“No records on them at all?”

  “Oh, there are records, but the records begin quite a while after Betanya first started writing about the three of them. It seems like they were involved in her life for several years before they first appeared on the internet in any form. Even then, there’s no trace of where the women came from. There aren’t any birth certificates, no drivers’ licenses, no medical records—nothing. It’s as if they just arrived from another planet and started living their lives in Haven Hollow.”

  “Hmm…”

  “They were definitely intimately involved with Betanya, though. She speaks very highly of them and it seems like she was close to all three of them.”

  I rubbed my chin. “The plot thickens.”

  “So, after spending countless hours trying to research online, I gave up and figured you’re smart and you’d know what to do next.”

  “Well, while I appreciate the vote of confidence, I don’t really know what to do next.”

  “I’m sure the answer will come to you,” she said, waving away my statement with an unconcerned hand. “Anyway, you’re better at this stuff than I am and I can’t think of anyone else to ask.” She paused for a few seconds.

  “What about Henner?” I started with a shrug. “Since Betanya was his grandmother?”

  Wanda shook her head. “I’ve already gotten what I can out of Henner, and he didn’t know anything about the women.”

  “Hmm.”

  Wanda shrugged. “Anyway, do you have time to review the information from Betanya’s journals before we meet up with the guys tonight?”

  “I never said I was going to meet up with them.”

  She frowned at me. “Your headache is gone, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “So?”

  “Maybe I’m just not in the mood.”

  “You’re never not in the mood to be nice.”

  I laughed as I shook my head, figuring she had a point. Furthermore, if I said I was going to do something, I liked to stand behind my word. And Henner had done so many things for Finn and me, it was only right that I returned the favor, regardless what his reasons were.

  “All right. Go get the journals and we’ll see what more we can dig up.”

  With a nod, Wanda said goodbye, adding she’d be back in an hour to review the material and then we’d drive to dinner together.

  ***

  With Wanda out of the house and my headache gone, I walked back into the kitchen and cleaned up the mess from Astrid’s explosion.

  Getting the kitchen into as normal a condition as possible, I then called a repairman to fix the windows, reminding myself I still hadn’t gotten around to hiring a general contractor to start the remodel on my house. When I’d bought this place a year ago, it was dilapidated and barely looked safe to live in—now it appeared pretty much the same only Finn and I were living in it.

  Give yourself a break, Poppy, I thought. It’s not as though you haven’t been busy.

  That much was true—between starting my own business and getting involved in the myriad disasters which had befallen either myself or my friends, I hadn’t had time to catch my breath.

  Well, let’s make a point to hire a contractor this month, I resolved.

  As to the damage in the kitchen, yes, I could have asked Wanda to pay for the broken windows, but I wasn’t going to. Wanda was struggling to make ends meet as it was—her shop hadn’t quite taken off like mine had.

  Not to mention she was also dealing with her own stress. The blood bond uniting her with her would-be sire, Lorcan, was still as strong as ever and it was only a matter of time before the head of Lorcan’s line, Rupert, came calling for her. He’d given the two of them a grace period to try to reverse the curse, but that grace period was now well expired. And that meant it was just a matter of time before the vampires resurfaced.

  After making an appointment for the window repairman to arrive in an hour, I left the kitchen and walked upstairs, heading for my room so I could shower and get ready for our dinner date with the guys. No sooner did I step foot over the threshold when a shriek interrupted the otherwise still air. Heart in my throat, I whipped around and rocketed down the hall to Finn’s room.

  I nearly ripped the door off its hinges, ready to kill anyone (or anything) who might have been threatening him, but as far as I could tell, there was nothing to see.

  “What is it?” I nearly yelled.

  Finn stood in the center of the room, as white as a sheet. He gaped at the opposite wall and panted for breath. His hand shook when he pointed to the window. “O… over there!”

  I looked in the direction he pointed and still didn’t see anything.

  “What did you see?” I demanded, my heartbeat echoing through my head until it was difficult to hear over my surging blood.

  “There was… there was a man in the window! He was staring at me!”

  “A ghost?”

  He shook his head. “No—he looked… real.”

  I stormed to the window and looked out at the view beyond. This side of the house faced the aspen-lined driveway—away from Hollow Cemetery. And it was on the second floor, so it wouldn’t have been an easy feat for someone to climb up and appear in the window. As I glanced outside, I realized there was no one in sight, just miles of open grassland.

  Turning around, I walked back to Finn, who stared at the window with an unblinking, glazed expression. His lips quivered and his nostrils flared. He wouldn’t look at me—it was as if his eyes were glued to the window pane, unable to shift.

  “There’s no one there, noodle,” I murmured, calling him by the nickname I had when he was much younger. Lately, he’d been shying away from the numerous pet names I’d called him as a child—I figured this was just part and parcel of growing up, even if it caused a twinge of wistful nostalgia within me.

  “Are you sure it wasn’t a ghost? Sometimes they can manifest just as fleshly as you or me.”

  “I’m telling you, Mom!” His tone shifted to an enraged bellow and his obvious offense was justified—I should have known better than to question whether Finn was sure about seeing a ghost. Finn could see spirits as clearly as I could—it was owing to the Gypsy Traveller blood that flowed through us both—he’d absolutely know the difference between a fleshy-appearing ghost and a real person.

  “There was a guy there! I know it!”

  I nodded. “I believe you.” I took a deep breath as I moved to the next subject. “Was it someone you’ve seen before? A man you recognized?”

  Finn’s eyes snapped to mine and he appeared to wake from his shock. “No. It was someone I didn’t recognize.”

  I took a deep breath. “What did the man look like?”

  “He was kind of short and like… stocky looking, I guess,” Finn said as I sat down on his bed and he came to sit next to me. I wrapped my arm around him and he nestled into me as I stroked his head. Even though he was nearly a teenager, he still needed comfort from his mother and somehow, that fact brought me comfort.

  “Okay, that’s good. What else do you remember?”

  “He was wearing a white shirt, but his clothes were covered in red stuff—and he was dirty too. It looked like… maybe he was homeless? I’m not sure.”

  “Red stuff? Like blood?”

  Finn was quiet for a second or two as he contemplated my question. Then he shook his head. “I’m not sure. It looked like it could have been blood or maybe paint.”

  “Okay, did he have long or short hair?”

  “He was bald with some thin hair combed over the top… like this.” He further explained with a hand gesture that made it look like the guy had a comb-over.

  “Okay,” I soothed as I shook my head and tried to figure out the mystery of the man’s identity.

  “He was real, Mom,” Finn insisted again.

  I nodded. “I just was thinking about the ghosts in the graveyard and how I’ve thought they looked real on more than one occasion.”

  There were at least two spirits that haunted Haven Cemetery, and it wasn’t uncommon to see them flitting through the tombstones late at night. But, they usually didn’t leave the graveyard—I’d always figured they were attached to the land and, thus, couldn’t leave the perimeter. But, maybe I was wrong?

  Finn’s features crunched into an annoyed expression. “It was NOT a ghost, Mom. I know a ghost when I see one. This guy was real, besides… those ghosts can’t leave the graveyard.”

  “Right,” I answered, nodding absentmindedly. I took a deep breath and patted his leg. “Well, whoever this guy was, he must have left some footprints or something outside.” I glanced over my shoulder toward the window. “How do you think he got up here?”

  Like I’d mentioned, Finn’s bedroom was on the second story and there was no ladder leaning against the house or anything else that would have allowed someone easy access to his window—such was a big part of the reason why I’d figured the man had to have been a ghost. Otherwise, he would have had to scale the brick wall to reach the window.

  “How the hell should I know?” Finn fired back.

  “Language.”

  “Sorry,” he grumbled. “I’m just… frustrated.”

  “I know,” I said, and squeezed him a little harder.

  “I don’t… I just don’t understand how he got up here, Mom… especially when I know he wasn’t a ghost.”

  “I don’t either.”

  “Maybe he was wearing a jetpack.”

  I bit back a laugh. “I doubt that.” I started to stand up and had to remove Finn from my side so I could walk towards the bedroom door. “I’m going to go outside and see if I can find any footprints. Are you going to be okay until I come back?”

  “I’m going with you, Mom.”

  “Finn, it’s okay if you want to stay here.”

  He shook his head. “I need to protect you if that guy’s still… around.”

  I looked at his sweet, cherubic face and at the thought of my son trying to protect me, I decided it wasn’t a good idea if we investigated this potential burglar ourselves. So, I pulled my phone out of my pocket, about to text Marty when the phone lit up with a call from Roy, my ex-boyfriend.

  “Hi,” I answered.

  “Hey, I, uh, I was just… thinking about you and wanted to, you know, say hi and… see, uh, how you were doing.” There was a pause. “So, how are you doing?”

  Roy and I had recently broken up and, according to our mutual friend Fifi, he wasn’t quite over me yet. I knew we couldn’t be together (because Roy was actually destined to be with Fifi) but I also wanted to remain friends, so we were still in communication. I figured it was probably another few weeks before he’d realize Fifi was the love of his life. I hoped so anyway.

  “Finn saw a man in his window and he’s sure it wasn’t a ghost.”

  There was a pause on the other line for exactly one second. “I’m on my way.”

  “Okay,” I started, but he interrupted.

  “Stay where you are and lock the door. Don’t open it until I get there and you know it’s me.”

  “Okay, but how are you going to get in?” I asked. “The front door is locked.”

  “I, uh, I still have your house key.”

  “Oh,” I answered and then worried my lower lip. I’d been meaning to ask for my house key back, but hadn’t been sure when the time was right to ask. And good thing I hadn’t…

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  I thanked him and hung up, then walked to Finn’s door and closed it, locking both of us in.

  ***

  Eight minutes later, I heard the sound of Roy unlocking the front door. Then his massive footfalls reverberated through the house as he took the stairs two at a time. Next came a few thuds on the door.

  “It’s me,” he said gruffly.

  I unlocked the door and opened it and Finn immediately ran towards Roy, throwing his arms around him.

  “It’s okay, buddy,” Roy said as he returned the hug. Then Roy faced me and hesitated a moment or two before he stepped forward and threw his massive arms around me, lifting me right off my feet. It was awkward, to say the least. He pulled away another split-second later and cleared his throat.

  “I didn’t see anyone when I pulled up.”

  I nodded and explained everything Finn had told me, while Finn filled in any missing details. Roy breathed out a sigh and I could tell there was more on his mind.

  “Even though I didn’t see anyone, I did notice footprints in the mud outside,” he admitted finally.

  “I want to see them,” I answered, and Finn took my hand as if to say he wouldn’t be left in his room alone. Together, the three of us walked downstairs, out the front door, and onto the spotty grass that led around the house. When we reached the area under Finn’s bedroom window, I started searching the ground for any sign of disruption.

  The minute I looked at the muddy soil under Finn’s window, I saw the tracks as clear as day. Trampled deep into the mud and what little grass there was, they headed away from the window and towards the graveyard.

  “See?” Finn told me. “I told you he was real.”

  “I’m sorry I doubted you,” I answered as I pulled him in for another hug and didn’t let go. Then I faced Roy. “The question now is figuring out who this guy is and what he wanted.”

  “Don’t you have a potion for that?” Roy asked.

  I tried not to laugh, but the question struck me as a silly one. I didn’t have a potion for everything under the sun. “I don’t have any potions that could tell us who the stranger was, but Wanda’s coming over in a little while. Maybe she can use a tracking spell to trace him.”

  “Oh, Wanda’s coming over?” Roy asked.

  “Yeah, we have a… a dinner to go to.” I didn’t want to tell him Marty was part of that dinner because it seemed Marty wasn’t Roy’s favorite person lately. I had a feeling Roy was jealous of my close friendship with Marty. Not to mention, Roy was also fairly convinced Marty was part of the reason (if not the whole reason) I’d broken up with him. Unfortunately for all concerned, I hadn’t been able to come out and say Fifi and Roy were destined to be together, even though they were. But, apparently, the rules of the cosmos just didn’t work that way.

  “Do you have to go?” Finn asked. “Can’t you cancel the dinner?”

  “I probably could cancel, but...”

  “No, you should go,” Roy said as he faced Finn. “I’ll keep an eye on Finn.”

  I looked at my son, who was no longer the small child he used to be. Now he stood eye-level with me. “Is that okay with you?”

  “That’s okay with me.” Finn nodded. “I feel safe with Roy.”

  I looked up at the enormous sasquatch and couldn’t help but feel indebted to him. “Thank you.”

  He nodded. “I’m always here for you both.”

  Chapter Three

  The three of us wandered back inside.

  Instead of returning to his room, Finn sat in the living room with Roy, both of them supposedly watching Stranger Things, but I could tell their minds were elsewhere—no doubt on the identity of the stranger who had shown up in Finn’s window. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and, even now, was leery about leaving. But, if there was one person I trusted to keep Finn safe—it was Roy. As a sasquatch, he was basically invincible.

  The doorbell rang and when I opened it (with Roy shadowing me), I found the window repairman. After leading him into the kitchen and showing him the damage from the potion gone awry with Astrid, he said he’d have to order the windows since he didn’t have them in stock. In the meantime, he was happy to board up the openings.

  So, I went upstairs, took a shower, and changed my clothes. Then I walked back downstairs and didn’t miss the wistful expression Roy gave me when he took in my black fitted slacks and red, silk blouse. I’d pulled my shoulder-length white-blond hair into a chignon at the nape of my neck and even opted to wear my pearl earrings. Then I’d dusted a sheen of pink blush over my cheeks that matched my lipstick and I’d even lined my eyes in charcoal liner and applied an extra layer of mascara. Not that I was getting all dolled up for anyone in particular—I just felt like looking nice since I hadn’t dressed up in who knew how long.

  I checked the clock on the wall when I returned to the living room. “Ugh,” I grumbled. “Wanda was supposed to be back by now.” Yes, Wanda was one of those people who was chronically tardy.

  I sat down next to Finn and continued to watch the minutes as they ticked by, growing closer and closer to the time when Wanda and I were supposed to meet the guys at the restaurant. Soon, we’d have to ditch researching Wanda’s mystery women.

  “Do you think whoever that guy was that I saw in my window, that he’s gone now?” Finn asked as he looked from me to Roy. All the while, a concerto of hammering played in the background as the repairman boarded up my windows.

  Roy nodded. “I’d say so.”

  I also nodded. “Maybe he just got confused and thought this was some other house?” Not that I believed my own words, but I was trying to make Finn feel better. “Or maybe he knew the people who used to live here and figured they still did?”

  “Maybe,” Finn answered, but he didn’t appear convinced.

  Just then, I heard the wheels of Wanda’s Escalade crunching the gravel in the driveway.

  Standing up, I walked to the door, unlocked it and opened it—about to tell her we didn’t have time to research anyone but the words were taken right out of my mouth when she stomped up the stairs, Astrid, Darla, and Libby in tow.

  “Sorry it took so long,” Wanda said by way of greeting. “We had some trouble at the duplex.”

  “Trouble?”

  She nodded and then sighed. “Some guy was prowling around Astrid’s bedroom window.”

  I gasped out loud and glanced around the corner to where Finn was sitting with Roy, neither of them watching Stranger Things. Luckily, Finn hadn’t overheard Wanda.

  I turned back to face her and whispered, “A strange guy was also looking through Finn’s bedroom window earlier.”

  “Was it a ghost from the graveyard?” Wanda asked.