Dead And Gone

I was in the middle of work when I heard the thud.

It was a loud thump, in the northeast corner of the old section of the library. Nobody else was there. Out of curiosity, I stopped what I was doing and walked over. I couldn't see any immediate visible explanation.

I got my laser thermometer and my EMF detector out of my pack. I usually have a few pieces of ghost-hunting stuff on me. I walked around, checking with the EMF detector. It lit up several times.

The thermometer went up several degrees in the corner. When I moved it over the leather chair, it gave a sharp rise, and then died down again. I nodded.

A moment later, I walked past the front desk, saying calmly to Zach,"We got a ghost in the corner again."

Once a month, I go to a meeting with the Lock Haven Paranormal Seekers. We discuss some business and have a few snacks, and it has the net effect of giving me friends to talk to so I don't kill anyone. I think the rest of the team would agree. 

I sat at the table with Millie, Ashlin, Heather, and Tami.

"We have an investigation," I said. "In September when I gave the haunted tours, a family came and requested us. Some of this got pushed to the back burner after I had COVID in October, but they're still up for it, if we'd like."

"Hell, yes," said Heather. "I'm in."

"I'm open," said Tami.

"I'll talk to them," I said. "They're down on East Main. I checked out the house---The place was built in 1881, and the wife of the original owner died in 1890 at age forty-nine, probably of the flu. I haven't been able to find an obit for her yet. Or, for that matter, a grave."

"Interesting," said Heather.

"I'll see about getting a date for this," I said. "Let you guys know when the client is open. There was another place in Bellefonte that wanted us, but they backed out. I was pretty sure they were dealing with a malfunctioning remote anyway."

"Don't you hate that," said Millie.

 I sat down in the break room with Lacey and Nessie. I'd been helping out with a local nonprofit for a year, and I was getting a bit more comfortable dropping by the place. The staff seemed to be getting used to me, too, which was helpful.

"Lacey, I wanted to talk to you about the team," I said. "I know it's been tough for you lately, and you haven't been able to show up much. What would you think if I put you in charge of my paperwork?"
"Sure," said Lacey. "I could do that."

"It would be a big help. I'd appreciate it, because I'm crap at paperwork. We have an investigation coming up on the seventh, and it would help if you could do the intake interview and fill out the forms for me. That way, you're still a member and contributing to the team, and you can show up whenever you're available."

"I appreciate that," Lacey said. "I really want to be on the team."

"Well, I want you on," I said. "How are you guys doing down here?"

"We're pretty good," said Lacey. "A lot of donations have been coming in."

"That's good. Call me if you need anything."

"Will do," said Nessie.

Again, I buzzed in at the door. I had a key to the nonprofit by now, but I still preferred to follow procedure and have the staff check me in whenever I could. Most of them were sitting in the break room, having lunch.

"Hi, guys," I said. "How's everything going?"

"We got the heater fixed," said the director.

Outside in the hall, I could hear the heater banging. "This is fixed?" I said. "Good god. Seriously?"
"Oh, yeah, this is an improvement," said Juli. "It's a lot better than it was."

"Maybe I need to crawl down in the basement and check for ghosts again," I said. "That's probably not the issue, but it's all I know how to do. Is Lacey around?"

"Sure," said Cheyenne. "Just call her with the phone. Her extension is twenty, I think."

A minute later, Lacey was down with the paperwork. I looked it over.

"Good lord, Lacey. Tell me you didn't spend hours making this look nice."

"Nah, I just wrote it down."

"Her handwriting is just like that," said Juli.

"When I do these, it's full of scribbles and abbreviations," I commented. "This is a work of freaking art. By the way...." I handed her a handful of LHPS business cards. "Hand them out when you like. I get these by the thousand pack."

"You get your own business cards?" asked Juli, amused.

"They're the team's," Lacey said.

"Good for publicity," I said. "I gotta get back to work. Call me if you need anything down here."

I was outside my place on the sidewalk when Heather pulled up in her Jeep. I was wearing my LHPS uniform, skull boots, black jacket, and my new hood for warmth. I tossed my equipment in the back and climbed in.

"We picking up Millie?" she asked.

"Yeah, we'll meet Millie and Ashlin over at her place. Then we'll head down to the investigation. The house is old, real old, so this ought to be interesting."

We took two cars down; Ashlin and Millie rode behind Heather and me. When we got there, the client Natasha, was already waiting out on the porch.

"Thanks for coming," she said.

I smiled. "Thanks for having us. Let's get our stuff dropped off."

The house was, in fact, really old. Looking at the structure, I could tell it was 1800s of some era. I dropped my bag on the kitchen floor---I didn't used to be the guy who brought the most stuff, but that's how it goes. The kids---There were at least four, all early teens---Filed into the room to watch. I got out my folder and set some documents on the table.

"This is for you," I said. "That's the history I could dig up on the house. Looking at the interior, it may be even older than the 1881 on the survey form. This is the confidentiality form. We'll respect whatever confidentiality you choose. We can never mention this again, or use some of the information but protect your identity, or we can talk and write about it as much as we'd like, depending on your preference."

"We don't care who knows," said Natasha.

"Check line three."

"Are there any hot spots in the house?" Heather asked. "Anywhere you get more activity than anyplace else?"

"Well, right in here," said Natasha. "And a couple of the bedrooms upstairs."

"Okay, let's split up," I said. "Millie, I take it you'd like the kitchen?"

Millie grinned. "Yeah, I'll stay here."

"We'll do a session here in the kitchen," I said. "Then we'll split up and go upstairs. Millie and Heather can stay down here, and Ashlin and I will take the bedroom. For starters."

"That works."

"Okay, let's get the works---Photo, audio, temperature, EMF readings." I pulled on my tac vest---The big deluxe one with the alien patch---Skull gloves, leather bracelet. That scene in the superhero movies where the hero gets all dressed up in a montage.

 I said,"Check it out---Monsterologist is selling Phoenixville patches now, with the Blob. Had to get one for the vest; it's where I was born."
"Cool," said Heather. Sometimes I even bore my own team.

The nice thing about my vests is that all of my stuff is in easy reach. I pulled out my thermal imager and moved it around the room, checking for anything out of the ordinary. I could see the red blobs of heat where people were sitting, and the darker blue squares of the windows. Nothing else. I put it away and got out my EMF detector.

"We had some flickering on the kitchen lights," said Natasha. "I got that on film a few days ago."

"Good, we'll check out the kitchen, too," I said. "Everyone get to work."

We spread out through the dining room, checking everything with the EMF detectors and thermometers. I snapped some photos with my small camera, out of one of the tac vest pockets.

"I think a lot of it may come down to the history of the house," I said. "This is a very old place. The Historic Resource Survey Form shows that it was built in 1881 for Silas and Deliliah Masters. The thing is, I can't find any record of their death or burial. There's supposed to be an obit for Delilah, who died in 1890, but I can't find it. There's no record of them being buried anywhere in the county. It could be they're in Great Island Cemetery."

"Is that the one from the tour, that was moved?" Natasha asked me.

"Yeah, it was moved in 1918. Given the time frame, they could be there, and have been some of the graves that were missed. Delilah was only forty-nine, and given that there's no further record of her, that could explain the haunting right there. She wants to be remembered. It all comes down to what I found...And what I didn't."

It was Lacey and Alyssa, this time, who answered the door. I went in and pulled a handful of pocket calendars out of my pack.

"You guys got any use for these?" I asked. "My wife had them left over after a work event, and told me to find a way to get rid of them."

"Oh, yeah," said Alyssa. "We can always use planners. Leave them on the table, and we'll help ourselves."

"I'll take this one right now," said Lacey.

"Lacey, would you like to help with evidence review?" I asked. "I didn't think of it before, but it's another way you could help us on your own time. I can send the evidence to you, and you could help us check for anomalies."

"That sounds fun," said Alyssa.

"Yeah, I'd love to help," said Lacey.

"Great! I'll send you some photos."

Lacey grinned. "How did the investigation go the other night?"

"Pretty good, actually," I said. "Lot of activity on the EMF detectors. I'll tell you all about it."