Rooftops provide a unique vantage point of a neighborhood. A perfect place for a weary soul to take refuge, Wesley thought. The ghost straddled the rooftop’s ridge, with the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Marlow House to the east. Yet his peace only lasted about fifteen minutes before the hammering started. Unbeknownst to Wesley, he had chosen to take refuge while the workers inside the house ate their lunch, but they had returned to work. Wondering about the noise, Wesley moved his head through the shingles and plywood, looking down at the newly built second floor. Had any of the workers been mediums, he or she would have likely let out a startled scream at the sight of a head dangling down from the ceiling, as it turned from side to side, taking in the view. Yet there was not even a gasp from below.
Wesley pulled his head from the house and looked across the street in time to see a police car pull up in front of Marlow House and park. When the driver got out of the vehicle, Wesley recognized the officer: Police Chief MacDonald. He remembered MacDonald’s sons were inside and assumed he was stopping by to pick them up. It was at that moment he had an idea.
“I am an idiot!” Wesley said aloud. The next moment, he stood in one of the hydrangea plants bordering the front of Marlow House. The plants had already started to bloom, displaying clusters of pink, purple, and blue flowers. But Wesley was not paying attention to the colorful blossoms, but to the living room window as he inched closer to it. He wanted to peek inside the house, but he assumed there were mediums inside who might see him.
Wesley understood—in a broad sense—ghosts could harness energy. Marie Nichols used her energy in such a way. From what Pamela had told him, ghosts unconsciously used their energy when creating the illusion of their physical body. She said that one of the first ways a ghost consciously uses that energy is by changing their appearance—or making it disappear. Wesley’s time on this side had been relatively short, although not as short as Pamela’s, yet unlike her, he had other things on his mind, and altering his appearance seemed a waste of time, considering the only entities he came in contact with capable of seeing him were other ghosts, and those were rare. But now, he wished he understood how to stop that energy from creating the illusion of his physical being, because it would make it much easier to look in on mediums without being seen.
Since he didn’t have that ability, he took a chance and peeked in a corner of the window. When he did, he saw not only mediums but two ghosts, Eva Thorndike and Marie Nichols. Fortunately, none faced the window.
Wesley was about to leave, since he had no desire to confront the mediums with Eva and Marie present. He hadn’t liked Marie when she had been alive, and Eva scared him. But before he moved, both ghosts vanished.
“Dad, it was so cool,” Eddy told his father. “I was really flying.”
“Sounds like you had an interesting day.” The chief chuckled. He sat in a recliner while Walt and Danielle sat on the sofa together, each holding a baby, while Eddy sat on the fireplace hearth with his brother.
“It was all fun and games until Lily called,” Danielle said with a snort. “We should have shut the front blinds. I saw June and Kelly were across the street. But I didn’t imagine they could see inside the living room window from over there. Of course, I didn’t consider June would find Ian’s binoculars and become a peeping tom.”
“What did they say?” the chief asked.
“They didn’t say anything to us. But when they stopped by the hospital after leaving here, they told Lily and Ian about it. Lily convinced them it was one of Walt’s magic tricks.”
“And Danielle told me that if anyone asked how he did it,” Eddy chimed in, “I’m to say I can’t give away a magician’s secrets.”
“Which really isn’t lying,” Danielle said. “Walt’s secret was using Marie’s energy.” Danielle didn’t mention Walt’s energy because the mediums and the chief had agreed not to say anything about Walt’s background or gifts to Eddy. They worried that might be too much for the teenager to absorb all at once.
“While you were over here doing magic tricks, I was having a conversation with the Bowman twins,” the chief told Walt and Danielle.
Before Walt or Danielle could respond, Wesley appeared in the middle of the living room.
“What are you doing here?” Danielle asked.
The chief arched his brows. “I assume you’re not talking to me?”
“It’s that ghost who followed Eddy and me back from the pier,” Evan told his father.
“He’s here?” Eddy asked in a loud whisper.
Evan pointed to where the ghost stood.
“Please hear me out,” Wesley urged. “I obviously chose the wrong medium.”
“What are you talking about?” Danielle asked.
“I should have gone to him first.” Wesley pointed to Evan. “His father is the police chief. That’s who can help me. It’s his job to stop a murder.”
“The chief already knows about your request,” Danielle said.
Wesley frowned. “He does?”
“Yes. And like us, he needs more information. Let’s pretend you were still alive and go directly to the chief, telling him Adrian planned to marry Bonnie for her money before killing her. He can’t do anything unless you tell him everything you can to support your claim.”
“That’s a poor analogy,” Wesley snapped. “For one thing, I already told you why, for the money. And two, if I were alive, I would still be married to Bonnie, so Adrian couldn’t marry her, anyway.” Wesley disappeared.
“He’s gone,” Evan announced.
“What was that all about?” the chief asked.
“Same thing. He wants to stop his brother from marrying his widow.” Danielle looked at Evan. “If he comes back later and asks you to get your father to do something, remind him your father already knows everything, and unless he has additional information, there’s nothing any of us can do.”
Evan nodded.
“We have two ghosts making demands,” Walt muttered. He glanced down at his daughter, swaddled and sleeping peacefully in his arms, gave her a soft smile, and looked back to the chief. “Did you have any progress with the twins? Any luck setting them back on the right path?”
“I doubt they’ve ever been on the right path,” the chief grumbled. “One thing I learned today, I’m not the one to talk to the boys.”
“Why not?” Walt asked.
“They obviously blame me for their father’s death. Sadly, the only one who could reach them is their father, because despite everything, those boys have their father on some pedestal. They’re convinced Clay was hired to replace me, and because of that, I framed him. They won’t even listen to their mother.”
“Have their father talk to them,” Evan suggested.
“Their father is dead,” Eddy reminded him with a twinge of big-brother snark.
“He can still talk to them,” Evan said.
“You mean a dream hop?” Danielle asked.
“What’s a dream hop?” Eddy asked.
Evan looked at his older brother and, with equal snark, asked, “Seriously?”
Frowning in confusion, Eddy stared at his brother for a moment before everything clicked into place. “Oh, the dream with Mom?”
Evan nodded.
“Will they understand it’s not a regular dream? That Clay was really there?” the chief asked.
“Dream hops have a distinct quality,” Danielle reminded him. “And when they wake up, I would be surprised if they didn’t tell the other one about the dream. Once they do that…”
“If they both have the same dream, it will convince them their father was really there,” the chief finished for her.
“I guess we need to tell Clay he’s the only one who can help his sons. We can’t do it,” Danielle said. “And we’ll need Eva and Marie’s help to guide Clay in his first dream hop.”
“How are you going to get ahold of him?” the chief asked.
Danielle flashed the chief a smile and set the sleeping baby she held on the sofa between her and Walt. She picked up her cellphone and called Heather. When Heather answered the call, she said, “Hang up the wreath when you get home.”
Eric opened his eyes and found himself sitting on a picnic table in the middle of the forest. He wasn’t alone. Across from him sat his brother, Zack.
Confused, Zack looked around. “Where are we? This almost looks like the place Dad took us camping last year.”
Eric stood up. “How did we get here? This is weird.” Tucking the tips of his fingers in the back pockets of his denim pants, he looked around.
Zack remained seated and nervously cracked his knuckles. “Last thing I remember is going to bed. Who brought us here? How did we not wake up? Did someone drug us?”
Eric moved to Zack’s side of the table and sat down nervously. “I don’t know, but this is creeping me out.”
A crow flew over to the table and landed several inches from the boys. They looked down at the bird in confusion. Eric reached out and waved his hand at the bird. “Go away!”
The next moment, the bird vanished, and a voice said, “Zack, Eric…”
The boys twirled around in their seats and looked at their father.
“Dad!” they cried out.
“I’ve missed you.” Clay smiled at his sons.
Zack began shaking his head. “No. You’re dead. You can’t be here.” He looked at where the crow had been seconds earlier. “No, crows don’t disappear. This is a dream. I’m dreaming.”
“This isn’t a regular dream,” Eric said.
Zack looked at his brother. “You aren’t really here. This is all a dream.”
“No. While Eric is right, this isn’t a regular dream, you’re right too. I’m dead, but I’m really here, with both of you. I need to talk to you.” Clay moved around the table and sat down, facing his sons.
“Okay,” Zack said, stubbornly crossing his arms across his chest. “I might as well enjoy this dream.”
Clay smiled at his son. “Good. But I need you to pay attention.”
“If you’re really here, can I ask you some questions?” Eric asked.
Clay nodded. “Go ahead.”
“The police chief said you weren’t hired to take over his job. You were just replacing him while he was recovering from surgery.”
Clay nodded again. “True.”
Zack shook his head. “See. You aren’t here. Because that’s a lie. You told us you were replacing him.”
“I exaggerated,” Clay said. “I love you both. But I did some bad things during my life. Things I regret. But what I regret most is setting a poor example. Encouraging you to do things I knew were wrong, like not being upset when you broke into the house and entered the tunnel.”
Zack shook his head. “No. Our dad said we were clever. He was proud of us. I’m only having this dream because Mom made us talk to that stupid police chief.”
“Listen to me, boys. Someday you’ll die. All of us do. And when that time comes, the bad things you do catch up to you. The next place you break into, you might not get caught. The next time you steal something, you could get away with it. I was right, you are clever boys. If you tried, the two of you could do whatever you want. But I’d rather that be something that doesn’t involve breaking the law or hurting people. Someday you’ll die, and you’ll have to be accountable for all the wrongs you committed in this life. And trust me, living the life I lived is not worth it.”
“Are you being punished for what you did?” Eric asked.
“I haven’t yet. That’s why I’m here. I was given this opportunity to reach out to you boys before I move on and face my consequences. I don’t want you to ever be where I am now. Please listen to Police Chief MacDonald. He’s a good man.”
“No, this is a stupid dream!” Zack shouted. It woke him and Eric.
“Oh dang, I had the wildest dream!” Eric said.
“Me too! It was weird. You and Dad were in it.”
Eric looked at his brother. “Tell me about your dream.”