Happy Birthday, Jay

"So you're a paranormal investigator," said the cashier at the grocery store.

"I am," I said. "I write about this stuff a lot."

"Have you ever investigated the Conjuring House?"

"Well, no," I said,"Because it's bullshit."
She frowned. "Really? How is it bullshit?"

"The Cojuring House and everything in that movie universe comes from Ed and Lorraine Warren." I explained. "And the Warrens were child molestors who pretended to be psychic so they could get famous. And that is the kindest way I can manage to put that."

"Oh, wow. I never knew. Is there anything you've investigated? Like, anything famous?"

"Well, the more famous it is, the less likely it is to be accurate."

"How about the Blair Witch?"

"No, that one is fictional."

"Really?"

"I thought everyone knew that. Yeah, that's a fictional movie."

"Have you ever investigated that hill with the railroad tracks in McElhattan?"

"Ah, Lizze, you're killing me here. Tha's an old urban legend, and I've explained to a lot of people that this isn't real. Gravity hills aren't."

"But they say there was a bus load of kids that got killed by a train there."
"They say a lot of things. Look, every place in McElhattan where the train tracks run across the road is on top of a hill. If you don't realize your car will roll downhill, I can't help you."

"I've heard there's a monument with the names of the dead kids there...."

"I'll give you a thousand dollars if you can bring me a picture of it."

"Wow. I'm learning a lot here. So what stories are real?"

"Well, anything I write about, I can tell you that." I picked up my bags. "Have a good day, Lizze."

When I got home from work, there were several children bouncing on the trampoline.

"Dad!" Paul said. "Did you bring me anything?"

"Brought you that Sprite you asked for."

"Can we have Sprite?" asked little Mia.

"Maybe. If it's okay with your mom."

"Do you still have your investigation tonight?" Paul asked me,

"Yeah, Ashlin's picking me up in two hours."

"Can we come?" asked Sekiyah.

"Not on this one, honey. It's a professional investigation with the LHPS team."

"I want to come!" said Mia.

"You'd be scared," Love told her.

"I wouldn't!"

"This one's just for the adults, anyway," I said, "I'll find a good investigation for you guys sometime soon."

It's procedure to meet at a neutral point, and all go to the investigation together. It looks more professional than everyone arriving at different times. When Ashlin and I got out of the car, I gave Jay a hug. 

"Happy birthday," I told her.

She smiled. "Thanks. Twenty-five now."

"I'll give you and Lex a birthday tour tomorrow," I said. "Pull out all the stops."

"I'm looking forward to that."

"Look, I know tonight is a little rough for you," I said. "I know we're investigating the RV where your father died. If you need anything---If you need to take a break, extra support---Let me know, okay? We're all here for you."

"I think I'll be allright," she said. "But thanks. I appreciate that."

"Everyone ready?"

The ride out to Crawford Township was about twenty minutes. Jay likes to drive, so we usually just let her drive us out. Ashlin and I sat in the back.

"I'm twenty-five today," said Jay. "It feels weird. Assuming I live to be a hundred, my life is a quarter over."

"You get used to that," I said. "I'm pretty far past the halfway point, myself."

"Yeah, it just feels weird. I'm twenty-five."

"Hey, I just turned thirty-four last week," pointed out Lex.

"I'll be fifty-seven this summer," I added. "I'm more than twice your age."

"There it is," said Jay. "The RV."

We turned into a yard with a small house and an RV sitting in the driveway. Jay said,"My step-mom is selling it. We should buy it, Lex. I don't know where we'd keep it, but...."

"No," said Lex.

"But it'd be cool! We could own and RV!"

"Jay, no."

"Well, now, don't decide too quick, Lex," I said. "Wouldn't it be cool to have our own mobile headquarters? A haunted RV, at that. Keep our equipment in it, and take it to investigations...."

Jay added,"We could go to Gettysburg in it."

"Damn it," admitted Lex. "That would be cool."

Jay's stepmother came out to meet us, and Jay gave her a hug. "I see you're selling the RV," she said.

"No," said Lex.

A small, furry, roly-poly little puppy ran out and began sniffing our feet. Jay's step-mom smiled and said,"That's Diva."

I knelt down to pet the puppy. "I love Diva and she is my new best friend."

"You guys want to start in the RV?" Jay asked.

I nodded. "Let's get in there, and see what we can find. Bring the equipment."

The inside of the RV was tight, like most of them. I could immediately see that we weren't going to need the comlinks I'd brought---There was no way for us to be more than the feet from each other the whole time. There was a small kitchen area with a couple of seats, and a small bedroom in the back. We spread out as far as we could. Ashlin sat down by the table, and Jay said,"That was my dad's favorite seat. He used to like to sit there. He died back on the bed."

"We'll check both places," I said. "Let's start with the EMFs."

We all had our EMF detectors. It's like the first thing you buy when you become a paranormal investigator. Jay went back and put one on the bed with a couple of cat balls. I got out my all-in-one model and did a sweep of the main area.

"Does this thing run on battery power?" I asked.

"There's a battery, yeah," said Jay's step-mom. "It's up in the engine. Most of this stuff is off right now."

I nodded. "I'm going to do a sweep of the outside, just to check on things."

I went down the steps and out into the lawn. I walked around the RV, checking with the EMF detector, and found a surge up front, where the battery was, and another toward the back passenger side, where I could see an outlet for connecting cables. There was a ladder to the roof on the back, and I started climbing up it, discovering that the bottom part was disconnected. 

Jay came outside. "Are you cimbing that ladder?"
"Oh. Yeah. Thought I'd see how it worked. You know this bottom part is loose? If someone tried climbing up this for no reason at all, say, they could get hurt." I climbed to the bottom and jump down to the grass. "How are you doing? How you holding up?"

She nodded toward the inside of the RV, where her step-mom was. "I hope this helps. I hope it brings her closure."

And that was typical Jay. i'd been working with her for months now, and I'd never once heard her ask for anything for herself. It was typical of her to be more concerned with someone else.

We walked back inside. Ashlin asked,"Should we start an EVP session?"
"Yeah, let's do it. Who's got their recorders?"

We turned them on, and Lex ran through the standard introduction monologue. Jay asked,"Are you mad that Ashlin's in your spot?"

The bell went off. Ashlin grinned. "I can move."

"Are you glad we're here?" asked Jay.

"Are you upset that Lou looks like a cop?" Lex asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I've been trying to change that lately. Chloe suggested I add some color to the uniform, which is why the purple shoulder pad and blue gloves."

"It works," said Jay. "You look better."

"We just got a flicker on the EMF detector in the bedroom," Lex said. "I saw it go to yellow."
"I'll try back there." Jay moved back to the bed and lay down, setting off the cat balls for a moment. "Dad? Are you here?"

A flicker to yellow. I walked back beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She smiled at me.

"How you doing?" Lex called back.

"Starting to get a little bit of a headache," she said. "Using up a lot of energy here."
"I got some painkillers in my pack," I told her. "It's in the car, Give me a minute."

"Oh, Lou, you don't have to---I'm"

"It's no problem; it's why I carry them. Back in a minute."
"I'll come along," said Lex.

We walked outside. It was beginning to rain a little. Lex and I walked companionably over to the car together.

"How do you think she's holding up?" I asked her.

Lex nodded toward the RV. "I think she needed this. It'll be good for her to check this out, maybe feel better about things."

"Yeah, that's what I thought, too."

I got the painkillers out of my first aid kit and walked them back in to Jay. She smiled. "Thanks."

"Anytime. How's it going?"

"Some activity. More on the bell. A lot of activity at the table, less back here on the bed."

I nodded. "That might suggest that he's happy. He's more active in the place he liked being, as opposed to the place where he died. It makes sense."
Jay smiled.

"Good."

"You're driving home," Jay informed Lex.

We got in the car and started off. I said,"Good investigation. I never checked out a haunted RV before."
"What do you think?" Jay asked. "Class Five haunted place?"

"It only goes up to four," Lex told her.

"Oh, right. Class Four then?"
"Based on tonight, that sounds about right. Wouldn't mind going back for another round sometime."

"I had fun," said Jay. "And I think it helped. I had a good birthday."

I reached up and patted her on the shoulder.

"Happy birthday, Jay. We love you."