Dead and Breakfast (5 page)

Liam raked his hands through his hair, damp with sweat. “I’m doing odd jobs at the Cayo Hueso. Of course, I’m only making enough to fill my ride with gas at this point.”

Randall laughed. “Get out of here. I didn’t even know the Cayo was still open. Dude, see any ghosts?”

Without meaning to, Liam touched the scratch on his cheek. “You don’t believe in that crap, do you?”

Randall appeared thoughtful for a moment. “Not sure, man. This whole island is filled with haunted places. How many people have claimed to see ghosts? Everyone can’t be crazy, ya know?”

Liam had never thought about it like that before.

“Does Old Glenda Reynolds still run the place?” Randall asked.

“She’s there, but her niece Evelyn has taken over. Got her daughter, Autumn, working there too. They’re from New Jersey.”

“Is this Autumn hot?” asked Randall.

Liam recalled Autumn’s light touch as she pressed the ointment into his skin. He was a stranger to her, and she hadn’t hesitated to patch him up. He smiled at the memory.

“Say no more,” Randall said.

“Nah, it’s just. Yeah, she’s pretty, but she’s different too. Not like . . .”

“Not like Victoria and those rich bitches she hangs out with,” Randall finished.

“Autumn’s nice. Her mother, on the other hand, rides my ass like I’m free labor. The money’s crap too, but it’s work.”

Randall clapped Liam on the back. “Don’t fret, my man. We’ll get Breyer and Bell Tours up and running and you can say adios to the spooky Cayo.” Randall tapped his chin. “Do you have any money to give my cousin so he knows you’re serious? Perhaps, Keith can float the rest of the cash if you invest some of your own dough.”

Liam watched a sailboat glide across the water with a man on board scrambling to hoist the sails. Liam patted his shorts pocket. “Well, I have a ring to pawn.”

“Hope this ring has a giant diamond. Can I see it?”

Liam slipped his hand into his pocket to take out the ring when his stomach dropped to his knees. “Oh, crap.”

“What?”

“The ring. My grandmother’s ring.”

Randall’s mouth gaped open. “You were going to pawn your grandmother’s ring. That’s cold.”

“Pops said I could. It was in a box of stuff she never wanted.” Liam paced. “He thought I could get a grand for it at least.” He dropped his shoulders and hung his head. “I know where the ring is.”

“Where?”

Liam shuddered when he thought about the dark-haired woman. The one he hoped he had hallucinated. “The bottom of the Cayo’s swimming pool.”

Autumn stood at the edge of the pool and squinted into its cloudy depths. She wasn’t sure what she was seeking—the face of the murdered ghost she supposed, but unlike Katie, this ghost was elusive. And unpredictable. After all, until today, Autumn had never even heard of this spirit.

Autumn examined the water and pursed her lips. This seemed like a stupid plan. Even if she discovered more about the murdered girl, there would be no way to prove what had happened to her. She couldn’t exactly record the testimony of a ghost.

Then Autumn spotted something shiny glinting at the bottom of the pool. She grabbed the pool skimmer from the fence and submerged the net until she was gliding it along the floor. It took her a few tries before she was able to cradle the tiny object in the net. She swung the skimmer toward her and plucked the object from the skimmer. Her breath caught.

It was a ring.

And not just a cheap ring either, but a gold one with a square-cut diamond, larger than the one on Evelyn’s now-defunct wedding band. How had this beautiful ring ended up in the pool? Between the algae on the liner and the dead beetles, no one had stepped a toe in the pool.

Except for Liam.

Of course, Liam! He fell in. But still, what was he doing with a women’s engagement ring? Was it a present for a girlfriend? She brushed aside a stab of jealousy. She didn’t know Liam well, and she refused to crush on a boy she’d just met. All he had going for him right now was his looks, and Autumn knew that a relationship based on a superficial attraction wouldn’t last. Just ask Evelyn. Autumn’s parents had been voted most beautiful couple in high school. Now they were the most bitter.

Autumn held up the wet ring, mesmerized as the diamond sparkled in the sunlight. She suddenly understood why the entire English department crowded around Ms. Waldron’s ring finger after she got engaged.

What would this ring look like on her? Autumn glanced back at the Cayo to make sure no one was coming outside before slipping the ring on to her finger.

“Check that out,” she said aloud. “It fits.” Autumn stretched out her hand to admire the sparkle.

Suddenly, she felt overcome with a sense of dizziness. She stumbled away from the edge of the pool, grabbed the side of the old patio table, and steadied herself. Black spots floated in front of her until they darkened her vision completely. Her heart pumped so loudly she thought she could hear it. Sweat bloomed under her arms. Intense pressure climbed her torso as though invisible arms were squeezing her in a bear hug. Her nerve endings tingled. A bright light flashed.

The pain in her chest subsided, but everything still seemed fuzzy, as if she was viewing the world underwater. She blinked several times to clear her vision. Autumn crumpled against the table until she felt well enough to stand up.

She had read magazine articles of young girls suddenly stricken by incurable diseases. Could that be what was happening to her?

She hugged herself and then wiggled her fingers, trying to regain sensation. She caught sight of slender fingers on a tanned, dark-skinned right hand. This did not look like her hand. Autumn ran her fingers down her body, sliding them over silky white fabric with pearly buttons. She was wearing a blouse? Autumn peered over the side of the pool into crystal clear water and caught a glimpse of her reflection. It wasn’t her face that appeared.

Autumn’s eyes darted around the patio. The Cayo’s white peeling paint appeared fresh and unmarked. The pool’s typical green tint shimmered clear and blue. The once-rusted patio table looked smooth and clean. The round-faced clock that hung next to the doors ticked away. Eight o’clock. That couldn’t be right. It was still afternoon.

This was the Cayo’s patio and yet it wasn’t. This was the Cayo of years ago. The one Autumn had seen in Aunt Glenda’s old photos. Had she hit her head?

Autumn heard the melodic sound of a girl’s laughter. A slender girl, standing near the gate that led to the street. She had short dark hair that flipped up at her shoulders and wore a white blouse with an embroidered crest and a red plaid skirt that stopped at her knees. Autumn glanced down at her matching attire. The red knee socks itched. She lifted a strand of her hair and brought it in front of her face. It was dark, like a walnut, and matched the other girl’s.

The girl appeared by Autumn’s side, linked her arm, and rested her head against Autumn’s shoulder.

“There you are, Inez. The boys want to go out on Ralphie’s boat. Do you want to come?”

Ralphie? That name sounds familiar.

“No, I don’t,” came a strange voice. It sounded harsh, with just a lilt of an accent. Autumn didn’t mean to be angry, but she couldn’t help how she sounded. She couldn’t control the words coming out of her mouth.

The other girl pursed her lips and motioned toward a young man with brown wavy hair, dressed in a dark blue sailor uniform with white stripes on the sleeves. He was muscular and tan, but is back was turned toward them, and Autumn couldn’t see his face. “Don’t be angry, Inez. I saw him first.” She smiled, more gently this time. “Que guapo, no?”

I’m in Inez’s body. Inez who?

“Don’t rub it in, Mariana. Fue mío primero,” her voice said.
Dammit, I wish I had taken Advanced Spanish.
“Which sailor?”

A tall, broad shouldered man with blond hair and a wide grin, also dressed in a Navy uniform, gave the girls a slight wave. There was something familiar about him, but Autumn couldn’t place his face.

“He’s just as handsome,” Mariana admitted. “And he seems to like you.” But something inside Autumn suggested she desired the other sailor—the one whose face she couldn’t see. She suddenly felt a stab of jealousy.

Mariana brightened. “He asked to be introduced.” She brushed past Autumn and went over to the tall sailor with the easy smile. Mariana whispered in his ear and the sailor’s brows rose in amusement. Autumn glanced away. She, nor Inez, seemed interested in this sailor. Autumn wanted to explore the Cayo and seek out Uncle Duncan, who must’ve been a young man, but she couldn’t force her body to move.
I must be inside a memory. What year is this?

Autumn caught a glimpse of Inez in the reflection of the French doors. Unlike Mariana, Inez had heavy bangs that sat on her forehead and thick dark eyebrows. She was a beauty like Mariana, but Inez’s countenance appeared sharper than Mariana’s. If Mariana was all soft, curvy lines, Inez was hard angles and edges.

Autumn directed her attention toward the young sailor, whose face she still couldn’t see. She wanted to tap him on the shoulder, force him to look at her, and demand he pay attention to her. That definitely wasn’t something Autumn would do.

Mariana waved Inez over. “Come on. Don’t be such a square.” The tall sailor laughed, and heat spread through Autumn’s body. She bunched up her fists. The other sailor finally turned around. His sloped nose. Those Caribbean blue eyes. That dark, wavy hair. He winked at Autumn—no, Inez—and said, “It’ll be fun.”

If Autumn had any control over this body, she would have gasped. He looked just like—

“Hey all!” a voice rang out.

Autumn turned to see her Uncle Duncan, now young with his tousled brown hair and sparkling hazel eyes, approach the group. A lanky, skinny fella, who reminded Autumn of one of those complete skeletons from biology class, was in tow. He hid shyly behind Autumn’s uncle.

Duncan approached Inez and grinned before he clapped the bony sailor on the back. “Ralphie and I are ready to go. The boat’s waiting. You coming, Inez?”

So, that’s Ralphie. How do I know him?

Just then, the tall, blond sailor joined Autumn. “Of course she’s coming. We’re all going.”

“What’s your name, sailor?” Autumn felt herself smile, but the feelings inside were all jumbled up. She wasn’t happy.

The blond sailor held out his hand. “I’m Mick. Mick Canton.”

Suddenly, Autumn’s vision blurred, and the pressure in her chest waxed and waned. She struggled to breathe. Her eyes twitched, and she shut them tight. When she opened them again, she was back in her familiar, drab surroundings.

She collapsed into the patio chair and let out a deep breath. Her whole body shook. “Whoa.”

That had never happened to her before, but then again, she’d never put on a dead girl’s ring before. Autumn wished she hadn’t been pulled so quickly from the vision. She enjoyed seeing Uncle Duncan. He had died when Autumn was a small child, but she remembered him as a joyous, carefree man with a mischievous streak.

Perhaps Inez wanted help puzzling out her memories. And so far, Autumn thought she had unearthed at least one clue. She knew why Inez had targeted Liam.

#

Liam’s grandfather lived in New Town, a section of Key West north of George Street. While Old Town was lined with charming and historic Victorians and roosters parading up and down the sidewalks, New Town’s small, one-story Floridian ranches lacked the ornate decorations and soft pastels of Old Town. Pops’s white one-story had faded blue trim and a single carport.

Pops could sell his home tomorrow and make a fortune—if he wanted to. But as Pops said, “Where am I going to retire? I already live in Florida.”

Liam pulled his scooter up the driveway and killed the engine. He took off his helmet and wiped the sweet from his brow with his forearm. He grabbed Cora’s cookies and his wet shirt from the small cargo hold. The brown paper bag was soggy, and he imagined the cookies were too.

Liam opened the screen door and called out, “Pops, you here?”

“Yeah, sport.” His grandpa coughed. “In the kitchen.”

Liam found Leo Breyer at a small, round table reading the newspaper. Bifocals perched on the tip of his nose. A salami sandwich lay half-eaten on a chipped ceramic plate. And rather than use a napkin, Pops wiped his hands on his wrinkled khaki shorts. “You’re home late. How was your first day at the Cayo?”

Liam opened up the fridge and found a can of soda. He popped it open. “Humiliating.”

Pops raised an eyebrow. “Where’d you get that shirt?”

Liam sipped the soda, the cold liquid burned his throat. “Glenda Reynolds gave it to me because I fell into the pool. Go ahead and laugh.”

Pops shook out the crease in the newspaper before turning the page. “Wasn’t going to.”

“Seriously, Pops. The people at that place are nuts. They believe in ghosts.”

“You needed a job. I got you a job.” Pops adjusted his glasses. “Besides, there are worse things to believe in.”

Liam chugged the soda and burped. He crushed the can and tossed it into the recycling container by the back door. “I don’t really want to go back there, but . . .”

“But, what?” Pops asked.

Liam pressed his face against the door’s dirty windowpane and stared at the round, white rocks that covered the yard where grass might normally grow. “I need the money. I’m going into business with Randall.”

“That dummy?”

Liam dropped into the chair next to his grandfather. “He’s not a dummy. Well, he knows scooters, at least. Anyway, think about it. There’s enough tourists and business in Key West to go around and it’s time we get a piece of the pie.”

Pops covered his face with the newspaper. “I was wrong.
You’re
the dummy.”

Liam pulled the newspaper away from Pops. “This is a chance for the Breyers to rise to the top in Key West. You see how people treat you at the VFW, like you’re not good enough, and me—”

Pops’s blue eyes appeared dull. “People don’t treat you badly because of who I am. They treat you badly because of who you are.”

Liam balked. Well, that stung.

Pops put down the newspaper and peered at Liam. “I think you should forget this scooter business. You can’t compete with a big shot like Mick Canton. Why don’t you apply to college?”