“What? He’s drunk? He doesn’t even drink.”
He shrugged and showed me the text. “Well, he does now. According to Mom, he’s drunk and demanding to come home. I can’t leave Emily over there.”
“I’ll go get the baby. It’s not a problem.”
Joshua hugged me, completely catching me off guard. “No. This one is on me. I need to do it. In case my father decides to get aggressive. What the hell is going on with this guy? Midlife crisis?”
“Do what you have to do, honey. Just let me know that you and Emily made it home okay. If you want, I can call Rebecca and see if she’s willing to come over and spend the night with her.”
“Yeah, that would be great. I better go before this gets out of hand.” He kissed my cheek, and I kissed him back. As I watched him leave, I quickly made a phone call to Rebecca, and sure enough, she was eager to babysit. She was a studious girl who was always after me to watch Emily. She must have nested a small fortune by now.
“Hey, not to get in y’all’s business, but if there’s anything I can do,” Carmen offered awkwardly as I returned to my spot in front of the monitor.
“Can’t think of anything. What’s going on up there? Anything?”
Carmen shook his head but said, “Looks like something is happening now. Did you see that?” His shaking finger pointed to the corner of the screen.
He didn’t need to point. A dramatic black mist rose from the corner of the screen and vanished into the closet.
That’s where Jericho was, sitting and waiting, touching the walls with his hands. Macie’s camera was on him as he moved about, using his psychometry to uncover the truth about this space.
I wondered what that truth would be.
Chapter Eight—Macie
Although neither Jericho nor I had heard or seen anything, I couldn’t help but feel that there was a shift in the air. Yes, a change in the atmosphere. I could hear a low rumbling in that other world. I’d talked to many investigators over the years, and none could relate to what I was saying. That was how the paranormal manifested to me at times, with a kind of off note. And I knew music. I’d played guitar all my life. Man, I wanted to scratch, draw, write my words. But Jericho was interacting with the dead. They were reaching for him.
High C. Yes, I heard a high C. I could hear it loud now. Wow, and I could sense that this guy was strong. He had a strong connection with the dead. It was more powerful than he appreciated or understood. Slowly at first and then in a rush, Jericho’s artistic hands touched the walls, his fingers brushing the wood as he began to talk. I kept the camera trained on his face as he shared his vision.
“What do you see, Jericho? Tell me what you see.” I adjusted the IR to pick up more of the view. I had to step back out of the closet to get a better shot of Jericho. I hit record to make sure I got every second of this encounter.
“There is a little girl in here with us. Dark hair, bangs in her eyes. She’s not from here. She’s speaking a language that I don’t understand. Please, little girl. I can’t understand you. I don’t know what she’s saying. It’s Chinese, maybe? Can you understand me? Can you make a sound to let me know you understand us?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a knock on the wall beside me. I glanced at Jericho. “Is that her?”
He didn’t know and admitted as much. He asked, “Can you do it again, little girl? One knock to let us know you can hear us?”
I counted seconds in my head. Five seconds. It took all of five seconds for the ghost child to establish contact with us. “She’s here! That’s the little girl!” Jericho smiled broadly, and it was a beautiful sight.
No, Macie. Don’t go falling for some guy you don’t know at all. Just because he has a beautiful smile, that doesn’t mean he has a beautiful heart.
Sierra’s voice broke over the radio and scared the snot out of me. “See if you can engage more. Let’s get a name, or a date or something.”
Geesh, what did she think we were doing?
My investigative partner sat comfortably on the floor of the closet while I filmed him. “Are you trapped here? Knock once for yes, twice for no. Do you understand me?”
I heard a loud rap inside the closet. “Okay, that’s a yes. Keep going, Jericho.”
“Are you alone?” Jericho asked, and his question left a strange echo hanging in the air. “Remember, knock once for yes and twice for no. Are you alone?”
Boom, boom. That was less of a knock and more of a bang. Two bangs. She’s not alone. What did that mean?
“Are you safe? Can we help you?”
Knock, knock…two knocks.
“No, she’s not safe. Remember, one question at a time.” I stared at the screen and waited for Jericho to continue his line of investigation. He was doing a damn good job and getting results, but I had to jump in. “Little girl? Are we safe?”
No knocks that time. In fact, it was as if we’d stepped into a vacuum where there was no sound at all. Was Jericho asking me a question? I could barely hear his voice—but I had no idea what he was saying. Then as quickly as it happened, the strange effect ended. “I’d like to try writing in here, Sierra. What do you think?” I radioed in my question.
“Great, let’s do it. You have your bag?”
I tapped my side and handed the camera to Jericho. “Your turn, dude. I’m going to write.”
“Really? Cool. I hope I work this thing right.” He stared at the side of the box, and I assured him everything was working.
Sierra confirmed that she could see us just fine. She gave him some pointers, and I took my place in the bottom of the closet. I thought maybe I should sit on the bench behind the false wall, but this was roomy enough. With the notebook in my lap and the permanent marker in my hand, I began to scribble. It usually took a few minutes to get into the flow of writing. Most of the time, the first part of the script was gibberish, just curlicues and cursive letters.
“J, her name starts with a J. She’s locked in here. She doesn’t want to be here…the dolls need her. She likes the dolls. Do you see any dolls, Jericho?”
“No, no dolls, but there might be some in the other rooms. Should I go find one?”
I frowned at him. “Don’t you dare leave me in here. No, but let’s make a note of that. She’s looking for a doll. She loves them, and in the end, they betrayed her.” I closed my eyes. My fingers were cramping; that’s how much pressure was being applied to my hand by an outside force. I didn’t like that at all.
“You are not allowed to hurt me. Slow down and I’ll listen. We are all listening. Did you die here?”
GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT
Suddenly the air shifted, the house and all its inhabitants changed its mind. It didn’t want to be friendly to us now. The ghost didn’t want to talk or engage in conversation. It only wanted one thing. For us to leave.
Jericho stared at me and then at the notebook. He didn’t look happy—I wasn’t happy either. And I was in the closet with an angry ghost and Jericho. Before I could say it, he did. “Let’s get out of this closet.”
Sierra said, “Good work, guys. Everyone take a deep breath. Let’s respect the spirits and give them some space. Come downstairs, you two. Let’s review what we have so far.”
“Gotcha.” I breathed a sigh of relief. Boy, was I glad that was over. My hands were still shaking, and my heart raced. I tucked the notebook and pen back in my crossbody, but the words were embedded in my mind. GET OUT.
Okay, calm down, Macie. This isn’t the first time you have ticked off a spirit.
Like two kids, we hightailed it down the stairs and neither one of us said much. “Where’s Joshua?” Jericho asked Sierra as he glanced around the room.
“Family emergency. He’ll be back, though. Let’s see the message, Macie.” I pulled the sketchbook out of my canvas bag and handed it to her. “That’s pretty dramatic, right?” she asked.
“Heck yeah, that’s pretty dramatic. Most of the time, I only get bits and pieces.
A name, a sentence or two, a plea of some sort. This went from a soft conversation to a demand. I can’t help but believe that we were communicating with two different spirits. Quite different. The little girl…I think it’s a girl, don’t you, Jericho?”
“For sure. Female energy. Small, probably around eight years old.”
I rubbed my forehead as I hoped my impending migraine would not fully manifest. I’d wanted to be a part of this, and now here I was. I needed to keep it together.
“She was there, and then something else came in. I’m not even sure it was human.” Oh, boy. Why did I say that?
Sierra frowned at my declaration. “It’s only night one of our work here. Let’s not jump to any conclusions yet, Macie.”
“I’m not making any conclusions. I am only reporting what it felt like.” Why this sudden hostility? I wasn’t sure, but I damn sure felt it. Oh, boy. This energy had some power, big-time power. I had to confess what I was experiencing. “Sierra, I want to punch you in the face right now, and that’s not me. Do you understand? It’s not me, but it is affecting me. I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all.”
Sierra’s pretty face paled, but she didn’t appear shaken by my statement. “Damn, that’s not what I expected here. Are you able to suppress it? Can you shake it off? Do you need to take a few minutes and leave the building?”
At least she wasn’t taking it personally. She was listening and trying to help me. That was good. Yeah, I felt good about Gulf Coast Paranormal. I should have known Jocelyn would never have been involved with a careless group.
But she’s dead, isn’t she?
Punch her in the face. Slap her! Hurt her!
I closed my eyes and stilled myself. “You know what, I am going to take you up on that offer. Five minutes, okay? Jericho? Would you mind?”
I reached out for him, and he took my hand. Wow, this wasn’t how I’d expected my night to go. I was on the verge of tears. The power of the angry energy lingered, and it combined with the helplessness of the child to wreak havoc on my heart. I couldn’t make up my mind if I was sad or ready to burn the place down.
The sad reality hit me. I was vulnerable and putting everyone at risk by being here.
And I didn’t know what to do.
Chapter Nine—Sierra
“Let’s all go,” I suggested after seeing Macie’s confusion. Yeah, confused. That’s how she looked, confused and afraid, and I should have never brought her in on this. What was I thinking? She wasn’t over Jocelyn’s death…none of us were. Carmen did not hide his disbelief. What did he expect? Wow, Josh had only been gone for a half hour at this point, and things felt like they were falling apart.
We walked out to the van; the house loomed in the background. Good thing the neighbors couldn’t see us. We didn’t need that kind of publicity. “Clearly, we are needed here. Amanda did right by calling us. Macie, how are your emotions? I understand how that feels. I have experienced it before. It’s like suddenly you aren’t in control of your own heart. If you need to skip tonight, we all get it.”
The dark-haired psychic closed her eyes, and her curled dark lashes accentuated her pale skin. She opened them quickly and surveyed me with new strength and calm. I was glad to see her confidence return.
“No, thank you. All I needed was a minute out of that house. The power in there—it sneaks up on you. Whatever resides at Wayland Manor has a great deal of power and knows how to manipulate a person emotionally.”
Carmen shook his head. “That kind of thing only happens if you are already compromised. Listen, I am no idiot, nor am I a rookie. Let’s put all our cards on the table. Macie, I know who you are, and I know about your sister. Do you really think you should be here?”
Wow! Carmen rang that bell. What was he thinking? How were his words helpful at all?
I put my hands on my hips like I was ready to go to work. “Let’s get one thing straight right now—I am the boss. I want her here. If you got a problem with that, Carmen, you can leave. We’ll do just fine with three investigators rather than four. You’ve been snipping at me all night, and I don’t appreciate it. This is how things work. This is my work, my team. Midas entrusted Gulf Coast Paranormal to me. I take my job very seriously. So back off!”
“Hey!” Jericho shouted as he shook his head and put his hands up as if to ask for a timeout. “Let’s all stop talking before we say something we regret. If we haven’t already. Clearly, whatever is in that house can affect us emotionally—whether we want to admit it or not. I suggest this: Let’s steer clear of the closet area.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I quickly agreed as hot, angry blood surged through my body. “We will need to do some prep work before we tackle that area again. Let’s move on to the other hot spots tonight. It wouldn’t pay for us to go in there half-cocked without a plan.”
Macie agreed, and to his credit, Carmen was the first to apologize. “Sorry about how I behaved. I don’t know what came over me. I don’t normally act like that much of a jerk. I swear.”
Macie accepted his apology, but I kept my mouth shut. At least he didn’t push me for a response. I didn’t trust him. Maybe I was being too sensitive. Who knows? We took a break for water and power bars and got ready to reenter the house. Just as we were about to head back inside, Joshua returned. His face said it all. It didn’t go too well. I wondered if he and his father had gotten physical.
Oh, boy. Talk about emotionally compromised.
“Hey, what’s up? What did I miss?” Joshua asked as he locked his truck and joined us at the back of the van.
I said, “There’s a very strong spirit, and it’s affecting emotions. Remember the closet upstairs?” The team began sharing their experiences with my husband. To my surprise, he was focused. And, like the champ I knew he was, he couldn’t wait to get back in there.
“I like the idea of changing locations. Let’s come at the closet tomorrow night. I think I know just the person to reach out to. In the meantime, let’s hit the renovations and the backyard. Don’t forget that Amanda says they’ve had experiences out there too.”
“Do you smell that?” Carmen sniffed the air, and his expression soured.
“Yeah, I smell it. Is that trash burning?” Joshua asked as he tapped on his flashlight and waved the beam at the corners of the building. I don’t know what he hoped to see. I sure didn’t see any smoke. Not a wisp of it. I did occasionally catch a whiff of a fiery scent, but it wasn’t clear to me what that might be. Certainly not leaves or anything good-smelling.
“No, that’s flesh.” Carmen added darkly, “I know the smell.”
“How would you know what burning flesh smells like?” I asked him point-blank.
“I did two tours in Afghanistan. You can guess how I know.” Great, he was being a smartass with me again. Or was he? Or was I being too prickly?
Joshua said, “Let’s go back inside. Carmen and I will go to the sunroom. Sierra and Macie, maybe you guys could look around the yard for signs of a fire?”
“We’ll watch you guys, and then Macie and I will go out and investigate the yard after. Let’s get in there.”
Joshua put his arm over my shoulder, and we walked inside together. I glanced up at him, but his face was a mask. A stone-cold mask. I was kind of glad for that. One of us needed to be level-headed tonight. That was usually my job. I had come ill prepared for whatever lurked here at Wayland Manor.
Armed with Joshua’s radio, a light array and the SLS camera, Carmen and Joshua disappeared into the sunroom. I had to wonder exactly what they would uncover, considering what we already knew.
Funky. Negative. Confusing. That’s how I would describe this place. This was not your average investigation, not just another house. But I found it comforting that Joshua was here. Five of us. We were meant to do this.
“Is the screen showing up, Sierra?” my husband asked as I tapped on the keyboard. I was leaning in close to the monitor, further proof that I needed to start wearing my glasses a bit mor
e faithfully.
“Yes, I can see the SLS screen. Is that Carmen by the ladder?”
Joshua adjusted his screen and confirmed my observation. “Yep. Okay, let’s get started. Oof! Is something poking me in the back? Would you mind taking a look, Carmen?”
I watched the screen, but I didn’t see a thing that would cause Joshua discomfort. It was a construction area, for sure, but there weren’t boards or nails or anything that would poke Joshua that I could see.
“Nothing. You are all clear. Do you still feel it?”
Joshua rubbed at his back absently. “No. I must be feeling things.” He laughed it off.
“I think that’s par for the course for tonight’s investigation.” I laughed along with him. Okay, we needed this moment of levity.
Joshua and Carmen arranged the three light arrays on the ground, a few feet apart. Joshua quickly plugged them into the electrical cord; the light arrays would glow if anything or anyone passed over the surface. They were hypersensitive to movement, which could be helpful if we were dealing with shadow people.
Great. Shadow people. Don’t need to deal with that right now.
“Carmen, I’ll let you lead. Then we will swap out the SLS and see what we can get.”
Carmen removed his ball cap and for the first time tonight actually appeared nervous. “My name is Carmen, and this is Joshua. We’re here to talk. Amanda asked us to come and see you. To see if you could explain what it is you want. So here we are, here to listen.”
The investigator wiped his sweaty forehead and plopped his ball cap back on his head. I had no idea he had so much hair loss. Wow, the SLS was unforgiving when it comes to physical flaws.
Just as I was thinking that, I saw a small figure appear near Carmen. Joshua and I both sounded off at the same time. “Hey! Did you see that? Oof! Gone. Nope. It’s back!” I couldn’t believe how excited I was about seeing this. “Carmen, he’s really close to you. Keep talking!”
“What is it you want to say? Are you upset about the renovation? Are you mad that Amanda is making these improvements? I mean, this room looks nice. It’s going to have more space and sunlight…oh, damn!” Carmen twisted his back and grabbed behind him. “Josh, man. What’s behind me?”
The Wayland Manor Haunting (Gulf Coast Paranormal Season Two Series Book 1) Page 6