Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
The house was three stories high, plus the basement.
The top story was more like an attic, but it still qualified as a bedroom.
The second story had four bedrooms, three baths, the laundry room, and a sitting room.
And the main floor contained the kitchen, dining room, living room, an office, an en suite, and a separate powder room.
Like most Victorians, the rooms were fairly small and choppy, but overall, it was a beautiful old house.
“While my mother was still alive, she had the master bedroom on the first floor. Once she died, I took it over. I suppose I should rent out the spare bedrooms, but with all the psychic activity, I have my doubts about the wisdom in that.” Konstantine shrugged.
“I could use the extra money—who can’t use a little extra—but there’s also the fact that I love my privacy. ”
“Where is most of the paranormal activity located?” Carson said, holding up an EMF. The device measured electromagnetic fields. He was wearing a portable EVP on his wrist to capture any voice recordings that might be going on.
“The worst of it’s upstairs in the attic, and down in the basement.
But it’s been spreading out to the rest of the floors.
It was different when I was a boy. The activity was more spread around, but far less in intensity.
I knew we were protected, and nothing ever seemed intrusive or frightening. ” He shrugged.
“When you replaced the furnace and had the joists restored, did you notice an upswing in the activity?” Carson asked.
Konstantine nodded. “Actually, I did. And then…oh—wait!” He snapped his fingers. “I forgot all about this.”
“All about what?” I asked.
“I invited a group of ghosthunters over to examine the place. They promised me they wouldn’t do anything but observe. I ended up having to go out for awhile and…maybe it was more than that. Maybe they did something to stir up the spirits.” He frowned.
“How long ago was this?” Carson asked.
“Two years,” Konstantine said.
“They were lying to you,” Penn said. “I know it as well as I know my own name. I think they tried an impromptu exorcism. And that’s a big mistake.”
We were in the attic by then. The room had boxes and trunks scattered about, along with a few pieces of furniture. It smelled old up here, all musty, as though the room hadn’t seen a cleaning in years. A layer of dust covered everything and cobwebs stretched across the ceiling.
“How long since you took a vacuum to this room?” Penn asked.
“Why?” Konstantine asked.
“Because the longer you let a room stand without cleaning it, the more chaotic the energy becomes, and the more negative energy gets stuck. Positive energy—even neutral energy—has a circulation of its own, but negative energy is weighted down. It settles in the dust of forgotten rooms and abandoned buildings,” Penn said.
“It builds in layers, and dampens movement and progress.”
“I guess I should get up here with a broom and dustpan,” he said. “What do I do after—” He froze as a deep rumble reverberated through the attic. I caught my breath, realizing I was afraid.
“Something really doesn’t want us here ? —”
“We need to go, now ? —”
Penn and I spoke over each other. I nodded toward the door. “Let’s go. Konstantine, you can’t stay here, not until we figure out what we’re dealing with.”
“I’ll set up a second camera before we go,” Carson said.
He’d already set one up downstairs. Orik was our primary video expert, but Carson knew what to do, as well.
He quickly plugged in a second camera set.
“This has a five hour battery in case something cuts off the power,” he said as yet another massive echo reverberated through the room. It sounded like a deep, resonate gong.
“Hurry. Something’s coming. I can’t tell you whether it’s from outside the house or in, but it flows, like a tidal wave,” Penn said.
“I’m almost done. We can watch and listen remotely.” He frowned. “I wish we had time for me to set up another in the basement.”
I was getting antsy. We were in danger—I could sense it all around us, rolling in like a rip tide. “We don’t. Konstantine, you need to come with us. I don’t want any of us staying here any longer than necessary.”
My uncle gave me a long look, then silently nodded. “I can do that.”
“Do you have any pets?” Penn asked.
He shook his head. “I’m between dogs. Micron passed away last year from old age and I haven’t had the heart to adopt again…not yet.”
“Then let’s go,” I said as Carson finished anchoring the camera as best as he could.
We clattered down the stairs, and all the while I felt like the wolf was at my back, ready to bite me in the ass if it caught me.
* * *
We stopped long enough for Konstantine to throw a couple shirts and pairs of pants into a backpack.
He grabbed his laptop, a folding file full of papers, his wallet, and keys, and we got the hell out of the house.
As we made our way to our cars, I glanced back and my heart stood still.
In the attic, from one of the narrow windows, I could see lights flashing.
“Is that fire?” Konstantine asked, looking worried.
“No, it’s not fire,” I said. “That’s whatever it was that was headed our way. Given the house’s history, I’m not surprised it attracted a pile of ghosts.”
“I suppose I should get a hotel,” he said. “I hadn’t planned on this interruption to my work, but at least I can write from almost anywhere.”
I thought about offering him my sofa to crash on, but first I’d have to consult Penn, and second—even though he was my uncle, I really didn’t know him very well. Just because someone was connected by blood, that didn’t make them a good person. Even Ted Bundy had parents.
“There’s one with a kitchenette near my place,” Dante said. “I stayed there when they had to replace the carpeting and fix the plumbing in my apartment a few years ago. It’s reasonably priced.”
Konstantine shrugged. “Sounds good. Text me the address.” He turned to me. “Would you like to get together for dinner, so we can talk?”
I nodded. “I’d like that. I’ll call you in a bit, once I look at my schedule.” Truthfully, I wanted Penn to do a reading for me on the issue. I wanted to know how involved to get.
“I texted you the name and address of the hotel,” Dante said. “Also the Map-It link, with directions on how to get there.”
“I’ll call you later today,” I said. “By then, Carson can look at the footage from the camera and we might have some sort of answer for you, or at least a lead on what we’re dealing with.”
He awkwardly held out his hand and I took it, squeezing it warmly.
I wasn’t ready to hug him yet, but I desperately hoped it would become that sort of connection.
Every time Carson talked about his sister, or Penn talked about her mother, or I saw the connection Orik had with his wife and daughters—and even his mother-in-law, I felt like something was missing.
I watched him walk to his car, then turned back to Dante, Penn, and Carson. “All right, back to the office we go. And thanks…for not asking me questions until I have a chance to think this whole thing through.”
I tossed Dante the keys to the van and rode shotgun.
Carson and Penn were in the back, chatting about the ghost, while I stared out of the window.
As we silently passed over the 520 Floating Bridge, the waves were choppy.
It might be late spring, but there was an incoming rain storm, and I could feel every inch of the turbulence in my soul.
* * *
By the time we returned to the office, I felt more on an even keel. There was so much still up in the air, but at least I felt ready to tackle what we were facing.
“Hey,” I said to Sophia. “So many notes…”
She cocked her head to the right. “What happened?”
I should know better than to think I could pull off a nonchalant attitude around her. She saw into everybody in the office. “Let’s say, this case is one for the books. Meanwhile?—”
Carson froze. “Lazenti just texted me. He wants me to look up a couple unsolved disappearances among the homeless camps over the past few months.”
I froze. “Disappearances? Homeless camps? Does that include the Soldiers of Misfortune?”
“I’m not sure yet. There are five—three men and two women. They weren’t prone to wandering. And…they all have some connection to Give A Hands Up.” He glanced at me from heavily lidded eyes. “The cops haven’t lifted a hand.”
“Of course not. The homeless are vulnerable and a drain on city resources ,” I said, imitating one of the local house representatives who had somehow managed to convince people that the best way to deal with the homeless problem was to drive the homeless over to a different county so we didn’t have to help them.
“How the hell Cooper got elected, I don’t know,” Dante said, frowning. “Seattle’s a liberal city?—”
“With enough new money to create a voting block of millionaires who don’t want to lose their control on local wealth.
It’s not a matter of conservative versus liberal, it’s a matter of money versus no money.
” I sighed. “All right, Dante, why don’t you keep watch on the camera for Carson while he starts digging into this.
Penn, if you want to go, that’s fine. I doubt we’ll be heading over to Konstantine’s house again. Though, if I could talk to you first?”
As everyone scrambled to get to work, Penn followed me back to my office, shutting the door behind her.
“So,” she said, sitting on the sofa against the opposite wall. “Konstantine.”
“Yeah,” I said, tossing my backpack on my desk. “I don’t know what to think about all of this. I’m…”
“At a loss for words?”
I nodded. “I’d think it was all some elaborate joke except…that picture.” I opened my pack and brought out the framed photograph.
“You stole that?”
“Yeah, I did. I’ll give it back, but I want a copy of it.” I stared at the picture, searching my mother’s face. There was no trace of the shift that was coming into her life seven years later. She was laughing, the wind blowing her hair, her eyes free from pain and worry.
“I look at this, and I see a woman that I never knew. She never looked this carefree when I was young. The only time I remember her laughing like that was when she and I would go walking on the pier, or the few times when she was able to take me to a movie.” I closed my eyes, feeling an unexpected well of tears swelling up.
“You’re mourning her all over again,” Penn said, her voice soft.
I ran my fingers over the glass of the photograph.
“She thought she had her entire life in front of her—look at the joy on her face. Konstantine…he’s spent over forty years wondering where his sister went.
And I show up and break his heart. At least he had some glimmer of hope,” I added. “Until I killed it.”
“You’re giving him closure ,” Penn said. “That hope can be like a wound that never heals. Now, at least, he knows for sure and he can let go of that hope and face the present. Your grandmother never got that…She went to her death wondering about her daughter.”
She reached out and took the photo from me, staring at it. “Kyann, sometimes the pain never fully goes away. You can stuff it in a trunk, lock it shut, and throw away the key, but it’s still there. Closure helps, but you were so young when it happened?—”
“I was fourteen,” I said flatly.
“Right. You were still a child. Fourteen is still a child, hon,” she said, standing. “And that young girl will always bear the pain of losing her mother too soon.” She held out her arms and, not understanding why I couldn’t get a handle on my emotions, I leaned in as she hugged me.
“I miss her…and today—I feel that loss more than ever. I should be overjoyed. I found an uncle and so far, he seems like a good guy. But I’m angry…” I squeezed my eyes shut as Penn stroked my hair.
“Konstantine unlocked that chest and opened it wide. You’re also taking on his emotions. But at least he can properly mourn now, knowing the truth.” She gently led me to the sofa and sat me down.
“I can take him to her grave,” I said, worrying my lip. “I can give him that much.”
“Don’t blame yourself for his pain. The gift you are giving him is bittersweet, but muchly needed. This is all such a sudden shock. No wonder you feel conflicted.” She handed me a tissue and waited, holding my hand.
I dabbed at my eyes. I knew she was right—there was so much going on that I was in overload.
After a moment, I took a long breath, held it, then let it out slowly.
“I’m not sure what to think, to be honest. Part of me is scared to trust him.
Part of me desperately wants to. I was going to ask if you’d do a reading for me. ”
“Of course. I’ll do that as soon as I get home.”
“That works,” I said, wiping my eyes and sitting back. The act of talking about how confused this had left me helped. Sometimes, the answer wasn’t really an answer, but an exploration.
“So, do you have any idea of what we’re facing? I have the feeling it’s not just a ghost,” I said, returning to my desk.
“I have some ideas, but I don’t want to say for sure. Remember, the thirteenth victim was a young girl who was a witch?”
“She cursed him as she died,” I said, nodding.
“I think the curse…I’m not sure what happened but that had something to do with what’s going on now.
I want to do some research, to find out what she was learning and what curses she knew.
It’s been awhile, but if she went to Windchime Magical Academy, they might have some idea of what she was like. ”
“You think the curse did more than ensure Longworld’s death?” I asked.
Penn shrugged. “It’s hard to say, but it could have. Or it could have just added to the chaos.” She slipped her sweater over her shoulders, then added, “Thank you, by the way. I know you were thinking about asking Konstantine to stay with us.”
“I don’t know him well enough, and I would have asked you first, anyway.” I gave her a hug. “I’ll probably be home on time tonight. I’ll call if I’m going to be late.”
“I’ll call a taxi to get home, so you don’t have to drop me off,” Penn said.
“Are you sure? I can drive you.”
“No, I’m good,” she said. “Want anything special for dinner?”
I thought about it for a moment. “Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup?”
Penn laughed. “One of those days, huh? Comfort food, coming up. I’ll see you later.”
As she left, I thought about the morning, and how terrifying it had been. I decided to go see what the camera had to show. I pocketed my phone, picked up my tablet, and headed for Dante’s office.