I had no choice.

As much as I wanted to cry over Joe, to wallow in my misery, to pack my things, to leave the Blue Dahlia behind and go cry some more, I left my room and went down the hall toward the room Kelly had chosen. I couldn't leave poor little Sarah Montgomery alone to wander around this house for another hundred years, could I? I had to find out if her brother's spirit was still here, and I needed Kelly to do it.

Besides, it took my mind off dark-haired doctors and fair-haired demons. I was neither a slut nor a recruiter for Satan's evil army, and I was gonna "do unto others" if it killed me.

I sure hoped it didn't.

The upstairs hallway was wide and well-lit, hardwood floors gleaming on either side of a carpeted runner. The hall sconces were shaped like flowers, frosted glass tulip bulbs casting a warm glow on the cream-colored walls. The Blue Dahlia really was a beautiful old house.

Shame everything and everybody here was so whacked out.

A shadow moved at the far end of the hallway, where the corridor branched right.

"Kelly?"

No answer, so I walked closer. "Hello?"

When I reached the corner, I felt a chill that raised goose bumps on my arms. Whether they were caused by a drop in temperature or just the good old-fashioned creeps, I had no idea. Before I could lose my nerve, I stuck my head around the corner, but the hallway was empty.

Way to spook yourself out there, Styx.

I backtracked a few steps to the door of Kelly's room and raised my hand to knock.

"There must be some kind of mistake, Joe." Kelly's voice was muffled through the door, but hearing 'Joe' got my instant attention. "Her room is right down the hall. Go talk to her."

What was Joe doing in Kelly's room? Did they do this often ?

Eavesdropping shamelessly, I lowered my hand and pressed an ear to the door.

"I've got nothing to say to her," I heard Joe say. He still sounded pissed. "Here's the keys to her car." A faint jingle reached my ears. "As soon as my cab gets here, I'm gone."

Kelly was silent for a moment, then, "I'm really sorry it didn't work out for you and Nicki."

Aw, how sweet.

Not.

I knocked a little harder than I might have a few seconds earlier.

"Who is it?"

"Who do you think it is?" I snipped. "The Ghost of Christmas Past?"

There was a pause, and then Kelly opened the door. Joe was standing with his back to me, glaring out the window into the night. He didn't spare me a glance.

"Sorry to break up the party, Kelly, but I need to talk to you." Not wasting any time, I grabbed her by the hand and pulled her out into the hallway. As I did, I heard a noise behind me, like a sigh, and felt something touch my hair.

Spooked, I turned to look, but there was no one there.

No matter. "There was a little girl ghost in my room," I said to Kelly, whispering. "Her name is Sarah." I didn't care to share the news of my latest ghostly encounter with Joe. He'd probably think I was making it up just to get his attention.

It's too late to play the ghost card, Nicki, he'd said. I'm not coming to your rescue anymore.

"Sarah's looking for her brother, Johnny, and she won't go into the Light without him. I need you to look around for Johnny and see if he's here."

Kelly's eyes went wide. For a moment I dared hope that I'd scared her into changing her mind about this spooky old house-that she'd snatch up her suitcase and join me in getting the hell out of there.

"Oh, wow," she breathed.

And I knew we weren't going anywhere.

You girls are bound to each other, two halves of a whole. Peaches's words came back to me, and for the first time actually made some sense. If we were going to send these children into the Light, it looked like we were going to have to work together to do it.

Oy.

"Excuse me," Joe said roughly, shouldering past us. He strode down the hallway toward the stairs. "I'll wait for the cab downstairs."

"Joe." I couldn't help it. It was too hard watching him walk away a second time.

He turned, face like stone. The light from the tulip-shaped bulbs showed the darkness in his eyes all too clearly.

"I didn't kiss Spider." One more shot-I'd take one more shot at fixing things. If I hadn't been all cried out, the waterworks would've started again, so I was glad the well was dry. "Why won't you believe me?"

"Because you seem to make a career out of holding back the truth, Nicki," he said bitterly.

He had me there. Including the truth about my feelings.

"I'm never quite sure where I stand with you, or what's going to happen next," he said. "And I'm tired of trying to read your mind."

It might've been an opening for me to say something dramatic, but I was hardly going to declare my undying love under these circumstances. It would cast a cloud over something that was now crystal clear, at least to me.

"I didn't kiss Spider," I repeated stubbornly. "It wasn't me. You can believe me or not."

"That's the problem, isn't it?" Joe swung his overnight bag over his shoulder, gripping the strap tight with one hand. He shoved his other hand into his pocket. "It's always your way or no way, Nicki. Believe me or don't believe me; accept me as I am or don't accept me at all; don't tell me what to do or what not to do." He shook his head, making a disgusted noise. "There's only so much I can accept in a girlfriend, and you making out with other guys is too much."

I wasn't going to cry-I wasn't. No matter how much it hurt to learn what Joe really thought of me.

"Joe, please don't leave." Kelly's plea surprised me. I'd almost forgotten she was there. "It's late, we're all tired-let's work it out in the morning. Don't go away mad."

Just go away, I thought spitefully, but I didn't mean it, even to myself. I was just angry at him for being so damned stubborn.

Joe quit glaring at me long enough to look at Kelly. His posture softened a little, and I found myself even angrier than before.

Kelly could talk sense to him, but I couldn't?

"I'm scared, Joe." To my complete surprise, Kelly walked to him and laid a hand on his arm. "Something strange is going on in this house, but it's really important for me to stay here tonight. I know you don't understand, but I have my reasons. Please don't leave us here alone."

Well, would you look at that?

Kelly had Joe completely figured out-a nice guy like him could never refuse a direct appeal for help. I couldn't help but wonder how many times she'd pulled that ploy on him when they were married.

The thought made me wanna throw up. Joe and Kelly had a past that up till then I was willing to ignore, mainly because I'd been so busy dealing in the present. But the past was there, nonetheless. If I dwelled on the particulars, it would drive me crazy.

Joe shot me an angry look, but spoke nicely enough to Kelly. "For you, then. I'll stay for you, but I'm leaving in the morning."

I sucked in my breath and held it. He'd said it to hurt me, and had accomplished that, but no way was I gonna play that game.

"Is there an empty bedroom where I can get some sleep?" He was back to ignoring me now. "You can wake me up if you need me."

Huh. She better hope she didn't need him.

"There's another room at the very end of the hall," Kelly said, "just past the staircase." She pointed him in the right direction, and he swung that way, still ignoring me.

The set of his shoulders as he stalked away was enough to discourage any attempt to call him back, so I let him go, fuming.

"You're scared?" I hissed at Kelly, keeping my voice low. "Since when? You've been dying to do a little ghost-busting, and now you get your wish. Joe has no idea what a sucker he is for batted eyebrows."

Kelly gave me a bland look. "I got him to stay, didn't I?"

I did my best to ignore another stab of jealousy.

"You could've done it yourself if you'd handled him right, Nicki. You need to appreciate what makes Joe tick. He's an honest, straightforward guy, and he expects the same in return."

I bit my lip. "Did he expect you to run off and join the Peace Corps?" A bitchy thing to say, I know, but I couldn't help it. I didn't need Kelly's advice on how to deal with Joe-I knew what kind of man he was.

And if I thought about it too much, I'd start crying again.

Kelly was quiet for a minute. "Let's stop this before one of us says something we'll regret. We have better things to do than fight."

"Like what?"

"Like have a seance," she breathed. "Down in the basement. We'll call up Johnny's spirit and send him and his little sister into the Light."

Oh, crap.

Here we go again.

CHAPTER 17.

"No, we're not going to tell Joe. His negative energy could keep Johnny from manifesting." Kelly put three white candles down in the middle of the table; one she'd stolen from the coffee table in the living room, the other two from a shelf on the wall of the basement.

"Manifesting?" Good Lord. "I don't like this, Kelly." I looked around, taking in the brass oil lamps, the purple draperies, the wall of books on the occult. The Blue Dahlia's basement was creepy.

Yet homey in a weird kind of way.

"What are you talking about? This is the perfect spot to hold a seance! I wish Spider was here." She shot me a look. "He'd know more about seances than I do."

I knew what that look meant. "I didn't kiss Spider, dammit! I was with you, down here in the basement, remember?"

"I know." Her tone was noncommittal. She slid the Ouija board aside, making room for the candles.

"What was Joe doing in your room, anyway?" If she wanted to go that route, I could go there, too.

A shrug. "I went after him and talked him into coming inside while he waited for his cab. He said he didn't want to see you, so we went to my room."

"I hope you told him I'd been with you the whole time."

"I tried, but he didn't want to listen. He was convinced he'd seen you kissing Spider."

Kelly wasn't looking at me, and I found her attention to setting up the seance table to be a bit much. She'd already lit the incense burner she'd found on one of the shelves, and was lighting the candles one at a time.

If she was worried about negative energy, she needed to be more worried about the vibes I was putting off.

"Stupid man. Like I'd actually choose a guy like Spider over a guy like him," I muttered angrily.

Kelly straightened. "What's wrong with Spider? I think he's cute."

I rolled my eyes. "There's nothing wrong with Spider, if you like that type, but 'cute' he is not." I was referring to Spider's dubious fascination with spirits, not his looks.

"So you don't want him." Her comment sounded flat to my ears. "He's not good enough for you."

"I want Joe." There. There it was, laid out on the table.

Kelly turned, giving me her full attention for the first time since we'd entered the basement. "You better be careful with Joe's heart, Nicki. Just because I left him doesn't mean I didn't love him."

I somehow managed to keep my mouth shut long enough for her continue.

"I still love him, in fact, but he doesn't love me. He never really did." Her chin quivered, just once. "So you better be careful with him. I don't want to see him hurt."

Time seemed to contract as I stared, focusing on her face, so like my own.

And yet so different.

A clapping began, as though Kelly and I were actors in a play, or a bad soap opera. The Young and the Restless Meets the Addams Family, perhaps.

Bewildered, I looked around, and there-in a shadowy corner of the basement-stood Sammy.

"Go away! Leave us alone!" I reached out, without thinking, to grab Kelly's arm, but my hand found thin air. I looked, and though Kelly was there, standing right beside me, I couldn't touch her. I tried again, and my hand passed right through her arm. As I watched, she turned her attention to the bookshelves as though completely unconcerned-or unaware-of what was going on around her.

"Oh, Nicki, this sisterly bonding thing is so entertaining." Sammy stepped into the light, and my breath caught. Unlike the previous times I'd seen him, now Sammy truly looked the part of the Prince of Darkness. Black and red were the colors he'd chosen-a bloodred silk shirt, unbuttoned to provide a glimpse of rock hard abs; black silk dinner jacket and perfectly creased tuxedo trousers. His blond hair was mussed and his eyes were heavy, yet satisfied, as though he'd just come from a great party.

"Don't worry," Sammy said, "she doesn't see us. She's on a different plane." There was that damned word again. "She thinks she's choosing a book on table rapping or some such nonsense, while you wait patiently, like a sheep, beside her." He chuckled, giving me a wink. "Fucking with time and dimension is only one of the many perks of my job."