Ghost Girl in Shadow Bay: A Young Adult Haunted House Mystery (5 page)

"That was nice of her," Melody said. "Peyton
could certainly use a friend."

"You want to go outside?" Peyton's tone made
it less of a question than an order. If they were going to be
friends, she doubted it would happen with her mother watching over
them like a mother hen.

"Sure." Lily grinned.

"Tell your grandmother she's welcome to
visit anytime she likes," Melody said as the girls walked away.

"I will," Lily promised.

It was a muggy day and the bugs were out in
force. Peyton wished she had put on insect repellant, even though
she hated the stench, as the little creatures seemed to be
attracted to her and not Lily.

They sat on the porch steps.

"Where do you live?" Peyton asked, after
telling Lily about her recent move from San Diego.

"Atlanta," Lily said happily. "It's a great
city with lots to offer."

"Never been there."

"And I've never been to San Diego, so I
guess we're even."

Peyton agreed. "Do you visit your
grandmother often?"

"Sure do. Every other summer since I was
five. The other years, she visits us."

"Cool." Peyton thought briefly about her
grandparents, whom she barely got to know, much less bond with.

Lily smoothed an arched eyebrow. "Nana's
been living in the same house since she was a girl. After Gramps
died five years ago, my mother tried to get her to move to Atlanta,
but Nana refused. Said she was too set in her ways and didn't want
to be a burden to anyone."

"I can understand her wanting to remain
independent," Peyton said.

"Me, too. But sooner or later, I'm afraid
she won't have a choice and she'll have to move."

"I guess that's true for all of us." The
thought was depressing. Peyton couldn't imagine being confined to
bed or being unable to care for herself.

"Let's go for a walk," Lily suggested.

"Okay."

Ten minutes later, Peyton asked, "So will
you be here all summer?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Till early
September."

"Good." Peyton decided that she liked this
new girl. She wished Erica was here so the three of them could hang
out and have fun.

They headed towards the bay. It wasn't
Peyton's choice, but she didn't want to make it seem like she was
afraid of the water. Even if she was, maybe just a little. Or at
least as long as she had no answers about the mysterious girl who,
for all she knew, might still be out there.

"Have you met anybody else since you moved
here?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, a guy named Bryant. He's our
caretaker's son."

"I don't think I've met him. Is he
cute?"

"Most definitely!" Peyton confirmed with
more than a touch of proprietary interest.

Lily seemed to read between the lines.
"Well, maybe he's got a cute friend he can introduce me to."

Peyton smiled. Bryant hadn't talked much
about his friends, other than an ex-girlfriend. Still, she guessed
that he knew guys who would probably like Lily. So long as it
wasn't him, she thought, already acting like a jealous
girlfriend.

They stood at the edge of the bay, studying
the view as though a work of art.

"Do you like to swim?" Lily asked.

"Yes." Peyton felt a chill run through her
in thinking about her last swim. She wondered if that girl could
somehow still be alive. Or had the whole thing been some kind of a
sick joke?

"Maybe we can go swimming together
sometime?"

Peyton shuddered at the idea of going back
into that water anytime soon. Having a swimming partner might
lessen her unease.

She smiled. "Sounds good to me."

"Cool."

Peyton wasn't sure just how cool it was.
Could be there was more to the bay than met the eye.

* * *

That evening Vance assembled Melody and
Peyton to the study for what he called a family meeting. This
surprised Peyton, as she had rarely been included in discussions
since her mother married Vance. Even the move to Shadow Bay had
been decided without her consent or input.

Peyton found her mother and stepfather
seated on the couch in front of a floor to ceiling bookcase that
looked like it had been around forever. She noted a carafe on the
table, along with two half-filled glasses.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Cognac," Vance said matter-of-factly.

Peyton raised a brow. She had not known her
mother to drink alcohol, other than the one time she had champagne
with Peyton's father to celebrate a promotion and increase in
salary. Vance did drink, but usually beer. Why the change?

Peyton's eyes narrowed at her mother. "Did
you decide to start drinking about the same time you took up
smoking?" she asked boldly.

"Don't be rude, young lady!" Melody snapped.
"I didn't realize I had to answer to you or justify what I do."

Peyton shrugged. "Whatever. It's your life
and health. I'm just your daughter trying to look out for you.
Sorry if that upsets you."

"I don't appreciate your tone, Peyton,"
Vance said harshly. "Your mother's a grown woman and more than
capable of looking out for herself. If that fails, she's got
me."

"Whatever," she muttered again, suddenly
feeling like an outsider.

"Anyway, I called you in here to talk about
some other things," her stepfather said.

"What things?" Peyton looked at her mother.
Melody's face was impassive.

"Have a seat," Vance instructed.

Though reluctant, Peyton sat in a swivel
chair. She was a little tense about what he might have to say.

After tasting his drink, her stepfather
said, "Now that we've gotten settled into our new place, your
mother and I think it's a good idea to establish some new ground
rules for you."

Peyton sneered. "What kind of ground
rules?"

"Nothing earth shattering, honey," Melody
said and abruptly stopped talking like tape had been placed over
her lips.

"From now on, we'd like to know where you
are pretty much at
all
times." Vance leaned forward.

Peyton rolled her eyes. "So I'm supposed to
report my
every
move to you now?"

"No, not everything you do, but we don't
want to worry that you're out there doing something you shouldn't,"
he said.

"You mean like smoking
and
drinking?"
She glared at her mother.

"I mean like anything out of bounds for a
sixteen-year-old, young lady!" Vance declared.

Peyton sighed. "Why is he doing this, Mom? I
haven't done anything wrong."

"I know, honey," she said meekly. "Vance
just wants to make sure you're safe in this new community."

"Well it sounds more like he's trying to
take the place of my real dad--only in a much more controlling
way."

"Your father's no longer here," Vance
asserted. "I'm the only father figure you've got. The sooner you
accept that, the better it'll be for all of us."

"It won't be better for me," Peyton scoffed.
"Not if you plan to take away my freedom."

"No one's taking away anyone's freedom," he
stressed.

"Sounds like it to me." She crossed her arms
with a petulant pout.

"This isn't a prison, Peyton, and I'm not a
warden. But I am the head of this household and I don't want to see
you get into trouble because of neglect or nonchalance on our
part."

"Whatever." She decided there was no point
further protesting right now, especially since her mother seemed
reluctant to go against him.
Is this the way it's going to be
from now on?
"May I be excused?"

"Yes, you may. I think we're done here."
Vance lifted his glass.

Peyton sprang up. She gazed at her mother,
but only got a vacant look in return.

"Oh, there is one other thing..." her
stepfather said before Peyton could leave. "I'll need your
phone--"

"What--?" Peyton's nostrils flared.

"You heard me. We think it's best to
restrict the use of your phone calls and texting right now."

"Is this a joke?" All Peyton could think
about was not being able to video talk or text Erica whenever she
needed to get things off her chest--like right now.

Vance's brows stitched together. "Do I look
like I'm joking? We need more discipline in this house. Taking away
your phone is a good place to start. Besides, you need to forget
about the life you had in San Diego. Phoning and texting your
friends there--especially Erica--24/7 will only make breaking away
that much harder. This is where you belong now. Get used to
it."

I can't believe I'm hearing this.
"I
don't belong here!" Peyton argued. "Tell him, Mom. Our home will
always
be San Diego, where dad's buried, no matter where we
live!"

"Yes, of course it will be," Melody said
unevenly. "And no one is asking you to abandon your friends
forever. But you're making new friends here now, starting with
Lily, and you have a new place to call home. You need to give
Shadow Bay a chance to work out."

"I thought I was doing that," Peyton said.
"Besides, I need my phone to communicate with Lily or anyone else I
meet here."
Not to mention Bry.

"No, you only think you do," Vance said
tersely. "Let's give communicating the old fashioned way a try--by
getting out there and speaking face to face with your new
friends."

Peyton was furious. "This is so unfair."

"Life isn't always fair," he told her. "It's
all for your own good."

"None of this is good for me," she
countered. "I shouldn't have to sacrifice any more than I already
have by moving to this stupid town with your stupid new rules!"

She scowled at her mother and threw her
phone on the floor. Holding back tears, Peyton ran from the
room.

Lying on her bed, Peyton wept. What was
happening in her life? Things had suddenly gone from bad to worse,
except where it concerned Bryant. She wondered what curves her
mother and stepfather would toss her way next.

* * *

Caitlyn watched Peyton cry herself to sleep.
She empathized with her, having done the same thing more times than
Caitlyn cared to count. Unfortunately she knew things would only
get worse before it was over. There was enough evil in this house
to go around and its poison would affect everyone in both the
spirit and human world. The one hope Caitlyn had was that together
she and Peyton could overcome the force of darkness. But it
wouldn't be easy, for one man was just as determined to see history
repeat itself again and again.

This thought unnerved Caitlyn and she grew
disillusioned. She tried to be brave for the challenges that lay
ahead.

Caitlyn watched as Peyton stirred
restlessly. She prayed that her father wouldn't come for her. Not
till it was too late.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The rain came down in torrents, drenching
Peyton as she stood outside in her nightgown. With the rumble of
thunder, a bolt of lightning bathed the house, giving it an eerie
whitish glow. Instinctively, she began to move her bare feet toward
the house.

Inside she could hear the commotion coming
from upstairs. It was obvious to Peyton that a verbal fight was
underway. And just as clear that it was up to her to intervene.

She climbed the stairs, dreading every step
of the way for fear of what awaited.

The closer she came to her parents' bedroom,
the more petrified Peyton became, as though having been down this
path before. She heard a strong male voice doing most of the
talking with other voices in the background.

Pushing the door open, Peyton stepped
in.

There was a man at the foot of the bed, his
face contorted with fury. He was holding a shotgun that was pointed
at another man who was standing and only half-clothed.

He pulled the trigger and the man went
flying, landing on the floor with a thud.

Peyton put a hand to her mouth and gazed
almost hypnotically toward the bed. A woman was lying there,
partially blanketed. Her eyes were filled with consternation.

Looking back at the man with the shotgun,
Peyton watched as he pointed it at the woman.

He's going to shoot her, too. I have to try
and stop him.

As Peyton assessed what she could do to stop
this tragedy from occurring amongst these strangers, she heard
another sound and turned to see a girl run into the room past her.
She was about Peyton's age and looked strangely familiar. She wore
a long nightgown not unlike the one Peyton had on, though it
somehow looked more dated to her.

Peyton watched as the girl ran up to the man
with the shotgun. Grabbing the barrel, she screamed at him, "No,
Daddy, don't!"

The man tried to shake the gun barrel from
her as though she were nothing more than a gnat, his dark eyes
slits.

"Get out of the way!" he ordered.

"No, I won't, Daddy!" The girl spoke
defiantly. "Don't hurt Mama!"

He dismissed her words and tried harder to
wrest the gun from her grasp. But the girl showed surprising
strength and would not relinquish her grip on the barrel easily nor
her determination to avert further bloodshed.

Peyton shook as the man, in his attempt to
gain control of the shotgun, pulled the trigger. The girl backed
away in anguish, clutching the gaping wound in her stomach. Her
eyes were filled with hatred for the man she called Daddy.

He glared at Peyton before turning to the
girl's mother. Lifting the shotgun, he aimed at the woman. As she
let out a piercing scream, Peyton knew it was up to her to do
something. But what?

She sucked in a deep breath and hurled
herself at the man in desperation, but not before a shot went
off...

* * *

Peyton awoke with a start. Her heart was
pounding. She'd just had the same terrifying dream, but with an
added twist. This time a girl had joined the people in the bedroom.
It was the same girl Peyton had seen in the bay.