Ghosted on the Gulf Coast (Gulf Coast Paranormal Trilogy Book 1)
Page 30
“Really?”
“Around 1910, a serial killer went after some of the working ladies. Five bodies were found on that street and the one behind it. He was Mobile’s version of Jack the Ripper, only he didn’t cut those poor girls; he choked them to death with his bare hands. The newspapers called him the Mobile Strangler. I imagine doing so helped them sell quite a few papers. The bodies were all found off Hanover Street, but they never found the killer. Some people suspected that it was a doctor, called…” She snapped her fingers and tapped her lips.
“Dr. Oscar Long,” Cassidy piped in. I was so engrossed in the story I hadn’t even noticed the bell that time.
“That was it.” Helen put her fingers around her own neck. “He strangled them, and one young woman was never found.”
“Hey, you guys talking about the Red House?” Sierra joined us with a folder of photos she’d found on the internet. The girl was a magician when it came to research. It was good to see her focusing on something besides Josh.
“I painted one of the girls; do you want to see?” Cassidy asked Helen and Sierra. She pulled out her camera, pulled up the picture and sent it to our wireless printer. She retrieved it, and we all went silent. I think all of us were both shocked by the beauty of her work and turned off by the horror of the picture.
“Is she being murdered?” Helen asked as she stared at the picture with an appalled expression.
“She was brutally assaulted and strangled, but during this particular event, he hadn’t killed her.”
I couldn’t help but shake my head. Mostly in amazement at Cassidy.
“Okay, we know who the ‘who’ might be, but we’re still investigators. Our job is to debunk. And what’s left after debunking is our evidence. Remember, it’s not evidence until we have it on film or audio. When Josh gets here, I’ll tell you all about my meeting with Mark McGinnis. He’s our client on this project.”
We waited for a few minutes for Josh, then I glanced at my watch and frowned. “Well, he’ll just have to catch up when he gets here. So much for needing to know the back story. Everyone grab your coffee and have a seat around the conference table. I’ll tell you what Mark told me.”
For the next fifteen minutes, my skeleton crew listened to Mark’s story. Like me, they found it remarkable, but with what we’d seen at the last location and the attack on Cassidy, it was not impossible.
“I’d like to begin by ruling out any gases or other chemicals that might be causing hallucinations. Cassidy, make a note that we need to bring the carbon monoxide and radon detectors. With all the construction that’s going on, it’s entirely possible. Anyone have anything else?”
Sierra kept eyeing the door, obviously hoping Josh would show up. She hadn’t talked about her ill-timed, drunken confession, and I had been convinced that she’d forgotten much of what happened—until I caught her crying again. I didn’t try to comfort her; she knew what she’d done was wrong. At least she wasn’t still involved with Jack. After everything that happened with Sara and Peter, I had a certain amount of sympathy for Josh.
“Sierra?”
“I’ve got the names of the murdered women written down. We can do some EVP work and try to contact one of them.”
“I want to try and connect with Sabrina Elizabeth. Obviously, she wants to talk to me. I’ll give it a shot,” Cassidy volunteered.
“Okay, since you kind of have a connection with her through your painting. I do want to investigate that hallway again. See if we can recreate the phenomenon of the door.”
Helen said, “Midas, I’ve been looking into that kind of thing for some other research I’m doing. It’s not unheard of for people to see phantom doors and windows. In some cases, it’s like the human psyche is trying to warn the person, ‘Hey, we’re about to embark on a journey to another dimension.’ Maybe Mark stepped back in time for a few seconds, or perhaps he stepped into the spiritual dimension.” Her rich, warm voice made that scenario seem like a reasonable possibility.
“Others have had this experience? Seen doors that weren’t there?”
She nodded. “Oh, yes. Many cultures share this kind of imagery in their stories and legends. It’s been going on for ages.”
The doorbell rang as Josh stepped inside. “That’s good to know. Hey…Josh. Glad you could make it.”
He looked disheveled, like he’d rolled around on a dirty street before he walked inside. I noticed he had a bruise around the corner of his eye and was sweating profusely. No doubt he had tied up with someone before he got here. I felt Sierra tense up beside me, but she didn’t ask him any questions. Neither did I.
“What did I miss?”
I couldn’t hide my frustration with this guy. Leave it to Josh to make a tough situation tougher. “A lot, but Cassidy will catch you up on the way there, if she’s willing to. I do have a sketch to show you on where I want the cameras. We’ll use four tonight, and I want to position shadow detectors on the two staircases in those buildings. You’ll notice we aren’t doing a whole lot in the third building. I don’t think there’s much going on in there, but we’ll set up a camera on the upper floor just to be safe. I’d hate to miss something. Each team will carry a handheld camera; Josh has the thermal, which he’ll use. Sierra, I need you to man the monitors tonight. Helen, are you ready to get your toes wet?”
“You know I am!” She rubbed her “lucky” pin and winked at me.
“Great. Part of the night, you’ll be with me, and for the rest you’ll work with Cassidy. Okay, guys. We have most everything set up already, but let’s not forget the handhelds and the other items on our list.”
“I’m on it.” Josh hopped up and sped off to the storeroom with Sierra looking after him. She was making a phone call as I went to help Josh. I prayed she wasn’t calling Jack. I was going to have to sit down with these two, and soon. Slowly but surely, Gulf Coast Paranormal was falling apart.
“I hope the other guy looks worse,” I said as Josh and I grabbed the few items we needed.
“Oh, he looks like dog meat,” he said in a serious tone. At least he wasn’t laughing about it.
I raised an eyebrow. “I guess I know who it is.”
He grinned mischievously, like we were talking about a high school rumble. “That guy got what he deserved, but I didn’t kill him. He’ll live, and hopefully he’s learned his lesson.”
That was the kind of immature response I expected from Josh. “This isn’t the way to handle this, Josh. That crap can come back and bite you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? You think I’m wrong for kicking his ass? He slept with my wife, Midas.”
“I know, but your way of making it better is to assault the guy? What if you did hurt him? What good will you be to Sierra if you’re in jail?”
“Whatever, dude. I can’t roll over like you did with Sara and Peter.”
I felt my blood surge as my face turned fifty shades of red. I was fuming, but there was room for only one hothead here today. “No, but you didn’t have a relationship with Jack. He didn’t owe you anything. Not his loyalty, not anything. Sierra is the one who betrayed you.”
And then, naturally, Sierra walked in the room with her mouth hanging open. “Thanks so much, Midas.”
She stomped away sobbing, and I called after her, “Sierra, wait.”
Josh shook his head at me and frowned, like I was the bad guy here. And that was how the night investigation began. With a bang.
It took me the entire ride to Bloodgood Row to get it straightened out with Sierra, and even then things were uncomfortable. We got there as the sun was going down, and we went inside to check the monitors and rigs. Everything was working properly, except the one camera I wanted to swap out, Josh and Cassidy worked quickly to move the camera upstairs.
“Okay, let’s go lights-out.”
Sierra flipped the switches and we sat in the dark, except for the flickering of the monitors.
“Who’s up first?” Josh asked. His earlier tussle appar
ently had him raring to go. Strange how a good fight would do that to a guy.
“You and Cassidy go upstairs. Take the carbon monoxide detector and check the hallway for any weird readings. Cassidy, here’s the digital recorder. You have a handheld?”
“Yeah, I’ve got it.” Josh picked up the camera and flipped it on.
“You guys head upstairs. Helen and I will work down here.” Helen clapped her hands like a gleeful child and waited for me to grab the equipment we needed.
Josh and Cassidy were headed to the staircase when we first heard the sounds. Heavy footfalls, purposeful but kind of random, just like the other day.
“Already?” Josh said with some surprise.
“I know who that is!” Cassidy whispered. “That’s Bear! I’ve heard his footsteps before, in my vision. He was coming to see Sabrina, and I heard his footsteps. That’s those heavy boots he wore.”
“Go check it out. Make sure you record everything. Sierra, are you seeing anything up there?”
She tapped her lip and moved closer to the screen. “Not a thing, but I hear it too. I’m sure we’ve recorded it.”
Cassidy said, “Come on, Joshua. Into the darkness we go.”
“That’s not one bit funny,” he growled as they climbed the stairs and disappeared.
Chapter Nine—Cassidy
“I would like to test my theory about those footsteps belonging to Bear. He was the guy who was interested in Sabrina Elizabeth, the woman whose body they never found.” I shuddered at my own words.
“Who?” Joshua stared into the thermal. “We caught a figure up here the other day. I was hoping I would spot him again.”
“Focus! Did you listen to a word I told you on the way here? You should’ve been at the meeting, Joshua! Bear worked at the cotton mill. He was going to marry one of the victims of the Mobile Strangler, Sabrina Elizabeth. I remember the sound of his footsteps in my vision. I wonder if it would help him if I let him know that she’s gone.” I was whispering, but it sounded like a freight train. It was so quiet up here. Nothing was moving, nothing was making a sound. We slowly walked into the hallway.
“If he’s a residual haunt, it won’t make a difference.”
I felt deflated. “Why do you say that?”
“Because he won’t know you’re there, no matter what you do. He’s caught in one of those loops, you know, like an infinite time loop. It might not even be him, just an imprint left over from his emotions.”
I frowned in the darkness. “Well, I hope it’s Bear’s footsteps and not the Mobile Strangler’s. He’s proven that he hasn’t given up his strangling ways.”
“Are you telling me the Mobile Strangler might be here too? Great. That’s just great.”
I kind of laughed. “More proof that you don’t listen. No wonder you and…well, sorry. That’s not appropriate. How is it that you’re a paranormal investigator if you hate your job? You’re not even paid for it—why do you do it?”
“I have my reasons. Sh…”
The footsteps had returned and were very close to us in the hallway, probably only twenty feet or so in front of us. Dang, this is a long hallway.
“Do you see anything? In the thermal?”
It was pitch black now, and I flicked on my mini flashlight. I waved the beam down the hallway but caught nothing. Out of the corner of my eye, it seemed like a shadow flitted past the open doorway. It ran from my light, but I was right on its tail.
“Where are you going?” Joshua asked me nervously.
“I saw something. Something moved over here and went into that room.”
“Okay, but don’t run off half-cocked. Let’s turn on the shadow detector. It’s got a full battery pack and… Did you hear that?”
We heard more footsteps, heavier now, and it sounded like furniture was being moved around when there wasn’t any up here. Everything had been removed for the renovation. The bulk of the noise appeared to come from the room where the shadow had fled to just a few moments ago.
I swallowed and said, “I’m going in, Joshua. Stay out here, and I’ll try to run it out. Maybe you can catch it with the thermal.”
“All right. But be careful.”
I knew he was probably more concerned about being alone than about any danger I might be in. Big scary dude.
I walked into the room with my digital recorder turned on. “Cassidy, in Building One top floor. Side room. Bloodgood Row.” I waited for a moment to see if the footsteps returned or if there were any other sounds that might help me locate Bear. If it was Bear. How did I know for sure? Well, there was only one way to find out.
“My name is Cassidy, and my friend Joshua is in the hallway. We’re not here to hurt you. We just want to help. Is your name Bear?” I waited 15 seconds and then asked, “Are you looking for Sabrina Elizabeth?” I heard whispering but couldn’t discern any words clearly. I thought I heard a yes, but that might have been wishful thinking. I saw the light flash on my recorder and knew that I probably caught something.
“I know you cared a great deal for her, but I think you should know she is not here anymore. She’s gone, but she’s at rest,” I added less confidently. Was it a sin to lie to a spirit? The wind rushed past me, and I stepped back in response. It didn’t scare me, but it sure surprised me. I heard the shadow detector beeping.
“We got something!”
I stepped out into the hallway and saw Joshua standing behind the shadow detector, his eyes wide and focused on the thermal in his hand.
“What did you see?”
“A cold spot; it moved out of the room you were in. It was a shapeless mass, but it was clearly there. Good call. Let’s see if we can find it again.”
Sierra’s voice poured over the walkie-talkie on Joshua’s hip. “Sierra to Josh.”
“Yeah. I hear you.”
“Why don’t you guys head down to the end of the hallway? Midas wants to get those readings before we go any further. Try and recreate Mark’s experience.”
“We got it.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head at me as if to say, I really hate her right now. I didn’t respond or say anything derogatory about his wife. I hoped that they would either get it together soon or break up for good. I didn’t know them very well, but I knew well enough to know I wouldn’t want to be involved in their drama.
“Okay, let’s go. I have the detectors.” We walked down the hallway.
Joshua checked his carbon monoxide detector and shrugged. “I don’t get anything unusual, but I don’t know what other explanation there could be. I’ll check again.” After another minute, he said into the walkie-talkie, “Josh to Sierra.”
“Go ahead.”
“Nothing unusual to report. Levels are normal. If there are any kind of weird gases, they’re not on this side of the wall.” He checked again but shook his head in disbelief. To me he added, “This guy might be delusional. To see ghosts is one thing, but to see a door where there isn’t one? That’s like science fiction stuff.”
I didn’t respond because the air around me was getting sticky, almost like someone was running a humidifier in here. I squinted at Joshua’s face in the dark.
“Do you feel that?”
“Yeah, I feel it. Makes me want to take a shower. I don’t like this at all.”
“I don’t hear any footsteps now. I wonder if it’s over.”
He shook his head. “It’s not over. I saw something pass the shadow detector.”
I stared into the darkness but didn’t see what he was talking about. “Where?” I trained my tiny flashlight in that direction but still caught nothing.
“You want to go down and investigate? I’m going to stay here and do another EVP session.”
“All right, but stay where I can see you.”
Whatever, Joshua. I’m a grown woman, and I’m not your surrogate wife. I didn’t say any of that out loud, of course. What was the point? And besides, things were starting to pick up in the investigation. I turned my attention back to my task.
“Sabrina Elizabeth, where did he put your body? Can you tell me?”
And then I heard Joshua’s voice booming down the hallway. “Holy crap!” I waved the beam of my flashlight in his direction and saw a weird shadow, like a man wearing a cape. Only it wasn’t a man or a cape, and the thing was crawling on the floor! When it touched my beam of light, it corrected its course and flitted into an open doorway. Joshua was swearing like a madman. Whatever it was had been crawling toward him, and he’d seen it face to face. He was now sitting on the ground; he’d obviously fallen over his own feet trying to get away from the thing. I ran down the hall to him. He let out a string of profanities as he sat gasping for breath.
“You all right, Joshua?” I glanced over my shoulder, hoping that thing wouldn’t come back.
“Hell yeah, but damn! What the hell was that? It was crawling on the floor like a…like a…I don’t know what! It was an apparition of some type. It was all black and had gleaming eyes, but I only saw them for a second. I think I’ve got it on the thermal.”
I focused on his eyes, which were wide with fright. He needed a break. “Let’s go downstairs,” I said, “and I’ll let the others know what we’re seeing. I think we might actually get lucky up here tonight.”