Ghost Handled (Valley Ghosts Series Book 3)

by BL Maxwell

  “Yeah, I was just about to put a camera in here and the door slammed shut. I thought I saw something, but maybe I’m wrong.”

  “I saw something on the monitor. It didn’t fully form. It just looked like a shimmer on camera and was right behind you.”

  “That’s what I saw in the corner but only for a moment.”

  “Let’s get the cameras installed. I’m not leaving you up here on your own.”

  “Thanks, baby.”

  With Jason’s help it didn’t take long to install a camera in each of the rooms. We walked down the stairs just as Jimbo walked over to where Dean and Deidra sat.

  “Okay, everything’s ready. Wade, how about you and I take the upstairs first, and see if we can get an EVP, or a response through the Ovilus. Jimbo, you and Dean watch the monitors and let us know if you see or hear anything. We’ll take a walkie with us. It’s tough to hear anything from inside the rooms.”

  Jason handed me the Ovilus and tucked the walkie in his pocket. We walked up the stairs to the second floor, me leading the way up the narrow, steep staircase.

  “That railing is really low,” I commented as we reached the top.

  “Yeah, they must have been quite a bit shorter back then.”

  We stood at the top of the stairs long enough for Jason to wave around the EMF and not find anything out of the ordinary. I motioned for us to go to the last room at the end of the hall. All four rooms were identical in size, and after we checked out the first and second, we walked into the next room.

  “I’m going to open myself up. I want to see if I feel anything here. I started to do it earlier, but you were at the door, so I shut it back down. I want to see if any spirits here are willing to talk.”

  “Go ahead, I’ll keep an eye on the EMF.”

  I took a deep breath and slowly let the wall I’d learned to build around this part of my consciousness, slip away. “I can hear you, if you’d like to speak, I’m ready to listen. We just want to understand why you’re here and help if we can.”

  I listened so hard my ears ached at the effort.

  “Do you hear anything?” Jason asked, his eyes darting around.

  “No, nothing. Let’s see if we have any luck in the other rooms.” We walked into the last room, but I still didn’t hear anything. “My name is Wade. I can hear you. I’m not sure why or how. This is my boyfriend Jason, he loves ghosts.” I turned and smiled at him. “We both want to help you. Is there anything you—” A lamp on one of the small tables in the room started to rattle on the marble surface. Jason hurried to wave the EMF around the room, and the meter squealed with the increased activity.

  “I know you’re here, but we can’t see or hear you. Can you communicate with me?”

  The shaking continued and grew in its intensity as the lamp skittered to the edge of the table. Jason pushed it back to the center before it crashed to the floor, but the shaking didn’t stop.

  “If you won’t communicate, we can’t help you. And the business will keep trying to get rid of you. You may not be so lucky with who you have to deal with the next time.”

  “Should we try the Ovilus?”

  “Sure, set it on the floor and see what happens when we ask some questions.”

  Jason turned it on and set it on the floor in the middle of the room. Immediately it crackled to life, and random words started sounding from the small device.

  Girl

  Leave

  Bad

  Leave

  Leave

  “Are you a girl?” Still no reply, but I wasn’t willing to give up yet. “How old are you?”

  Leave now

  “Sorry, but we can’t do that. Not until you talk with us and we can assure the owner that you’re not here to harm anyone. We know you’ve been playing pranks on people, but we don’t want you to keep interacting with the people who come here.”

  No

  “What do you mean no?” This wasn’t going at all like I’d hoped it would. “Maybe she’ll talk with Jimbo or Dean if she’s unwilling to talk to us,” I said to Jason. Before he could answer, the door to the room slowly slid all the way open. “Do you want us to leave?”

  Again, the silence was overpowering. I nodded my head, and Jason picked up the Ovilus. “Come on, let’s go see what we can find downstairs.” We walked out without any other signs of spirit activity, and after concluding there was nothing more up here, we made our way down the stairs.

  At the bottom of the stairs, we turned to the right and walked into the room nearest the front door. The way the windows were all set along the wall it was my guess this had been a sunroom or maybe even the front porch. Jason still held the EMF out in front of him, but as soon as I walked past the stations in the room to the back, I knew we wouldn’t need it.

  “Hello, are you ready to talk now?” The shimmer I’d seen upstairs was in the corner, only now it was more obvious it was a child of maybe ten or twelve. She was dressed in a long skirt that came to her ankles, and a loose-fitting top with long sleeves. Her features were not as clear. But I could tell she had long dark hair parted down the middle and pulled back from her face.

  She didn’t move except to shimmer. Without warning she moved to the side of me. I tried not to react as she leaned in closer to first me, then Jason. She shimmered again, and disappeared.

  “Wade, look,” Jason whispered and pointed at a bottle of lotion on one of the stations.

  Slowly the pump pressed down, and lotion squirted on the workstation; after a few pumps a small puddle of lotion formed. A few seconds later a different bottle with a pump started to depress, and squirted what looked like gel on the station. Every few seconds, after a few pumps of one bottle, the next bottle would start.

  “If you want to talk, I’m willing to listen. But I don’t like games, and I won’t play them.” It was quiet again for a moment. A giggle erupted and the sound moved from this room down the hall.

  “What the fuck was that?” Mom said as she watched us from the room we’d claimed as a control room.

  “Nothing, Mom, just someone who’s being difficult,” I said as I rushed past the door. Jason waved at the three of them as we hurried to see where she’d gone. Following behind me, Jason smashed into my back when I stopped short at the end of the hall. That was different, usually it was me hiding behind him.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Jason

  “Whoa, sorry.” I gripped Wade’s hips as I ran right into his back. “Did you see something?”

  “Yeah, she’s right there,” he pointed at a place near the end of the hall by the shampoo area. I didn’t see anything, but I didn’t expect to. I’d finally accepted that sometimes ghosts would let me see or hear them, but they couldn’t hide from Wade. No matter how much they wanted to.

  “I can’t see her face clearly; it’s cloaked or something.”

  “She’s hiding. Maybe she thinks she’ll get in trouble if we see her. Spirits get caught in loops of behavior.” We’d seen that happen a few times, and Wade knew it, but where I used to be the expert, he was fast outpacing me in his knowledge of the veil. And I couldn’t be prouder of him.

  “What should we do? She won’t answer me.”

  “I think we need to do a cleansing. She may not be willing or able to leave on her own.”

  Wade looked around the area and turned to walk back the way we’d come. Deidra, Dean, and Jimbo were all peeking around the doorway watching us.

  “What’s wrong?” Jimbo asked when we were right in front of them.

  “She won’t listen to me or answer. I think she’s so used to hiding she’s unwilling to listen.”

  “We need to cleanse the house. We’ll seal it so she can’t stay here—she’ll have no other choice but to move on.”

  “Baby, what will happen to her?” Deidra asked, stepping out into the hall.

  “She’ll cross over to the other side of the veil.”

  “Janis told me it’s easier when the spirit agrees to move on their o
wn.”

  “Yes, when we have to cleanse a place it’s more stressful on them. Every place that’s touched by the sage smoke is closed off to them, so eventually they have no place to hide and they’re forced to cross.”

  “What happens if they still won’t cross?”

  “I’m not sure. Some say they’re left somewhere between this world and the afterlife.” Wade looked away. I knew this bothered him. He didn’t want to be responsible for any spirit being lost in between the worlds, and after seeing the agony of the spirit in the basement at Dean’s restaurant, I agreed.

  “You can’t do that, Wade, you know you can’t.”

  “I know, Mom, but she won’t talk to me. Maybe someone else should try?”

  “I’ll try,” Deidra offered.

  It was obvious she was doubting her decision, but we didn’t have many options if the ghost wasn’t willing to communicate with us anymore than it already had.

  “Jason, why don’t Dean and I go. Deidra can stay with us and we’ll see if we have any luck.”

  “If you’re sure? I don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with.” Wade squatted a little and met Deidra’s eyes.

  “I’m sure. The boys won’t let anything happen to me. Now, show me what I need to do.”

  I gave her the EMF I’d been carrying, and a flashlight. “If you feel uncomfortable, trust your instincts and get out of there. We’ll be right here.”

  “Mom don’t take any chances. But maybe she’ll listen to you. Use your mom voice.” He smiled at her and pulled her in for a hug. “And have fun.”

  She looked at the EMF meter and then at Jimbo.

  “Oh, okay yeah. Let’s go. Why don’t we go into the other room in the new part and see if we have any luck there,” Jimbo suggested.

  Dean walked right behind Deidra, so she was shielded from the front and back as they made their way around the corner out of our sight.

  “Jason, let’s watch.” Wade sat down in front of one of the monitors Jimbo had sat at earlier. The camera we’d placed in the corner of the room showed the three of them walking into the room. Jimbo stayed right next to Deidra as she looked at the EMF and walked slowly around the perimeter of the room.

  “Anything?”

  “No, James. I know you’re relieved to hear that, but I really do want to help that poor spirit if we can.”

  “I know, Deidra, but the spirits are not always what they seem. They can be sneaky fuckers when they want to be.”

  The sound of water running could be heard through the monitor.

  “Where is that?” I looked at all the rooms but didn’t see a source for the noise. Wade leaned closer and looked over the images on the screen in front of him.

  “I don’t see it either, but I hear it.”

  He squinted and focused on something I didn’t see before he shot up from his seat and bolted to the back of the house.

  “Wade, what are you doing?” I yelled as I jumped up. My chair flew back and hit the floor. The noise seemed so loud, and Dean came running to see what had happened. Just as Wade walked into my sight, Deidra yelled from the room Dean had just walked out from. He turned around and hurried in her direction, and I ran toward Wade.

  He stood at the shampoo area staring just in front of the bathroom. “Wade, are you okay?” The hose from the sink hung off the side of the shampoo bowl and I realized the floor was soaked. “We’ll need to clean this up.” I turned, expecting him to follow but when I glanced back, he hadn’t moved. “Wade?”

  He slowly looked away from the area he’d been so focused on, and instantly I knew something was wrong. The look on his face was the same I’d seen at The Vineyard House, and again at The Hitching Post. “Jason, run!”

  Before I had time to react, the hose began spraying water again, and it shot directly into a wall socket in the bathroom. Sparks flew and I felt the pulse of electricity through my feet. My hands flew out to steady myself. My shoes were grounding me, but I was afraid to move and end up electrocuted. Wade jerked with the current, and all I could think about was saving him. I grabbed the back of his shirt and jerked him back to me so hard I knocked us both to the floor.

  “Wade? Oh my god, Wade?”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Wade

  I noticed immediately the hose was outside of the sink and spraying water all over the floor. It was a small room that held two shampoo bowls in a room between the bathroom and the kitchen. I turned off the water and noticed someone standing in the bathroom. It wasn’t the girl we’d seen earlier. It was a woman, dressed in clothing from the 1800s, and looking pissed off.

  “What do you want?” I tried again. She looked right at me, and moved closer, her body jerking with the movement. I noticed her hair hung long around her face in a tangled mess, and she looked like she’d been through something that wasn’t pleasant. Without warning, she screamed, and I braced myself trying not to react to the sound. I forced myself to stare her down and she met my eyes with dark holes where her eyes should be.

  The closer she got, the more horrible she appeared. I noticed the tips of her fingers were black, and her skin appeared as decay and rot. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I was hit with the smell of rotting flesh. Her face seemed to melt as her bottom jaw dropped as though it was unhinged and hanging from her face. I was so focused on her I didn’t realize Jason was behind me at first. And her plan was soon revealed when she tried to electrocute us both.

  “Wade? Wade, baby, wake up, please.”

  I heard the panic in Jason’s voice, and I knew something was wrong. My body felt weighted down to the floor, and no matter how hard I tried to move, it was impossible.

  “Slap him,” I heard someone say before I felt the sting of pain on my cheek. It hurt. But it snapped me back to life.

  “Ow,” I mumbled before rubbing my jaw. It still felt like my eyes were too heavy, but I forced them open. Mom and Jimbo were standing over me next to Jason. “What happened?”

  “Someone tried to electrocute you. I’m pretty sure it’s the ghost you two were chasing around upstairs. She’s not what she wanted you to think she is.” Jimbo’s eyes were wide with fright as he word-vomited all that information.

  “Where’s Dean?” I croaked out. Jason’s head snapped up and he looked toward the hallway that led to the other rooms.

  “He’s still in the front room. When you screamed, Deidra and I came running. I thought he was right behind me, but he wasn’t. Fuck!” Jimbo jumped up from where he knelt at my side and ran back to where Dean was.

  “Jason, are you okay?”

  “You’re practically smoking, and you’re worried about me?”

  He was nearly in tears and I knew even though he was trying to make light of what had happened, he’d been scared. I reached my hand out for him, and he pulled me in for a hug.

  “Baby, I’m okay.”

  “Don’t do that to me ever again,” his voice quivered and the way he held me told me more than his words.

  “Guys, over here,” Jimbo yelled from the other room.

  Jason helped me up, and after making sure I wasn’t going to fall right back down, we hurried to the other room.

  Jimbo was just inside the entrance frozen in place, and Mom was to his right. Neither of them moved when we came up behind them.

  “Where’s Dean?” I asked.

  Mom pointed to the back corner of the room that still wasn’t visible to us from where we stood. Jason followed as I took a few more steps into the room.

  In the corner was Dean, and in front of him was a glowing mass. I started to step closer, but Jason pulled me back.

  “It’s okay, I’m going to see what it wants.”

  He slowly let go of my arm, but it was obvious he didn’t want to. I smiled and hoped it reassured him before I turned to where Dean was still frozen.

  The glowing mass didn’t move or disappear as I stepped closer to Dean.

  “Are you okay?” I whispered.

 
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure I should move.”

  “Has it tried to interact with you?”

  “No, when I started to leave the room it appeared in front of me and moved closer as I tried to go past it.”

  I looked more closely at it. There was no discernable shape to the glowing, swirling mass of light.

  “Can you communicate with us?” I asked, with no reaction from the glowing mass.

  “Jimbo, any ideas?”

  “Yeah, we get the fuck out of here?”

  Mom slapped his arm without taking her eyes off the specter before us.

  “Let’s try the Ovilus,” Jason suggested. “Maybe it’s unable to communicate without some help.”

  Dean had yet to move, and as I turned to look at him, something strange happened. A thin tendril of light reached out from the glowing shape. Dean backed up as much as he could, but his back was already against the wall.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “Ectoplasm,” Jason said, and I noticed he was inching closer.

  “Like in Ghostbusters?”

  “Exactly, now let’s get Dean out of there,” Jason whispered through clenched teeth.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Jason

  As soon as I made the connection that the mass was ectoplasm, I knew there was nothing left to do except to cleanse this house. This haunting had taken a dangerous turn, and if it was willing to try to hurt us, then it would only be a matter of time before it tried to hurt a client or one of the staff.

  “Jimbo, go grab the salt and the sage. We’re going to need to help it along.” He looked at Dean before turning and rushing to the room that held our supplies.

  “Deidra, stay close to Jimbo.” She nodded at me, but didn’t take her eyes off the mass that had yet to move away from Dean.

  Jimbo was back in less time than I would have thought possible and handed both items to me. “Wade, don’t move.” I walked toward them and moved to the side. I poured salt next to Wade and made a line directly behind the mass. As soon as I made it to the other wall, I handed it to Dean. “Draw a line that seals it in.”