Ghosted

"So, tell me what's been happening," I said. I sat at the table with two women, a baby, and a small dog running around the floor. I was wearing my LHPS uniform as I took notes on a clipboard.

"We've had stuff happen in the apartment," said the woman. "We've heard things, and I think there might be the ghost of a woman in here. I'm very sensitive. I've been seeing ghosts since I was three years old."

"Well, that's not exactly the level we work on," I said. "Our team doesn't deal in psychic activity, which is often fraudulent. We're looking for measurable proof."

"I'm not making this up," she said.

"No offense," I said. "I'm sure you're not, but I get five or six insane homeless people a week coming to me saying the same sort of thing."

She nodded. I said,"I'll talk to my team, and we'll work out a date to investigate. I'll be in touch."

My name is Lou. I deal with ghosts, monsters, and UFOs, and I make money from them in the only honest way you can---I write about them. I have a couple of local newspaper columns, and a consultant position with the Pennsylvania Wilds.

I walked up the stairs and pressed the little buzzer by the door. "Hi, it's Lou....I'm on the board...."
The door opened immediately, and one of the staffers, Juli, was standing there. She smiled and said,"Come on in. We saw you coming on the cameras."

"I brought doughnuts," I said.

The staff of the new organization I was helping was hanging out in the break room at the front of the building. I set the dozen doughnuts down on the table and said,"Thought I'd come in and talk with you guys. I'm glad I caught you all here. Look, I'm new to the board....I've been a member maybe, what, sixteen minutes....But I don't want to be the kind of board member who makes decisions without paying attention to the people on the ground floor. I've worked for some boards---I could tell you horror stories about the historical society---And I want to hear from you guys."

"That's good of you," said Jenn.

"I brought a bunch of my cards," I said,"Because I ordered a two-thousand pack and that may have been a bit overmuch. I'll leave some on the table in case you guys need to contact me."

I noticed that they all took one.

"And my son is back in school, so I am soooo bored right now," I said. "So, you know, kind of looking for something to fill time during the day."

"How old is Paul now?" asked Juli.

"He's seven."

"Awww."

"Also, you know, if anything haunted happens in the building," I said.

They all laughed. "Third floor," said Lacey.

"Yeah? Is that a hot spot? I wouldn't mind coming by sometime soon to do a little investigating for you guys."
"That would be great," said Juli.

"How's the fundraiser tours coming?" asked Lacey.

"I'm excited about those," I said. "Right now, my haunted tours this weekend are the only fundraisers we have coming up. I have a bunch of new stories to tell."

"I'm looking forward to it," said Lacey.

"Also I think I may have been elected vice-president at the meeting last night."

The women laughed. "Yeah, you were," said Juli.

"Look, I'll get out of your hair now," I said, standing up. "But I wanted to stop in and talk with you guys, tell you I want to communicate. Get in touch if you need me."

"See you for ghost stories Friday night," said Lacey.

"Good night, buddy," I said. I kissed Paul on the forehead as he and Rosie lay in bed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you in the morning, Daddy," said Paul. It was always a tossup whether he'd fall asleep or not, but tonight it looked like he and the dog would be out in minutes.

I closed the door behind me as I walked into the hall. I checked my office---My tac vest hung in the usual place, all my books and equipment put away---And then closed the door to the office, too. I walked downstairs.

At the kitchen table, I booted up my laptop. I got online and checked my messages.

There was one. I read it, and then sat back and sighed.

Damn it.

It was cold and snowy Monday morning when I went back to the center. The staff was all gathered in the break room again.

"You just caught the end of our morning meeting," said Julie.

"Don't let me interrupt anything," I said. "Just stopped by to drop off the money from the haunted tours, see how things are going."

"How did the tours go?" she asked.

"We made two hundred dollars. The weather worked against us a little, but still...."

"Two hundred dollars is still good," she said.

"Brought everyone something," I said. I pulled out a couple of bags of the paracord survival bracelets, and passed them around. "Everyone take your favorite. Last time I was in here, I mentioned these and everyone seemed interested. I thought I'd get you guys some."

"Mine matches my sweater," said Juli. "Where is the firestarter?"

"You scrape this little blade on the flint piece," I said. 

Jen started trying it, and came up with a couple of sparks. She asked,"What's this thing here?"

"That's a whistle."

Juli tried the whistle.

"While I was waiting for the nine o'clock tour, I thought I saw someone moving through one of the windows," I said. "Is there any reason to think someone might have been in here that late?"

"We have one client, but she generally doesn't stay that late," said Juli. "I don't think she was here."

"Which window?" asked Vanessa.

"Above the door, to the left," I said. "Would have been the staircase, I think."

"That'd be out here," said Lacey.

I followed her and Vanessa to the hallway, where the stairs led upward. 

"We'll have to check that out!" said Lacey enthusiastically. "Pretty sure my office is haunted."

"I'll come in sometime with my whole outfit, and investigate," I said. "I have a whole tactical vest that I wear...."

"I've seen it on Facebook," she said.

"Oh, that's right. I do have photos on Facebook. Paul has a matching one."
"That's so cute," said Vanessa.

"I'd love to get into that," said Lacey. "Do some ghost hunting."
"You know, we just lost a member," I said. "Just the other night, one of our members quit the team. I'm looking for someone to replace her."

"That would be so cool," said Lacey.

"Want me to come in next week to check your office for ghosts?" I asked.

"Sure!" she said.

"I'm on the Building Committee," I said. "We'll pretend it's maintenance."

It wasn't the typical LHPS meeting---Sure, the majors players were there. Me, Millie, Ashlin, and Heather. But SaraLee wasn't. And Paul sat at the table, taking little notes in one of his journals. And Rosie kept running in and out to bark at these intruders in her house. We were in my kitchen for a change.

"We're going to need new uniforms," I said. "We're to the point where only Millie and I have the originals. So we'll need to design something. I have some thoughts...."

"I have a machine at home," said Ashlin. "I can print out those decals if you just bring me your shirts."

"Hell, that's better than anything I came up with," I said. "We'll give you free dues for that."

Ashlin waved it off. "I'm not worried about it."

"Nobody ever pays their dues anyway," Millie said. Paul began sketching a set of designs for Ashlin.

"Well, we're going to need to recruit a new member or two," I said. "SaraLee has quit the team."

"Did she say why?" asked Heather.

"Yeah," I said. "It's basically because of my views on psychics."

"That not how we investigate, though," said Millie. "She knew that when she joined."

I could have hugged her.

"Yeah, it caused a few problems for me, having her on the team," I said. "I mean, I'd get people asking for psychics, and I'd tell them that we don't endorse that kind of thing. But there's SaraLee. I loved her, and she was a great friend, but if we never get another psychic on this team, it'll be too soon."
"That leaves us with four members," said Ashlin.

"I have a thought on that," I said. "I've got a new friend named Lacey; we've been working on something together."

"Not Lacy who used to be on the team," said Millie.
"No, different Lacey," I said. "She's really interested. Her car broke down, otherwise she'd be here tonight, but I think she'd make a good member. She'll come next meeting."

"Sounds good," said Heather. "We have any investigations on the horizon?"

I woke up just before 6:30 AM and killed the alarm---I hate to actually hear the alarm go off. I got dressed, took Rosie out, and woke Paul up. He watched TV while I had some coffee. And then we walked down to the bus stop together.

The bus came early, which never happened when I was in school. There are still Northern Lehigh buses from 1985 that never arrived. I gave Paul a hug and said,"Have a good day, little man. See you after work tonight."

"Okay, Daddy," he said, and climbed on the bus.

I watched it pull out and go down the street, taking him to school. And then I turned and got on with my day.

Once again, I walked up the steps and hit the buzzer. When they picked up, I said,"Hi, it's Lou."

"Oh, Lou? Okay!"

They buzzed me in, and Lacey was waiting in the hallway. I said,"Promised to come and investigate your office."

"Of course! I have an appointment in half an hour, but come on up."

"Then do mine," Juli said from down the hall.

Lacey led me up the stairs to the third floor. Lacey's office was brightly colored, with posters everywhere. I got my tac vest out of my bag and put it on---It was the slightly older model I use with LHPS, but still usable. She said,"Those little sculptures by the window move around sometimes."

I started getting EMF readings. "Do they fall over, or do they shift?"

"They shift."

"That makes sense. I don't have a full history yet, but I know this place was a parsonage, and I know that a baby was killed here, decades ago. It could easily be a child, just playing around, as kids do."

"That'd be kind of nice, actually," said Lacey.

"So, you in for the team meeting on Sunday night?" I asked.

She smiled. "I have a babysitter lined up. I'll be there."

"Before we meet, I gotta ask....How do you feel about psychics?"

"Weeeeellll...."

"That hesitation tells me a lot already."

"I don't know about psychics. I mean, how do you know if what they're saying is right? They could be just making everything up."
"That's right," I said. "Okay. Good. The person you're replacing, SaraLee, was a psychic. And she was a great friend....I loved her....But that sometimes put me in a tough position. I work really hard to prove what I say, and it was sometimes hard to account for someone on the team who expected us to take things on faith."

Lacey nodded. "I get it."

"Keep a log of any future activity, and write down everything you can," I said. "I can stop by every now and again to do another check, see what's up. You want to take me down to investigate Juli and Bridget's offices?"

I was at my desk when my cell phone rang. I could hear it inside my pack; I must have forgotten to turn the damn thing off. I pulled it out of my pack and flipped it open.

SaraLee.

"Hey," she said. "Just re-reading your messages, and....It sort of sounds like you're breaking up with me as a friend."

"No," I said. "I don't want that. I've been feeling awkward because I hurt your feelings, SaraLee, and I didn't mean to. I feel bad about that, but I love you, pal. I don't want to lose you."

"Well, that's a better message," she said. "Now I have more of an understanding of where we stand, you and I."

I wondered briefly why an empath would need that, but I let it go. "You're a good person," I said,"And I don't have any problem with you personally. I've grown to like having you in my life."

"Might not fully quit the team, either," she said. "I just needed to step back. So, I need you to look up a book for me."

I laughed, and so did she. And we smiled together, from two different counties.

"Goodnight, little guy," I said. I leaned over and kissed Paul on the forehead. At the foot of the bed, Rosie was already curled up and ready to sleep.

"Goodnight, Daddy."

I made it almost to the door before he spoke up. "Daddy? Can I tell you something?"

I returned to the bed. "Sure."

"Sometimes I miss you when I am in school."

I gave him a hug.

"I miss you, too, buddy," I said. "But the good news is, we'll always come home to each other. There are always more adventures for us. Get some sleep, little man. I'll see you in the morning."