Ghostly Endings (A Ghost Hunter P.I. Mystery Book 5)

by Aubrey Harper

  Just when I started to doubt he ever would, he actually did make an appearance, with a folder in hand. He spotted us with Danny’s help and pretty soon, it was time to get to business.

  Mike read over the agreement and asked a few questions about a few of the lines. Once he was satisfied, he was the first to sign the papers. Then Jacob, then Rachel, and finally, Chloe. Then Jonathan handed the papers to me.

  “Why do I have to sign it? I’m not filming anything,” I said in my defense.

  “Just for my peace of mind,” Jonathan said.

  I looked over the agreement quickly and then signed my name as well. Kane offered to do the same but Jonathan said that wasn’t necessary. Apparently, he found Kane’s word much more believable than mine.

  Once Jonathan had our signatures, he was ready to take Chloe and me down to the morgue again. He refused to allow anyone else down there, for obvious reasons. Kane, Rachel, and the guys waited in the parking lot while Jonathan took us down those familiar stairs to that creepy basement. The ghost at the end of the hallway was thankfully gone this time, either having moved on or more likely, he found a more interesting place to haunt.

  Jonathan led us back into the familiar morgue. He had a quick talk with the coroner and then we were alone, thankfully.

  He opened the evidence bag and set the personal effects of the victim on a nearby table.

  There wasn’t much to it, though. Just a long-sleeved shirt and jeans. No ID. No jewelry. Obviously whoever dumped her body didn’t want her to be easily identified.

  Chloe reluctantly took a step forward. The autopsy room was just a few feet away, thankfully behind a closed door. But since she knew it was there, it creeped her out. I couldn’t really blame her, though. I was a bit creeped out myself and I talked to ghosts for a living.

  “It’s okay, Chloe,” I said. “Just take it nice and slow.”

  Jonathan took a step back, giving us room.

  Chloe closed her eyes as she held her hands above the clothing. She moved her hands around, feeling out the most powerful psychic link she could latch onto I guessed.

  Then she lowered her hands until they were touching the fabric beneath. The woman’s shirt, I noticed.

  “I’m getting…I’m getting something,” Chloe said after a few moments of silence. “It’s not clear. Just a quick flash. Oh…”

  “What do you see? Can you describe it for me?” I said.

  “The woman…she’s…she’s crying…”

  “What else?” I gently said when Chloe didn’t continue.

  “She’s….she’s in a room. There’s a couch. A lamp. And there’s…there’s someone there with her…”

  “Can you describe this person? Are they young or old? Male or female.”

  “Male. Definitely male,” she said. “I can feel his anger. His hatred. He’s going to do something really awful to this woman. I can’t…I have to look away.”

  “Hang in there, Chloe,” I quickly said. “Focus on his face. What do you see?”

  “There’s so much hatred there,” she said. “How could someone live with so much hatred in their soul like that?”

  “Do you see his face? Can you describe him to me?” I said.

  “Short brown hair. Pale face. He’s practically towering over her. He’s not old. Maybe in his thirties.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” she said. Then she cringed. She opened her eyes and quickly pulled herself away from the clothes. Away from me.

  “What happened?” I asked. “You were doing so well.”

  “I saw him swing something and then it all went black. The psychic connection practically snapped,” Chloe said. “It was awful.”

  I put a reassuring arm around her. “You did good, Chloe. You did really good.”

  She smiled a weak smile. Then she remembered where we were. “Can we get out of here?” She asked.

  “Of course,” I said.

  Jonathan gave me a questioning look but I gave him a look of my own. If there was anything useful, he’d be the first to know. Right now Chloe needed a break.

  Once we were outside, Chloe got a barrage of questions. I quickly told everyone what she saw so that she wouldn’t have to.

  “Did you at least get a look at the location?” Rachel asked.

  I’d been wanting to ask the same thing, but since Chloe looked so shook up, I decided to hold back. I was glad someone asked the question, though.

  “It was just a regular looking room. Living room probably,” Chloe said. “I’m sorry but that’s all I got.”

  “You got plenty,” I reassured her. “At least we know it’s not the same guy that killed Rebecca.”

  “Is Rebecca here right now?” Mike asked. He looked excited at the prospect while Jacob started to look uneasy.

  “No, not right now,” I said. “She’s taking a look around town to see if she can’t spot a ghost wandering around that matches the victim’s description.”

  Mike looked a bit disappointed while Jacob immediately relaxed. Rachel didn’t seem to care either way.

  “I have to say,” Rachel finally said, “this isn’t really the most exciting material.”

  “I’m sorry if reality isn’t gripping enough for your reality show,” Chloe surprised everyone by saying. Then she turned her back and walked back to their van.

  “That was…kind of impressive actually,” Rachel said with a smile. “There’s hope for her yet. Did you get that, Jacob?”

  “Every word,” he said, touching the small camera on his jacket pocket. “Was yours running?”

  Both Mike and Rachel nodded.

  “As far as I know,” Rachel said. “But you know electronics tend to fail around me.”

  “Maybe if you stopped carrying crystals and lucky talismans around, they wouldn’t,” Mike said.

  “And maybe you should mind your own business,” Rachel said. Then she pulled me aside. “So what’s our next move? Chloe’s little psychic act wasn’t as helpful as I’d hoped.”

  “I think some grunt work is in order. Kane and I will drive around and see if I can’t spot anything of interest.”

  “Boring,” Rachel said. “I guess we’ll go back to our room and do some editing.”

  “I’ll talk to you as soon as I have something,” I said.

  “You better,” Rachel said.

  I stood by Kane as we watched the ghost hunters’ van drive away.

  “That was…something,” he finally said, in his usual casual manner.

  “It was, wasn’t it? Did you happen to find out anything while I was wolfing down delicious pastries in my office?”

  Kane laughed.

  “No, nothing we can use at least. It looks like we’re at a dead end.”

  I refused to accept that. There was always something that could be done. Something that could offer up the next clue. But that something wasn’t coming so I suggested we drive around for a bit.

  Kane groaned. “Sure, but let me fill up the gas first.”

  “Maybe we can pick up some snacks at the gas station,” I offered.

  “Is that all you think about?”

  “At times like this when there’s nothing else to do? Yep.”

  He smiled and pulled me in for a kiss. “And that’s why I love you,” he said.

  “I love you, too,” I said. “But I think I might love sweets just a tiny bit more.”

  I ran back to the van before Kane could respond to that.

  “You okay to drive?” I asked when he was at the wheel.

  “Yes. I know I’m the designated driver so I only drank a beer, two tops.”

  “Good,” I said. “Because I have to keep an eye on our surroundings.”

  While the next few hours weren’t going to be the most exciting of the day, at least I had Kane by my side. And pretty soon, I’d hopefully have some delicious candy bars as well.

  Fifteen

  The only ghost we spotted on our drive was Rebecca, so of course, we picked her up. Sh
e was wandering through a quiet neighborhood, looking defeated.

  “I’m guessing you didn’t have much luck either?” I said once she was in the van with us.

  “No. I did find a few lost souls, but they weren’t interested in talking to anyone right now. They could become potential problems in the future, though.”

  “Great, so I might have a job or two in the next ten to twenty years or so?” I joked.

  Then I told Rebecca about what Chloe saw.

  “Maybe it didn’t take place locally?” She offered.

  “That’s what I was thinking as well,” I said. “Who knows, it might not even be related to your case.”

  Rebecca looked a bit uncomfortable when I said that. It was understandable. Usually, we focused on other people’s problems and mysteries. This one was all about her, even though she couldn’t really remember much of who she was and how she got in her ghostly state.

  “We need a map,” I finally said, getting an idea. I searched the glove department and to my surprise found a gun there.

  “What’s this?” I asked Kane.

  “I had that way back when we met,” he said. “I already told you I only have it just in case. And since there’s a possible serial killer roaming around, I thought it’d be best to keep it close at hand.”

  I carefully put the thing back where I found it.

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “It’s not loaded.”

  He lifted a box of bullets from under his seat. “See?”

  “I feel much better now,” I joked.

  I wasn’t a fan of guns. Their energy felt just too heavy. Thankfully, Kane wasn’t much of a gun enthusiast himself. He just had the one, and that was just in case. I understood since his job as a PI could get dicey sometimes. Who was I kidding, even my job hunting down ghosts could pose all too human dangers sometimes.

  When we got home, Gran and the cats greeted us. Gran was already in the kitchen, finishing cooking up something delicious. At least that’s how I imagined it would be from the smells wafting out of the kitchen.

  “Right on time,” she said. “We can all sit down and eat.”

  After dinner, after we caught up on the day’s events, we all went to the living room for a little TV time. Gran was just about to turn the channel to some of our old favorites when the local news came on.

  “The police have identified not one, but two women.” The reporter then talked about Eileen Smith and the bones they found. Then they turned their attention back to the latest victim. “The police have identified her as Jenny Summers. Her family says that they haven’t seen her since yesterday. It appears she lived a few towns over in Glenscreek.”

  “That bastard,” I said under my breath.

  “Language,” Gran warned me.

  “I have it mind to march across the street and give him a piece of my mind,” I said, getting up and almost walking out the door.

  “Hon, do you really think that’s a good idea?” Kane said.

  “I don’t think Sarah needs that kind of stress right now,” Gran said.

  Of course, they were both right. I kept forgetting that my cousin was pregnant with my ex-boyfriend’s baby. And that they were married to boot. But Jonathan and I were high school sweethearts and it’s not like I had any more feelings for him. Except maybe animosity for not sharing this latest development with me.

  I took a few deep breaths and calmed down.

  “You guys are right,” I said. “But the least he could have done is texted me the info.”

  I got a phone call from Rachel then.

  “Did you see the local news?” She asked me.

  “Yeah,” I said. “I’m trying to keep my cool as we speak. Why?”

  “Well, the guys and I thought, and Chloe kind of reluctantly agreed, that maybe we should do some ghost hunting. How does a drip to Glenscreek sound?”

  “Right now?” I said. It was already getting pretty dark out.

  “All in a day’s work, as they say,” Rachel said.

  “Fine, where do you want to meet?”

  “Be in the town center in about half an hour or so?” She offered.

  “Sounds good.” I hung up.

  “Please don’t tell me we’re actually doing this,” Kane said, obviously having heard what Rachel was asking.

  “It’s not like we have much of a choice,” I said. “Jonathan is obviously not keeping us in the loop. If we want to get to the bottom of this, we’ll have to do it ourselves.”

  “I’ll make sure my gun is loaded, then,” he said.

  “I don’t think it’s going to get that bad,” I said as I followed him to the front door.

  “The guy who killed her is still out there,” Kane reminded me. “And if Chloe’s vision was right, he’s not an old man.”

  I couldn’t argue with that.

  Rebecca followed me upstairs. I got a warmer jacket and some extra layers just in case. Then I packed a few flashlights for the trip as well.

  “You’ll have to be careful,” Rebecca reminded me. “You know, if you were in any real danger, I won’t be of much use.” She looked down at the floor, looking almost defeated.

  I wanted to put my hand on her shoulder but refrained since I knew it would just go through.

  “You’ve saved me plenty of times. Just do your usual snooping and warn us if you see danger ahead and everything will be fine.”

  “I wish I believed that,” was all Rebecca said.

  “Meredith, I don’t like this. I don’t like it one bit,” Gran said just as I was getting ready to leave.

  “It’s my job, Gran,” I reminded her. “I do this kind of thing all the time. And so does Kane.”

  “Not when an actual murderer is on the loose,” she reminded me.

  She was mostly right, though there were a couple of cases…

  “Just promise me you’ll be careful,” she finally said.

  “Of course, Gran,” I said and gave her a quick hug. I even petted the two cats for good measure. Marmalade and Ebony didn’t seem to care either way, though, since they’d already been fed.

  We met up in the town square.

  “This is exciting, isn’t it?” Mike said while he was checking his equipment. “We might actually capture something on camera this time.”

  I was afraid to ask about their pilot since it was still a sore subject for the group. But if this was their last chance to get a show on the air, I was afraid that no matter what they’d come away disappointed.

  “We’re wasting valuable time,” Rachel reminded us. “This town’s about two hours away.”

  “That’s not too far,” I said. “But first, I want to make sure we’re all on the same page.”

  “Make it quick because I’m freezing out here,” Jacob said.

  Chloe was holding herself close as well but she didn’t say anything. Typical.

  “This isn’t some old haunted asylum or something,” I reminded the group. “This woman was murdered only a few days ago at most. We have to be extra careful about how we approach this. Not only is there a killer on the loose, but this is an open police investigation. We could be charged with obstruction if we’re not smart about this.”

  Jacob looked particularly crushed when I said that last part. “Does that mean I just wasted all this time setting up our cameras?”

  “You probably won’t be able to use the footage in your TV show, but depending on what happens, maybe it’ll become evidence in the case against her killer.”

  Jacob relaxed a bit after I said that. “I guess then it wasn’t all a waste,” he said.

  “Let’s just make sure we stay close. The last thing we need to do is scatter to the winds. I’ll lead the investigation. We’ll treat this like any other haunting, except with a lot more care. Okay?”

  “Whatever you say,” Rachel agreed. “Now can we get a move on? I think the night will be our friend.”

  Kane, Rebecca, and I followed the ghost hunters’ van.

  About two hours later, m
aybe less, we entered Glenscreek. It was a small town about the size of Silver Bells. It was unnervingly quiet, just like Silver Bells could be sometimes. Knowing that there was a murder in such a safe seeming town recently gave me the creeps. But murder usually had that effect on me.

  “Do you have the address?” I asked Kane for the umpteenth time.

  “Yes,” he said. “It’s on my phone.”

  Rachel had sent the address to me and I forwarded it to Kane. This time, Kane didn’t have to do his usual PI thing because the ghost hunters had already done it. They found out where exactly Jenny Summers lived.

  We parked our vans at a distance. Fortunately for us, but not so much for the victim, Jenny Summers lived in a secluded spot. There wasn’t another house for at least a mile.

  Rebecca went on ahead while we prepared ourselves for what was to come. Just as we headed in the direction of the house, whose lights were ominously off, Rebecca came back.

  “There’s no one here,” she said. “But you might want to take a look at a few things.”

  I told the others.

  “No ghosts?” Rachel said, looking more than a bit disappointed.

  “Rebecca didn’t see any,” I said. “But let’s keep our guard up. Who knows, maybe the killer comes back for some reason.”

  “Did she live alone?” Kane asked the ghost hunters.

  “Actually, according to her social media at least, she lived with her boyfriend,” Rachel said.

  “Were there any pictures of this boyfriend?” I asked.

  “A few,” Rachel said. “Chloe looked them over and said she wasn’t certain if that was the guy in her vision. It could go either way.”

  “Great,” I said.

  “My vision of him wasn’t exactly clear,” Chloe said in her defense. “I don’t want to accuse someone of murder if I’m not certain of it.”

  “I understand,” I quickly said. “You’re doing the right thing. But let’s just act like this guy could be the killer. Better safe than sorry,”

  I felt safer knowing that Kane had brought his gun along. I just hoped that he wouldn’t have to use it.

  Rachel and Jacob stayed outside, playing lookouts. If they saw anyone approaching the house, they’d text us immediately.