Angels and Omens (Treasure Trail #4)

Chapter 1 Erik

ONE

ERIK

Acold draft made Erik Mitchell shiver, right before a glass tottered off the edge of the break room counter and shattered on the floor.

“Stop that,” he said to the empty room. “What’s wrong with you today?”

“What happened?” Susan Hendricks, his assistant, came in from where she was watching the store. She stopped in the doorway and saw the broken glass. “Oh dear. I’ll get the dustpan.” She headed for the closet.

“It’s the ghosts. They’re more restless than usual.” Erik took the brush and pan from her and swept up the mess, then dumped it in the trash can. “Can you feel it?”

Susan frowned for a moment, taking stock. “I feel more jittery than usual, like I ate too much sugar. Does that count?”

“Everyone’s different.” Erik wasn’t a medium, but he could sense ghosts and see them when conditions were right. “I feel like I’m in the room with someone who’s wound up to the breaking point, only there’s no one around.”

“Is it a full moon? Isn’t that supposed to power up ghosts?” Susan took back the brush and pan and put them in the closet.

“Among other things.” Erik grabbed his cup of coffee and turned to give a stern look to the empty room. “Behave.”

In response, the plastic bottle of dish soap fell into the sink, although it hadn’t been near the edge.

“We haven’t had any new pieces come in that you haven’t vetted,” Susan said as they walked back into the shop.

Trinkets had a long and storied history in Cape May for being a place to find high-quality antiques or sell valuable heirlooms. It also had a well-established but quieter reputation for being the place to go to get help with cursed or haunted objects.

Sometimes taking in an object that had supernatural residue without containing it properly led to an unruly spirit or bad energy.

“Anything that might be a problem is warded and in the safe,” Erik replied.

“But I’ve been feeling drafts all morning, and I can sense presences even if I can’t see or hear them. ”

“Give Monty a call.” Susan named a friend who was a spirit medium. “He can probably tell you if there’s a bad moon on the rise, and stop in to send the spooks on their way.”

“We usually don’t have any problem with the long-timers,” Erik mused. The shop had a long history of handling magical, cursed, haunted, and supernatural objects. A few ghosts chose to hang around, and Erik didn’t mind so long as they didn’t cause damage or upset customers or staff.

“Then there’s probably something going on,” Susan replied. “He’ll know.”

Susan stayed up front in case a customer walked in, and Erik returned to the break room for privacy and placed the call.

Monty Clark answered on the second ring. “Hey, Erik. What’s up?”

“Hi, Monty. Is there a reason the ghosts are restless? The shop spirits are usually quiet, but they’re in a mood today.”

“I’ve heard that from a lot of people recently, and we’re seeing that here at the lighthouse. Even Jon is fidgety.” Monty was the resident keeper of the Cape May Light, where he lived with his ghostly lover, Jon.

“Does Jon know why?”

“No, and that worries me a little,” Monty said. “It’s more than the usual full moon energy. My bet is that either someone with strong psychic abilities just came to town, or there’s a new object that is causing the effect. But those are just educated guesses. I’m sorry that I don’t have answers.”

“I know you can’t leave the lighthouse,” Erik said. “Is there someone you recommend who might be able to get our ghosts to chill a little?”

“Actually, yes,” Monty said. “Haley Connor. She moved to Cape May a few months ago, and she’s a very gifted—and powerful—spirit medium. She’s the real deal. Séances, dispelling troublesome ghosts, un-haunting objects.”

“Sounds perfect,” Erik replied. “If she checks out with you, that’s good enough for me.”

“She gave me a business card. Here’s her scheduling number.” Monty read off the digits, and Erik made a note. “Tell her I sent you.”

“Will do. Hope you and Jon have a good evening,” Erik said as he ended the call and entered Haley’s number.

He was surprised when Haley picked up right away. “Spirited Outlook, this is Haley Connor. How can I help you?”

“I’m Erik Mitchell at Trinkets. Monty Clark recommended you. We don’t usually have a problem with our resident ghosts, but they’ve been unsettled today, and I was hoping that you could help.”

“It’s been quite the day for that,” Haley said. “And before you ask, I don’t know what’s got the spirits riled up, but it’s widespread. Are you in danger?”

Erik took a few seconds to read his intuition. “I don’t think so, but there’s been some breakage, and that’s bad in an antique store.”

“I understand. If you can hang in there for an hour, I’ve got a break between appointments. You’re not far away. I’ll pop over and see if I can help. In the meantime, if you have a lavender or sandalwood candle handy, those scents can help soothe restless spirits.”

“Will do,” Erik said. “Thank you so much. See you soon.”

He relayed the information to Susan, then returned to the break room, took a pillar candle out of the cupboard, and lit it in the sink where it wouldn’t cause damage if it got knocked over.

“You are welcome to stay here, but please don’t cause trouble,” Erik said to empty air. The ghosts’ presence was strong enough that he could sense it. “And if there’s danger, tell Haley when she comes.”

Nothing stirred, and Erik hoped his message had been received.

“If you don’t need me up front, I’ll stay in here with my laptop until Haley arrives,” Erik told Susan, reluctant to leave the candle unattended. “Just in case.”

“That’s fine,” she said. “It’s been quiet so far.”

Erik settled in at the table and went back to work on invoices and orders. The candle’s scent filled the air, and whether or not it was calming the ghosts, he found it soothing.

The hour flew by, and Erik looked up when he heard the bell jangle to indicate a new arrival.

“Erik, this is Haley. Haley, Erik,” Susan introduced a few minutes later.

“Monty told me you might be in touch.” Haley stepped forward to shake his hand. She looked to be in her early thirties with short blond hair and bright green eyes.

Erik chuckled. “Actually, it doesn’t surprise me that Monty figured we’d connect.”

“He told me a little about your work and some of the situations you and your partner have handled recently. Never a dull moment!” she added.

“I wouldn’t mind duller moments, but loose ends seem to find us,” Erik replied.

“Trinkets isn’t just an antique store. Part of our founding mission was to get haunted and dangerous objects out of the wrong hands.

Antiques come with a lot of emotional resonance and more than a few ghosts.

I have a contact who safely removes the most dangerous pieces, but it would be great to help the spirits move on and un-haunt the pieces, so I suspect you’ll hear from me often. ”

“Believe it or not, I’ve worked with museums and antique shops more than a few times.” A loud boom of thunder drowned out Haley’s words.

“Our resident ghosts are usually well-behaved,” Erik said. “And the shop itself is heavily warded. That’s why having them act up worries me. I’m sorry to bother you.”

She made a dismissive gesture. “Not a problem. Glad to help.”

Haley walked into the break room and stopped after a few steps. She closed her eyes and seemed to be listening intently.

“I know you’re here,” she said quietly. “Something has upset you. I’m sorry about that. I can’t make whatever it is stop, but I can help you mind it less. If I do that, will you stay quiet and not break anything else?”

Haley nodded, responding to voices only she could hear. “Good. I will take your word on that.”

She opened her eyes and looked at Erik. “It helps to have someone acknowledge that you’re upset, even after you’re dead.”

Haley set her messenger bag on the table and took out a few containers, a bowl, and a pestle. She combined several powders and a sweet-smelling liquid in the bowl and then let the mixture fall drop by drop into the candle flame.

“No harm will come to you within these wards,” Haley said. “Whatever you sense elsewhere cannot reach you. Be at peace, and do not trouble the things or people in this building.” She blew out the candle and watched the rising spiral of smoke.

Erik didn’t see or hear anything, but the jangly feeling eased, and he hoped that meant that the spirits could relax and ignore whatever had provoked them.

“Thank you,” he told Haley after she packed up her materials. “What do I owe you?”

“First one’s on the house,” she replied with a laugh. “I have the feeling we’ll be working together a lot.”

He thanked her again and walked her to the door. “If you find out what’s stirring them up, let me know,” Erik reminded her.

“I will definitely keep you on speed dial,” Haley assured him, and left with a wave to Susan.

Erik remained at the window for a few minutes, looking out onto the street. The gloomy day threatened rain, although it had only delivered intermittent showers and some thunder.

“Something interesting?” Susan came up to stand beside him. She was the mother of the Cape May chief of police and close in age to Erik’s own mom.

“It’s not just our ghosts who are upset. Even if I can’t see them, I know the local spirits are jittery.”

Cape May, New Jersey, was famous for its history, architecture, and haunted places. While visitors enjoyed ghost tours and the occasional sighting, to those who lived here, the spirits were just a different kind of neighbor.

“You have a two o’clock appointment coming up,” Susan reminded him. “Mr. Thompson has an antique ring he wants to get appraised for sale.”

“Did he say anything else about it?” Erik asked. Sometimes the antiques they handled came without supernatural baggage, but more often than not, the pieces had a hidden story and a complicated past.

“Just that he was hoping to come to an agreement today. I guess he needs the money.” Susan shrugged.