The Haunting at Grays Harbor (The River Book 8) (3 page)

“Adult spiders?” Roy asked.

“They were huge,” she said, shuddering. “Brad killed them
all, then he inspected the ceiling.”

“I’ve heard of spider eggs hatching on the ceiling, and the
newborns descending like that, but never that many adults,” Steven said.

“The next morning I treated the room with a full can of bug
spray,” she continued. “Didn’t see a single spider. I went to sleep thinking
the spray had solved the problem. At some point in the middle of the night I
awoke and felt the movement of legs on my cheek. It was enough to wake me up.
Another half dozen spiders. Once again Brad killed them all. I made him move
the bed out from under that spot, that’s why it’s sitting in the middle of the
room like this.”

“Did that solve it?” Roy asked.

“Haven’t had any fall on me since then,” Barbara said. She
got up and walked to the bathroom. She grabbed the coffee pot and refilled
their mugs. “I had all the bedding cleaned, and Brad called a fumigator and we
had the room done professionally. I haven’t been willing to put the bed back
into position. I loathe spiders.” She shuddered.

“Spiders could be explained rationally,” Steven said.
“Especially if they haven’t come back since you fumigated. Would you be willing
to put the bed back into place, and see if they’re gone?”

“If it’s evidence you’re looking for, you don’t need spider
evidence,” Barbara said. “I doubt I’ll be moving the bed back anytime soon.
Then there’s what happened to Brad.”

“What was that?” Roy asked.

“About a week after the spiders, we heard noises coming from
Georgina’s room in the middle of the night. It’s right above us. Sounded like
walking, heavy footsteps that she wouldn’t be able to make. Brad told me to
stay in bed, that he’d check it out. I heard him go upstairs, and then I heard
him yelling. Georgina began screaming. So I ran up to join them, but Brad was
coming down the stairs with Georgina in his arms, screaming at me to call the
cops. I asked him what was wrong, and he said there was a man in Georgina’s
room. He’d been hiding in the corner when Brad walked in, but he stood up when
he figured Brad had spotted him. Brad grabbed Georgina and they came
downstairs.”

“I’m guessing the cops didn’t find anything?” Roy asked.

“Nothing. Brad was clearly terrified, and he had scared the
wits out of Georgina. When the police began to question his story, he got very
defensive. I think they felt he was dreaming.”

“Is there a window in Georgina’s room?” Steven asked.

“Yes, but it’s the third story, and there’s no easy way up to
it. The cops found the window locked, from the inside, and no evidence that
anyone had tampered with it. It was rather embarrassing, but what can you do?
My husband was very upset by it all. That’s when I decided to reach out to
Father Wynan, and see if another blessing would help. I thought things were
improving with his visits, but he seemed so shaken the last time he was here, I
figured I’d never see him again. I’m a little relieved that he at least sent
you.”

“Can you show me where the spiders were?” Steven asked.

Barbara rose from the bed and walked to a corner in the room.
She pointed up at the ceiling. There was nothing there – no marks, no cracks,
no light fixtures. Just painted sheetrock.

“I know, crazy, right?” Barbara said. “Where did they come
from?”

“Did you ever see them crawling on the ceiling?” Steven
asked.

“No,” she replied. “I’m not sure they even started on the
ceiling at all. They were in the air above my head, near the ceiling, like they
were dangling from threads. Then they dropped.”

Steven looked at Roy and shrugged.

“Would you mind if we saw Georgina’s room?” Roy asked.

“No, not at all,” Barbara said. “I need to check on her
anyway. She’s been home from school all day, sick. Follow me.”

Barbara opened the bedroom door and walked to the next set of
stairs. Steven and Roy sat their mugs down on a dresser in the bedroom and
followed her.

The stairs leading to the third floor were tighter than the
previous set, and as soon as Steven reached the third floor landing he felt the
“wrongness” that Father Wynan had described. Things felt thicker; moving seemed
a little harder. It was as though a distorted lens had been placed on a camera
– things that were supposed to be perpendicular seemed to be leaning a little,
giving the floor an odd, funhouse feel.

Barbara led them to a room at the end of the third floor
hallway. She knocked on the door.

“Georgina? Honey, I have some visitors,” Barbara said as she
opened the door.

Georgina was sitting on her bed, dolls arranged around her.
Barbara walked up to the bed and placed her hand on her daughter’s forehead,
checking her temperature. “How are you feeling?”

“OK,” Georgina said weakly.

“Dear, this is Roy and Steven,” Barbara said. “They have some
questions. I want you to listen to them for a moment, and answer them if you
can, alright?”

“Alright,” the little girl replied meekly. She turned to
Steven and smiled. She had short blonde hair and there was a smattering of
freckles across her nose. Steven thought she looked adorable.

“Hello, Georgina,” Steven said, lowering himself to her level
by the bed. “Your mom tells me it’s hard for you to sleep in this room. Is that
true?”

“Only on the nights she won’t leave me alone,” Georgina said,
smiling back at Steven.

“Who won’t leave you alone?” Steven asked.

“The girl who appears when you turn off the light,” Georgina
said.

“She only bothers you when it’s dark?” Roy asked.

“She’s never around in the light,” Georgina said. “Only when
you turn off the light.”

“We’ve been trying to wean her off a nightlight,” Barbara
said. “It’s been hard.”

“Do you usually sleep with the light on?” Roy asked.

“Sometimes,” Georgina said. “Those are the nights she doesn’t
bother me.”

“What does she do, when she visits you?” Steven asked.

“She stands by my bed and stares at me,” Georgina said,
losing her smile. “I try closing my eyes, but when I open them, she’s still
standing there.”

“You mean right here, where I’m standing?” Steven asked.

“No, closer,” Georgina said, pointing to a spot right next to
her bed.

“And does she just stare at you?” Steven asked.

“Usually,” Georgina said. “If I try to hide under the covers
or anything like that, she laughs at me.”

“Does she ever try to hurt you?” Steven asked.

“If I get out of bed, she chases me,” the little girl
replied. “So I just stay in bed and try to sleep. It’s hard with her staring at
me. She looks mean.”

“Has anything else happened to you in this room? Anything
odd, or strange?” Steven asked.

Georgina shook her head no. “Just her.”

“Thank you, honey,” Barbara said. “Are you hungry yet?”

“No,” Georgina replied.

The three adults left the bedroom and walked back down the
stairs. “At first we didn’t believe her,” Barbara said as they descended the
steps. “None of us have seen the girl. But we hear noises up there. Sometimes
they’re loud bangs, noises Georgina couldn’t make on her own. Both Brad and I
have heard two people moving up there, when we knew May was downstairs. Once I
had my run in with the spiders, and Brad saw the man in her room, we stopped
telling her she was imagining things.”

“Barbara?” a voice came from downstairs. “Barbara, can I see
you for a minute?”

Barbara gave Steven and Roy an impatient look, then said,
“Excuse me, I better see what he wants.” She left them on the second floor
landing and walked down to the main floor.

“Father Wynan thought it was centered around the girl,”
Steven said to Roy. “But both Barbara and her husband have seen things on their
own.”

“They may be connected to the girl,” Roy replied. “The man
Brad saw was in the girl’s room.”

“And if Barbara thought the spiders came from the ceiling,
that’s Georgina’s room right above,” Steven added.

“If she’d be willing to let us explore a bit, I’d like to
drop into the River and see how the place looks, especially the child’s room.”

Barbara came back up the stairs. “They’re going to try something
in about an hour, and they want everyone out of the house when they do it. Talk
about a pain in the ass!”

“Barbara, would you mind if we did a bit of exploring between
now and then?” Roy asked. “Poke around a bit, see what we might find?”

“Sure, go ahead,” she said, walking into the master bedroom
to retrieve the coffee pot. “Just keep in mind we have to be out soon. Who
knows what they’re going to do; probably turn on some device that will fry us
all!”

“This is as good a place as any,” Roy said as they walked
around the back of the house. He looked up at the windows, locating the one
that belonged to Georgina’s room. Then he walked to a set of outdoor chairs,
brushed the spider webs from one, and sat in it. “Let’s just drop in and see
what we can see.” Steven joined him, brushing off the other chair and sitting
down.

They let themselves drift into the River, and Steven followed
Roy as he ascended to the level of Georgina’s room. Then they passed through the
wall and into the house.

Inside the room appeared quiet. Georgina was still playing
with dolls on her bed.

Nothing,
Steven thought.

Well, their retelling of events did seem episodic,
Roy replied.
Georgina only
reported the girl appearing when it was dark, for example.

They moved down through the rest of the house, looking for
any sign of something unusual. Roy lingered around the equipment Sam White’s
team was setting up, trying to see what it was. Steven eventually joined him.

I checked the basement,
Steven said.
Nothing there, either. We’ve covered
the entire house except for the attic.

Look at all the gadgetry,
Roy said, observing the computers and oscillators and
cameras.
This guy is a boob. I don’t think he knows what he’s doing.

I think Barbara probably agrees with you,
Steven replied.

I mean, what do they hope to accomplish with all of this
stuff? How can this possibly help?

I know you want to, but let’s try not to get in a pissing
match with them,
Steven said.

Roy turned to Steven, looking indignant.
I have no
intention of doing that. They’re not worth a pissing match.

I’ll hold you to your word on that,
Steven said.
I’m going to check
out the attic.

Steven left Roy and ascended through the house, preferring to
rise using the stairs rather than passing through floors. Once he reached the
top floor, he found an area in the hallway that he figured would be directly
below the attic, and he rose up through the ceiling and into it.

The attic was small and short, only five feet at the tallest
point, and Steven felt an urge to crouch even though in the River he could
simply let his feet hang through the floor as he moved. He knew instantly that
something was different here. He felt an erratic pulse that seemed to pass
through him and pull him at the same time. He searched through the contents of
the attic, which were primarily cardboard boxes filled with Christmas
decorations. He had the sense that there was something in the room, waiting to
be found. Behind the boxes was a short knee wall, but Steven didn’t intend to
go into it while in the River. Steven guessed the space beyond was probably
small and claustrophobic, and he hated drifting into those types of areas, not
knowing what was in them. He’d have to leave the flow and walk back up to the
attic with his physical body.

He dropped out of the River, suddenly enjoying the cool
breeze that blew up from the harbor. Within a couple of minutes Roy left the
flow as well, standing up.

“Shall we go?” Roy asked.

“To the attic?” Steven asked.

“The attic?”

“Yes, I found something in the attic. Couldn’t see what it
was. You didn’t go up to the attic, did you? You kept hovering over those guys
from the eradication company. You always told me not to spy on people.”

Roy looked defensive. “Someone’s got to keep an eye on them.
I don’t like what they’re up to. I think they may cause more harm than good.”

“Fine. In the meantime, I’ve found something in the attic
that we need to check out. Let’s talk to Barbara and see if there’s a way to
get up there.”

They found Barbara on the third floor, getting Georgina ready
to leave the house.

“Barbara,” Steven said, “is there a way into the attic?”

Barbara stopped what she was doing with Georgina and turned
to him. “There’s a ladder in the hallway. But we’re supposed to be leaving the
house.”

Steven could tell she was frazzled. He didn’t want to
irritate her, but he also didn’t want to be exiled from the house before they
knew what was in the attic.

“We’ll only be five minutes, I promise,” Steven said.

“Wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if they had to
wait,” Roy mumbled.

Barbara smiled at Roy’s comment. “You know, you’re right. It
wouldn’t be. Follow me, gentlemen!” She walked out of the room and into the
third floor hallway. She opened a closet door and removed a long wooden pole
with a hook on the end, then she went to a space near the end of the hallway
and reached up with the hook, catching it on an eyelet in the ceiling. She
pulled, and the panel above lowered. A ladder extended down automatically.

“Take your time,” she said, smiling. “There’s a light on a
pull chain in the middle of the room up there. I’m sure it’ll take me at least
ten or fifteen minutes more to get the girls ready to go anyway. And if White
doesn’t like it, too bad!” She walked back into Georgina’s bedroom.

“I like her,” Roy said.

“That’s because she’s a lot like you,” Steven said, ascending
the steps. Roy followed him. Once Steven reached the top, he searched for the
light and found it, pulling on a string. This time he had no choice but to
hunch over.

“Oh, tiny,” Roy said as he entered the attic. “Where did you
see it?”

“Well, I didn’t exactly see it,” Steven answered, grabbing
one of the boxes stacked against the knee wall and moving it to the other side
of the room. “But I thought I sensed it. Behind here.”

Roy helped him move boxes, and after a minute they’d cleared
the space in front of the knee wall. Steven saw finger pulls.

“Sliding doors,” Roy observed. “Probably so you could use the
space behind the knee wall for more storage.”

Steven placed his finger into one of the holes and pulled the
panel back.

“Jesus Christ!” Roy said. “What the fuck is that?”

Steven looked into the open space and felt the same reaction.
What is that?
he wondered.

It looked like a rod – roughly twice as wide as a soda can,
and three times as long. It hung in the air, two feet off the floor of the
attic. There was some kind of thin wire coiled around the outside of it,
suspended over the rod.

Steven decided to drop into the River, and realized Roy was
already there.
He’s always one step ahead of me,
Steven thought,
even
when it seems like he isn’t.

In the River the core of the rod glowed blue, and produced a
sporadic pulse. The wire coil wrapped around the outside of the core turned
slowly along the length of the rod; a long, twisting spiral in motion. Steven
was mesmerized by how unusual it looked. He noticed that in a couple of places
the coil appeared broken, and its ends occasionally scraped against the blue
core, producing a line of bright red on the surface of the rod and an
occasional spark.

What is it?
Steven asked.

I have no idea,
Roy replied.

◊

“I’ve dealt with these things many times before,” Sam White
said, his face slowly turning red as he flipped through images on an iPad in
his hands. “The best thing you can all do is leave the house and let us get on…
”

“You didn’t even know it was there!” Roy interrupted. “You
don’t know anything about it!”

“Gentlemen!” Barbara said, holding up her hands between Roy
and Sam. “Please! Roy, what do you think it is? Is it responsible for what’s
going on here?”

“Very likely,” he replied. “But we don’t know why it’s here.
We need to find that out.”

“Why isn’t relevant,” Sam said, turning his iPad around to
show Barbara the pictures he had pulled up. “It’s a rod. It’s likely only part
of the problem. The house is possessed, and rods are a common manifestation in
these cases.”

“If they’re common, how come I’ve never seen one before?” Roy
said.

“If you haven’t seen one before, I doubt you’ll be very
effective in dealing with it,” Sam shot back.

“You’re a jackass, you know that?” Roy sneered at Sam.

“Stop!” Barbara said. “Roy, if that thing upstairs is what’s
causing the problem, do you know how to stop it? What to do with it?”

“No, not yet,” he replied. “I’d need some time to figure it
out. Understand what it’s doing and how it’s doing it.”

“And you, Mr. White?” she turned to Sam.

“It’s just a rod,” Sam replied. “Common. It’ll be eliminated
by the pulses we’re going to send through the house. It’s worked many times
before.”

“Pulses?” Steven asked, stepping in. “How are pulses going to
eliminate that thing? It looks damaged as it is; how do you know you won’t just
damage it further?”

“I intend to damage it right into oblivion!” Sam replied, his
face fully flush. “I’ve met types like you and your father. You’re
spiritualists and kooks, preying on this poor family’s nightmare. You’re both
pathetic. You’d let that thing go on and on while you study it and do some
mumbo jumbo over it. Well, we intend to blow it out of the water, not milk it.”

Steven could see Roy’s upper lip tighten, and he knew that
Roy was ready to start swinging.

“Barbara,” Steven said. “We’re only asking for some time.”

“Any idea how long that might take?” she asked.

“No, to be honest,” Steven said. “I don’t want to mislead
you.”

“Meanwhile, it’s nearly the end of the day, and we’re all set
up and ready to go,” Sam said. “This equipment is expensive to cart around, and
I have an engagement with another client tomorrow. It’s now, or next week with
additional charges if you want our services.”

“Your service is a fucking sham!” Roy exploded. “Fake
science! We’re not the ones ripping this lady off, goddamnit! We’re not
charging anything.”

“I know how you use things like this for your own
self-aggrandizement!” Sam shouted, little bits of spit flying from his mouth as
he yelled. “Don’t pretend you’re helping from the goodness of your heart!”

“Mr. White!” Barbara interrupted. “Are you sure it will
work?”

“As we discussed earlier, there are no guarantees,” he
replied. “But we’ve eliminated rods many times before.”

“Then I guess you can go ahead with whatever you’re going to
do,” Barbara said, resigned.

“I’d strongly advise against it,” Roy said.

“Roy,” Barbara replied calmly, “my husband has paid for these
people to do this. They’re all set up and ready to go. They say they know what
they’re doing, that this will solve it. You’ve admitted you don’t know what to
do. I have to let them proceed.”

Steven could see she was set. Barbara didn’t seem like a
second-guesser.

“It’s a mistake!” Roy said.

Steven stepped up and grabbed Roy’s shoulder. “Come on, Dad,”
he said. “Let’s let this outfit do their job.”

Roy cast one last pleading look at Barbara, but she had her
jaw set firmly.

“I’m sorry, Roy,” Barbara said. “I do appreciate your help.”

Roy saw a crinkled smile spread across Sam’s face. “If
everyone will leave the house, we’ll set the timers. It’ll kick off in about
twenty minutes, and take another hour to complete.” Then he turned and walked
out of the room.

 “Can I leave you my number, just in case this doesn’t work?”
Steven asked Barbara.

“Of course,” she said, smiling at him. “That’s very kind of
you to offer.” They walked back into the kitchen. Roy decided to walk outside
to the front of the house and wait by the car.

“I hope I haven’t offended your father,” Barbara said as
Steven wrote down his phone number on a pad in the kitchen. “I had to go with
the best option in front of me.”

“We’re not offended at all,” Steven said. “I just hope it
works out.” He left the pencil and pad on the counter. “This is my cell number.
We live in Seattle, but we have a place out here where we’ll be staying. It
doesn’t have good cell reception, so if you do need to reach me and I don’t
pick up, leave a message and I will eventually get back in touch, OK?”

“Thank you, Steven,” she said. “And thank you for finding
that thing in the attic. Your father was right, I don’t think White had any
clue it was there. He’s just bringing in his machines and trusting that they’ll
eradicate whatever they need to. We’ll see.”

“Yes,” Steven said. “We’ll see. Good luck.”