Crystal and I joined them in the dining room, where Michael was giving Erranase a quick summary of what had happened during the day. I could feel myself blushing as Erranase turned to look at me with a wry smile on his lips.

It was decided that Sam would be the one to overpower Zunios once the ghosts confused him, as Sam was the only one they were certain would keep his calm in the presence of the ghosts. I saw Tom screw up his face, and sort of shudder again when that part of the plan was discussed in detail.

Erranase was relatively certain that Zunios, Anubinse and Mardukian would not bring anyone else with them, and Michael concurred with him.

Erranase insisted they must give Zunios a chance to leave peacefully, saying that while Zunios was arrogant and powerful, he could be trusted to keep his word if he would give it-then there would be no need to fight. While Michael felt this was an outside chance, he was prepared to give Erranase a few minutes to try to reason with Zunios.

However, if Zunios didn't agree, and this was what everyone feared would be the case, there would be no time to waste. Sam would give the signal to Henry, and the ghosts would appear and rush toward Zunios. Sam would be able to overpower Zunios for a few moments, and Erranase would help him. If possible, they would just contain him.

No one knew what would need to be done with Anubinse and Mardukian. Michael, Crystal and Tom would do what they had to.

Erranase remained quiet toward the end of the discussion, and it was obvious to me that he was not comfortable with the possible destruction of his friends. He made it clear that he would only help on the condition that it didn't involve him having to them any harm.

Erranase would contact Zunios on Thursday, and arrange for the meeting to take place in the gardens that evening.

And so we would wait.

This was going to be the hard part-behaving as if everything was normal, knowing that in a few days' time, everything in Sam's world could change.

* CHAPTER SIXTEEN *.

'I feel awful leaving you alone again, and on such a miserable day,' said Debs as she picked up her keys the following morning. She'd been asked to fill in at bridge and would be out all day.

'It's fine, really. I've got to catch up on some emails, and besides, the rain might stop later,' I replied. I desperately longed to go for a run to burn off some of my nervous energy.

She looked over her shoulder at me as she put her hand on the doork.n.o.b. 'Is everything alright? I mean, you seem a bit ... unsettled. You haven't had a fight with that charming young man of yours, have you?'

'No, really, I'm fine. I'll see you tonight,' I replied, doing my best to keep the stress out of my voice.

When she was gone, I made myself a coffee and sat down at the computer to check emails. There were new ones from both Mom and Ray ... but there were also several from David. He'd emailed quite a few times actually, but I hadn't read any of his yet. I didn't see the point.

I stared at the screen, trying to remember how I'd felt about David, but it was like trying to recall the details of a vague dream. How ironic it seemed ... I mean, wasn't my current life the one that should feel like a dream-filled with creatures I'd never imagined existed? And yet I'd never felt more alive than I had these past few weeks.

And yet I was booked on a flight back home in just over four weeks. But how could I go? How could I leave this place that made me feel so alive? How could I leave Sam, who meant more to me, after this short time, than David ever had in the two years we'd been together?

But even with time racing past, Sam hadn't mentioned anything. He knew exactly when I was leaving, but hadn't said one word about it. Maybe he wasn't all that concerned. Maybe women were in and out of his life all the time. And of course, since he wouldn't age, any human friends and acquaintances would constantly leave-one way or another. Maybe he was used to just taking it in his stride.

I was still dwelling on his lack of concern about my departure when my phone rang.

'Good morning,' Claire said, in a loud cheerful voice. 'Do you know what day it is?'

'Not your birthday is it?'

'No,' she said, dragging out the word, 'it's Tuesday. And what is Tuesday?'

'Oh ... Ladies Night at that bar?'

'Right. So, do you want to meet me at five-thirty again? I can taste those margaritas already. What's the time? Arggh ... only quarter past ten. Never mind. Oh, and I don't think Steph and Holly can make it tonight so don't stand me up or I might be all on my own!'

How could I say no? Claire was my only real friend here, and had been awfully nice. Even if she did drink a bit too much for my liking, and going to a bar tonight was the last thing I wanted to do, I said yes. After all, Sam hadn't called, and I didn't want to bother him. So, tonight it would be drinks with Claire.

The morning crawled by but by noon the rain stopped so I decided to go for a run.

As I reached the top of the hill near Sam's tree I had the distinct feeling of being watched, but Sam was nowhere to be seen. As I rounded the corner toward the bench, I wondered if Elizabeth was nearby, but there was no sign of her either. I continued down and around the bottom of the gardens and as I headed back up toward Sam's tree the feeling of being watched returned. I slowed to a walk, then stopped near the tree and turned around to see if someone was behind me. There were a few people around-heading to the train station and the like-but no sign of Sam or Elizabeth. And no indication that anyone was paying any particular attention to me.

I started jogging again and tried to shrug off the feeling, picking up speed to settle back into my run. I made it down around the bottom of the gardens again and started back toward the crest of the hill when the feeling of being watched returned even stronger. I looked down and could see the hair on my arms standing straight up.

When I looked up, there was a young girl standing right in front of me. I stopped, dead in my tracks.

'Whoa, where did you come from?' I asked, catching my breath.

'Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you,' she said in a soft, shy voice.

She was tiny-and looked to be no more than ten or eleven. She had long dark hair and big brown eyes, and her skin was tanned. She wore red shorts and a white top, and a pair of sandals that looked to be a few sizes too big. Her toenails were painted bright red-the same colour as her shorts. It struck me as quite an odd outfit for a cold winter morning.

'That's okay,' I said, taking a step back.

She looked down at the ground again, 'Sorry.'

'It's okay, really. Are you ... here by yourself?' I looked around but couldn't see anyone that appeared to be with her.

'Yes. I saw you yesterday-talking to that young girl ... and the old man.'

Yesterday? A young girl and an old man? The only young girl and old man I'd been with lately would be Elizabeth and Henry. Did that mean ... she could see them too?

The realisation must have shown on my face, as she smiled. 'You weren't far from here. You were talking to them just like they were real.'

A shiver ran the length of my whole body. She knew they were ghosts. I quickly scanned the area again but there was no indication that anyone was looking for her.

'Yeah? You saw them too, did you?' I asked.

'Yes, I saw them. You were talking to them ... and it didn't look like you were scared or anything.'

I wasn't entirely sure I liked where this was heading ... but then again, she seemed nice enough. I'm sure I was frowning, and I didn't know what to say to her. I nodded slowly, waiting for her to continue.

'...and I just thought that since you could see them, maybe you could see me too ... and help me,' she said, looking down at the ground as she shuffled her feet.

She was a ghost. That's why she saw Elizabeth and Henry. And why should I be surprised? Counting those three that had been murdered, I'd already seen five ghosts ... so why not a sixth?

'So ... you're a ghost then, are you?' I asked, thinking just how stupid this was going to sound if she wasn't actually a ghost.

'Yes. I mean ... I think so,' she said, smiling-no longer looking shy.

A chill ran down my spine. This was very different from talking to Sam's little sister, and her big teddy bear friend. And even those three that had been murdered-Elizabeth was with me then, and she made me feel safe. But this felt ... uncomfortable.

'You look scared,' she said, taking a step back as if to give me more s.p.a.ce. 'Really, I'm just a little girl. Please don't be afraid.'

She was right, of course. It was the middle of the day, in a public park. There was nothing to fear. And besides, she didn't look scary at all. She really was just a young girl.

'So ... what do you want from me? Why did you approach me?' I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

'I need help. I've tried others, but they didn't see me. It's been awful, wandering around and not being able to talk to anyone.'

I thought about Sam, and wondered if he'd seen her? He could see all the ghosts. And Elizabeth-didn't she seem to know everything that went on around here?

'So, you say you've tried others ... well, what about the girl you saw me talking to yesterday? Have you tried to speak to her?'

'No,' she answered quickly, 'I'm not really interested in talking to other ghosts-they're a bit scary. Besides, there isn't anything they can do to help me. I need someone who can touch things ... who can help me find something.'

I decided that might explain why she hadn't approached Elizabeth, but I still wondered about Sam.

'And what about men? There is one in particular ... he spends a lot of time very near here ... just up the path a bit, near that tree. Have you tried to speak to him? I know he sees ghosts.'

The girl cringed, and replied, 'Oh, I don't talk to men-especially not those un-dead ones ... those vampire thingies. They're the scary ones!'

So, she knew he was a vampire. I'd never thought about whether or not Sam's illusion worked on ghosts. What did he look like to Elizabeth? I'd always just a.s.sumed she saw him the same way I did, but perhaps she saw his translucent skin and red eyes. The thought that she might see him that way made me sad.

The young girl appeared to be getting impatient with me. She took one tentative step toward me, then stopped and flashed a sweet smile.

'Fair enough,' I replied. 'I'd probably be afraid of them too, if I'd met them under different circ.u.mstances. But Elizabeth isn't scary.'

The girl shook her head, and looked down at the ground again. 'No? Well, maybe to you she isn't, but all ghosts are scary to me. I'm afraid of ghosts-always have been. I kept the light on in my bedroom until I was seven, then Mum got me a nightlight that I used ... up until ...'

My heart went out to this poor young girl. She was obviously very frightened, and needed my help.

'So, you want me to help you. What do you want me to do?'

'You'll help me?' she asked, a smile lighting up her face.

'If I can,' I answered tentatively, hoping it was going to be something relatively simple.

'Oh, I knew you'd be the one when I saw you yesterday. Thank you, thank you, thank you.'

'Well, you better tell me what you want before you start thanking me too much-you don't know for sure that I'll be able to do it-whatever it is.'

'You can-it's easy. I just need you to find something for me. And you don't even need to look too hard. I know exactly where it is,' she said.

'Okay, but I don't have a car or anything ... is it close, this thing you want me to find?'

'Yes, it's not far at all. Can we go there, now?' she asked, gesturing for me to follow her.

I thought about Elizabeth, and how eager I would be to help her with anything. So, was this all that different? This was just a young girl who needed my help. And maybe the thing she wanted me to find was the key to her still being here. I remembered how wonderful it had been when Elizabeth had spoken to the three ghosts-watching them as the confusion dissolved from their faces. I'd thought at the time how much I wanted to be able to do the same thing-help ghosts let go. Maybe this was my chance. Maybe I could help this girl. I began to relax, and felt honoured at being selected to help her.

'So, where is this thing you want me to find? And what is it anyway?' I said, resolved to do what I could to help.

'It's not far ... just down here to the right, at the base of that tree ... behind the bushes. You'll have to dig down a little bit.'

I followed her back down the path in the direction I'd just come from. When she stopped, I tentatively stepped into the garden bed she where she indicated. There was a row of p.r.i.c.kly bushes, but just beyond them near the base of the tree was a mulched area. I reached down and felt the ground-it was hard below the thin layer of mulch.

'Are you sure?' I asked, thinking she must have the wrong spot. She hadn't mentioned digging would be involved in this exercise.

'Yes, I'm sure it's the right spot. And it isn't too deep. I thought the ground would still be soft-where it was buried.'

'Was it recent? Or are we talking, like, years ago?' I asked, thinking about the ghosts under the market parking lot. But this girl was wearing modern clothes, and nail polish. Surely, it couldn't have been too long ago.

'No, I don't think it's been long. What month is it now?'

'August,' I said.

'August,' she replied, then after counting the months on her fingers she continued, 'eight months ago then. It happened just after Christmas. The tree was up and there were still some presents underneath it.'

That explained her shorts and sandals. 'Christmas-oh, that's so sad. I'm sorry.'

I started poking around in the ground and had visions of finding a metal box with some precious belongings-photos or jewellery or letters maybe. But there was no way I could dig up anything with my bare hands. I'd have to get a shovel, or maybe a large stick would do. But it wouldn't be easy to do it inconspicuously.

'Are you sure this is the right spot?' I asked again. 'I don't want to go digging up the gardens unless you're sure.'

'Yes, I'm sure. See that branch that hangs down over the path? It's the only one like that. I noticed it, while I stood here watching him bury it.'

'Him? Who is him? And you never did tell me what it is you want me to find.'

'It's a gun-the gun that killed me.'

'Killed? You mean ... you were murdered?'

'Yes. My father shot me, then hid the gun here.'

When the police finally arrived, they looked at me suspiciously. And fair enough, really. I mean, it wasn't like the gun was just lying there and I'd literally tripped over it or anything. I'd dug a hole that was nearly six inches deep before I spotted it. How, they kept asking me, did I know where to look?

I thought about telling them that a ghost had come to me and asked me to dig there. But in the end I went for the slightly less crazy sounding version. I said that I'd had a vision. I explained that I run in the gardens most days, and that this particular day I got a vision of a young girl being shot-and then a man burying the gun here, in the gardens.

They asked me to describe the girl, and that was easy. I was looking right at her. Then they asked me to describe the man, so the girl quickly described him. But I hesitated ... I didn't like the idea of lying to the police so I just said he was a man, but that I couldn't see him clearly. When they asked if I knew the names of these people in my vision, I hesitated again. If I'd had a vision, would I know the names? Somehow I didn't think so, but the young ghost was practically screaming her name at me, so in the end I gave them her name: Rachel.

The police were shaking their heads, and giving me these sideways looks, but the fact was they were in possession of a gun with b.l.o.o.d.y fingerprints on it. They had to treat this seriously.

After an hour of questioning, they let me go, saying they might need me for further questioning later. They'd be in touch if that was the case.