Chapter 39
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
The stairs to the third floor creaked under Oscar’s weight as he led the way up.
They’d loaded up on salt and grabbed the spirit box, EMF rope, Faraday tent, and fresh batteries as a lure if they needed one.
Forcing Robin to move on didn’t sit well with him, but she’d had her chance.
They’d seen what she wanted to show them, and if she felt the need to say something to Montague, it would have to wait until the old woman joined her on the other side.
They’d talked it over and decided to try to call her to the third floor by the storage room, out of the strengthening wind.
If that didn’t work, then it was back to the veranda.
Either way, as soon as she appeared, they’d hit her with as much salt as possible.
The fresh batteries would be the only easy source of energy nearby, so hopefully she’d enter the Faraday tent and they could seal it up behind her, trapping her within.
It had worked on a previous investigation, so there was no reason to think it wouldn’t again. Ghosts varied in personality, but they all needed energy to manifest.
Too bad they didn’t have more time. Robin had been his mentor, in a way, since it was her journal entries that had first taught him something about mediumship.
It was one thing to force dangerous spirits through the veil, but she just wanted to communicate.
What they were about to do felt like a betrayal, but what choice did they have?
The storm was coming, and Ms. Montague had given them their marching orders.
When they reached the third floor, Nigel came to an abrupt halt. “The door to the storage room is open. I’m certain Ethan closed it—he seemed in a hurry to, even, which was one of the reasons I thought he was up to something.”
“That’s weird.” Oscar took a step toward the room, all his senses on alert.
Robin—she was somewhere nearby, but her presence was faint. She might have expended all of her energy opening the door.
“Robin Sawyer,” he said as he entered the small room, “we’ve already seen what you…”
The desk Nigel had mentioned earlier had been left uncovered. One of its drawers was pulled almost all the way out.
“Did Ethan leave this open?” he called back.
Nigel slipped in beside him. “No. I would have noticed.”
Which meant Robin had done it.
Oscar shone his flashlight inside, but it was empty except for the small amount of dust that had filtered in over the years.
Dust that had the very clear imprint of something rectangular in it.
“It’s empty now, but it hasn’t been for long.” He cast a chagrined glance at Nigel. “Sorry, sweetheart—it does appear that Ethan took something.”
Nigel looked smug. “I’ll remember this next time we have an argument over who did the dishes last.”
“Hold it out for the camera.” Chris had remained in the hallway, since the room was so crowded.
Oscar pulled the drawer out and carried it to where Chris could aim the camera at it. “It was something rectangular,” he said. “A book, maybe?”
Chris adjusted the focus. “Or a VHS tape. It’s about the right size.”
Gloria had moved the ledger earlier, so it wasn’t impossible she’d taken something out of this drawer, too. Oscar started to point that out, then stopped.
They’d assumed Gloria had taken the ledger, the way she’d moved around the Vanderwalls’ tools. But that was all it was—an assumption.
The high-pitched giggle of the PolterPal sounded from the floor below.