“She’s right,” Kylie said. “That’s what we do. Help each other.”
A tightness filled Della’s chest again. “Okay, here’s to no stupid risks.” Della raised her Diet Coke. As they all clicked cans, Della added, “And to good friends.” She didn’t want to sound too sentimental, but for the life of her, she didn’t know what she would do without her best buddies.
“Now, how do we go about finding out if your uncle is alive?” Miranda asked. “We need a plan.”
Yup, without them she would be lost. Completely lost.
“I think we start by reading the obituary,” Kylie said, still holding the piece of paper.
Della nodded. “Derek also asked me to see if I could find out where he went to school when he died. I’m sure it’s the same place my dad went. I guess I could ask my mom. If she’ll talk to me.”
“Why wouldn’t she talk to you?” Miranda asked.
“She was pretty mad at me when she dropped me off. I’m not sure she said one word to me the whole trip.” The memory of it still sent pain rolling around Della’s chest.
“Yeah, but she’s your mom,” Miranda said. “She can’t stay mad at you forever.”
Della shrugged. She wished she could believe that. Then again, she recalled Holiday saying her mom called about once a week. That meant she cared, even though she didn’t always show it.
“Do you want me to read it now?” Kylie asked, holding up the folded paper.
“Do you think it’s safe?” Della asked, squeezing her soda can. The coolness of the drink felt odd in her hands, reminding her that she still might have a fever. “It almost seemed like the obituary is what got the ghost stirred up before.”
Kylie glanced around the room as if searching for ghosts. “It’s not here now.” Kylie’s words hadn’t completely left her lips when a lone feather came twirling down from the ceiling and landed slowly, eerily, in the center of the table.
“Are you sure?” Miranda asked.
They sat there in silence for a few minutes, waiting for the feather to get up and dance again. When it didn’t, Kylie spoke up in a low voice, as if afraid they weren’t alone. “Jenny’s called me twice to check on you. I think she really likes you for some reason.”
“Why do you act like that surprises you?” Della asked.
Miranda snorted.
Della shot Miranda a go-to-hell look and then went back to watching the feather to make sure it didn’t start moving.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Kylie said. “I just meant she seems to admire you.”
“Poor girl’s confused.” Miranda laughed. “I’m joking,” she said when Della shot her the third-finger salute.
Della sighed and looked back at Kylie. “I like Jenny, too. She … she reminds me of you a little when you first came here.”
“I haven’t changed,” Kylie said.
Both Miranda and Della made faces at Kylie.
“You changed for the better,” Miranda said. “You’re … bolder.”
“Bold is good,” Della said, and they all went back to watching the feather. Finally, Kylie picked up the paper with the obituary. “You ready?”
Della and Miranda nodded.
Kylie started to read. “‘Feng Tsang was lost to us on December 23rd Feng, a dedicated young man, already had his life planned. He was to become a doctor and marry his childhood sweetheart, Jing Chen. Loyal to his family, he walked a path to make his family proud. Now his path leads him another way. Loved by so—’”
“Wait,” Della said. “What did that say? That last sentence.”
Kylie looked at the paper. “‘Now his path leads him another way.’”
Della shook her head. “Isn’t that strange for an obituary?”
“What?” Miranda asked.
“The whole ‘his path led him’ crap. They don’t say he’s dead. It’s as if whoever wrote the obituary knew he wasn’t dead.”
“Do they use the word ‘dead’ in obituaries?” Kylie asked. “It seems harsh.”
“Harsh?” Della shook her head. “They’re dead, why would that be harsh?”
“I think they might say something else, like passed, or gone to meet their maker.”
“Yeah, but they didn’t even use the word ‘passed.’” She sighed. “Just finish reading it.”
Kylie glanced back at the paper. “‘Loved by so many, his presence will be missed by all. Feng left behind his parents, Wei and Xui Tsang, his sisters Miao and Bao Yu Tsang…’”
“Wait,” Della said. “My father only has one sister.”
Kylie shrugged. “I’m just reading what it says.”
Della recalled the picture with four kids that she’d seen in the old photo album.
“Hey, if you think your uncle is a vampire, maybe your aunt is too,” Miranda said.
Was that possible? Della’s mind spun.
Kylie looked down again and started reading where she’d left off. “‘… and his twin brother, Chao Tsang, whose bond with his brother was inseparable.’” Kylie gazed up and frowned, as if knowing the words had been difficult to hear, and then she continued, “‘While gone to us, the person he was will remain in our hearts. A memorial will be held in his honor at Rosemount Funeral Home.’”
“There it is again,” Della said. “‘Gone to us.’ ‘Us’ as if he’s not really gone to everyone.”
Kylie shrugged. “I don’t know. It could just be obituary lingo or just a coincidence.”
Della recalled Burnett saying he didn’t believe in coincidences. Questions ran around her brain like scared mice. Was her uncle really dead? What happened to her dad’s other sister?
But damn! Did Della have another aunt who’d been turned as well? Kylie’s words floated through her head again. His twin brother, Chao Tsang, whose bond with his brother was inseparable.
Her throat tightened as she thought how it would be to lose her sister. Marla was a pain in the butt sometimes, but Della would do anything for her. She could only imagine how hard it had been on her father to lose his twin, especially as a teenager. And what happened to his other sister? The grief must have been immense. It didn’t even matter if that loss had just meant that her uncle, and possibly even her aunt, had been turned and faked their own deaths. The pain would have been the same.