Page 28 of No Surrender
“It’s good to see you,”Dante said before his apparition became visible. Simon blinked, and suddenly his ancestor stood on the other side of the table, still dressed like the Revolutionary War-era privateer he had once been.
“Good to see you as well,” Simon replied. “How are you at finding other ghosts?”
Dante regarded him questioningly. “If there are spirits nearby, I see them—just as you see people on the street. Even if a ghost tried to hide, I would sense their presence. Why do you ask?”
Simon explained about the long-ago missing people and having encountered three of their ghosts so far. “No one ever solved their cases,” he told Dante. “They deserve that much, even if the one who hurt them is already dead.”
Dante nodded solemnly. “I agree. How can I help?”
Simon spread his hands in a shrug. “I’m not completely sure because I don’t really know how the whole ghost thing works. But if you stick around Myrtle Beach, can you please keep an eye out for the ghosts of young women who seem unsettled? I’m trying to reach the ones on my list, but there may be others no one knew about. Or some of the ghosts may be afraid to come to me, but they might talk to you.”
Dante laughed. “I’ll try. It depends on how much of themselves they remember. Some spirits fade over time if they don’t know how to move on and have no purpose for staying. Do you know more about these young women? Clearly you believe they came to a bad end.”
Simon didn’t want Dante near his laptop since ghosts could cause problems with electronics. He had printed out the photos of the missing women and pushed those printouts across the table to where Dante stood. The ghost studied the images intently.
“Where might their spirits roam?”Dante’s archaic phrasing always made Simon smile.
“They all worked at hotels and restaurants downtown, but I don’t think they were killed there. Too public. I found out that they took a…shared carriage…to get to work. Maybe they haunt the station.”
Dante looked thoughtful. “If you will show me where this station is, I will keep an eye out for spirits that might be your missing women. I hope you can give them peace.”
“You and me, both,” Simon replied fervently. “Thank you.”
Dante grinned and gave a deep bow; then his image dissipated like fog scattered on the breeze. The room’s temperature rose, and Simon felt a wave of fatigue wash over him.
Calling Dante didn’t take as much energy as searching for spirits Simon didn’t know. Then again, talking to people he knew took less effort than meeting strangers, so Simon figured that it made sense for the same to hold true on the ethereal plane.
Simon pulled out the list of names from the same folder and read through them as he fortified himself with water and half a protein bar. He picked the first name, settled into his chair, and closed his eyes.
“Carolyn Hass. If you can hear my voice, find me. I need to talk with you.”
Simon waited, trusting the process even if he didn’t completely understand how it worked. After a few minutes, the temperature grew colder once more. Unlike Dante, this spirit seemed to be struggling to follow the call to its source, unsure of what to do, or unable to make herself seen and heard.
Carolyn couldn’t manifest. Instead, she became an image in Simon’s mind, matching the photo on the long-ago police report. Carolyn looked to be in her early twenties, with dark hair pulled up in a ponytail, wearing a housekeeping uniform and sensible shoes for a job that kept her on her feet all day.
“Thank you for answering my call,” Simon told the spirit. She seemed nervous, and her image wavered like she was either unsure about how to maintain the connection or lacked the energy.
“Did you run away, or did someone kill you?” Simon asked.
“Killed.”
“Did you see your killer?”
Carolyn shook her head. “Grabbed from behind.”
“Do you know where your body is buried?”
“In the caves.”
Simon leaned forward. “What caves, Carolyn? Where are the caves?”
The image flickered wildly. “Near the ocean. And the castle. No surrender.”
“Castle?”
Carolyn opened her mouth to speak, but Simon couldn’t hear her words. Then abruptly, the ghost vanished.
“Caves near the ocean and a castle?” Simon repeated, confused. Carolyn’s spirit was gone, so getting a follow-up answer didn’t look likely, at least for today. He felt a headache coming on, which meant his ghost whispering was over for today.
