chairs are stacked on top of each other on the bed. Next to it, a small bookshelf is on top of the nightstand with all the books still neatly in place. In the corner, a toy bin has several vehicles stacked into a tower.

“No. He normally lines up his toys. I’ve never seen him do this.” She steps into the room, looking around.

“Really? Are you roping the kids into your pranks now? Because this is like a scene straight out of Poltergeist.”

Her head whips to mine. “You’re telling me you didn’t do this?”

“When would I have had time? I literally just came up here and found this.”

She narrows her eyes, folding her arms over her chest.

“Maybe it’s⁠—”

“Don’t finish that sent⁠—”

“Ghosts.”

“Moron.”

“Then how do you explain this?” I gesture around the room.

“I’ve got work to do,” she says as she turns and disappears down the stairs.

A scream startles me minutes later, and I race downstairs to find Raven clutching her chest in the kitchen. “What’s wrong?”

“This was a good one,” she pants. “I don’t know how you pulled it off.”

I look over her shoulder, and every cabinet in the kitchen is open. “I’ve been upstairs this whole time. I didn’t do this. You were in here with me when I left the room.”

She searches my face, then sighs. “I don’t have time for this.”