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Nate
The melodic sound of my alarm wakes me, although it’s not the first time I've woken up since I went to bed. It’s been a quiet few days in my hotel room since the razor incident in the bathroom, but last night was weird. After turning in for the night, a knock on my door woke me at around midnight. Talk about unnerving. I got out of bed to check who was there, but no one was. I convinced myself I must’ve dreamed the knocking and went back to bed only to be woken again a couple of hours later. This time, though, instead of knocking, it sounded as if someone was shuffling around in my bathroom. Again, no one was there. I woke up a third time a couple of hours after that, and although I don’t know what exactly woke me, I was shocked to discover my bathroom light was on! I know for a fact that I turned the light off after I investigated my bathroom earlier, so I don’t know how to explain it.
And now, it’s time for me to get up.
I’m going to need caffeine this morning.
As I get ready for the day, Shawna is at the forefront of my mind. I really enjoyed spending time with her this weekend. Not only her but Noah, too. He’s such a cool kid. He actually reminds me of myself at that age. He’s full of energy, inquisitive, and wants to be in the center of all the action.
Just as I finish putting myself together and exit the bathroom, there’s a knock on my door. Assuming it’s Rob, I open it immediately, but no one is there.
What the fuck?
Poking my head out into the hallway, I look in both directions, but no one is there. This place is crazy!
I close the door and shake my head. Are there really ghosts? I’ve never believed in them before. I’ve had a lot of people close to me pass away, and none of them have ever come back as a ghost to give me a message or even just to mess with me. Nothing like what I’m experiencing here at The Pioneer has ever happened to me before, and it’s making me wonder. If there really are ghosts, why haven’t any of my old friends—especially her—come back to haunt me?
Chuckling at that thought, I shake my head again. There has to be a logical explanation for everything that’s happened here. There just has to be.
There’s another knock on my door, making me jump at the louder, heavier sound. Immediately, I open the door, and this time, Rob is standing there.
“Hey,” he says. “Ready to roll?”
“Yeah,” I reply. “Did you just knock a minute ago?”
Rob knits his eyebrows together. “No. Why?”
“There was a knock on my door, but no one was there. No one was in the hallway, either. It was weird.”
“Ghosts,” Rob deadpans. “That’s the only explanation.”
He bursts into laughter, and I join in, although I’m starting to wonder if there’s truth to that after all.
“Whatever, let’s go,” I reply, grabbing my coat off the hook.
After going through an espresso drive-through, Rob drives us to Alice Feldman’s house. We’ve been doing surveillance here off and on all weekend, hoping Jarred will make an appearance. Well, Rob did most of the surveillance over the weekend, although I helped in the mornings. So far, no one has come to Alice’s house. We’re starting to think we may be out of luck.
We notice a truck parked by the house as we approach her property. This could be promising.
“It’s a junk removal company,” Rob says. “But someone had to hire them. Let’s talk to them and find out.”
He parks next to the truck, and we exit the SUV. A guy walks out of Alice’s trailer hauling a box full of junk, and we wave at him. After he sets the box in the truck, he approaches us.
“Can I help you?” he asks, wiping his gloved hands together.
“Yes, actually you can,” Rob says. “Do you happen to know the homeowner’s son?”
The man shakes his head. “Sorry, I don’t even know the homeowner. She passed away, and we were hired to clear everything out of the house and dump it.”
“Who hired you?” I ask, hoping he gives us some sort of lead.
“I actually don’t know. You’ll have to ask my boss, who’s back at the office.”
“Is the office here in Port Townsend?” Rob asks.
“Yeah.” Digging in the back pocket of his jeans, he pulls out a business card. “The address is here. Sorry I can’t tell you more. We just go where they tell us and do the dirty work.”
“No problem, man. Thanks for your help,” I reply.
