police or even an investigator. Early this morning he came back. He wasn’t a creepy ghost or anything. He didn’t pop into the shower on me or anything like that. He appeared right when I’d finished dressing. Mom said I shouldn’t go to school today. When I first woke up—that’s when I called you, Jenna—I was still feeling freaked out. Then you said that you’d come and I was so relieved. I was finally hungry and was going to go out to get some breakfast when he appeared at my bedroom door. He thanked me again and said that you and Sam could help.”
Sam smiled at her. “He came back and talked to you in your room and you didn’t scream or pass out? Pretty brave kid.”
Elyssa smiled. “Maybe I’m like you.”
“Maybe you are—and it’s really not so bad,” Jenna told her.
“Should we have known this man?” Sam asked.
“He was from Salem,” Jenna told him. “Five to ten years older than you. Do you remember his name from anything?”
Sam reflected for a moment and then shook his head. “I’m not really sure.”
“He knew you, or about you,” Elyssa said, staring at them both expectantly.
“We should start with the covens and cultists,” Jenna noted. “Though that could be a long list. Seems like new things sprout up here every Halloween.”
“I’ll get Angela working on it back at headquarters,” Sam said. “I’d like to get into the autopsy. I’ll call Jackson, see if Adam Harrison has any sway up here.”
“Adam has sway everywhere,” Jenna assured him.
Adam Harrison, the dignified philanthropist who’d finally organized his little army of psychic researchers into an FBI unit, did seem to have sway everywhere. He was a good man, one who’d made a great deal of money and managed to keep his principles. His son, dead in a car accident in high school, had been one of those special people with an unusual ability. Eventually, Adam had learned that his son was not the only one.
“Excuse me,” Sam told them. “I’m going to make some calls. You know Devin Lyle and Craig Rockwell are from this area, too. We might need some help covering the ground.”
“Good idea,” Jenna said. In all the rush she’d forgotten that her co-agents were also from Salem. Then again, Elyssa’s hysterical call that morning had made her forget everything. “Hopefully, they’re not already on assignment.”
“We’ll see,” Sam said, and headed out to the living room where he could call privately.
Uncle Jamie glanced at his watch. “Susan is due back soon. What are we going to say to her? I can’t encourage a child to lie to her parents, but Susan and Matt will see her locked away in an institution.”
“I’m not a child,” Elyssa reminded them. “Come June, I’ll be both a high school grad and over eighteen.”
“And that means you’ll stop loving and caring for your parents?” Jamie asked.
“Of course not. But Uncle Jamie, they think I’m crazy.”
“It’s going to be fine,” Jenna said. “Your mom knows that you called me, right?”
Elyssa nodded. “I seem to have the gift. My mom doesn’t, so she’ll never understand.”
“Some people never do,” Jenna said. “But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you. So what we’re going to do is this. You’ll say you can’t help but be concerned and worried. And I’ll say that Sam and I have come because we’ve realized just how long it’s been since we’ve been back here, so why not check out this situation for you. How’s that?”
She looked at Jamie and Elyssa.
“Omission in itself can be a lie,” her uncle said. “But, okay, it’s not a lie.”
The admission came just in time, as the doorbell rang. They could hear the door open and Sam’s deep voice as he introduced himself to Susan and Matt Adair, Elyssa’s parents.
“Jenna,” Susan Adair said, hurrying across the room with a huge hug. “Have you had a chance to speak with Elyssa? You’ve explained that, while it’s sad and tragic, poor