Free A Triple Scoop of I Scream by Gabrielle Holly

formed over the surface of the glass with a deafening crack. The cabinets to the left of the mirror began to totter. Thomas and Liam pulled Toni to the side an instant before the heavy shelves ripped from the wall and crashed forward onto the counter where moments before the three had been lost in the throes of paranormal passion. A moment later the adjacent shelf broke free and fell to the floor beyond the end of the soda fountain, narrowly missing the display case of candy.
    Then there was silence. The overhead lights flicked on and Toni looked over her shoulder to see Bridget and Mike, standing naked and clinging to each other near the bank of switches. Liam let go of Toni and crouched under the leaning wall unit to retrieve their clothes. The three dressed quickly and silently. Toni barely noticed how the fabric adhered to her sticky skin.
    Mike and Bridget dressed and joined the others behind the soda fountain. The five stood trembling, looking over the destruction.

Chapter Nine
     
     
     
    “What the fuck?” Mike muttered.
    “Did you see her? Did you hear her?” Toni asked.
    The others nodded.
    “What does that mean, ‘I want to tell you my secret’?” Bridget asked.
    Toni shrugged and shook her head.
    Thomas kissed her temple. “Is everyone okay?”
    “I could use a drink,” Liam said.
    Mike and Bridget disappeared into the kitchen. They returned with a fresh case of beer and set it on a bistro table. They all gathered in the middle of the shop and gulped the cold liquid.
    “Is that a door?” Toni said, nodding towards the wall.
    They set down their empty cans and walked to the back of the shop. Toni led the way as they sidestepped the long edge of the fallen bookcase towards the wall between the ice-cream parlour and Liam’s bookshop. The door had no handle. Toni hooked a finger into the hole where the knob should be and pulled. She was only able to open the door an inch or two before it hit the bottom of the fallen cabinet. Liam, Thomas, Bridget and Mike moved to the top of the shelving unit and pulled. “Mind the nails,” Thomas said. Toni pushed at its base until they’d moved it clear. Toni yanked open the door and saw a solid sheet of plywood.
    “Wait here,” Liam said and ran out of the front door. The others turned their ears to the blocked opening. They heard Liam enter his shop and then heard dozens of heavy objects hit the floor. There was silence and Liam re-entered the ice-cream parlour a moment later.
    He laid his palms against the plywood. “Push!” he instructed the others. All five leaned into the wood. There was a squeal of loosening nails and then the barrier gave way. A tall bookshelf fell into Liam’s shop. Toni leaned into the doorway and saw the piles of books Liam had pulled from the shelves.
    “Was this the secret?” Liam asked. “Did Daisy just want us to open up the doorway between the shops?”
    “Yeah,” Bridget said. “Maybe she wanted you guys to share customers. Like, buy a book at Liam’s then read it while sipping a malt at Toni’s.”
    “Maybe,” Mike said. “But why would she care? It’s not like ghosts are on commission.”
    Bridget playfully stuck out her tongue. “Okay, wiseass. I’m just brainstorming here. Why do you think she suddenly decided to show us the hidden passageway?”
    They all walked to the centre of the shop and scanned the destroyed back wall. Bridget cocked her head. “Check out the crack in the mirror.”
    The others followed her gaze. The crack ran from the upper right corner to the lower left and two shorter cracks flared out from the bottom end forming the point of an arrow. Toni ran behind the counter and peered into the space between the wall and the leaning shelf. It was too dark to see anything. She was about to ask for a flashlight when she noticed a tiny thumbtack stuck into the lower left corner of the mirror’s frame. The end of a faded pink ribbon was pinned beneath it. Toni stood on tiptoe and groped for the