Sorry this chapter has been so long in coming. My plot bunny did what my plot bunnies do and ran away just when I thought we were getting somewhere. He was later found in the Czech Republic, dressed as Vlad the Impaler, eating sausages with saurkraut. Now that he has been captured once again, I can continue my story. (If anyone knows of a psychiatrist that specializes in plot bunnies, please let me know. He's starting to worry me just a little.)

Laurie stepped through a wall, watching for guards. Elijah hadn't forbidden her from roaming the prison, but he hadn't given her permission, either. Silence didn't always mean agreement, but if half of what Danny had told her was true, she needed to uncover more of it, rules be damned.

After a few turns, she found herself in a kitchen, surrounded by metal: a stove large enough for four to cook on; massive pots and pans; a huge grill, tarnished by use.

And ghosts.

Laurie stood her ground beneath the freezing stares, raised her hand and grinned. "Hi there!"

February 6, 1965

Jeffrey Barnes has gotten married!

I'll write that again: JEFF THE IDIOT BARNES has gotten MARRIED. To a WOMAN. Who, as far as I can tell, has not been brainwashed.

She seems sweet, if a little mousy. Okay, a lot mousy. She's so timid that when I congratulated her at the wedding, she barely gripped my hand and looked all around as if searching for an escape route. I hope the poor thing can change that man- either that or get out and get out FAST.

Elijah and I were both shocked when the invitation arrived in the mail. Saying he didn't want to go would be an understatement.

"I'm not going to support anything that son-of-a-bitch does, and getting married is one of them."

"Shouldn't we support her, though?" I checked the invitation and found the bride's name. "Cynthia? Shouldn't we at least warn her about the big bag of crazy she's marrying?"

"No, we shouldn't. She knew what she was getting into when she decided to-"

I took his hand. "Maybe she didn't. I didn't know everything I signed up for when I married you." He looked hurt, so I plunged ahead. "Girls don't always go into this sort of thing with thier eyes wide open. Why do you think my parents got divorced?"

It was a minute before he replied, and I could tell he was thinking it over. "I'm still not gonna support that man."

"Then go for Cynthia." I said it as gently as I could. "Maybe I'm wrong about her. Maybe she's the perfect match for Jeff. But I have the feeling that one morning she'll wake up and realize she didn't marry the man she thought she did, and she'll need someone to be there for her."

So we went. It was a nice wedding as far as weddings go. I smiled when I was supposed to smile, clapped when I was supposed to clap. Elijah didn't. He sat so perfectly still, arms crossed and jaw set, that he might have been carved from stone.

Laurie took in the four ghosts closing in on her, trying to pinpoint the leader. A heavyset woman with green skin and a pink bandanna over her hair stood in front of the others; they clearly deferred to her. Laurie put on her best smile and offered her hand.

"Hi, I'm Laurie. What's your name? Edna? You look like an Edna."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That you look like an Edna. So am I right? Are you an Edna?"

She looked taken aback. "I suppose you could call me Edna if you wanted to."

"Or you could call her the Lunch Lady like everyone else," one of the ghosts next to her said.

"I'll call you Edna. I like that better." A cold hand on her shoulder made her jump.

"These ladies bothering you, Mrs. Walker?"

"Mrs. Walker? As in, that Walker?"

Laurie closed her eyes, exhaling slowly.

"Mrs. Walker, you shouldn't be here."

Laurie brushed the guard's hand away. "I'll go where I want, and for now I want to be here."

"But Walker said-"

"He didn't say anything, as far as I heard. Now go. Shoo! I'm here for a good reason, and that reason doesn't include you."

The guard finally backed off, and Laurie turned back to "Edna" and her cohorts. They stared at her in a mixture of awe and fear, as though trying to calculate her next move.

"Like I said, I'm here because I have a question: What can you tell me about my husband?"