Seduction of Souls (8 page)

“No kidding.  I was tempted to bring out a tissue and wipe the spittle from you mouth.  Man, you were gone.  Has this ever happened to you before?”  Jarrod
added his bit, enjoying the tag team approach. 

“Never.  I don’t know what to make of it.”

“Let me ask this.  Did it feel as if some other entity had entered your body, or were you fully aware the whole time?”

“It was all me, though I wish I could blame it on someone else.  Why?”

“RayeAnn had an incident at our first meeting.  She felt as if some other energy had entered her body, and I’ve felt that with Nathaniel, although so far that has only been while I’m dreaming.  Just checking to see how strong this…presence is.”  Turning toward the library he motioned the men to follow him.

“W
hoa.  What the hell happened here?”

“That’s what we need to figure out. 
RayeAnn called me tonight to tell me about a new encounter she had with Charity.  While we were discussing options, she mentioned the possibility of just ignoring the whole situation.  That’s when all this stuff started to swirl around the room.  I heard it, but I could sense the anger coming right through the phone.  Someone definitely didn’t like the ignore it plan and let us know in no uncertain terms that it would not be tolerated.  This is hard to ignore.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this.  It looks like a tornado went through the room.  Judging from the gaps on the shelves
, those two aren’t tall enough to have done some of this damage, even standing on a chair.”  Jarrod, the most experienced of the three, nodded in agreement. 

Ryker looked around the room and sighed. 
“We need to come up with a plan for our investigation.  I don’t want to miss anything, so I think we’ll need to bring in the heavy equipment.  Camera’s, EVP’s, EMF meter…the works.”  He paused.  “Do either of you know of a reputable psychic or medium?”

“
Yeah, I’ve got someone I know.  Do you want me to contact her now or wait until we have more data?”  Tim continued to survey the room while scratching his head. 

“
Let’s see what we can get with the equipment first.  You guys have anything important you need to get done, do it today.  I have a feeling this isn’t going to be a quick case that we’ll be able to tie up in a neat little package.  There’s some serious shit going on here.” 

He had his doubts about their ability to handle a case as large and active as this one.  It was well outside his scope of experience, but then he didn’t know anyone with more experience than
he had. At least no one still alive.

CHAPTER 9

Two days later they had all their equipment in place.  Massive electrical cords ran throughout the house, tucked neatly against the walls, to support all the cameras and equipment required to do a full and thorough investigation.  Since activity by the assumed ghosts of Charity and Nathaniel had happened during both day and night, one of the team was on the premises at all times.  Command central had been set-up in the library and all the monitors and recording devices were set out around the room.  One person on a wheeled desk chair monitored everything, rolling from one monitor to the other.   

RayeAnn
continued her research at her desk in the library, grunting occasionally or scratching her head and looking perplexed. 

Ryker sat and watched, bored out of his mind yet restless and unable to settle anywhere for any length of time.  He tried reading, only to realize he had stayed on the same page for the last fifteen minutes
but had no idea what he’d read.  With a huff, he smacked the book shut abruptly, causing RayeAnn to jump once, then settle back into what she was doing.

He paced the room restlessly,
wondering what was wrong with him.  He was usually a pretty calm person, a of roll with the punches kind of person.  Today he was edgy, like he could jump out of his skin, and quite a bit more hot tempered than usual.  Everything aggravated him.

“Ryker, you’re driving me crazy with all your pacing and sighing.  Why don’t you get out of the house for a little while?  I’ll tell you what, I haven’t gotten the mail in a few days, why don’t you walk to the road a
nd get that for me.” 

“So
now you think you have to find little assignments for me to keep me busy,”  He frowned.  “like some kind of little kid or something?  Trying to keep me going with busy work?”  The anger in his voice blasted at her like a strong wind gust.

“Forget it.”  She stood abruptly and headed for the front door, waving her hand in the air to dismiss him.  Grabbing her jacke
t, she thrust her arms roughly into the sleeves, angry at both Ryker and herself.  She didn’t like people hovering around her when she was trying to work.  What made it even worse was the fact that it was Ryker.  He unnerved her, as if they were connected by an electrical cord she couldn’t unplug.  Because of him, now she was in as bad a mood as he was.  She should have just left him alone instead of trying to give him a break by getting him out for a little fresh air. 
My mistake, thinking he would enjoy the break
.  Instead, he’d jumped down her throat at the mere suggestion. 
No good deed goes
unpunished.

She sat on the porch, flipping through the mail and trying to shake off the mood
and enjoying the sunshine that warmed her.  A letter from Jonathan Chase, Esq. caught her attention immediately.

What now?  Had he suddenly realized his mistake?  Was it all going to be taken away from her just as abruptly as it had entered her life?  The thought made her heart sink to her feet.  She loved this house
and all the surrounding property, ghosts and all.  From the minute she had walked through the door it had been home to her.  No adjustment period had been necessary, even for Bryn.  It just felt right. 

With shaking hands she carefully opened the envelope.  Inside she found another envelope with her name written on the front with little curly
cue’s around her name.  Definitely feminine handwriting.  Maybe Mr. Chase’s secretary wrote her name on the envelope.

S
he carefully opened the second envelope, noticing it wasn’t overly thick.  Certainly not a bunch of legal papers.  She pulled the pieces of paper out and unfolded them carefully, sending up a little prayer that everything was all right.

Blinking a few times, she observed a handwritten letter.  A very shaky, feminine penmanship graced the page.

Dearest
RayeAnn:

I hope this letter finds you well.  I’m very sorry we never got the opportunity to meet in person, but I felt it was best to handle things this way for now.  Imagine me trying to explain Charity Meriwether’s presence to you in person.  Surely you would have had me in a mental facility for the rest of my days, thinking I was a total loon.  Maybe I should have been, considering all the years I spent trying to help her and Nathaniel reunite.

My dying heartbreak is that I was not successful.  Now, I’m afraid, the challenge is yours to continue, my dear.  Let me
tell you the story as told to me by my grandmother many, many years ago. I warn you, you best have a tissue handy, for it is a sad tale for sure.

When Charity was a young woman she met and fell in love with a very handsome, virile blacksmith’s apprentice by the name of Nathaniel Buford.  He had been orphaned at the age of twelve and taken in by the local blacksmith and his lovely wife.  Having no children of their own, he was treated like a son.  They even had plans to give him the business once he attained the age of twenty one.  He was very well liked by the townsfolk and had young women practically standing in line to get a look at him.  His future was secure, but he would always be a working man, able to make a living but by no means wealthy.

Charity’s father was a tyrant, but a very wealthy and influential man.  Frankly, my grandmother thought him quite a bully.  You see, he never hesitated to point out his wealth and social standing, using it to get his way in everything. More than once my grandmother recalled seeing poor Charity’s skin marred by his temper.

When Mr. Meriwether stumbled upon Charity and Nathaniel in the stables, in a rather indiscrete and awkward position, he exploded in anger.  First he beat Nathaniel to within an inch of his life, only stopping when one of the hired hands at the farm pulled him away. 

He then grabbed Charity and a nearby horsewhip, and began beating her.  He used such force that her dress was ripped to shreds and blood soaked her entire back.  When she regained consciousness she was locked in her room and the maid was tending to her wounds.  She was not allowed out until her father had arranged a hasty marriage to an elderly man willing to overlook her tarnished virtue.  A Mister Harold Bremmer, if I recall correctly.

Heaven help her, Mr. Bremmer was old enough to be her grandfather, but he was wealthy and hoped to have an heir to leave his fortune to.  In those days women were not allowed to own any property or have any personal wealth of their own.  But I digress.

As you can imagine, Charity was devastated by the forced marriage.  As soon as she could she made her way to the blacksmith’s shop to talk to Nathaniel, only to find out that he had gone missing on the night they had been discovered.  If anyone knew where he was, they would not tell her.  Seven months later she gave birth to a son, Kade.  Three months after her son’s birth her husband died in his sleep.

Years later, before the hired hand died, he admitted that he
had loaded Nathaniel Buford’s unconscious body onto a wagon train headed out west.  No one ever heard from Nathaniel again and Charity never remarried.   

The poor child was a widow at seventeen and grew to be a lonely, bitter old woman.  She died at the age of seventy two, alone, and she is buried in the family cemetery on this property.  Her soul however, still wanders this house, looking for her lost love.
  She will never be at peace until they are reunited, and that I have no idea how to accomplish.  Go through the trunks in the attic and use whatever is available, but please, my dear, don’t give up.  Her immortal soul is depending on you.

My Kindest Regards,

Juliet Meriwether Harvey

RayeAnn
sat there, still stunned after reading the letter for the fourth time.  Her heart ached for all that Charity had endured.  When she noticed the chill in the air she headed back into the house.  Remembering Ryker’s nasty mood she walked up to him and handed him the letter.

“Read this.  It came in the mail today from the attorney’s office.”

“Why the hell would I want to read your personal mail?”

“Maybe because it’s from my dead aunt and it pertains to Charity and Nathaniel?’ 

She waited patiently for him to read the letter, wondering what things her aunt had tried in an effort to reunite Charity and Nathaniel.  RayeAnn found herself wishing she had met Aunt Juliet when she was alive.  From the letter she sounded like a sweet little old lady.  Now that her interest was piqued, she decided to not only research Nathaniel but her aunt as well.

“Well, this sure fills in a lot of the blanks for us.  Are you going to look into Nathaniel more, maybe pin down where he settled?”

“Absolutely, although we’re not even sure he lived long enough to make it all the way out west.  First I’ll have to research the most popular routes out west then go back and check all the major cities records.  It’s a huge task if it’s done properly.”

“How long do you think it’ll take?”

“Humm, probably a few days to a week.  Maybe even longer.  Depends on how many sites I have to go to and how many wild goose chases I end up taking.”

“Are you going to start now?”

“Tomorrow.  I’m going up to bed.  When is Jarrod due back to take over for you?”

“Midnight.  Thanks again for giving me a room here at the house.  Now that Bryn and Tim
are doing the horizontal tango, I’ll have to find myself a new place to crash when I’m in town.”

“What do you mean?  I thought you and Tim were longtime roommates.”

“We are, but I travel a lot.  Tim and Jarred don’t always work every case.  Sometimes it’s just a simple house cleansing that’s needed, so I just do a job like that myself.  Only cases like this one, with a high level of activity, need all this technical equipment.”

“How do you feel about Bryn and Tim dating?”

“Oh jeez, here we go with all this girly, touchy-feely stuff.  Do women have to beat everything to death?”

“Sorry to point this out to you, but I am a woman.  A woman
who’s just trying to have a conversation with a…how do I put this?  Cave man.”  She let out a large sigh while she moved out the door. 
Pretty sad that I have to point out that I’m a
woman
. 
Apparently the attraction I was feeling is one sided.  Good to know before I make a total fool of myself.

Once she had put on her sleep tank
, she crawled between the covers, hoping sleep would come quickly.  Knowing she would have a long, tiring day at the computer tomorrow she would need all the rest she could get.  As she thought about the best plan for her research she fell asleep.