“The killer’s got to have a record somewhere. CBI has a better chance of finding it than we do,” Seth said.
“If we’re lucky, we’ll have his DNA on file,” the head of CBI said.
“We can only hope,” the Captain said.
“You could find the killer’s DNA on the chain even though Norsen has had his twenty years?” the Police Chief asked.
“Yes, sir,” Ava said. “It’s crazy how little DNA we need and how much is caught in these chains.”
“That’s disgusting,” the head of CBI said.
“Yes sir,” Ava said. “You’ll never see a forensics person wearing a chain. Too gross, sir.”
“But for our purposes…” Seth looked through the window at Aden. “Looks like we’re going back to the property. Can you get a team of your folks together?”
“Of course,” Ava said.
“Great work,” Seth said.
Ava smiled and left the room.
“Special service?” the Police Chief asked.
“Sir?” Seth asked.
Shaking his head at Seth, the Police Chief turned back to the interview room.
“You’re going out there tonight?” his Captain asked.
“I don’t see anyway around it, sir,” Seth said. “We’re running out of time.”
“Take a team of uniforms,” the Police Chief looked at the head of CBI. “Are you coming too?”
“Of course. We’ll bring a team of forensic people to back you up. I’ll go with you.”
“What are we going to do about these ghosts?” the Captain grinned as if he’d made a joke.
“Good question,” the head of CBI said. “I’ve had more than one experience I’d rather forget.”
“Peabury Mansion?” the Police Chief asked.
“The Peabury. Croke Patterson,” the head of CBI said. “Molly Brown. Every one of those God damned mansions connected to the coal tunnels. They’re all filled with… ‘unexplained phenomena.’”
“I’ll make some calls,” Seth said.
“You do that,” the Police Chief said.
“Yes sir,” Seth said.
The men turned their attention back to Aden.
~~~~~~~~
Sunday night — 11:40 P.M.
“You’re sure they’re coming?” Aden said.
Aden’s anxious voice broke the silence. After a few rudimentary comments, the men spent the entire drive out to the mansion in silence. Seth’s police sedan turned right into the semi-circle drive of the haunted mansion.
“I called,” Seth said.
“God, this place creeps me out,” Aden said. “I don’t want to go in there… I…”
Approaching the front of the mansion, Seth’s headlights lit up an old silver Mercedes Benz. Jacob was sitting on the hood of the car while Delphie had her head in the trunk.
“Oh thank God,” Aden said.
“My sentiments,” Seth said.
Seth pulled in front of the ancient Mercedes. The trail of police cruisers, forensic vans and other official vehicles parked around them. Before Aden could get out of the car, he heard someone hail Jacob.
“Whatcha doing here, man?” the uniformed police officer asked Jacob.
“Had to drive,” Jacob nodded toward Delphie. Delphie gave the young man a wave. “I couldn’t really let her come out all this way by herself.”
“Friend?” the police officer asked.
“Dad’s girlfriend,” Jacob said.
“Is she really… you know,” the police officer said.
Jacob nodded. The officer shrugged his shoulders and nodded.
“Aden!” Jacob hugged Aden and turned back to the officer. “Do you know Aden Norsen? He doesn’t play hockey but he’s a good guy anyway.”
“Nice to meet you,” the police officer said.
Aden hugged Delphie hello. Delphie searched his face and hugged him again. She turned back to the trunk to retrieve a large canvas bag. She slung the bag over her shoulder.
“What’s going to happen?” Jacob asked.
“The psychic is supposed to go in with Norsen. Check out this crypt,” the police officer said. “You can just wait out here if you want.”
“I can’t let her go into an old house by herself,” Jacob said.
“Jacob can’t resist an old house,” Delphie laughed. “He loves to buy them for nothing and then restore them to their original glory.”
Jacob shrugged his shoulders as if he was caught.
“You’ll stay with me,” Aden leaned close to say.
“With Delphie,” Jacob said.
Aden nodded. His eyes expressed his anxiety. Jacob smiled and slapped his back.
“We’ve done this before,” Jacob said in a low tone.
“What do we know about the house?” Seth asked.
“The real estate listing says it’s a little more than ten thousand square feet. But, in my experience, these old places are larger then advertised,” Jacob said. “Three floors plus a basement. Five doors to the outside.”
“It has about thirty rooms including the basement,” Aden said.
“Forensics?” Seth asked.
“We found evidence of people living here, Detective O’Malley,” the CBI Agent in Charge said. “But nothing that relates to the killer.”
“There’s a basement,” Ava’s superior officer said. “Creepy but clean.”
“Who has the key?” Jacob asked.
A police officer came forward with a key. At the head of an uncomfortable parade, Aden, Seth, Jacob and Delphie approached the front door. The uniformed police officers followed behind them. The Agent in Charge for the CBI forensics stepped forward to pull their tape off the door.
“We need to…” the Agent in Charge of CBI forensics started.
“Why don’t you let us deal with this first?” Seth asked. “We’ll get you when we’re ready to look at the property.”
Clearly relieved, the Agent in Charge nodded to Seth.
“I need a couple of uniforms…” Seth said. A man and woman wove their way through the crowd of agents to the front.
“Gretel! Jeff!” Delphie said. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“Sir, we’d like to support Delphie,” Jeff said.
Embarrassed, the officer’s hands instinctively went to his belt.
“Friend?” Seth asked.
“She saved my sister’s life,” Gretel said. “Told her she had cancer when no one knew what was wrong with her. Helped Jeff find a house he could afford.”
She looked at her partner.
“What?” Gretel said. “I’m not the least embarrassed. I’d follow Delphie into a fire. A big, spooky house is nothing.”
Jeff looked around at all the people watching and nodded. Smiling, Delphie led the way to the front door. Seth unlocked the door and opened it. Jacob, Delphie, Aden, Seth and the two uniformed police officers stepped into the entryway. The door slowly creaked closed and shut with a bang. Aden flicked a switch behind him. A dim light shone from the overhead bulb.
“The powers had always been on,” Aden said. “Power and gas. Weird because the building is basically abandoned.”
“Can’t easily turn it off,” Seth said.
“Gas and electricity would have come with a posh house like this,” Jacob said. “There’s no shut off?”
Seth shook his head.
“I need you to…” Seth turned to Jacob.
Jacob turned around so that his face was right in front of Seth’s.
“This is what’s going to happen,” Jacob said in a low voice. “Delphie and I are going to collect the spirits into the central room. We need to be left alone. No matter what you hear, or think you hear, stay here. There is an entity in this building that will do anything to lure you into its power. Do not give it the chance. Delphie?”
Delphie pulled a round container of sea salt out of her large bag. She poured a large circle of salt around them. From her bag, she retrieved four plastic bags filled with salt.
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“This is pure sea salt.” Delphie gave a bag of salt to each of them. “Spirits can’t easily move over salt and don’t like it. Use your salt if you need it. It should keep you safe.”
“If you hear or see something, check it out with the others,” Jacob said.
“Hear something?” Seth asked.
“I used to hear the sound of a child crying,” Aden shivered. “I looked and looked and looked… Every night for months. I never found her.”
“But…” Gretel said.
“Gretel, they will need you the most,” Delphie gave the woman a bright smile. “Just like everything else in life, men and women rarely see or hear the same thing.”
“If Gretel doesn’t hear what you hear, see what you see, it’s not happening,” Jacob said. “Aden, you have some experience with this thing. Use it to help the others. But stay here.”
“We should go,” Delphie said. “It’s…”
Jacob’s head jerked toward the hallway. He took off running. In his wake they heard him say, “I fucking hate this…”
“Stay here. Stick together. It can’t get to you if you’re together,” Delphie said. She gave them a bright smile. With a nod, she ran after Jacob.
Aden watched them run into the dark house. For a moment, he could see Jacob in the dim light. Then there was a burst of bright light followed by total darkness.
Aden flicked the switch behind them.
Nothing.
Instinctively, Aden, Seth, Gretel and Jeff shifted closer to each other. In the darkness, they waited.
~~~~~~~~
Monday early morning — 12:07 A.M.
Running toward a wisp of a dark shadow, Jacob heard his mother’s voice in his head.
“There are creatures in this world that are dark. Not dark like dark chocolate or simply black in color. Their very essence is the deep darkness. They draw energy and light from the living and the dead. They use this energy to control the living and the dead,” Celia’s voice said. “They quest for control and power. Some human beings have a tiny portion of this energy – dictators, Stalin, Mengele, Hitler, Mao, even Delphie’s tormentor, Johansen. This creature is a raw source of their… perversion.”
The shadow threw a surge of dark energy at Jacob. Every light in the building came on. With a pop, the power went off.
“Remember how I told you that you’d never see one of these creatures?” Celia’s voice asked. “I was wrong. This creature is worse than anything I’ve ever seen or heard of. It’s like something out of legend. You must protect yourselves very carefully.”
“Delphie?” Jacob asked.
“I heard her,” Delphie said.
“He’s going to want to get a hold of you, Jacob,” Celia said. “If he controls you, he controls all of your power and capacity. Do not give him the chance. Even the tiniest piece of his energy can infiltrate you and you will be under his control forever.”
“She’s right,” Delphie said.
Jacob and Delphie stayed in one place until their eyes adjusted to the dark. The entity appeared and then disappeared.
The apparition of a young girl stood where the entity had been. The child wore a clean Victorian nightshirt. She coughed into her hand.
“Child, why are you here?” Delphie asked.
The child shook her head and pointed to what looked like a black belt around her midsection.
“The entity binds her here,” Jacob said.
With his words, ten children of various ages appeared. They were wearing the same clothing and had similar coughs. The hollow eyes of these trapped souls of these children stared at them. Each child pointed to the black thread around their midsection.
“Jacob,” Delphie pointed.
Like a silent movie, the apparition of four women flickered in front of them. Their spirits were too entwined in the entity to appear in full form. One woman held a screaming baby in her arms. Shocked at the sight, Delphie took a step back.
“How…?” Delphie asked.
“I’ll try…” Using his mind, Jacob attempted to remove the thread from one of the children. When his mind touched the black thread, he felt a jolt of dark power. He flew backward, hit the opposite wall, and landed in a heap.
“Jacob!” Delphie ran to his side.
“I’m all right,” Jacob groaned and came up to his knees. “Try the salt water.”
Delphie took a spray bottle out of her bag. She sprayed the salt water in the direction of the thread. The apparition screamed as if she was burning. A woman spirit came forward to comfort the child.
“Earth?” Jacob asked.
Delphie took out a container of dirt from the Holy site of El Santuario de Chimayo. Reaching forward, she dusted the black thread with the holy dirt.
Nothing. The evil black belts squeezed tighter and the children began to cry.
“Earth, water, salt, and mineral. The forces of nature,” Delphie began listing the elements. “I brought these flowers but I don’t think they’ll help.”
She held up a few dozen white Shasta daisies.
“Fire. Maybe electricity,” Jacob said. “Give me the fanny pack. I’ll take on the entity. You free the spirits.”
“No,” Delphie and Celia said at the same time.
“It’s the only thing that will work,” Jacob said. “If I get its full attention, it should let go. They won’t realize they’re free at first. You must help them.”
“I can’t make a tear to the other side,” Delphie said.
“You won’t have to,” Jacob took the fanny pack from her. He strapped it around his middle. “We’ll clean up together. You’re the spirit shepherd. Bring them into the central room. Make sure to ask them if there are other spirits in this house.”
Delphie nodded.
“Don’t forget to protect yourself,” Jacob said.
“I grew up around evil like this,” Delphie said. “I was like these spirits before Celia and Delbert, your grandfather, saved me.”
“I know,” Jacob said.
“You’ll be very careful?” Delphie asked. Her worry was etched lines on her face.
Jacob clutched Delphie to him. Stepping back, they shared a look. He nodded and ran toward the darkness. Delphie looked at the spirits surrounding her.
“Come with me,” Delphie said.
As if she was a first grade teacher herding her class, Delphie encouraged the spirits down the hall and into the large great room at the center of the home.
~~~~~~~~
Monday early morning — 12:07 A.M.
Aden heard a child cry. Seth shifted uncomfortably next to him. The policewoman Gretel stared at her partner, Jeff, whose head was shaking from side to side.
“What do you hear?” Aden asked. “I hear a child crying. It sounds like Noelle. She’s calling for me to save her.”
“I see my best friend from high school,” Jeff said. “Can you see him? He’s right here.”
“Your best friend shot himself.” Gretel made an index finger gun and put it in her mouth. “You know that.”
Gretel punched his shoulder. Jeff’s entire body jerked. He turned to look at her.
“Thanks,” Jeff said.
“Detective O’Malley?” Gretel asked. “What’s going on?”
“I see my partner,” Seth said. “I know he’s not real but… It’s such a relief to see him. Just to look into his face.”
“I felt like that,” Jeff said. “Your partner’s dead?”
“Lung cancer,” Seth said. “Eight years ago.”
“Oh my God,” Gretel said.
Gretel spun in place. She was about to take off when Aden grabbed her around the middle and lifted her off the ground. Her legs kicked as she fought against Aden. She let out a string of curses and struggled to get her weapon. Her partner took her handgun from her belt.
“It’s not there,” Aden said. “It’s not real.”
Gretel’s entire body seemed to take an enormous breath of air. She slumped in his arms.
“I’m going to set you down,” Aden said.
The moment her feet hit the ground, she tried to take off. Her partner, Jeff, pulled out his taser gun and tased her. She screamed and fell to the ground just inside the salt circle. Seth knelt down next to her.
“What is it?” Seth asked. “What did you see?”
“My twin,” she whispered. “Angie’s being tortured by the rapist who killed her. I have to save her.”
Jeff sat down next to her.
“The rapist is in Colorado State Pen,” Jeff said. “We’ve been there.”
“It’s using your love for Angie against you,” Seth said. “Think Gretel, think. What would Angie do? What would she say?”
“What would Angie say?” Jeff repeated.
Gretel nodded her head. Aden held his hand out and pulled her to her feet.
“Angie was stronger than I was,” Gretel said. “Tougher. She always used to tell me not to be afraid. That’s what she’d said when everything was happening. That’s what she’d say today. Thanks.”
“Sir?” Jeff turned to Seth. “You seem unaffected.”
“I’ve done a lot more drugs than you have,” Seth said. “I know this feeling.”
“Me too,” Aden said.
“This feeling, sir?” Gretel asked.
“Reality separating from what I’m experiencing,” Aden said.
“Here we go again,” Jeff said.
He reached his hand out to hold Gretel’s hand. Gretel took Seth’s hand. Seth took Aden’s hand and Aden took Jeff’s hand. Standing in a circle, they prepared for the creature to attack.
~~~~~~~~
Monday early morning — 1:07 A.M.
The entity fell upon him the moment he stepped away from Delphie. Unwilling to do battle so close to Delphie, Jacob ran down the hallway. The entity jumped ahead to entrap him in darkness. Jacob slowed, surged to the left then took off down the hallway to his right. He ran along the back of the mansion.
Like a dark jelly fish, the entity pulsed around him. At one moment, it was overhead. The next moment, he could see it in front of him. Once or twice, he passed it in the hallway.
With each passing moment, the entity grew in size and power. Jacob ran past the back entrance to the great room. Spinning in place, he ran toward the entity. The entity was unprepared for his change of direction. He ran right through it. At the corner of the house, he pushed open a door to the kitchen. The ancient kitchen was filthy but tile lined and contained. He could fight the entity here.
Black Forest, Denver Cereal Volume 5 Page 3