The House on Serpent Lake (Ghost, Romance, Fantasy) (19 page)

Lindsay moved close, her eyes on the meter. But even though the scent had grown stronger, the device showed no response.

“Who are you?” Katie asked. “Why are you here? Is there anything you’d like to say to the owner?”

Still nothing.

“Galen,” Lindsay murmured. “Please …”

The meter sprang to life. All five LED buttons blazed with light, blinking in rotation several times before stopping.

“We got him,” Katie whispered to Lindsay. A series of flashes from behind Katie lit up the room. Without turning, Katie whispered to Ken, “Did you set up a video camera in here?”

“Didn’t have enough, but maybe I’ll get something on the digital.”

Katie addressed the room again. “Thank you for responding. The homeowner thinks you may be a gentleman who died in this house. Is that true?”

No response. She tried again.

“Will you talk to us?”

Still nothing.

“We don’t want to hurt you. We just want to know who you are and why you’re here.”

Lindsay couldn’t seem to look away from the LED lights, and the lack of response was devastating. She’d hoped to learn why he lingered in the house and more about her connection to him, but he didn’t seem to want to cooperate.

“A male spirit is in the room with us,” Sharon murmured.

Lindsay stepped to the portrait. “Why won’t you communicate with us? Please, I need to know …”

The K2 went wild again.

“Looks like he’ll only respond to you, Lindsay, so go ahead. Talk to him. Ask questions and we’ll see if he answers.”

“He might answer? How?”

Katie indicated the meter. “If he’ll cooperate, we hope to communicate with him through it.”

She turned to the crew. “Okay guys, turn off all equipment.” She explained to Lindsay, “That’s to eliminate other possible frequency sources.”

She cleared her throat and held out the K2 meter. “Lindsay wants to talk to you, and with this piece of equipment, you can communicate with her.”

The first button, green, briefly lit with a faint glow. Then it was gone.

“I’ll have Lindsay talk to you, but first, to make sure we can communicate, would you light up the meter for me now?”

Nothing happened.

“I understand you want to talk to Lindsay, but if you’ll light up the meter now, once for ‘yes’ and twice for ‘no,’ we’ll know it’s you and not a malfunction. Then she’ll talk to you. Do you understand?”

Everyone concentrated on the K2, and for a moment, nothing happened. Then, like plugging in Christmas tree lights, all the LED buttons lit up.

“Just to make sure, am I talking to the spirit present in this house?” Again, everyone watched the lights. And again, they all lit up.

He was going to talk. Lindsay hadn’t noticed she’d been holding her breath until the meter lit up.

“Thank you,” Katie said. “I’ll turn it over to Lindsay now.” The meter lit once. Katie showed Lindsay how to keep the device activated.

Lindsay had so many questions that her mind felt in a jumble. She wanted to know everything, but she couldn’t keep Katie’s team that long, nor could she be certain Galen would fully cooperate. But as she’d learned when beginning to paint, stick to the basics.

“Are you Galen?”

After a slight pause, the meter lit once. A surge of joy rippled through her.

“Why are you here? What do you want?”

The meter lit once, then twice, then once again. Lindsay looked questioningly at Katie.

“Just ask yes or no questions,” she said. “He can’t answer any other way.”

Of course. Lindsay tried again. “Did you die in this house?”

The meter answered once.

“I’m sorry,” Lindsay said. “Was it natural causes?”

No.

Lindsay paused, wondering how to phrase the next question. “Was someone in my husband’s family responsible?”

Yes.

A coldness rippled through Lindsay. His answers coincided with her dreams, and while they were confirmation that it wasn’t all her imagination, it was frightening in a way. Yet she had to continue, had to know what was happening.

“Is that why you’re here? Revenge on the house—or someone?”

No.

“Do you want to harm me? Or my husband?”

No.

“Are you causing the strange things that have been happening to me?”

Yes. No. Yes. No.

“I don’t understand.” She turned to Katie. “Do you know what this means?”

“Maybe he can’t answer that. Ask another question and see what you get.” She paused. “Ken, are you getting all this?”

“Yeah.” No longer snapping pictures, the young man was busy with his notes.

Lindsay wondered how to ask the next question, the one at the heart of everything that had been happening since moving to the house.

“Do you know me?”

All lights on the K2 began a series of rotations, finally doing dim. Then it lit once.

Yes.

“Twenty milligausses,” Katie said to Ken. “Be sure and note that.”

“Is that good?” Lindsay asked.

“It’s a strong response.”

“Camera died,” Ken said.

“Mine too,” Joyce added.

“Energy drain,” Katie told Lindsay. “Is there more you want to ask?”

Only a couple million questions, Lindsay thought. She had an important one but wasn’t sure how to ask, especially in front of the others.

“Do I know you?”

Katie cut a questioning glance at her client, but Lindsay kept watch on the meter. This was the key to everything that had been happening, but to her disappointment, there was no response.

“The spirit may have left,” Katie said.

Sharon whispered. “He’s still here, but he’s fading.”

No, he can’t leave now. “Galen, please don’t leave.”

“Try asking in a different way,” Katie suggested.

“Did we know each other … before?”

Again the sharp glance from Katie.

Lindsay waited for a response, but again nothing happened.

“Galen, please. I need to know.”

Finally, one faint answer.

Yes.

Lindsay stared at the button. Excitement surged through her. It was true. Her dreams were based on reality.

A familiar buzzing vibrated in her right ear, as if someone were speaking in a range she couldn’t perceive.

“I heard something,” Sharon said, plugging in her headphone to the EVP recorder. “Can you speak again?”

Again Lindsay heard the sound. “What? I don’t understand.”

“I got it! Let me make sure.” Listening intently through her headphone, Sharon played it back, punched some buttons, then handed the recorder and headphones to Katie. “See if you hear the same thing.”

Katie listened. “That was clear! Definitely a Class A EVP. I’ll play it for you, Lindsay. It’s only a couple of words, but I think you’ll be able to understand them.” She punched the speaker button.

Static filled the room, but then a voice spoke over the noise. A faint one, but distinct. The voice she’d heard in her dreams.
His
voice.

An all-consuming joy spread warmth through her body. Tears tumbled down her cheeks.

It was Galen.

“Are you all right?“Katie asked, taking a tissue from her jean’s pocket.

“More than all right.” Dabbing her eyes, Lindsay smiled. “Play it again, please. I couldn’t make out the words.”

Katie hit the button, and this time Lindsay caught the enunciation. He spoke two words, the same two he’d whispered as he lay dying of gun shots, the promise he made to her as she cradled him in her arms, begging him not to leave her.

“I’ll wait.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Katie’s crew packed to leave, congratulating each other on the evening’s successful investigation. Off to the side, apart from the conversation, Lindsay silently watched. While she had suspected the truth, tonight’s session had been overwhelming.

Galen, the man from her dreams, was real. And they knew, or had known, each other. Her dreams were factual, which meant, she realized, her whimsical stories as a child were based on fact.

There could only be one explanation—a former life, a life lived in this house.

Reincarnation.

Memories she had spent a lifetime pushing away flooded back, the adult voices speaking to her child’s mind. What she was telling them wasn’t rational, they’d said, shaking their heads in pity, followed by doctor’s appointments, the treat of institutionalization if she ever spoke of such things again.

And she hadn’t. Eventually the visions had faded.

Early in her adult life, she had toyed with the theory of reincarnation, had even bought some books on the subject seeking something, some explanation for what she had experienced. But with the voices of the adults from her young world still echoing in her mind, the idea that she had been born again into a new life had seemed ludicrous.

But now she wondered. How else could she explain the déjà vu she’d experienced the first time she saw the house and everything that had happened afterward? Even though it was beginning to make sense, she still found it incredible.

Visions? Dreams?

Reincarnation?

But, she thought, the old doubts returning, if it were reincarnation, if she had been Berina, why didn’t she remember the woman’s life during her waking hours?

She did remember
: the posey wallpaper, going to the outhouse. Certain segments of Berina’s life were coming back, just not everything.

Dare she believe? Even if she did, how would she explain it to Eric? Although it wasn’t a laughing matter, she smiled, picturing his reaction.

She must have made a sound as both Katie and Sharon stopped their packing to look at her.

“I was just thinking of my husband’s reaction to all this,” she explained with a sad smile. “He already thinks I’ve lost it. If I tell him I had a ghost hunter investigate the house, he’ll certainly be convinced I’ve gone off the deep end.”

“That’s a common reaction,” Katie said, “and you’re in a tough spot. I wish I could help, but while the team can sometimes record evidence of a haunting, I can’t advise clients how to deal with it—except to try to understand.”

Lindsay had no answer.

“Or,” Sharon said, “if they prefer, arrange for an exorcism.”

“Force him out?” That hadn’t even occurred to her. Did she want him to go? Even though it would certainly help her marriage, she realized she didn’t want Galen to leave.

God, how warped was she to prefer a ghost to her husband?

“You have another option,” Katie said. “As I mentioned before, you might wish to try and contact the spirit further through a medium.”

“Would I be able to learn more about him? And about my relationship with him?”

“It’s possible, but not guaranteed,” Sharon said. “We can try.”

Katie quietly studied Lindsay. “There’s more at play here than a simple haunting, isn’t there? As if a haunting could ever be simple.”

Sudden tears tumbled down Lindsay’s cheeks and she couldn’t speak. Embarrassed, she ran into the kitchen for a tissue, a paper towel, anything.

Katie followed.

“I’m sorry,” Lindsay managed, trying to stem the flow. “I don’t know why I’m crying.”

“It’s all right. It’s been quite a night, and I’m sure your emotions are all over the place.”

“It’s just, just …” Fresh tears appeared.

Katie, her arms around her client, gently led her to a chair.

“Try to relax and let yourself adjust to what’s happened. You’ve been through quite a lot, you know.”

“You have no idea how much.”

“I wish I could help.”

“You mentioned a private session. I might try that.”

“I don’t know anything about you or your relationship with the spirit, and I don’t want to pry, but obviously he seems to know you. Perhaps he has something he wants you to know, some message he wants to pass on to you, and a personal reading could be helpful.”

Should she tell Katie what she truly suspected? It would be such a relief to confide in someone, someone who believed the implausible was possible.

“If I’m right,” she began, “I knew the spirit … Galen, before.”

Katie pulled out the chair next to her client and sat. “Before you were married? Was he a former lover, maybe one who doesn’t want to let go?”

“I wish it were that simple.” Lindsay barely took a breath. “I think I knew him … in a former life.” She paused, waiting for Katie’s reaction. If the investigator believed her, she could possibly help, but if not, if she dismissed it like everyone else had always done, Lindsay would be more alone than ever.

She searched Katie’s eyes, intent on hers. What would she say?

“I see.” Katie sat back in her chair.

Lindsay felt as if her soul were weeping. “You don’t believe me.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you. I hadn’t expected anything like that, so I’m thinking how best to help you.”

Lindsay kept her eyes on the investigator, clinging to her words as if she were sucked into a whirlpool and Katie her rescuer.

“Reincarnation is a doctrine followed by more people than you might aware of,” Katie began, “and it’s grown in popularity in the past few decades. I think the best advice I can offer is to do some research. Read about Hinduism, the Buddhists, and other religions that practice the belief. Find out why they believe as they do.”

“Then you believe in reincarnation?”

“My personal belief is not the question. Instead, you need to find answers to your dilemma, although I’m not certain it’s a dilemma. Most people who’ve remembered their past lives have found the experience enriching, sometimes an answer for phobias, for likes and dislikes in their present life.”

“Phobias aren’t my problem. I’m discovering I’ve lived a former life with this ghost, this man. For what purpose? Am I supposed to learn something from realizing I knew him in a former life? All it’s done is make me grieve over our lost lives and long for him now. I’m a married woman who wants a ghost rather than her husband. How do I deal with that
now
?”

“You must not make the mistake of sacrificing your present life with the one you’ve already lived, no matter how much you loved this man. Remember, Lindsay, you have this life to live now. Knowing about your past can enrich this life.”