The Ghoul Next Door

chapter Thirty-Three

As soon as we arrived at Jennie Blake’s home we began the final day of our investigation. As far as I was concerned, I’d seen enough. What more evidence did they need? But I supposed Matt had his own ideas of how he wanted to do the show. Far be it from me to interject my opinion.

Cooper and I made our way through the house. We’d become quite the investigative team and he was better than I’d expected. Mindy had stayed downstairs to help Matt. That was probably for the best. We eased into the bedroom where we’d originally met Heath, the old guy who used to live in the house. He still wouldn’t talk directly to me. I glanced around the room but saw nothing and felt no presence.

“Where does this door lead?” I asked as I twisted the doorknob.

Cooper stepped behind me, then followed as I stepped into the dark space. As soon as he’d joined me, the door slammed.

“What the hell?” I said as I pounded on my flashlight, but nothing happened. “My stupid light won’t work. I can’t see anything.”

Cooper fumbled with the doorknob. “The door is stuck.”

“Oh, great. Just what I need. I already can’t breathe. We’re going to die in here, then we can haunt this place. This is exactly what this evil spirit wanted, to kill me. Well, mission accomplished.”

“Larue, you need to calm down before you have a full-fledged panic attack.”

A scream pierced the air, bouncing off the old walls.

“Sounds as if someone is being murdered down there,” Cooper said nonchalantly.

“Maybe they are and we’re stuck up here in a closet. We look like idiots. Where’s the camera man? Excuse me, camera guy. Do you want to let us out?”

Shuffling noises sounded from the other side of the door, then finally we were released. “Ugh. Thank you. I couldn’t breathe in there.”

The camera man covered a laugh with his hand. I knew this part of the footage wouldn’t get cut out of the scene. See, I knew I’d end up making an ass out of myself on TV. At least Cooper had been involved too. I didn’t want to be the only idiot.

I tried to catch my breath after almost being suffocated. “What was that scream?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t hear anything.”

“You didn’t hear a scream?” Cooper asked.

He shook his head. “Nope.”

I grabbed my camera. “Come on. Let’s head back downstairs and make sure everything is okay.”

After hurrying down the stairs, we found everyone accounted for in the living room. Cooper and I exchanged a glance. There was no point asking if someone had screamed. We knew the spirits had only been playing a trick on us. By the snickering fest Candy Cherry and Mr. Fine were involved in, I had my suspicions that they’d somehow been involved.

“I’m glad you all came back down. We’ll take a break, okay?”

I nodded. That was fine by me. We could call it a day for all I cared. Mindy grabbed my arm and pulled me outside.

“Let’s sit for a while,” she said.

On the front lawn to the left of the stone path was a small bench. Mindy and I sat in silence for a minute, enjoying the brightly colored leaves and the crisp fall air. The leaves on the branches above us rustled as if letting me know I was being watched by an unseen presence. I was never completely alone.

I knew something was on Mindy’s mind, something heavy on her shoulders. I had put too much strain on our relationship. I wouldn’t blame Mindy if she wanted to put distance between us for a while.

Mindy didn’t have the same bounce in her step. Her hair was flat to her head and the rosy glow from her cheeks had vanished. I couldn’t let her continue to go into the house with me.

“Mindy?” I touched her arm catching her attention. “I’m worried about you. I wouldn’t be upset if you didn’t go back in there with me. It takes its toll, I know. Believe me, I know.”

She stared at me. “That’s why I have to go in there. I don’t want you to deal with this alone.”

“I’m not alone in there. Cooper is with me. He can see and talk to the spirits. He knows when they’re there. You don’t.”

“But we are a team. I don’t quit the team,” Mindy said.

She always knew how to make me smile. “I know you don’t.”

That was the reason why I knew I could always count on Mindy.

I looked at her. “There comes a time when you have to quit. Players who have injuries quit the team. I don’t want you to be injured beyond repair.”

She shook her head. “I won’t let that happen.”

“You aren’t going to take no for an answer, are you?” I asked.

“Would you?” She met my gaze.

I paused, then answered, “No, I guess I wouldn’t.”

Mindy pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I won’t lie. I am afraid of this thing attaching to me like it has Jennie, but I like to think I’m a strong person, so all I can do is continue to try and fight it off.”

“You are a strong person.” I hugged her.

“I can say that this has been an adventure. It is incredibly creepy. The scratches appearing on her body, the things moving around the room with no one even remotely near, and the sounds—all the banging is enough to drive anyone crazy. Even from the look in Jennie’s eyes you can tell that something is trying to take over her body and spirit.” She stared at me. “Do you think the same thing is happening to you?”

I contemplated her question. But giving her an honest answer wasn’t an option. I didn’t want to scare her any more than she already was. But honestly, I knew that this thing was affecting me. To what extent, I didn’t know. I hoped I could be strong like Mindy said and fight the thing off.

Finally, I said, “No, I don’t. If I thought it was getting to me, then I wouldn’t do the show. I’d quit and get as far away as I possibly could.”

Did she see through my lie? Probably. Mindy knew me well. I had never been good at keeping secrets from her. Would I be able to keep up the fight? There was no other option, I had to.

“Well, I guess we should get back in there.”

Mindy stood and stared up at the house. “Yeah, I guess we should.”

“It would be much more fun to head to Dad’s Doughnuts, huh?”

She laughed. “We are so having a margarita night when all this is over.”

I hoped that was true. What would happen if something went wrong? I couldn’t imagine never having another margarita night. No more cheese? No more tequila? No way.

Mindy and I moved toward the house, but our steps were slow. We were in no hurry to get back in there.

“If the thing talks to you, then just ignore it,” I said as we made our way up the path.

“It can talk to me?” Her eyes widened.

“Sometimes it can get into your head. One time a spirit told one of the investigators who went with me on an investigation to jump out the window. Luckily, she stepped away from the window and told the thing to get out of her head. You do the same thing if anything like this happens, okay? And make sure to tell me if it happens.”

I hated scaring her, but that was one bit of information she needed to know.

She nodded. “Got it. This thing is in for a fight if it thinks it can get through to me. I’ll kick its ass.”

I looped my arm through hers as we walked up the steps toward the house. “I know you will. I know you will.”