Ghostly Endings (A Ghost Hunter P.I. Mystery Book 5)

by Aubrey Harper

  “Hi, I’m Meredith Good, and this is Kane Xavier. We’re private investigators working a few towns over. Silver Bells Cove, to be exact. We just wanted to ask you a few questions about this person.” I showed her the missing person poster.

  She went as white as a sheet as soon as she saw the picture.

  “That’s…that’s my Ellie,” she said, now close to tears.

  I looked behind her but Rebecca was nowhere to be found. Where exactly was she?

  “Is this your daughter?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Please come in,” she said.

  We followed her into the living room.

  “Do you want anything to drink?” She asked.

  We both declined. We had just eaten and drank to our heart’s content.

  We sat down on the couch while she sat across from us in a comfy looking chair.

  “Please tell me,” she finally said. “Tell me what you know about my Ellie.”

  “There’s no easy way to say this,” I said. “But they recently found some bones in our small town. We’re pretty sure they belong to your daughter.”

  Gertrude gasped at that. “I knew she was dead, but I just hoped that maybe by some miracle she was still out there, alive. But I knew she’d contact me if she was. I knew…but it’s still so hard to accept.”

  I got up and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry you have to find out like this.”

  She wiped her tears with an old-fashioned handkerchief. “At least now I know,” she said. “I won’t have to wonder anymore.”

  I went back to my seat next to Kane.

  “Can you tell us what exactly happened?” I asked, trying to keep my tone as neutral as possible. The last thing I wanted the poor woman to think was that I was accusing her of driving her daughter away.

  “Her father, my husband, he was very strict you see. Ellie was always a wild child and when she finished high school, she wanted to go out on her own. Teddy, my husband, wouldn’t hear of it. He wanted her to stay here and find a suitable suitor. It worked for a few years. But Ellie grew restless. They were both so stubborn. My husband, well, he’s been gone for over a decade now. But he never forgave himself for driving her away like that.” She wiped a few more tears away. “She did call me once she was on the road. She sounded so excited about going to California. She said it was the land of opportunity. She promised she’d call me as soon as she could, but that was the last time I spoke to her. That’s why we filed a missing person report. The police didn’t take it seriously, of course, since she left of her own will, but now…”

  I noticed Rebecca standing by the doorway then. She was listening this whole time.

  “I want her to know that I don’t blame her,” Rebecca said. “I want you to tell her that I’m okay.”

  I took in a deep breath. “Mrs. Smith—” I started.

  “Please call me Gertrude,” she cut in.

  “Gertrude,” I said. “I haven’t exactly been honest with you. While Kane here is a private investigator, I’m actually a different kind of PI. The kind of PI that deals with cases of a more delicate, let’s say paranormal, nature.”

  Gertrude raised her eyebrows. “I went to a few psychics over the years, but none helped me find my daughter.”

  “There’s a lot of fakes out there,” I said. “I know some real psychics, though, and actually, one of them helped out on this case. But I don’t consider myself a psychic. I can’t tell the future or anything like that. But I can see ghosts. And I can talk to them.”

  “What…what are you trying to say?” Gertrude finally managed to get out.

  “I’m trying to say that she’s here right now. Your Ellie.”

  Kane braced himself, and to be honest, so did I.

  Gertrude took a look around.

  “She’s standing right over there,” I said and pointed by the doorway. “She’s been here listening to us talk.”

  “I…I don’t know what to say to that…”

  “You don’t have to say anything at all,” I said. “She…she doesn’t exactly remember who she is because her death was so traumatic.”

  And that opened a whole new can of worms. I told Gertrude everything we knew so far.

  “A serial killer? My poor Ellie…”

  “Thankfully, she doesn’t remember any of it,” I reminded her. “She just wanted to let you know that she’s alright and that you don’t have to worry about her. And I promise that I’ll get justice for her. Pretty soon, the police should be contacting you as well. I haven’t shared all I know with them yet for obvious reasons, but I will now that I know who she was.”

  “I don’t know if I can believe any of this,” Gertrude said. “It’s all too unbelievable.”

  “I can prove it,” I said. “But you’ll have to stay calm.” I explained to her the ghostly touch Rebecca was capable of.

  I motioned for Rebecca to come over. She gently laid one hand down on Gertrude’s right shoulder. I told Gertrude as much just before she touched it herself.

  “I felt it. I felt it,” she said and started to cry.

  After the tears slowed down, I asked Gertrude if she had anything of Ellie’s I could borrow.

  “Her room…her room is just as she left it,” she said as she got up. “Follow me, please.”

  Gertrude wasn’t joking. Rebecca’s, or Eileen’s, or Ellie’s, old room looked like it was frozen in time. Everything looked as she left it. It was obvious that this room was cleaned regularly because there was no dust in sight.

  “We couldn’t bear to get rid of anything after she went missing,” Gertrude said. “If anything here will help her remember, feel free to take it.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Gertrude excused herself. Being in the room was obviously too much for her, especially now that she knew her daughter was a victim of a serial killer.

  Rebecca stayed behind.

  “You were already in here, weren’t you?” I asked her.

  She nodded.

  “And you still don’t remember?”

  She shook her head. “But…”

  “But what?” I quickly asked.

  “But I think I’m starting to. I keep getting flashes of a life I don’t remember living.”

  “What about how it ended?”

  Rebecca shook her head. “I know it might help catch whoever did this, but I don’t think I want to remember any of that. Can you blame me?”

  “No, of course not.”

  Kane was already looking around for any clues but there were no clues to be found. It was the room of a young woman who was just starting her life, slowly but surely leaving her teenage and high school years behind. Except that she didn’t have a chance to grow up and become who she was meant to be. I had to stop myself from choking back tears.

  I found her hairbrush by the nightstand. It looked pretty clean actually so I took it. Maybe there were some psychic traces that Callie could use. Of course, I’d have to mail the thing to her. I took a few pictures of the room and the things there. Rebecca seemed enamored by a picture of her with her parents by the nightstand so I took that as well. Hopefully, it would bring more of her memories to the forefront. And then we were ready to leave.

  I got Gertrude’s permission for the two items we were taking. I told her to expect the police to contact her soon.

  “Will she ever find peace?” Gertrude asked just as we were out the door.

  I looked over at Rebecca. “She might not have moved on to the other side yet, but I think she’s pretty content.”

  That made Gertrude smile. “Thank you, Meredith. Thank you so much.”

  We got back in Kane’s van and prepared for a long drive back. But not before we stopped by the local post office and sent the hairbrush to Callie.

  An hour into our drive I got a phone call from Sarah of all people. The first thought on my mind was Gran and then I thought of Sarah’s pregnancy. I sure hoped it wasn’t about either of those.

  “Wh
ere are you?” Sarah asked as soon as I answered.

  “We’re on our way back to Silver Bells. We should be there in a few hours. What’s wrong?” I said.

  “Jonathan will probably be mad but I thought you should know that they just found another body on the outskirts of town.”

  Another body? Was Silver Bells this freak’s burial ground or something?

  “Do they know how long the bones have been there?” I asked.

  “They’re not bones, Meredith,” she said. “It’s an actual body. And it wasn’t buried or anything. It was found by the side of the road.”

  “You’re not making any sense,” I said. “Are you saying this is a recent murder or something?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Sarah said. “Now get your ass down here. Maybe there’s still a ghost around you can talk to.”

  “Holy crap,” I said after I hung up.

  “What is it?” Kane asked. “Did I hear that right? Something about a fresh body?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Put the pedal to the metal, Kane, because we need to be in Silver Bells like yesterday.”

  Kane only increased his speed by a couple of miles per hour.

  “Really?” I said.

  “I don’t think getting pulled over for speeding will help get us there any faster,” he said and kept his eyes on the road.

  As much as I hated to admit it, he was right.

  I looked back at Rebecca in the back seat.

  “I can try going ahead?” She offered.

  “No, it’s too far away. Maybe when we’re closer,” I said.

  A million thoughts ran through my mind as Kane drove the van. What if it was the same person that killed Rebecca that killed this latest victim? Would that even be possible? How old would that freak have to be? I guess there was only one way to find out. I needed to talk to the latest victim. I just hoped this one actually remembered what happened.

  Twelve

  Kane parked the van in front of the police station. I had made a couple of phone calls during our seemingly never-ending drive back to town. I had found out that they had already taken the body to the morgue, which was located beneath the only hospital in town. I tried to find out the exact location of where the body was found from the local news, but they were being awfully vague. I had a feeling Jonathan had something to do with that.

  “He doesn’t want to see you,” were the first words out of the receptionist’s mouth as soon as she saw Kane and me enter the police station.

  Rebecca was already on her way to spy on what was happening in the back.

  “I have information about the bones that were found earlier,” I said. “I have a name.”

  That got her attention. She immediately went to the back. Once she came back, Jonathan was right behind her.

  “What kind of games are you playing?” Jonathan asked, obviously not in the mood to deal with anything of the paranormal variety.

  “Kane and I just came back from talking to Rebecca’s mother,” I said.

  Jonathan rolled his eyes but he did motion for us to follow him to his office. He closed the door tight behind us.

  “This better not be some kind of joke,” he said.

  “It’s not,” I said. “I have her name and everything.”

  “Then why does it feel like you’re about to ask for something in return for that information?”

  “You know me too well,” I said and smiled. “I would like access to the place you found the body. And then I’d like access to the body as well if needed.”

  “Absolutely not,” he said.

  I got up to go then. “Good luck finding out Rebecca’s real name on your own then.”

  “Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “Just tell me what you know.”

  I handed the missing person poster to him. Then Kane told him Gertrude’s address and phone number.

  “They kept her room the way it was when she went missing,” I added.

  “Thank you for this. I would have liked this information before you went playing detective on your own, but I guess late is better than never.”

  “And what about your part of our deal? Can you tell me where the latest victim was found? And do you think the two cases are related?” I said.

  “We don’t know much yet. We just know that it’s a young woman that fits the pattern of the other missing women. But no, we don’t think it’s related. How could it be? The guy who killed Eileen here is probably too old or dead by now.”

  “I need an address, Jonathan,” I reminded him. “You know better than anyone that me talking to the latest victim could be beneficial to you as well. She could tell me who actually killed her. I don’t know why you’re being so hardheaded about this.”

  Jonathan sighed. “I’m going to take you there myself. Just follow my car,” he said.

  And that’s exactly what Kane and I did. Rebecca joined us as well.

  “Find out anything useful while you were eavesdropping?” I asked her while Kane followed Jonathan’s cruiser.

  “They don’t know much,” she said. “They’re still trying to identify the body. Apparently, it didn’t come with an ID.”

  It didn’t take long for us to arrive at the destination. And it was awfully close to where Rebecca’s bones had been found.

  “This is weird,” I said when I got out of the van.

  Jonathan raised an eyebrow. “Are you seeing something I’m not?” He asked.

  “No, it’s just this location. Why here?”

  “It helps that it’s in the middle of nowhere,” Jonathan said. “Less chance of anyone seeing you dumping a body.”

  “So you don’t think she was killed here?”

  Jonathan shook his head. “It doesn’t look like it. But you tell me.”

  All eyes were on me as I walked the general area. The place where the body was found still had some police tape around it. I looked around but the only ghost I saw was Rebecca. She too was looking around for any recently disembodied spirits. But she wasn’t having much luck either.

  “She’s not here,” I said. “Our next best bet is her body.”

  Both Jonathan and Kane cringed a bit when I said that. But unless we knew the exact place she was killed, that was our best bet.

  We went back to our vehicles and were on our way to the hospital.

  Once we were in front of the building, I was reluctant to follow Jonathan down. Seeing ghosts was one thing. Even bones were different. But an actual body? I could never get used to that.

  “Come on,” he said. “I don’t have the whole day. For obvious reasons.”

  I took a deep breath and followed him inside. Rebecca had already gone ahead. She didn’t look too happy about it either. Hospitals weren’t my favorite places for other reasons as well. Too many recent dead hanging around not even aware that they’d died. If I had the time, I could spend the whole day helping those souls move on. Since most of the time they eventually figured out their situation by themselves, my services weren’t really needed. It was in those rare cases that they couldn’t move on or were causing trouble that I got involved.

  The further down we went, the chillier it got, until I was practically shaking.

  “Want my jacket?” Kane offered.

  “No, I’ll be fine,” I said as I tried not making eye contact with the few ghosts that I saw hanging about. There was an old man at the end of the hallway, waiting for someone to scare. I pretended I didn’t see him and just kept on looking straight ahead.

  Jonathan finally opened a door and greeted a man in a white coat.

  “We’re here to see the new arrival,” he said to the man.

  “Relatives?” The man in the white coat asked.

  “Nothing like that. Just point us in the right direction.”

  The man led us into another room. There was a body on a metal surface, covered by a sheet.

  I looked around the room but the only ghost I saw here was Rebecca.

  She shrugged her ghost
ly shoulders when I gave her a questioning look once the man’s back was to us. “She’s not here as far as I can tell.”

  The coroner uncovered the sheet when Jonathan motioned that we were ready.

  The cause of death was obvious even to me. Blunt force trauma. It was clear that somebody hit her in the head with something deadly. I had to look away after a few seconds.

  “That it?” The coroner asked.

  “Yeah, thanks for your time,” Jonathan said.

  I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

  “I’m sorry,” I said once we were outside in the fresh air and I could breathe normally again. “I didn’t see her ghost anywhere in the vicinity.”

  “Maybe she moved on?” Jonathan offered.

  “I highly doubt that,” I said. “She’s probably at the scene of the crime. Or maybe she’s even following her killer around. I’ve heard of that happening a couple of times.”

  Jonathan looked like he was about to roll his eyes but stopped himself just in time.

  “I’d say that you should stay away from the investigation, but since I know you won’t, I won’t waste my breath. Just make sure you don’t get in my way, all right?”

  I wasn’t expecting that, especially from Jonathan. Lately, he seemed determined to stop me from doing any kind of investigating at all.

  “I’m guessing Sarah had a talk with you,” I had to say.

  “Something like that, but don’t count on getting any free passes from me. I only took you here because you shared the info you had about the bones we found.”

  With that, Jonathan got in his cruiser and drove away.

  “What now?” Kane asked.

  “Now we have to find out what exactly happened to Jane Doe back there. And who exactly she was in the first place.”

  “I’m getting déjà vu,” Kane said.

  “Thankfully, it should be easier this time. She’ll be identified soon enough. Sure, things would be a lot easier if Callie was still around. She could touch the body and see what exactly happened to her.”

  Just then, as if by magic, my phone rang. But it wasn’t Callie calling. It was actually Rachel.