The Obituary Society's Last Stand Read online

  Juniper stretched a fake grin across her face, raising her eyebrows. “Like this?”

  “No. That’s kind of creepy. Don’t do that,” Megan said.

  “But if we don’t look peppy enough they might send us back to class.”

  “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

  Juniper shrugged, then doodled on the cover of her notebook as she glanced around the gym. Pep rallies were a break from the tedium of her regular schedule, and she liked watching everyone bursting with enthusiasm.

  Hannah giggled with Megan, pointing to one of the football players. Then her eyes scanned the crowd, and stopped suddenly.

  “Juniper.” Hannah’s elbow dug into her side, and she spoke out of the corner of her mouth. “Don’t look, but Scamp is totally staring at you. What is his deal?”

  Juniper looked anyway, of course. Levi was across the gym, but his eyes were locked on her. Warmth crept up her neck as he glanced away, looking self-conscious for the briefest of moments. He shoved Brady Duncan, the easy smile landing back on his face.

  “Beats me,” Juniper said.

  “No, really,” Hannah pressed. “What’s going on?”

  “Fine. I think he’s mad at me for something that happened in English,” she said casually, hoping Hannah would leave it alone.

  “That’s not the smolder of anger,” Megan said, grinning. “That’s the anguish of a man in love.”

  “Yeah, right,” Juniper mumbled, aware that now Megan was involved, she wouldn’t hear the end of it. Juniper would never admit it, but Megan’s comment made her insides feel like one of those pompoms convulsing in the air was lodged inside her chest.

  Megan’s smile faded. “Seriously though, Juniper, don’t mess with Scamp. He’s a player.”

  “He’s not a bad guy. He's hot,” Hannah said.

  “You think Coach Warner’s not a bad guy,” Megan said.

  “Gross. I do not have the hots for the coach.” Hannah’s upper lip curled as she smacked Megan.

  “I didn’t mean that,” she said, shoving Hannah back. “You just see the beauty in everyone.” Megan opened her eyes wide, fluttering her lashes. “Including really horrible people that make you run the mile even if you’re not wearing the right shoes.”

  “I still say Scamp’s an okay guy,” Hannah said. “But you’re right. He’s definitely a player. Who knows what he does with Brady and those guys behind the school in the afternoons. Don’t worry about Juniper, though. She’s smart.”

  “Honor-roll-every-quarter smart.” Megan smirked.

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Juniper said without enthusiasm. She didn’t actually feel all that confident herself anymore. Lately it seemed like she had less control over the world around her, and Levi was getting under her skin.

  “He is hot, though,” Megan said. “It might just be worth the risk.”

  Hannah giggled.

  All eyes turned as the head cheerleader picked up the microphone, the clunking noise echoing around the gym. She ruffled a pompom in one hand, her face beaming. Before she could speak Levi was walking toward her, his back slightly bowed, his hands in his pockets. She looked confused, but he stood there waiting until she handed him the mike.

  Juniper’s heart stopped, although she told herself there was no way this had anything to do with her.

  “Hey, Bulldogs,” Levi boomed into the mike. The crowd burst out in wild cheers. He waited a moment, half a grin on his face. “I have an announcement to make.” The room quieted. “I’m sorry to report that our mascot has gone missing.” Whispers filled the bleachers. “No perpetrators have been apprehended at this time. I’m not trying to blame anybody. But keep in mind that we do have a game against our all-time greatest foes, the Wildcats, this very evening.” The room erupted in boos and shouts.

  Levi raised his arms and lowered them, as if to quiet the storm. “Don’t worry, don’t worry. I have an idea. In our audience we have an individual skilled in the art of finding that which is lost.” He sounded like he was announcing a mysterious circus act.

  Hannah and Megan turned to Juniper. Hannah gasped. More and more eyes began turning to Juniper as the room blurred.

  “Junie Ellison, can you come up here?”

  Juniper shook her head. This was not happening. It wasn’t that she was afraid to do her thing. She’d go crazy if she didn’t return the things she found. But she didn’t like being in the spotlight, with everyone’s eyes on her, watching her like she was a freak. Was this Levi’s way of getting back at her for reading his poetry?

  “Come on, Junie,” the playful voice echoed.

  Hannah’s big eyes were full of pity. Megan shrugged one shoulder, indicating that Juniper may as well give in. Hands patted Juniper from all around and voices urged her to get up.

  “Junie, Junie, Junie, Junie,” they chanted.

  Juniper stood slowly. She squeezed past the people on her bench, and watched her feet as she walked the mile down the stairs and across the gymnasium.

  “Junie, Junie, Junie,” the shouts continued.

  She stood next to Levi, her eyes on him as hot as coals. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “Junie, can you help us find our mascot? The big game depends on you. Also, Aaron’s probably getting really hot cooped up somewhere in that suit.” He chuckled.

  Juniper looked around the gym. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she could sit down and never talk to Levi again. Bleachers stretched along both sides, with space underneath where someone could be hidden. Narrow equipment cabinets lined the far wall, probably deep enough to hide a person. But then, he might not be here at all. Little Aaron Tibbits inside that bulldog suit might be in the locker room, or any of the janitor’s closets, or the weight room, or the cafeteria for all she knew. If he was hidden anywhere around here, she should be able to find him.

  She took a breath and closed her eyes. Four hundred kids fell silent. She felt for that familiar tugging, that slight electric zing. Nothing. She opened her eyes, panic filling her chest. She looked at Levi, and this time her eyes were pleading. He only looked confused.

  “You can do it, Junie,” he whispered, placing a hand on her arm.

  The concern on his face seemed genuine. If he wasn’t angry with her, then why was he doing this?

  Juniper glanced around the room again. There. Behind the bleachers to her left. She still didn’t feel anything, but that would be the most logical place, because the other side was usually filled with equipment and other junk. It was worth a try.

  She raised her chin and walked purposely to the bleachers, with Levi trailing behind. The gym filled with an excited hum. She crept around the back, her eyes adjusting to the lower light. It was empty.

  What now? Should she go out there and stand in front of hundreds of people and tell them she couldn’t do it? And what about Aaron? Why couldn’t she find him? She couldn’t face any of it.

  She glanced back at Levi, shaking her head, and hurried along the back of the room and out the gymnasium doors.

  She declared to herself right then that whatever kind of relationship she’d had with Levi Scamp, her previous cohort in anti-crime, it was over.

  Chapter 5

  Wayward Soul

  Matilda Bell pulled her faded blue robe tighter around herself and peeked out her upstairs window again. She sighed. The seventeen year old boy was still there, on the porch steps. He sat with his elbows resting on his knees, his head hung, just like she remembered him. His hair was pale and thick, just like it was back then, and his skin was smooth, almost glowing in the moonlight.

  A familiar soft spot somewhere behind the silver cross she wore ached a little as she looked at him. What was she to do? Her father was the pastor back then, and the boy belonged to atheists. She wasn’t allowed to see him. And what if she’d done it anyway? It was like that saying with the bird marrying the fish, and where would they live?

  She sighed again, pulling the curtain closed. Back then, she’d t
hought there would be plenty of chances for her. She was going to go to college and find a nice boy in Lincoln, then start a family. That’s how it was supposed to go, but things didn’t work out that way. Her father became ill. She’d stayed in Auburn, and it was the boy, Andy, who had left. Before she knew it, Matilda had forgotten all of her old plans and become comfortable with her way of life. Going to church, caring for her flowers, and attending the gardening club meetings and the Auburn Ladies’ Society. Then there was Leona. After her divorce, she’d come back home, and the two sisters settled in together, almost like it used to be. She didn’t have to be afraid of growing old alone anymore. It was a pretty good life after all.

  But now here he was, reminding her of long lost dreams, of what might have been. Reminding her of when her whole life was spread out before her like her award-winning roses in summer, and anything was possible.

  It was all because of that darned pond. Matilda didn’t normally use such language, but she’d seen enough trouble come from that old thing. She cringed, remembering the secrets she kept about what was hidden there, or rather who. Becoming an accessory to murder was definitely never part of the plan. She prayed every day that God would forgive her. She didn’t know if what she and her friends had done was right or wrong, but she had to believe it had been the right thing. All she knew was those two men were doing the devil’s errands here on earth. They had hurt people, had hurt her friends. The Society decided to keep what happened a secret, both times, to protect their friends from any consequences or further pain.

  But that hadn’t worked, had it? Why did nothing ever go according to plan? Matilda liked plans. They were supposed to keep everything in order, let people know what to expect. They were not supposed to unleash long-deceased boyfriends and deposit them on your front steps.

  “Matilda?” Leona’s voice crept in from the hall.

  “Yes?”

  “Is it him again?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Matilda tried to keep her voice even.

  “Oh.” Leona slipped into Matilda’s room and stood by her side, taking a quick peek through the curtain. “Remember how he used to follow you home after church, trying to get you to ride on his motorcycle? Imagine! You on a motorcycle?”

  Matilda raised her chin.

  Leona patted her sister’s arm. “I’m sorry. I’ve been trying so hard to figure out how to send them all back.”

  Matilda turned away from the window. “I know you are. It’s just, this isn’t right, the living brushing shoulders with the dead. I’m sure father would have had a good sermon about this. He would have known what to do.”

  “I’m not sure he would have,” Leona muttered. “Anyway, you don’t need to worry about disappointing him anymore, Matilda. He’s gone.”

  “Hmph.” Matilda shuffled back to bed. “You never know these days, do you?”

  Chapter 6

  The Auburn After-Life Party

  Juniper caught the scent of fudge nut bars before she walked through the back door into Grandma Gladys’s kitchen. As she wiped her feet on the rug, she eyed them resting on the stove-top. Grandma stared out the back window, her brow creased. Juniper had noticed that look on her face a lot lately. Trying to figure out what her grandma had lost was like listening to a phone ring and ring and not being able to answer. Gladys blinked slowly, turning to smile at Juniper.

  “Have a treat, and then you’ll have to be off. The meeting starts in just a few minutes.”

  “But couldn’t I—”

  “June-Bug,” Grandma’s voice was gentle, “your dad would have a fit. You know how he says our society is always dipping our fingers in poison pies. He’s a bit over-dramatic, but he’s your dad and what he says goes.”

  Juniper thought of the time Gladys and all her friends had gotten themselves thrown in jail, and all the meetings during which they had discussed how to exorcise ghosts from the neighborhood. Many would consider those things good reason for parental concern, but Juniper knew it wasn’t just her dad that wanted to keep her from knowing all of that stuff.

  She searched through a drawer, finding a brittle spatula, and began scooping fudge nut bars from the cookie sheet and placing them on a platter.

  Grandma left her preparations and placed a hand on Juniper’s shoulder. “I know what you saw the other day was frightening, but Lila’s okay. We’re going to figure out how to make everything better.” Her voice trailed off at the end.

  “I know, Grandma.” Juniper swiped one of the bars and threw her arms around her grandma before hurrying out of the kitchen. She planned to be at that meeting, but there was no point in coaxing. As much as she wanted to be a part of things, they wouldn’t budge. What was the point of having super powers if nobody would let her use them?

  Okay, so maybe finding lost things wasn’t exactly a super power. Lila sometimes joked it was. Juniper preferred to refer to it as a “quirk,” and she wasn’t the only one who had one. Grandma Gladys had an uncanny way of seeing who a person really was deep down inside, and Mina Fairchild could see the past if you played her the right song. Mina called it a “gift,” but a gift was something that when you opened it, everybody smiled. Not something that made them look at you funny. Of course, to be fair, there were plenty of times what she did made people happy, but people were fickle. What made them grateful one moment made them mistrust you the next.

  Juniper sat crossed legged on the grass, almost out of sight behind a bush, to watch the ladies arrive as she ate her treat. It was like the opening credits of the show, announcing the stellar cast, and she didn’t like to miss it. Betsy Barker came first. Juniper always liked to see what Betsy was wearing, and she didn’t disappoint. Her high-heels clicked loudly on the walk-way, and her large earrings and turquoise beaded necklace jangled. She wore a tight-fitting, red-flowered top, and her hair was piled up as usual. Juniper liked how Betsy did everything big and bold, and she didn’t care about what people thought. Betsy carried a large plate with a cake on it. The cake wore something caramel-colored.

  Betsy didn’t see Juniper as she walked past. Juniper could hear her pounding on the door and tapping her toe as she waited for Grandma to open it.

  Ada flowed past carrying a cake stand filled with delicacies, and Lila trailed behind her with what Juniper guessed was a bowl of coconut-Chex mix, her quick and mostly home-made contribution. Ada looked proud and proper and dainty as usual, and yet she was warm and soft-edged at the same time. She was like a second grandma to Juniper. Lila noticed Juniper and smiled, but it was unusually tight. She jerked her head toward home as if she knew Juniper planned to hang around.

  Ada and Lila walked right in, since Ada and Gladys had been best friends for so long their homes were practically shared property. The meetings at Gladys’s were casual, with everyone walking through the kitchen door. At Ada’s meetings people came to the front, and there were always doilies and cloth napkins. Juniper often went to the meetings at Ada’s when she was smaller, before things got messy.

  Matilda and Leona Bell came next, with offerings that were probably store-bought put in pretty containers. Matilda always intimidated Juniper a little, with the way she stood so straight and her face so serious. She wasn’t so bad, though. She probably had to balance Leona, who was perky and impulsive and friendly. Leona noticed Juniper and waved vigorously.

  Juniper was about to leave her station when she saw Mina Fairchild walking down the sidewalk. As usual, Mina looked a little hesitant, like she might drop her cookies and dash back home at any moment, but she always warmed up after a while. Her cookies were the best, although Juniper wouldn’t dare say it out loud. This time they were little pink macarons. Mina had recently returned from France, and whenever she traveled, she came home and baked up something new to sell at Doug’s Diner and her online shop.

  After Mina was ushered inside and the door closed behind her Juniper walked around to the back of the house. Juniper’s second most useful talent had always been climbing trees, and there just so h
appened to be a tall old maple tree in Grandma’s backyard with limbs that stretched close to a back window.

  Juniper grabbed onto the lowest branch and pulled herself up as she’d done hundreds of times. She clambered upwards until she reached the second story of the house, then shimmied along a long branch that stretched over the porch roof. She dropped down, holding her arms out, her feet scuffling along the rough shingles as she walked upwards to the bedroom window. When she reached it, she grabbed the heavy old window with both hands and jerked upwards. It gave.

  Juniper climbed in and pulled it shut behind her. She sighed, wiping the sweat off her forehead with her arm. It was a relief to be inside. The room was cool and dim, and filled with that old-house scent of well-trodden wood floors and memories and a little bit of water damage. It was the room Juniper always stayed in when she slept overnight at her grandma’s. She used to stay here often. Now it was only once in a while. She missed it. She missed falling asleep to her grandma’s voice as she read to her about the Pokey Little Puppy or a naughty kitten trapped in a goldfish bowl. Juniper ran her fingers over the hand-made lilac quilt as she crept toward the door.

  Juniper dropped to her stomach, her head near the top of the stairs just like when she was little.

  “Is this your mother’s caramel cake recipe?” Gladys asked.

  “Yes it is,” Betsy answered.

  “She gave it to me once years ago,” Gladys said, “but it didn’t turn out quite right.”

  “Are you suggesting she gave it to you wrong?” Betsy asked.

  “No, no,” Gladys said, her tone unconvincing. “But I’d sure like to have a look at yours, to compare them.”

  “I’ll be happy to let you do that, if you write down the recipe for your pie crust.” There was a pause before Betsy spoke again. “Let’s get to the point, ladies,” she said. Betsy always liked to get to the point. “No one wants to say it, but we’re lucky Lila is alive. That mean son-of-a-gun is getting stronger. He’s never jumped into anyone’s skin before. Leona, what does that mean?”