Page 26 of Ghost in the Night

Daddybellows the end of a song, crooning as his guitar rings out a long note. The crowd surrounding the stage hoots and hollers in response, the applause lighting up the room.

“Wow, your pops can really play that thang!” Myah says across the bar table, sipping water. We came to see Daddy’s show before we go on part one of our mission tonight: talking to Asher about the Myers House. Robby wasn’t allowed to come (Lena:“A bar is no place for little boys”), but he’s busy at home doing research. (On what? No clue.)

“Yo, these ribs are fire!” I say through a mouthful of food.

“Nah. My uncle makes the best ribs in the city. These are just okay. You’ll see.”

Daddy bows to the applause and makes his way over to our table in the corner. Clearly we’re sitting VIP since we’re the only two kids in the entire place.

“You sure you got enough food?” Daddy asks, looking over my platter of ribs, mac and cheese, black-eyed peas, and hush puppies.

“I told them to put it on your tab,” I say, offering him a hush puppy. “These taste just like Grandma’s!”

Daddy smiles. “Told you this place had some good food.”

I motion across the table. “Dad, this is Myah Horton. Myah, Dad. Myah and her parents were at Tim Truman’s memorial yesterday.”

“Nice to meet you, sir,” Myah says with a nod.

“Hey, likewise. I love seeing baby girl make new friends. You from Savannah?”

“Yes, sir. Born at Memorial.”

“And what school do you go to?”

“I’m at Hubert Middle School.”

Dad grins. “All right. That’s a good school!”

“What do you know about schools down here?” I ask with a laugh.

Dad shrugs. “Eh, I know lots of things! Let me get back to work. Looks like I’ll be working overtime trying to pay off your tab.”

Dad throws me a wink before heading back to the stage and on to his next song.

“How long have you been traveling with your pops?” Myah asks.

I wipe my mouth clean with a napkin. “Almost six months.”

“That’s cool. You homeschooling or something?”

“Yeah, but we’re gonna go back to Harlem in the fall, before I start school. You ever been to New York?”

“Ew. With all them people living on top of each other, sharing the streets with rats as big as fat cats? No, thanks.”

I laugh. “That’s mad OD! It’s the greatest city in the world! Better than living on top of a graveyard.”

“That’s what all you New Yorkers say. But nah, I get it. Life is much … slower down here. But a good slow, you know what I’m saying?” She laughs, her necklace bouncing off her shirt.

“Yo, what did you mean when you said … ‘And I know how to prove it’? How you gonna prove it’s Mr. Truman in that house?”

“Oh! ’Cause I know how to talk to spirits.”

I wait for her to say“sike”or“just kidding,”but she remains stone-faced.

“Ummm … what?”

Myah blows out some air. “I know. It sounds crazy, but it’s true. I’ve been hearing ghosts all my life.”