Chapter 14: The Willow Lane Clue

“Do you know the name?” I parked at the foot of the steps, grabbed my tools, and got out. Megan shrank blankly in Lisa’s arms, shaking her head after a long while. “I asked, but he never told me.”

Lisa was anxious. “What do we do? There are so many graves here. Megan, think again—any other clues?”

She rifled through her purse, hands trembling, pulling out a packet of tissues but finding nothing useful. Megan couldn’t even look out the window. Her long exhaustion made it hard to focus. She stared, thinking for a long time before saying, “There were lanterns. He took me to his house. I remember two big lanterns, a stage at the entrance, and fish…”

Megan’s words trailed off as if she was grasping at smoke. Lisa squeezed her shoulder, desperate for any thread to follow.

“Megan, not those things. Try to remember his name, or maybe his last name?”

Lisa’s voice broke, raw with worry. Megan flinched again, tears welling up.

“It’s alright, we still have time,” I interrupted Lisa, who was growing more anxious. “I’ll check first. You two wait here.”

I took the shovel and checked the tombstones. Most were too weathered to read. As for the overgrown graves in the back, some tombstones were already ruined. I looked around but didn’t see any grave that stood out, and it was almost noon. I considered whether to just dig one at random—maybe it would help Megan get over it, and her nightmares would stop.

To be honest, I still didn’t quite believe there really was a ghostly lover causing trouble here.

I glanced back at the car, thinking of the kids I had waiting at home. If this was all just a case of trauma, maybe a little closure would do Megan more good than any ritual.