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“I am.”
The appetizer’s arrival saved the sisters from more tense conversation. The shadow still hovered over the young woman’s shoulders, but instead of looking away, Cassie offered the server an enormous smile as she thanked her for the food.
Laura gave Cassie a look but said nothing as the server went to check on one of her other tables. “Oh my God, I’m so excited for real seafood.”
“You live in California. They have real seafood there.”
“Not like this.” Laura spooned a couple of pieces of calamari onto her plate. “Nothing like this.”
A few minutes later, their meals arrived, and they spent the rest of the lunch talking about how incredible everything was.
Cassie was glad for the superficial conversation. The longer she spent in the Pirates’ House, the more in tune she felt with the building. She didn’t see any other shadows, but there were a few figures passing through doorways or standing against walls she knew no one else could see. Her attention fought between trying to respond to her sister when ap
propriate and keeping eye on the rest of the dining room.
Luckily for her, older spirits like the ones found in the Pirates’ House seemed to be mostly harmless. Sometimes, they were stuck in a time loop they couldn’t get out of. They’d repeat the same actions day after day, unaware they were dead. Cassie often wondered how conscious they really were. Maybe they were just reflections of their former selves, more like a fingerprint left behind than anything that could talk or move on their own.
Cassie watched as their waitress made her rounds. The shadow didn’t seem to move independently, and it didn’t seem to be actively hurting her. But Cassie could feel the sadness emanating off it from across the room. Whatever it was—whatever had created it—Cassie didn’t envy the girl for having to carry that around with her.
“You about ready?” Laura snapped Cassie out of her thoughts.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Cassie signed the check, giving the girl a hefty tip. Money wouldn’t make the shadow go away, but maybe it could help alleviate the girl of some stress. It was the least she could do.
“What do you want to do now?” Laura asked. “Honestly, I’m kind of beat.”
Cassie pulled out her phone and pretended to read a text message. “Oh, you know what? I just got a message from my boss. They need me to sign off on a few things so they can get the ball rolling on a few projects. It shouldn’t take long.”
“Oh, okay. Do you want me to go with you?”
Cassie’s heart pounded. She hated lying. Most of all to her sister. “No, no, that’s fine. I’ll be quick. I can just drop you off at home, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Sure.” Laura sounded apprehensive. “That’s fine.”
“Great.”
Cassie couldn’t shake the twinge of guilt over lying to her sister.
7
When Cassie arrived at the precinct, an officer met her at the front desk and led her back to a meeting room. He knocked on the door, a muffled voiced responded, then he gestured for Cassie to enter on her own.
The room was nothing more or less than what she had experienced in the past: white walls, stale air, and just small enough to feel like the walls could press in on you at any second.
David sat at the head of a rectangular table covered in boxes full of paperwork and evidence bags. Cassie let the door swing shut behind her and it clicked closed. David let out a long breath of air, like he had finally allowed himself to release the pressure that had been building up inside him.
“What’ve you got for me?” Cassie asked.
David leaned back, linking his hands behind his head. “Don’t even get a hello first?”
“Hello.” Cassie set her purse in a chair and placed her hands on the back of it. She leaned forward and arched an eyebrow. “What’ve you got for me?”
“You used to be so nice, Cassie.” He tucked his chin to his chest while shaking his head. “So pleasant to work with.”
She tried not to laugh, but it was useless. “My sister thinks I’m at work. I don’t have much time.”
David looked serious now. “Why’d you lie to her?”
