She sounded like she was ready to hang up. I had to go about this the smart way.
“Nathan told me about you,” I quickly said. “Thank you for calling. Did Nathan tell you what I do for a living?”
“Yes, and I’m not sure what to think,” she said. “He also told me about what he thinks happened.”
“About your brother?”
“Yes, but I’d rather not talk about this over the phone.”
We worked out the logistics and agreed that I should visit her in Glenscreek at my earliest convenience. I agreed and told her I’d be seeing her soon. I texted Kane the good news.
“Really? Didn’t we just come back from there?” He replied.
Now I needed to get ready for my interview. The reporter agreed to do a live feature on me, which was quite generous I thought. Going live meant that they could ask anything they wanted, but also meant that I could talk about anything I wanted.
Kane didn’t have to come with me for this part, but he insisted. Rebecca came too, but she kept her distance in case her presence interfered with any of the recording equipment. Rachel and Mike offered to tag along but I said I was fine doing this one on my own, seeing as they did the other interview without me.
Once we got to the news station, we were treated with the utmost respect. Almost too much. Kane stayed out of the way while Rebecca snooped around, trying to figure out what kind of questions they really planned on asking me, but to no avail.
Once it was time, I was all pampered up by the makeup artist. A small microphone was attached to my shirt, and we were ready to go.
The reporter was a pretty brunette. She was all smiles before the cameras started to roll, but once they did? Let’s just say her whole demeanor changed.
“Welcome back, Silver Bell Cove, I’m Cindy Renner and today we have an exclusive interview with one of our own, Meredith Good, a local ghost hunter. So nice of you to be with us Meredith,” she said and smiled the fakest smile I’d seen in my life.
I gave her a fake smile of my own. “Thank you for inviting me,” I said.
“By now, if you weren’t already, you should be a household name in our town. Especially after that video clip from yesterday. Tell us, Meredith, because we’ve certainly gotten a lot of questions since that segment aired, what exactly is it that you do?”
“I help people who are dead move on to the next world. Sometimes they tend to cause trouble for the living, so I’m called in to get rid of them. Usually, they have some unfinished business and after that’s resolved, they’re more than happy to go.”
“That’s nice,” Cindy said. That fake smile again. I almost thought about walking off right then but then remembered why I was actually there in the first place. “You must realize that all of this is hard to believe for most people, right?”
I smiled from ear to ear, then toned it down so that I wouldn’t look like a total looney. “It’s hard for people to believe something they haven’t seen with their own eyes. I’ve seen ghosts since I was a child. But believe me, by the time they hire me to get rid of whatever is haunting them, most people come around.”
“Can we talk about the video clip we showed yesterday?” Cindy asked without asking because she didn’t wait for me to answer. She motioned for one of the producers to play the clip.
There it was, in all its glory again. Me talking to Nathan as if he were someone else. Him getting up and then the flickers. I noticed the shadow in the video almost immediately now, since now that Mike had pointed it out, I knew what to look for.
“Is this real?” Cindy asked me.
“Of course it is,” I said. “Nathan Grant can corroborate everything that happened there.”
“There are some that have said that you were hired by Nathan Grant in order to make him look innocent or to at least help him with an insanity defense. Is this true?”
“Of course not,” I was quick to say. Now that I knew what game Cindy was playing, I decided to stop playing nice and do what I came there to do before they took me off the air. “That’s a preposterous claim. Whoever is watching now, I implore you to observe anyone you know carefully. If they exhibit any signs of not being themselves, please contact my office and I will check it out.”
Cindy looked like she was scrambling for something to say as I held up my business card with my number to the camera.
“News 2 does not endorse this in any way,” she quickly said.
“Thank you for the opportunity to talk,” I said. “But now I must be going. There’s a very dangerous ghost out there looking to possess someone else and I’m going to stop him. Have a nice day, Cindy.”
And with that, I got up to go. To Cindy’s credit, she was quick on her feet. She expertly brought the program back to the regular news. Before she had an opportunity to hunt me down and ask what that was about, I made myself scarce.
Kane couldn’t have driven out of there fast enough.
“I don’t know if I feel comfortable with that,” Chloe said for the thousandth time.
I sighed and tried again. “We’re running out of time,” I reminded her. “He could strike at any moment. Is that what you want?”
Chloe shook her head. “Of course not. But…”
“It’ll be fun, Chlo,” Rachel said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Think of it as an opportunity to flex your psychic muscles. What could be wrong with that?”
“But she’s his mother,” Chloe reminded us as if we didn’t already know. “It just doesn’t feel right.”
“And the killer was her brother,” I said. “She said she’s willing to talk about him. And if she has some of his belongings on hand or even pictures? Even better.”
We were at Sammy’s Bar & Grill. Rachel had decided that it should be just us girls this time. But now that Chloe was acting so stubborn, I wasn’t sure it would have made any difference if the guys were around.
Danny came back with another round of drinks for us. I decided to have a Shirley Temple because I wanted to keep my wits about me. Now I was regretting that decision.
“I know, but I don’t know if I’m ready for that,” Chloe said. “What if I get it wrong? What then?”
“Then nothing is lost except time,” I said. “And if you get it right? We stop this monster once and for all and he never hurts another woman again.”
Chloe kept staring at the table like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. I rolled my eyes and got up.
“Let me check out some of these messages,” I said. “I’ll be back.”
Rachel gave me a reassuring smile. It was her turn now to convince Chloe to go back to Glenscreek with us.
Rebecca joined me in the restroom.
“She’s kind of annoying,” she said.
I laughed. “Tell me about it,” I agreed. “But I kind of understand. She needs some time to accept her gift and just go with it. I wonder what happened to her when she was young to make her this way. It must have been worse than what happened to me.”
“You were always headstrong as a child. You’d fight anyone if they tried to make fun of you. Chloe seems like she’d just run away and cry.”
“Maybe if she had a friend like you growing up,” I said.
“If only,” Rebecca agreed.
“Here goes nothing,” I said as I started playing my voicemails.
As soon as I got off the air, my phone was ringing off the hook. You’d think it would be people reporting strange behavior. But no. It was mostly pranks. I wish I could say most of them were by kids and teenagers, but a large amount actually wasn’t. Then there were those that just wanted to tell me that I was doing the devil’s work and that I was going to hell. And then there was Jonathan. I only listened to a few seconds of his shouting before I deleted all his messages outright.
And now here I was again. Another plethora of voicemails to get through.
By now, I knew when to spot the people that were actually being serious, so it was easy deleting the messages one by one
after only listening to a few seconds.
“Anything we can use?” Rebecca asked after I was finished.
“Sadly no,” I said. “I think there are a lot more lonely people in Silver Bells than I realized.”
“I can check out any leads, no matter how thin,” she reminded me.
That was our plan all along. I was going to get the tips, and then Rebecca would go out to check them out. To observe these supposedly strangely acting people. She already did it a few times but came up empty each time.
“They’re just people being people,” she’d said when she came back.
Now here we were again.
I came back to the table and it actually looked like Chloe had loosened up a little.
“Have we come to a decision?” I asked Rachel and Chloe.
“She agreed to do it,” Rachel said. “On one condition.”
“What’s that?” I asked, wondering what exactly Chloe would want.
“She says she can’t meet with the mother. She’ll do her psychic thing on any items we get, but she says she’s not up for talking to anyone.”
“That’s fine,” I said. “I’m glad that’s sorted.”
I excused myself and called Hannah Grant. She said it was fine if we arrived at her place later that night. She said she wasn’t sleeping well anyway, what with her son in jail for murder and all.
We went our separate ways. I went to tell Kane the good news. I told my grandmother where exactly we’d be.
“Stay safe,” she said and I nodded.
I petted the cats and we were on our way.
Once again, we met up with the ghost hunters and were then on our way to Glenscreek. By the time we arrived there, it was pretty dark, almost nine o’clock at night.
Kane used his trusty cell phone to get us to the right address.
Once we were there, we all piled out of our respective vans.
Rachel wanted to come with me and Kane but I reminded her about that news segment she and Mike did. She decided it was best to sit this one out with the rest of the ghost hunters, staying behind with Chloe, who seemed glad for the company.
“Hopefully pretty soon we’ll have something,” I said to Mike and the others.
“Just get something Chloe can use and we can actually film it,” he said.
Always thinking about that show they were filming.
Hannah Grant lived in a small, one-story house, surrounded by beautiful trees and a well-kept garden. There were little lights all over the property giving a nice view of everything. The neighboring houses weren’t too far on either side.
I took in a deep breath as I approached the front door. No matter how many times I did this, it never got easier.
“Here goes nothing,” I said as I rang the bell.
Twenty-One
When I introduced myself, Hannah Grant welcomed us into her home.
“Thank you for coming,” she said to me once we were seated in the living room. “Would you like something to drink?”
Both Kane and I declined.
“We don’t want to take up any more of your time than necessary,” I said.
She sat down across from us. But she didn’t say anything. I knew it was hard to talk about something like this, so I took the initiative.
“Rochester Bailey,” I said. “He was your brother?”
Hannah nodded. “He was always troubled. Ever since we were children I never really felt safe around him. He would hurt animals when we were little and he’d show no remorse at all. When he joined the military, I breathed a sigh of relief. Being around him was like walking on eggshells. I didn’t know how it affected me until he was gone. And then when he returned, well, I was already in college by then and I could keep my distance. Then I got married and had a family of my own. And then I heard he died in an accident.”
“It doesn’t surprise you that he might have been a serial killer?” I said.
She shook her head. “Sadly, no. At that time when all those missing women were being reported, I had my suspicions, but I wouldn’t let myself believe them.”
“What about Nathan?” I asked. “When did you notice that something wasn’t right?”
“Soon after my brother died, Nathan was only two or three at the time actually, my son would start to get these awful nightmares that never stopped. When he got older, he started to sleepwalk. At least that’s what we thought at the time. But now…”
“I know it’s hard to believe,” I said.
“Nathan wouldn’t even hurt a fly growing up,” she said. “I made sure to observe him closely. But the only signs that something was wrong were the nightmares and the sleepwalking. But to think that my brother had some kind of grip on him this whole time? It’s just too much.”
She started to tear up.
“The worst part is that he’s probably going to spend the rest of his life in prison, for a crime he did not really commit,” she said.
“Sadly, the law doesn’t recognize the paranormal,” I said. “Most people actually think I’m either crazy or a charlatan.”
Hannah calmed down then. “You said over the phone that you needed some of my brother’s things?”
I nodded. “Pictures, anything he may have owned, anything like that would be useful.”
“I looked through some of the things we had stored away. I even went to look at my parents’ old belongings. I came up with a few items,” she said and got up.
Rebecca followed her just in case she planned on coming back with a shotgun.
When they came back, there was a small box full of things.
“I didn’t know what exactly you needed, so I got a little bit of everything,” Hannah said when she handed me the box. “There are a few pictures. Some of his trophies from the sports he played and even his police badge is in there. Will that be enough?”
“More than enough,” I said. “Thank you so much for doing this. I know this wasn’t easy.”
“It wasn’t,” she agreed, looking close to tears again. “But if it will stop him from possessing anyone else, from hurting anyone else, I had to at least try.”
“I’ll make sure to send you these back as soon as we’re done with them,” I reassured her.
She shook her head. “Keep them. Throw them away. I have no use for them. They were collecting dust in the back corner of the attic anyway.”
We said our goodbyes and joined the others outside.
“Did you get it?” Rachel asked as soon as she saw us.
“I’ve got more than enough here,” I said. “Now we just need a place Chloe can do her thing.”
“I thought we were going to head back first?” Mike said.
“I thought we should do it here just in case his spirit is still around. I know it’s a long shot, but I’d hate for us to have to drive back here if he is indeed still around.”
“Good idea,” Rachel said. “Let me see what I can find.”
While Rachel looked for places open this late, I took the stuff Hannah had given me and secured them in the back of Kane’s van.
Rebecca glanced at the box as I put it away.
“I’m afraid to look,” she said. “What if when I see his face, I remember everything?”
“Would that be such a bad thing?” I said.
“Maybe,” was all she said.
“I just got off the phone,” Rachel said when I rejoined the group. “There’s a place fairly close by. I’m afraid it’s not fancy. It’s a step above a motel if the reviews are to be believed.”
“Anything is better than nothing,” I said. “Of course, we could always park somewhere and do it from the van. But I don’t think getting noticed by the local law enforcement would end well for us. Especially after that interview you and Mike did.”
“You’re never going to let that go, will you?” Rachel said.
“Not anytime soon, anyway,” I said and smiled.
The motel was a little bit away from the town itself, but it was close enough. Once we w
ere all settled, and once Jacob made sure all the recording equipment was working, it was time for Chloe to do her thing.
Rebecca kept her distance as I put the box full of Rochester Bailey’s belongings in front of Chloe.
Chloe looked nervous.
“Take a deep breath,” I told her. “You can do this.”
“Yeah, you’ve done this plenty of times before,” Rachel reminded her.
“You can do this,” Mike added.
“Thanks, guys,” Chloe said, coming a little out of her shell.
She slowly opened the box. The first item she took out was a photo. It was Rochester Bailey, looking fresh out of the military, or at least that was my guess.
Chloe held up the picture and then closed her eyes. As soon as she did, it was clear that she saw something. She almost jumped back, but thankfully the bed was right behind her.
She dropped the picture and opened her eyes. Her breathing became hard as if she had just come up for air from the water.
I came closer and put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright, Chloe. You’re safe now.”
She shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “I saw. I saw all the awful things he did. He was a monster.”
“We already know that,” Rachel said. “Did you see anything that would tell us where he might be now?”
“No,” Chloe said. “I don’t know if I can continue…”
“You have to,” Mike said. “We’re getting so close.”
“Mike is right,” I said. “But I have a suggestion. Instead of letting whatever psychic impressions you get to come to you, why not try guiding them? Focus on where he is right now, or his spirit at least. That should help you zoom in on his current whereabouts.”
“Will it really?” Chloe asked.
“It should,” I said. “At least that’s what Callie says anyway. I’m not an expert in these matters. Either way, it couldn’t hurt to try, could it?”
The next item Chloe picked up was Bailey’s police badge.
“Remember, focus on where he is right now,” I reminded her.
She nodded and closed her eyes as she gripped the badge tighter.
Ghostly Endings (A Ghost Hunter P.I. Mystery Book 5) Page 14