THE GHOSTLY CHRONICLES

by D T Yarbrough

  THE

  GHOSTLY

  CHRONICLES

  Written by D.T.Yarbrough

  A Series of Ghost Stories

  Copyright 2010

  All rights reserved

  YOU CAN'T BELIEVE YOUR EYES

  My name is Jack Weston and I see ghosts. It wasn't always like this. I used to be like everyone else. I didn't even think about ghosts. You see, about five years ago I became a hermit. I moved to the mountains to get away from the rat race. I had a small cabin in the backwoods far from the beaten path.

  I was doing just fine, reading books by candlelight, watching the discovery channel on my black & white TV with only rabbit ears for reception, and living off the land. I set traps, fished and hunted, and grew a few things in my garden. I only had to buy propane every couple of years to run my generator to power my freezer and TV. In the winter I would just push the freezer out on the back porch, and it didn't need power.

  Everything was fine until they stopped transmitting analog TV signals. I decided to go into town to buy a converter and maybe even a satellite dish. That's when I discovered that I could see ghosts. I went to an eye doctor to see if something was wrong with my eyes. He found that I had a cataract in one eye, but the other was perfect, considering my age. However, he did find something quite strange about my vision.

  Most people with my problem, a cataract in one eye, could see perfectly well with the other eye. Your mind, when it receives conflicting information, will ignore the blurry vision in one eye and accept the clear vision from the other. Both are only used for depth perception. In my case the opposite was true. My mind accepted the blurry vision and ignored the clear vision. It must have been all that reading by candlelight and watching blurry TV that trained my mind to accept blurry over clear. All of the fog in the mountains didn't hurt either.

  Anyway, as I was saying, I see ghosts. They're everywhere. You have to see blurry to see ghosts. Sometimes I wonder what else I may be seeing that others miss. But let me warn you, just in case you are thinking of training your mind to see ghosts, don't let them know that you can see them. They all have unfinished business. That's why they're still here, and they will not leave you alone until you help them complete it. They can get pretty upset if you refuse. Fortunately the bad ones didn't have the choice of hanging around, so there's not a lot to worry about. It is just that it takes up all your time, and then they're gone without even a thank you.

  FOR THE LOVE OF GLORIA

  Jack awoke to find the room was frigid. He was chilled to the bone. Jack knew this feeling all to well. "Who's there? Show yourself!" he shouted.

  From behind a closet door he appeared. Jack recognized him. Oh, he didn't know his name but he had seen him on the streets many times, always in the background. It was as though he had been following Jack. "What are you doing here? What do you want?" Jack asked.

  Jack knew he wouldn't be able to tell him. They can't talk. Or at least the living can't hear them. Most of the living couldn't even see them. Jack walked over to his desk and motioned for the ghost to follow. "Spell it out for me," Jack said as he pointed to his computer's keyboard.

  The ghost pointed to the blank screen. The computer wasn't turned on. "What difference does that make? You can't press the keys anyway," Jack said. "Just point to the letters." Jack picked up a note pad and pencil and began writing as the ghost pointed first to one letter and then the next.

  The ghost needed Jack's help. What a surprise, they all wanted Jack's help. He had been watching Jack to be sure he could trust him. "Why are you still here," Jack asked. "What sort of unfinished business do you have?"

  "I finished my business long ago, but I can't leave," the ghost answered.

  "Why not? Isn't that the way it works?" Jack asked.

  "I'm in love," the ghost replied. "I want you to help Gloria."

  "Many ghosts were in love when they died, but they all moved on," Jack said.

  "They were in love with the living," he replied. "Gloria is a ghost, and if she can't leave then I'm not leaving without her."

  "Why can't she leave? What is her unfinished business?" Jack asked.

  "Oh, if only it was that simple. You see... there are others like you who see ghosts. They are not nice people. They take advantage of us when they can. They are forcing Gloria to help them perform criminal acts. They have threatened to harm her living relatives."

  After getting more of the details, Jack asked the ghost to meet him at the Downtown Cafe around noon. Jack showered and got dressed and went to talk to some of his old friends at police headquarters about the people the ghost had mentioned. Jack had skipped breakfast, but he knew there would be plenty doughnuts and coffee at headquarters. Jack had gone to high school with most of the officers and was still on good terms with them despite his stretch as a hermit.

  Jack found out these bad guys were relatively new to this area. Not a lot was known, but some of them were suspects in several unsolved crimes. Lack of evidence had prevented any arrests. There was an ongoing investigation so most of the data was classified.

  As Jack waited at the Downtown Cafe he thought about the other ghosts he had helped. There had been all sorts of unfinished business, but none had been this dangerous. These guys meant business and it would not be easy to get close enough to learn more about them. Jack had solved crimes before that lead to the arrests of murderers, thieves, muggers and all sorts of vermin, but innocent lives had not been at stake.

  The ghost sat down across from him at the table. He made a shrugging motion that Jack interpreted as "Will you help me?" Jack nodded an affirmative and quickly finished his lunch. They left the diner and climbed into Jack's truck. "When did you last talk to Gloria?" Jack asked as he sat a keyboard in the seat between them. Jack watched as the ghost began pointing at letters. It had only been a couple of days since he had talked to Gloria. They met almost nightly but had to communicate through an open window. Gloria couldn't come out and he couldn't go in without setting off some mysterious alarm system.

  "Talk to her tonight and see if you can find out anything that might help us help her," Jack said. "And find out what you can about her living relatives. Can I drop you somewhere?"

  "I can get where I want to go much faster than you can get me there," he replied as he got out of the truck.

  Jack had never charged any of the ghosts for helping them, but some had led him to money and valuables they wanted him to have. Jack was now a rich man by his standards, but he had long since lost interest in the things money could buy. Jack was a lonely man but keeping busy didn't give him time to think about it much. Tomorrow he would see what the ghost had learned, and he could get started on this adventure. In the meantime he would try to get a little extra rest. Things had been busy and showed no signs of slowing. He wondered how many others had his gift, and if he would ever meet one of the good ones.

  The next morning Jack woke up to another frigid room. "Don't you ever knock?" Jack asked. "Never mind ... What did Gloria have to tell you? No ... wait till I've had a cup of coffee." Jack started the coffee then showered and got dressed. He filled a cup and walked over to the computer where the ghost was already waiting for him. "What's your name? I'm tired of saying Hey You!" Jack asked.

  "My name is Richard, Richard Nash," he replied.

  "What did Gloria have to tell you?" Jack asked.

  "Only one of the guys that is involved can actually see ghosts. Without him the others wouldn't know if Gloria was even there. We should concentrate on stopping him. His name is Monte Black, but they call him Boss. Gloria's family lives at 123 W. Elm Street. Her husband and three kids don't even know they are in danger, and Gloria doesn't want us to worry them," Richard said.

  "What s
ort of criminal acts are they involved in? How can I get close enough to learn more about them?" Jack asked.

  "Gloria says that they have a weekly poker game in which Gloria is forced to help the bad guys win. She looks at the other players' cards and uses sign language to indicate what sort of hands they are holding," Richard said.

  "Well, that gives me a way in, but we'll need more than cheating at cards to put them away," Jack said. "Tell Gloria to keep her eyes and ears open to anything that might be suspicious."

  Jack entered the bar and looked around. There were a couple of guys sitting at the bar that he had seen hanging around the building where Gloria was being held. Jack sat down near them and ordered a drink. "Where can a guy find some high stakes gambling action around here?" Jack asked the bartender. "I've just hit it big at the tracks and the money is burning a hole in my pocket."

  "What sort of gambling do you have in mind?" asked one of the guys.

  "I'm sort of partial to poker," Jack said.

  "I think something could be arranged. Come to 735 East Main later today and give them the password PHOENIX. The game starts at 6:00 P.M. Don't be late," the other guy said.

  "I'll be there," Jack replied.

  Jack went back to his apartment and got some more money. Jack had heard of tricks like using mirrors or hidden cameras, but using a ghost was a new one. Jack knew they would let him win at first to sucker him in and take all his money in one big pot. Jack was hoping to turn the tables on them tonight. Make them desperate enough and they will need to try one of their other criminal activities to make money. Then he could trap them with the help of his friends on the police force.

  Jack knocked at the door and was greeted by a lovely woman about his age. She was dressed like a dancehall gal of the old west. "What's the password?" she asked. "I can't let you in without the password."

  "Give me a hint," Jack replied. "Is it bigger than a breadbox?"

  "Go away," she warned. "You don't want to be here anyway."

  "Phoenix, the password is Phoenix," Jack answered. "May I come in?"

  She stepped aside and allowed Jack to enter. "Down the hall, second door on the right. Good luck," she said. "You're going to need it."

  Jack entered the room and found several men seated at a poker table. Jack hadn't seen this much money on a table since he sold one of the antique trinkets a ghost had given him. "Good afternoon, gentlemen. Have you been waiting for me?" Jack asked. "Nice of you guys to offer me all of this money."

  "Just have a seat so we can get started," said the one at the head of the table. As they played for the first hour or so there had been no sign of Gloria. Jack was doing nicely, having practically doubled his money. He had determined that there were two others at the table that were new suckers like him. They hadn't done badly themselves. As far as Jack could tell, they were all dealing fairly, no slight of hand. But when you have a ghost to help you, who needs slight of hand.

  Jack watched as the man at the head of the table told one of the men guarding the door to go and get Gloria. A few minutes later the lovely dancehall gal who had greeted him at the door came in with drinks. As she came to his side of the table Jack said, "Hello, Gloria. Nice to see you again."

  "My name is not Gloria. Would you care for a drink?" she said.

  "Thanks ... I believe I would," Jack replied.

  "What do you know about Gloria?" asked the man at the head of the table.

  "I overheard you telling one of the guard dogs to go and get her, that's all," Jack said. "I was wondering when we would get something to drink so I naturally thought ...".

  "Okay. Let's get back to the game," he said as Gloria entered the room. She was a lovely woman too, and Jack could see why Richard was attracted to her. Gloria stood behind one of the other suckers. Jack watched the dancehall girl avoid her as she passed out the drinks. It was obvious she saw Gloria even though she pretended not to.

  Jack was holding a pair of kings and a pair of queens. Jack raised the bet. Gloria walked around to his side of the table and signaled the man at the head of the table. He called Jack's raise and raised the pot even more. The others began to drop out. Jack called his raise and raised again. This continued until the man was all in. They asked for their cards. "I'll take one," Jack told the dealer.

  "I'll play these," the man said.

  "He probably has a straight or flush. It would do no good to bluff since he was all in," Jack thought. All Jack needed was a king or queen for a full house. The cards were dealt. Jack picked up his card and without turning it over, he placed it back down on the table. "Aren't you going to look at it?" the man asked.

  "I feel lucky tonight," Jack said. "Besides we're through betting. Turn over your cards."

  "Who says we're through betting." He reached into his pocket and pulled out another wad of money."I'll bet one hundred thousand," the man said.

  "I'll call and raise you another hundred thousand," Jack said as he reached into his pocket. "And I don't even have to look at my card. I can tell you're bluffing with that all in trick you tried to play on me," Jack said.

  The man didn't like Jack from the beginning and he liked him even less now. He reached into another pocket and called Jack's bet. "Let's see what you got," he said.

  "You first ... you called me," Jack said. The man turned over a spade flush.

  Jack turned over his two pairs and looked at the card on the table. "I knew this was my lucky day. You should have seen me at the track," Jack said as he turned over the king of hearts. "Full House ... That beats a flush, I think. Well, it's been fun. You don't mind if I come back next week ... do you?"

  Jack started picking up his money from the table. "Got a paper bag?" he asked.

  "Rita, would you get the gentleman a bag and show him out," the man said to the dancehall gal.

  After Rita returned with a paper bag, Jack gathered up the money, placed it in the bag and followed her into the hallway. "That was amazing," she said. "How did you know you had him beat?"

  "Well, since I didn't have a ghost to help me, I thought a little slight of hand was appropriate," Jack said.

  "Ghost? What are you talking about?" she asked, trying to look confused.

  "You know very well what ghost. The one you avoided like the plague when you were passing out the drinks," Jack replied.

  "Was it that obvious?" she asked. "But you ... You can see ghosts too? We've got to talk about this. I get off in 30 minutes. Meet me later."

  "The Downtown Cafe, in 45 minutes," Jack suggested.

  "Okay. See you there," she said.

  Jack went back to his apartment and put his money in the safe. He quickly shaved and combed his hair. "This could be an interesting first date," he thought. In a few minutes he was at the cafe. Rita was entering as he drove up. She wasn't wearing the dancehall gown, but what she was wearing was just as amazing. Jack felt like a teenager on his first date. "This is silly," Jack thought. "She's probably engaged or married, and what is she doing mixed up with those crooks."

  Jack entered and walked directly to the table where she was seated. "Do I need a password to sit here, ma'am?" Jack said.

  "Sit down. This is serious. You knew there would be a ghost before she even arrived, didn't you?" she said. "Why were you there and how did you know about Gloria?"

  "I might ask you the same thing," Jack said.

  "Fair enough," she said. "But then I want to hear your explanation." Rita lit up a cigarette and took a puff.

  "That will stunt your growth," Jack said.

  "I'm trying to quit. I only smoke when I'm nervous," she said. She took another puff and began her story. A ghost had told her about Gloria. The ghost had been in Gloria's situation until an automobile accident had killed his last remaining relatives. He was free now and had asked Rita if she could do something to help Gloria.