by Fiona Grace
“Thanks for what you did in there,” Mia said. “They’ve been driving me crazy all morning.”
Hugh grinned. “Your mother is lovely.”
“Very elegant,” Mia said. “You speaking French to her was the thrill of her day.”
“So that’s your stepdad? He’s—how can I put it—meticulous. He might make a good ghost hunter too.”
“Oh God, I don’t think so. We try not to use the ‘G’ word around him. He hates what I do. He thinks the show-folk lack good breeding.”
“He might have a point there,” Hugh said and grinned. “Next time you go hunting, why don’t you let me come with you? I promise not to scare away the ghosts.”
Mia felt a warm heat sink from her spine all the way down to her toes. Hugh was so straightforward and honest, like a fresh, breezy afternoon at the beach. They’d both been so busy, it had been hard to arrange a second date. But every time she saw him and he hinted at wanting to spend more time with her, something came up. Today was already looking like a train wreck.
“I’d really like that, but for now, I have to go,” Mia said. “Something just came up at work. Would you be terribly offended if I rushed out of here with Sylvie in tow?”
“Of course not,” Hugh said. “Between Madison’s French and Daniel’s passion for authentic cuisine, I think you just brought me some of my best customers.”
Mia walked back inside to the table. Everyone was chatting happily over their French cuisine and croissants.
“Mom? Daniel?” Mia said. “Sylvie and I have to go to work.”
“What’s up?” Sylvie said.
“There’s a new location in Swampscott we need to see today,” Mia said. “Graham and Ollie said it’s time sensitive.”
“All right, make sure you check the itinerary. Catch up with us when you’re done,” Daniel said, puffing up out of habit. But Mia could see with relief they were all having a good time.
Brynn sat up straight, alarmed at Mia’s abrupt departure.
“You’re coming back soon, right?” Brynn glanced at the Middleton mob and back at Mia imploringly.
“I will,” Mia said and motioned to Sylvie. They grabbed their jackets and headed out the door.
“Where the heck is Swampscott?” Sylvie asked.
“It’s south, but the real question is why Swampscott?” Mia said.
“Okay, I’ll bite,” Sylvie said. “Why?”
“I’m not sure but my spidey-senses are tingling,” Mia said. “I sent a bunch of great locations to choose from, but now we’re supposed to check out a haunted house I’ve never heard of before?”
“You mean Mr. Hollywood is up to something?” Sylvie said and snorted.
“There’s only one way to find out. Let’s go get our equipment and check this place out.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Mia, Sylvie, and Tandy piled into Mia’s Toyota and drove to the address Graham had texted them. The route wound down toward the ocean and as they got closer the sun seemed to grow brighter and the air was fresh and salty.
A public bus passed by with a large advertisement wrapped around the doors that read: Own a little piece of bliss! Call Seaside Estates Realty! The ad featured a tan woman with short blonde hair posed in front of what looked like a million-dollar estate. Tandy’s head stuck out the window with his tongue and ears flapping in the wind as they passed a city marker sign:
Entering Swampscott
Est. 1629
They turned off the A1 highway and into the small town. The blocks of houses were more stately than those in Salem, but despite the sunny streets, there was still a sense of history. The wooden clapboard homes were painted the colors of autumn leaves with burnt yellow, deep orange, and sage green tones as they curved around the suburban plots, following Google maps to the haunted location.
“Looks like the Stepford Wives version of Salem,” Sylvie said, looking out at the tidy neighborhoods with manicured lawns. The neighborhoods were well-maintained and lined with the early twentieth-century houses so popular in the area. Tandy saw another dog out the window and barked. He was ready to stretch his legs.
As Mia turned down Elmswood Road, she was concerned. She hadn’t had any time to research the location, which meant going in blind. And even though she’d brought equipment, knowing the history of a location was important. Besides, she barely trusted Graham after some of the stunts he’d pulled in the past, like the first Bell, Book, and Candle show when he was caught tampering with the actual haunting. He’d sworn never to do that again, but still, she liked to keep an eye on him. Mia scanned the quiet, upper-middle-class street. It didn’t seem particularly spooky.
“Can you Google the address and see what comes up?” Mia said.
“Sure,” Sylvie said, fingers lightly tapping. “That’s weird…”
“What?” Mia said.
“The street view is blurred in Google maps.”
“Really? Let me see,” Mia said.
Sylvie held the phone up and Mia glanced at her screen. There was a blur where the house was supposed to be located.
“Google does that sometimes when something notorious has happened at the location,” Mia said. “Check out the Amityville Horror house.”
Sylvie’s fingers typed quickly into her phone.
“Whoa!” she said, surprised. “You’re right, it’s a blur too.”
“So maybe something bad happened at the Elmswood House?” Mia said.
“Funny, but this town is not like Salem at all,” Sylvie said, scrolling through the Internet. “They don’t seem to like to talk about their ghosts. And the crime rate is virtually non-existent. I do see one thing from back in the eighties. The Browder family murders took place on Elmswood. Looks like a whole family was killed there.”
“I guess we’ll find out the hard way,” Mia said.
“According to the blur, the house should be just ahead,” Sylvie said.
The driving directions app started blinking and a voice said—You have arrived at your destination, on the right. Mia pulled over and pointed to a long driveway extending out of a patch of massive greenery. A large For Sale sign was planted in the yard. She inched the Toyota forward until the house came into view.
They stared in surprise. Hidden behind the overgrown yard, peering out from behind a tangle of dead tree branches, was an old Victorian-style house, surrounded by what looked like a dilapidated park. The once stately, turn of the century home had a steeply pitched roof, with pointed arches and front-facing gables, but the wooden slates were in disrepair and part of the delicate verge-board trim was broken. The peeling paint had become stained and blistered, stripped by the salty wind blowing in from the sea. A few of the windows were cracked and broken.
Mia and Sylvie stood, unable to take their eyes off the old mansion.
“That is one creepy house,” Sylvie said. “Talk about a wreck.”
“Yes,” Mia said. “ How can this place even be for sale?”
“The fixer-upper from hell,” Sylvie said.
A strange feeling lodged itself in Mia’s gut. The house looked unhealthy, unsavory, diseased. She knew that wasn’t a very logical way to think, but she couldn’t help herself. Mia felt a little queasy just looking at the place.
Mia and Sylvie stepped out of the car, followed by Tandy, who immediately started acting squirrelly. He growled and ran to the nearest patch of grass to mark the new territory. As he sampled all the brand-new smells, he looked up at the house and made a huffing sound.
“There you are,” Johnny said, cheerfully, coming around the corner of the house, followed by the crew and the producers. He was dressed in jeans and a dark shirt with a distressed leather jacket. As he got closer, he met Mia’s gaze with his dusky hazel eyes. Despite her better instincts she felt a wave of attraction. Not a good idea, she told herself. Getting involved with her co-host, when she was already practically dating a great guy, could only lead to trouble.
“Hey, Johnny,” she said nervously and b
roke eye contact with him. “What a place, huh?”
Tandy ran over to greet Johnny who petted his head. A lock of dark ashy hair fell across his forehead. He smiled at Mia and she felt another jolt of electricity pass between them. She acted like nothing had happened.
Then Graham Stone and Ollie Cooper came around the corner, deep in conversation, while Jake, the cameraman, calculated exterior shots, closely followed by Will, the boom operator/intern who was making notes.
Will whistled to Tandy, who trotted toward him but stopped abruptly and whimpered, slowly backing away.
“What’s wrong with him?” Will said, confused. He walked Tandy all the time, so the dog’s refusal to come closer to him was strange. Mia looked at the house. Maybe Tandy sensed there was something wrong with the place too?
“Maybe he knows something you don’t,” Mia said, looking up at the house.
“Great, isn’t it?” Johnny said, excited. “You can feel there’s something haunted about the place.”
“I don’t know, I haven’t had time to research it,” Mia said.
“It’s ugly, I’ll give you that,” Sylvie said.
“Someone’s coming to show us around,” Johnny said.
The two producers stopped and smiled. Ollie wore a relaxed windbreaker and checkered shirt with dark slacks. Graham was dressed in a peculiar safari suit combo, with four patch pockets on the front. His shirt was a psychedelic paisley with a wide collar. Mia supposed this was his ode to dressing down or maybe he had themes?
“Well, what do you think?” Graham said. “Looks the part, doesn’t it? Very scary stuff.”
“You mean it looks like it should be condemned and torn down?” Sylvie said. “That is true.”
“I don’t get why we’re here exactly,” Mia said. “I sent you some great locations. Why this house?”
“Because this one is exclusive and it’s on the market,” Graham said, pointing to the For Sale sign. “It’s time sensitive. We have to act now. You’ll see as soon as Cindy gets here.”
“Your other locations are very good, Mia,” Ollie said. “Thank you for all the research. We will revisit them.”
“Here’s Cindy now,” Graham said.
At that moment, a white Lexus pulled up the driveway. A woman got out of the car and strode up the incline, legs thrusting powerfully as she walked. She was dressed in white heels, a pale cheetah-print skirt that hugged her knees, topped with a powder blue leather suit jacket, a silver sateen shirt, and chunky gold jewelry. Mia recognized her immediately. This was the real estate agent from the bus billboard, the one from Seaside Estates.
“Graham? You are right on time. I knew you would be,” the woman said.
“Guys, this is Cindy Moore,” Graham said. “You already know Ollie. Let me introduce our film crew, Jake and Will. Sylvie is our film and sound editor. And the stars of the show, Johnny Astor and Mia Bold.”
Cindy thrust out her hand, weighed down with heavy rings and a gaudy charm bracelet that sparkled as she shook each hand vigorously.
“So you’re the Bell, Book, and Candle group? So good to meet you, really, it’s an honor,” Cindy said. “I love psychic shows like Manhattan Medium. Love, love, love! Which one of you is the psychic?”
“Actually, we’re ghost hunters, Cindy,” Johnny said and smiled. “We use science to investigate the paranormal, right, Mia?”
Johnny smiled at Mia and her knees went a little funny, He was being so sweet, it was making it hard to concentrate on work.
“Oh my gosh, you are adorable!” Cindy said. “Isn’t he cute, Graham?”
“Why don’t you tell our stars about this place, Ms. Moore?” Ollie said.
“Well, as I told Graham when we met at the sports bar,” Cindy said in a gossipy voice, “this is the location of the Elmswood Horror.”
The moment she said the words, Mia felt a sense of dread. The Elmswood Horror? It sounded familiar.
Was that why she felt so bad? Had she read about the place?
“What happened?” Johnny said.
“The Browder family murder, that’s what!” Cindy said.
Mia and Sylvie glanced at each other. They were right.
“The one from the eighties?” Sylvie said.
“That’s right. The Browder family moved into the house,” Cindy said. “Donnie Browder, his wife, Angie, and their two boys, Bobby and Todd. As you can see, the house is laid back from the street. So, Donnie Browder starts acting crazy, like talking to himself and fits of anger. One day the kids don’t show up for school. The next morning the police find the whole family dead, except Donnie, he survived. Now he’s in the loony bin.”
“Donnie Browder murdered them?” Mia said.
“That’s right, hon. He gassed them. He drove his car into the garage and left it running. The carbon monoxide filled the house and the next day the whole family was found dead, scattered around the house. He gassed himself too but they found him still alive.”
“So the murdered family is haunting this place?” Johnny said.
“That’s what they say,” Cindy said. “After the tragedy my client, Connie Carol, bought the place cheap. She moved in with her hubby, Dean. They were going to renovate. That’s when they started seeing and hearing things.”
“Like what?” Mia said.
“Thuds in the night, footsteps, loud bangs, ghosts, you know, creepy stuff! Within a month Dean died of a heart attack and Connie moved back out again. Now she’s all alone in the word, poor thing.”
“And get this,” Graham said. “The rumor is that a ghost killed Dean.”
Mia frowned. Ghost sightings were rarely violent.
“Is Connie Carol available for an interview?” Mia said.
“I doubt it. She’s very private,” Cindy said.
“Too bad,” Graham said.
That was strange, Mia thought. Usually, people wanted to talk about their ghostly encounters. Sometimes anonymously, but still…
Cindy flashed a smile with glossy peach lips at Graham.
Sylvie gave Mia a funny look. Were Graham and Cindy having a thing?
“Why is this place such a wreck?” Mia said.
“We’ve had a couple of big storms and no repairs done. The neighborhood kids try to break in now and then. They vandalized the windows and the verge board. Now that the property tax has skyrocketed Connie just can’t hang onto the place any longer. Now, who wants a tour?” Cindy said.
“That would be great,” Johnny said.
“You go ahead,” Graham said. “Ollie and I have some business to discuss.”
Cindy motioned for the crew to follow her. Then she walked up the driveway to a weathered set of steps which led to a wide porch.
Concerned, Tandy lowered his head, but when he saw Mia was going inside, he crept cautiously beside her. The way he was acting made Mia even more nervous. Worse, she couldn’t account for why. She’d been to a dozen places worse than this, but she’d never had such an aversion to a place. She looked up at the shuttered windows and the peeling paint, took a deep breath, and tried to bury her trepidation.
Cindy walked up the front steps. The wood creaked under her white heels as she stepped onto the veranda. She took a skeleton key out of her handbag and opened the door.
“We’ve had some trouble with kids breaking in,” Cindy said. “All hours, day and night.”
Mia, Johnny, and Sylvie mounted the steps, with the rest of the crew just behind. There was a loud creak as Cindy opened the door.
On the top step, Mia took a deep breath and hesitated. What was it about this place? For some reason, she did not want to go inside. Tandy whimpered, sensing her feelings. Mia could see he felt the same way she did.
“It’s okay, boy,” she whispered, not wanting her fellow crew members to see that she was having a case of nerves, especially Johnny Astor. For the first time in her career as a ghost hunter, she felt resistance to walking into such a place.
Why? What was that sense of dread she felt? Wha
t was waiting for them inside the door?
CHAPTER FIVE
One by one, they entered the house. The moment she was inside, Mia felt the fine hair lift on her arms and the back of her neck. Her head felt heavy, as if there was a sudden pressure drop. Tandy stuck close to Mia’s fingers, his furry shoulder pressed against her thigh as the crew followed Cindy into the dark house.
The entry hall had a rounded cathedral ceiling, but chunks of plaster had fallen down and scattered on the floor. There was a window set above the door gable, obscured by a layer of dust that made the light streaming through appear gray and dismal. The house was furnished, but in a decaying state of disrepair with peeling paint, stained wallpaper, and a faded carpet. An old-fashioned credenza faced the door and Mia jumped when she saw a person standing in the mirror. Then she realized she was looking at her own reflection.
Get a grip, she told herself.
“The Browders left all their furniture,” Cindy said as she swept through the alcove. “The Carols were planning to redecorate. But then you know what happened. They never had a chance, After Dean died, Connie could barely afford the property taxes, let alone a renovation. The place is pretty much the same as when the Browders lived here.”
“Creepy,” Sylvie blurted out.
“We’re trying to find a buyer who will restore the property. It’s turn-of-the-century, you know.” Cindy grabbed the handle of the door to the left and turned to face the small group.
Jake and Will hung back, arms crossed, discussing technical issues.
Johnny stepped up, eager to see the house.
“This door leads to the library,” Cindy said.
Mia tried to hide her uneasy feelings and took her EMF reader out of her bag. She clicked the device on and measured the area.
“What is that thing?” Cindy said.
“An electromagnetic field reader,” Johnny said. “Mia is the scientific one. She’s going to see if there are any energy fields afoot.”
“We should really create an energy map of the house and measure ions and geo activity,” Mia said. “But this is the best I can do on short notice.”