Sinister Entity (32 page)

She drew in a sharp breath when she heard, rather than saw, the planchette begin to move. It slowly scratched along the board, tilting to one side, then moving with more force as it settled into a counter-clockwise rotation, stopping at nothing in particular.
 

Crissy’s eyes were wide and sparkled with the thrill of opening communication with a spirit. Selena’s heart was racing so hard, she found it hard to breathe.
 

The planchette settled into a steady figure-eight motion, now moving with incredible ease. Even when Selena decreased the pressure her fingers exacted on the planchette until it was just a feathery connection, it continued as if it had a will of its own.
 

It tilted to the right, zeroing in on the first letter.
 

“W,” Crissy said.
 

It moved up the next row and to the left, settling on the letter H.
 

Then back down to Y.
 

“Why what?” Crissy asked.
 

The planchette slid across to the letter N, followed by the O and T.
 

It moved back to the center of the board and stopped.
 

“Why not?” Selena whispered. She looked at Crissy. “What does that mean?”

“I forgot to warn you. Sometimes, they talk in riddles or half thoughts. It takes a while to decipher what they mean.”

Selena asked aloud, “I don’t know what you mean by ‘why not’. Can you explain?”

This time, the planchette moved to the
YES
on the upper left corner of the board so fast that she had to dive toward Crissy to keep from losing all contact with it.
 

Crissy started calling out the letters again.
 

“A…F…R…”

The planchette stalled for a moment, and before Selena could ask if it was still with them, it glided to the letter A.

Then I, and settling on D.
 

“Why not afraid?” Crissy said.
 

It circled back to the
YES
.
 

“Holy crap, I started by saying I
wasn’t
afraid,” Selena said. Was it asking her why she wasn’t afraid? Could it see into her soul and know it was just false bravado?

“Maybe because we’re alive and you’re not,” Crissy said. “We don’t even know who you are. Can you confirm that you’re the one that keeps coming here?”

The planchette jerked hard to the right, then circled back onto the
YES
.
 

Selena was no longer sure that she wanted to talk to this ghost. This was all too much. From seeing her double to being attacked by something in her sleep and now talking to a ghost that wondered why she wasn’t afraid was more than she could handle.
 

“Crissy, I think we should stop.”

“Don’t you want to know for sure? Maybe we can get it to cross over or at least get the point that you want to be left alone.”

“I really don’t—”

Both girls recoiled as an electric charge shot from the center of the planchette. They stared in horror as it began to move without the need of their touch.
 

This time, it shifted with incredible speed, lingering on a letter only long enough for them to say it aloud in fear-struck tones before darting to the next.
 

“Y...O...U…B…E…M…I…N…E,” Crissy read the letters aloud.

Selena’s hands flew to her open mouth. “Oh my God!”

The planchette continued to move while Crissy backed off the bed.
 

“M…I…N…E.”

Selena screamed. “No! You can’t have me! I won’t let you!”

It veered back over to
YES
, backing off and landing back on it over and over, as if to emphasize its malevolent promise. She shouted when Crissy pulled her off the bed and onto her feet. The room smelled like freshly struck matches and the air felt as if it had been vacuumed out of the room. It was difficult to draw a solid breath.
 

Crissy yelled, “We have to get out of here, now!”

Selena’s legs shook, but she willed her feet to move as fast as they could.
 

She stumbled against the bedpost and stifled a cry when she felt a cold hand pull at her shirt. The fabric was taut against her chest. Selena watched in horror as a dent the size and shape of a fingertip moved from her belly to between her breasts.
 

“Crissy, help,” she whimpered. She couldn’t move if she wanted to.
 

Something was holding her in place.
 

A deep, malevolent cackle rumbled from every corner of the room.
 

The finger made a slow circle around her right breast, moving closer and closer to her nipple.
 

Crissy let out a cry and slammed into Selena with a sharp hip check. It hurt like hell, but it also broke the entity’s grip.
 

Selena grabbed hold of Crissy’s hand and they struggled to remain upright. Her legs had never felt so leaden.
 

“Run!” Crissy ordered.
 

One simple word was enough to send up the last bits of adrenaline left in her body.
 

As they sprinted toward the door, the planchette shot forward, missing Selena’s arm and burying itself two inches deep into the thick wood. They jumped when it snapped with a loud crack.
 

The floor buckled, like the vinyl of a loaded bouncy castle. It almost made them fall headfirst down the stairs. Selena’s body swiveled into the stairway wall as she gripped the banister. Somehow, she managed to hold on to Crissy and keep her from pitching into a deadly plunge.
 

They fled from the house, their voices paralyzed. Neither heard the resonant laughter that chased their heels to the front door.
 

Chapter Forty-Five

“Holy shit, Jessica, do you want me to come up there?” Angela Bastiani said after Jessica unloaded the details of their New Hampshire insanity. She’d decided to use the time cruising the neighborhood to make a few calls and let her friend know she was still alive, but definitely in the weeds with the investigation.
 

“Ange, if you were here for this, you would go running right back to Long Island.” She laughed for the first time in days. It felt good.
 

“How are things with Eddie? It sounds like he’s been a pretty big help.”

“I have to admit, I’m kinda glad he’s here. I think I may be learning some things about myself, and you know how much I hate introspection.”

“It’s not one of your stronger points. From what you tell me, I’m surprised you’ve let him take the reins. That is so totally not your style.”

Jessica had to slow to look down a driveway, past a parked Toyota. There was a red car in front of it, pressed against the tan garage door. It turned out to be another Toyota. Not what she was looking for.
 

“You could say that again. He’s earning his stripes. If he can help get this family out of this mess, I may promote him to full-time partner. That is, if he would even want to do this again. Contact really takes a physical toll on him. I would understand if he opted for a quieter life.”

“There has to be a bigger reason why your father reached out to him and brought him to your door, so to speak. Right?”

Jessica turned another corner, noted that the gray skies were now turning a darker shade of purple. Pretty soon, she would have to head back to the house and wait for Eddie to return.
 

“I think that’s part of the reason why I’ve let him break my house rules. I keep thinking that somehow, my father is the one calling the shots. I know that sounds weird.”

“Jess, if it came from anyone else, it would, but I’ve known you too long. I have a strong feeling you’re right.”

They talked for a few more minutes, with Jessica promising to call the next day to keep her up to date. It was now too dark to see, what with so many streets without working streetlights, a sign of the faltering economy. She drove back to the Leighs’ house. Then, she called home.
 

Eve answered after the first ring. “Jessica, I’ve been worried sick.”

“I know. Things have been a little crazy here. I’ve barely slept the past couple of nights and this investigation seems to be on a twenty-four-hour-a-day cycle.”

She recounted the events of the past few days, just as she had with Angela, with one exception. She didn’t tell her about Eddie’s earlier contact with her dad. That was something best left for another time. She wasn’t sure Eve could handle it.
 

“So when do you think you’ll be coming home?” Eve asked.
 

“I really don’t know. Soon, I hope. I have a feeling Eddie is on to something.”

“He’s the real deal, huh?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“Then you should tell him.”

Eve didn’t need to expand on her sentence. The meaning was crystal clear.
 

Angela was the only other living person who knew what had happened in the cabin in Alaska when she was six. Eve’s parents had known, of course, but they had passed away several years ago. And the others, those from the small town left behind, well, they had never been able to cope with what they had experienced.
 

Eddie knew some details about it, but she was sure most of them were false. In the paranormal field, what had happened to her family was the stuff of rumor. Eve had to spend a good deal of money keeping things out of the paper, not that that area of Alaska was a media hotbed. Still, tiny bits did get out, though most of it fabricated. But no matter how wild the false stories were, none came close to the high strangeness and sheer terror of the truth.
 

If her father had sought Eddie out, then he must have wanted him to know the truth,
her truth
, as well. And now here was Aunt Eve, still on the same page with her father just as they had been when he was alive.
 

Eve said, “You know, kiddo, Liam and I can always come up to New Hampshire and offer some moral support. The last time I was there I must have been nine or ten. We stopped there for a couple of days on our way to Maine. It would be nice to see it again.”

Jess knew this wasn’t a question. Eve was coming, whether she wanted her to or not.
 

“How about this? As soon as this is over, I’ll call and you and Liam pack your bags. We can all use a nice vacation. Maybe we’ll explore here a little bit, then find a nice island or something off the coast of Maine.” As soon as she said it, she was flushed with a sense of anticipation, coming to the realization that she needed some time to recharge. Between college and her paranormal investigations, this one especially, the past couple of years had been a whirlwind of nonstop motion. She needed a break before she broke.
 

“I like that. I’ll look for places to go, if you promise you can do two whole weeks without looking at your laptop or searching for ghosts.”

“EBs,” she corrected her.
 

“Fine, EBs. And don’t forget to talk to Eddie. At this point, he deserves to know.”

“I will.”

She disconnected the call feeling a little lighter.
 

Then she looked at the Leighs’ house, now shrouded in night, and the smile dissolved from her face. An evil pall had possessed the fibers of the house, the upper windows staring back at her like a pair of soulless eyes. She hoped she wasn’t giving strength to the EB now, and silently urged Eddie to return.
 

“This isn’t good,” Greg said as they pulled up to the space just outside their hotel room. Rita and Ricky stood by the open door. Rita was wringing her hands and looked as if she was about to scream.
 

“What’s the matter? Did something happen to Selena?” Greg asked, jumping out of the car before turning off the ignition.
 

“Where were you?” Rita asked, her harsh tone leaving no room for hesitation on his part.
 

Ricky attached himself to Greg’s side, relieved to see his father. He said, “Selena disappeared, Dad. She said she was going to bring back something to drink and eat, but she never came back.”

“What?”

Rita regarded him with pursed lips. “I was hoping she was with you, but I can see that’s not the case.”

“Oh Christ,” Greg hissed, walking in a tight circle, his nervous energy returning and going at NASCAR speed. “When did she leave the room?”

“Over an hour ago. I couldn’t call you because you left your phone here and you took our goddamn car!”

Eddie didn’t need to be a psychic to realize that things were about to blow. The Leighs had had it tough when they were acting as one solid unit. Now things were fracturing, in every way possible. It felt as if they were playing right into a pre-determined plan set in motion around the time of his and Jessica’s arrival.