Page 9 of Rise of the Melody
“You knew them?” I whispered.
“Oh, yes. Very well.” But he didn’t smile when he said it. I couldn’t place the emotion that tinged his voice.
“Letty, dear,” sang out Aunt Lorna from the back, pulling his attention to the doorway with hanging drapery and beads. “Will you be a love and push the hair from my eyes?”
“Aunt Lorna, we have a visitor,” I said, unable to move.
Seconds later she was pushing through the beads, her gloved hands close to her chest. When her eyes landed on the man, she froze, and I saw true fear there. I knew it. Something was off about him. They stared at one another for a heavy moment before her eyes moved to me and she said, “Go on in the back.” She shoved the hair back with her wrist.
“No, need, Lorna,” said Mr. MacCray. “I’ve met your niece. You’re looking well.” His gaze glided around the shop. “And your business is…suiting.”
She yanked the gloves off without taking her eyes from him, moving behind the register to semi-block me. The door opened with a ring of the bell and two giggling twenty-something girls came in.
“We’re not open yet,” Aunt Lorna called in a jolting voice. “Apologies, loves.”
When Aunt Lorna rushed to the door to shoo them out and flipped the sign to Closed, I knew we had trouble. I eyed my purse under the register where I kept my pepper spray.
She faced the man, arms crossed. “Bryant. I see you’ve brought Stevens with you. I’m not sure what could possibly bring you to New York.” I could see Aunt Lorna didn’t like this man, so I didn’t either.
“Maybe I was craving a good hot dog and pizza,” he said with a chuckle. “No, really. I recently acquired the realty company that manages your home in Shehan. The renters are moving, and it would be good of you to come back, even just for the summer. Get some updates done on it before we try to rent it again.”
Wait a minute. I turned to my aunt. “You still have a house in Shehan?” Shehan, Maine. The island where we’d been living when my parents went missing. I knew I should say ‘died,’ but they never found the bodies.
Aunt Lorna fidgeted and waved a hand impatiently. “Just sell it as-is. I’ve no reason to go back again.”
A harsh look crossed the man’s face and the jaw muscle ticked at his temple. “Don’t be rash. That house was in your family for ages and was passed to you.”
A look of longing quickly passed over Aunt Lorna’s face, but she shook it off. “I don’t care.” I could tell she did care, though. The memories there must have been too painful if she was willing to get rid of it. My gut twisted in sadness for my aunt. And me. We had a family house! Despite everything, the urge to go back and see it was suddenly strong.
“Maybe we could go up for just a little while and fix it up,” I offered. “Rent it again, instead of selling it?”
Her eyes widened in warning. “No. We can’t go there.” She flashed a loaded look at Mr. MacCray and softened her expression at me. “We can’t leave the shop. The summer season is upon us. You know that’s when we make the majority of our money for the year.”
A loud scuttling sound came from the other side of the wall, like something was falling down the stairs on the apartment side. Or…something large wasrunningdown the stairs. Aunt Lorna and I locked surprised gazes. It couldn’t be.
Bang. The main door to the apartments outside.Scuttle. Paws and claws on the sidewalk. Girls screaming. A shout from the Stevens man. The door to the shop barged open as CooShee ran in, immediately going back on his haunches in attack mode, showing his teeth and growling. Holy crap, even I was scared.
Mr. MacCray shouted something in Gaelic and his hand shot up, palm out. I stared in fascinated confusion because I swore I saw some sort of shimmering barrier in the air between him and the dog. I blinked, trying to clear the image.
“Bryant, stop!” Aunt Lorna yelled in a panic.
“A damnedCooShee?” the man yelled back.
There was that word again! “What does CooShee mean?” I yelled but nobody responded.
Outside, the Stevens man was peering through the door, cupping the glass with his hands. He shouted, “Should I come in, boss?” Mr. MacCray shook his head without taking his eyes off the dog.
Aunt Lorna grabbed Mr. MacCray’s arm. “Leave it! Come in the back. We need to talk.” She pulled him and said to me, “Keep the dog in here. And lock the door.”
“Dog?” Mr. MacCray exclaimed.
“CooShee, sit!” I said lamely, then added, “Please.” And slowly, he did, lip still lifted in a snarl. I petted his head and stared at Mr. MacCray until he finally lowered his hand. It wasn’t my imagination. Somethinghadbeen in the air because it fell away when he put his hand down. Fright covered me like a spiked, heavy blanket. What was happening? I clicked the door locked and whipped back around to face them.
“What is CooShee? And what just happened in the air?” I motioned with a trembling arm to where the shimmery thing had been.
Aunt Lorna and the man looked at one another, her with something akin to guilt, him with shock. My stomach tumbled over.
“Really, Lorna?” he said to her. “I’m surprised.”
