by Terri Grimes
Even through narrowed eyes I could see Sam touch his sleeve and send him a signal to back off.
“Timmy, hold up a minute. What was that you said about my body flickering and wavering?”
I saw him glance at Sam as if questioning whether he should answer. After he received a furtive nod of the head he replied. “When you were out of it, I don’t know how or why, but a couple of times your body appeared to fade in and out.”
“What do you mean fade in and out?”
“Think Star Trek,” Sam said. “Remember how Mister Spock would go in the transporter and his image would flicker a couple of times, before he faded out and ended up on some remote planet?”
I could feel my mouth forming a perfect O as my jaw hung low in shock.
“We were blown away too,” Timmy chimed in.
“I don’t know how this sort of thing works, but guys, I’d bet anything that when my image was fading, Orcas was winning the fight.” I could see a look with several raised eyebrows pass between Sam and Timmy.
I sighed. “Listen, there is something I haven’t told either of you.” With that I told them everything. I began with seeing my deceased grandmother in the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms, added in Lori’s bathroom experience with our grandfather and finished with what had happened in the cave with the demon.
Timmy was the first to speak. “So our little sweet Gertie is an ass-kicking demon hunter?”
“Kick butt first and take names later?” Sam said with a grin.
I shook a finger at them, grandma style. “You can both laugh and joke around all you like, but just remember I’m armed and dangerous.” And just to prove it, I took a Saint Ubaldus medal and waved it around.
Timmy gave a little squeal and covered his mouth with both hands. “Do you both realize the magnitude of where we could go with this? No more grumpy bloggers that can’t figure out which graphic to use on their webpage. No more comic book geeks that want their comic book inventory updated every week.”
”What are you talking about,” I asked.
Sam shrugged a shoulder in my direction. “I’m not following him either.”
“Don’t you two get it?” Timmy sighed in a tone laced with more than a hint of martyrdom. “Why be a ghost buster when you can team up and be the best ghost busting, demon hunting team the Midwest has ever seen!”
“Ghost hunter,” Sam and I corrected him in stereo.
“Hunter, buster, whatever. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that every business needs a hook to set them apart from every other business out there today. This is our hook. The three of us can team up and rake in the cash.”
I looked at Sam. He was smiling. “What about Amanda?”
“It’s not been lost on me that she’s no fan of the paranormal. I was never quite sure why she works for Urban Ghost Hunters, anyway.”
I could fill him in on the reason why.
“And anyway, I had to part company with Amanda this morning.”
“Oh?” I chirped.
“Yes.” Sam sighed. “She’s been doing some evidence review on your case. It would seem that not only has she not been doing a thorough job of it, but also, there are missing DVDs. I thought that strange until I realized what may have been on the DVDs.”
“Oh? And what do you think was on the DVDs?” I asked even though I knew the answer. I was curious to see how he would handle this one. I wrapped my arms around my knees as I sat on the floor, waiting.
“Ahem,” Sam began. “To be honest I couldn’t say without seeing the missing DVDs, now could I?”
Oh, good one. Well played, grasshopper.
“There is a case I may have coming up that I could use some help on. If I’m offered the job just know that it’ll be a big one. It won’t be any cakewalk.”
Timmy and I both perked up instantly.
“We’re up for the challenge, Sam. What’s the case?” I asked.
“Do you remember why Bishop Shoal couldn’t come to our demon hunting party?”
“Sure,” Timmy said as I nodded.
“It seems things are escalating to the point where the owner of Waverly Hills is thinking about having an investigative team come in and help them get rid of the more negative energies. She is fine with the benign ones staying and in fact would prefer it.”
“Well sure,” I agreed. “If they are opening the hotel in the hopes of catering to the paranormal crowd it wouldn’t quite work without a few ghosts.”
“Exactly,” Sam said. “And not only is the Waverly Hills Sanatorium a huge place, but it’s rumored to have more than sixty entities with quite a few of them being negative.”
I shivered as goose bumps rose up on my arms.
“But, now’s not the time nor place to talk business,” Sam reasoned.
“I agree.” Timmy stood up and with a wide yawn, stretched his back. “I don’t know about anyone else, but even though the demon is gone, I’m not really liking your attic, Gertie.”
Sam stood up and then extended a hand to me, pulling me up to a standing position.
“Oh, is that so,” I said a little too innocently. “Even though my grandmother’s flapper dress may or may not be in the trunk over there by the dormer?”
I was rewarded with a squeal of delight as Timmy danced over to my grandmother’s old steamer trunk. He sneezed as a cloud of dust was unsettled when he lifted the trunk lid. Moments later he lifted the satiny red dress out of the trunk.
“Oh, Gertie,” Timmy gushed as he held the dress against his torso. “It’s my size. It’s a sign!”
It was something all right, but I wasn’t quite sure that the something was a sign. But, if it made my friend happy, what could it hurt.
“Timmy, it looks like it was made for you.”
Sam watched the exchange between Timmy and I. “You could try it on better if we all went downstairs,” he said.
“Good thinking,” Timmy said, already half way down the attic stairs.
Sam crooked his elbow. “Shall we, my dear?”
I hooked my arm in the crook. “Yes, we shall.” And together we walked, side-by-side, down the attic steps.
~ * ~
Two hours later, after Timmy left with my grandmother’s flapper dress, Sam and I were sitting in front of a blazing fire in the downstairs living room, sipping glasses of chardonnay.
“I can’t believe it’s finally over,” I said, giddy with the pleasure of having my house free of the negative presence. There was a lightness in the air that was unmistakable.
“Let me get this straight,” Sam said, leaning against the mound of pillows on the floor. “Both of your grandparents were demon hunters?”
“Just my grandmother. But my grandfather knew about her gift and embraced it.”
“That explains how he knew to direct your cousin to that store on Pendleton Pike that sells the magnetized religious medallions.”
“Exactly,” I said.
“I’ve been thinking about what Timmy said up in the attic tonight.”
“Oh? That my grandmother’s flapper dress looked like it was made for him?”
The sight of Sam’s Adams apple bobbing up and down in his throat as he laughed mesmerized me to the point that I wanted to kiss it.
“You’re an intelligent, articulate woman.”
I smiled. “Thank you, I think.”
“And I like to think I’m an intelligent, articulate man.” We stared at each other. “I think Timmy’s right and we should join forces.”
“Join forces?”
“Yeah, join forces. I think we’d make a damn fine team, Sugarbaker.” Reaching over, he removed the wine glass from my hand and deposited both our glasses over to the side, near the coffee table. “So how about it? Will you be my new investigative partner?”
I thought for a moment. “I think I might be persuaded to join forces with you.”
He propped himself on his elbow and he lay prone on his side, looking in my eyes. His face was so close to mine that
I could feel his breath warm against my skin. “Maybe,” he began as he traced the contours of my bottom lip with his forefinger. “Maybe we should do a practice run by joining forces now.” He raised one eyebrow in a seductive motion.
“Maybe you should do a little less talking and a little more joining action, partner,” I crooned, ending with a soft moan as his lips found mine. I had a feeling this partnership was going to be an interesting venture in more ways than one.
About The Author
Originally from the coastal area of Maryland, Terri and her husband currently live in Louisville KY where she enjoys ghost hunting, photography, travel, cooking and of course, writing.
Formerly a financial software support and implementation professional, she now spends her days playing with vampires, ghosts and the occasional zombie, all while still managing to find time to flirt with the UPS man.
Visit our website for our growing catalogue of quality books.
www.champagnebooks.com
