Page 95 of Real Fake Hauntings

“We don’t sniff evil spells,” I told her weakly.

I had been right. Someone was trying to get Bagley out of Crane. A smart someone—why drag a body along when you can simply carry pieces around?

The idea made me feel faint, and I sat down with a thump.

Had the transfer been successful or had they gone off to try somewhere else with another piece of Crane?

What if there were pieces of Crane all over town? If a non-paranormal found them, would they think it was a Halloween prank or create chaos?

Reaching out, I placed a fingertip against the bloody pentagram and awakened my magic.

Detect.

The response was powerful and immediate. I snapped back my hand, my fingertip tingling as if I had been stung with an electric current. Someone had performed a powerful spell here.

But why leave all the items behind? The finger? If the transfer had been successful, why not wipe all traces?

They must’ve been in a hurry not to get discovered. Or had a grim sense of humor and wanted these things to be discovered, to laugh in my face because I’d been too late.

Or they didn’t care and wanted this transfer done as soon as possible so they could skip town.

Stumbling to my feet, I called Ian.

“I found the remains of a spell with Crane’s finger in it,” I said as soon as the call clicked open and background noise filled my ear.

“At the haunted house?” Ian asked, all reassuring business. As a bounty hunter, he’d probably come across his share of paranormal body pieces.

“Yes. In a closet in the basement.”

“You think the perpetrator is still there?”

A chill went down my spine. “No.” Right? Careful not to make any noise, I closed the room’s door. It didn’t have any kind of locking mechanism, so I put my back against it. But wait, what if the maniac had an ax with them? I stepped sideways and eyed the door warily. Fluffy panted and pawed at my leg again, excited about this new game, bee wings flapping wildly.

The whiplash of cute was almost too much for my poor heart.

“Hope?” Ian asked in a curt tone. “Are you all right?”

“Yes?”

“I’m going over there. Wait for me outside.”

It was so temping but… “No.” I breathed in deep and reminded myself this wasn’t a horror movie. No murderer was going to break through the door with an ax. The witch was long gone. Firmly, I said, “We need to check if the witch tried other places to transfer Bagley out of Crane. We don’t know if they were successful here, or if this was the first place they tried.”

“We can check together.”

“It’s better if we divide and conquer. We need to check all the shops where they drew the pentagrams, then the creepy houses.”

“All right,” he said reluctantly. “Which do you want me to check?”

“Check Bosko’s first, then the flower shop. I’ll go to the Cabinet.” If Vicky had been right about the old basement closet, there had to be some truth about the mythical secret room at the Cabinet. “I’ll ask a couple of the people here if they’ve noticed anyone strange.” After I wiped my fingerprints off every handle in the basement.

“You got it, boss.”

I smiled at that, then my gaze fell to the pentagram and the smile disappeared. “Should I, uh, take the finger with me? Remove all traces of the spell?” I wouldn’t be able to wipe the blood, but any non-paranormal would just assume it was someone’s idea of a prank.

“That might be a good idea,” Ian said. “Text me when you’re on the way to the Cabinet.”

“I will.”

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