Page 56 of Into the Dark

“What the fuck?” he said, confused.

Dr. Lawson pushed him aside. “It’s a Van de Graaf generator.”

“And what’s that in English?” Zeek asked. Chris rolled their eyes behind him.

“It generates static electricity,” Nigel said from the doorway to the room. Oscar turned and saw him leaning against the frame, eyes grim behind the protective lenses of his glasses. “Back in the nineteenth century, paranormal investigators would sometimes use a similar device, called a Wimshurst Machine. Like the Van de Graaf, it would generate static electricity, thus giving any nearby ghosts a power source to draw from, so they could be contacted more clearly.”

He paused, then met Oscar’s gaze. “We wondered why the spirits were so powerful, so energized, when we’d only just gotten here and they hadn’t had time to draw from our living energy. Here’s our answer.”

Zeek looked back and forth between them, confused. “I don’t get it. I mean, I understand what you’re saying, but what is this thing doing here in the first place?”

Dr. Lawson’s eyes narrowed, and her lips drew back from her teeth. “Patricia.”

Nigel had never seen Dr. Lawson so utterly furious. She ground her teeth, clenching her hands into fists, then gave thegenerator’s motor a vicious kick. The cord connecting it to the battery popped loose, and the monotonous hum fell silent.

“She always goes too far,” she said, eyes blazing. “This is it. I’m done with her shit.”

She marched toward the door and Nigel hurried to get out of her way. Oscar, always the peacemaker, trotted after her saying, “Maybe we should get Ms. Montague’s side of the story.”

“Oh, I know what her side is,” Dr. Lawson growled as she stormed toward the sitting room. “And I’m not letting her get anyone else killed.”

Then she was gone, everyone else chasing after her. Nigel followed, but as he reached the top of the stairs, his lungs protested the activity, forcing him to double over coughing.

Damn it. He’d felt worse and worse all day, and now his head swam and his vision spotted with the force of his coughs. Foul-tasting phlegm filled his mouth, and he was helpless to do anything but spit it out to the side.

It was time to admit defeat and ask Oscar to drive him to urgent care. With Dr. Lawson having it out with Ms. Montague, it seemed unlikely they’d be investigating any further anyway.

Why the hell had Ms. Montague done this without telling them? Had she just hoped for better results, or…?

Cotton wrapped around his thoughts, and he found himself breathing through his mouth, his nose too clogged to draw in air. The faint sounds of footsteps echoed up the stairway, followed by the sound of the asylum door opening.

He’d been left behind in the rush, with Oscar trying to keep the peace between the two old women, and everyone else hurrying after them.

He wanted to sit down, or maybe even lie down, but the decaying furniture might not even support his weight. Nothing to do but struggle down the stairs and out to the tents. Find Oscar.

Oscar would take care of him.

Still clutching Dr. Wilkes’s file in one hand, he descended the stairs, holding tight to the solid oak banister with the other. At least they’d only been on the second floor.

When he reached the first floor, the elevator doors stood wide open.

Nigel stared at it blearily. Something wasn’t right here. How had the elevator doors opened on their own? Had Ms. Montague ordered the elevator hooked up to a generator somewhere without telling them?

The air was ice cold against his feverish skin, and he had the feeling he wasn’t alone.

The front door still hung open, sunlight streaming inside. If he could just get to it, he’d be safe.

Behind him, the elevator groaned like a living thing. He stumbled away from it, concentrating on staying upright, on getting outside.

Just before he could reach it, the front door slammed shut, locking him inside.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-ONE

“Patricia!”Dr. Lawson bellowed as she marched past their tents, headed for Ms. Montague’s private sanctum.“Patricia!”

She might be old, but she was moving at a pace that forced Oscar to trot to keep up with her. “Dr. Lawson, wait,” he started, but she ignored him.

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