“…a spirit who’d been ignored, it would explain everything,” Michelle finished my sentence.
“We need to contact Angela and see who’s stayed at the Inn,” Suga said.
“Let's look through the guest book, see if we recognise any names,” Trunk added.
“Let’s head down and tell everyone what we suspect,” I agreed.
Haunt
“I’d asked Angela, and she’d said no, she’d not had a team in for a while,” I stated, frowning.
“Maybe they didn’t declare themselves? Can you call her in the morning and ask?” Callie inquired.
“Yeah. For now, I think we’re best off finishing tonight; we’ve got a couple of hours. Keep the rooms you already had instead of changing them up,” I said.
Nods came back at me.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to look through the guest book.” Reaver glanced at me for permission.
“Isn’t that confidential information?” Jack asked.
“No. It’s one where guests can write comments, not an actual booking service. If they liked their room, they can put it in the book,” I explained. “Please mark anything that may cause concern.”
Reaver nodded and headed down to reception while the rest of us split up again. My gut told me nothing would happen, and I was correct. The ghosts of the Mermaid Inn had gone quiet, and with good reason. They felt uneasy; something was encroaching on their turf and disturbing the status quo. Naturally, they were upset, but I also wondered if they were afraid. When we hit the sack, we were all worried, and I guessed this was just the beginning.
“Did Angela get back to you?” I asked Reaver as the team sat down to eat.
“She hasn’t allowed an official investigation in for four months,” he replied, his plate filled with bacon.
“Damn. “I thought that led to this,” I griped.
A smile crossed Reaver’s face. “I found a lead.” He shoved the guest book over to me and pointed at a page. I ran my gaze down the comments before pausing.
“Son of a bitch!” I yelled, and Reaver nodded.
“What is it?” Dive asked.
“Take a look!” I shoved the book over, and moments later the air was filled with Dive’s cursing.
“What are we missing?” Sunny asked.
“Fuckin’ Chauncey Archibald. You got your nemesis, this wanker’s mine,” I growled out.
“Okay,” Callie drawled, looking none the wiser.
“He might be familiar to you as the Phantom Doctor,” Ghoul sneered, and his nose wrinkled.
Callie and Jack matched his expression. “You know that twat?” Callie demanded.
“Yeah. He was once one of us. But he began agitating and bullying. Staging events for the camera, and we caught him several times faking footage. We kicked him out seven years ago, and he’s been resentful ever since,” I explained for those who didn’t know.
“Chancey runs his own channel full of fake shit. The wank-stain follows us around and brags to his viewers about what we’ve missed. We warn those we’re investigating not to let him in, but he’s bulldozed or charmed his way in,” Lich elaborated.
“And this Chauncey was here?” Sunny asked.
“Yeah. Right here, this is his message,” I pointed to the page in the book.
The message was innocuous, a mere comment about how enjoyable his visit had been. Reaver phoned Angela to find out how long Chauncey stayed. His face was grim when he ended the call.
