“Maybe the ponytail’s the problem,” I went on. “You should have left it in the nineties.”

Nitro laughed. “We go to a bar babe-hunting, you and me, I’ll outscore you ten-zero, you better believe that.”

“Babe-hunting?”

“The girl I’m pounding right now, she’s vaginamite.”

“Vaginamite?” The guy really was a douchebag—a prurient douchebag.

“Fucking right, Jack Goff.”

“Watch your language around Rosa.”

“I don’t mind,” she piped up.

I glanced down at her. She was watching the ground where she walked, almost skipping to keep pace with Pepper and I. Suddenly I felt absurdly proud of her. She believed her brother was dead. She believed a ghost shared the island with us. She’d spent a night on her own beneath a bed. And here she was telling me she didn’t mind if someone cussed around her? She was made of something tougher than the rest of us put together.

“Can I ask you something, Rosa?” I asked her.

She bobbed her head. “If you want.”

“How long was Miguel seeing Lucinda for?”

“Hmmm. Maybe two months? Maybe more?”

“Did they ever fight?”

“No, not really. Why?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking,” I said, “and maybe Lucinda got angry at Miguel yesterday and did something to him. It might not have been on purpose, not completely. It might have been an accident, sort of.”

“An accident?”

“Maybe she wanted to hurt him a bit, but she ended up hurting him a lot. Maybe that’s why he screamed…”

Rosa seemed to think about this, then she shook her head. “I don’t think Lucinda would even want to hurt Miguel a bit. She was really nice.”

“But why would a ghost want to hurt him?”

“Because this is her island. She doesn’t want us here.”

“That’s what Miguel told you?”

Rosa nodded gravely.

“Hey, Rosa,” Pepper said. “Do you want to be on TV?”

“She’s not going in your documentary, Pepper!” I said.

“Why not? She’d be great.”

“Why can’t I be on TV?” she asked me.

“Because,” I said.

“Because what?”

“Just because…your mother wouldn’t like it,” I added.

Rosa frowned at this. “You’re probably right. She doesn’t like me doing anything fun.”

“She let you come to this island though…?”

“No, she didn’t.”

“She doesn’t know you’re here?”

Rosa shook her head. “My sister—my oldest one—is getting married soon. She and my mom went to a special party all weekend. Miguel was babysitting me.”

“And he brought you all the way here?”

Rosa nodded. “Because he couldn’t leave me alone.”

“What about your father?” Pepper asked. “Couldn’t he look after you?”

“He’s living in France right now.”

“He works there?”

She nodded again. “He’s an embajador. I don’t know the English.”

“A diplomat?”

“I think that’s it.”

“What school do you go to?” Nitro asked.

“Greengates.”