Ghost Girl in Shadow Bay: A Young Adult Haunted House Mystery (20 page)

Peyton could not believe what still seemed
like another nightmare was very real this time.

She led them through the passageway till
they reached the opening to the study behind the bookcase.

Please don't let us be too late.

They could hear voices shouting. Peyton and
Bryant scaled the stairs, followed closely by Hugh. When they
reached the second story, Peyton hesitated for an instant,
terrified of seeing her dream replayed in vivid, deadly color. But
any such fear was replaced by the desire to prevent a terrible
tragedy, and knowing Bryant was at her side.

She burst through the door with Bryant and
Hugh, immediately laying eyes on her stepfather at the foot of the
bed. His dark eyes were slits, his mouth a tight line. The shotgun
that was supposed to be a prop was in his hands.

Hugh growled, baring his teeth at Vance, who
appeared unaffected.

Beyond him Peyton saw her mother on the bed,
half covered by a blanket. Horror was written all over her
face.

Luke was standing just off to the side of
the bed, wet clothes sticking to him like they were part of his
body.

"Get out of here--both of you!" he
demanded.

"What was the shot all about?" Bryant gazed
uneasily at his father, then Vance.

Luke frowned. "Never mind, son--just go!
Take Peyton and Hugh with you."

"We're not leaving, Dad," Bryant said. "Not
till we know what's going on here."

Vance jerked his head to look at Bryant and
Hugh. For a moment his eyes seemed to have an eerie red glow to
them as he bellowed, "You will get out--now!"

He lifted one of his hands in a sweeping
motion. Bryant and Hugh were suddenly airborne and literally tossed
out of the room. Then the door slammed shut. Peyton heard Bryant
trying to open it, but it wouldn't budge as he called out in vain
to her and his father.

Peyton realized now that everything was just
like the last dream she'd had. Vance was going to kill them all,
then himself. She was the only one who could stop him.

"Please, Vance," she begged, "you don't know
what you're doing!"

"I know
exactly
what I'm doing," he
snarled, giving her a wicked gaze. "Your mother is nothing more
than a tramp. And the caretaker took full advantage of that. Now
they both have to die!"

"No, they don't! You're making a mistake.
Mom was not having an affair with Luke. You have to believe
that!"

"That's what I've been trying to tell him,"
Luke said tensely. "I'm not involved with your wife, Vance."

"It's the truth," cried Melody.

"Enough of these lies!" roared Vance. "Think
I'm such a fool not to know what's been going on behind my
back?"

Peyton was desperate to do something. She
had to get through to her stepfather somehow.

"Don't you see, this isn't you talking,
Vance," she said, her voice quavering. "It's Byron St. Claire who
once lived in this house. Fifty years ago today he murdered his
wife, daughter, and the caretaker. Now he's trying to make you do
the same thing. But you have to fight it,
please
. Otherwise
you'll have innocent blood on your hands..."

For an instant this seemed to register with
Vance, and Peyton clung to the hope that tragedy could be avoided.
But just as quickly it became clear to her that he fully intended
to carry out this misplaced act of vengeance.

"They're not innocent--they're guilty as
sin," blared Vance. "Neither one is fit for living!"

He turned the shotgun at Luke, who lunged
towards Vance in a gallant attempt to save himself and Melody. But
the gun went off, exploding into Luke's chest. The impact lifted
him off the ground, slamming him against the wall.

Peyton felt her knees grow weak as this
horrifying scenario was being played out exactly like her dream.
And, similarly, she seemed helpless to do anything about it. Yet
she had to try.

She dove towards her stepfather as Vance
aimed the shotgun at her mother.

Grabbing the barrel, Peyton screamed, "You
can't kill her!"

"Let go of the gun, girl," Vance snapped.
"This isn't your concern."

"It is
my
concern!" Peyton refused to
back down. "If you want to kill her, you'll have to kill us
both!"

"Do what he says, Peyton, and let go of the
gun," her mother implored. "Please, you can't die--not like
this..."

"Neither can you," she responded, trying to
hold onto the barrel as Vance fought to gain control of the
shotgun.

Peyton knew what was about to happen. She
had seen it enough times in her dreams. He would shoot her; then
kill her mother, before carrying Peyton out to the bay and drowning
her along with himself. She was unable to do anything about it,
other than pray and hope death was swift.

Peyton wondered if they would also become
trapped inside this house for all of eternity, alongside the St.
Claires and Trevor Newbury. If so, did that mean she might never
see her father again, even in death?

A sudden gust of wind seemed to come from
nowhere and Peyton found herself being pushed backwards by an
invisible force, making her release the gun barrel. This was not
part of the scenario Peyton had witnessed before, frightening her
even more.

What was happening?

Even Vance looked confused for a moment, but
recovered to aim the gun at Peyton's mother. Peyton tried to go to
her defense, but was somehow prevented from doing so, as if being
pinned down by powerful hands.

Then she did see something. Or someone.

Appearing between Vance and the bed was a
sturdy male ghostly image. Peyton realized with astonishment that
it was her father.

"Dad...?" She could barely believe her
eyes.

He looked at her, but said nothing. Turning
back to Vance, her father grabbed the barrel of the shotgun and the
two men battled for possession of it.

Then Peyton watched with utter amazement as
a ghostly Byron St. Claire pulled out of Vance's body, holding a
transparent shotgun. He continued to fight with her father for
control of the weapon.

Peyton held her breath, not certain of the
outcome or even if this was really happening.

After several heart-pounding seconds, her
father wrested the shotgun from Byron's grasp and tossed it aside.
He glared at the man, daring him to try and get it back. Byron St.
Claire suddenly looked like a defeated person, lowering his
head.

Peyton looked with wide eyes as the ghost of
Rebecca St. Claire sat upright from her mother's body and joined
her husband, Byron. Then Trevor Newbury's spirit emerged from
Luke's body and stood.

Lastly, Peyton watched in disbelief as
Caitlyn seemed to emerge from her body. They looked at each other,
but Peyton was at a loss for words.

Caitlyn was not. "Thank you for setting us
free, Peyton," she said softly. "Somehow I knew you would. I'll
never forget you--"

She drifted past Peyton's father and joined
her parents. They, along with Trevor Newbury, vanished
together.

Peyton was still speechless as her father
moved toward her. "Dad, is it really you...?"

A smile lit his handsome face. "It's me,
sweetheart."

Peyton put a hand to her mouth, the enormity
of it all weighing on her. "You came back to save us?"

"No, Peyton,
you
saved everyone. I
just fed off your energy and Caitlyn's and did my part to help out.
I couldn't let anything happen to you or your mother before your
time. I love you both too much for that."

"I love you, too." Peyton wept.

He tried to touch her face. Peyton couldn't
feel it, but there was warmth on her cheek that she knew came from
his spirit.

Her father moved toward the bed, where
Melody was crying, seemingly in a state of shock.

"How is this possible?" she asked.

"I can't explain, other than to say that
life and death are not always black and white," he told her. "This
is that gray area where many things are possible if the need is
strong enough."

"There's so much I never got to say--"

"I know and it's all right. I'll always love
you, Mel. Don't be too hard on Vance. He's a good man, when he's
not possessed by an evil spirit."

"Thank you, darling." Melody's voice
cracked. "For everything."

He smiled. "Thank you for being the person
you've always been to me and our daughter."

Peyton watched as her father eyed Vance, who
appeared to have been transfixed, the shotgun on the floor beside
him. The two men seemed to share an understanding and mutual
respect before Vance rushed to her mother's side.

Peyton's father looked at her somberly. "I
have to go now. Take good care of your mother when Vance isn't
there."

"I will," Peyton said, sobbing. "I
promise."

"That's my girl." He smiled. "I love you,
Peyton."

"Love you, Dad," she reiterated. "Always
will."

Peyton watched her father disappear, much
like the St. Claires and Trevor Newbury had, as if never there.

Suddenly the door burst open and Bryant
dashed in with Hugh. Both looked a bit shaken up, but otherwise
unharmed.

"What happened?" Bryant asked, gazing
wide-eyed at Peyton.

Before she could answer, they both heard a
moan coming from Luke.

"Go check on him," Peyton said. "We can talk
later."

As Bryant hurried to his father's aid,
Peyton turned to her mother. Vance was comforting her as best he
could and she responded in kind.

Hugh whimpered and Peyton patted his head
reassuringly, knowing the dog had been just as affected by the
strange turn of events as everyone else.

She was certain that, in spite of the ordeal
they had been put through, it had somehow been necessary to rid the
house of its ghosts and darkness. Again, she mentally thanked her
father and Caitlyn for making it happen.

Peyton glanced at Luke. He was sitting up
now and looked like he would weather the storm that hit him in the
form of Byron St. Claire. She joined her mother and stepfather in a
heartfelt embrace.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

The next day, Peyton and Bryant went to the
Shadow Bay cemetery to visit Caitlyn's grave. It seemed a good way
to put to rest what had been a harrowing night before.

"Is your dad going to be all right?" Peyton
asked, holding Bryant's hand.

"He's fine, just a little shaken up."

"It's amazing he was shot, but the gun
didn't fire a real bullet, just a phantom one from another time,"
she said.

"Yeah, that is unbelievable. Guess my dad
owes your dad for keeping this whole thing from turning into a real
life nightmare."

"Dad says it was energy from me and Caitlyn
that made it possible," Peyton said, looking at Caitlyn's weathered
small headstone. "I'm still trying to wrap my mind around actually
seeing and speaking to my dad again three years after his
death."

"Yeah, that must have been totally weird,"
Bryant concurred. "But, truthfully, after everything that's
happened since you moved here, it pretty much fits right in."

"I suppose."

He grinned. "It's definitely been a summer
that I'll never forget."

"You're right about that," she uttered
thoughtfully. "Who would've thought that our house would be overrun
with fifty-year-old ghosts?"

"Not me, that's for sure," Bryant laughed.
"Guess they were just waiting for you to come along and make things
lively."

Peyton flushed. "I think it was more that
they had some unresolved issues and found the right family to bring
them to the surface, so to speak."

"So what happens now?" He looked concerned.
"Are you guys staying put? Or will this supernatural confrontation
send you running back to San Diego?"

Peyton had asked herself the same question,
and her mother and stepfather, once the dust had settled. All were
of the same mind.

"We have a life here now, just like you and
your father," she told him. "Leaving would be running away from
something we've already become a part of. Mom and Vance believe the
worst of it is behind us and the house is finally ours to live in
without the presence of friendly ghosts and evil spirits."

Bryant squeezed her hand. "Yeah, dad feels
the same way now that the cabin's been exorcised of the ghost of
Trevor Newbury," he said. "If nothing else, it sure gives you a
more open mind to the existence of a paranormal world."

"I couldn't agree more," Peyton said,
meeting his eyes. "But, right now, I think I'll just settle for the
real world, thank you--and having you in it."

He grinned. "Yeah, same here."

"Speaking of which, my mom and I are going
to San Diego for a couple of days next month--just to visit."

"That's cool." Bryant looked down at her.
"Wish I could go."

"Why can't you?" Peyton challenged him. "I'm
sure my mother wouldn't have a problem with it."

"Seriously?"

She laughed. "Yes. We'd have lots of fun and
I could introduce you to Erica and my other friends."

He smiled broadly. "Count me in. California,
here we come!"

"Ready or not," she said jovially.

Their relationship had been tested far more
than Peyton could have imagined and it had only served to bring
them closer. Of course, she didn't know what the future held, but
was grateful they'd have the chance to find out together one day at
a time.

Peyton leaned her head against Bryant's
sturdy shoulder, finding it a perfect fit.

He put his hand on her chin, lifted it
slightly, and gave her a lasting kiss.

* * *

A week later, Peyton and Bryant went
swimming in the bay. It was a warm day and the water was still
reasonably warm. Peyton had overcome her fear of the bay and
Caitlyn's ghost. She wanted to perfect her swimming techniques and
try to keep pace with Bryant, an excellent swimmer in his own
right. Not to mention she wanted to have fun like most teenagers,
without the spooky things that had made her life in Shadow Bay
anything but satisfying.