I nodded. “I’ve got it. I know better what to do this time.” I pressed my hand to Brian’s chest and prepared myself, my eyes flitting between the garden gnome that looked like a frolicking fairy and the one that looked like a deranged clown. The choice was clear. “Aunt Tillie says Viola warned her that something was going on. Did she do the same for you?”
Landon was silent a moment, focused on struggling Brian, and then nodded. “I heard her.”
“That’s another bout with ghosts.” I was more amused than worried. “You’re becoming a regular ghost whisperer yourself.”
“I would rather discuss that later. Let’s handle Kelly and figure out how to deal with the Gilmore situation.”
He couldn’t accept the reality that this kept happening to him. He was fine when I was magical. Now that it was happening to him … well … it was too much for him to bear. “Sure.” I paused. “It’s going to be okay.”
He managed a rueful smile. “Isn’t that my line?”
“Yes, but this time you need to hear it.”
“I think you’re right. You can repeat it to me when you’re naked and feeding me bacon in bed later. I’ll likely be more open to hearing it then.”
TWO HOURS LATER, ROSEMARY SAT IN the Overlook’s dining room, staring into space, an untouched cup of tea in front of her. Despite my protestations to the contrary, Landon and Chief Terry had taken Brian into custody. They had enough evidence against him regarding Paisley’s murder to hand the case over to the prosecutor. There was nothing else they could do.
For her part, Rosemary was a morose mess.
“I don’t understand how this happened,” she said, her eyes bouncing between Aunt Tillie and me. She was unnaturally pale, dirt smudging her cheeks. She looked like a completely different person from the one who attacked me at the Whistler office.
“You opened yourself to it,” I explained, looking to the door. Aunt Willa was reportedly on her way, Mom and my aunts waiting for her in the lobby. Apparently they wanted to have a discussion with her before she saw Rosemary.
“But ... I didn’t.”
“You must have,” I insisted. “The shade couldn’t have gotten a foothold inside of you if you didn’t open yourself to her.” I hesitated and then blew out a sigh. “She said that Brian made the request of you.”
“He did, but ... I was trying to make him happy. That’s all I wanted.”
Aunt Tillie stirred. “I think there’s a lesson in there for you.”
“What lesson is that?”
“You need to worry more about yourself and less about others. If someone suggests something that’s likely bad — oh, say like allowing an evil spirit to take you over — perhaps you should put your foot down and say no.”
“I didn’t know it would turn out like this.” Rosemary sounded pathetic. “I just ... wanted to make him happy.”
“I think you wanted to make yourself happy and you thought Brian was the only way you could do it,” I countered, thinking back to what the shade had told me. “You were lonely, abandoned by your mother. She never took proper care of you from what I can tell, and often left you to fend for yourself. You were also oppressed by your grandmother. Brian was your escape.”
“I love him.”
“I’m not sure you ever knew him.”
“We’re engaged.”
I looked to Aunt Tillie, who held out her hands and made a face. “Brian is in jail right now. I’m not sure he won’t be staying there.” I opted for the truth. “He’s ... in big trouble. The smartest thing for you would be to distance yourself from him.”
Rosemary’s mouth dropped open. “But ... we’re in love.”
“Again, I don’t know that you ever met the real Brian. Even if you did, he was never going to be the person you wanted him to be. He only hooked up with you because he thought he could use you against us.”
“I want to believe there was more to him than just a revenge plot and lies.”
“Well, that’s something you’ll have to deal with yourself.” I refused to coddle her. “It’s time you picked a path and struck out on your own. You can be your own person, Rosemary. You don’t have to do what Aunt Willa tells you to do.”
Rather than gain strength from the statement, Rosemary dissolved into tears. “She’s going to be so mad at me.”
Disgust rolled through me, and before I could decide what I wanted to say in response, I heard footsteps on the hardwood floors. I found Aunt Willa standing in the open doorway. She looked stricken.
“What’s happened?” she demanded. “What did you do to my granddaughter?”
I opened my mouth to tell her exactly where she could shove her accusations – we still had days of shade cleanup from the mess Rosemary and Brian had created – but Aunt Tillie placed a hand on my wrist to still me.
“I’ve got this,” she said, flicking her eyes to her half-sister. “Let me do this.”
It was probably a mistake — Aunt Tillie could never be considered gentle — but I was too tired to argue. I nodded and leaned back in my chair.
“I’m going to give it to you straight,” Aunt Tillie said. “Rosemary was possessed by an evil shade. Apparently it was your birth mother, although I never got a chance to talk to her to confirm that. Why she would lie about that is beyond me, but never say never when you’re dealing with evil.
“Rosemary allowed the shade to take her over at Brian’s behest,” she continued. “He willingly embraced his dark side to go after us because he’s a bitter little troll with a pencil eraser for a penis. He’s in jail, likely headed for prison.
“Bay freed both Brian and Rosemary from the shades possessing them. She did this after they both tried to kill her. I
