Page 78 of Chasing Your Ghost

Riley looked at Ella. “Well?”

The woman lifted an eyebrow. “Do you even have to ask? I’ve been in for the last four weeks.”

Riley smiled and clapped her hands together. “Great. Who’s driving?”

“I’ll take us,” Noah said.

“Before we go,” Ella piped up before anyone could move. “There’s one question we haven’t addressed. If Asher is alive, what or who is blocking me from getting to where his body is?”

Riley’s lips pressed together as a chill ran down her spine. “That’s the million-dollar question.” A lightbulb went off in her brain, and she narrowed her eyes in thought. “But I might have some books that could help us figure it out.”

“Books like the ones your mom threw away?” Chris asked with raised brows, and Riley knew he was probably thinking about how Edith had referred to them as satanic.

She nodded. “The very same.”

21

“Thanks for offering your place up,” Riley said to Ella when she, Noah, and Chris walked into her house the following morning.

After searching for over two hours the previous day and finding nothing at the spot where Asher’s car had been found abandoned on the George Washington Parkway, Riley had been forced to admit she’d overestimated the use of her and Ella’s gifts in finding clues. It turned out that their supernatural abilities didn’t quite make them the bloodhounds she’d hoped they could be.

Sniffing out clues at crime scenes was perhaps best left to the police. And to police dogs, of course.

They’d all returned to Ella’s house after their failure, dejected and quiet, but Riley had insisted that they meet up again the next day after Noah and Chris’s football training. She was sure the books would have something of value in them, and having four sets of eyes was better than one.

“No problem,” Ella replied as she led them into the living room. “My mom and dad are out of town for another few weeks, so we can keep meeting here without any parents interfering.”

Riley nodded. It didn’t seem right that her parents wouldn’t have rushed back after their daughter’s best friend went missing, but she wasn’t about to point that out.

“Asher told me they aren’t around a lot because of their work,” she said instead. “It must get lonely.”

“Not really. I’ve got Archie, and between us, he’s better company than my parents.”

Riley wasn’t sure if she was joking. In fact, she was almost certain that Ella was being serious, but she forced a smile. “Of course he is,” she agreed, leaning down to give the dog in question a tummy rub. “Who wouldn’t prefer this precious boy over other human beings?” she cooed, grinning when Archie started licking her hand.

Chris cleared his throat obnoxiously. “I think you’ll find most girls would pick me over Archie,” he informed them before dropping onto the couch.

“Sure,” Ella said with an exaggerated wink. “Are those the books?” she asked Noah, who’d decided chivalry wasn’t dead and had insisted on carrying the three books inside.

“No. This is my summer reading,” Noah replied in his usual condescending manner when it came to a certain brown-haired girl. Apparently, chivalry was dead when it came to Ella.

Her lips pressed together in an unimpressed frown. “Right. Well, does anyone need anything to eat or drink before we start?”

“Coffee would be greatly appreciated,” Chris said from where he was now lying on the couch with his eyes closed.

“Sounds good,” Noah agreed.

“I’ll help you make it,” Riley told her. “The boys can get started in the meantime.”

Ella nodded but didn’t move toward the kitchen. Instead, she grabbed a bottle of Tylenol from the coffee table and shook two into her hand.

“Isn’t it too early to be popping pills?” Noah asked her with an arched brow.

“Didn’t realize it was a crime to have a headache,” she muttered in response before leaving the room.

Riley followed her into the entrance hall, through a small dining room, and into the kitchen. “Are you okay?” she asked once Ella had poured herself a small glass of water and swallowed the pills.

“Fine.” She grabbed some mugs from the cabinet next to the fridge, not being especially careful as she placed them on the counter. She winced and rubbed at her jaw, massaging it with her pointer and middle fingers.

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