“Okay,” Noah says. “I see what’s happening here. You’ve both lost your fucking minds.”

“Hey, don’t look at me,” Aiden protests. “This is all Jamie. I still don’t agree, although - I will admit - the more I think about it - the more - well-”

“Wow!” I whip around to glare at him, planting a hand on my hip. “Thank you so much for that incredible display of unwavering support, dude-”

“I do support you, I’m just not convinced that-”

“Okay, okay.” I push a finger over Aiden’s lips and turn back to Noah and Raj. “I’m not saying that’s definitely what happened, okay? All I’m saying is, it’s a possibility we’re overlooking, and… frankly, no one can think of a better reason why Ralph would do this.”

Noah leans a palm on Kent’s kitchen counter, his expression difficult to read. Dark circles bruise the skin around his steel-grey eyes, signs of a terrible night of sleep. I’m starting to worry that it was a mistake to run this idea by him. Aiden and I agreed that any information we have, Noah should have, too, and Raj said the same thing when we asked him, but...

Now I’m wondering if we should have just kept it to ourselves. Noah looks half like he can’t believe I would even suggest this, but also like he’s thinking it over, in spite of himself.

Raj, Aiden, and I give him a moment.

“I don’t buy it,” he finally says.

“You don’t have to,” I tell him. “But it’s the best theory we could come up with.”

“We didn’t have any problems at the house last night,” Raj murmurs, a thumb pressed beneath his chin. “Not one chirp from the security system. You did say that Aiden put the fear in Ralph, so - why would he think he could get away with this, if it was something designed to hurt you?”

“I…” Noah taps his fingers on the countertop, deep in thought. “I don’t know.”

“Look,” Aiden says, “Jamie and I don’t agree on Ralph’s motivations, but overall, we do think that you’re probably safe. You saw the way he ran from Kent’s house after - after what happened, right? Still got that mental image in your head?”

“Yes, burned into my brain for probably the rest of my life.”

“Then just remember that, because even though he did this weird - thing, it’s really unlikely that he’ll do anything else.”

Noah ponders that for a minute, his eyes unfocused, his lip between his teeth.

“I don’t - I don’t like that he knows where I live.”

“It’s unusable knowledge, Noosh.”

“Trust Aiden,” I put in. “If he says you’re not in danger, you probably aren’t. He’s got like a sixth sense about this kind of stuff.” Aiden shoots me a warning look, and I quickly amend: “Um. So to speak.”

“No, that’s true,” Noah says, narrowing his eyes at Aiden. “Swear this guy could always tell a bar fight was gonna break out before it actually did. Every time.”

“The point is,” Aiden says, brushing right past this last comment, “If anything else weird happens, we’ll change tactics. But for now… We think you’re okay.”

Noah sighs, pressing his hands to his face. “Raj.”

“What, man?”

“This is up to you. I’ll stay if that’s okay with you, but have you seriously thought about-”

“Dude!” Raj flings his hands into the air like he's searching for help from the heavens. “We went over this last night like a thousand times.”

“You promised me that you were going to think about it more.”

“I did think about it, and what I think hasn’t changed. Do you want to leave?”

“No, I don’t want to,” Noah groans, leaning his elbows on the counter. “I just - can’t help but feel like I’m dragging you right into the line of fire, and you're the last person I want to do that to, and-”

“You’re not dragging me into anything, alright?” Raj reaches across the countertop to poke Noah’s hand. “Stop making it sound like you’re forcing me into something against my will! That’s not the deal."

“I-”

“Noah!” Raj actually grabs Noah’s hand this time, and Noah finally looks him in the face. “Stop making me say it! What, do you need me to drop some Shakespeare on you?”

“No, no-”

“But if the while I think on thee, dear friend, all losses are restor’d and sorrows end.” Raj breaks off, squinting into the distance. “Shit. What’s the next line? Jamie, look up that sonnet.”

“Which sonnet is it?” I ask, unlocking my phone. Noah wrenches it out of my hand, his cheeks swiftly turning pink.

“Okay! That’s enough of that. Too much, in fact.”

“Stay, or I’m just gonna keep going.” Raj points a threatening finger at him. “I will do an entire show right here. A nonstop twenty-four-hour one-man performance of - I don’t know - A Midsummer Night's Dream. I'll do it, if that’s what it takes. Are we all ready?”

“Should I make some popcorn?” Aiden asks, watching with obvious amusement as Raj draws in a deep breath and stands to his full height. Throws his shoulders back, tosses his dark curls out of his face.

“No, Raj!” Noah now appears to be at equal risk of crying or laughing. “You don’t have to-”

“Now, fair Hippolyta!” Raj booms, his voice suddenly carrying quite powerfully through the kitchen. “Our nuptial hour draws on apace-”

“Oh, my fucking god.” Noah zips around the counter and clamps a hand over Raj’s mouth. “Okay, bro! Stop!”

Raj pushes his hand aside. “Does that mean you’ll stay?”

“Yes, for fuck’s - yes, alright? I’ll stay!”

Raj absolutely beams at Noah, then seizes him into a quick, crushing hug. “That’s my boy!”

The kitchen door opens, and Ellen pokes her head in.

“Hey, bud,” Aiden calls. “What’s up?”

“I heard yelling,” she says, stepping inside. "Is someone mad?"

“We weren’t yelling,” Raj explains. “That’s called projecting, and you have to do it in the theatre, or no one past the front row will hear you.”

Ellen stares up at him.

“Like this?” she bellows, making all of us jump at once.

“Um - no, that - that would be just yelling,” Raj says, clearly trying not to laugh.

“What’s the difference?”

“Well - you-”

“Whoa,” Ellen breathes, her eyes landing on Noah. She pads around the counter to him, her gaze glued to the ink on his arms. “What’s that?” she asks, pointing to one of his tattoos.

“Uh-" Noah glances at me, and I shrug. "That’s an ibex skull," he tells her.

“An ibex? What’s that?”

“It’s a kind of goat.”

“Doesn’t look like any goat I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s a mountain goat, it lives in-”

“What’s that?” Ellen asks, pointing to a tattoo just inside of Noah’s wrist. He opens his mouth to answer, and she keeps going before he can. “A plant? Keep it away from the skeletonizers. Did you draw these yourself? How long do they stay on for?”

Kent pushes the door open, and Ellen spins around. 

“Dad!” she says loudly - so loudly, in fact, that Kent’s head jerks back in surprise. “I’m learning how to project. And can we buy a goat? I want an ibex.”

Kent stares at her, then looks at me for an explanation. Oh, god. I wince, fidgeting with the sleeve of my flannel.

“Um - hey, boss! Didn't know you were home. You’ve met Noah, right? And this is our friend Raj.”

"Nice to meet you," Kent says, with a nod at Raj.

A possible distraction occurs to me, and I jump on it. I almost forgot that there's a dad-to-be in this room.

“Raj is expecting a baby, actually, Kent."

An effective diversion, as it turns out. Kent immediately turns to Raj and fixes him with a warm smile.

“First one?” he asks, reaching for Ellen. She runs to him and twines an arm around his leg.

“Yep.” Raj matches Kent’s smile, but his lip twitches nervously. “Been taking all the classes, and everything, and I’ve helped out taking care of my cousins before, but - yeah, it’s gonna be something new. Can’t believe how quickly it’s coming! I’m - terrified.”

“That’s understandable, but...” Kent smooths a hand over Ellen’s forehead, looking down at her affectionately. “It’ll be the best thing you ever get to do. Take it from me.”

“Dad,” Ellen tries again. “Can we get our own goat?”

“Nope.”

“Can I get arm drawings?”

“N - yes, but only when you’re older.”

“Can I have a goat when I’m older, too?”

“Sure, baby. When you have your own house and I don’t have to take care of it.”

Ellen releases his leg and heads to the kitchen table, where she grabs a pad of paper and some crayons.

“I’m gonna go draw my pet goat!” She marches out of the kitchen, only to poke her head back in a moment later. “Her name is Leaf!”

Ellen disappears again, and Kent turns back to us, clearly trying to contain a smile.

“So. If we’re all finished trying to fill my house with goats and shouting, can I have my kitchen back?”

Raj follows Kent through the door, chatting about due dates and baby care classes, but I snag Noah’s arm before he can leave. He pauses by the door, arching an eyebrow.

“Noah, I know you got mad the last time I offered this, but if you’re ever worried, you can always come back to my place. I don’t think you’ll need to, seriously, and I can tell that you’re happy staying with Raj, but - it’s always there. Back up option. Just in case.”

Noah stares at me, eyes narrowed.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because-” I let out a long, frustrated exhale. “Because, dude, I know this is hard for you to accept, but there are actually a lot of people in Ketterbridge who would be really bummed out if you just up and skipped town. There are other solutions, and - you can talk to us. We can help you make a plan, or whatever. I mean, our plans often dissolve into extremely unfortunate improvisation, and sometimes stuff does catch on fire, yes, but-”

I cut off as Noah pulls me into a two-second, lightning flash hug.

“Thanks,” he murmurs, and then he’s gone. I don’t even really process it until the door swings shut after him.

“Lots of unexpected hugs being thrown around recently,” I tell Aiden, who’s still leaning back against the counter.

“Yeah, wow. He never used to do that. Raj must be rubbing off on him.”

I move back to Aiden and roll up onto the balls of my feet, spreading my hands on his chest for balance. He smiles down at me, tips his face towards mine. We lean our foreheads together, and Aiden traces a thumb over my cheek.

“What now?” I ask.

“Good question. I think we let Ralph sit, like we told Noah to do. In the meantime... didn’t you say that Kasey has an experiment lined up for tonight?”

~~~~

“The candles add a bit of a spooky vibe to the Ghost Office, don’t we think?” Kasey asks, pointing to the tea lights I’ve got set up around the map.

“Yes, I’m aware, but it takes Aiden a minute to make those magic lights, and we’re excited to hear your plan, so can we just-”

“Okay, okay.” She flaps a hand at me. “I'm just saying, it’s all a little - theatrical.”

“If we want theatrical, we should get Raj to do the official ghost summoning. Turns out he’s got the voice for it.”

“What’s the experiment, Kasey?” Aiden asks.

She sits down across from him, shifting into focus mode.

“First we should look at the map. If we can summon Will right now, we don’t need to bother with the experiment. Did you bring everything?”

“Yep, hang on-” Aiden is sitting cross-legged on the floor, but his long arms can reach far enough to grab the backpack from the workbench.

He carefully lays everything out on the unfolded map. The blurry photo of Will in one corner. The watch in the one next to that. The glass jar of graveyard dirt in the corner by my knee. The headstone chip in the corner by Aiden. He leans over the map, one finger pressed to the bridge of the glasses so that they don’t fall off.

A lengthy silence follows.

Aiden reaches out and takes away the headstone chip, then replaces it. He does the same with the dirt, but doesn’t put it back.

“The graveyard dirt isn’t doing anything. Adding it or taking it away doesn’t change what I see.” He sets it aside. “But the good news is, we’ve got a hit with the headstone chip. The map is almost clear enough to read, now.”

We all cast candlelit grins at each other over the map. Yes, it’s a bummer that the graveyard dirt isn’t helpful. The fact that the headstone chip works, though… That means we’re on the right track.

One more piece of Will, and we’re there.

“Okay, team, let’s fucking go!” Kasey shouts.

“Oh, thank god!” I’m yelling, but I don’t care. “I didn’t camp for no reason!”

Aiden laughs happily. Kasey makes an excited grab for his shoulder, then cringes as her hand swipes through him.

“Oh, god. Sorry!”

“It’s okay, didn’t feel it.”

Kasey pauses, looking at her fingers.

“Aiden, when I first became a ghost, I could still taste stuff, sort of, and pick little things up. Jamie could hold me better… it’s like it all faded away over time, though.” She hesitates. “It’s not going to keep fading until I just fade out, is it?”

I don’t expect Aiden to have an answer, but he does, and he sounds sure of himself.

“No, you won’t fade away. All transformations take time. You were still mid-transformation during that. In fact… it might take Will a minute or two to solidify, if we summon him.”

“When we summon him.”

“Right. When we summon him.”

“Okay. That’s a relief.” Kasey sits perfectly still for a moment, then springs to her feet. “Okay, put those fucking candles out. Time for an experiment!”

~~~~

“Hey, Will!” Kasey says, addressing the empty air on Benton Street. “We can’t sit in the road tonight, I’ve got the guys with me. Can you come over here, to the sidewalk?”

Kasey thinks that the Ghost Office is spooky? We’re now outside, in the presence of two ghosts, on a cold, pitch-black night. I shiver and pull my jacket a little closer around myself. “How do you know he can hear you?”

“It’s been three days, he should be back by now. Do you have the stuff, Jamie?”

“The cards you had me make?”

“Yeah, lay them out on the sidewalk.”

“Um-” Aiden glances up and down the street. “Won’t someone see us?”

It looks like we’re the only ones around, but it’s too dark to say for sure.

“That’s why we came this late at night,” Kasey answers. “Although yes, we should probably try to work fast, so - Jamie?”

I drop to a crouch and speedily lay the cards out on the sidewalk. They’re Kasey’s old flashcards from some long-forgotten test prep, but we’ve repurposed them. One phrase on each card.

YES

NO

MAYBE

I DON’T KNOW

SORT OF

IT’S COMPLICATED

“Okay,” Kasey begins. “What we’re doing right now is testing a new system. Will and I have been using one touch for yes, two for no. But touching me two times for no, that’s wasting heat. And… I don’t think that every question has a simple yes or no answer. Once he tapped me three times.” She looks up and speaks to the air again. “Will, could you give me one tap? It would be good to confirm that you’re here before I explain everything.”

There’s a brief silence, and then Kasey smiles. “He’s here.”

“Hey, Will!” Aiden and I both say at the same time.

“Nice to have the whole team together.” Aiden drops to sit on the sidewalk next to me. “So. What’s the plan?”

“I’m going to ask a question, then have Jamie touch the cards, one by one. Will, give me only one tap, and only when we’re on the card with the right answer.”

“Oh, wow, Kase-face. You reinvented the ouija board for the modern ghost.”

Kasey winks at me and turns back to the cards.

“Okay, Will. Let’s do this.”