little tighter on the climbing rope that ran through Tori’s harness. “Besides, it’s only for a little while, then we’ll come cut you down!”
“I still don’t see what this is supposed to prove. The dead lady is in the morgue right now, not the house!”
“It might not prove anything, but it’s the only way I could come up with. Just make sure you leave this rope with plenty of slack, just in case,” Stacy explained, climbing down from the ladder and looking up at Tori to survey her handiwork.
“Just in case OF WHAT?!”
“Nothing. Nothing’s going to happen.”
“That’s what Persephone thought,” Jeremiah muttered to Stacy. She nodded, but pushed him behind her before Tori could catch on to what he was saying.
“Okay, we’re not gonna leave you, but we have to stay out of sight. We’re gonna get in my car and drive off so it looks like we left, then we’ll creep back to the house. We won’t be gone more than ten minutes. You’ll be fine for ten minutes, right?”
“No! You can’t leave me alone in this house! It’s dark and spooky and what if…” Tori clamped a hand over her mouth before she could finish her sentence. Stacy looked at her questioningly but Tori shook her head.
“What if what? What if… the ghost comes back, you mean? I thought you didn’t believe in all that nonsense.”
“I don’t! But it’s still dark in here. A lady died in here, you know! It’s gross! Stacy, I swear I’m gonna make you pay for this if it’s the last thing I do!”
“It’s all right, honey! It’s just for a few minutes, then we’ll be right back to keep you company. I promise.” Stacy smiled reassuringly before turning to go, then screamed when she turned her flashlight on a face that appeared in the doorway.
“Why are you here?” the face asked in a slow, droning voice, a voice that was more puzzled than frightening.
“Oh my god, Corey! You scared me!” Stacy cried. Jeremiah clutched at his heart and Tori tried to look blasé about the fact that she was dangling from an exposed beam in the ceiling.
“What the heck are you folks doin’ in here?”
“Well we, um… what are you doing here?” Stacy demanded before realizing how stupid her comeback sounded.
“I live in the guesthouse. I saw lights and movement in here and thought I’d better check. I do hope you have a really good explanation for this, because it looks like it’s about time to call Mr. Lariviere,” he said warily, eyeing Tori for a few moments before turning his gaze on Stacy.
“No! Don’t do that! It’s really, really important that you do the opposite of that!” Stacy gushed before she realized how crazy she sounded. Her reputation was on the line, sure, but the curator had enough contempt for her already. Any efforts he made to get to the bottom of her behavior were sure to expose the company and out them all as fraudsters who still acted in Abigail’s long-dead name.
“Then you’ve got about ten seconds to tell me what’s going on,” he ordered, crossing his arms and waiting for an explanation.
“Jeremiah, can you tell him? While the two of you go move the car? It’s urgent!”
He nodded. “Corey, let’s talk on the way to the car. We’re on a pretty tight schedule if we want this ghost thing to pan out.” He led the young caretaker away, and Stacy heard their muffled voices growing quieter as they walked down the stairs. The front door shut behind them, and for good measure she risked a peek out the window to make sure they got in the car and drove off.
“Whew! That was close! But look on the bright side, now I get to wait here with you!” Stacy said after a few minutes of awkward and somewhat frightening silence. She tried to keep her voice upbeat even though she’d plunged the two of them into complete darkness by shutting off her flashlight.
“Oh yeah, that makes me happy. I’m trapped in a dark, haunted mansion with the woman who tied me up and hung me from the ceiling.
Brenda Cooper
Cleo Peitsche
Jackie Pullinger
Lindsey Gray
Jonathan Tropper
Samantha Holt
Jade Lee
Andy Remic
AJ Steiger
Susan Sheehan