by Hunter Shea
“You could say that again. He’s earning his stripes. If he can help get this family out of this mess, I may promote him to full-time partner. That is, if he would even want to do this again. Contact really takes a physical toll on him. I would understand if he opted for a quieter life.”
“There has to be a bigger reason why your father reached out to him and brought him to your door, so to speak. Right?”
Jessica turned another corner, noted that the gray skies were now turning a darker shade of purple. Pretty soon, she would have to head back to the house and wait for Eddie to return.
“I think that’s part of the reason why I’ve let him break my house rules. I keep thinking that somehow, my father is the one calling the shots. I know that sounds weird.”
“Jess, if it came from anyone else, it would, but I’ve known you too long. I have a strong feeling you’re right.”
They talked for a few more minutes, with Jessica promising to call the next day to keep her up to date. It was now too dark to see, what with so many streets without working streetlights, a sign of the faltering economy. She drove back to the Leighs’ house. Then, she called home.
Eve answered after the first ring. “Jessica, I’ve been worried sick.”
“I know. Things have been a little crazy here. I’ve barely slept the past couple of nights and this investigation seems to be on a twenty-four-hour-a-day cycle.”
She recounted the events of the past few days, just as she had with Angela, with one exception. She didn’t tell her about Eddie’s earlier contact with her dad. That was something best left for another time. She wasn’t sure Eve could handle it.
“So when do you think you’ll be coming home?” Eve asked.
“I really don’t know. Soon, I hope. I have a feeling Eddie is on to something.”
“He’s the real deal, huh?”
“I think so, yeah.”
“Then you should tell him.”
Eve didn’t need to expand on her sentence. The meaning was crystal clear.
Angela was the only other living person who knew what had happened in the cabin in Alaska when she was six. Eve’s parents had known, of course, but they had passed away several years ago. And the others, those from the small town left behind, well, they had never been able to cope with what they had experienced.
Eddie knew some details about it, but she was sure most of them were false. In the paranormal field, what had happened to her family was the stuff of rumor. Eve had to spend a good deal of money keeping things out of the paper, not that that area of Alaska was a media hotbed. Still, tiny bits did get out, though most of it fabricated. But no matter how wild the false stories were, none came close to the high strangeness and sheer terror of the truth.
If her father had sought Eddie out, then he must have wanted him to know the truth, her truth, as well. And now here was Aunt Eve, still on the same page with her father just as they had been when he was alive.
Eve said, “You know, kiddo, Liam and I can always come up to New Hampshire and offer some moral support. The last time I was there I must have been nine or ten. We stopped there for a couple of days on our way to Maine. It would be nice to see it again.”
Jess knew this wasn’t a question. Eve was coming, whether she wanted her to or not.
“How about this? As soon as this is over, I’ll call and you and Liam pack your bags. We can all use a nice vacation. Maybe we’ll explore here a little bit, then find a nice island or something off the coast of Maine.” As soon as she said it, she was flushed with a sense of anticipation, coming to the realization that she needed some time to recharge. Between college and her paranormal investigations, this one especially, the past couple of years had been a whirlwind of nonstop motion. She needed a break before she broke.
“I like that. I’ll look for places to go, if you promise you can do two whole weeks without looking at your laptop or searching for ghosts.”
“EBs,” she corrected her.
“Fine, EBs. And don’t forget to talk to Eddie. At this point, he deserves to know.”
“I will.”
She disconnected the call feeling a little lighter.
Then she looked at the Leighs’ house, now shrouded in night, and the smile dissolved from her face. An evil pall had possessed the fibers of the house, the upper windows staring back at her like a pair of soulless eyes. She hoped she wasn’t giving strength to the EB now, and silently urged Eddie to return.
“This isn’t good,” Greg said as they pulled up to the space just outside their hotel room. Rita and Ricky stood by the open door. Rita was wringing her hands and looked as if she was about to scream.
“What’s the matter? Did something happen to Selena?” Greg asked, jumping out of the car before turning off the ignition.
“Where were you?” Rita asked, her harsh tone leaving no room for hesitation on his part.
Ricky attached himself to Greg’s side, relieved to see his father. He said, “Selena disappeared, Dad. She said she was going to bring back something to drink and eat, but she never came back.”
“What?”
Rita regarded him with pursed lips. “I was hoping she was with you, but I can see that’s not the case.”
“Oh Christ,” Greg hissed, walking in a tight circle, his nervous energy returning and going at NASCAR speed. “When did she leave the room?”
“Over an hour ago. I couldn’t call you because you left your phone here and you took our goddamn car!”
Eddie didn’t need to be a psychic to realize that things were about to blow. The Leighs had had it tough when they were acting as one solid unit. Now things were fracturing, in every way possible. It felt as if they were playing right into a pre-determined plan set in motion around the time of his and Jessica’s arrival.
“Has she tried calling you?” Eddie asked.
“I wouldn’t know. My cell is dead and I left the charger back at the house.” He noticed her take a step back when Greg tried to place his hand on her shoulder.
“Do you have any idea where she might have gone?” Eddie asked.
“She was getting antsy and irritable before she left, so at first I assumed she needed to walk a bit. Now I’m just hoping she called one of her friends and went to their house. I couldn’t even use your phone because your damn job put that goddamn password on it.”
“I’ll call Julie’s dad,” Greg said. He walked a few feet away to make the call.
Acting on a feeling that had started to build in intensity since they had arrived, Eddie asked Rita, “Is there a chance she went back to the house?”
Rita shook her head. “She’s terrified of it. That’s the last place she’d go.”
Greg came back to them, his face grave. “Julie’s father said she’s not there. I also called Ashley and Wendy’s parents. Nothing.”
“Do you have Crissy’s number?” Eddie asked, wondering why he wouldn’t call the girl who had been close enough to sleep over the night before.
“No. Their friendship is relatively new, in a manner of speaking. They hadn’t talked to one another much since they got to high school,” Rita said.
“All right, everyone in the car. We’ll drive over to Crissy’s house,” Greg said as he opened the passenger side doors.
Rita ran back into the room. “Wait! I’ll leave a note for her just in case she comes back before we do.”
Greg tore out of the parking lot as if the Grim Reaper were in hot pursuit. Eddie apologized to Ricky when he slid over and crushed him against the door.
He knew they wouldn’t find Selena at Crissy’s, but he had to let Greg and Rita find out for themselves. Despite the desire to white knuckle the drive, he closed his eyes and searched for Selena and the EB. Sooner or later, one of them would turn up. If they were lucky, Selena would be free and clear from the spirit’s range.
Chapter Forty-Six
It was moments before the stars began to blink their way into existence in the sky when Greg’s car came to a scre
eching halt in front of Jessica’s Jeep. Greg jumped out of the car and ran to the house, fumbling with his keys.
“What happened?” Jessica asked Eddie.
“Selena’s missing. We just came back from Crissy’s house. Her mother’s car and Crissy are both gone, so we assume they’re together. Have you seen them at all?”
This was bad. The last thing they needed was the target of the EB’s infatuation on the loose and with no one to protect her, not that they had done an admirable job to this point.
“I’ve been in the car waiting for you for the past twenty minutes and didn’t see them. Maybe they’re in the house?”
“Let’s see.”
Rita and Ricky were now inside as well, all calling Selena’s name. By the time they walked through the door, Rita was close to tears. “She’s not here.”
Greg entered the room and stormed past them. “I’m going to drive to the beach, see if they parked there with the other kids. I’ll call you and let you know if I find her or not.”
Rita nodded. “I’ll plug my phone in now.”
Eddie looked up toward the stairs and motioned for Jessica to join him. “Do you mind if we check her room, just to make sure nothing else has happened there?”
Rita nodded and grabbed hold of her son. With each heartbreaking scene Jessica witnessed with this family, she became angrier and angrier with the EB that was torturing them, and with herself for being the source of its increasing power.
“What do you sense?” she said in a low voice to Eddie.
“Whatever it is, it’s residual, but it might point us in the right direction.”
The first thing they noticed was the plastic planchette half-embedded in the door. A Ouija board lay on the floor. It looked as if the shiny surface had been scorched with a match.
Eddie muttered, “Fucking Ouija boards. Why does it always come down to ignorant kids messing around with these damn things? They have to take this shit out of the toy aisles.”
Jessica picked up the Ouija board and examined the burn marks. It looked as if the planchette had taken off on the board like a jet tearing down a runway.
“They made contact with him,” Eddie said. He tried to pull the planchette free, succeeding in breaking off the end. “I’m guessing they didn’t like what he had to say. They were scared as hell, I can tell you that. I can taste it, like bad cologne left in someone’s wake. They ran out of the house, took off in Crissy’s car. We can hope they went back to the hotel and saw the note her mother left.”
Jessica broke the board over her knee and tucked the pieces under her arm. The theory that using a Ouija board opened up portals best left untouched was a hotly debated one in the paranormal field. Some swore to the positive validity of their use, while others warned against it, like telling your child not to do drugs. A third camp thought it was all nonsense and its place in toy stores as a novelty was fitting. She had heard enough stories about Ouija boards gone wrong to adopt a stance that they should be avoided at all costs.
But Selena and Crissy were just kids, and not exposed to ongoing debates. One thing Jessica had to give them was credit for balls. Not many girls, or men for that matter, would have returned to the scene of a horrific paranormal event to make contact with the EB that had just scared the life out of you. Maybe that trait was the very thing that attracted it to her in the first place.
“So now what do we do?”
Eddie shrugged. “I guess we wait and see if Greg can find Selena, or if she comes back here. I can feel that she’s not far, but that’s about it. I’m assuming you didn’t see any red Thunderbirds sitting out in the open?”
“No. I knew I wouldn’t get that lucky. Think of it. If someone takes the time to restore a T-Bird, wouldn’t they store it in a garage and not leave it out in the elements?”
Eddie looked around the room, lingering on the window. “I know he’s close.”
“I’ll go down with Rita, try to keep her calm. You can stay up here and read vibrations or whatever it is you can do if you want.”
He stopped her by lightly grabbing her wrist. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
Her heart sank. If he had more bad news, she didn’t know what she would do. Things were getting out of control in a hurry, and for the first time ever, she was beginning to feel she was in over her head. She wondered if this was how her father felt during their last days in Alaska, and most especially in the hours leading up to their final night.
Dad, if you can hear me, I need your help. No one knows what’s going on here better than you. Please, tell me what to do.
“Do I get a choice between good and bad news?”
“I wish it was that easy. I know that at this moment, he, it’s, back to its hiding place, the one area it feels safe, building up its strength for another go at Selena. It’s had a taste of her, and it’s been driven mad with desire. If we don’t find her soon, it will, and when she walks away from all of this, she’ll never be the same. The EB will make sure of that.”
Jessica had to restrain herself from punching the wall. The twisted EB had been playing them like a handful of toy figures.
“The only thing we have going for us now is that Selena’s not close to you, and neither is the EB at the moment.”
“How much time do you think we have to find this damn thing before it goes apocalyptic?”
Eddie looked at his watch. “A few hours, tops. The charge of fear that Selena gave off when she and Crissy were here with the Ouija board was enough to put it over the edge.”
“Then let’s get in my car and have you lead us to it. Do you think you’ve made enough of a connection so you can find it?”
“I’m pretty sure I have, but there’s more. I need to be with Selena. I know how this thing works and I know I can protect her when it makes another try at her. If I go looking for it with Selena, I’m delivering her to it on a silver platter, and if I’m wrong and can’t keep her safe, I don’t know how I can live with that.”
Jessica said, “And we both know you can’t leave her with me. So what do I do? Drive to Boston and wait it out until you give me the all-clear?”
The thought of backing out made her blood boil, but if she had to do it for Selena’s sake, she’d tear ass down I495 right away.
“Look, I can communicate with it, but I’m not the kind of TV psychic that can make a spirit walk into the light and cross over. To tell you the truth, after talking with spirits all my life, I’m still not sure what goes on when we die and what the rules are. When a spirit truly moves on, I can see them no better than you can talk to Jesus. It’s only the ones that linger for one reason or another that communicate with me, and they don’t have a clue about what lies next, either.
“You’re the one that has the gift to send this thing away, whether it’s heaven, hell or the Arby’s in Worcester. Without you, there’s no telling when this will end.”
“Yeah, but you said it knows what I can do and won’t play into it. What good am I then?”
He was about to answer when the front door flew open downstairs and Rita screamed.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Eddie was relieved to see the mini family reunion in the living room. Rita had Selena in a bear hug and kept repeating, “Please don’t do that ever again. I love you so much.”
Selena was barely able to return the hug because her arms were pinned to her sides. Even her little brother had come up behind her and buried his face in her back.
When Rita broke her embrace, still holding on to her daughter’s arms, she said, “When this is all over, we’ll figure out what the punishment will be for making us worry. Your fatheris still out looking for you and Crissy.”
“So, I guess you know that she borrowed her mom’s car to get me.” Selena could hardly bring herself to look her mother in the eye.
“You say borrowed, she says stole. Don’t worry about Crissy. She has her own music to face. What on earth were you thinking?”
Eddie saw Selena
steal a glance at the broken board tucked under Jessica’s arm and her eyes widened just enough for him to take note of her fear of discovery. Jessica saw it too and put her finger to her mouth, letting her know this particular secret was better left unsaid for now.
“I…I just needed to get away for a little bit and clear my head,” Selena said weakly.
Rita frowned. “I can’t even begin to tell you how dumb that was.”
“I know,” she answered, just above a whisper, and Eddie knew she was sincere. Her bravery had exposed her to a harsh reality and it had rocked her. That she was even back in the house was a credit to her resolve. She was one tough kid.
“We were just driving around, and then I asked Crissy to take me back to the hotel and I saw your note. I realized that I need to be with you and dad and even Ricky. I can’t face this alone, even though I thought for a little bit that I could. Please don’t be mad at me.”
Rita pulled her in for another hug, and this time there were tears for both.
Ricky walked over to Eddie and Jessica and said, “Can you make it stop now?”
Jessica leaned down so her face was level with the boy. “I promise that tonight, Eddie and I are going to do everything we can to put an end to this.”
Rita called Greg and told him the good news. He said he was just a few miles away and would be back in a few minutes.
Eddie felt a building tension in the house ever since Selena’s return, and it had nothing to do with the emotional outburst between her and her mother. His head felt like a heavy burlap sack that was slowly being filled with wet cement.
Jessica flashed the broken Ouija board to him and said, “I’m going to throw this in the garbage outside. When I get back, maybe you can tell me what the best plan of attack should be.”
“In the kitchen, away from Rita and the kids.”
She gave him a thumbs-up and went out the back door.
Greg walked in the front door at almost the exact same moment, and the smile on his face brought Selena running to his outstretched arms. “You trying to give your old man a heart attack?” he said into her mussed hair. “My life insurance policy isn’t the best, so you might want to try and keep me around a little longer.”
