Kendra looked up to the ceiling. “No, she’s not here. Her spirit is not here. This house must not be too old… I don’t see anyone.”
Jenna brought her hand to her chest, and broke into tears. All of us were pretty useless, standing there awkwardly, trying not to look at her. Kendra, thankfully, saved the day when she went and hugged her.
We quietly shuffled our way up the stairs. We did a quick walk-around the top floor; Calvin’s room, the picture-perfect guest room, and the master bedroom which like Mrs. Henderson, was perfection. I was sure my mother would give her pinkie toe for a room like this, possibly both pinkies. A king sized bed with sky blue upholstered headboard, was flanked by high end furniture. Everything was pristine, muted shades of blue and cream. I’d never actually seen a room like this in the flesh before. We even walked in to the walk-in closet, where Mason’s pressed shirts and pants were perfectly lined up, as were Jenna’s stylish clothes. An impressive collection of shoes lined the opposite wall, and it was almost artistry, how they were displayed in a rainbow of colors. One thing was odd though, a few shoes were missing their matches. A lone red sandal here, a single stiletto black heel there. I picked it up but felt nothing.
I was still trying to work this out in my head when we made our way to Haley’s room. It was stunning; soft muted colors of whites, beiges, pinks and greys. A large tree decal on one wall, and another dark wall, where the window was framed by long silky pink and white drapery. I remembered Kylie’s old nursery. It was Winnie the Pooh themed, and definitely not in the same league as this. It took me a few seconds to spot the bird theme dotting the décor; a picture on the wall, a mobile hanging from the ceiling, a decorative pillow on the rocking chair.
Kendra closed her eyes and lifted her chin. Ace studied the space quietly, hands in pockets, sparkling blue eyes dancing around the room. Kendra reached for the soft looking pink elephant in the corner. And likewise, Leo and I reached for objects. He closed his eyes as he held a white bear. I pulled my gaze from him. I had to focus, and he kept distracting me.
I was reaching for a floppy eared pink bunny from the pretty white toy box when I spotted her; the red-haired doll; the one from the vision I’d just had. I closed my eyes again. It was the same vision. A happy memory. But there was more to it, there was another little girl who was playing with the doll, a bright cheeked blond girl. It confused me to bits. There are no instructions with these visions. There’s no captioning saying,this is so-and-so, andthis is what they’re doing,this is where they are. It’s actually all very fuzzy.
I opened my eyes and Jenna was looking at me – the pain in her expression almost broke me right there. My eyes stung and watered. I swallowed hard and shook my head a little to get a grip. I absolutely could not lose it. I had to behave like a professional, which, let’s face it, I was anything but. I was just a sixteen-year old girl who had no clue what the hell she was doing.
“That was Haley’s favorite toy,” she told me.
I looked down at the cloth doll. She had fire-engine red hair made out of yarn, and a blue dress and booties. Black dots for eyes, and the name Madeline etched on her chest. It was a Madeline doll. “I used to love her,” I told her. “I loved those books.”
Jenna smiled. “Yes, Mischa, too. That’s why she gave her the doll. It used to belong to her.”
“Oh… I see.” Now, it all made sense.
I handed the doll to Leo who also held it close to his heart. We looked at each other for a long time, the both of us knowing that although this room was beautiful, and there had been much happiness here, the sweet white nursery was tainted. Something frightening had happened here.
We touched every single item. I trailed my hand along the edge of the crib, held every stuffed animal in my hands, and touched every toy, every surface. I even sat in the rocking chair, closed my eyes and rocked myself to another dimension; Jenna’s world. I didn’t really find answers but without a doubt, one thing I knew for sure, was that Jenna Henderson loved her child.
Following our walk-through, Ace followed Mrs. Henderson to her office, where he was to have a session of hypnosis in an attempt to take her back to a time before Haley went missing. Perhaps we’d be able to glean valuable information from unlocked memories from her subconscious.
We waited eagerly in the sitting room with Simone and the investigators, all the while, discussing our findings. Kendra reiterated the fact that she did not feel a spirit anywhere in the house, which was encouraging news. Brianna did not have much to add, but said she was hoping to find a clue in her dreams that night. Leo and I expressed that we’d found much love in the house, it was clear that Mrs. Henderson loved her child. It was also evident that Mischa was an important part of Haley’s life. Haley was crazy about her.
Leo tilted his head to the side and fiddled with the silver cross hanging from his neck. He does this when he’s nervous, and I knew that, even back then. “But…” he started, hesitating.
I knew what he was about to say, but he just couldn’t seem to utter the words. No one ever wants to be the bearer of bad news.
I broke in. “There was something about the nursery,” I quickly added. “Something happened there.” I bit my lip. “Something… bad.”
The investigators and Simone all stared at me, jaws to the floor. I wished I could offer more, but I just didn’t have more. And neither did Leo. All we knew was that there was something there.
“What?! What happened, Anna?” Simone was quick to ask.
My heart sank. I didn’t want to let her down, to let Mrs. Henderson down, to let Haley down. It was so frustrating not to be able to see more. Unfortunately, I couldn’t run up the stairs and try harder. In my experience, these visions came easily, or didn’t come at all. They aren’t like a sticky door handle – there is no forcing or jiggling them. I turned to Leo. “We couldn’t quite see. Leo and I went through the room thoroughly, but no evidence from the bad event were left… we touched everything,” I added with emphasis. “Everything was clean…” my voice trailed off, my hopes defeated.
“Anna is right,” Leo said. “We were thorough. There just wasn’t—”
Detective Matt sat ramrod straight and turned to Mary. “Wait a second… what about the monkey?”
The monkey?
This was news to me. I hadn’t seen a monkey.
Detective Mary scowled a little. “Matthew, I’m sure—”
“It’s worth a try, Mary.”
“Is it, really?”
“Don’t be such a cynic, Mary. Everything’s worth a try.”
She rolled her eyes to the ceiling.
