Page 31 of The House on Prytania
Jolene hesitated. “Grandmama said to always make sure my house is clean when I leave, in case I don’t come back. And she should know. She’s had to go into some homes to pick out clothes for the deceased, and the stories she could tell you would give you heart palpitations.”
“Besides that being more than a little morbid, I don’t think that’s something you need to worry about.” I took hold of Jolene’s elbow and led her in the direction of her room. “I’ve got it all under control, promise. And Jaxson will drive carefully and make sure you’re wearing your seat belt, all right? Now just skedaddle into your room and put some color on so you can leave.”
She beamed at me. “I do think I might have taught you a thing or two, Nola. Including a new word.”
“Make that two. I said ‘cattywampus’ the other day to describe the proximity of two buildings. I guess I’ve had a good teacher.”
“Well, you’re an excellent student. And after your family leaves and I can reclaim the Barbie head, we’ll work on more lessons. We haven’t gone over workout makeup yet.”
I gently pushed her into the room. “Later,” I said, grabbing hold of the knob and pulling the door shut. “Much,” I added quietly to the closed door.
“I heard that,” Jolene shouted from inside her room.
My laughter was cut off by the shrill ring of the phone sitting on the edge of the teacher’s school desk I’d inherited with the apartment. I grabbed the receiver before it could ring a second time, confetti flying as I lifted it to my ear. “Hello?”
The crackling sound of endless space filled my ear as I strained to hear through the static, anticipating the high-pitched tone ofMelanie’s long-dead grandmother. Instead, I heard a low rumble, something otherworldly. Something between a growl and a laugh.
“Hello?” I repeated, hoping it was just a prank call, even while knowing that no calls, prank or otherwise, could come through a nonfunctioning phone. The sound diminished into a low guttural snarl from a thick-necked beast—worse, somehow, than the initial noise. Like a whispered threat instead of a scream. My hand began to shake enough that I had to hold the phone with both hands.
The sound ended abruptly, as if it had been sucked into the black hole from where it came, and it was replaced by the soft voice of an old woman. “Nola.” I pressed the receiver to my ear to hear better. The background static almost overcame the treacly voice.
“Yes. I’m here.”
“Adele. Adele is—”
The last word faded with a pop. “Adele is what?”
“Heeeeeeerrrrrre.”The word started softly before amplifying at the end, reminding me of the frightening Edison doll found in my aunt Jayne’s inherited house.Thatwas a nightmare I wouldn’t be forgetting anytime soon.
I swallowed. “Okay...” I began, my voice flung out into open space.
“Help... Beau.” This was another voice, the voice of a young woman. More distinct than Grandma Sarah’s. But maybe that’s how it worked on the other side—you’re left with the voice you leave the world with. Yet there was something odd about it, too. I had a strange flash of a memory of a family vacation on the Isle of Palms, and then I was back in my apartment, holding a phone while talking to dead people.
“I’m trying,” I said, hoping I’d understood.
“Help... Beau,” repeated the same voice, followed by another loud popping noise that could have been a word, then “Sunny.”
“Help Beau and Sunny?” I shouted, hearing the dial tone, and just my voice speaking into the receiver. “Hello?” I said, even though I knew no one was there. Maybe I’d been imagining the whole thing.
“Everything all right?” Jaxson asked, glancing at the phone, then back at me.
“Yeah. Everything’s fine.”
“Can I get you a Coke or something? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”
I met his eyes, wanting to laugh. But I only nodded, knowing that if I opened my mouth a wild, maniacal sound would emerge.
As Jaxson headed for the kitchen, I stared at the phone in my hand, and I knew it was unplugged without even looking. I slammed the receiver back into the cradle, the flash of memory clear now. My sister and I used to sit in the shallow surf and talk underwater to see if we could understand each other. That’s the voice I’d just heard. A voice speaking from beneath the waves.Adele.
CHAPTER 11
I sat on the couch in the living room, Mardi sitting on the cushion next to me, his dark, soulful eyes staring up at me with concern. Jaxson placed a glass filled with ice and Coke into my hand. “Thanks.” My hands shook, rattling the ice, so I lowered the glass onto the Cowardly Lion coaster.
I motioned for Jaxson to sit next to me. Keeping my voice down, I said, “Would you mind if I asked you for another favor?”
He didn’t hesitate, which made me like him even more. “Sure, anything.” He put on the serious lawyer face that I always had trouble reconciling with the smattering of freckles on the nose that made him look like a perpetual boy.
“Actually, this is probably more of a favor from your uncle Bernie, if he’s up for it,” I said, referring to his retired-police-detective uncle, who’d played a huge part in discovering the story behind Sunny’s disappearance.
