Olney Springs Read online

  “Are you saying the school is on an old Indian burial ground?” Julie asked.

  “No,” Jacob said. “In the first place, it’s not on any burial ground. In the second place, the whole Indian burial ground thing is a way of saying Indians aren’t Christians. Since heathens can’t get into heaven, they must be evil.”

  “That’s just not true,” Delphie said.

  “I never thought about it,” Julie said. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t worry,” Jill said. “Ghosts, burial grounds — it’s not like the knowledge is taught in school.”

  “Do you remember Paddie’s classroom?” Aden asked. He looked at Jill and then at Jacob. “I didn’t pay that much attention to the younger grades’ classrooms.”

  “You don’t have any kids there,” Jill said with a smile.

  “Rachel will be there soon enough,” Aden said. “I guess I was focused on making Nash and Teddy’s return to the Marlowe School a positive experience for everyone.”

  “They’re going to thrive here,” Jill said. Aden gave her a vague nod. Smiling, Jill continued, “And, as for Paddie’s classroom, I remember it, but I don’t have any idea where Katy’s talking about.”

  “Hi,” Sandy said as she came in the door. “Sorry I’m late. I was with a client when you called.”

  “Sorry you have to come,” Jacob said.

  “Hi, Julie,” Sandy said.

  “Did you bring the plans?” Jacob asked.

  For a moment, everyone looked at Sandy. She blushed at their attention and took a roll of paper from the cotton bag over her shoulder. Jacob smiled his thanks and took the building plans. He and Aden went to the table and rolled out them out. Jill went around to the other side. Jacob flipped through the plans until he came up with the floor Paddie’s classroom was on.

  “Ugh!” Jacob said with a groan.

  “What is it?” Jill asked.

  “We put a utility space there.” Jacob pointed to a square box that ran the entire height of the building. “Remember, Jill? We put a ladder from floor to floor.”

  “And an access panel,” Jill said. “We were going to wire the school for the Internet but found that WiFi was more effective.

  “Is this access panel in Paddie’s classroom?” Julie asked.

  “Probably,” Jill said. “I’d have to check with Heather to be sure, but. . .”

  “That’s where they are,” Delphie said with a confident nod.

  “And where did the ghosts come from?” Aden asked.

  Jacob slowly moved his head back and forth in “No.” Then he stopped. He stared straight ahead for a brief moment before looking at Delphie.

  “We sealed the building,” Jacob said.

  “Every wall, door, floor, ceiling,” Delphie said.

  “From the inside,” Jacob said.

  “Oh,” Delphie said before giving an embarrassed laugh.

  Jill, Julie, Aden, and Sandy gawked at Delphie and Jacob.

  “What’s going on?” Aden asked.

  “We sealed the building from magic, ghosts, really anything paranormal,” Jacob said.

  “Dark energy, too,” Delphie said.

  “But we just sealed the inside,” Jacob said. “Our thinking was that we wanted to ensure the children were safe.”

  “The building is just exterior wall, insulation, sound -deadening interior wall,” Delphie said.

  “Except in this utility space,” Aden said with dawning awareness.

  “The kid ghost could have come from anywhere and just collected there,” Jacob said with a nod. “I see what Katy means by saving the kids. These souls are stuck here and would need help moving on.”

  “Especially if they’re kids,” Delphie said.

  Jacob nodded. Sandy watched him for a moment before glancing at Jill.

  “I’m kinda missing something here,” Sandy said. “Our children are stuck in the walls of this school with a bunch of dead kids’ ghosts, right?”

  “In this utility space,” Jacob said.

  “What are we going to do to get them out?” Sandy asked.

  “Good question,” Jill said.

  The women looked at Jacob. He put his hands on his hips and looked down.

  “I need to think it through,” Jacob said.

  “You do that,” Sandy said.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Tuesday mid-day — 12:45 p.m.

  Denver, Colorado

  “We’ve been in here a long time,” Noelle said. She stood up. “I know we can see the ghosts in the sword, but are you sure they . . .”

  Noelle stopped talking when Katy and Paddie’s heads turned in unison to look at her. Paddie’s big blue eyes and Katy’s large dark eyes gave her a tired blink. Their faces were smudged, and they looked very young. Noelle realized that if she gave up, the kids would do something to appease her and then do it on their own. Noelle nodded and changed tack.

  “I think we need help,” Noelle said.

  “What kinda help?” Paddie asked.

  “Mike said that Val said that there’s a lady ghost here,” Noelle said. “She was really nice to Val when she snuck in here and saw the painting Mike and I worked on. Mike said that if I see her, I should pay attention to what she looks like. He’d like to make a painting of her to say thanks.”

  “I don’ like ghosts,” Paddie said.

  The boy’s bottom lip showed a glimmer of a vibration before he sat up straighter. In an imitation of his fierce grandfather, Paddie scowled, which only made him look younger. Katy instinctively kissed his cheek, and he blushed.

  “I think Noelle is right,” Katy said. “My daddy said that he left the ghost here because she was nice and protective of children. I bet she would help us.”

  Noelle nodded.

  “Okay,” Paddie said.

  “You belong to the Sword of Truth, right?” Noelle asked. “And the Sword of Truth belongs to you, right?”

  Paddie nodded.

  “So you’re like a living extension of the sword,” Noelle said.

  Paddie and Katy nodded in unison.

  “You should be able to see the children’s ghosts,” Noelle said.

  Paddie looked down at the sword.

  “With your eyes,” Noelle said.

  Paddie’s big eyes blinked at Noelle for a moment as he gathered his courage. He nodded.

  “Just say ‘I want to see,’” Katy said in his ear.

  “But I don’t,” Paddie whispered.

  Katy reached for his hand, and he grabbed hers.

  “We’ll do it together,” Katy said.

  Paddie looked at her and then nodded.

  “I want to see,” Paddie said.

  Katy and Noelle watched Paddie’s face.

  “Oh,” Paddie said.

  “Oh?” Katy asked.

  “They’re just kids,” Paddie said. Looking straight ahead, he said, “Does anybody talk English?”

  There was silence.

  “What’s happening?” Noelle whispered to Katy.

  “I don’t know,” Katy said.

  “Can you make it so we can see too?” Noelle asked.

  With a blink of Katy’s eye, they were surrounded by thousands of child ghosts.

  “Eep!” Noelle said with a surprised scream.

  Noelle jumped back and hit the wall. Katy and Paddie looked at her.

  “I’m okay. I’m okay,” Noelle said. “Just surprised. Good job, Paddie.”

  Paddie bit his lip and forced himself to nod.

  “Do any of you speak American English?” Noelle asked the vast horde of spirits.

  No one said anything.

  “I speak some Irish,” Paddie said helpfully. “Dia duit?”

  Paddie saw a few heads look up when he said “Hello” in Irish.

  “I don’t think they speak English,” Katy said in a low voice.

  “Could one of you go find the female ghost who lives in this building?” Noelle asked.

  The ghosts shook their heads. The ghosts nearest to them
pressed on the walls, indicating that they couldn’t get through.

  “She can’t get in, either,” Noelle whispered.

  “My dad made a barrier so we wouldn’t have more ghosts,” Katy whispered.

  Noelle scowled.

  “What do we do next?” Paddie asked. “We can’t talk to them. They can’t get out.”

  “They don’t know how to move on,” Katy said. “That’s what my dad says about ghosts. They either don’t want to move on or they’ve lost the light.”

  “The light?” Noelle asked.

  “The way to the other side,” Paddie said.

  Katy nodded.

  “Oh,” Noelle said. “Do we think these ghosts want to stay here?”

  “They look really sad,” Katy said.

  Noelle looked at Paddie, and he nodded in agreement.

  “I think they’d want to be with their families,” Noelle said.

  Katy and Paddie’s heads turned to look at her.

  “When Charlie almost died, he saw his father,” Noelle said. “I bet these kids’ moms and dads have been waiting and waiting for them.”

  “Like my mommy?” Paddie asked with a sniff.

  Noelle nodded.

  “I have an idea,” Noelle said. “Well, actually, it was Katy’s idea.”

  “What did Katy say?” Paddie asked.

  “Katy said I could draw our way out of here,” Noelle said. “What if I draw their way out of here?”

  Katy and Paddie visibly brightened.

  “Do you know how?” Paddie asked.

  “Nope,” Noelle said. “But I do know how to draw. I bet you and Katy can do the rest.”

  Katy looked at Paddie, and he nodded.

  “I only have my black pastel,” Noelle said with a nod. “And there’s not much left, but . . .”

  With that, she started climbing up the ladder closest to her.

  “Here goes nothing,” Noelle said.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Tuesday afternoon — 1:15 p.m.

  University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus,

  Aurora, Colorado

  Tanesha stepped off the bus and was immediately surrounded by the paparazzi. Twenty or more sweaty men pressed against her. Her only option was to move forward. She pushed and “excuse me’d” her way out of the center of the circle. Once free, she took off running.

  Screaming at the top of their lungs, the photographers followed her onto campus.

  They wanted to know about Jeraine.

  They wanted a photo of her that could prove that she was struggling.

  They wanted to hear how angry she was at Jeraine.

  They called her “weak,” “stupid,” or worse for staying with him.

  They thought Jeraine should divorce her because she was such an idiot.

  On and on they went. Tanesha ran toward the 500 building where her next class was located. She got within ten feet of the building when University of Colorado security ran to meet her. They ushered her into the building.

  She bent forward with her hands on her knees and tried to catch her breath. As she stood there, student passed by muttered their own thoughts. She was destroying the school. She was a drama queen and on and on.

  If she hadn’t invented this drama, she would have been really crushed by the students comments. She waited for a moment for Cody. Her co-conspirator was supposed to videotape the paparazzi for Jeraine’s big conference. He came through the door.

  “Did you get it?” Tanesha asked.

  She stood up to walk off her sprint.

  “Every word,” Cody said. He held out the smartphone Schmidty had given him. “Did that guy really punch you?”

  “Punch me?” Tanesha asked.

  “In the ribs,” Cody said. “I think it was to slow you down.”

  Tanesha pulled up her fleece sweater and her shirt. Her side was red, and a welt was rising.

  “I’m going to take a picture,” Cody said.

  Tanesha nodded. Cody took a picture with his phone. Tanesha waited while he sent all the files to Schmidty.

  “Did you study?” Tanesha asked.

  Cody nodded.

  “Are you ready?” Tanesha asked.

  “Can you be ready for this kind of thing?” Cody asked.

  They were taking practice exams for their year-end finals.

  “You know, this should only show your weaknesses so you can strengthen them,” Tanesha said.

  “I liked the whole ‘holes in the dike’ metaphor,” Cody said.

  “Where’s Fin?” Cody asked.

  “He said he’ll meet us there,” Tanesha said with a shrug.

  “Did his wife have her baby?” Cody asked.

  “Not yet,” Tanesha said.

  Cody nodded. He gestured to the stairs, and they ran up to their class.

  Chapter Three Hundred and Ninety-One

  Almost There

  Tuesday afternoon —4:30 p.m.

  New York City, New York

  “What’s it doing?” Sissy asked.

  She leaned forward to peer into the computer.

  “You have to wait a minute for it to connect,” Charlie said.

  “I do?” Sissy asked.

  “You know you do!” Charlie said with exasperation. “You’ve done this a million times! When did you get so blonde?”

  “That is not a very nice thing to say, Charles Delgado!” Sissy said. “You know that I’ve always been blond!”

  “Well, don’t be an idiot, Sissy Delgado,” Charlie said.

  “I don’t remember! I’ve had one or two things happen in my life since the last time I video chatted,” Sissy said. “And anyway, you promised Sandy that you would help me and not be such a know-it-all dick.”

  “Like that’s even possible,” Wanda’s voice came from the computer.

  “Wanda!” Sissy said with a laugh.

  Wanda’s smiling face filled the computer screen. Wanda and Sissy had met in the eating disorder clinic when Wanda was Ward. Even though Sandy had such great friends, Sissy’s obsession with ballet had left her too occupied to have girlfriends. Wanda was the closest thing to a best friend that Sissy had ever had. Wanda waved to Sissy and Charlie.

  “There,” Charlie said and did his best to stalk out of the room.

  “Close the door,” Sissy yelled after him.

  He slammed the door.

  “I see that some things haven’t changed!” Wanda laughed.

  “Oh,” Sissy said with a sad shrug. “He’s really been great. I been so sick since we got back that . . .”

  Sissy nodded to Wanda’s concerned face.

  “He has been, too,” Sissy continued. “Yesterday, we both just kind of collapsed.”

  “After your hearing thing?” Wanda asked.

  Sissy nodded.

  “And today?” Wanda asked.

  “I’m still pretty sick,” Sissy said. “I keep thinking I’m getting well, but then…”

  “Mom said that the ballet school agreed to keep you and Ivan on,” Wanda said.

  “They’re giving us until the end of the summer to see how much we’ve recovered,” Sissy said. “Then, they’ll make a decision — or at least that’s what they told Sandy.”

  “Three months doesn’t seem long enough,” Wanda said.

  “We’ll see,” Sissy said. Her voice echoed her sadness. “Right now, I don’t feel like I’ll ever get well.”

  “You felt like that when we were in the eating-disorder clinic,” Wanda said. She put the back of her hand on her forehead for effect. In a mock old-movie accent, she said, “I simply do not believe I will ev-a get well.”

  Sissy laughed until she was wheezing. Giovanni came rushing in to check on her. She took a breath from her inhalation aerosol and nodded to him. He waved to Wanda and disappeared.

  “He is so hot,” Wanda said.

  “I guess so,” Sandy said with a shrug.

  “Look at you!” Wanda said. “You’re like: ‘He’s not hotter than my man.’”


  Wanda laughed at Sissy’s blushing nod.

  “He wants to be a chef,” Sissy said. “It’s like the whole apartment is some weird cast of Fame.”

  “Movie or TV show?” Wanda asked.

  “Either,” Sissy said. “We’re all trying to be something we can’t quite become. It’s pathetic, really.”

  “Yes, but you will live forever,” Wanda said.

  “Yeah,” Sissy said with a snort. Still quoting the lyrics to the Fame theme song, she added, “People will see me and cry — and not just . . .”

  “…because I’m so ugly,” Wanda and Sissy said together. They laughed.

  “Did you hear what happened to Noelle?” Wanda asked.

  “Sandy said she was on an adventure with Katy and Paddie,” Sissy said with a shrug.

  “She’s stuck inside the school,” Wanda said. “Dad’s there now trying to help figure out how to get them out without taking the whole building down. Turns out, there was a passageway to where they are, but it’s now mysteriously sealed.”

  “Sounds kind of awful,” Sissy said.

  “Mostly, it’s a cover for her being on an adventure with Katy and Paddie,” Wanda said with a smile. “They moved everyone to the old school for a ‘Citizen of the World’ day.”

  “What’s that?” Sissy asked.

  “It’s where the older kids help with the younger kids,” Wanda said. “I had to see the doctor, so I would have missed it anyway.”

  “I was supposed to talk to Noelle today,” Sissy said. She suppressed a cough so it came up as an odd noise. Wanda pointed and laughed. Sissy grinned.

  “Why are you so glum, Sissy?” Wanda asked. “You’re in New York with gorgeous Ivan, who loves you. Your position is being held at the ballet company. Noelle said that there are now other companies that want you to dance for them. Everything is really fabulous.”

  “I think it’s the meds,” Sissy said.

  “Are you in pain?” Wanda asked.

  “I had this thing happen yesterday,” Sissy said.

  “What happened?” Wanda asked.

  “I didn’t take my pain meds so I could be clear headed at the ballet company,” Sissy said. “Then Sandy was here, and I got really tired and went to bed. I woke up and… Wow. So much pain. Crazy. I thought I was going to die.”