Page 4 of Purrfectly Haunted

“We have an air mattress, no problem,” says Shirley, as if it makes things better. “I’ll bring it up.”

I’m about to glare at her when Ewan looks down at me. I can’t help but to notice that he smells good. His shampoo perhaps. He has really pretty brown eyes.

“You can have the bed, I’ll take the air mattress,” he says.

“If you snore, I’m kicking you out of the room,” I grumble.

He blushes. “I don’t...”

Fuck, the guy’s annoyingly cute. It’s disarming. And that, combined with his height, pisses me off a little.

I shoulder him to push inside the small room and I drop my bag on the bed.

“You have free access to all the parts of the house, except the rooms where the guests and the staff are sleeping, of course,” Shirley says, offering a heavy set of keys to Ewan. She drops a hand on his forearm. “You can join us for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the staff kitchen. We take turns cooking, and you’re welcome to eat with us. We know you’ll be doing the dirty work.”

“Yes, hunting ghosts is hard work,” I say, pulling Ewan inside forcefully. He blushes again and follows without resistance. “Thank you. We need to prepare for the first hunt. Have a good evening!” I close the door over Shirley’s confused expression.

I face Ewan and extend my hand to him. He stares at it, blush deepening.

“The notebook,” I say. “Let me see it again.”

“Oh, aye...” He fumbles with his pockets, hands smacking his thick thighs—why are his thighs so massive, really?—until he finds the little notebook.

I sit on the bed and leaf through it. “They divided the notes into chapters, one for each ghost. Then at the end, the events with no definite culprit.” Like the quake in the basement. I sigh. “This is bonkers. So they nicknamed them. We have the Lady in Red, the Lamenting Urchin, the Burning Crone, the French Nobleman, and the Flashing Warrior.”

“Actually, these are the names from the Ghost Bus Tour book,” Ewan says. “Except I’m not sure why they added flashing in front of the Warrior...”

“You got the book?”

His expression is self-conscious. “I was early for the tour, so I bought the book and read it while waiting. I didn’t know when you’d show up, and they didn’t give me your phone number...”

“That’s good, it’ll help us paint a decent story. Take it out please.”

He pulls out the Ghost Bus Tour book from his bag and hands it to me. I compare it with the notes. Lana and the staff added clearer descriptions of the ghosts and where to find them in the house. The Lady in Red, for example, is often found in the library. She is said to manipulate people’s emotions. I snort. Right.

“We need to decide who to start with,” I say. “Any running favourite?”

Ewan shakes his head. “I just really don’t like the Burning Crone...”

I smile wickedly. “Then let get her over with first. Your discomfort will make it all more believable.”

Ewan looks confused. “Believable?”

“Yes, our pretend ghost hunt.” I gesture at our surroundings.

He stares at me for a moment too long. “You don’t believe in ghosts?”

I chuckle. “No. Wait... do you?”

He nods, face beet red. “I think so? There was a time when I was a kid...” he trails off, embarrassed.

“Holy shit. Well, I guess we’ll know soon enough,” I say dismissively. “Sit down, you’re giving me neck pain.” He obediently flops into the chair. I could get used to this, him being so compliant. I open the chapter on the Burning Crone. “So apparently, she haunts the kitchen, mostly. They think she’s the one who set the curtains on fire last winter.”

Ewan nods. “She often appears to be burning. They think she was one of the witches they burned at the castle during the sixteenth century.”

“Damn. Depressing. But why is she haunting the hostel, if she was burned at the stake up there?” I say, nodding towards the small window and the view.

Ewan rubs the back of his head. “Do you... remember what the hostess said on the Ghost Bus Tour?”