Suddenly Psychic (Glimmer Lake #1)(66)

Val shrugged. “I mean, it’s Mark—he’s Mr. Boy Scout—so okay. It’s not like I don’t trust him.”

“Thank you.” Robin turned and waved at Mark. “Come on over, honey.”

Mark got out of the car and walked over to Val and Monica, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“Look at that,” Val said. “He does exist outside his office.”

“Ha ha,” he said. “I’ll have you know, I already called work and told them I’m taking family leave to help take care of Helen. So whatever you ladies feel like you need to do, I’m here to help.”

Monica smiled. “You’re a good man, Mark Brannon.”

“Thank you.” He turned to Val. “Hmm?”

She crossed her arms. “You’re okay, I guess.”

“I’m giving you space because I can tell already you’re going to have the darkest storyline in the group,” Mark said. “So it’s fine.”

“Darkest storyline…,” she muttered. “Whatever.”

“The idea is that we’re going to go find this cabin, right?” Mark looked around. “The cabin where Helen and Billy used to meet?”

“Yes,” Robin said. “Billy was leading me there a couple of days ago, right before you called me about Grandma Helen falling.” She pointed across the road to the forest. “It’s this way.”

“Are you sure you remember?” Val asked.

“Just follow the creek bed,” Robin said. “It’s isolated, but it’s along the creek.”

They walked up and over the first hill, and Robin was surprised to realize how far she’d traveled with Billy’s ghost without realizing it. They had probably walked nearly a mile before she saw the familiar line of the moss-covered roof.

“There.” She pointed. “I see it.”

“Wow.” Mark huffed a little. “It’s back here, huh?” He stopped and looked toward the lake. “This would have been really remote before the lake came. The old town was in the bottom of the canyon.”

“They probably rode horses,” Robin said. “Grandma Helen told me she rode horses all over the valley when she was a kid, before the dam was built.”

The cabin was sitting in a small clearing of sugar pine trees. Pine needles, branches, and other detritus had gathered on the roof and around the structure, but the roof itself was intact, no small feat in a place where winter snowfall could be so heavy it would collapse a house if it wasn’t removed.

Dense beds of ferns grew from the creek up to the house. Between two trees was a stacked woodpile that had mostly fallen over, and wood planks were nailed over the windows.

“When do you think the last people were up here?” Val walked around the cabin. “I don’t see any cracks. It’s well-built.”

Monica walked to the door and pushed against it. “It’s all boarded up. Did anyone bring a hammer or any tools?”

Mark stepped forward. “See? I’m useful.” He reached into his back pocket and withdrew the multi-tool he always carried. “I don’t have a pry bar…” He unfolded the pliers. “But this should work, especially on rusted nails.”

As Mark and Monica worked on removing the nails from the door and windows, Robin walked over to Val.

“Hey,” she said. “How’re you doing?”

Val shrugged. “I’m okay. Sorry I flipped the other day. Just… Josh is pissing me off.”

“I heard.”

“It’s going to amount to nothing, but while the kids figure that out, it’s letters and emails and phone calls with the county because he’s not paying child support again. And I can’t say anything or I’m the bad guy.” She shook her head. “Add all that to this constant awareness of the things and people around me.”

“Sounds exhausting.”

“It is.” Val’s eyes had circles underneath them. “And you know what? I’m half tempted some days to drive Andy and Jackson over to his house and just drop them off and yell ‘good luck!’ as I drive away. My house would be clean and quiet. I wouldn’t have to yell at anyone about homework. I could cook whatever I wanted for dinner.”

“Sounds nice.”

“Yeah.” She glanced at Robin. “I’d hate it, wouldn’t I?”

“I can’t lie, I start to panic when I think about Emma leaving for college.”

Val groaned and pressed her fingers to her forehead. “I don’t want to think about what we might find in this place,” Val said. “What if it’s scary? What if he was taken here?”

“Want to know the horrible and yet comforting thing about this mystery?”

“What?”

“Nearly everyone involved is already dead.”

Val barked a laugh. “True.”

Robin put an arm around Val’s shoulders. “I need to find out for Helen,” she said. “Thank you for helping.”

“You owe me a dozen.”

“I so do.”

Monica pulled off the last plank from the door and shouted as Mark tossed it across the clearing. “We’re in!”

Robin met Val’s eyes. “You ready?”