Larue Donavon 3 - The Ghoul Next Door (20 page)

“
I need to talk with a few
people. I’ll call you soon,” she said, walking toward the
door.

“
Thanks, Karyn.” I hugged
her and watched as she marched down the steps toward her
car.

Just as Karyn left, my cell rang.
“We’re on our way. How are you feeling?” Mindy asked.

I’d almost forgotten about the show. I
had to hurry if I didn’t want people to think I was one of the
ghosts. My appearance would frighten people more than any
ghost.

“
Ugh. I guess I’m
fine.”

She chuckled. “You don’t sound
convinced about that. This is taking so much out of you and I hate
it.”

Before I had time to change my mind, I
said, “I have to decide between the show and the store. I don’t
know if I can do any more of the show. There is no way I can
continue to do both.”

Mindy sighed, then said, “It’s not an
option. I think you know which one you’ll pick. The store means
everything to you.”

I nodded, even though I knew she
couldn’t see me. “You’re right. It does mean everything to me.
There’s no way I can go on without Book Nook. I can’t let my
grandparents down. They worked hard for that store. I won’t
disappoint them. I’ll have to tell Matt that I can no longer do the
show. He can find someone else to replace me or just use
Cooper.”

Mindy paused, then said, “I know you
can’t continue, but it is just a couple more days. Can you push
through?”

Just a couple more days? That was easy
for her to say. “I don’t know.”

“
Maybe you should give it
one more shot before you give it up. If there is a demon involved,
this is exactly what it would want. If someone placed a spell on
you, then this is exactly what they wanted to happen… to affect
your life. Don’t let them do that.”

Reassurance filled her voice, but was
that enough to make me change my mind?

“
There comes a point where
you can’t fight it anymore, Mindy. You have to walk away and let
them have it. Move on with your life. I can’t let them take
everything from me.”

“
Do you want me to tell them
that you can’t do it?” she asked.

When she asked the question, it hit
me. I wasn’t a quitter. I had to continue to fight. What had I been
thinking? She was right, I had to fight.

“
I’ll be waiting outside for
y’all. Let’s kick some demon butt.”

Cooper honked the horn as I stepped
out onto my front porch. He was behind the wheel and Mindy sat in
the front seat, which was fine with me. I relished my space this
morning. I was in a foul mood, and I knew exactly why. I couldn’t
control the negative feeling.

Before climbing into the backseat, I
hurried over to the mailbox to check for another letter. I pulled
out a couple of envelopes with the usual junk mail… but staring
back at me was another taunting letter.

My heart rate spiked. I shoved the
letter into my bag and jumped in the SUV. With any luck, I’d have a
chance to read it soon. It was probably another warning.

When I settled into my seat, Mindy
turned around and stared at me.

“
What?” I asked.

“
You look like something the
cat dragged in after the dog buried it.”

“
Thanks for that delightful
observation, but I kind of feel exactly like something that’s just
been dug up.”

Mindy stared for a few seconds longer,
searching my eyes. She knew something was wrong… something
different. But if she’d asked me what, I wouldn’t have been able to
answer.

We pulled up in front of the
farmhouse. For a moment everyone was quiet, staring up at the
house. Eerie wind blew across the outside of the house, whipping
the branches on the trees wildly. The evil knew what I’d come here
to do today and it was ready for a fight.

The strange feeling in my home was the
same feeling I’d gotten when I was in this house. I realized that
now. But why was this thing only attaching to me? Why not Cooper?
Or Mindy? Was there a connection between Jennie and me?

We met with the homeowner again in her
living room. Jennie’s boyfriend was with her today. He was a
muscular guy who looked as if he could stand up to anything, but
unfortunately when dealing with evil spirits, it didn’t matter your
size or strength. His face showed his worry. He wore jeans and a
brown polo shirt that matched his hair.

“
This is my boyfriend, Ben
Hall.” Jennie gestured toward the man.

He stretched out his hand. “Nice to
meet you.”

After the introductions, we sat at the
dining room table to discuss our findings before beginning the
final stage of the investigation. It would be hard to reveal what
I’d seen to Jennie. I hoped she was prepared for what I had to
say.

“
There are a lot of dead
people passing through this house. And it’s not good for the people
living here,” I told Jennie. “They pass through a portal in the
house.”

The camera was right in front of me. I
guess I’d gotten used to it pretty quickly.

“
How else has it affected
the people here?” Matt asked.

“
They want her attention,
that’s for sure.” I pointed to Jennie.

“
They’re unsettled and
scared,” Cooper said, turning his blond head and flashing a worried
look my way.

Ben reached for Jennie’s hand. I knew
this would be a lot for her to handle, but they had to know the
truth.

“
There are a lot of things
happening here that worry me,” I said more to myself than anyone
else, although all eyes were focused on me.

“
Have you had any more
scratches?” Cooper asked.

Ben leaned forward and answered, “Last
night she had some show up on her arms, plus her eyes changed
colors—they looked blue and Jennie has brown eyes. She was there
with me, but her eyes were despondent. It’s like something was
trying to take over.”

My stomach turned and the room began
to spin. The description of her eyes was exactly what Callahan had
said about mine. I hadn’t noticed anything about my eyes, but maybe
I wouldn’t notice. What the heck was happening to me?

Jennie hesitated, then said, “I woke
up and felt hands on me. The spirit was in the bed with
me.”

“
Do you have a lot of
dreams? Maybe more than the average person?” I asked.

“
Yes. Usually vivid.” She
nodded. “The last one was where these little monsters had me
cornered in my bedroom. They were throwing things at me and hurting
people.” Jennie jumped up and pulled something from the cabinet
drawer. “Here, I drew this picture of them.” She handed the paper
to Matt.

He let out an audible gulp, then
handed the page to me.

In the middle of the white paper were
several evil-looking creatures. The same thing I’d seen outside my
house. They were skinny with long arms and they wore capes. Their
eyes were bright blue.

After finishing the interview, we
grabbed our equipment and started our investigation. When we moved
into the hallway, I pulled Cooper and Matt to the side. Of course
the camera was in my face, so it wasn’t exactly private.

“
I can’t deny what I’m
seeing in this house.” I pointed down the hall. “The man is very
upset. He likes to push people around. He needs to
leave.”

The man in the overalls was back. This
time he wasn’t confined to the bedroom. He stood defiantly in the
middle of the hall.

“
Do you feel the
electricity? It’s a weird feeling,” Cooper said.

“
He can push electricity
through people,” I said, as a tingle raced down my
spine.

Static crackled in the air. Matt
looked as if he wanted to run and Mindy wasn’t far behind
him.

“
These creatures that she
drew in the picture are living on her roof. They’ve been up there
for months.” I pointed over our heads. “At least that’s what the
man in the overalls said.”

Cooper and Matt stared at me
wide-eyed. The energy coming from Mindy let me know she wanted out
of there. I prayed she didn’t have a panic attack before we
finished filming for the day.

“
They live on the roof?”
Matt asked.

“
Yep. They are almost
alien-looking and they scuttle around on the roof. They want to be
attached to Jennie.”

Cooper cast a glance my way. I knew
what he was thinking. These evil things didn’t just want Jennie. I
was pretty sure they wanted me too.

I continued without acknowledging the
look Cooper had given me. “They’re drawn to certain areas and
people. Jennie just so happens to be one of the unlucky ones. And
someone sent them here.”

Was I one of the unlucky ones
too?

“
I’ve never heard of these
monsters before now and I’ve researched a lot of dark spirits,”
Cooper said.

And Cooper thought he knew everything
about demons. I had showed him. I had the 411 on these creatures.
Okay, it was thanks to Heath, the man in the overalls, who didn’t
want to leave his former residence. It wasn’t my fault if he
wouldn’t talk to Cooper.

“
They’re very dark energy.”
My voice was almost a whisper now. The more I spoke about them the
more I knew they were after me too. Not just Jennie.

Mindy swallowed hard and Matt didn’t
move an inch as he stared at me wide-eyed. Cooper had moved a
couple steps forward. He probably wanted to get Heath to speak with
him. But the male ghost wasn’t going to… he’d told me I was the
only one he would communicate with. He wasn’t even talking the way
the other ghosts did. Instead, he was just placing the thoughts in
my head.

“
Jennie is different,” I
said. “I think she’s a sensitive. This thing is stealing parts of
her energy.”

“
I want both of you to be
okay. I’m worried about you,” Cooper said.

Mindy’s expression turned even more
dire with Cooper’s words.

“
The evil spirit wants in
the house. It’s not good for Jennie. It’s a bad presence and if it
gets a hold of her it will make her do bad things. It can’t get
in.” I looked from Matt to Cooper. “This would be awful. It will
hurt people any chance it gets.”

“
The male spirit became
hostile when we arrived, but I don’t think he’ll harm anyone. He’s
nothing to really be concerned with. He died several years ago in
this house,” Cooper said.

Matt inched down the hall. He looked
as if he wanted nothing more than to get away from the action. From
over his shoulder, he said, “Okay, let’s see if you all can get one
more round of evidence.”

Cooper and I made our way from room to
room. As we moved through the house, the feeling only intensified.
I began snapping photos one right after the other. With any luck,
I’d catch something in the photo. I always liked truth to back up
the things I saw. As I made a step forward, a voice sounded.
Everyone froze, so I knew I wasn’t the only one who’d heard it.
With any luck, we’d caught it on the recorder.

The evil spirit had seeped in and was
crawling through the walls, following every move we made. The
spirit might be able to take on a human form, but it was in no way
human.

Cooper and I made our way up the
stairs to one of the back rooms. Mindy bravely followed close
behind. When I inched the door open, I spotted the thing right
away. The creature was in the corner of the bedroom when I stepped
through the door, snarling and growling at me.

The floor shook as the creature
crawled across the old hardwood floor.

“
The thing is making me
sick,” I said.

“
What do you mean, sick?”
Mindy asked as she neared the door.

When she saw the thing she backed up,
then froze as she stared at it. We were all frozen on the
spot.

“
I mean like I may barf on
your shoes in a second.”

“
We need to get out of
here.” Mindy pulled my arm.

“
We can’t leave yet. The
cameras are rolling.” I pointed.

As the cameraman stepped forward to
video the black figure we’d seen, the evil spirit disappeared. Part
of me wished that he’d gotten it on tape because, like I said, I
loved evidence to back of the claims of the paranormal, but the
other part of me was relieved that the evil was gone.

“
Larue, maybe you should
leave. It’s not good if you’re getting sick.” Cooper stood beside
me.

“
You can leave if you want,
but there is no way I’m giving up that easily.”

“
You need not to try to be
the hero here. You can’t put this above your health.” Cooper
touched my arm.

That wasn’t what Matt would say. He’d
want us to stay no matter what. Undoubtedly, the scarier the
outcome, the bigger the ratings. And why did Cooper care if I
stayed? So that he could be the hero? No way. I wasn’t falling for
that.

We moved back down stairs and handed
over any evidence that we may have captured to the tech guy. We
swapped out equipment and continued our tour through the downstairs
part of the house. After another hour and no additional activity,
we met Matt, Jennie and Ben back at the dining room table to review
the evidence.