“I tried to call him, but his phone was dead. Not like there’s service here anyway. But I assumed he had just gone back to the hotel to charge it,” she said. “So I came back here too. But he never showed. Then I went to the museum this morning and, well, you saw, right? I suppose Jacob isn’t missing, though, because I know exactly where he is. He’s trapped in one of DeSantos’s photographs.”

“And you believe in the curse,” I clarified. I wanted to make sure I understood her perfectly. “You think that Terry Lawrence cursed his old partner’s photographs so no one would display them again. Why do you think Lawrence was capable of doing that?”

Emily shrugged. “He said he could, in interviews. Christopher DeSantos wasn’t a good person. He got his fame by using other people. And now people are literally being taken into his photographs.”

“He used people?” I asked. “Do you mean he used Lawrence?”

“Yes,” said Emily. “DeSantos took the credit for a photograph actually taken by Terry Lawrence, so Lawrence cursed him and his work. It’s what he deserved.”

“Right,” I said. I wasn’t sure what to make of Emily’s theory, or of Emily herself. I knew I needed more information from a different source. I was about to end the interview, but Riley beat me to it.

“Christopher DeSantos didn’t steal credit from anyone. No one really knows who took that photograph. And his photographs definitely aren’t cursed. Why come to Shady Oaks for this exhibit if you don’t even like DeSantos?” Riley’s arms were crossed over her chest and she was looking at Emily distrustfully.

Throughout the conversation with Emily, I had forgotten that Riley was such a big Christopher DeSantos fan. Of course she wouldn’t agree with Emily’s theories.

I didn’t want the two of them to argue over this, but Riley had actually asked a good question. Why was Emily here?

I turned to Emily and waited for her answer. Her mouth was open and she appeared to be searching for something to say. “Because of Jacob,” she said finally. “That’s also how I know so much about the curse. Jacob talked about it all the time. He believed in it and he wanted to visit Shady Oaks to see if anything might go wrong at the exhibit. He didn’t expect to disappear himself. The curse is only meant to affect anyone who tries to display the photographs. He just wanted to look at them.”

“And did you always believe in the curse?” I asked.

Emily shook her head. “Not until Jacob went missing,” she said. “But now I have to believe, don’t I? And clearly the curse affects anyone who interacts with the display too. I’m not going to stop telling people the real story. Not until the police shut down that exhibit for good and hopefully release Jacob from the curse.”

I could sense Riley shifting behind me, and I didn’t want her to say anything else to upset Emily. “Thank you so much for answering our questions,” I said quickly. “Maybe I could stop by again? If anything else comes up.”