“How did this go unseen until now?”
“Don’t know. There’re facts missing,” Callie replied, biting her bottom lip. “Has Angela suffered a breakup?”
“No. Nothing like that. No deaths in the family either.”
Callie’s next question threw me. “Any of her exes died? It’s been known for them to return and haunt someone they hate or missed.”
Damn, that was an excellent idea. “I’ve not pried.”
“No time like the present,” Callie said. Turning back toward Angela, I was relieved to see some colour had returned to her face.
“Are you okay?” I inquired.
“Yes, sorry, that scared the hell out of me,” Angela replied.
“Angela, I know we ruled out any deaths of friends and family. Did someone like a customer, or someone you dated previously, pass away?” I asked gently.
Angela pursed her lips before shaking her head. “No, not to my knowledge. An old school bully of mine recently died, but I’d forgiven her, and she’d apologised.”
“No,” Callie said. “If you forgave her, it’s unlikely to be her.”
“What are we thinking?” Reaver demanded.
“That we need more investigation. It’s too soon for us to determine anything. But this spirit is gaining strength far too quickly.” Callie frowned.
“Lucky, can you and Michelle salt the outside of the building?” I asked, and everyone glanced over.
“Yeah?” Lucky replied with a question.
“This thing might be nomadic and has chosen here, which means the Mermaid Inn isn’t its power base. If we can lock it in here and it weakens, we can remove it. Similar to Callie’s earlier comment, we gotta figure where it came from,” I stated.
“Okay, we can do that. Do you have any blessed salt with you?” Lucky asked Michelle, who nodded.
“Never leave home without it,” she replied and followed Lucky out.
“Angela, we need you to leave. If this thing is attached to you, we’ll soon know if it follows you,” I said.
“Good job that I’ve no guests for this week, as we shut because of this. Haunt, we’ve got this week, and then I have to reopen next week. This is the height of the holiday season,” Angela muttered.
I nodded; this was costing a lot of money.
Callie swapped a glance with Sunny. “Would it be possible to hire the inn? We’d like to stay here.”
My eyebrows rose. That would cost a fortune. Hope lit in Angela’s eyes, and I wish I could have offered her that.
“That would be fine! The staff are still around. You only need to pick your rooms,” Angela cried, and I saw a weight lift off her. Damn, Callie Dixon was a decent woman.
“We all need a room. How many are there in your MC? It would be easier to stay together,” Callie asked, turning to me.
“Ten,” I replied instantly.
“We’ve plenty of rooms,” Angela stated, looking relieved. While it eased her burden, it placed one on me. We must solve this within seven days; otherwise Angela would have to remain closed. Fuck my life.
I was interested in the equipment they’d brought. There were several pieces I didn’t recognise.
“Freddie is our tech girl; she loves creating things,” Jack explained as he handed me a camera. “This has everything in one: infrared, SLS, night vision, and normal.”
I gazed with envy. “I’ve heard about this. It’s due to hit the market soon, isn’t it?”
