“Everyone just stay calm,” Brannon said in an authoritative voice.
He could tell them to stay calm, but I was pretty sure they would freak out regardless. I pulled my phone from my pocket. The others did the same, turning on their flashlights and allowing an eerie white glow to illuminate the darkened house. How much longer would we be here? The police had to talk to everyone and that would take a while. Would we be stuck in this house all night? Would the lights be out all night?
“I’ll check the breaker, but I’m pretty sure the lights are out in the entire area. I have matches for the candles that we can use.” I recognized the owner’s voice.
Her voice cracked a bit with each word. I figured the stress from the event had a profound effect on her. As it had with everyone in the mansion undoubtedly. The red light highlighting the tiny bar on my phone let me know the battery was low. I wouldn’t have much time. I needed one of those matches.
This latest development would slow down the investigation. The police hadn’t even removed the body yet. That thought sent a shiver down my spine. Footsteps came from behind me. I spun around, splashing the light across the area to see who had walked up behind me. No one was there. Was someone playing games with me? Unlikely a living person.
“Who are you?” I whispered, hoping that the ghost would answer me.
Receiving an answer was improbable. Although I’d been known to communicate with ghosts through electronics. And lately even beyond that. The more I saw the ghosts the stronger my interaction became with them.
Annie Gibson at the library used electronics as the sole means of communicating with me. It didn’t matter if it was my phone, the computer, or whatever electric device she could find to get the message across. She always found a way. Her favorite by far was text messages. It was a good thing I had the unlimited data plan.
The footsteps sounded again. This time the ghost had moved behind me in the other direction. I spun around once again, but the spirit was still hidden. I didn’t like this game at all. Moving the flashlight around the foyer, the soft yellow glow highlighted the corners and any other hiding spots. I hoped to catch a glimpse of the ghost. Or did I?
A couple police officers still stood sentinel by the door. The homeowner moved down the foyer toward the door that led to the basement. Another officer accompanied her. I suppose they were going to check the breaker. Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. The ghost stood by the library door. Even with the dark room, I made out the shelves of books and chairs by the fireplace.
My heart sped up. Despite the fear, I inched closer to the library’s entrance. The police officers watched my every move. I supposed they wondered if I was going to try to make a run for it. I knew better than that, but maybe they didn’t trust me.
I hoped the cops didn’t stop me from going after the ghost. What was I thinking? This was crazy. I couldn’t follow a ghost. Yes, I’d done it before, but that didn’t make it easier. I mean, I was scared, even if I gave ghost tours and was used to seeing ghosts. Nevertheless, it was still a scary situation.
As I crept closer to the library doors, I spotted the spirit again. She stood by the library windows in the library, staring outside. She appeared exactly as she had before with long gown and shiny dark hair pulled up high on her head. Was she wearing a wedding gown?
I wanted to know about her. What was her name and why was she here? She wasn’t watching me, but I knew she was aware of my presence. That was the whole reason she had appeared and lured me to this room. She obviously wanted me to know that she was here. She had something to tell me.
Well, if she wanted to relay a message, then she needed to get on with it. Did her visit have something to do with Tabatha’s murder? Unfortunately, I couldn’t speak to her at the moment because the police officers would think I was crazy. Although most people in town by now knew that I talked to ghosts or at least that was the rumor. They knew that I did the haunted tours, but now the rumor had moved to me being a psychic.
I’d never really put that label on myself, but I suppose considering the fact that Annie sent me text messages, other ghosts had reached out to me and spoken as well, then yes, that meant that I was a medium. Although I liked to think that I was just someone who could communicate with a ghost when they wanted to talk. Psychics pursued ghosts and started conversations. But that was never the case with me. I had to wait around until a ghost was ready for a tête-à-tête. I watched and waited for the ghost to acknowledge me.
From my vantage point of the doorway, I observed her. She never turned to acknowledge me. Only moments later, someone placed their hand on my shoulder. Letting out a gasp, I spun around to find Brannon behind me.
He took me by the arms to steady me. “Whoa. What are you watching?”
“The ghost was in the room.” I looked back but she was gone.
Brannon peered into the room, shining the flashlight all around. “I don’t see a ghost.”
“She’s gone now. I have to find out who she is.”
“First things first. We have to get everyone out of here,” he said. “Ghost research can come later.”
I agreed with that, but it was hard to curb my eagerness to find answers. While I waited though, I wanted to find out as much as possible about this place. Had the owner seen this ghost before or maybe she had information on past residents? The former owner could be still lingering in the house after his death.
“Are you making any headway? Can we leave soon?” I asked.
I hated to put pressure on him, but I really wanted out of here.
“With any luck will be out of here within the hour. Just hang tight, okay? You might want to move into the room with the others though.” Brannon shone his flashlight around the room again in one last attempt to spot the spirit.
Reluctantly, I moved across the foyer to the parlor room. Brannon stepped away and back to the investigation. This left me wondering what I should do next. Tammy and Matteo stood together in the corner of the room looking completely lost. My mother talked to my dad. No doubt debating on why I always seemed to find myself in the midst of trouble.
Right now, all I wanted was to find the killer before someone else was murdered. The homeowner stood by the parlor room entrance, so I stepped over to her. Before speaking, I glanced back at the library. Still no sign of the ghost. Something told me the ghost would return soon. Judy wore a black knee length lace dress on her slender frame that matched the color of her long dark hair.
“Excuse me, Judy? I wondered if I could ask you some questions?” I asked.
The glow from the candle lit up her face with an eerie shadow. “Certainly.”
Her voice cracked as if the exhaustion had gotten the better of her. I suppose it had been a long day for her and the night was likely to continue in the same direction for quite some time.
“I just wanted to ask… well, I guess this is a strange question, but maybe not. Is this place haunted?”
Why did I have such a hard time asking about ghosts? She had to know that I was interested in this stuff, right? I suppose Tammy had told her all about me. So surely the question wouldn’t seem too strange.
She checked over her shoulder as if looking to see if anyone listened to us. “I guess… yes, I have seen things.”
All right. Now I was on to something. At least she admitted it. A lot of people wouldn’t want to talk about this. Perhaps that was why I was reluctant to ask. They’d think it was all just silly nonsense. If they’d seen what I’d seen then they wouldn’t feel that way.