Ghostly Town (A Ghost Hunter P.I. Mystery Book 4) Read online

  “Yeah, but I don’t think she sees me. I think she’s still in shock,” I said.

  I turned to Rebecca. “Did you see anything when the lights went out?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing I’ll be able to place as one thing or another. I thought I saw an orb of light, but that might have been something else.”

  “What color was it?” I asked.

  “It was reddish if I recall correctly. Do you want me to try talking to her?” She asked.

  “Might as well, though I know it’s a long shot,” I said. Then I turned to Kane. “Maybe we should go?”

  “Why?” He asked.

  “Well, it won’t look good if we’re here when the police arrive. After all, we were here when Charles died as well.”

  “Gotcha,” he said. “But we have nothing to hide.”

  “Either way,” I said. “Better safe than sorry.”

  While Rebecca tried in vain to get through to Madeline, Kane and I were on our way out.

  At the door was a man I didn’t recognize.

  “What are you two still doing here?” He asked. “I could have sworn everyone was out.”

  “Well, you see,” I started to say but then I closed my mouth when I saw that the detective and a couple of officers were headed our way.

  “What have we here?” The detective said. “It looks like we’re going to get better acquainted than either of us realized, Miss Good.”

  “Ms. Good,” I corrected him. “And what’s your name?”

  “I’m Detective Oswald,” he said. Then he turned to Kane. “You’ll be coming along to the police station as well.”

  “Is that really necessary?” Kane said. “I’m sure we’re not the only repeat attendees of both séances.”

  “Be that as it may, Mr. Xavier, protocol is protocol.” He then turned to one of the officers. “Don’t let them out of your sight.”

  Henry arrived then.

  “What is the meaning of this, Dennis?” He asked the detective. “Don’t tell me you think these two are responsible?”

  “Whether they are or not is yet to be determined. That’s why they’re going to be officially interviewed at the station. Good day, Henry,” the detective said. It was clear by the tone of his voice that he was not a fan of Henry. And apparently, now he wasn’t a fan of either me or Kane.

  It didn’t take long for Rebecca to show up by my side.

  “They’re not being serious, are they?” She said.

  I just shrugged my shoulders. I wasn’t about to start talking with a ghost in front of the police officer assigned to watch my every move. I didn’t want to end up in the nuthouse.

  “I’ll see if I can find Charles. Maybe he can get through to Madeline,” Rebecca said. “Is that all right with you?”

  I nodded my head.

  It wasn’t long before the good detective was ready to take us back to the station. The police officer that looked over us was actually the one driving us there. We had to sit in the back seat and everything, like common criminals. The only upside was that we weren’t cuffed.

  Once we were at the station, which was bigger than Silver Bells Cove’s, but still on the smaller side, we waited for what seemed like hours.

  “This is a joke, right?” I said to Kane. “They can’t keep us like this, can they?”

  “Should I request a phone call? It might be more trouble than it’s worth. I’m sure the detective will just throw his weight around and then let us go. I guess if he tries to detain us, we can request a phone call then.”

  I didn’t like that Kane was taking all this so casually. I guess it was easier for him, being a regular PI. But I was a ghost hunter. The crazy lady that thought she could talk to the dead. Somehow, I didn’t think the detective would be as accommodating toward me.

  Finally, one of the officers called my name. Walking down that short hallway toward the stuffy interrogation room, I felt like I was walking down the gallows to my death. A bit dramatic? Maybe. But it was a long day.

  The detective wasn’t there of course. I was led to a seat and had to wait even longer for him to arrive. How typical.

  One of the officers was posted right outside as if I was going to escape.

  Finally, after fifteen minutes or so, the detective arrived, with a folder in hand.

  “I’m sorry that took so long,” he said. “But I did some checking up on you.”

  “Oh, did you now? Does that mean I’m free to go?”

  “Nice try, Ms. Good,” he said and chuckled. Then he proceeded to open the folder. I leaned over to see what was written there, but he slid it out of my view. “It looks like death seems to follow you,” he said.

  “I wouldn’t say that,” I said.

  “It says here that your small hometown didn’t have a murder in a very long time, and then after you came back, they’ve already had a couple. How do you explain that?”

  “You can call the Silver Bells Cove PD and ask them yourself,” I said. “I have nothing to hide. Now, will you please get to the point because I don’t have time for this.”

  “I’m sorry. Am I taking you away from, what do you call it? Ghost hunting?”

  “As a matter of fact, you are. I have a better chance of finding out what happened to Charles and Madeline than you ever do.”

  He laughed at that. “Is that right?”

  “Yes, it is. While you’re fixated on innocent people, I’m going to find the real perpetrators and bring them to justice.”

  “What makes you think there’s more than one?”

  “Call it a hunch, if you will,” I said.

  “Well, I’d ask you where you got it, but I think I have an idea. But I’m glad to inform you that whatever the source of your information is, it’s not correct. We got the preliminary results back from Mr. Mathers’ autopsy. His death will be ruled a heart attack.”

  “And what about Madeline?” I asked him.

  He looked a bit uncomfortable then. “The coroner said that it looks like she died in the same manner as Mr. Mathers.”

  “You don’t find that strange?” I asked him. “Two mediums dying one right after the other like that?”

  “It was bound to happen. Those dark rooms and spooky atmospheres. A little draft takes out the only source of light, and they drop dead from fright. I’m only surprised it hasn’t happened before.”

  “And people say I’m delusional,” I said. “Am I free to go?”

  “If you don’t want to be back here, I suggest you make your stay in our fine town as short as possible. Do you understand?”

  “And if I don’t? What will you do? Arrest me for two perfectly natural deaths?”

  “You’re free to go, Ms. Good. I hope for your sake that no one else drops dead in my town.”

  Kane was waiting for me where I left him. An officer came to escort us out.

  “What? I’m not being interviewed?” Kane asked in surprise.

  “Consider yourself lucky,” the officer said.

  “And how are we supposed to get back to the inn?” I asked the police officer.

  The officer looked to be a rookie. “I’ll drive you back,” he said as if we were inconveniencing him. His people were the ones who brought us here for no good reason. But since he was giving us a ride back, I decided to keep my thoughts to myself.

  Once he dropped us off, I stood in front of the inn.

  “I don’t know if I want to go back in there,” I said.

  “Why? Because of what happened to Madeline?”

  “No, of course not,” I said nonchalantly. The detective did have a point: people were dropping dead around me like flies, and I was getting used to it.

  “Then what is it?” Kane asked.

  “There’s a bunch of ghosts in there I promised to help right after the séance,” I said.

  “Oh, well good luck with that,” Kane said.

  “You’re awful.”

  “If you need my help, feel free to ask for it. But you’re the only one tha
t can see and hear them. I thought I could make myself useful and check in on any connection between Charles and Madeline, if there is any. Maybe they both had common enemies.”

  I told Kane what the coroner had said.

  “Do you believe that’s actually true?”

  “I don’t know what to believe anymore. Frankly, I would have preferred it if the deaths were clear-cut murder. But now that they appear to be natural, I’m starting to think that the cabal of spirits Carl talked about might actually be real.”

  We went inside the inn. Rebecca was nowhere to be found, the room where Madeline died was currently off-limits, and the ghosts I dreaded seeing were waiting for me.

  “Can you help me now?” The little ghost boy asked.

  I nodded. “Fine, let’s go up to my room.”

  Kane gave me a concerned look.

  “Relax, Kane,” I said. “It’s just a little boy. He won’t hurt you.” Then I turned to the rest of the ghosts. “Your turn will come.” They scattered around the inn, a few grumbling to themselves how the afterlife wasn’t fair. As if life was.

  “I don’t know if I should be freaked out or not,” Kane said. “But I think I’ll see if the bar is still open.”

  I led the little ghost boy up to my room and closed the door behind us.

  “This is a safe space,” I told the boy. “You can tell me anything that’s on your mind here without fear.”

  He stepped forward cautiously and looked up at me with his sad eyes.

  “I don’t remember what happened to me. I don’t even remember where I used to live. All I remember is my mom but even then I can’t really place her face or name. It’s just a feeling I get.”

  “You sound very mature for a boy your age,” I told him.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “The nice lady has been teaching me things. She tries to hide it, but I know she’s sad too.”

  “You don’t remember your name? A year? Even how old you were?” I asked him. I needed something to go on in order to find out who he was when he was alive.

  “No, ma’am,” he said. “Maybe I did a long, long time ago.”

  “That’s all right,” I said. “I’ll try to find out anything about a boy your age dying or disappearing and we can work from there.”

  “You’re much nicer than that other lady,” he said.

  “Thanks,” I said. Just as I was prepared to lead the boy out of the room and back to the ghost lady that appeared to be taking care of him, he stopped right at the door.

  “What is it?” I asked him.

  “The others told me not to tell, but you were so nice and kind I think you should know. If anybody can stop them, it’s you.”

  “Stop who? What are you talking about?” Suddenly I was more interested than ever in what the little boy had to say.

  “They’re bad people. They’re mean to us. They won’t let us go to certain places. I don’t like them very much.”

  “What kind of places won’t they let you go?”

  “Oh, there’s an abandoned church in town. There’s a house that seems to be theirs. Oh, and the basement here. They say we’re not allowed because we’re weak but I don’t know what that means.”

  “Have you ever seen them?” I asked him.

  Suddenly he eyes got wide. “I’ve said too much,” he said and ran out of the room. I ran after him but ran into Rebecca instead.

  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” I told her.

  “Same to you,” she said. “I found Charles.”

  I looked around but couldn’t see him anywhere. “Where is he?”

  “Come on. I’ll show you. Bring Kane along,” she said.

  That meant that this was more serious than I initially thought.

  Kane was at the bar, nursing a glass of scotch that looked like he’d barely even touched.

  “Please tell me that’s your first drink,” I said.

  “Oh, yeah,” he said, suddenly coming back to life. “I must have been distracted.”

  “We’ll talk about that later. But right now I need you to drive me somewhere. Rebecca found Charles.”

  We got in the van. Rebecca told me where to go and I relayed the message to Kane.

  It took us a while to get there because Rebecca didn’t travel there by car. Once we arrived at the destination, I immediately felt fear in the pit of my stomach.

  “I don’t want to go in there,” I said. “Not after what that little boy told me.”

  “I’ve got good news then: Charles isn’t inside,” Rebecca said. “He’s right outside the church.”

  “What exactly did the little boy tell you?” Kane asked.

  “Nothing good. This abandoned church is some kind of hot spot for some nasty spirits. Let’s make this quick.”

  It was pitch dark outside and I used the flashlight feature on my phone to see around.

  “I feel like I’m in one of those reality shows,” Kane said. “Should I be recording this?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” I told him.

  Rebecca finally led us to a spot behind the abandoned church.

  “Here he is,” she said, pointing to Charles.

  Except it wasn’t Charles at all. At least not how I knew him. I could barely make out his features in the blur and movement. He was flickering in and out of existence, moving at a rapid pace, but remaining still in one spot. He looked like those ghosts that had shocking deaths and didn’t realize they were dead at all.

  “Charles? Are you in there?” I asked the blurry form in front of me.

  Unsurprisingly, I didn’t get an answer.

  “What is it?” Kane asked. “It’s freezing out here.”

  “It looks like Charles has regressed to a state that spirits take when they can’t accept their own death. I’ve never seen a self-aware ghost revert back like this, especially in such a short period of time.”

  “What does that mean?” Kane asked.

  I looked toward the abandoned church. “I think it means that they might be responsible.”

  Nine

  “So is he a lost cause?” Kane asked me.

  He knew that sometimes I just couldn’t get through to some ghosts and that they remained in that state until they snapped out of it, or forever, for all I knew.

  I looked back at Charles and his miserable state. “As I said, I’ve never encountered something like this. But I do have an idea. Maybe there is a way to snap him back into reality. After all, he was already well aware.”

  “And how do you plan on doing that?” Rebecca said. She looked at Charles, too. Then she just shook her head. “I think he’s a lost cause. Not only is he completely ignoring you, but he’s also ignoring me.”

  “Henry,” I said. “Maybe he can get through to him?”

  “Henry’s not here,” Kane said helpfully.

  “Exactly, that’s why I need you to go get him.”

  “In the middle of the night? I don’t know, Meredith. The poor guy just lost his partner. I don’t feel comfortable bothering him about this.”

  “You better get comfortable. And before you say anything, I’m staying here. I have to make sure that those evil ghosts or whatever they are don’t do any more damage than they already have.”

  “And how are you going to do that?” Kane said.

  “By getting some salt and iron from the van before you leave,” I said. I turned to Rebecca. “Can you watch him while we’re gone?”

  Rebecca nodded. “I’ll try not to get ghost-snatched while you guys are gone.”

  “Any sign of trouble and just come and find me. Don’t try to be a hero, Rebecca.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Rebecca said, obviously being sarcastic.

  “I’m serious. I don’t want whatever happened to Charles here to happen to you.”

  “Fine,” Rebecca finally said. “I’ll play it safe.”

  Once we were back at the van, I took out as much salt as I could and some iron filings.

  “This should be enough to keep an
y nasties at bay,” I said.

  “The operative word being should,” Kane said. “Are you sure you want me to leave you here in the middle of the night. How about we just call the guy?”

  “Just go. The sooner you get there, the sooner you can come back. I’ll handle things here while you’re gone.”

  Kane drew me in closer. It felt good to be surrounded by his warm embrace. “Stay safe. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  He kissed me softly on the lips.

  “Don’t worry about me,” I reassured him. “This is kind of what I do.”

  I watched as Kane drove away. Suddenly, alone in the darkness, I felt a lot less brave than I thought I was. I made my way back to the spot Charles and Rebecca were waiting for me.

  “Do you have everything?” Rebecca asked me.

  I lifted the heavy bag of salt. “Yup. Now the question is should I put this salt around him or that church?”

  “I think the safer bet is him. I’m really not in the mood to piss of some nasty spirits. Are you?”

  “I guess not,” I agreed. Then I proceeded to put a salt circle around poor Charles. He was still out of it, glitching in and out of existence.

  Rebecca looked over at the bag of iron filings I also brought with me.

  “Are you going to try those?” She asked me.

  “I hadn’t really thought of it. I just brought those in case one of the evil spirits decides to give us any trouble. Do you think I should?”

  Rebecca shrugged her ghostly shoulders. “It might be worth a shot. It’s not like he can get any worse than this, is it?”

  She certainly had a point there. I didn’t like using iron filings on spirits unless it was absolutely necessary, and that was usually when they were being bothersome or outright evil.

  I took the bag of iron and thought about what I would try to get poor Charles to do. To wake up? To be himself again? Somehow I didn’t think it was going to be that simple. I’d tried it before with spirits that weren’t aware of their surroundings and it didn’t work. I didn’t see why this time it would be any different.

  But I tried it anyway. As soon as I laid the iron on the ground I knew that it was a mistake. There was a change in the air, as if I had gotten the attention of something that I definitely shouldn’t have. I quickly took the iron away.