Page 51 of Leafpoint Lighthouse

“So we’ve a renegade ghost,” I said, sipping the tea William placed in front of me.

“No. We have a spirit trying to hurt you and succeeding.”

“How did he get away? I’ve seen you leave Leafpoint.”

“He entered the cellar, and I couldn’t follow him.” William looked uncomfortable and turned his head.

“What am I missing?”

“Something stopped me from following him.”

I frowned. “Like a force?”

“No. Fear. That’s a feeling that I have not experienced since that night.”

I thought about that as William placed scrambled eggs and toast in front of me.

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know, Lyra.”

I began eating. If William wasn’t wrong, and I didn’t think he was, then we had a random ghost trying to harm me, and for what? I didn’t understand any of this, and currently, I felt like throwing in the towel. Everything was piling up, and I couldn’t discern why.

“What makes Jasper lighthouses so special?”

William shrugged helplessly. “I can’t answer that because I don’t know. What I can tell you is that they were built to prevent shipwrecks. And the lighthouse keepers who manned them couldn’t be bribed. The Damerell gang left us alone. They attempted to bribe and threaten us to turn the other way, but it was half-hearted. As if it were expected of them and they didn’t expect us to accept. I’m sure George would have been happy if we had.”

“What were the other keepers like?”

“Again. Nothing special. Guy was Kingfisher’s keeper. Perran was Seareef’s and Gilbert ran Clamshell. They were good men. Decent, honest, hardworking, and dedicated to our mission. George Damerell tried bribing all of us and failed miserably. It grated on him, especially as we kept those lanterns lit.”

“Did he have you killed?”

William stared at the tiled floor. “I don’t know. George and the Damerell Gang committed murder for certain. They took down anyone in their way. Maybe they’re tired of dealing with us.”

“Except they all disappeared the same night.”

William’s head snapped up. “What?”

“You were unaware?”

“What do you mean?”

I explained what Mrs Penrose had shared with me, and William began pacing.

“I learned that the other lighthouse keepers died. And that Jasper Manor burned down. But I wasn’t aware of the Damerell Gang, nor that this all happened on the same night,” he replied to me.

“For that to occur, someone must be playing puppeteer in the background. This is so confusing.”

“That’s the same thought I had a few days ago,” William stated.

“Umm?”

“That one individual is behind everything happening to you, pulling on different strings to make you move. This appears orchestrated.”

“Good word. It does. But I don’t understand. If there’s nothing special about the lighthouses, why were they targeted? Why kill you all? Who wanted you all dead? Because if it were a person taking sides, they’d have only murdered one side. Not both. That’s what makes this so confusing.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t help. I’m not a learned man,” William said, and I shook my head.