“Hi,” I said as I chose to approach.
“Betts, how’s your evening? Here, sit.” Jake patted the trunk on his open side.
“No, thanks, I’m looking for Cliff. Have you seen him?”
“The policeman who found us by the station? You lost him already?” Esther smiled.
“I did.”
“Haven’t seen him, Betts.” Jake squinted and then turned to Esther. “Could you excuse me a minute? I’m going to help Betts track down Cliff.”
“No . . .” I protested.
Jake stood. “It’s fine. I’ll be right back, Esther.”
Jake led the way away from the pretty redhead sitting on the tree trunk. We snaked around two small groups of poets. I hadn’t noticed that the skit had ended until I realized no one was looking toward the stage any longer. One of the groups we’d approached was listening to a woman read a poem; the other was laughing about a shared joke.
“Jake, I didn’t want to take you away.” In fact, I thought his exit from the tree truck was awkward and impolite.
“Betts, what’s up? You look frazzled. Can I help?”
“I look frazzled?” I said.
“Yes.”
“Oh. I didn’t know I looked frazzled.” I took a deep breath and swiped my hand over my hair to try to smooth the pieces that must have come out of my ponytail. “Well, we’ve got a number of ghosts, and I can’t seem to find the one who might be able to give me some answers or help the others.”
Jake blinked. “So you’re not looking for Cliff?”
“No, I am.”
“Why?”
“Because I think he’s looking for me.”
“Oh, okay. There are new ghosts?”
“One. Astin Reagal.”
“Really? Does he know where he died, what happened to him?”
“Not quite yet.”
“That would be valuable information.”
“I know. It might take a little time. Their memories and all.”
A low-level commotion seemed to build around us. For a moment I didn’t know what was happening. It took Jake and I both a second to realize that the crowd was all being drawn toward the stage.
“The skit’s over, right?” I said.
“Yeah.”
“Something else must be going on,” I said before I fell in step with everyone else.
The skit was, in fact, over, but there was another show being played out in front of the stage. The actors were Teddy, Opie, and Vivienne.
Vivienne was yelling at my brother. Teddy was standing and holding Opie behind him, though I could tell Opie wanted to be part of whatever battle was ensuing. Even injured, Teddy would never let a girl fight his battles, though he might have no choice with me. I continued to move toward them.
“You’re such a jerk. You totally deserved what you got,” Vivienne said.
“Back off,” Teddy said. “Just back off.”
“I will not. I have every right to be angry at you. You led me on.”