The cabinet next to the refrigerator was open. Several plates and glasses lay broken on the floor, next to the open dishwasher. Sheila hugged her son around the shoulders, as if to protect him. Timmy wiggled out of her grip and turned to face them.
"I swear, I didn't do that!" Timmy said. "I was loading the dishwasher, and I saw the cabinet open. The plates almost hit me in the head!"
"I know, sweetie," Sheila said. Her hand wavered as she reached to wipe away tears. "I believe you." She glanced at Leese as she waved her phone around the kitchen. "Think that was an air vent?"
Leese said nothing. She looked at Timmy, at the fear in his eyes. She knew the boy didn't throw the dishes on the floor himself. But the truth was she didn't capture the incident on video.
She stepped forward and knelt beside the mess. Her voice shook as she spoke. She didn't want to narrate, but knew it was important to document everything regarding a case.
"We've, uh, got what appears to be an incident. Some dishes seem to have been broken in the kitchen."
Sheila didn't like her choice of words.
"Appears to be?" she repeated. "Seems to have?"
"I know," Leese said, turning around. "I know that sounds terrible, but I have to—"
Timmy's eye went wide.
"Look out!"
Leese spun in place. She didn't see the second cabinet open on its own. The glass flung from the shelf, smacking her in the shoulder. It fell to the floor, but didn't break. She felt a hand on her wrist as another glass leaped at her. Timmy pulled her to the side just as it flung past her head. It shattered against the wall.
The rest of the cabinets opened.
Leese didn't stay to see what would happen next.
She shoved Timmy in front of her. Sheila grabbed her son as they ran from the kitchen. Leese was a step behind. The noise was deafening as every cabinet emptied. They rounded the corner and leaned against the wall in the dining room. A plate barely missed Leese on the way out. Timmy covered his ears. Leese blindly held her phone around the corner, hoping to get something recorded. The sounds of destruction weren't long, maybe five seconds.
The silence that followed was nearly as terrifying.
Leese locked eyes with Sheila. Timmy didn't move, continuing to cover his ears. Sheila took a breath and took a step forward, but Leese stopped her. Leese steeled herself and made the turn back into the kitchen. She knew what she'd see.
She still gasped.
The kitchen was a mess. The floor was covered in broken porcelain and glass. The cabinet doors were still open. Only a handful of plates and cups remained. Leese waited for something else to happen, anything at all, but the seconds stretched. She felt a hand on her. She looked down to see Timmy staring at her in terror. But there was a glimmer of hope as well.
"Can you help us?"
Her heart was pounding.
"I think so."
CHAPTER 10
Leese had just finished her second hot dog as she called Alex for the third time. Her professionalism had slowly disappeared. She was no longer the young woman pretending to work for Demons LLC. She was now the young woman eating the Boyds' leftovers, trying to figure out what to do next.
The phone went to voicemail again.
"Damnit, Alex," she whispered. "Pick up the phone."
She left another short message, and followed it up with a simple text.
Call me now.
Sheila and Timmy were sitting on the front steps behind her. The scene almost felt normal. Timmy held a cup of water, one of the few to survive the kitchen disaster. Sheila remained silent, her knees bouncing nervously. Her neighbor gave a friendly wave while enjoying an eyeful of Leese. A FedEx truck delivered a package across the street. The sun had nearly set, bathing the street in dusk. It was hard to believe that something rooted in the supernatural was happening behind them.
"No answer?" Sheila asked.
She shook her head while playing her recorded video once again.
"Not yet."
The angle was terrible, but she did capture the incident in the kitchen. There were no apparitions, no ghostly orbs of light. She watched the video several times, hoping to see something that would help. An average viewer on YouTube would claim the video was fake.
"That's the worst it's ever been," Sheila said. "Things have moved around, sure. But that? That was just…too much."
"Are we going to have to move?" Timmy asked.
Leese looked up from her phone. She was surprised to see he wasn't asking his mother, but her. Sheila didn't answer. Instead, she stared at Leese, the same question in her eyes. Leese didn't want to lie. She had no idea what was going to happen. But she didn't want them to lose hope.
"My brother…he's very good at this," she said carefully. "He deals with this kind of thing all the time."
"That's hard to believe," Sheila said.
Leese tried to take the comment in stride. She sat next to Timmy on the steps. Sheila was frustrated, and Leese understood why. No one was in a hurry to go back into the house.
She nudged Timmy on the shoulder.
"Thank you for saving me back there," she said. "I'd have gotten hurt pretty bad if it weren't for you."
Timmy turned red and stared at the ground. Sheila took the moment to squeeze her son.
"My boy. A little hero."
"Mom." Timmy shifted uncomfortably. "Stop."
"I'm serious." Sheila glanced at Leese. "He's handling all this better than I am."
"I wish Dad was here."
Sheila frowned. Leese watched the remaining color drain from her cheeks. Her eyes filled with sadness and regret.
"Me, too, honey."
Leese's phone rang. She couldn't answer it fast enough, nearly dropping it as she slid her finger across the screen. She didn't bother checking the caller ID. If it wasn't the one person she was waiting for, she would hang up.
"Alex?"
His familiar voice made her close her eyes in relief.
"Yeah. Is everything okay?"
"Uh, not really. It's pretty safe to say we've got a haunted house over here."
"What happened?"
She relayed the events of the walk-through, all the way down to the destroyed kitchen. Alex asked her to slow down every so often. Not only was he taking notes, but Leese spoke too fast.
"Okay," he finally said. "Is anyone hurt?"
"No. But everyone's pretty shaken up." She lowered her voice. "Me, too."
Alex's voice drifted away for a moment as he talked to someone. She couldn't hear the conversation.
"Come on home," he said, returning to the phone. "Your part's done. I can get out there tomorrow night. Let me talk to Sheila for a second."
Leese didn't hand the phone over. She frowned in confusion before giving Sheila as bright a smile as she could muster. Leese took several steps away for a private conversation, keeping her back to the house.
"Tomorrow night?" she said. "What are they supposed to do? Get a hotel or something?"
"Uh, I don't know," he said, sounding sheepish. "They don't have family nearby?"
"They need help, Alex."
"I know that. And I will help. But…."
He didn't finish. Leese waited, only to hear more silence.
"But what?" she urged.
"I'm tired," he said. "I just spent two hours rounding up every demon lurking in this hospital. Plus, three possessions. This place is a major gateway. I had some visions I'm still reeling from. It's already night, and it's a two-hour drive. Cindy keeps telling me I'm pushing too hard, and she might be right."
Leese turned and looked at Timmy. Sheila distracted herself by poking at her phone, but Timmy merely stared at her, his eyes eager.
"Okay," she said. "I'll stay here tonight, call out sick tomorrow. We'll try to ride this out, and if we can't, we'll get a hotel."
"Alicia, you can't."
"I can't what?"
"You can't just stay there with them. That's not your job."
&nbs
p; "What I can't do is just say 'Yup, your house is haunted. Bye, now,' and leave. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did that."
Alex sighed.
"Yeah, I know you."
More silence. Leese wasn't trying to manipulate him, but she knew her brother. Alex was trying to embrace more of the business side of Demons LLC. But his final goal was to help people. There were still times he didn't collect a fee from a client.
He didn't need to say a word. She knew what was coming next. Sibling communication.
"I'm almost done here," he said. "Just paperwork. I'll get there as soon as I can."
"Thank you," Leese said. She finally gave Timmy a true smile and a thumbs-up. "You're the best brother."
"Yeah, yeah. See you soon."
Leese hung up and took a deep breath as she approached Sheila and Timmy.
"He's on his way. It'll be a few hours."
A tear ran down Sheila's cheek as she smiled. Relief washed over her face.
"I hope he can help."
"Mom," Timmy said. "What do we do for a few hours? I don't want to go back inside."
Leese and Sheila traded glances. Leese pulled out her phone.
"Is there a place to get some ice cream around here?"
*****
It was nearly ten o'clock when the familiar beat-up truck slowed in front of Sheila's home. Leese and Timmy were playing a game on her phone. Sheila slowly nursed a bottle of water she'd bought at the ice cream shop. No one went back inside the house, except to use the bathroom. During those trips, they all went together, with the remaining two waiting outside the door. Despite Alex's impending arrival, Sheila was planning for the worst case. She browsed for nearby hotels on her phone, and called in sick from her job.
Leese frowned at the sight of the truck. She needed to talk to him about presentation. Maybe a company van was in order, with a nice logo.
She stood up to meet him, and she paused as he climbed out of the truck and offered a small, weary smile. Guilt washed over her at the sight of him.
Alex looked terrible.
His eyes were dark and bloodshot. He didn't spend much time in the sun, like her. His complexion was always fair. But he was much paler than usual. There was a tear in the sleeve of his shirt. His gait was slow, deliberate. She could almost see the tension and soreness in his muscles.
"Jesus," she said as she approached. "You look awful."
"Thanks," he said sarcastically, looking her up and down. "You look nice. I thought you were kidding when you said you wore a dress."
"I didn't want to look all sloppy."
"Trust me. People that have ghosts running around, they don't care what you dress like."
"Lucky for you," she said, running a finger along the tear in his shirt. "What happened?"
"One of the possessed patients. Took a swing at me."
"Alex, I'm sorry," she said. "You could have come tomorrow. Really. We would have been okay in a hotel."
He waved away her concern.
"It's nothing a little fire bath won't fix." He peered over her shoulder and waved. "Sheila. Timmy. Hi."
It was their turn to stand and approach. Sheila was on the verge of breaking down. Her lower lip quivered as her eyes watered. But she held it together enough to take both Alex's hands in hers.
"Thank you so much for coming. It…it was really bad tonight. I don't think it's safe to stay here anymore."
Timmy stood at Leese's side, catching her by surprise. Alex gave both Sheila and Timmy his attention.
"I'm going to do everything I can to make this better."
That was it. That was Alex. Simple and direct, yet strong. He was still getting accustomed to the people side of Demons LLC. Cindy oversaw that area, meeting and interviewing clients. Alex spent most of his time talking to ghosts. But he did ooze confidence, and he should have. There was no one else like him.
"So…." Sheila said. "I never really got an answer when I met Cindy. What are you going to do? Are you psychic?"
He smiled.
"Something like that." He glanced at Leese. "Are you up for coming with me? You could record for me. Cindy will beat me if I don't get more video."
Sheila laughed, a sign she was at ease with Alex. Timmy reached for Leese's hand.
"Could she stay out here? With us?" he asked.
Alex leaned back, surprised, and flashed a look to Leese. She shrugged and squeezed Timmy's hand.
"I'll stay out here," she said. "My protector has to keep me safe."
He nodded and flashed a departing smile. Opening the front door, he paused to peer inside the living room. As close as they were, there were parts of her brother Leese would never understand. Was he seeing a presence in the home? Did he sense something?
He said nothing before stepping inside and closing the door behind him.
There were no screams, no sounds of more rooms destroying themselves. There was only silence. The only sound that kept them company was the buzzing of the street light at the corner.
"Well," Sheila said. "What do we do now?"
"We just wait," Leese said.
"Will he need our help? Will he be okay in there?"
Leese thought of everything her group had dealt with. Haunted prisons, wild vampires, demons and ghosts.
"I think he'll be okay."
Thirty minutes passed. They caught a few glimpses of Alex as he moved through the house. His expression was that of confusion. Through the windows, Leese watched as he stopped and stared at nothing for minutes at a time. Then he would move into another room and repeat the process.
Timmy was nearly asleep, his head on Leese's shoulder, when Alex finally left the house. Sheila jumped to her feet. Her anxiety only worsened as time dragged on.
Leese didn't like the look in Alex's eyes. His gaze fell on Sheila.
"Did you…fix it?" she asked. "Is everything okay now?"
He put a hand on her shoulder.
"I know this is tough. But I need some more time. Maybe an hour? And I'll be honest, I need to be alone with the house. Are you okay with that?"
Any other time, Leese might have laughed at the idea of needing alone time with a house. There was no humor in his tone, only sadness. He'd seen something. Something he didn't want Sheila to see.
Sheila sighed. She wasn't happy. It was late, she was tired, and she was afraid for her family. She tried to give Timmy a reassuring smile.
"Can you save our home?" she asked.
"I think so. But just…not yet. Do you have somewhere you could go a while?"
Another sigh. Her shoulders and posture sank. Leese's heart went out to her. Sheila just wanted the ordeal to be over with, to have a normal life again. Cindy always tried to not give clients false hope. But there was a reason Demons LLC was growing so quickly. Alex's reputation was a good one. But it wasn't always a quick process. He wasn't repairing appliances, but interfacing with the ghost world. Sometimes, the ghost world didn't cooperate.
"Yeah," Sheila said. "We have some…family, on the other side of town."
"What is it?" Leese asked, gesturing to the house. "Demons?"
Alex shot her a glare. Sheila's eyes lit up as Timmy pressed closer to Leese.
"Demons?" Sheila said. "There are demons in our house?"
"No," Alex said. He gently turned her away and led her down the sidewalk. Leese followed his lead, walking with Timmy. "No demons. It's just a spirit that's coming and going. I can't quite make contact. You have my number, right?"
Sheila nodded.
"You said an hour?"
"One hour," he said, smiling. "Then I'll have some answers for you."
Sheila and Timmy climbed into their car. Leese gave Timmy a reassuring smile. Alex leaned into Sheila's window to calm her and tell her everything would be okay. Leese admired his tact. Sheila actually smiled once or twice before driving away.
Alex took a breath as he watched the car disappear down the street. He turned and stared at the house a moment, then eyed Leese.<
br />
"Alicia," he said. "Be careful just tossing around the D-word."
"Sorry."
He started toward the house. She stayed by his side.
"It's okay. You did great here."
"I did?"
"Yeah." He gestured behind him. "I think Timmy's in love."
Leese rolled her eyes.
"Shut up."
"You kept them relaxed, distracted. And it's good I came tonight. We can't let this go on much longer."
"Let what go on?"
He didn't say. She followed him back into the house. She hesitated for a moment, thinking back to the kitchen. There was no hesitation with Alex, though, and his confidence urged her forward. He crossed the living room, heading to the kitchen. Leese stood in the doorway. That was as far as she'd go. Alex picked up a loose plastic cup from the floor and held it under the sink faucet. The refrigerator was the next stop. He grabbed a handful of ice from the freezer to finish off the cold refreshment.
Leese watched in fascination as he took a deep drink. The sight was an odd one. Her supernaturally-gifted brother, relaxing in the middle of a haunted house.
"Alex?" she said. "What's going on here?"
He held up a finger, then left the kitchen. He picked up a photo from the corner table in the living room.
"Who is this?" he asked.
She took the photo.
"This is Sheila's husband. Timmy's dad. She cheated on him, and he left."
Alex laughed shortly, but it wasn't a happy one.
"Uh, no. He didn't leave. He was murdered."
Leese felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. Upon hearing the words, it all made sense. Who else would haunt the home?
Still, she was confused.
"You told Sheila you couldn't make contact."
He sat on the couch, exhausted.
"I lied. I had to. As soon as I saw him, and then the picture, I knew something weird is going on. And I can't figure it out with his family watching me work."
"You saw him?" She glanced around, immediately feeling foolish. She'd never be able to see what Alex did. "He's here?"
Damned and Cursed (Book 8): Witch Trial Page 12