Someone cleared their throat. I jerked my head up to find Eddie had already gotten out of the truck and Zach leaned halfway out.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we’re here.” Zach looked at the seat of the truck as if he tried hard not to listen to what I said.
I slid my gaze over to Kipp, who smiled. Beneath it, though, I saw he battled against himself to refuse this, but we both understood the importance of finding Hannah. “Guess we should go?”
Kipp nodded, full of conviction despite what his gaze said. “Go and get your feet dirty.”
“Please, don’t remind me.” I opened the door and stepped out, and approached Eddie and Zach, who had a topographic map laid out on the hood of the truck.
“It’s about time y’all got here,” Hannah said. “I’ve been waiting forever.”
I laughed, but held back stating the fact she had nothing else to do. “The downfall of not being able to teleport wherever you want to is you have to drive, which takes time.”
Hannah smiled. “Right.”
I looked away from her to find both Eddie and Zach appearing flabbergasted by my admission ghosts could do that. I waved it away, not wanting to get into it. “Never mind, it’s another thing to tell you on another day.”
Zach shook his head and glanced around as if searching for where Hannah stood. “We need to call in the location to Max so he knows our whereabouts.”
“Speaking of that, where is he?” I asked.
Eddie laughed. “Where’s Max?”
“Yeah, exactly, why’s he not helping us?”
His look said I should know better. “The sergeant doesn’t get knee-deep in mud, dear.”
I glanced over at the forest in front of us and pouted. Eddie hadn’t been exaggerating. Even in the darkness, I saw the trip would prove difficult. “Seriously, I have to go in there?”
“Kipp might need to tell us something and we can’t hear him if you’re not there,” Zach replied.
“But my poor boots will be ruined.” I nearly cried, realizing I’d worn my new boots that I had bought only a few weeks ago. “These cost three weeks of pay.”
Eddie furrowed his brow. “You can wash them when we’re done here.”
Oh, wasn’t he Mr. Smarty Pants. “What if they don’t come clean?”
Zach laughed. “It’s mud, it’ll come clean.”
“But, but, but they could get scratches!”
Kipp sighed. “You need to let Hannah tell us where she is located, Tess.”
With that interruption, it became apparent I was stalling. I forced myself to get a grip. As much as I wanted to stay here and keep Kipp with me forever, if they didn’t discover who had done this, Hannah would never cross over. The pain, loneliness and misery in her eyes that I witnessed earlier, and could even see a little of now, were all I thought of. No one deserved such a terrible fate. Going against what swelled in my heart, I stepped forward and came up beside Eddie.
Eddie pointed to the parking lot where we stood. “We’re here now.”
“You ready to do this?” I asked Hannah.
She nodded. “Damn right I am.”
I closed my eyes to focus and let Hannah’s words become my own as I repeated what she said, not wanting to fumble it up. “All right, use your finger to follow what I say.”
“Go ahead,” Eddie replied.
I gave Hannah a moment to start before I relayed her words. “Go straight until you hit a creek. Once there, turn left and you’ll hit an incline.”
“I see that, yes,” Eddie said.