Wraiths of Winter (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 3) (29 page)

“Maybe he wanted to see your reaction. Or maybe he
didn’t send it at all—maybe there was a mix up at the delivery
service.
Either way, I just don’t think Lucas sent it,” she
announced with conviction.

A mistake? Possibly. But it was more likely that Zach
did
lie to see what I would say. A test of my affections—did I
pass? Of course I did. It was sad, though, that he felt he had to
spend so much money to test my loyalties.

“I suppose you’re right. It would have been an
incredibly bold move on Lucas’s part.” We weren’t even
dating let alone talking marriage. So why did it make me sad
to know that it wasn’t from him? Damn that scarf!
If it
weren’t so fabulous, I would toss it in the Goodwill box on my
way home.

“Yes, it would. One other thing—I think Zach is right.
There is something a little sneaky about Lucas. I’m positive
he broke that vase on purpose on New Year’s Eve. I watched
him knock it off when he thought no one was looking.”

No.
It was
an accident—he wouldn’t have done
something like that on purpose.
And besides, I saw the
condition Rita was in at midnight. She couldn’t walk straight
and therefore she couldn’t see straight, either. Poor Andy had
to put his arm around her just to keep her from falling down.
She was wrong about the vase. Dead wrong.

When the day was over and I left for the theater, Rita
issued a complicated farewell.

 

“Watch your back—and
not just
because of that
wraith.”

This time I was the last one to arrive for rehearsal. I
got to the theater with plenty of time to spare but I had to find
the courage to walk inside. I was no closer to finding Crimson
and even further away from deciding what to do about Lucas.
I was running out of time on both accounts. If Drake was the
killer, Crimson was already dead. If he wasn’t, she soon could
be.
And for the sake of my own sanity, I had to settle my
conflicted heart. No matter what, I wouldn’t solve anything
by hiding in my car.

I walked into the theater with the scarf hanging like a
dead albatross around my neck. Lucas didn’t send it—I
believed that now. But that didn’t erase the fact that he told
me he
loved me.
Or the
fact that I told him
about
my
connection with the dead. If Allison surfaced tonight, Lucas
would know by my reaction.
Seeing the theater made me
realize I forgot to
ask my
dad
about the
legend of the
Phantom.
Hopefully, Rachel was a little more responsible
than I was.

With rehearsal already in full swing when I walked in,
I didn’t have an opportunity to find out. I didn’t even have a
chance to sit down.
Jonas immediately handed me a fifty
dollar bill and said he had an errand for me to run.

“I need you to go to the dollar store and pick up some
artificial flowers for me.
The bouquet I had as a prop is
missing.”

Anything to get out of that theater. “Sure, what kind
do you want?”

“Just pick out something nice, something suitable for a
wedding scene. Get two—just in case. You have good fashion
sense,” he said pointing to my scarf, “I trust your judgment.”

Why did he have to remind me about that dumb,
beautiful scarf?
I did have good fashion sense but that scarf
wasn’t proof of it. Should I confront Zach about it, tell him I
knew that he was the one who sent it?
Again, I was tempted
to throw the thing away. If only it weren’t so soft and
sparkly….

I picked out the two best arrangements I could find—
one a soft pink, the other a deep crimson. When I got back to
the theater, the air felt thick like something was about to
happen.
No sooner did I make that determination than a
horrible groaning
noise
rose up through the theater.
I
assumed Allison was
ready
to make
an appearance
until
everyone turned their heads to locate the source. Suddenly,
the floor beneath my feet began to shake, nearly toppling me
over. An earthquake here in Central Pennsylvania? Not likely.
But it sure felt like one.

Panic ensued. Screams erupted from more than one
throat and the stage emptied. As the entire theater shook on
its foundation, I scrambled to turn around and get out of the
building. Then someone called my name.

“Over here, Ru!” Lucas yelled above the frantic
screams.

Lucas was standing by the stage, motioning wildly for
me to join him.
It would be foolish to run further into the
chaos, wouldn’t it? I was much closer to the exit than I was to
the stage—I could be out of the building and out of danger’s
path in a matter of seconds. Where was Zach? Was he safe? I
wanted to find out. But with a split second hesitation, I chose
to backtrack to the stage, to Lucas.

I took one step and another violent shake rocked the
theater. A deafening crash sounded behind me.
Something
lay on the floor under the balcony in the very spot where I’d
been standing.
The
rumbling
ceased and
the building
returned to normal.

“OMG, Ruby! It barely missed you!” Rachel exclaimed
as she approached with Lucas right behind her. She lowered
her voice and whispered, “Do you think it was Allison?”

Shaken but curious, I inspected the object that lay on
the floor behind me. It was a cast iron mask. The bolt that
should have held it securely in place was sheared in half.
I
flipped it over to see that it was the face of a woman—a
woman who bore a striking resemblance to Allison.

Holding
the mask up for Rachel,
I confirmed her
suspicion. “It definitely looks like it.”

Rachel gasped at the likeness. “That’s her! That’s
Allison!” She mouthed the words silently so Lucas wouldn’t
hear her.

“You can speak up, Rachel. Lucas knows everything—
I told him yesterday.”

 

“YOU DID WHAT?” she roared.

Her reaction was extreme but not unexpected. “I told
him about Scarlet, Garnet, Allison—he knows everything.”
Even more than Rachel did, actually.

“If you’re afraid I’m going to tell—”

Rachel pointed her finger at him menacingly. “You—
stay out of this! This is between me and Ruby! You’re sneaky
and sly and I
don’t
trust you!”

“Rachel! Back off—Lucas hasn’t done anything
wrong!
And if you want to talk about sneaky and sly, go talk
to your brother. He’s keeping a few secrets himself!”

“Zach? How
dare
you try to defend this snake by
throwing my brother under the bus instead!
Zach loves you!
This one,” she said gesturing to Lucas, “just wants to slither
into your pants!”

Our argument caught the attention of, well, everyone
else in the theater.
Jonas strode up the aisle to where we
stood. He reached for the mask in my hand and I gave it up
willingly.

“How did this even fall? It was bolted firmly to the
corner of the balcony—I checked it myself not more than a
month ago.” He flipped the mask over and furrowed his brow
at the sight of the broken bolt.

“You know a lot about this theater, Jonas. Do you
know whose face that is?” I asked.

 

“Oh,” he muttered, “This was the face of the owner’s
one true love.”

 

“And who was that?” I pressed.

After a moment’s hesitation as he stared into the
hollow eyes of the mask, he replied, “Charlotte Baker, of
course.”

While that wasn’t the answer I was expecting, I didn’t
really think he would declare it to be Allison, either.
The
mask was old—too old for Allison to be the inspiration for its
design. Jonas’s hands shook as he held onto it and stared up
at the spot where it used to hang.

I handed him the flowers I’d bought and what was left
of the fifty dollar bill. He shoved the money in his pocket and
stuck the bouquets into the eye sockets of the mask. As if in a
daze, he wandered back to the stage and called out, “That’s a
wrap!”

From my peripheral, I caught sight of movement in
the balcony. A large figure retreated into the shadows before
I could identify it.
The answer to the mystery was here—I
could feel it practically breathing down my neck.

Rachel broke the spell by shouting my name. “Ruby!
We have a lot to talk about—you’re coming with me.”

She was right—we
did
need to talk. Zach wasn’t
innocent.
Did she know he followed me to Pittsburgh?
Did
she know he sent me this scarf and then lied about it? Well,
she was about to.

I said
goodbye
to Lucas
and he
reciprocated.
As
Rachel led me out of the theater still ranting about how much
she didn’t like Lucas, he came up behind me and whispered
something in my ear.

“You look beautiful in that scarf, by the way.” He
winked and was gone before I could wrap my brain around
what he’d just said.

So he
had
sent it after all!
Like any good play, just as
the scene was about to end, the plot took an unpredictable
twist. Bravo, Lucas, bravo! Now,
that’s
a wrap!

22. Destiny Distorted

When Rachel said we needed to talk, I assumed she
would follow me home.
Rosewood was where we always
went when we needed to be alone for some girl talk. So when
she told me to follow her, I did.
Straight to the Mason house.
Straight to Zach.

The last thing I needed was for his entire family to
know what was going on.
Garrett and Diane knew nothing
about my paranormal abilities and hopefully less than nothing
about my situation with Lucas. At least at the mansion it was
possible to put enough walls between us and my parents—at
her house, not so much.

“Shouldn’t we have gone to my house instead?” I
whispered as I walked in the door.

“You don’t have to whisper, Ruby. Mom and Dad
aren’t home. Or are you afraid Zach will hear something you
don’t want him to?” she said coldly.

“No,” I spoke up loudly. “Zach is free to join us.” Like I
could stop him even if I wanted to. Hell, he’d probably heard
every word we’d said already.

“Good. ZACH!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.

She could have saved herself some breath because at
the sound of his name he instantly appeared around the
corner. “Ruby? Rachel? What’s wrong?”

Zach was wearing blue fleece pajama pants and a
matching hoodie.
He looked so adorable, so innocent.
His
eyes always gave a little extra sparkle when he wore that
color.
If I looked even half that good in any color, I would
never wear anything else.

Rachel stormed across the living room to where he
stood and dragged him to the couch. “Sit!” she commanded
him like a dog and he instantly obeyed.

“You,” she said grabbing me by the wrist, “Sit down
right there beside him like the happy freakin’ couple you’re
supposed to be.”

Yes, mother. I sat down next to Zach who was staring
at his sister with an adorably confused look on his face.

 

“Now, Ruby, I want to know exactly what you meant
when you said Zach was keeping secrets from you.”

Zach whipped his head around until we were eye to
eye. He looked shocked and hurt—but mostly hurt. “Yeah,
me too!”

So I explained the twisted tale of the scarf—of how I
thought Zach lied about it until Lucas commented on it as we
left the theater. I felt like such a fool. I’d stood there
defending Lucas when he
had
been the one who’d sent it all
along. “I hate the stupid thing!” I shouted.

“So why are you still wearing it then?” Zach
questioned.

Oh, right. There it was—wound lovingly around my
neck for him to see. I suppose it
would
be a slap in the face to
him. If Misty ever gave Zach a gift and I caught him wearing it,
I’d flip the hell out. It was soft and beautiful and warm,
though. I didn’t want to take it off—ever. But for Zach’s sake,
I took it off and shoved it into my bag.

“Look—I honestly thought it was from you, Zach.
It
was all just a big misunderstanding—are we free to go now,
warden?” I asked Rachel, sarcastically.

“No, you’re not. You guys just haven’t been the same
since Lucas came to town. It’s time to fix that. Mom and Dad
went to Grandma Mason’s to start packing up her things so
they can sell the house—they won’t be home for hours. I’m
going over to Boone’s and you two are gonna kiss and make
up.” She looked directly at Zach. “And you don’t always have
to be such a perfect gentleman, little brother.” Rachel
grabbed her bag and her keys and marched out the door.

Subtle, Rachel, very subtle. She was basically handing
us a carte blanche to do anything we wanted. But did I want
to?
There was
a time when I would have killed for an
opportunity like this. Now…I really wasn’t sure. I didn’t even
know where to start. We just weren’t as close as we were a
few months ago.

We sat there awkwardly for a moment.
Zach was
clearly embarrassed by what Rachel had said and, honestly, so
was I. She wasn’t my pimp, for cryin’ out loud! So when he
broke the silence by
offering
me some hot chocolate, I
accepted a little too enthusiastically.

“Yes!” I practically shouted the word right in his face.
Geez, why was I so nervous?
I knew Zach well enough to
know that he wouldn’t actually try to do what Rachel
suggested he should. He just wasn’t that kind of guy.

Or was he? He brought back a mug for each of us and
sat down beside me. “Look, Ruby, Rachel’s right.”

She was?
Never in a million years
would I have
expected to hear him
say
that
!
I crossed my
legs
selfconsciously and then he realized what he’d said.