“Not exactly,” Ronan muttered. He wore a look on his face that said he wished Everly hadn’t asked about the principal.
“Spill it,” Ten ordered. “You both know I’m going to find out one way or another.”
Everly sighed. “Okay. Sheesh. I asked Daddy to call Principal Preston because I want to go back to the school and try to speak to Miss Marie. I think she might still be in her old classroom, cut off from everyone else.”
“What do you mean cut off?” Ten asked, his eyes on Ronan.
“That’s news to me. I have no idea what she’s talking about.” Ronan poked Everly in the ribs, eliciting a giggle. “Talk, or we won’t read any books tonight.”
Everly shot Ronan an angry look. “Fine! I’ll read by myself.” She pushed forward off the couch and stomped toward the stairs.
“Why don’t you want to explain what you’re talking about?” Ten asked.
“Because I don’t know how I know about Miss Marie. I know my gift scares you sometimes, Daddy.” Everly walked back to Ten and Ronan, perching on the edge of the coffee table. “Right now, it’s scaring me. Usually I see pictures in my head, but this time, I just know that she’s trapped.”
“Trapped physically, like a bird in a cage? Or trapped by the memory of how she died?” Ten read Everly again and again and couldn’t find the nugget of information telling him about Marie.
“Both, I think, but I don’t know how.”
“I might,” Ronan said. “A few days ago, Jude wondered what happened to the classroom where Miss Fairbanks taught and died. His thought was that the janitors cleaned up the room and class was back on as scheduled, but I can’t help but wonder if there was an outcry against that.”
“What do you mean?” Ten asked.
“I hate to use this as an example, but after recent school tragedies, the entire building is shutdown, and sometimes they’re torn down completely. Parents don’t like the idea of their kids being forced back into an environment that would make them constantly relive the worst day of their lives. People weren’t as sensitive about those sorts of things in the sixties and seventies. So, maybe instead of shutting down the entire school, maybe they closed off that one room?”
Ten’s eyes were on Everly as Ronan spoke. She nibbled her bottom lip and sighed. “Maybe that’s it. I bet the principal would know for sure.” Picking up her bottle of water, she headed for the stairs. “I’m gonna go look at my new books.” Everly trudged up the stairs, looking defeated.
“How else could Marie be trapped in a certain place?” Ronan asked. “Magic?”
Ten nodded. “Think about Trinity O’Connell being in the box for all those years. A binding spell or an attachment spell could have been used. There are a number of ways it could be done by someone else, but it’s possible she’s holding herself prisoner and might not know how to set herself free.”
“Okay, so Everly is right. I need to call the principal.” Ronan pulled out his phone and tapped the contact for Preston. He put the phone on speaker and listened to it ring.
“Hey, Ronan,” Max Preston said. “Gotta say you’re the last person I thought I’d hear from.”
“Yeah, well, there have been a few developments since we saw you last Thursday.”
“Developments with your daughter or with our school coming to yours next week?” There was a note of worry in Preston’s voice.
“With Everly. You’re just going to have to go with me on this one. She thinks Miss Fairbanks’s spirit is somehow trapped in her old classroom. Before we start looking into binding spells or other sorts of magic, I wanted to run this by you first, hoping you’ve got a simpler explanation.”
“Magic is real?” Preston asked, sounding stunned. “Are we talking love potions here or something darker?”
Ronan chuckled. “All of it’s real. Love potions especially. I have a friend who accidentally dosed himself with a Valentine’s Day love potion a few years back with some hilarious but disastrous consequences.”
Ten snorted. He knew Ronan was talking about Dempsey McMillian and Onyx Kerr.
“Sounds like a story I have to hear!” Preston laughed.
Ten looked forward to telling it. “You’re going to be spending a lot of time in Salem,ourSalem, so I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to tell you about all the magical mishaps we’ve had over the years.”
“Wait. Say that again. I’m going to be spending a lot of time inyourSalem? Care to fill me in?” Preston sounded awed.
“I know you’re coming here, but I’m not one hundred percent sure why. I feel like it has to do with your job, and believe me when I say we could use a new principal here. I’m not fond of the one we have now.”Not fondwas an understatement. Principal Donovan wasn’t the biggest fan of rainbow families and was a staunch believer that the kids should be split up for first grade next year.
“Huh,” Max hummed. “I wasn’t going to mention this until the end of the school year, but I’m leaving Salem Elementary in New Hampshire. I interviewed for a job at your daughter’s school a few weeks before the exchange concert and found out on Friday that I’d been hired. I’ll be moving down there over the summer.”
Ten waggled his eyebrows at Ronan. He’d known from the moment he’d met the handsome principal that he was going to end up working here with their kids. He’d made a small mention of it to Ronan, who Ten knew would be unable to keep the news to himself. “Back to Marie Fairbanks. Is there anything else you can tell us about her classroom?”
