Trifles and Folly 2

by Gail Z. Martin

  I shook my head. “It’s a very interesting display. I think it’ll do well for the Archive. And seriously, in my business, and living in Charleston, it’s not like I can get away from ghosts or haunted heirlooms. So I’ll just have to deal with it.”

  Teag Logan, my assistant store manager, looked up when I walked into Trifles and Folly. “Everything okay?” he asked. “Mrs. Morrissey called.”

  I rolled my eyes, exasperated at myself. “Yes. I’m fine. I just got a glimpse of something at the new exhibit. Not sure what it was, but I know it’s not friendly.”

  Teag came out from behind the counter. No customers in the shop at the moment meant we could speak freely. “You think it’s a danger to the people who visit?”

  I shook my head. I’d spent the whole cab ride trying to figure out what exactly I did get from the glimpse I’d seen. “There’s something old and evil, but I don’t think it was actually there in the Archive if that makes sense. Almost like what I saw was a shadow of the real evil. And I don’t even know which of the events it was tied to—or if the exhibit had anything to do with it at all.” Teag listened closely as I recounted what I’d seen, giving him the full account, not the heavily-edited version I’d told to Mrs. Morrissey.

  “Since you never sensed it before in all the times you’ve been to the Archive, I’d say odds are good it has something to do with one of the featured displays,” Teag said. He’s got magic of his own, and we’re partners in the whole eliminating supernatural threats work of the Alliance.

  I stashed my purse in my office and came back from the break room with a cup of regular coffee. Mrs. Morrissey’s doctored brew had gotten me over the vision, but I needed to get back to work and clear my head. “It spooked me, which is odd given what we’ve seen.”

  Teag and I had faced down demons and vengeful ghosts, vicious witches, fallen angels, and plenty of nasty paranormal threats. I’d mastered my psychometry enough to hold my own in life-or-death battles. Which made me wonder again what had rattled me at the Archive.

  “You said the ghosts begged you to free them. Do you think that might have had something to do with the effect on you? Like maybe it wasn’t just the shadow—it was the ghosts, too?”

  “Maybe. I’d like to find out more about the hurricane, the earthquake, and the World’s Fair,” I said. “There’s a piece missing, and I think it’s important.”

  The door opened, ushering in our first customer of the day, and Teag and I stayed busy with a steady stream of visitors until after lunch. I didn’t have a chance to check my phone until I went to the back to grab my sandwich from the fridge. That’s when I realized I’d missed a call from Kell.

  “Hey,” I greeted him when he picked up my call. “What’s up?”

  “Hey yourself,” he bantered, his voice warm. Kell Winston ran Southern Paranormal Observation and Outreach (SPOOK), a local ghost hunting group. SPOOK handled their research in a credible manner, and while Kell didn’t know the full story about the Alliance, he knew Teag and I had some special skills when it came to supernatural stuff, and he’d been a help on several of our investigations when haunted or cursed objects showed up in the store. One thing led to another, and Kell and I started dating. We’d been together for several months, and things were going well. Very well.

  “We’re going out on a hunt tonight; thought you might want to come with.” Kell’s tone was light, but I could tell he really wanted me to say yes. Our work schedules had kept us too busy to get together for over a week, and both of us had noticed the absence.

  “What’s up?”

  “We’ve been getting reports of people seeing orbs and other things out in Hampton Park,” Kell replied. “Out by the old World’s Fair bandstand.”

  My heart thumped. “Oh?” I tried to keep my voice casual, but my heart thumped. I didn’t believe in coincidence, and after what happened at the Archive, this had to be related.

  “Yeah. There’ve always been ghost sightings there and in the one remaining building left over from the Fair, but the reports have really spiked lately, and we want to find out why. I actually wondered whether it had anything to do with the two new exhibits.”

  “Two?”

  “Yeah—the Museum has a new exhibit on World’s Fair Scandals, and it’s got some juicy stuff, including bits about the exhibition here back in the 1800s.”

  My mind raced. I’d have to get to the Museum in the next couple of days and see if the shadow showed up there, too. “Sure,” I replied. “Just tell me when and where.”

  Kell laughed, and I relaxed a little. While I couldn’t tell Kell everything about what we did—the truth was too dangerous—it was nice not having to hide everything about my abilities and feel accepted.

  “How about dinner first, then some ghost hunting?”

  “You sure know how to show a girl a good time,” I snarked, but I liked both suggestions.

  “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’ and pick you up at your house—say around seven?” Kell replied. I smiled, knowing that he’d worked out the timing, so I had the chance to close up shop, get home and take care of Baxter, my little Maltese, and get changed. Anyone who factored Bax into his plans was okay by me.

  “Hot date?” Teag asked with a grin.

  “Yep. How about you? Is Anthony still working long hours?”

  Teag pushed a hand back through his dark, skater-boy hair. He still looks like the grad student he was before he started working at the store and he found a whole new purpose in life—eliminating supernatural threats. “He’s a lawyer. So long hours go with the territory. I knew what I was getting into when I signed on.” His expression took any sting from his words. Teag and Anthony were crazy in love and had been together for a while now. Anthony was as buttoned-up Brooks Brothers as Teag was Urban Outfitters, but somehow, it worked for them.

  “But he’s between cases right now, for a day or so, and we’re going to make the most of it,” he added with a smile that was pure sin.

  “Have a good evening,” I said, heading out the door.

  “Planning on it!” He called in response. “You, too!”

  Seven came faster than I expected. Kell sat on the couch and played with Baxter while I finished getting ready. There’s no such thing as “just” a ghost hunt. Charleston is one of the most haunted cities on the continent, and the majority of its ghosts are peaceful, thank goodness. Many are just “stone tape” images, powerful memories that get imprinted on a thing or place and reply like the loop on a recording. Those can be disturbing, but they’re harmless. There’s no actual spirit present; just an over-active memory stuck in time.

  Lucky for us, at least seventy-five percent of the ghosts we encounter aren’t dangerous. They’re lost, stuck, confused, or bound to a task or mission. As long as they don’t harm anyone, we don’t bother them. It’s the other twenty-five percent that cause problems. Poltergeists. Vengeful spirits. Dangerous hauntings. That’s when Sorren and Teag and I step in. Ghosts aren’t the most powerful or the most evil creatures out there, but it would be a mistake to underestimate them. I didn’t plan on making that mistake.

  I glanced at the mirror, double checking. My strawberry-blonde hair was tied back in a scrunchie to keep it out of my eyes if tonight turned out to be more action-packed than Kell expected. Even though it was a date of sorts, I dressed for practicality—a black long-sleeved t-shirt, dark jeans, and a jacket over Doc Martens. A silver and agate necklace filled the neckline of my shirt, a powerful protective amulet. I had my athame up my sleeve, where it could be in my hand in seconds if needed. It was an old wooden spoon that had been my grandmother’s, and the strong emotional resonance it held for me activated my touch magic enough to turn it into a powerful weapon, when necessary. I hoped it wouldn’t be needed tonight, but better safe than sorry.

  Just in case, I had an iron knife in a sheath on my belt. Iron blades are hard to keep sharp, but with a ghost, it’s the iron itself, not the razor edge that matters. An agate spindle whorl, another p
rotective talisman that enhanced my magic, lay snug in the pocket of my jeans. My coat pockets held a canister of salt and a bag of iron filings. Ghosts hate salt and iron. It fries their signal, disrupting the energy that enables them to manifest. I also had a lighter and a bundle of sage, to dispel negative energy. Kell said the ghosts were more restless than usual. I wasn’t taking any chances.

  I ran through my mental checklist of weapons and protective charms. Satisfied, I headed downstairs, where Baxter yipped his welcome and Kell’s appreciative once-over made me think I managed to pull off functional and stylish. I returned a glance of my own. Kell was tall and lean with light brown hair and a tan that highlighted his blue eyes.

  “See something you like?” Kell teased.

  I stretched up to kiss him. “Definitely.”

  We went to Jocko’s Pizza for dinner, a neighborhood favorite. While we waited for our order, Kell filled me in.

  “The bandstand and one dormitory are the only buildings left from the World’s Fair,” Kell said, calling up photos on his phone and flipping through them so I could see. I recognized the distinctive, blue-domed gazebo immediately.

  “The bandstand is the original structure, but it was moved from its original location,” Kell explained. He showed me photos of the current site, and where it had been before. “We’re hearing reports of ghost activity and orbs in both places. No one seems to be getting hurt, but I’m curious about what’s made this kick into high gear now, all of a sudden, after all these years.”

  “There weren’t ghost sightings before?”

  Kell waited until our server had situated the steaming hot pizza between us to continue. “Ever since the World’s Fair ended, people have said the grounds were haunted. Maybe it’s because one of the Fair’s producers killed himself in the bandstand a few months after it closed. The event never brought in the tourists or money the organizers had hoped it would, and several of the investors went bankrupt.”

  “Okay, that explains one ghost. But who are the others?”

  Kell shrugged. “No idea, but we’d like to find out. From what I’ve read about the Fair, there were no big catastrophes, no tragic fires, no crazy serial killer like at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. You know, the Devil in the White City guy—H.H. Holmes.”

  I shivered. “Yeah, I saw a documentary about him. Built a murder house, killed lots of women who rented a room from him. I remember.”

  “Everything I’ve read about the Charleston Expo says that it was a very normal exhibition—if anything, a little too boring for its own good.” Kell cut a slice of pizza for me and then wrangled another slice dripping with gooey cheese onto his own plate.

  “What about traffic accidents?” I mused. “Carriages, trolleys, trains—anybody get killed like that?”

  “Not related to the Fair, or it didn’t make the newspaper if it was,” Kell replied. “That’s what’s got me stumped, and with the sudden surge in activity, we decided we’d check it out. I’m glad you could come along.”

  “None of the ghosts have tried to hurt anyone or do damage?”

  “Not that we’ve heard. Just a lot of evening joggers and dog walkers freaking out from seeing Victorian visitors who disappear into thin air and balls of light that dive bomb them out of nowhere.”

  I ate a few bites, savoring Jocko’s homemade signature sauce and thought for a moment. “And you think the exhibits at the Archive and Museum shook something loose? I didn’t sense anything major at the Archive from the items they had on display, but I did get an ominous feeling I couldn’t shake.” That was the truth, even if it wasn’t the whole truth. I told myself that I was protecting Kell by shielding him from knowing too much about the supernatural. He believed in ghosts and magic. He would sleep better at night not knowing about the things Teag and Sorren and I hunted and destroyed. Now that I knew, I would never sleep soundly again.

  “Maybe. It just seems like too much of a coincidence,” Kell allowed. “The Museum’s display doesn’t open until tomorrow. I just saw the announcement online. It’s not even just focused on the Charleston expo—it’s all the World’s Fairs and their scandals.”

  I finished off my slice and reached for another one. “Hey, nothing sells history like dirty laundry,” I replied. “Let’s face it: history is the original reality TV.”

  Just as the check came, my phone buzzed. I glanced down to see a call from Teag. He knew I had a date with Kell, and Teag didn’t call without good reason, so I figured something was up.

  He started talking before I could say anything. “Cassidy. Are you at the bandstand yet?”

  Kell gave me a questioning glance. I mouthed “Teag” and he nodded. “No. Just finishing dinner. Why?”

  “Not sure it’s a good idea to go. Or if you do, be careful.” Teag sounded really worried.

  “Something happen?”

  “Anthony didn’t get home as early as he intended, so I did a little digging online, in some databases,” he said, emphasizing the last word. Teag’s Weaver magic lets him weave spells into cloth, but it also means he can weave disparate bits of data into information, making him one hell of a hacker. Cracking passwords and getting around firewalls doesn’t even slow him down, and he can hack into law enforcement and government computers faster than Bonnie and Clyde could crack a safe. So I guessed he’d been poking around in the local police computers, looking for strange complaints that might actually be supernatural. Not the kind of thing he’d admit to his lawyer boyfriend.

  “And?”

  “A guy was reported as a missing person yesterday. Name’s Peter Morrill. The last time anyone saw him, he was taking a smoke out at the old bandstand.”

  I thanked Teag and relayed the intel, omitting the source of the information. “Might just be a coincidence,” Kell said, finishing his sweet tea. “It’s a public park. Lots of people stop for a smoke.”

  “Maybe. But just in case, let’s be extra careful.”

  Kell leaned across and kissed me on the cheek. “No complaints from me on that.”

  We met up with the rest of the SPOOK crew at Hampton Park. Calista still rocked the goth librarian look, dark makeup and severe hair at odds with a blouse under her leather jacket that could only be described as “prim” if it weren’t unbuttoned down to there. She already had her audio recording equipment mostly set up in the center of the bandstand, favoring us with a glare I knew from experience not to take personally.

  “Glad you could make it.” Sarcasm laced Calista’s voice like arsenic. Situation normal. The only time I had ever heard her not doling out sarcastic barbs was when she was running for her life, so by comparison, this was better.

  “Haven’t seen anything yet.” Drew wandered around the bandstand staring at an EMF scanner that so far remained stubbornly mute in his hand. He looked even skinnier than usual in his black jeans and t-shirt, with his dark hair tied up in a ponytail.

  “Keep it that way until I get the cameras in position,” Pete ordered. He was a short, wiry ginger built like a welterweight wrestler. A pair of modified smart glasses were pushed up on top of his head, riding in his short red hair. “Can’t prove it if we can’t get it on camera.”

  I’d seen the circular gazebo many times, but I’d never had a reason before this to walk out to it. Before I went up the steps, I paused, trying to get an idea of whether or not stepping onto the main platform would pack a psychic wallop. I could feel a resonance strong enough to travel from the ground through my shoes, but nothing that made me worried about getting knocked for a loop. Kell was watching me, and I knew he understood why I hesitated, but I flashed him a reassuring smile and headed up the steps.

  The rest of the team would be busy for a while with the equipment, so I ambled over to the far side of the round platform and drew in a deep breath before placing my palms flat on the white wooden railing.

  The bandstand had been disassembled, moved and put back together, muting its resonance, but the impressions were strong enough that they hardly seemed
dimmed by that at all. I heard strains of music and the hum of conversation. When I opened my eyes, I saw the grand, gleaming white Victorian palaces of the Exposition grounds, and looked out on sunlight glinting from the still water of the pools in the sunken garden.

  The view was breathtaking, and I wish I could show it to Kell and the others, but Teag is the only one I’ve ever been able to share a vision with, and it’s his magic that makes it possible. I’d seen pictures of the grand expo, but their faded images didn’t do it justice, not by a long shot. It was so much bigger in person, designed to impress the world with the wealth and opulence of the American South. Everything about it screamed plantation pride, bruised by the War, desperate to regain its footing. Like everything about that turn-of-the-century period in Charleston, it felt bittersweet.

  I concentrated, and more of the scene came in to focus. I could see people now, not ghosts, just images trapped in the memories retained by the bandstand. A group of young women in their long bustle skirts and elaborate hats giggled as they passed a knot of equally dapper young men, who bowed deep in exaggerated courtliness, grinning widely.

  I got so caught up in the vision that the seeping darkness took me by surprise, making me inhale sharply. I frowned, honing in on the emotions, trying to discern both cause and location. Behind me, toward the center of the bandstand where Calista had her equipment, I felt a pang of despair and loss, desolation and fear, and I remembered that one of the Exposition organizers had committed suicide near this place.

  “Cassidy?” Kell’s voice broke through the vision, and I felt his hand on my arm. “Are you okay?”

  “If she’s getting one of those vision things, she needs to share it with the class,” Calista said in an exaggerated drawl that somehow sharpened the sarcasm.

  “Just glimpses,” I said, turning away from the park toward Kell and Calista. “Memories.” I stared at the floor of the bandstand beneath Calista’s equipment, and for a moment, I could have sworn I saw a pool of blood, though I knew the boards had been replaced long ago.