The phone went silent. I hung up, then made the walk back to my group.


    I tried to convince myself that this was going to be like a real life version of the board game Guess Who? It was a game that I was really good at as a young boy.  All I had to do was eliminate the suspects until only the fake Wyatt remained. That didn’t sound too hard in theory.


    But when I stepped back into the restaurant and surveyed the room, it suddenly felt like an impossible task. Inside, the air felt tight and my hands started to shake uncontrollably. I reached down and shoved them into my pockets, hoping that no one noticed. I had to stay calm because I couldn’t let Wyatt know that I was onto him.


    “Focus, Joe, focus,” I whispered not so confidently to myself. I let out a deep breath, but it didn’t stop my heart from trying to beat out of my chest. A bead of sweat formed on the top of my brow.


    Was this another panic attack? Oh fuck, not now. This was not the time or place for one of these. I suddenly felt small, like a mouse trapped in a room full of hungry cats.


    My chest tightened and each breath became more difficult. Oh god, what the hell was I thinking? This was going to be basically impossible! Unlike the board game, my opponent already knew what he was looking for, probably where I was, and if that wasn’t bad enough, I had no idea how to eliminate any suspects. After all, It wasn’t like he had a giant target above his head.


    I looked to Josiah who remained calm as he stood next to me. At least I had Josiah by my side. That made me feel a little bit safer. I let out a reluctant sigh, then stepped forward into the room.


    If Wyatt was here, maybe the vengeful spirits would show up to out him like they had in the past because that was my only chance to level the playing field. Unfortunately, I had no idea if they’d show up, or even a basic understanding of how they worked.


    The bell at the front of the restaurant dinged softly, announcing a new couple stepping into the lobby. I flinched at the sound, then watched as they were greeted by Marsha, the hostess. I watched as she grabbed two menus, marked something off on her seating chart, and led them to an open table near the window.


    The couple had a ghost by their side, a younger man who appeared to watch over them in the same way Terry''s sister watched over him. There was no way Wyatt would have had a ghost watching over him, so I felt confident knocking them off the list.


    On that note, Marsha was probably safe, too. When I first arrived, before leading me to my booth, she’d asked my opinion on The Office episode “Beach Games.” which I had yet to watch. Talking about the office the day after airing had become sort of a weekly tradition for us. One that I had missed the last few weeks.


    A hand brushed my arm, the touch light but firm, fingers warm as they curled slightly against my skin. The sudden connection, combined with the current panic attack I was suffering from, caused me to flinch and jump back like a startled cat. I yelped like a scared little child.


    I turned to see Lindsey, her eyes were wide with concern.


    “I’m like so sorry! Are you okay?”, she asked apologetically, “I was just trying to get your attention.”


    Asher and Lindsey were standing outside the booth, waiting for me to slide in. I suddenly felt rather stupid.


    “No. I mean yes, sorry.” I took a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts before I continued.


    “Yes, sorry. I’m fine, just a rough phone call. I’m a bit frazzled.”


    “Dude, you sure? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Asher asked.


    I chuckled, which out of context probably seemed a bit weird given my previous mood. I couldn''t help it. Of all the phrases he could have gone with, he picked the ghost one.


    If only it was that simple. I lowered myself into the seat, but my brain refused to settle.


    “Yeah, my cat just died,” I lied. I''m not sure where that lie came from, I didn’t even own a cat. I just needed to get these people off my back and potentially the hell out of this place because there was no point in putting their lives in danger too.


    But before I did that, I had to eliminate them as potential suspects, and I had my doubts about one of them.


    I wanted to ask them flat out if they were a shape shifting demon freak, but that seemed a bit too direct. I took a deep breath, then asked, “So, how did each of you find your way into this group?”


    Simultaneously, five pairs of eyes focused on me. I felt my hands start to shake again. I squeezed them tight under the table.


    “I, uh…” I coughed. “Sorry. Lindsey explained her story, but I was just wondering how the rest of you met,” I clarified.


    One by one, they answered.


    Asher went first. In his own words, he was the ringleader who formed the group. He met Trenton while they were working at the Geek Squad inside our local Best Buy which Trenton confirmed.


    Neither one of them really gave off computer nerd vibes, but given Asher''s over-the-top personality and the way he exaggerated everything, I was already doubting that he was my suspect anyways because there was no way Wyatt would have been that careless. Or at least I assumed as much.


    Trenton picked up from there, telling a quick story about how Asher got fired for uploading inappropriate photos of his rear end onto clients’ computers after “fixing them”.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Asher then asked if I wanted to see the rare Florida shaped birthmark on his right cheek that got him busted.


    I politely declined, but I felt my panic slowly subside as the boys talked.


    Jessica went next. She met Asher in chemistry class, when he stuck a paperclip into an outlet on a dare causing the room to flash with a series of sparks. As the one who dared him to do it, she felt bad about the week of detention he received and decided to get it as well to keep him company.


    So that''s what happened with that charred outlet in Mrs. Cline''s class. I kind of wished I had been there to see that. Either way, I guess detention made for a good location to bond because after that the three of them started to hang out more often.


    SMASH! A large sound echoed from the kitchen, causing the whole table to flinch. I immediately recognized that sound. It was the sound of a pile of ceramic dishes shattering into hundreds of tiny pieces on the floor.


    There was a collective gasp that rolled through the restaurant as the sudden realization hit the rest of the room.


    From the kitchen, Terry’s voice bellowed, “DAMN IT!”


    A moment later, Chuck, one of my fellow bus boys, stumbled out, looking sheepish. He had been working here for a few months and although I liked the guy as a person, he was notoriously clumsy. Honestly, it was a minor miracle that Big Al hadn’t fired him yet.


    He walked backwards through the doors, then tripped over his own feet and fell on his ass. I caught the back of Terry returning to his station as the doors closed and a handful of chuckles rose around the room. Surprisingly, that display calmed my nerves.


    I turned my focus back to the table. “How about you?” I asked the last girl, whose name I still didn’t know. She sat there portraying a nervous energy. There was something about her I just didn’t trust.


    She hesitated. “It’s really not that exciting,” she finally said.


    Jessica smirked. “Bri’s just embarrassed that we met in cheerleading in second grade. We were naive back then.”


    “It was third grade, actually, ” Bri corrected, “and my mom forced me to do it.”


    “Right. Sorry. I just meant that it was a long time ago.”


    Huh. That was a bit of a red flag. I thought about the day I met Murph in third grade and then slowly put Jessica and Bri back up on my mental suspect board.


    I was probably overreacting, but given the situation I was in I couldn''t be too careful.


    Before I had time to fully process that thought, I felt a vibration in my pocket. I pulled out the phone and saw a text from Naomi. She was here.


    I raised my phone, “Sorry guys, I’ll be right back.”


    I took only a handful of steps, then froze.


    The air around me popped. No, that wasn’t quite right, but I didn’t have a better way to explain it. It was like a single kernel of the universe had popped into or rather out of existence. In its place was a single vengeful spirit.


    Then there was another pop. And another. Until dozens of them floated around the restaurant like translucent jellyfish.


    “What the hell was happening,” I whispered as I looked around the room.


    Across the room, I caught sight of Josiah and the ghost who had come in with the older couple. Their faces mimicked mine. Pure confusion. It was hard to tell, but it certainly looked like they saw them too. If they were seeing them like I was, that meant… well I wasn’t really sure what that meant yet to be honest. But it probably meant that I wasn’t just imagining them.


    I exhaled slowly, only just realizing I’d been holding my breath.


    A chill swept through the restaurant and I caught more than one patron reach for a sweater they had brought with them. I embraced the cold, because it meant that I might have a fighting chance.


    In fact, based on the way they were facing, I knew where the son of a bitch was hiding.


    I moved toward the kitchen, then peered through the small gap between the doors. Two line cooks worked their stations while Terry scrubbed dishes at the sink.


    Except…


    “Where’s Sally Anne?” I whispered.


    I had a sudden grimm realization. That wasn’t Terry.


    One by one, four of the spirits drifted toward him, circling like dogs waiting for a treat to be thrown their way.


    I felt a knot form in my stomach. Terry never got mad. Not once in all the years we worked together.


    I rewound the night in my head, back to when the plates crashed. I heard Chuck yell “Corner!”, a phrase we were taught to use when blindly coming into or out of the kitchen right before the pile toppled. The real Terry would have known that and moved out of the way.


    Wyatt wouldn’t.


    What if Wyatt was watching me, trying to get a peek through this crack, and Chuck ran straight into him? That would explain why it was so easy to hear him yell, and why Chuck would have stumbled out of the doorway like that.


    If that was the case, then where the hell was the real Terry?


    My blood simmered at the thought of my friend locked away somewhere, or worse. I pushed against the door, ready to storm in. I had no plan, no logic, I was just going to walk in there and punch the old man..


    Then a voice in my head whispered, Stop.


    I pulled back.


    At that moment, the lobby bell chimed and Naomi stepped inside.


    She looked different.


    Instead of her usual crisp business suit I had seen her in every other encounter, she wore black athletic shorts and an old, shredded t-shirt that looked like a chew toy in a past life. Her hair was a mess. She must have left in a hurry.


    An idea sparked in my head. Possibly stupid. No, a definitely stupid idea. But if it worked, it would be a game changer for me.


    I glanced over to my table, then back to Naomi, catching sight of a concealed bulge in the back of her shorts, right around her waist band. At least she took the time to grab her weapon.


    There was the conversation Wyatt and Dr. Klanderman had when they thought I was an eloper. Wyatt knew who she was and told them to take care of her. I had no idea if he knew what she looked like, but I couldn’t take that chance. That meant I had to get her out of here quickly.


    I walked over. “Boy, are you okay? Who''s here?” she asked nervously.


    The sudden realization hit me that I still hadn''t fully explained Wyatt to her. “I can’t explain. It’s complicated,” I said. I had no time to explain the whole shape shifter thing. “For now, I need you to leave. Go out back. If you see an old man with gray hair and a ragged beard, tail him.”


    She gave me a worried glance, but I cut her off before she could argue. “Please. I need you to trust me,” I said.


    She paused for a moment. A small tear ran down the side of her cheek. She reached up, wiping it away, then reached over and patted me on the head like a small child. I''m not going to lie, that caused a slight ding to my confidence. That was, until I heard the words that followed.


    “You know, you remind me more and more of Alex each day,” she said. With that, she turned and left. Hopefully before Wyatt had noticed.


    I walked back to the table, suddenly more confident than I had ever been. I sat down at the table full of people who I basically just met an hour ago, with a plan that relied on them not being completely full of shit.


    I looked quickly to Josiah, then back to Jessica as a full smile form from ear to ear. With that mischievous smile, I started.


    “So,” I said, “tell me more about this séance.”