Sight Unseen Complete Series Box Set

by James M Matheson

  Mel and Katie exited the room and Mel suggested a cup of coffee in the cafeteria, which apparently was quite good. "That boy is tough as they come. Wasn't sure if he knew about Jason or not--"

  "I was thinking exactly the same, Mel. Listen. Be honest with me, is he one of those woo-woo believing people?"

  "You mean, does he believe in ghosts? That I don't know, but I can tell you this: he's a straight shooter. If he says he saw something, he saw something--BUT--and this is a big but...he had a concussion. He might be misremembering things.”

  "Well. I can tell you this. I spoke to him when he first arrived. He was chirpy and cheerful. Happy as could be. We were admiring the great job he did on the house--"

  "The house is incredible," Mel said, interrupting. "Sorry. Go on."

  "Thanks. It is beautiful. He changed when we got in the house. He was looking around, almost as though looking for someone hiding. I didn't see anything. Hard to describe."

  "Like, skitterish?"

  "No. More like suspicious...that's not the word...just a vibe of having seen something out of the corner of your eye and not knowing if it was real or imagined."

  "Okay. That's unusual. What did he say it was?"

  "He said nothing."

  "Well, that's weird," said Mel. They ordered their coffees to go and headed back to Mel's car.

  They drove in silence for nearly ten minutes before Mel spoke up again. "Did you call Psychic Diana?"

  "Yes. She was to come today, but with the mess, she's coming tomorrow. Says there's a bunch of dead people that might be hanging around."

  Mel was amazed at how matter-of-fact her statement was. "Well, it's not going to hurt having it done. Even if it's just superstitious. Like baptizing a kid. Doesn't matter if you believe or not, it can't hurt any."

  "I guess so," Katie said. Her mind was far off.

  "Why don't you stay at my place for a few days?"

  "I can't tonight, I'm booked into the Sedona Spa--"

  "Why are you booked in there? You could have stayed at my place," Mel said, a bit indignantly.

  "Hey, a lot was going on and I didn't want to be an imposition."

  "Let's clear something up. You are not an imposition. Okay? You come to my place. Besides, I've got free wine. That place charges more for a bottle than a motel does for a night!"

  That broke the ice. Both ladies laughed hard.

  Katie locked up the house, set the new alarm and headed to the Sedona Spa to pick up her stuff. It was too late to cancel, but she felt it would be better hanging out at Mel's for the next several days.

  Turned out to be a good decision. While it wasn't fun, it wasn't gloomy either. Mel made up a pizza from scratch and cooked it in her BBQ on the back deck. Red wine flowed and they rehashed the day's events. It was good to get the shock out of Katie's system.

  Mel phoned the hospital at 8:30 PM and spoke to a nurse she knew there.

  "Good news, chickie, Big John is expected to make a full recovery. No brain damage, just a concussion. Everything else is going to heal, but he is in a lot of pain right now and his blood pressure is up there. He's medicated for that. He's going to be okay, we just need to be patient," Mel reported.

  "Thank goodness. That is a relief. Wow. A huge relief. I'll drink to that."

  "Cheers," Mel said.

  The ladies both agreed to change topics for a while. Mel got her caught up to date on the latest listing from the morning and some of the gossip from her office.

  "Did you feel the earthquake this morning?" Katie asked.

  "What? What earthquake?"

  "Well, maybe it was just a tremor, but it made the house shake," Katie said.

  Mel pulled out her phone and did a quick search. "No earthquakes or tremors recorded anywhere near our area today," she said.

  Katie looked Mel straight in the eyes. "There was at Blackstone Manor."

  After a long pause, Mel said, "We need to get you out of there."

  Chapter 12

  Thunderbolts pounded in Katie's head when her phone went off at 7:10 AM. A bit too much wine--again--and forgetting to put the phone on 'do not disturb' scared the wits out of her. Who the heck would be calling me at this time in the morning? she asked herself.

  She was tempted to ignore it, but it was a good thing that she didn't. When she picked up the phone it was the security system people. She'd forgotten to turn the alarm off, and the workers who had the keys to her house had accidentally triggered it. The police were there. Not good.

  The security people were nice about it. They gave you three false alarms, but because she wasn't there and the police were called she would have to pay for that call. The police were not impressed. She was terribly embarrassed when she hung up the phone.

  Wide awake now, she logged into her computer to check out the security cameras. She could only imagine how frustrated the workers must've been.

  She checked the library camera and sure enough they were inside working on the bookcases. It looked like one guy was getting ready to put up new wallpaper. It was hard to tell from the angle of the camera. She checked the outside cameras. Pretty cool stuff.

  She clicked on the attic camera. Nothing much happening in there except the bright sunlight shining through the still dirty window. The beam of light was directed right on the mousetraps, which were still lying there in the clock formation. Katie blinked her eyes. She brought her face closer to the screen. She let out a quiet whimper and rushed to the living room carrying her laptop with her.

  Mel was up and in the kitchen. She was making coffee. "Hey, chickie, how are you--"

  "Am I seeing things?"

  "What's up?"

  Katie was shaking. She put the laptop down on the center island and was gesturing. "Look."

  Mel didn't know what she was talking about. She could tell Katie was distressed and took a close look, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. It was just the attic.

  "What was I supposed to be looking for, girlfriend?"

  "The mousetraps."

  "We've been through this before. There they are. They're in a circle."

  "Look closer. Count them."

  Mel sympathized with Katie, but was really starting to think she was losing it. Shadows, earthquakes... Even she was thinking this was getting to be a little bit too much. But she thought she would humor her anyway and took another look.

  Mel's jaw went slack. She was speechless. She couldn't believe what she saw.

  "Either someone is screwing with you, or something is screwing with you. But that's not funny either way."

  "You see it?"

  "I see it. I don't want you staying there anymore," Mel said firmly. "I'm really worried about you, and I don't want you in that house alone at any time. That is just nuts."

  They both looked at the computer screen again. There, highlighted by a beam of light through the dirty old window, were the six mousetraps in a circle. But that wasn't all.

  In the middle was a new trap. Right smack dead in the center.

  "I'm going right over there, and I want to take those traps and I'm going to put them in a bin and set them on fire," Katie said. She was seething.

  "Stop. Don't you dare. I don't want you up in that room by yourself. Do not go there. Promise?"

  "I promise." Katie was shaking. "I've got Psychic Diana coming over today and I'm praying to God--if there is one--that that will put an end to all of this garbage."

  Mel asked if she was going to be okay. Katie told her she would be fine, and promised to come back to the house in the evening for dinner and to sleep. Mel had to get running to work--she had a full day--and Katie wanted to have a nice long shower.

  As Mel got up to go Katie remembered something from last night before she'd gone to bed. She'd been tipsy, but she remembered it clearly.

  "Mel. Wait. Let me just show you one last thing quickly."

  Katie opened up her email and clicked on the pictures that the man had taken of the house. Mel leaned into the screen
, taking a close look as Katie magnified it by pressing some buttons.

  "Tell me what you see," Katie said, pointing to the chimney and Jason standing by it.

  Mel shook her head slowly. "Don't be in that house alone."

  It was a new day, but as she rolled up to the house her feelings had totally changed about it. Yes, it was just as beautiful as it was yesterday, and to her surprise she could see the beautiful red door, which was partially open as it clearly needed to dry. But it set off the house just so perfectly.

  As beautiful as it was, she hated it now. Or rather, she hated what this house represented: evil.

  Katie had a new resolve. She was going to get that evil spirit out of there, even if it killed her.

  The new wallpaper in the library looked magnificent even though it was only partly done. Three guys were applying stain to the old bookcases, bringing back their rich dark glory. Another young guy was placing plastic all over the fireplace in preparation for a good chimney sweep.

  None of that mattered. She wanted that house gone as fast as possible. But before she could sell it, she felt an obligation to get rid of, once and for all, whatever evil was in that place.

  Katie went up the stairs to the second floor. Portable spotlights were in the hallway, making it as bright as it had ever been. There was scaffolding up there, with two guys putting the finishing touches on the ceiling. It was absolutely gorgeous seeing the restored details of that ceiling, and the bright white made it seem almost heavenly.

  Her phone rang, and it was Psychic Diana.

  "Hey, Diana. You coming over?"

  "We can be there anytime. What's best for you?"

  "How does 11:30 AM sound to you? The house is full of workers, but I can send them into town for lunch while we get about doing our business."

  "That sounds great. See you then." Diana hung up.

  Katie went into the kitchen and sat in her favorite chair. She opened up her laptop and looked at the security cameras again. She could not take her eyes off of the traps upstairs, and she was certainly not going to go up there by herself.

  There was a somber mood in the house. No music blasting from a stereo. It was natural, of course; the boys had lost a good friend of theirs and were worried about their boss.

  Katie looked around the kitchen and decided there was nothing further to do at that moment in time, so she closed the laptop and decided to make a quick run out to the hospital to see how Big John was doing.

  "I'm sorry, ma'am, he's not able to have any visitors at this moment," the nurse said.

  "Pardon me. I don't mean to sound rude, but why not?"

  "Are you family?"

  Katie could feel a lump in her throat. This didn't sound good. "No, I'm not family, he's just a good...friend. Is there any family here right now waiting for him?"

  "No, not that I'm aware of," the nurse said.

  "Is he going to be okay?"

  The nurse looked frustrated. She didn't have time to be chatting to somebody who wasn't family when she had other patients who needed her. But Katie was both polite and persistent--and clearly worried.

  "He had a bad reaction to some drugs last night. He's in critical but stable condition. You did not hear that from me, did you?"

  "Oh my God. Thank you. Would you mind letting him know that Katie came by to see him?"

  "Katie? As in Katie Pearson? Are you the owner of the Blackstone house?"

  "It's me. Why are you asking--"

  "Come with me. He's been talking about you and asking for you nonstop. He's highly agitated, and you can help possibly calm him down. Can you help us?"

  Katie was bewildered. She was being ushered to a different section of the hospital and being asked to do something she wasn't sure of. How do you calm somebody down? I'm not a nurse. I'm not a doctor.

  "This is his room. He's on pretty strong pain medication and a little bit out of it. He's stressing that he needs to see you quickly. I need you to go in there, let him know everything is going to be okay and that you will be here for him. I need you to calm him down. I need you to tell him to listen to what we tell him to do. Understood?"

  "I understand. Can I go in now?"

  "Yes. Thank you for coming."

  Katie slowly opened up the door. The lights were off in the hospital room except the overhead light behind him. John's leg was still propped up. He looked tucked in nicely and was seated at a forty-five degree angle. He had an oxygen tube in his nose and was hooked up to a variety of different monitors. His eyes were closed, and the bandage was off his face. He had some pretty deep gashes that had turned into scabs. The scabs glistened with some sort of cream.

  Katie touched John's left hand and his eyes slowly opened. Sure enough, his eyes were glassy from the medications. John let out a smile and said in a low voice, "Katie."

  "I'm here, John. I hear you've been giving the nurses and doctors a hard time."

  John let out a couple bursts of air...a laugh. It pained him, but he did find humor in it.

  "John, I'm here. I need you to listen to what the doctors tell you. Everything is going great at the house. The guys are all doing well and are way ahead of schedule. There's nothing to worry about--"

  John raised his hand. His eyes got larger and his face started turning slightly red. "You need to get out. Burn that place down to the ground. It will kill us all."

  "It's okay, John. I'm taking care of things for sure. Whatever it is, I'm going to get rid of it."

  "Do you think you are the first one to try to get rid of this? You can't. It's a phantom. A ghost. It's a black cloud of death. It attacked Jason, and it attacked me. Do you want it to attack you?"

  John was fading in and out with the drugs. She wasn’t sure he was even thinking coherently. No matter, Katie started to shake. Lovable Big John was beginning to scare her. Not in a bad way, but in a healthy way.

  Katie reached into her bag and pulled out her laptop. She opened it and clicked on the photograph. She turned it and held it above John's face so he could see it.

  Because the photograph was meant to capture the whole house he didn't readily recognize the chimney and Jason until she pointed them out.

  John took a deep breath, his eyes widened and then suddenly the monitors started beeping loudly. "Get out of that house! Get out of that house!"

  The photo showed what looked like a black smokey orb to the side of the chimney, like a small cloud of sorts. John’s face twisted in horror.

  Katie was scared now. She slapped the lid of the laptop down and dropped it into the bag just as the nurse came in. "You've got to leave right now, ma'am. Please, get out right now."

  Katie quickly walked out into the hallway, terrified. She waited in the hall until the nurse finally came out.

  "That didn't work the way I thought. Thank you for your help," the nurse said.

  "If he asks, I need you to lie to him. Tell him the house burned down and we are all okay. Hopefully that will help him."

  The nurse gave Katie a weird look.

  "Don't worry. It won't happen. But his head is screwed up, and if that's what it takes to calm him down, please do it."

  "Thank you. I will," the nurse said. "Oh, and I will pray for you."

  Chapter 13

  Katie laughed. Here she was sitting in the driveway of her house convincing herself that she wasn't afraid to go in. Katie had picked up an extra-large cappuccino and not one, but two pastries. My butt needs pastries like I need a hole in the head, she thought to herself.

  She shook her head back and forth. Aren't exorcisms supposed to be done late at night under a full moon in a scary looking house?

  Although overcast, it was a beautiful day. It seemed counterintuitive. She grabbed her coffee and her bag and stepped out of the car. Just then another car rolled into the front yard. It was a very old but well-kept Mercedes-Benz. Golden color. Katie stood by her car smiling, but the two passengers were in deep conversation. The woman was clearly Psychic Diana, and the gentleman was her fr
iend.

  Psychic Diana got out of the car, gave a big wave and said hello. She leaned in and mentioned something that Katie couldn't hear to the gentleman, then closed the door and enthusiastically walked up to Katie.

  Katie had the giggles today. She suppressed her laugh, but Psychic Diana didn't look like any of those psychics you see on TV or read about. In fact she looked quite elegant. The woman was clearly in her 50s or so, and was wearing a beautiful purple pantsuit, a white blouse and an oversized golden necklace. Her hair was short and mostly white, but a little bit of grey remained, almost as though it was fighting the change.

  "Hi, you must be Katie? I'm Diana. I'll introduce you to Frank in just a moment--he's just getting some stuff from the car and he wants to have a cigarette before he comes in. Nasty habit."

  Katie was impressed. Diana could've easily been a professional businesswoman or real estate agent. She was bright, energetic and broke the mold of what you would think a psychic would look like.

  "Nice to meet you, Diana. I just arrived myself. Let's head into the house. Does your friend need any help?"

  "No, getting stuff out of the car is just an excuse to smoke. He will be in shortly."

  The ladies walked in the front door of the house, into the great library.

  "My goodness, Katie, this is an absolutely beautiful home. The outside looks absolutely incredible."

  "Do you want a cup of tea or coffee?"

  "No, we just did exactly as you did: we picked up our coffees on the way here. We're good to go. Tell me a little bit about what's going on."

  "You want the long version or the short version?"

  Diana smiled. "I need the detailed version."

  Katie started to give her the story, starting with the scratching in the attic, the dreams, items being scattered. Every detail Katie could think of, she was confessing.

  As she was talking, Diana walked around the library, ducking around the book-filled boxes that were on the floor. She touched bookcases with her right hand and seemed to be far off as she wandered around the room. She ended up back at the starting point and walked towards the great fireplace. It was still covered with plastic. She ran her hand along the mantle.