Scaredy Cat (17 page)

“I know, but we’re supposed to talk to them like people.”

Carl cleared his throat and continued. “Do the work crews that come in here upset you?” There was a thud that sounded like it came from the kitchen. “Did y’all hear that?” Carl whispered excitedly.

“Plumbing,” Quinn and Jacob answered in unison.

“Was that you?” Carl asked. “If so, please do it again.” Nothing followed.

“Are you afraid of us?” Tonya asked. “Because…I can tell you I’m scared shitless of you.”

Quinn’s soft snicker soothed Blake’s nerves.

“Make another noise and give us a sign of your presence,” Carl said. Another thud sounded in the kitchen. “What the hell was that?” Carl rasped.

“Well, you asked whoever that is to make a noise,” Tonya said. “I don’t know why you seem so surprised.”

Carl continued. “You can touch one of us if you want.”

“No, no, just Carl, or Jacob, not one of us, please,” Quinn corrected.

“The hell you say,” Jacob said as he shuffled around. “Don’t listen to Quinn, just touch Carl.”

“Is it dark where you are?” Blake asked softly. There was no response except for Quinn’s gentle squeeze of assurance on her shoulder.

Carl spoke up a little louder. “I’m here to renovate. I’m going to begin by knocking out a wall.”

“Why would you say that?” Quinn asked.

“I’m trying to provoke it.”

“Well, that’s just rude,” Tonya said, “and you called them an ‘it.’ I thought they were people. He’s just joking, don’t mind him. We brought some cookies and sandwiches, so if you’re hungry, just float on out to the cooler in the back of the red truck and help yourself.” Another thud sounded. “You’re welcome.”

“I’d strongly suggest avoiding the pimento cheese,” Quinn added. “It may get you kicked out of the spirit realm.”

Blake dared to ask, “What’s wrong with the pimento cheese?”

“It’s spicy, and it tends to cause gas,” Jacob said, then chuckled. “I wonder what a spirit fart sounds like.”

“That may explain the thuds,” Quinn said with a laugh.

Carl cleared his throat again. “There’s nothing wrong with humor, but let’s try to focus. I don’t believe I got your name, who are you?” he asked the spirits.

Quinn’s body shook with silent laughter. “Burp, I’m sure.”

A high-pitched keening noise came from Jacob’s direction.

“People, get it together.” Carl sounded flustered as he asked, “Are you unhappy with the renovations?”

There was no response; the house had gone completely still.

Tonya sounded serious when she whispered, “I bet they’re outside having a snack.”

The red light from the recorder disappeared. “I think we’d do better by dividing up into teams. I’ll take the kitchen, Jacob, you and Tonya can stay in here. Quinn, you and Blake can have the master bedroom.
Please
, don’t walk around. Just take a seat and conduct your own EVP sessions and do it quietly.”

“Are you up for that?” Quinn whispered against Blake’s ear.

“Yes, I think so.”

They stood, and Carl turned on a flashlight. He handed both teams video and digital voice recorders. Quinn crossed the hall with Blake in tow.

“Where would you like to sit?”

“With our backs against a wall, maybe the one with all the windows.”

Quinn led Blake over to the wall where they both sat. “I think we may’ve flustered ol’ Carl.”

Blake laughed softly. “Is it true about the pimento?”

“Lord, yes. Ten minutes after you eat it, a fire erupts in the pit of your stomach. I don’t know why they make that stuff. No one but Tonya can eat it and not explode.”

“I’ve been thinking about what Carl said about if anything is actually here, it’s just a person. Maybe he or she has come back to the place they loved. I would imagine if that’s the case that it’s disheartening to see strangers changing it.”

“Yeah, it would be. I’d like to think that my dad is at a buffet and my grandmother is swooning while Elvis croons, but who knows what happens there. There may be a very thin veil that divides us, and they, like us, just get glimpses of what’s on the other side.”

Blake felt comforted with the solidness of the wall behind her back, and though the sky was cloudy, there was still some light coming through the windows to break up the darkness. She tried to keep her mind off the fact that she was surrounded by it. “So you believe in life after death?”

“Yes, that’s what I choose to believe.”

“I want your take on this. Let’s say someone dies, and their surviving partner finds someone new. Then who do you think gets who in the afterlife? Does that kind of love not exist there?”

“I have no idea, but I’m inclined to say your true love, that one special person that owns your heart and soul. I realize that’s a silly romantic notion and there could be complications, but that’s how I want to see it.”

Blake took Quinn’s arm and draped it over her shoulder. “That’s not silly. You amaze me, too, you know. You’re strong and take charge one moment and very kind and sweet the next. It’s an intoxicating combination.”

Quinn held her tighter. “I’m glad you think so.” She kissed Quinn softly, then sighed. “I think Carl expects us to turn on the equipment we brought in here, but I’d rather just make out with you.”

“That would lead to something else, then we’d ‘contaminate the evidence’ with the noise we’d make. I think…I would like to ask some questions.”

“Are you prepared for the responses you may get?”

“No and yes.” Blake switched on the recorder. “I feel kind of stupid,” she whispered.

“We feel stupid,” Quinn said a little louder, “because we don’t know if we’re talking to ourselves or not. In case you are here, we hope you don’t mind that we’re in your home. We just wanted to visit you and see what you have to say about the renovations.” She turned to Blake. “How’d I do?”

“That was great.” Blake rewarded her with a kiss. She inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly before saying, “I understand if you’re scared. I’m scared, too. I hope where you are is a happy place.” She stiffened when one of the floorboards in the room creaked. Quinn kept a protective hold on her. “The year here is 2012, I have no idea how long it’s been since you left this plane. This house you’ve left behind unfortunately belongs to someone else now, and they’d like to move in. I understand they have children, so if you choose to hang around, I hope you’ll kindly watch over them.”

“That was fantastic, baby,” Quinn exclaimed in a loud whisper as she hugged Blake close. “You’re really getting the hang of this.” The floorboard creaked again, silencing Quinn.

Blake cleared her throat. “I believe I told you I was…afraid, so I’d appreciate it if you did not come any closer. No offense, but it is kind of disconcerting thinking that there may be someone in here that I can’t see staring at me.”

A shrill scream pierced the darkness, and Blake thought it was Tonya at first until she heard Tonya say, “Baby, that was me, I touched you. Whoa! Stop swinging.”

Blake’s body was so rigid that she felt if Quinn were to tap her she’d break into a million pieces. She laughed though she wanted to cry. “Oh, say, can you see anything, where’s dawn’s early light?” she began to sing softly.

“It’s okay, that was just my crazy brother,” Quinn said breathlessly. “Nothing to—”

“Me too, something touched me, too,” Carl screamed as he charged through the house. The front door flew open, and there was another panicked scream from Jacob, followed by Tonya’s.

“Okay, that’s not good.” Quinn bolted to her feet.

Blake felt like she was being thrown into the air as Quinn jerked her along. Her feet barely touched the ground as Quinn dragged her through the front door across the porch and down the steps. And Quinn didn’t stop running until they were behind her truck. Jacob and Tonya were already there with Jacob prancing in a circle and waving his hands like a two-year-old girl who’d just seen a spider.

“What is wrong with you people?” Quinn clutched at her chest with her free hand. “You nearly gave Blake a heart attack.”

Jacob waved both hands up and down in front of Tonya as though he were worshipping her. “That was not you. You were across the room when something brushed my face.”

“Jacob, you were hiding behind the curtains,” Tonya said with a hand on her hip. “
They
touched your face.”

“I felt fingertips,” Jacob screamed, his voice reaching heights that very few opera singers could muster.

Carl was nowhere in sight, but there were raised and muffled voices coming from the van.

Tonya shook her head and flipped open the lid to the cooler. “Anybody want anything to eat, something to drink?”

Chapter 28

The bottle of soda shook in Carl’s hand as he tried to raise it to his lips. He lowered it and said with a weak smile, “I’ve been doing this for years, but it never fails to excite me when I receive a touch from the other side.”

Quinn thought his use of the word excite was incorrect. Carl didn’t look excited, and he had changed his pants. “What happened in there?” She turned to the screens where she watched Donnie and Joey conduct their own investigations.

“I was sitting at the kitchen table, and I’d just remarked that I’d seen the blueprints for the renovations and they’re gonna knock out the wall where the cabinets are and enlarge the room.” Carl’s eyes were huge behind his glasses when Quinn looked back at him. “Someone cuffed me on the shoulder. Like this.” He leaned forward and hit Quinn on the arm. “On the playback, you can clearly see my shoulder move suddenly and the recorder fly out of my hand.”

Quinn massaged the tension she felt in Blake’s neck as Blake sat staring at the monitors. “That could’ve been a muscle spasm.”

“It wasn’t,” Carl said firmly. “Someone is in there. You got responses to your EVP session in the master bedroom. Want to hear it?”

Blake turned to Carl. “Are you serious?”

He nodded as he began to punch keys on a computer. Blake’s voice sounded loudly over the speakers. “I understand if you’re scared, I’m scared, too. I hope where you are is a happy place.” It was followed by a soft “yes.” Carl played it several times as chills shot up Quinn’s spine.

“It’s a woman,” Blake said breathlessly.

“She laughs in this next part, listen.” Carl hit another key. Quinn’s voice came over the speaker. “It’s okay, that was just my crazy brother…” That was followed by an obviously female giggle.

Quinn was fairly certain their night was over, but Blake shocked her when she said, “I want to go back in.”

*******

Donnie and Joey concluded their investigation with not much of anything to report a couple of hours later and had returned to the van. Jacob and Tonya camped out in Quinn’s truck and were sound asleep when Blake and Quinn walked back into the house alone. Blake led this time with Quinn’s hand clutched firmly in one hand and a digital recorder in the other.

“I’d like to go upstairs,” Blake said as she went up and walked directly into what they had concluded was a child’s room. Like before, they sat with their backs against a wall. Blake pushed a button on the recorder and set it in front of them. “I heard your voice on tape, I know you’re a woman. If I didn’t introduce myself before, my name is Blake, and this is Quinn. Thank you for having us in your home, even though I realize you didn’t have a choice in the matter. I’d really love to know your story. Did this room belong to your child?”

Blake listened for a moment. “Was it a boy? Did you have other children?”

Despite being on an upper floor, this room felt cooler. Quinn looked around to see if one of the windows was open or broken. Blake inhaled sharply, and Quinn turned just in time to see the door move slightly. She stared at it a long time, then looked at the windows again, hoping she could explain it away with a draft.

“Was…was that you who moved the door?” Blake asked.

“Wind,” Quinn whispered. “Someone probably opened the front door.”

Blake lifted Quinn’s hand to her lips and kissed it softly. “You can let me go now.”

The statement took Quinn completely by surprise. Her jaw sagged as the hold on Blake’s hand loosened. She felt Blake pull completely free. Quinn met the pivotal moment with mixed emotions. She was elated that Blake felt bold enough to break the contact and a little disheartened that Blake no longer required her comfort. She watched as Blake scooted toward the door and held her hand out to nothing.

“I don’t feel a breeze, but it is cooler right here.” She sat back on her haunches. “I can’t hear your voice, I have to rely on the recorder that we brought with us. I say that so you’ll understand if you’re asking me questions why I don’t respond.”

Quinn watched in awe as Blake seemed to shake off any fears she might’ve had and continued to reach into the air around her. “You’re not afraid?”

“It’s funny, but when I realized it was a woman and she responded to me, I got excited. This is just amazing.”

“You’re amazing.”

“I was terrified when I first came in here,” Blake admitted softly to whoever was listening. “But now I’m just curious. I hope you’re not trapped here for some reason. I know what that feels like. I found my freedom when someone special came along and cared enough to take my hand. When I first met her, I never dreamed I would do something like this, but here I am.”

Quinn swallowed hard and smiled, though Blake couldn’t see her.

*******

The sun was coming up when Blake and Quinn emerged. Blake turned and wrapped her arms around Quinn’s waist, and they stared up at the house looming above them in the growing light of morning. “I feel like she’s standing at one of the windows watching us, maybe waving goodbye,” Quinn said.

“Hey.”

Blake and Quinn turned as Carl walked over. “Give me the equipment. Let’s see if you got anything.” Quinn handed him the camera and digital recorder. “It’ll take a few minutes for me to do a preliminary check, so grab a cup of coffee or a soda. If I find something, I’ll let you know.”

“They’re not night birds.” Quinn pointed to her truck. There was a large pair of booted feet pressed against the windshield. Jacob had obviously made himself comfortable. Tonya was probably reclined beside him in the driver’s seat.

Blake sniffed at the air. “I do smell coffee.” They walked around the side of the van and found a coffeepot sitting atop a folding table. A long cord ran to a generator. There were cups, sugar, and creamer. “These guys hunt in style,” Blake said as she reached for the cups.

“You let go of me in there.”

Blake stopped spooning cream into her cup and looked at Quinn. “You made that possible.”

“I was scared shitless, especially when that door moved, and you just let me go.”

Blake began to laugh. “You mean
I
was protecting you?”

Quinn smiled. “You gave me strength. I know that sounds like a corny love song. I can be honest now and say I did not want to go into that house. That’s why I kept asking you if you wanted to. I was hoping that you’d back out so I wouldn’t have to admit to being chicken. When I heard that voice on the computer, I nearly wet myself.”

“Then you probably don’t want to hear this.” Carl leaned out the back of the van.

Blake and Quinn rushed in. Carl waited until they were ready and pushed a button. Blake’s voice came loudly through the speakers. “I hope you’re not trapped here for some reason.” The same female voice could be heard softly saying “no.”

Quinn put both hands over her face and said, “Oh, my God, play it again.”

Carl set the recording to play on a continuous loop. They all listened in wonder.

“As I said at the briefing, the only substantial EVP we’ve ever gotten was ‘Burt.’ There have been what we thought were sighs or laughter, but these are crystal clear.” Carl took off his glasses as he spoke and wiped them on his shirt before putting them back on. “Blake, obviously, you made the difference. I hope you’ll come back and investigate with us again.”

“I’d be honored.”

Carl put out his hand. “It was a real privilege to meet you, Ms. Taylor, or Tay, as you prefer to be called.”