“What do you think?” he ground out.
“You can’t let Chauncey beat you,” I replied.
“He ain’t ever gonna stop, is he? Seven years and they’re both still obsessed. I don’t get it.”
“Prez, Chauncey wants to be you. Can’t say I understand why, but each to their own.”
A smile crossed Haunt’s lips. “You’re an asshole.”
“Yeah, but a good one. Don’t let them drag you down. We need to check the injunction dates. If they’ve run out, we need to renew them,” I stated.
“Shame we can’t get one to stop them following us,” Haunt complained.
“They’re looking for a reaction. If we don’t give them one, then we win.”
“But it feels like they are,” Haunt murmured. While I agreed with him, I wouldn’t say so. Haunt didn’t deserve this shit; none of us did.
Chapter Five.
Haunt
Icouldn’t believe Chauncey and Gloria were stalking us. There was no doubt they’d screwed with the Inn somehow, and I felt awful. Angela was suffering because of two maniacs. Sometimes they made me want to quit, but then I’d give them what they wanted, and they’d have taken something I love away. However, at times like this, I felt their pressure.
“Come on. Haunt, need to sort out who’s where tonight,” Reaver said.
“Yeah. After last night, I don’t think it’s worth investigating the rooms, but we need to show due diligence.
“Agreed. I suspect we won’t see much activity. Almost as if the entity is stifling the ghosts,” Reaver stated.
That was interesting. Several times, I’d seen ghosts feed off others and use their energy to power themselves. Was that happening here? While the idea was solid, something seemed off. Even so, no idea was a bad one, so I’d let the others know what Reaver had suggested.
“Where is everyone?” I asked Callie, returning to just her and Michelle in the dining room. “Gone to check the bedroomsthat Chauncey and Gloria stayed in. Sorry to hear about your trouble,” Callie said.
“In pairs?” I demanded, alarmed.
“Yeah. They’ll be back soon. I’ve an inkling they won’t find anything. This Chauncey and Gloria appear quite subtle. They’re rather frightening.” Michelle shook her head.
“What are you two planning to do?” I asked, seeing they’d gathered their laptops.
“Research, if that’s okay with you. Lich has emailed us everything you have on the Inn, and we’ve got the website and leaflets that Angela put together. Did you know Rye put all the archived material online?[i] It dates back centuries!” Callie exclaimed, looking gleeful.
“Yeah. We’ve combed through it before. What are you looking for?”
“A needle in a haystack. Anything related to the Inn that might stand out,” Michelle replied.
“Makes me wish we had Harry. This is his strength, but we’ll manage,” Callie complained.
Despite my mood, a laugh escaped me. Some investigators absolutely loved research, and others hated it. It was easy to guess where Callie fell.
“I’m also going to investigate what type of spirit this is. It’s not fitting into demon or poltergeist, but I’m wondering if it’s a filament,” Michelle muttered as she tapped her leg.
“What’s that?” I asked, interested, and grabbed their bags as they rose to head to the snug.
“A filament is scraps of ghosts that form together to become stronger. The weak spirits who are usually ignored and overlooked—it’s rare, but it happens. Only the filament has something like schizophrenia because the distinct personalities are still present,” Michelle explained as we entered the snug.
Reaver and I moved some tables close to some cosy armchairs in front of the fire. The ladies settled down as we placed their laptops on top and searched for sockets to plug them into.
“Never heard of that,” I stated, taking a seat opposite. Reaver left to organise the others.
