The Mystery of the Courthouse Calamity (Eden Patterson: Ghost Whisperer Book 1)

by Constance Barker

  “Probably not,” Luke said. “Seems that the judge’s chair started levitating yesterday…with the judge still in it.”

  Goog shook his head. “Well, isn’t this just peachy.”

  We’d seen levitation before, but usually it was a glass, ashtray or other small object. And normally it wasn’t a ghost performing the trick either. Usually it was unseen wires or magnets causing the feat. But a judge’s chair with him still in it revolving above his desk. That was a new one.

  Syd shrugged. “Levitation is so juvenile. I’ll slam dunk this ghost so deep into the nether world he‘ll be squealing for his momma.”

  “I don’t know Syd…this ghost sounds mad. The judge isn’t taking a foot back into the courtroom until this entity is gone,” Luke said as he poured cream into his coffee.

  “How did he get down from the chair?” I asked.

  “Apparently he was shoved out by some unseen force, but fortunately he was only a few feet from the bench so it wasn’t too far to fall. He’s got some bruises but nothing serious.”

  Luke looked at his watch. “Eden, we better get over to the mayor’s office for the meeting. Why don’t you three head to the courthouse and speak to some of the employees. Find out what they’ve seen and heard.”

  Matt stood. “You want me to set up any of the equipment yet?”

  “Not yet. Let me talk to the mayor and we’ll see how to proceed.”

  Chapter Two

  The mayor’s office, inside city hall, was an adequate room with wood paneling and a huge desk that seemed to swallow the short man with grayish hair. With Mayor Griffen were two city counsel men, Hank Shroud and Jeremy Douglass.

  The mayor motioned for Luke and I to sit down in the two chairs facing his desk while the counsel men sat on either side of the Mayor.

  “As you can imagine, we’re a bit skeptical of how all this works,” Mayor Griffen stated. “Perhaps you can start by telling us your background in this whole ghost hunting business.”

  Luke looked at me and I nodded for him to go first.

  When I was a young man, I lived in what I thought of as a haunted house. There were spirits there that were mostly mischievous. I tried to communicate with them with limited success. I would try…”

  Hank let out a very sarcastic eye-roll. “Mischievous, eh? Be more specific.”

  Luke cleared his throat and elaborated a bit. “Well, they could be rude. On one occasion, I couldn’t find my shoes for the life of me. I ended up buying a new pair. A few weeks later, I noticed my shoes on the roof.”

  I could tell no one was impressed so far. You’re losing them Luke….step it up.

  “Anyhow, I tried to talk to the ghosts but it didn’t work. So I devised a system where we would communicate ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers with a series of knocks. I would ask a question, and hearing one knock would be a ‘yes’ answer. Hearing two knocks would be a ‘no’. As I grew older however the communication stopped.”

  Mr. Douglass leaned forward in his chair. “Why would it all of a sudden stop? Did they leave or just grow weary of knocking out yes and no answers?”

  Okay, here’s our skeptic or at least one of them.

  “I have no idea, but Eden might.”

  All eyes focused on me. Thanks a lot hubs.

  I cleared my throat. “When I was young my dead grandfather appeared to me. We’d talk and reminisce. I was the only one he’d appear to and sometimes he’d bring along a friend, usually someone he knew when he was alive but had passed on as well.”

  I always enjoyed when Winky would bring a friend along. One time he brought an older woman with a beehive hairdo. She talked a mile a minute about how she used to be a stewardess in charge of first call on the long ago airline Pan Am. She would tell stories about certain celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra. She told me that Frank liked his martini on the rocks and that one time Elvis had a cold and sat with a warm towel around his head for the entire flight. It was a hoot listening to the tales, but I doubt these men would be interested.

  Mayor Griffen shifted in his chair. “Did anyone else see him besides you?”

  “No,” I answered. “He told me I was special and that only I could see him. So I’d have to be careful when conversing with him.”

  “Do you still see him?”

  “Unfortunately no. As I grew older his visits became fewer and fewer. He told me when I was very young that the reason my grandmother and mother couldn’t see him was because they were adults and became more cynical with age. That while I was young and wasn’t yet jaded, I could see him.”

  Mr. Shroud finally spoke. “So as you grew older and more cynical his visits stopped?”

  I turned to look at him. “I’m not sure. I don’t believe I’ve become cynical with age, but perhaps his presence wasn’t as important as it was when I was younger.”

  I couldn’t believe I just said that. Maybe that’s why Winky stopped coming around. He felt that importance slipping. As I grew older I thought certain things were so vital in my life when they were only fleeting, being in the right clique at school or boyfriends. It’s like I’ve heard so many times before, you don’t know what’s important in life until you lose it.

  The three men and my husband looked at me. I wiped a tear from my eye and continued.

  “Guess I just had an epiphany of sorts.” Luke reached over and took my hand.

  “Anyway, although I don’t see my grandfather anymore, I have had contact with other spirits. Usually they’re lonely, frightened or just want attention. They’re more often than not misunderstood or want to convey a message and have a difficult time doing so. That’s why there can be such upheaval, like noises or lights blinking on and off.”

  Mr. Shroud rubbed his chin. “You’re saying they’re trying to communicate with the living?”

  “In my experience yes. They may want to right a wrong, get a message to a loved one, or simply want attention. That’s why it’s important to find out the history of the space the spirit is haunting. That usually gives us clues to who the ghost is, what they want, and why he or she hasn’t moved on.”

  The chair creaked as I shifted within it. “Once we can figure out who the spirit is and what they want, we can guide them towards the light they’ve been avoiding.”

  The three men looked at me skeptically. Finally Mayor Griffen spoke. “Can you see the ghost?”

  “Sometimes I can if he or she wants to be seen. They can be shy or maybe don’t like that I have the ability to see them. Some are like children having tantrums, especially if they can’t get their point across. It’s different with each ghost and situation.”

  Mr. Douglass spoke up. “Well this one seems to be having a major temper tantrum.”

  “We’ve heard,” Luke said. “This spirit seems very agitated.”

  Mr. Shroud leaned back in his chair. “Do you think you can handle it then?”

  I spoke up. “Oh we’ve handled angry spirits before. Like I said, the main thing is finding out why they’re upset. That’s the puzzle.”

  “Why don’t they just come out and tell you?” Mayor Griffen asked.

  “Some can and will, but of course you need someone like me who can actually hear them. And even if they can, some spirits aren’t ready. They want to get their point across that they’re upset about a certain situation. Sometimes you have to work around their schedule.”

  “Well their schedule is running ours into the ground,“ the Mayor said. “We’re backed up almost a month on hearings and other court business.”

  “We’re here to work as fast as possible to resolving this issue for your town.” Luke wanted to ensure the mayor and counsel men that we weren’t going to waste anymore time than was necessary to get the job done.

  “What about the rest of your team. What can you tell us about them?” Mr. Douglass asked.

  “Matt Hayward is our tech guru and mans the equipment we use to detect a ghost’s presence. Gerry Gorbett basically helps set up the equipment
and Sydney Campbell does much of the research along with my wife Eden and I.”

  The Mayor stood and the rest of us followed suit. “I think we’ve heard enough and if my fellow counsel men agree, we’ll sign the contract for you to get started. The faster you can get rid of this entity from the courthouse, the better for everyone.”

  Chapter Three

  By the time we arrived at the courthouse, Syd and Goog were already deep in conversation with several people on the courthouse grounds. The building was old, built around 1850 or so, but it’s stone and brick exterior made it look quite regal. The old oak trees surrounding the courthouse were quite tall and majestic, providing shade for the number of benches dotted around the landscaping. Several monuments recounting veterans from the community from different wars were placed in spots around the grounds as well.

  Luke and I walked up to Syd and Goog who were talking with a woman sitting on one of the benches.

  “So you were a witness to one of the ummm…events?” Syd asked the young lady of about 30 who was wearing a dark skirt and cream colored blouse. She brushed a strand of crimson hair from her face.

  “Yes, it was horrible. I was performing my duty as a court reporter and all of a sudden the judge’s gavel flew down and came this close to my head.” She demonstrated by putting her index finger and thumb two inches apart.

  I interrupted. “Hi, my name is Eden and this is my husband Luke. Seems you’ve met part of our team, Gerry and Sydney.”

  “Yes,” replied Syd. “This is Amber Garrett. She’s the court reporter and was telling us about the various events within the courthouse.”

  Amber shook her head. “We’ve always had what I call a causal haunting. I mean, lights would flicker, the occasional cold pocket of air in the courtroom. Sometimes you could see a hint of an apparition, but nothing like this. It started with the judge’s gavel. At first it just moved around on the judge’s bench, but then last week it went loco. Flying around the room and boinking people upside the head.”

  “Lights began blowing out as well.” We turned to the older gentleman who walked up beside us. “My name is Jeffrey Compton.”

  Amber motioned to Mr. Compton. “Jeffrey here is a lawyer and has been present for many of the goings on inside the courthouse.”

  Jeffrey nodded and placed his briefcase on the bench next to Amber. “I’ve been a lawyer here for almost 30 years so I’ve seen quite a bit of shenanigans. When I first started working here I didn’t believe the courthouse was haunted. Just figured the noises were old pipes and the flickering lights were electrical problems.”

  I motioned for Jeffrey to take a seat on the bench. “Tell us more.”

  Jeffrey obliged and sat down. “Then one day I was prepping a witness on the stand. It was late, probably around 8pm and after he had left I was sitting at the lawyer’s desk in the courtroom finishing up some paperwork when I felt a presence in the room. I thought perhaps my witness had come back to ask me a question, so I turned around in my chair to address him, but no one was there. When I turned back around however, a young man stood in front of the judge’s bench looking at me. It startled me and I asked how he had gotten in. Then I noticed I could see right through him. It gave me a start and then he just faded from view.”

  I could tell by Jeffrey’s far away look that he was still amazed by the experience. “How long ago did this occur?”

  “Over 25 years ago,” he answered. “I’ve looked for this young man since, but he doesn’t want to show himself to me. Maybe I frightened him as much as he frightened me. But I’m no longer apprehensive as I was during that first meeting. I can still feel his presence when he’s near.”

  “What does he look like?” Syd asked.

  “He’s around 19 or 20, brown hair and eyes. He wore period clothing, like you might see back in old photographs during the 1800’s.”

  “But he never spoke to you?”

  “No…just looked at me. He didn’t seem sad, mad or happy. Just content I suppose. But something’s got him in a dander, if it’s even him. I’m just guessing that it is, although others have their own stories.”

  I looked at Amber. “Have you ever seen the apparition?”

  She shook her head. “No, but some of my co-workers have seen what they thought was an entity. It didn’t have form though. It was like looking through something blurry, or just a feeling of a presence like Jeffrey mentioned. We were never afraid….even now I’m not really frightened, just curious as to what is going on.”

  “The levitating judge hasn’t spooked you?” Goog’s eyes were as big as silver dollars. He couldn’t understand how anyone wouldn’t be terrified after witnessing such an event.

  Jeffrey chuckled. “Actually it was sort of amusing.” I glanced at Amber who was stifling a giggle.

  “How so?” Syd asked. She knew she was with kindred spirits if they were snickering about their ghost tales.

  “You have to know Judge Rockingham,” Jeffrey began. “He’s a pompous som’bitch that ever walked God’s green earth. To see him flying around in his chair above the courtroom and wailing at the ghost to put him down…well it was a sight to see.”

  “He was cussing and cavorting, it was a spectacle,” Amber giggled. After composing herself she said. “Of course we don’t want anyone to get hurt and right now even the gavel hits have been light, and luckily no women have been in the restroom when the toilets erupt like Mount St. Helen's, but it’s disrupting the courtroom proceedings and we can’t get any work done. This spirit has something to say and wants to be heard. Hopefully you all can find out what it is.”

  “We’re going to give it our best effort,” Luke replied. “The mayor said we could go in after 5 o’clock and start setting up our equipment in the courtroom. Can you tell us where the nearest library is? We’ll need to look into some of the town’s history.”

  “The town’s library is just a couple of blocks over on Pine Street,” Jeffrey answered. “But the town historian, Mrs. Anita Baker, can probably tell you more about Manchester’s history and faster as well.”

  “That’s true,” Amber agreed. “Anita’s comes from a long line of Baker’s that have called Manchester home.”

  “I can set up a meeting if you’re so inclined,” Jeffrey offered as he rose to his feet and Amber followed suit.

  “That would be great. Here’s our card,” I said handing him one of our business cards. “Just give us a call once you’ve talked to Ms. Baker.”

  “I’ll do that. And good luck tonight with your ghost hunting. Not that I want our little spirit to leave, but he definitely needs to get something off his chest.”

  We said our goodbye’s and then walked over to the truck where Matt was testing some of the equipment. First we’d take what we called a cold walk through of the courthouse. Investigate areas where much of the mayhem had occurred, which from our conversations turned out to be the courtroom and the women’s restroom. What this spirit had against a defenseless toilet was anyone’s guess.

  “Well, let’s get to it,” I said as we all headed for the entrance door to the courthouse.

  Chapter Four

  The courtroom had the courthouse norms – chairs for witnesses, a judge, plaintiffs and defendants. The courtroom had lots of fancy trim and wood that appeared to be stained oak. The floor was a boring, linoleum tile that was off-white. The chairs didn’t have any padding or fancy materials – except for the judge’s seat, of course. That was black leather and large. The ceilings were high, as were the windows, allowing in ample light.

  Matt and Syd walked up to the judge’s bench while Goog took a seat in the front row. I could tell he was nervous. Actually Goog was always a bit nervous and I felt bad for him. I know he did this to conquer a fear he had hidden long ago. Not sure what that fear was, he never spoke of it, but it must have to do with other worldly spirits otherwise I doubt he’d subject himself to these outings. Maybe he was trying to make peace with something or someone. One day I’d find out.


  Luke and I walked the perimeter of the courtroom, he on one side and me on the other. We wanted to get a feel for the space first before setting up the equipment, although Matt brought a long his video camera. Matt walked around the judge’s bench and looked over the black leather chair. I knew what he was doing. He was attempting to find any devices that could carry the chair through the air.

  Syd walked over and picked up the gavel. “Darn thing’s heavy. I’m surprised no one got a concussion.”

  “Amber said the hits from the gavel were light…almost like the spirit was trying to gain their attention, not hurt anyone,” I replied.

  “Notice anything strange about the chair?” Luke asked Matt.

  Matt had turned the chair upside down and was searching the legs and casters. “Nope. Unless it’s sewn into the leather seat or back, I don’t see any mechanism that could be set off remotely to move the chair, let alone allow it to fly across the room. Sure wish someone had videotaped that.”

  Goog remained sitting on the front bench.

  “Want to come take a look?” Luke offered Goog.

  “Nah, I can see fine from right here.”

  Suddenly a cold draft hit the room. “Do you all feel that?” I asked.

  “I think we have company,” Syd commented.

  Matt made a face. “Oh yes, of course we have a ghost because drafts in an old building can mean only one thing, a ghost.”

  Syd gave him the stink eye. “You wouldn’t admit to believing in ghosts if one sat in your lap and called you Momma.”

  Matt shrugged. “It’s going to have to do a lot more than blow cold air in my face or up my ass, I’ll give you that.”

  Matt had turned the judge’s chair right side up and he stood with his back to the seat. Without warning the chair moved swiftly to Matt’s back end, causing him to fall into the seat. He let out a small yelp and quickly jumped out of the chair.