The Ghoul Next Door

chapter Twenty-Eight

Cooper honked the horn as I stepped out onto my front porch. He was behind the wheel and Mindy sat in the front seat, which was fine with me. I relished my space this morning. I was in a foul mood, and I knew exactly why. I couldn’t control the negative feeling.

Before climbing into the backseat, I hurried over to the mailbox to check for another letter. I pulled out a couple of envelopes with the usual junk mail… but staring back at me was another taunting letter.

My heart rate spiked. I shoved the letter into my bag and jumped in the SUV. With any luck, I’d have a chance to read it soon. It was probably another warning.

When I settled into my seat, Mindy turned around and stared at me.

“What?” I asked.

“You look like something the cat dragged in after the dog buried it.”

“Thanks for that delightful observation, but I kind of feel exactly like something that’s just been dug up.”

Mindy stared for a few seconds longer, searching my eyes. She knew something was wrong… something different. But if she’d asked me what, I wouldn’t have been able to answer.

We pulled up in front of the farmhouse. For a moment everyone was quiet, staring up at the house. Eerie wind blew across the outside of the house, whipping the branches on the trees wildly. The evil knew what I’d come here to do today and it was ready for a fight.

The strange feeling in my home was the same feeling I’d gotten when I was in this house. I realized that now. But why was this thing only attaching to me? Why not Cooper? Or Mindy? Was there a connection between Jennie and me?

We met with the homeowner again in her living room. Jennie’s boyfriend was with her today. He was a muscular guy who looked as if he could stand up to anything, but unfortunately when dealing with evil spirits, it didn’t matter your size or strength. His face showed his worry. He wore jeans and a brown polo shirt that matched his hair.

“This is my boyfriend, Ben Hall.” Jennie gestured toward the man.

He stretched out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

After the introductions, we sat at the dining room table to discuss our findings before beginning the final stage of the investigation. It would be hard to reveal what I’d seen to Jennie. I hoped she was prepared for what I had to say.

“There are a lot of dead people passing through this house. And it’s not good for the people living here,” I told Jennie. “They pass through a portal in the house.”

The camera was right in front of me. I guess I’d gotten used to it pretty quickly.

“How else has it affected the people here?” Matt asked.

“They want her attention, that’s for sure.” I pointed to Jennie.

“They’re unsettled and scared,” Cooper said, turning his blond head and flashing a worried look my way.

Ben reached for Jennie’s hand. I knew this would be a lot for her to handle, but they had to know the truth.

“There are a lot of things happening here that worry me,” I said more to myself than anyone else, although all eyes were focused on me.

“Have you had any more scratches?” Cooper asked.

Ben leaned forward and answered, “Last night she had some show up on her arms, plus her eyes changed colors—they looked blue and Jennie has brown eyes. She was there with me, but her eyes were despondent. It’s like something was trying to take over.”

My stomach turned and the room began to spin. The description of her eyes was exactly what Callahan had said about mine. I hadn’t noticed anything about my eyes, but maybe I wouldn’t notice. What the heck was happening to me?

Jennie hesitated, then said, “I woke up and felt hands on me. The spirit was in the bed with me.”

“Do you have a lot of dreams? Maybe more than the average person?” I asked.

“Yes. Usually vivid.” She nodded. “The last one was where these little monsters had me cornered in my bedroom. They were throwing things at me and hurting people.” Jennie jumped up and pulled something from the cabinet drawer. “Here, I drew this picture of them.” She handed the paper to Matt.

He let out an audible gulp, then handed the page to me.

In the middle of the white paper were several evil-looking creatures. The same thing I’d seen outside my house. They were skinny with long arms and they wore capes. Their eyes were bright blue.