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As the line buzzed at the other end, Oliver watched three deer cross the blacktop several yards down the road. Maybe they knew where Dave had gone.
“Oliver?” A sleepy voice answered. “You okay?”
“This better be good, Ollie,” a deeper voice grumbled in the background. “I was having a great dream.”
“Hi,” Oliver said, then heard the quaver in his voice and cleared his throat to try again. “Hi, Demetrius. I’m sorry to call so late. Or early, I guess. But, um, I need your help. We need your help.”
Oliver heard the rustle of a sheet being pulled back. Demetrius Singleton sounded wide awake when he said, “What is it? What’s wrong?” as his husband, Cody Bower, muttered complaints in the background.
“Well,” Oliver said, working hard to keep his voice steady. “Dave’s missing.”
And then he broke down into tears.
CHAPTER FIVE
“My brother was abducted by a ghost? A fucking ghost?”
Cody Bower stomped across the motel room, his big boots squishing into the damp carpet. He was six foot five with brown hair worn a little long, brown eyes, broad shoulders, and a personality way too big for their town of Parson’s Hollow, let alone the small motel room. He was Dave’s older brother, and having him there made Oliver miss Dave and his quiet, reassuring personality that much more.
“Let him talk, okay?”
Demetrius Singleton was more emotionally mature when compared to his husband, Cody, and stood about five foot ten, with thinning brown hair and blue eyes. He was the voice of reason to Cody’s larger than life disposition. He was also someone Oliver had dated for a short time before things between them simply faded out. Now, however, he considered Demetrius one of his closest friends.
Demetrius sat beside Oliver on the bottom edge of the bed and put an arm around his shoulders to give him a quick hug. Cody stopped pacing the room and stood very still, arms crossed as he watched them closely. Seriously? Like Oliver was going to make a move on Demetrius when Dave was missing.
“Start from the beginning and tell us everything one more time,” Demetrius said.
Oliver took a breath and let it out. Without looking in Cody’s direction, he told them everything that had happened since he and Dave had arrived at the motel. When he’d finished, Cody spoke, his voice calm and level but edged with a cool anger.
“Okay, this ghost lures men away and, what? Kills them?”
“That’s the legend,” Oliver said. “None of the victims have ever been located, not even their bodies. My guess is she craves male attention and bewitches them or something and leads them somewhere out to the woods. She enchants them so they never want to leave her, not even for things like food or water.”
Cody’s eyes widened slightly, and he looked at Demetrius. “This is a bit out of our league, don’t you think?”
“Who else could he call?” Demetrius said.
“I don’t know, the local police so they could start searching the woods?” Cody started pacing again, throwing his arms up and nearly scraping his knuckles against the low ceiling. “It’s almost noon, and Dave has been out in the woods for at least eight hours.” He stopped on the other side of the room and looked into the bathroom, then turned back with a sneer. “Dave actually agreed to spend the night here?”
“He came up with the idea,” Oliver said. “He said it would be like we were camping.” He tightened his grip on the sheet beneath him. “It was his idea to bring the tarp and old sheets.”
“Cozy,” Cody grumbled as he stomped past, heading for the door. “I’m going out to look for my brother.”
“The woods are pretty thick,” Oliver called after him. “Be careful.”
A deep rumble of what sounded like curse words drifted back before Cody was gone, the crunch of gravel fading as he set off across the parking lot. Through the dirty glass of the window, Oliver watched him angrily swipe at tall weeds he passed.
“I’m sorry,” Oliver said, and lowered his head. “I didn’t know it would get this bad. I was just trying…” His voice faded out. What had he been trying for anyway?
“Trying to get the perfect story?” Demetrius said.
Oliver gave him a grateful smile. “Yeah. As usual, right? I really needed to find a story to keep the last of my investors and save my blog. But I would never put Dave at risk to get the story. I hope you know that.”
“I do.” Demetrius lifted his chin toward the open door. They could hear Cody out in the woods calling Dave’s name, then suddenly start shouting about bushes with stickers. “And he does, too. He’s worried about Dave, but he doesn’t blame you.”
Oliver raised his eyebrows.
“Okay, deep down he doesn’t blame you,” Demetrius amended. “You’ve known Cody long enough to understand the stages he goes through in uncomfortable situations.”
