Counterfactual

20 | ghost story

CHAPTER TWENTY

GHOST STORY

( — a tale in which such elements as ghostly visitations and supernatural intervention are used to further the plot and a chilling, suspenseful atmosphere. )

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          DEEP DOWN, ROWAN KNEW THE PLAN HAD TOO MANY FLAWS TO ACTUALLY WORK OUT. He didn't want to say it out loud, under threat of suffering the common penalty of having Natalia dramatically roll her eyes at him, Joanna discreetly nodding in agreement, and Micah trying to talk him into it, but he suspects they all knew where he stood—hence why he chose to not be a part of it.

          Plus, he has no idea how in the world he'd be able to explain why he was trying to break into the evidence room of the local police station. Natalia had the advantage of being the sheriff's daughter and Micah is dating her, but Rowan and Joanna have always been the underdogs in this plan.

         The strident alarm on Micah's sound of the line nearly makes Rowan go deaf, forcing him to move his phone away from his ear, but the buzzing remains, like a nest of wasps that has found its home there. He's pretty sure some people around him can hear the sirens, as they throw him incredulous looks, and he scowls, lowering the volume of the call.

          It seems to be a recurrent event, actually, with him constantly finding new ways of embarrassing himself in front of college students, most of whom were born more successful than he can ever aspire to be.

          Though it certainly isn't everything, it really is amazing how some extra money can take you far in life. There are exceptions to that and Rowan is more than pleased to have witnessed it, both in and out of Vofield, but it still leaves him a bit uneasy.

          ". . . nice if you had heard anything I just said," Micah complains, when Rowan gains enough courage to place his phone next to his ears again. The alarm has stopped ringing and there's only a slight note of irritation in his voice, not panic, meaning either Natalia got away with it regardless or it had nothing to do with them in the first place. "Are you there?"

          "I could have gone deaf," Rowan complains, "but I'm here. Unfortunately."

          "Yeah, yeah. You also thought you were going to lose your leg back when Chase slammed you with Fox Mulder." Natalia laughs, on his side of the line, a clear indicator everything went according to plan. "This sounds really inappropriate out of context, but I'm pretty sure that's what he had in mind when he named the bat—"

          "Micah," Rowan chimes in, pinching his nose bridge, with his patience already growing thin. "What the hell is going on? Did you get the phone or not?"

          "I'm taking care of it as we speak, meaning the cloning process is on its way." The distinguishable sound of his fingers hitting the keys of a keyboard fills the brief silent pause in the conversation. "That alarm belonged to a car, or something, but Nat didn't get caught. The only problem is that she overheard a conversation and, by the way, you're on speaker."

          "They were looking into Taylor's case," Natalia continues, taking advantage of the beat following Micah's sentence, "and they're still interviewing witnesses and potential suspects. Rowan, my dude, they want to bring you in for questioning." Sweat runs down the nape of Rowan's neck and he nearly drops his phone with the startle, heart racing like a hummingbird. "I don't know what for, but my guess is that it has something to do with that evening at the beach. After all, you didn't know her . . . did you?"