CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Jess laughed as Gage tugged her across the yard. She didn’t even mind him holding onto her hand. In fact, she rather enjoyed it. The grass was cool beneath her bare feet, despite the day’s humid warmth. For the first time in a couple of days, she felt like everything was moving forward again.
She told herself that her lightened mood had nothing to do with Gage himself, just his offer to help.
And why not let him? He could be right—the two of them might have the abilities to pull this off. Gracie and Emma had said they’d help with the board, too. She hadn’t told Gage that part, mostly because she wasn’t sure what the girls had meant.
He pulled her close as they stopped by the front door, and she thought he intended to kiss her. For a moment, Jess forgot to breathe. Her gaze wandered from his hazel eyes down to his mouth. Not that she would have minded a kiss. Except Gage knew how hot he was. Not pretty-boy model handsome, but more ruggedly sexy.
He’s probably a jerk in the romance department. Don’t let him see what he does to you. How you light up inside when he’s around.
Then again, they weren’t going to be here that long. A kiss didn’t have to mean anything else. Surely it’d never develop into much of anything. Just a summer attraction. Jess didn’t have a boyfriend back home—well, not anymore. She forced herself to breathe again, to stop looking at his totally kissable mouth so temptingly close to hers.
One kiss. Just one…
“Ready?” he asked. The corners of his mouth twitched into a grin.
“Now?” she eked out.
Gage’s grin widened. The jerk had to know he was teasing her, but Jess didn’t have the guts to lean in and kiss him. “Why not?” he said. “First, we’ve got to see where everyone else is, especially Mrs. Hirsch.”
“Who’s to say she isn’t walking the halls?”
“I’m sure she is. That’s why you’re going to be the diversion.”
“Me? She’s already caught me in one of the rooms.”
“Hey, I can’t think of a better diversion,” Gage murmured, making her think about that kiss again. “As for Mrs. Hirsch? It’s even better if she catches you. Do it again. Try the same room or find another one. Just don’t be quiet about it.”
They stared at each other. He was killing her, but she refused to make the first move. They’d done nothing but stare at each other their entire conversation. Jess forced herself to look out into the yard. “I think you’re way too good at this,” she finally said.
“Yeah, well, what can I say? Where do you think Allison is?”
“No idea.” Jess didn’t want to mention that she hadn’t stayed in the same room with her last night.
“Now, we’ll just have to find Dr. Brandt,” Gage said, opening the front door.
Jess couldn’t believe she was going though with this. It was one thing to try to persuade Dr. Brandt into using the board or doing a séance without Allison or Bryan, but something else entirely to enter his room and take the Ouija board without asking. Yet, it also seemed the right thing to do. What if the ghosts had a hard time showing up with all the equipment and Allison’s negativity? Allison had made it clear she wanted nothing to do with ghosts, and wasn’t fond of anyone else having anything to do with them, either.
She found herself staring into Gage’s eyes again.
Why couldn’t she stop staring at him?
Gage held the door and followed her into the foyer. They found Allison sitting in the Great Room reading a book and Mrs. Hirsch in the dining room, polishing the table. She had no idea why since maids came in twice a week, but it didn’t matter. At least she wouldn’t be wandering the halls.
Jess didn’t ask how Gage was going to get the Ouija board up into the attic unseen, but in a way, the less she knew the better.
He leaned in and whispered, “Meet me in the attic, after dinner.”
She loved the feel of his breath against her ear. Before she could even nod, he was already halfway up the stairs. Damn him!
Allison looked up from her book and glanced from Jess to the staircase and back. She raised an eyebrow.
“Where’s Bryan and Dr. Brandt?” Jess asked, avoiding any questions about Gage. Mrs. Hirsch was too close and bound to be listening. The last thing Jess wanted was for her to start following either of them around thinking something was going on that shouldn’t be. Not that they had to answer to her.
“Third floor,” Allison said. “They’re checking out some of the rooms that are normally kept locked. Bryan is enjoying all the ghost hunting equipment a little too much.”
“Do you want to join them?” Jess asked, already knowing the answer.
Allison shook her head and went back to her book. Mrs. Hirsch was standing on a step stool, using a duster on an extended pole to clean the room’s molding. Jess couldn’t help but watch, taking note again of the strange, carved faces.
“Problem?” Mrs. Hirsch said, not bothering to stop her chores.
“No,” Jess replied. “Just looking at the faces. It’s like they’re watching.”
Mrs. Hirsch stepped off the stool and moved it to another area. She reached inside her blouse and pulled out a silver chain, then rubbed its dark grey pendant before tucking it back inside. “That’s the point.”
Jess frowned.
Mrs. Hirsch began dusting again. “Catherine Siler had the molding installed after the murders. For all the good it did.”
“Good?” Jess asked.
She got down from the stool and gave Jess an exasperated glance. “In some areas of the South, it’s believed molding like this prevents the corners of a room from harboring evil spirits. She even had a lot of the walls and ceilings painted sky blue, another method used for scaring off spirits.” She moved the step stool again. “Guess it didn’t work.”
Jess waited for the rest of the story, but Mrs. Hirsch didn’t say another word as she removed cobwebs from a corner. Then, with a small huff, she picked up the stool and disappeared into the kitchen, probably to check on what the cook was preparing for dinner.
Convinced Mrs. Hirsch was otherwise occupied, Jess thought joining Bryan and Dr. Brandt might be a good idea. She could at least keep them on the third floor a while longer, hopefully giving Gage more time in Dr. Brandt’s room.
“I’m going to go find Bryan and Dr. Brandt,” Jess said.
Allison put the book down. “On second thought, I’ll join you.”
Jess hadn’t expected Allison to tag along, especially since ghost hunting wasn’t her thing, but she figured it was a good idea to keep her with her instead of having her catch Gage going through Dr. Brandt’s things.
They left the Great Room and headed upstairs. On the second floor landing, she caught the shadow of a man on the wall. The shadow moved around the corner and down the hallway. “Gage?” Jess called softly, hoping the sound of her voice would give him a heads up that they were nearby. But if it wasn’t Gage?
Jess started down the hallway, aware Allison had stopped following. The corridor was empty and she turned back to her. “What? Did you see someone?”
Allison was staring at the wall where the shadow had been. So, she’d seen it, too. If it wasn’t Gage, Bryan or Dr. Brandt, then who? Jess tried to think back to all the ghosts she’d encountered in the past. Had any of them been able to cast a shadow?
“Allison? Tell me you saw the shadow of a man?” Jess whispered.
Allison continued to stare at the wall. “I saw a man upon the stairs. I saw a man who wasn’t there. He wasn’t there again today, I wish the man would go away.”
“That’s really creepy,” Jess said.
“Don’t worry,” Allison said, taking a deep breath as she started up the third flight of steps. “It’s an old poem or something.”
Jess looked behind them, then followed Allison. “It’s still creepy. But, you did see a shadow, right?”
“Yeah. There really was a man on the stairs.”