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Lush arrangements of amaryllis, holly, and mistletoe adorned Lily’s Flower Shop window, greeting George as she stepped off the bus in downtown Horseshoe Bay. The Portland bus didn’t stop any nearer to her house, and she wanted to see the harbor first anyway. She hoisted her backpack onto her shoulders and strode down to the waterfront.
Twinkly lights were strung along the walkway, with wreaths made from evergreen and decorated with red bows hanging on every lamppost. The bay smelled as briny as ever. She inhaled the scent, the brisk air turning her breath into white puffs.
This was the longest George had ever been away from home. Other than day trips to Portland, or visits to her cousins in Ellsworth, she’d never been away from Horseshoe Bay for a week, much less four months. So much had changed since she’d left. But staring out at the bay and the mountains beyond, everything looked exactly the same.
“I don’t want to startle you, but did you know you have a fish hanging from your backpack?”
George spun around, nearly knocking over the person behind her.
When she saw who it was she smirked. “It’s a salmon. They’re pretty popular in Seattle.” She punched their arm lightly. “And it’s a keychain, not an actual fish.”
“I know. Honestly I just didn’t want to startle you.” And with no warning he wrapped his arms around her, backpack and all. George harrumphed but gave in quickly, throwing her arms around her friend.
“OK Ace, I missed you too.” George pushed him away to get a good look at him. His hair had grown long again. He looked a little older, maybe. Wiser, not really. He hadn’t been the same goofy dishwasher she’d first hired for a while now, but he resembled a responsible adult only slightly more than when he and Nancy left town for their first trip. She recognized the blue puffer coat with the rainbow stripes, and the light blue sweater that matched his expressive eyes.
“I’m just happy to see you. How’s Seattle? Any Bigfoot sightings? Is it always raining? How’s Cameron?”
George chuckled. “Seattle is good. Bigfoot is not in fact frolicking through the streets of North Seattle. It rains sometimes but it’s not as cold as it is here. And Cameron’s good—his family went skiing for the holiday so I’m solo on this trip.”
“Aw, that’s a bummer. You didn’t want to go with him?”
“Can you imagine me skiing?”
Ace shook his head. “No, I guess not.”
“Anyway, I want to see my sisters. And you chuckleheads for some reason.” George shrugged and began walking along the waterfront, Ace following beside her.
“How about you, how’s college life?”
Ace winced. “It’s a lot of work. I spend the majority of my time in the library. I knew it would be harder than high school, but I guess I was out of practice.”
“No keggers?” She didn’t wait for a response. “Yeah, pre-law is kicking my ass, too. It’s an accelerated program so it’s wall-to-wall studying and writing.”
A new thought dawned on George. “What about Nancy? Is she not with you?”
“No, she was busy with her latest case, so I came home first to spend time with my parents—Hanukkah started this week. But she’ll be here later, she left a few hours ago.”
“So, you guys still good? Long distance can be tough.” George couldn’t help poking a little. She knew how devoted Ace was to Nancy, but she also knew from experience how tough it was to keep a relationship going, especially when you have different priorities.
Ace tucked his hair behind his ears and sighed. “Being apart is hard, yeah. But we spent all summer together, and we’ve seen each other every weekend we can spare. She even stayed with me for a while when there was a case close by.”
“That sounds cozy.” George knew vaguely about Nancy’s work finding Sin Eaters, but she didn’t know all the details of what happened in which town. She stopped walking when they reached the pier. “You hungry? I’ve been on that bus for hours.”
He seemed hesitant to make a suggestion, finally asking, “Would it be weird going to the Claw?”
George rolled her eyes. “Yeah, it’s weird. But we should go—I think Jesse’s working today.”
“You want me to carry that?” Ace gestured to her backpack.
“I’m good. I’m used to carrying a ton of books around campus.” She adjusted the bag. “Let’s go see what the new owner’s done to the place.”
——————
George and Jesse hugged for a full three minutes—the younger woman having sprinted to greet her sister the moment she appeared at the door. Ace maneuvered George’s bag off her shoulders and laid it in a booth, then bussed Jesse’s tables while the two eldest Fan sisters caught up.
Ace had texted Bess, but it would be a while since she’d just gotten back from a relic scouting trip with Ryan and Red. She needed a little time alone with Addy before joining her friends.
His eyes raked the dining room searching for changes—but the owner had kept it mostly the same as he’d promised. There were a few new kitschy bits of bric-a-brac on the walls, including a sculpture of a disreputable looking pirate with a parrot on his shoulder, but otherwise it looked the same. Other than Jesse, he didn’t recognize any of the waitresses. Ace stopped breathing for a moment when a server carrying plates came out of the kitchen wearing a blue uniform, her ponytail swinging. He shook his head to make sure he was awake. It wasn’t Nancy, just a trick of his imagination.
Peering through the kitchen window, watching the new staff working and joking with each other, Ace felt a thickness form in his throat. It seemed like a million years ago since he was back there washing dishes, stealing fries, and flirting with Nancy at every opportunity. He’d worked there for much longer of course, long before Nancy started two summers ago.
As terrible as Tiffany’s murder was, it set into motion the forming of their crew, and his family for life. Now that he was pursuing his dream of becoming a medical examiner, and living his dream of being with Nancy, it all seemed inevitable.
Everything that happened to them here, every mystery they had to solve, every entity they encountered, every curse that needed breaking—they wouldn’t be where they were now without those experiences. Every single one of the Crew was pursuing their dream (or their destiny). Nonetheless they were bonded forever, and all five of them coming together for the first time in many months was a cause for celebration.
Ace’s reverie was interrupted by the sound of the bell. He immediately recognized the smooth voice of his closest male friend.
“Heyyyy!” Nick barreled toward him with open arms, clapping his friend on the back.
“Good to see you, Nick-er-son,” Ace teased.
“Ahh, don’t you start. You’re lookin’ good, College Man. It suits you.”
“It’s not bad. How about you? How’s life at Swift Enterprises? Invent anything new?”
“Workin’ on a few things. Can’t talk about ‘em, NDA and all. But it’s not boring.” Nick seemed jazzed to be back. He looked older—he’d cropped his hair short, and was sporting a mustache and goatee.
Ace’s eyes scanned the restaurant, confirming Jade wasn’t anywhere to be seen. His eyebrows shot up, tilting his head in a silent question.
“Jade’s in the middle of an important project for Zenzi, so they’re staying in Atlanta for the holiday.” Nick’s expression didn’t give anything else away.
Ace chose his words carefully. “Hopefully that’s OK with you. It does mean we get more of your time.”
“Yeah, it’s OK. We’ve been together 24x7, so having a little time apart’s not a bad thing.” Nick quickly moved on. “And Nancy….”
“She’ll be here soon. And yeah, things are really good. Thanks for your help with the thing in Salem, by the way.”
“Of course. You guys are making pretty good progress with the Sin Eaters.”
“It’s mostly Nancy. We’ve freed a few, but we think there’s a lot more of them.”
“I know Nancy, she won’t rest until she’s freed all of them.”
“You know it.” Ace glanced at his watch. Nancy actually should have arrived by now. He took his phone out of his front pocket. There weren’t any messages from her, and he didn’t want to text while she was driving.
“Is anything wrong?” Nick eyed Ace’s phone.
“No, I don’t think so. Just expecting her any minute. There’s no message so I’m guessing she caught some traffic on Route 1.”
The front door of The Claw slammed open, the bell clattering loudly from the force.
Nancy stood in the doorway, her blue plaid coat open and hanging off her shoulders, her fiery red hair uncharacteristically wild. In her hands she held a large box covered in festive holiday-themed wrapping paper.
Ace stepped toward her. “Nancy, what is it?”
She eyed him mournfully. “We have a problem. I think this thing is…haunted.”
George had emerged from the office where she’d been catching up with her sister, the racket from Nancy’s entrance drawing her out.
“Of course it is. And of course you brought it in here.” George narrowed her eyes. “Sorry I didn’t get you anything, Drew, but it looks like you’ve gotten a present for all of us.”
“Hey, Guys, welcome home!” Bess slipped past Nancy through the doorway, oblivious to the tension in the room.
When no one said anything back, Bess’ eyes darted around the restaurant. It resembled a tableau frozen in time: Nancy gingerly holding the box with a look of remorse, Ace reaching out as if to take it from her, Nick with his hand clapped over his mouth, and George sporting a weary expression, her hands on her hips.
Bess approached Nancy carefully, slowly peeling the top off and peering inside the box. She recognized it as a vintage turntable, sporting a large wooden base covered by a sleek metal surface, and topped with an elegant black turntable and industrial-looking silver needle.
“Is it just haunted? Or is it cursed, too?” Bess asked, suddenly all business.
“Good one, Bess,” Ace said, always supportive of his Platanchor.
“How can you tell?” Nancy doubted they would recognize a cursed object versus a haunted one.
“Haven’t we seen enough haunted objects to know the difference, Drew?”
“No! We have not!” Nancy’s voice rose with agitation.
Bess took on her calmest demeanor. “It’s not that simple, it can be a very subtle difference. Now, Nancy, does it move on its own?”
“Oh it does. It has a power cord, but the turntable starts spinning on its own when it’s not plugged in, and the lights start blinking.”
“Good. Well, not good, actually, but it’s a clue that it’s probably haunted. Next question—does it make any noise?”
“Yeah, I think it was speaking in tongues in the car. I couldn’t figure out what language it was since it was muffled by the box. At one point it was singing, I think, something about ‘sugar’ going down?”
George barked out a laugh. “You bought a haunted turntable that likes Fall Out Boy?”
Bess waved her hand. “Please, George.” She regarded the box Nancy was holding. “Interesting. And how about when you touch it—is there a spark?”
Ace pleaded. “Bess! Don’t ask Nancy to touch it.”
“It’s OK, Ace,” Nancy reassured him. “I don’t plan to touch it again. It absolutely gave off a spark. And kind of a burny smell, like when we encountered the Fire Souls.”
Ace took a step closer. “Why don’t you give it to me…”
Nancy frowned at him. “No! We don’t know what it would do to you.”
“Technically you bought it for him,” George drawled. “I mean, I’m assuming.”
“Nancy, why don’t you bring it into the office so we can discuss this in private,” Bess motioned toward the back of the room, suddenly realizing that customers were watching them carefully.
Nancy glanced around the room, noticing for the first time that the small collection of customers in the restaurant were staring at her with amused interest.
The crew crowded into the office like old times. Jesse was busy helping customers, and the new owner was pretty hands off in the day-to-day running of the restaurant, leaving the messy room free.
Nick closed the door behind them. He crossed his arms impatiently as he watched Nancy carefully place the box on the desk before leaning into Ace, who wrapped his arms around her waist and placed a kiss on her forehead.
Nick eyed the turntable first, then turned his attention to Bess.
“Now, what are our options here? Can we just destroy it?”
Bess shook her head vehemently. “No, that’s too dangerous. We don’t know what it would do, or if it’s even possible.”
“What about the archive boxes?” Ace suggested.
“It might be too big for the ones we managed to save and installed in the UHS. And anyway, we need to know what it is before we can properly store it,” Bess opined as if it was obvious. She plucked a pen from the various items held in a Claw mug on the desk, and poked around the box with it.
“There doesn’t appear to be anything supernatural about the design, no unusual signs or symbols. Did you notice anything strange in the shop, Nancy?”
“I guess I didn’t,” Nancy glanced up at Ace. “I just thought it seemed like the perfect gift for you.”
Ace squeezed her waist affectionately, peering into the box.
He exhaled, his eyes wide. “It’s absolutely perfect- that’s a Thorens TD 125 with a Shure stylus cartridge. But it’s too much, these go for thousands on eBay.”
“I didn’t pay anything like that. I thought I’d scored a find.” Nancy hated that her surprise gift for Ace turned out to be a haunted and possibly cursed object.
“It was a find, alright,” George quipped.
“George, that’s not helpful.” Bess clapped her hands once. “We should get this out of here. I’ll do a little protection spell, and then we can take it back to the UHS.”
Nancy laid a hand on Bess’ shoulder. “No, you shouldn’t have to be responsible for it. If it won’t fit in an archive box, I’ll take it.”
Ace asked, “Where, to Icarus Hall?” He wasn’t eager to stay in the spooky old building. They’d settled on staying together at Ace’s old apartment, which Nick had let Ace keep for the foreseeable future at a drastically reduced price.
“No, no, no. No more bringing haunted objects to Icarus Hall, it’s too dangerous. The spirits are very close there,” Bess stated with finality.
Nick sensed they were spiraling. “Since most of us are staying at my building, why don’t we go back there. We can take turns with it until we figure out what’s haunting it.”
“And how to disarm it,” George added.
“It’s not a bomb,” Bess chided her friend. “But it sounds like the best plan we have.”
—-----------
“So, how did you wind up with the first shift?” George peered at the haunted record player that sat on Nick’s counter, her nose scrunched.
Nick handed her a glass of water. “I offered—I figured Nancy and Ace would want some alone time.”
“I guess babysitting a haunted turntable from the Eighties isn’t the weirdest thing we’ve ever done.”
“Ace said it was from the Seventies. And you don’t have to babysit with me, I know you want to see your sisters and your mom.” Nick was surprised when George followed him to the loft. She hadn’t been in his apartment since they’d broken up. He didn’t mind, but there was a lot still left unsaid between them.
“I caught up with Jesse at The Claw, and Ted and Charlie are both still at school, so I’ve got some time to kill. I’ll see Victoria when I see her.”
Nick frowned in concern. “I thought she was doing better. Are you guys on the outs?”
“She’s alright, I’m just dreading the gazillion questions about school and Seattle and my friends and…”
“Ah, the parental grilling. I know it well. I get the double whammy with both of my parents every damn time I see them. They’re a whole lot closer to me now, so we get semi-regular visits.” Nick loved his parents, but it was a little awkward when they came to visit. Millie and Jade got along just fine, but they didn’t have much in common.
“I bet. They’re awesome, though. Victoria is just exhausting.” George questioned him with a deliberately casual tone, “So, how’s Jade?” She took a sip of water, her expression hidden by the glass.
How were they? “They’re good. The marketing job is going well—so well they couldn’t get away.”
“That sucks.” Her eyes widened at Nick’s expression. “The fact that they couldn’t come, not the job thing,” she added hastily.
Nick chuckled. “I knew what you meant. My job keeps me pretty busy too. I’ve almost got that extractor figured out.”
“That’s amazing, Nancy can test it out for you on one of her Sin Eater cases.”
“She’s definitely interested. Hopefully she’s not going to face another Sinapalooza anytime soon.”
“One would hope. You guys like it in Atlanta?”
“It’s alright. It’s more like home, but I do miss you. I mean, you guys. The whole Crew.” Nick cringed at his slip of the tongue. He really did miss George. Their friendship was important to him, no matter what had gone down between them last year.
George was trying to figure out what to say when the turntable started whirring, the lights built into the front panel of the wooden base flashing on and off as sparks erupted from the needle.
“Whoa, I guess that’s what Nancy was talking about.” Nick leaned in closer to the counter to see if he could discern anything about how it was working, when a woman’s voice emanated from the record-less record player in a sing-songy voice:
“Maybe I think you're cute and funny
Maybe I wanna do what bunnies do with you
If you know what I mean”
Nick jumped back as if he felt a spark on his face. He glanced at George, and just as quickly looked away. George’s mouth hung open as she watched the turntable spinning and flashing, no vinyl record in sight,
“Let's get rich and build our house on a mountain
Making everybody look like ants
From way up there, you and I, you and I”
Sparks flew out from the record player as it spun faster and faster, the wooden base beginning to wobble on the counter.
“Is that thing gonna catch fire?” George examined the room, half expecting to see flames erupting. She wasn’t sure which was worse, the fear or the extreme embarrassment. On second thought, it was definitely the embarrassment.
“I hope not. Whatever’s haunting that thing sure has a twisted sense of humor.” He stole a glance at his ex, anxious to avoid causing her any more embarrassment. He recognized the signs—on the surface she was no different than the usually sardonic George, but he noted the deep frown, and the extra sarcasm she used as a shield.
George read off of her phone in a deadpan voice. “That’s Ingrid Michaelson, according to the Internet.”
“I doubt she’s the entity. But good to know.” Nick messaged the Crew text group,
Nick: the record player likes cutesy folk music. Bess, you have anything yet?
Bess: I JUST STARTED, give me a minute
Ace: sorry Nick, do you want us to come up?
George: I think we can handle it, I hate to interrupt your ‘alone’ time
Bess: ok I think I have something, I’ll be right there
“Well that was easy. We may have a peaceful Christmas after all,” George suggested.
Nick peered at her skeptically. “Since when did one of Bess’s rituals work on the first try?”
They jumped at a loud bang coming from the hallway. Someone seemed to be assaulting Nick’s door from the outside.
“Saved from answering that one at least,” George muttered as Nick opened the door.
Nancy marched into the loft and made a beeline for the counter. Ace appeared behind her, stopping to talk to Nick.
“You knew there was no way she was going to stay away, right?” Ace gave him a resigned pat on the back.
Nancy waved her hand toward them and said, not unkindly, “I heard that. I just hate that anyone’s evening is shot because I inadvertently brought home a haunted object.” She examined the turntable, which had gone silent at their appearance.
“So you’re saying it woke up and did its thing again? I wonder if there’s a pattern in what songs it plays.”
“This time it was You and I.” George held up her phone, displaying the matching song she’d found.
Ace moved to stand behind Nancy, his hands on her shoulders. “Fall Out Boy and Ingrid Michaelson aren’t very similar. At all, really.” He tapped his fingers along her arms as he contemplated the possible connection.
The vintage record player suddenly lit up again, the turntable spinning as the power and volume lights flashed on and off.
“Slow hands
Like sweat dripping down
Our dirty laundry”
George snorted, and was rewarded with an eye roll from Nancy. Bess selected that moment to join them, grimoire in hand. She clapped her hands as the very much unplugged machine sparked, gazing at the whirling turntable like a kid with a new toy on Christmas morning.
“Oh look, it’s doing it!”
“Fingertips puttin' on a show
Got me now and I can't say no
Wanna be with you all alone”
Nancy craned her neck reflexively to peer at Ace, whose cheeks were almost as pink as she suspected hers were. The others eyed them with a collective smirk.
“I think we found the pattern,” George quipped dryly.
“So if it’s playing Niall Horan for us,” Ace began.
“We don’t know that,” Nancy reasoned.
Ace continued, “and George and Nick got You and I,”
“What are you saying, Ace?” George didn’t bother trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.
“That either it likes, um, mood music,” he gulped, “or the entity haunting the turntable is picking specific songs for each, um, situation.”
Bess pondered Ace’s theory. “‘Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down’ could be classified as sensual.”
“Or was that song a warning to Nancy that she was in for something bad?” Ace posited.
George threw up her hands. “I don’t get why it played indie sex music for me and Nick.”
Nick just shook his head. “We don’t know enough yet. But getting back to the real problem at hand, what are we doing about this haunted record player?”
Bess opened up the book, turning to the page she’d read earlier.
“I found a ritual specifically meant to exorcise haunted objects when you want to keep the object intact.”
“Is that really a priority, Bess?” George snarked, still annoyed, and frankly embarrassed, at the implication of the turntable’s selection when she and Nick were alone.
“It’s a gift, maybe even Nancy’s first Hanukkah gift for Ace. Of course we want to preserve it.”
“It’s also a really sweet deck.” Ace gave Nancy’s hand a gentle squeeze. She flashed him a wide grin before turning to their friend.
“So Bess, what do we need for the ritual you so kindly found for us?”
“I’m glad you asked! Ideally we’d find out whose phonograph it originally was to ensure we’re using the right ritual.”
“I’m pretty sure there was something about its history that came with it.”
Nick retrieved a dog-eared index card from the box, which laid on the floor behind the counter.
“It was owned by a DJ whose equipment was sold when he died. No name, but this says he was from Bangor.” He held it up.
Ace whipped out his phone to perform his freakishly speedy search. This one took him under thirty seconds.
“There were only three DJs I found in Bangor who’d be the right age. One is alive and living in Florida, the second is a woman who had a show on local radio. She lives in Winter Harbor now.”
“And the third one?” George asked, impatient.
“Jimmy Weston. He was super popular in the late 70’s and 80’s—he’d play at big parties in Horseshoe Bay every summer. He worked until he was 65, and even spun tunes at his retirement home. That explains his knowledge of music from the 2000s.” Ace sounded impressed. “Looks like he died there three months ago.”
The turntable, which had gone quiet after the last song, started up again, this time with a familiar thrumming beat.
Ace nodded in recognition. “‘Another One Bites the Dust.’ Excellent choice.”
Bess frowned. “Aww, that’s sad.” She glanced down at the grimoire, tracing the words until she found the description of the ritual.
“We’ll need some herbs, I have the ones we need in the car. Oh.” She hesitated. “It says here we’ll need to sing the incantation.”
George scowled. “You want me to sing? I promise, you don’t want to hear that.”
Nancy said in a gentle voice, “We need to help Jimmy move on. He deserves it.”
George reluctantly nodded in agreement. “Sure. Let’s help the dead D.J. Just don’t expect me to sing a solo.” She crossed her arms under her chest with a grim expression. Nancy noticed her stealing glances at Nick, who was busy examining the turntable and making notes.
Nancy approached her friend. “Hey George, there’s something else I wanted to show you.” She raised her eyebrows.
George snorted. “Well that doesn’t sound suspicious.”
“Ha, no, it really isn’t. Just something in Ace’s apartment.” She flashed a look at Ace as she gestured toward the door. He nodded and headed for the exit. George sighed and reluctantly followed them downstairs, leaving Nick and Bess to prepare for the ritual.
George spun around to face Nancy as soon as the door to Apartment 206 was closed.
“What is it? Is there some secret about the ghost who’s haunting that thing you couldn’t tell Bess?”
“No, George, it’s not about the turntable. Bess will figure that out. I just…wanted to check if you were OK.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” George knew she sounded defensive, but she wasn’t ready to admit the feelings rolling around in her head that even she didn’t fully understand.
Ace said quietly, “We just care about you. That ghost has kind of a warped sense of humor.”
“Tell me about it. He was right about one thing, though, you can’t keep those slow hands of yours away from Nancy.” George chuckled—her two friends struggled to keep their hands off each other even before they were together. Ace frowned, but she noticed that he didn’t deny it.
“You just seemed a little upset at the song it played when you were alone.” Nancy said with a knowing look. “With Nick.”
“The one about the bunnies? Yeah, it was kinda awkward —we’ve been just friends for a while.”
“We’ve all got a lot of history.”
“That’s an understatement.” George huffed. “Look—school’s exciting, and I’ve made a few friends. They all grew up with two parents and a Golden Retriever, but they’re nice enough. Still, I don’t know, I feel, untethered. Coming back home, I’m not sure where I belong anymore. Do you guys ever feel that way?”
Ace nodded vigorously. “Yeah, people at school are nice, but I’m older than most of them, and I can’t really bring up the supernatural in casual conversation.”
Nancy shrugged, a sardonic smile on her lips. “Hunting Sin Eaters to free them from an early grave wasn’t part of my original life plan.”
“I’d never even been outside of Maine before. Now I’m crammed into a tiny dorm in a strange city with two Chatty Cathies, and studying every waking hour. Sometimes it feels like I’m studying in my sleep, too.”
Nancy asked, “What about Cameron? Do you get any time together?”
“He’s just as busy as I am. We text more than anything else.”
“I’m sorry, George. We’re always here for you.” Nancy reached out to touch her shoulder.
Ace added, his expression serious, “Well, not here in Horseshoe Bay, but you know what we mean. I’m a FaceTime away.”
“Yeah, I know. But it’s good to be reminded.” George gave him a wry grin, which turned into a grimace when she spied the clock on the microwave over Ace’s shoulder.
“We’d better go upstairs before Bess casts a ritual to get us back, and we wind up body swapped instead.”
Nancy insisted on a group hug, which George submitted to with a minimum of complaining. She may have flung herself across the country, but she still had friends she could count on.
————-
Bess and Nick had retrieved the supplies for the ritual and were busy setting them up on the counter.
“This looks a little different from our last one.” Nick pulled various containers from the tote bag emblazoned with The Claw logo.
“You mean the transmitter we made for Tristan?” Bess
“Huh, no, this is definitely not on that scale. I mean what we did for Nancy last time.”
“Oh, yes. We needed to be creative to help her with the Black Door in Newport. I think this should be fairly straightforward, as long as we’re right about the entity that’s haunting the object. We are, right?” She glanced at the turntable worriedly. It sat quietly on the counter.
“It certainly knows music pretty well.” A little too well—Nick still felt bad about George. Things were maybe a little strained between them, probably because they hadn’t seen each other in a while. But she was still an important part of his life. He wouldn’t want to lose that, ever.
Bess reluctantly agreed. “You’re right. Anyway, who else could it be? I’m extra careful now—I’ve had way less of my rituals go wrong.”
“Way less?”
Bess shrugged. “It’s been ages, really, since something’s gone wrong. Addy’s even been studying up, and helping me refine my technique. You’re not worried, are you?”
The turntable started up, the lights blinking in a mellower pattern than earlier, the music immediately kicking in with five-part harmony backed by a mid-tempo retro surf rock sound.
“Don’t worry baby
Everything will turn out alright”
Bess spread out her hands in delight. “See? Jimmy’s on our side.”
Nick chuckled, defeated. “OK, OK. Hopefully we don’t call out any evil spirits by mistake.”
Bess smiled in understanding. “Miss the old days, huh? No more 80’s Action Hero Nick.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t say that. Jade and I like how normal things are in Atlanta.”
Bess narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure? We had some fun times together.”
“And some scary times. I was worried if I was still built for normal—but it’s been surprisingly enjoyable to have a normal job. Well, as normal as designing supernatural gadgets for Tom Swift can be.”
The door creaked open, the others returning just in time for the ritual. Nick came over to George and placed his hands lightly on her shoulders.
“We good? You’re stuck with me as your friend forever, you know.”
George nodded with a sniff. “I know.” She wrapped him in a hug, ending with a kiss on his cheek. They’d been through way worse together than a cheeky ghost D.J. and survived.
Bess tilted her head with a satisfied grin. “Aww, that’s what I like to see. Are we ready to set Jimmy free?”
Everyone gathered around the counter. Bess handed Nancy a sheet of paper she’d ripped from Nick’s ‘experiments’ notebook.
“Perfect timing. Now, the words we need to sing are right here.” She’d written the incantation for them to follow.
Nancy scanned the lines, memorizing them in seconds. She asked Bess, confused, “But, what do we sing them to?”
Ace read through the words to the ritual, taking a little more time than Nancy. He peered thoughtfully at Bess.
“I think I know. You’ve got this, Bess.” He handed the sheet to George, Nick reading over her shoulder.
George started humming a melody.
Nancy gasped. “Oh, OK, I know that one. My mom used to play James Taylor’s Greatest Hits around the house all the time.”
Ace shot her a gentle smile and wrapped his arm around her, while Nancy laid her head on his shoulder. Ace kissed the top of her head, his lips soft on her hair.
They all joined in as George began to sing the incantation to the tune of ‘You’ve Got a Friend,’
“Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall
Oh Spirit, please hear the call
And you’ll be there, to take this soul
To meet all his friends”
George kept singing, repeating the last line with a flourish in a surprisingly rich voice.
Nancy and Bess turned to each other, astonished. Odette had certainly sung beautifully in French, but they’d never heard George sing before.
A breeze suddenly whipped around the group, lifting their hair as if there was a minor windstorm in the loft. The large white candles that Bess had carefully arranged on the counter flickered. The turntable whirred again, a gentle piano melody playing as the candles continued to smoke, while the turntable itself thankfully gave off only minimal sparks.
A woman’s voice sang out clear and true,
“So Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road,
Where the dogs of society howl”
“Ha!” George exclaimed. “Jimmy had a pretty good sense of humor.”
The group listened intently as the final strains of Sarah Bareilles’ rendition of the Elton John classic faded out. The turntable slowed down to a complete stop, the lights going out.
Ace whistled, impressed. “He had really good taste.”
Nancy picked up the spell book Bess had used, examining it.
“How old is this? Did they really know about a James Taylor song from the Seventies?”
“This is actually not that old. But maybe it was the other way around?” Bess shrugged
“Technically it’s a Carol King song.” Ace informed them matter of factly. Nick rolled his eyes. Ace added, slightly defensive, “What, she wrote it!”
“Is it done?” Nancy asked Bess.
“I think so. That was just his last goodbye, I think.”
Nick brought his hands together. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m hungry. What do you say to pizza? We can play a few games like old times. I think I still have Cards Against Humanity here somewhere.”
He turned to George. “After you see your sisters, of course. Would you wanna invite them over? I’d love to see them.”
“I know they want to see you too.”
They all made arrangements to meet back at Nick’s in a few hours for pizza and games (the non-haunted kind, of course).
“I’ll check out your now non-haunted turntable, make sure it’s safe to use with actual vinyls,” Nick assured Ace.
“Thanks, man. I trust you completely with it.”
George grabbed her backpack. “I’ve gotta go, I’m meeting Ted and Charlie after school.” She was looking forward to hearing about Ted’s latest web project, and Charlie’s latest K-Pop obsession. George felt a little lighter than she had when she’d first arrived as she headed down the stairs to meet the school bus.
Later that night when the crew came back together, George’s sisters fought over who got to hug Nick first. After many hugs, they dug into the pizza Ace and Nancy had picked up on the way back from visiting Carson and Jean.
They spent hours hanging out, mostly in laughter, occasionally in tears. The turntable remained completely silent, the ghost of the DJ appearing to have gone on to peace. As they were breaking up, among the final round of hugs, with Nancy, Bess, and George making plans for the holiday week, Nick pulled Ace aside.
“The turntable is working just fine, if you want to take it downstairs to your place.”
“Sweet. I bet ‘Back in Black’ is gonna sound great on this baby.” Ace gazed at the vintage stereo with excitement, but his eyes were inexorably drawn to the person who’d thought of him as soon as she found it in the antique store. He caught her eye, the corners of his mouth curling into the little smile he always seemed to have whenever he looked at her now.
Nancy beamed back at him, her heart full. If someone had told her a year ago that she’d be home in Horseshoe Bay for the holidays, surrounded by her best friends and forever soulmates, and knowing she was leaving in a few minutes not for her lonely, inherited pile of bricks, but instead racing down one flight to Apartment 206 to spend the night with Ace, she wouldn’t have believed it for a second. She’d have been sure it was another hallucination.
She watched as Ace carefully placed the turntable into its box, and carried it toward her.
“You ready to go?” He inclined his head toward the door.
“Home, with you? Always.”
As much as he wanted to sweep Nancy off her feet and into his bed, Ace couldn’t help taking a minute to remove the turntable from the box and lovingly set it on his desk. Tomorrow he’d hook it up to his speakers, but for now he simply stood back and stared at it proudly for a minute. He turned around to find Nancy right behind him.
“I’m so happy you like your present, even after finding out it was haunted.”
Ace encircled her with his arms and pulled her close. “I’d expect no less from you, if I’m being honest. I love it.”
He lowered his head to press his lips to hers, still feeling the familiar flutter in his stomach when their lips met, and her fingers ruffled his hair.
As they fell more deeply into each other, they didn’t register the sounds coming from the desk at first. Ace finally noticed something, momentarily breaking their kiss to see what was going on.
Nancy followed his gaze, at first just annoyed that he’d stopped kissing her, which she’d been very much enjoying. She spied the now familiar sight of the vintage turntable spinning, still empty of any record.
“Something in the way she moves
Attracts me like no other lover
Something in the way she woos me
I don't want to leave her now”
She beamed up at Ace with a sassy smile.
“Are you sure you didn’t plug it in while I was washing my hands earlier?”
“Definitely not. Something’s a classic Beatles song, but I don’t even own it on vinyl.”
“Well now I know what to get you next.”
“I mean, he’s not wrong.”
“So you like how I woo you?”
He grinned. “Yeah, I do.”
She grinned back. “Ditto.”