Page 24 of Eldritch

“Okay, I’ll put it in a pile to haul out of here. Back to the subject at hand. I’m afraid to ask what you think of the figures we saw. People. Whatever they are. And the footprints.”

“Hmm. Well, it could be a lot of things. It’s an old house. I believe the shadow of things that have happened before can manifest in the present.”

Okay. Well, at least she doesn’t think I’m insane.

Sybil took a chance. “Did you see ghosts when you visited here?”

“Oh, I thought I did when I was a child. More than once. But then I got older and realized most of it was my imagination. It’s very fertile. As I think yours is.”

Sybil stopped pacing. What did she say to that? “But when you lived here later?”

“You must understand, I’m only selling it now because it’s too much to upkeep and after that couple disappeared...”

When she drifted off, Sybil finished with, “Finding another renter hasn’t happened.”

“Right. But as soon as the place is immaculate, I’m sure I’ll be able to sell it.”

Sybil’s apprehension about the footsteps hadn’t eased. “But what about the muddy footsteps? That doesn’t seem like a ghost.”

Clarice chuckled. “You’ve heard of poltergeists.”

Sybil’s throat tightened. No. That isn’t it. Not poltergeists. “Of course. But you don’t think--”

“Perhaps not. Which is why I’m going to send you someone who can help. I’ll call him right now and ask if he can assess the threat.”

Thrown off again, Sybil said, “Threat? What is he? A ghost hunter?”

“No, no. I’m not sure he believes in that sort of thing. His name is Douglas MacKenzie. He used to be a Marine and, after a stint doing that, he became a cop. But he left the force because of an injury. He said he’s trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life, but in the meantime he’s become an expert on home security systems. I’ll hire him to put in a system to keep you ladies safe while you’re there. Plus, the security system will be a nice enticement for someone to buy the house when it goes on the market.”

Sybil’s head spun a little with all the new information. “All right.”

“I’ll give him your number. Now I really must go. I’ll chat with you again soon, darling. Have a nice evening.”

After they hung up, Sybil stood in the middle of the bedroom and realized she’d forgotten to ask about the possibility of secret passages in the house. She sent a text to Clarice and an answer came back almost immediately that Clarice wasn’t aware of any.

Wonderful. It was time to go back to work, and when Sybil opened the door and looked at the runner in the hallway, the footprints hadn’t dematerialized. Unfortunately.

Chapter Five

A few hours later, Sybil and the other women sat down to dinner happy for the progress they’d made. Sybil looked across the big dining table, glad they’d eaten their omelets here rather than cram around the smaller table in the kitchen. Letisha was the best cook of the bunch, so when they ate the omelets and biscuits, all of them complimented the meal.

Sybil groaned. “Oh my God, this tastes great. The protein bar I ate for breakfast wore off a long time ago.”

Maria nodded. “What’s your cooking secret, Letisha?”

Letisha sank into a chair across from Sybil and started on a biscuit first. “Determination. My mom might be a hotshot doctor, but she’s a lousy cook.”

Pauline laughed. “I didn’t know that. I mean, I knew she was a doctor, but the cooking thing...”

Maria sighed. “Everyone in my family can cook except me.”

“I thought your family was dead?” Pauline asked.

Sybil’s breath snagged in her throat, and she looked up. Letisha sent Pauline an angry look, one filled with a special loathing Sybil couldn’t recall seeing on her friend’s face before. Maria had stopped eating and stared at her plate for way too long.

Finally, Maria looked at them all and said, “My parents are but my grandparents are alive.”

Sybil knew that Maria’s parents had died in a freak car accident in New York City when Maria was ten.

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