"Hello?" I answered my phone, the screen door swinging shut behind me.
"Mr. Fenton?" Cassandra asked.
In the year and a half I'd known her, she still insisted on calling me 'Mr. Fenton'.
It's not that I thought that it would be professional for her to call me Danny, but when anyone called me by my last name, it reminded me of my father.
I swallowed. "Yeah, what's going on?"
"I'm sorry to bother you but I've just finished speaking with the branch manager of your regular bank." She said.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"She says that there isn't a bank exactly in Amity Park, but there's one about twenty to thirty miles outside of the town that will accept your banking there." She told me.
I glanced back toward the house and sighed. "All right, thanks."
"You're welcome, sir. Is there anything else that I can help you with?" She asked.
I thought for a second. "No, no. That's it for now, thanks Cassandra."
"You're welcome." She replied.
I hung up the phone and took a deep breath.
After a few seconds of steeling myself, I walked back up the steps and pulled open the screen door.
Sam, Tucker and Mr. Lancer looked up.
"Is everything all right?" Sam asked.
I nodded. "Yeah that was Cassandra."
"Your assistant? What's going on at the office?" She asked.
"I'm not sure." I replied. "I had asked her if there was a bank here that I could withdraw some money."
Sam had a confused look on her face. "How come you can't just use your debit card?"
I swallowed. "Some of the places that I want to spend money won't accept my debit card."
"Like where?" She asked.
"Like places in this town." I replied, giving her a look and hoping that she caught the subliminal message.
I'm not sure that she did, but she quit talking about it.
I took a seat on the couch beside Sam and took her hand.
"So, have you two picked a date?" Mr. Lancer asked.
"What?" I asked, looking up at him.
He pointed at Sam's left hand. "An engagement ring. I'm too old to catch these things, Mr. Fenton."
Sam blushed. "No, not yet sir. We were thinking sometime in the fall."
"The fall's a good time to get married." He smiled. "That's when my wife and I tied the knot."
"Y-you're married?" I asked, feeling the disbelief on my face.
He chuckled. "Uh, no. Not anymore."
"Divorced?" Sam asked.
He shook his head. "No. My wife passed away shortly after the ghost attacks started."
"Did she pass away from the ghost attacks?" I asked, my voice tight.
He nodded and glanced at the ground. "Yes. She did."
He gave a sad sigh. "I was at work, grading papers. And she had just called to tell me that she loved me."
Silence hung in the air.
He looked up at me and Sam. "When I got home, her body was lying on our bedroom floor, a pool of blood around her."
Mr. Lancer stood up from his chair and walked over to a roll-top desk in the corner.
After a second, he walked back over to the three of us and held out a blade.
I recognized immediately that it was something from either Skulker or Vlad.
A slow rage was building inside of me, sending my blood boiling.
"This was the knife I found buried in her side." He gave another sigh as he set it down on the coffee table in front of him. "It punctured her lung and she was dead within minutes."
Sam reached across the coffee table and put her hand on his. "I'm so sorry, sir."
He swallowed and glanced up at Tucker. "It was Foley here who convinced me to keep going. I was at the end of my rope right after I started rehab. I really didn't see the point of living anymore, now that my beautiful Tara was dead."
Tucker nodded. "Well, you helped me back sometimes so."
"Yeah." He nodded.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Lancer." I said.
He nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Fenton. You've always had kind words to say."
The only words that came to my mind were, 'Sir, I'm fourteen. I don't really care.'
I swallowed. "Yeah, well. You're welcome."
"So, how did you two re-meet after high school?" He asked.
I looked at Sam. "She was stalking me."
She laughed and playfully swatted my arm.
"He's joking. I was taking some pictures in the city of New York when I saw him. I knew immediately who it was so I started taking pictures of him."
"Yeah, but all I saw was her taking pictures of me and I didn't recognize her immediately." I added.
Mr. Lancer laughed. "That'll be something to tell the kids."
I blushed. "If we have kids."
"Yeah, Danny's not too keen on the whole idea of having children." Sam said.
"Why not?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowing and drawing downward. "Children can be blessings."
I shrugged. "At this point in my life, I don't want children. I just want to marry her."
I gave Sam a smile and squeezed her hand.
"Maybe in the future, I'll want kids." I continued, glancing at Mr. Lancer. "But for now, I'm ok with just me and Sam."
After a second, he nodded. "I guess I can understand that. You're still young."
"With all due respect, sir, I'm twenty-three. I'd hardly call that young." I said.
Mr. Lancer chuckled. "When you get to be my age, Daniel, twenty-three is young."
I couldn't argue with that, so I nodded instead.
A clock above Mr. Lancer's head chimed loudly telling us that it was now 12:30.
"Well, it's about time for lunch." He smiled and stood up from his chair. "Would you three care to join me?"
"No, thank you." Tucker replied standing up as well, wincing when the weight landed on his ankle. "We have to get going."
"Oh, all right then." Mr. Lancer said, giving us a smile. "It was good to see you guys again. And Foley, it's good to see you walking. And it's good to see you back on your feet emotionally as well."
Tucker scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, you know every day's a struggle…but Jazz keeps me motivated. And for the main part, I have a good life…"
Mr. Lancer nodded. "Well, don't wait so long next time to come and visit me."
Tucker shook his hand and the three of us left.
"So, where are we going now?" Sam asked as we walked down the steps.
"Why don't you pick, Danny? Sam and I have both picked somewhere." He said.
"How about we get something to eat? Are there any good restaurants around here, Tuck?" I asked.
"Yeah, several. In fact, I know just the place." He grinned as he continued hobbling toward the car.