Page 105 of It'll Always Be Her

ChapterTwenty-Four

Bee set a huge bowl of candy in front of her apartment door along with a littleHelp Yourself!sign, then zipped up her hoodie and headed to her car.

Halloween night had arrived underneath a clear sky speckled with bright stars. Though a light wind rocked the ocean’s surface, only a thin veil of fog drifted over the horizon, and the air was cool and crisp. Groups of costumed children bustled over the sidewalks, ringing doorbells and darting into downtown shops with their plastic pumpkins clutched in both hands.

Though Bee experienced a faint pang of remorse that she’d missed handing out candy this year, she knew this was absolutely, without a doubt, her last chance.

If this didn’t work, nothing would.

Never mind that she was still making “this” up as she went along. In all the books she’d read, movies she’d watched, and paranormal investigation shows she’d seen, she didn’t recall anyone, anywhere,ever, actually attempt to move a ghost from one location to another.

It was ridiculous. Outlandish. Bizarre.

But somewhere deep in her bones, where she’d always kept her most fervent wishes, longings, and certainties, Bee knew this was her task to complete.

Captain Marcus had intended to propose to Millicent on Halloween night, so he was lingering at the Gardenia House because he’d never been able to fulfill his promise.

And Millicent, who likely didn’t even know about the proposal, had been hovering around the boardwalk, waiting for him to return from his voyage.

There was only one way to give them both resolution and peace, and all signs had pointed right at Bee as the person who needed to help them. She had to reunite Captain Marcus and Millicent.

Howwas a different matter entirely, but at least she had her goal in place. She’d have to make the rest of it up as she went along. Hopefully, the ghosts would give her a hand.

And with a bit more luck, she’d capture indisputable evidence of them on her cell phone camera, which she would promptly send off to theHex or Hoax?producers—bypassing Clyde Constantine entirely.

If the footage was compelling and shocking enough—and with two ghosts instead of one, Bee expected it would be—then the producers might be willing to change the show’s outcome.

She would also spread the footage around Bliss Cove. Brooke might even be able to convince her grandfather to run a story about it inThe Bliss Cove Times, and once Grace’s high school students got ahold of the video, it would spread like wildfire through all their social media accounts. It might even go viral.

Then the townspeople would realize what a mistake they were making by supporting the closure of both the library and Captain Marcus’s house.

It would be like winning the paranormal lottery. People would come from all over to visit. Bliss Cove might even be featured on other ghost-hunter shows or even legitimate history programs about the founding of California towns.

And with the ghost map and the Spooktacular Festival, Bliss Cove could become the next Salem, Massachusetts, for the whole month of October. Everyone would come to see the Gardenia House.

But good heavens. A lot of pieces had to come together in just the right way to make this all work. And she couldn’t think about what would happen if it failed.

Like the fact that she’d not only lose the house for herself, the library, the town, the books, and Puffalump…but for Captain Marcus too. And he’dbuiltit.

She pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car. All the production vehicles and trucks were gone, though Adam’s trailer was still there, waiting for him to drive it back to LA.

She started up the hill to the library, her gaze sweeping over the massive old mansion, which stood silhouetted against the cloud-laced sky like a sentry. She climbed the steps, stopping to prod the toe of her sneaker into another soft section of the wooden boards. Better have Joe check that out too.

She went inside, where shadows and light cascaded over the hundreds of books lined up like rows of soldiers. The Halloween decorations were still up—the witches swaying on their broomsticks, the ghosts hovering from the ceiling, the paper jack-o’-lanterns grinning from the wall displays.

Puffalump was sleeping on his bed, curled up like a big white croissant, but he opened one eye to blink at her. Bee kissed him between the ears and left him in charge of her purse before she went upstairs to the darkened cupola.

Grayish light shone through the circle of windows, and the telescope was pointed unerringly at the boardwalk. She peered through the eyehole for several minutes but couldn’t make out any sign of Millicent.

Her stomach knotted. Despite her certainty about her role, she could still hear Adam in the back of her mind.There’s no such thing as a haunting. Believing is not in my contract. Of course it’s bullshit.

He’d thought it was ludicrous for her to stay in Bliss Cove because of the ghosts. Maybe it was, but she couldn’t ignore the evidence. The journals, the unfolding story, the sightings, Millicent’s portfolio, the poppy and the pine cone, the Halloween dinner, parties, and planned engagement.

This was meant to happen. And she’d told Adam from the start that she intended to prove him wrong. Now was the time.

When no sign of Millicent appeared on the boardwalk, Bee went back down to the mezzanine. She’d considered asking Destiny for help, but she hadn’t wanted to explain about Adam or to hear her friend say “I told you so.” Besides, the ghosts hadn’t given any indication that Destiny needed to be involved.

“Captain Marcus?” She spoke into the shadowed, dusty air. “If you’re around, I’d appreciate some kind of signal. I’m not really sure what to do. Or how I’m supposed to get Millicent over here. I don’t think she’ll just hop into my car. So if you could—”

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