"Uh..." Kylie pushed words around her gag reflex, but before the words spilled out, she noted the hand-painted sign hanging over the register.
NO SHOES, NO SHIRT, NO SERVICE. AND UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, NO COLD-HEARTED VAMPIRES.
She glanced at Burnett and back at the sign.
He frowned.
"You need a reading?" the woman asked.
"No." Kylie ignored her desire to heave. "A man just walked in. I thought I knew him."
"Yeah. The bell rang, but I was in the back; when I got here the person had vanished. Probably a spirit. I get them all the time."
Kylie put out her feelers for ghosts. No deadly cold filled the space. And who could blame them? The stench of garlic probably scared them off, too. She eyed the woman again, who Kylie now had down as a complete nutcase. A stupid nutcase if she thought a sign and some garlic would actually keep vampires away.
The woman noticed Kylie's attention to the sign. "Don't be too quick to judge. I see them around here all the time. They have a different smell about them."
"Seriously?" Burnett asked in mock disbelief. "You believe in vampires?"
"You aren't the only non-believers," she said. "But I have proof. The Native Americans drew pictures of them on the cave walls on my grandmother's property."
"Interesting stuff for fairy tales." Burnett glanced at Kylie. "You ready?"
As soon as they walked out, he bit out, "Who the hell did you think you saw?"
She didn't consider keeping it from him. She'd been going to tell him, she just hadn't had the time. "What do you know about Hayden Yates?"
"The new teacher?"
She nodded.
"I personally did an extensive check on all the new employees. Why? Do you think I missed something?"
"I think he gives me bad vibes."
"Bad vibes?" Burnett asked.
Kylie nodded. "And this morning before the sun came up, Della walked me to Holiday's office and we caught him following us." She stopped talking, realizing that wasn't altogether true. "Maybe not exactly following us, but he was walking around. And Hannah insists whoever killed her is close to the camp."
"And that's who you think you saw?"
She nodded.
He frowned. "But Blake, Holiday's ex, has been in the area, too. Hannah could have meant him."
Burnett wanted Blake to be guilty, and Kylie wasn't sure he wasn't, but ... "I know, but I'm just ... Maybe I'm making more out of it than I should."
"Or not." Burnett snatched his phone from his pocket and dialed. "Della," he said into his phone. "Find Hayden Yates at the camp."
"Can I whup his ass, too?" Della's voice echoed from the phone.
"No, don't let him know you're checking on him. I just want to know if he's there. And do it now!"
"I'm already on my way," she smarted back.
The line went silent for a second. "Okay ... I'm at his place, peering though his window. He's reading the paper, sitting on the sofa. You sure you don't want me to kick his ass? Did Kylie tell you we think he was following us?"
"Yes."
"Is that an affirmative on whupping his ass?" Della chuckled.
"No," Burnett said, missing the humor. "Thanks." He hung up and met Kylie's gaze.
"I don't think he could have made it back to the camp in that time," Burnett said.
"I know," Kylie said. "So maybe it wasn't him."
Burnett frowned. "But to be safe, I'll do another rundown on him."
Kylie appreciated that.
"Where the hell did you guys go?" Derek stopped beside them.
"I thought I saw someone." Kylie spotted Holiday moving across the street.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Kylie thought she recognized someone." Burnett motioned for them to cross the street. "We should get back to the camp before the parents start showing up."
Oh, great! Now Kylie had the whole parent issue to deal with.
Holiday looked at her watch. "We'd better hurry."
They moved across the street to get in the car. All five of them.
Yes, five.
Burnett hit the clicker to unlock the doors. Holiday popped in the front seat. Kylie stood by the back door when Hannah leaned in and whispered, "I call window seat."
Hannah, Derek, and Kylie climbed in. As soon as Burnett got settled behind the wheel, his shoulders stiffened and he swung around. The look, the sheer panic in his gaze, told Kylie she wasn't the only one hearing and, more than likely, seeing Hannah.
* * *
Burnett drove in silence, but kept looking back in the rearview mirror. Kylie shivered from the chill of Hannah's presence.
Have you figured out anything else? Kylie spoke in her mind.
Hannah ignored Kylie's question. Instead, she stared at Derek. "He's cute."
"Damn, it's cold in this car." Derek draped his arm around Kylie. The warmth of his arm did feel good, and being this close, close enough to get a good whiff of his natural scent to chase away the scent of garlic, didn't feel so bad, either. And for that reason, she shifted away and cut him a warning look that said, "Don't push your luck."
Sometimes she thought he forgot she wasn't really with him anymore. Not that it wasn't easy for him to forget, with Lucas never hanging around her ...
"You should definitely choose him." Hannah leaned into Kylie's shoulder. The icy feel of her touch caused Kylie's spine to stiffen. "And speaking of romance, the bozo in the front seat better watch himself. If he hurts my sister-"
"I won't," Burnett muttered.
"Won't what?" Holiday and Derek asked at the same time.
"Nothing." Burnett slammed his jaw so tight he had to have cracked a few teeth.
Hannah leaned forward and stared at Burnett in the rearview mirror. The mirror frosted over. "If you break her heart, I swear, I'll neuter you in your sleep."
Burnett's jaw tightened some more. Holiday gaped at the rearview mirror and then stared wide-eyed at Burnett. A second later, she swung around and gave Kylie the befuddled look. "Is it her? Is Hannah here?"
Kylie froze, literally from Hannah's icy presence, but also from not knowing what to say.
When Kylie didn't answer, Holiday stared back at Burnett. "Can you see her? Can you see ghosts? How can you do that?"
"We've got a ghost in the car?" Derek's voice rang a bit high-pitched.
"Had a ghost in the car," Hannah said. Her teary-eyed gaze stared at Holiday, and then she vanished, leaving the saddest of sad moods to fill the car like smoke.