Page 74 of Haunting the Deep

Susannah must understand Elijah’s intentions, because she throws aside the covers so he can put me under them. “This shouldn’t happen, right? Getting hurt there shouldn’t mean getting hurt here.”

“She shouldn’t be able to take spoons, either,” Alice says.

Mary pulls at her curls nervously. “Did you get a look at the person who threw you over?”

Elijah tucks the covers over my shoulders, and I curl up.

I rub my hands together for warmth. “No. It happened so fast.”

Elijah paces at the end of the bed, looking pissed off.

“Did the memory spell work?” Susannah asks.

“Only kind of. I was questioning myself and asking the other passengers weird things. And I wanted to remember something but I didn’t know what.”

Susannah sits on the bed next to me. “Do you think your questions somehow angered someone?”

“Maybe? I mean, I did ask Bruce Ismay if it was safe to travel so fast and mentioned all the ice. That could definitely be perceived as a reference to the sinking. Maybe that made someone mad?”

“Hmmm,” Alice says. “Let’s look into Ismay. And what about Myra? Did you see her? Was anyone talking about her?”

I pull the covers a little tighter. “She was there this time, acting just like the rest of them, the way I usually act when I’m there—as if she’s right where she belongs. She was happy and drinking tea with Mrs. Brown like everything was normal in the world.”

“What does it mean that she vanished from here and showed up there?” Mary asks.

“I don’t know. It’s kind of the nature of that place. Everyone’s in some happy fog. Also, I spoke to Mollie, whose last name is Mullin. We should look her up, too. Mollie said it was April thirteenth, and it’s the ninth here. There’s something strange happening there with time.”

“So it’s still before the sinking?” Susannah asks.

“It seems that way.”

“Also, I can’t believe you got to drink tea with Margaret Brown,” Mary says.

I smile at her and yawn.

Elijah stops pacing. “You cannot go back there after what just happened. We cannot risk it. If you fall asleep, I will wake you up every ten minutes.”

“Believe me, I don’t want to go back there, but how long can I realistically go without real sleep? A couple of days?” I say.

“Then we will work faster,” Elijah says, daring me to argue with him.

Alice and Susannah sit on the couch in my living room. Mary has the armchair and I’m on the floor. We’re surrounded by notes, laptops, and research books. Our trunk turned coffee table is brimming with Meriwether snacks.

“Any news from Elijah?” Mary asks.

“Just that he’s still looking.” I pause. “He’s looking, we’re looking. It’s late Sunday afternoon. You guys are going to have to go home soon. I think we need to do something differently. More direct.”

“Like another spell?” Mary asks.

“Our spells have mostly been backfiring on us,” Alice says.

I pause. “I think we need to talk to Redd.”

Mary looks surprised. “Redd?”

“You guys said she’s honest. And she clearly knew something was going to happen before we did. Even if she winds up telling us just some small detail, it would be worth it.”

“Interesting,” Susannah says.