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When we listened to the recording, I got one of the most compelling pieces of EVP evidence I’d ever received on an investigation. The recorder had still been running when Hanlen asked me her question about her ancestor. As if the person were standing right next to us, the recording revealed three words in that same soft, feminine voice.
“HAN - LEN. COME . . . HOME.”
Chapter 20
“You’ll be silent forever, and I’ll be gone in the dark.”
~Joseph James DeAngelo, Jr.
The darkness inside him reigned. Celebrated. The festivities of the other night had been euphoric, bringing not only vitality and completion but also a sense of accomplishment. His sacrifice had fought hard, infusing their donation with extra energy, making the act more sacred. Why hadn’t he understood that before? The fear was like a delicious additive, an infusion of power, making the blood like hot chocolate . . . made more delicious by the screams.
Hewouldexperience it again. Now that he knew, he would never go back. He couldn’t. Some things never changed, but this definitely would. As would his newfound glory of taking pieces of his sacrifice unto himself, above and beyond their font of life. He could still taste the smoky sweetness of the flesh as it slid down his throat, chased by the drink from his chalice of life-giving elixir.
He needed to be strong for her. Effervescent. Fate had unexpectedly brought her back into his life, and this time he would have her. There would be no getting away from him. No second chances for her, no second choices for him. But to have her, he had to make sure he was at his best. And that meant borrowing from those the darkness deemed worthy.
He didn’t have anyone new in mind yet. But he would find the perfect specimen. He would uncover the one who would allow him to ascend and finally claim what was rightfully his.
He glanced at the picture he had secured to his truck visor, running his finger over the fine planes of her face, taking in her natural smile that he’d caught when she was unawares.
She was special. So very special. The one who would help him become what he was always meant to be. He wished he could see her in person right now. Take in her vitality, if only by being in her proximity. But that would have to wait. He had other things to attend to first. Things that would be important when he made his next move.
But hewouldsee her again.
Soon.
Chapter 21
Hanlen
I couldn’t believe how tired I was. Yet wired. The investigation had been a rush and a half. I could see the appeal. The adrenaline was unlike anything else, and the pride and excitement anytime anything turned up was like a hit of sunshine. An endorphin rush that was better than the best designer drug—or so I assumed. But we were wrapping things up now for the night, and I could feel the crash coming on.
“Hey, Dev?” I called.
“Yeah?” he said and came walking over.
“I think we should stay here tonight. Why drive all the way back into the city? That is, if you can get ahold of your neighbor to see to Myst.”
He nodded. “That’s actually a great idea. I’d like to do some investigating on the property tomorrow, and it would be better to do it early so we know what we’re getting into when we hit dead time for day two.”
He’d told me thatdead timewas what they called it when they went lights-out and began the investigation in earnest.
“You can let anyone else know that they’re welcome to stay if they want, too. There are eight bedrooms in the place. And the carriage house is furnished also,” I added.
“I need to tell them to wrap up for the night anyway. Unfortunately, the walkie is dead. The ghosts must have drained the energy.” He grinned. “As for the carriage house, I’d rather not have anyone out there just yet since we haven’t investigated it, but having everyone close and ready to go would be great. We can have anyone who heads back bring us some stuff from the city, but I’m ninety percent sure that most of us have extra clothes and things in our bags or vehicles. It’s just something we learned to do on investigations because you never know what might happen, especially during the times you have to investigate in the elements.”
He took out his cell and texted the group, presumably so he didn’t have to walk all over and tell everyone in person, since everybody was spread out in the house and on the property. I thought about what I’d seen as we walked through the courtyard. I was pretty sure that every room was ready for guests. We generally always kept it that way because of the rentals, and I knew that Bea and the cleaning crew had just been here, and the agency knew to check things like soap and towels and whatnot.
Dev walked up to me and kissed my cheek. “Everybody but Dakota and our temp tech grip, Jeremy, are staying. They thought it was a great idea, too. And I was right, everybody had enough stuff to get by for the night.”
I felt a weird sense of relief that Jeremy wasn’t staying. The guy seemed good at his job, but he was a little strange. Somewhere around my age, maybe a little older, he seemed a bit of a loner and just had this weird . . . dead look in his eyes a lot of the time. It was an expression I’d seen often working with criminals. But who was I to judge? I didn’t know his background, and even if he had done time, if he’d turned his life around he deserved a second chance, and I was glad that Dev was giving that to him.Ifthat was his story.
I snapped back to the discussion at hand. “There should be things in the bathrooms for everybody, too. As long as they have clothes and necessities, everybody should be good. We can always order in delivery for breakfast.”
“Fabulous.” He grabbed my hand and started towards the stairs. “Which bedroom?” he asked. I was about to say the last on the left, and then realized that I no longer had to stay in my room. I could stay in the master with its amazing view. Grandma Myrtle could just get over the show. I hoped she wasn’t a prude.
“Let’s take the master. Let everybody else fight over the others. You’ll just have to protect me from the ghosts.” I nudged his shoulder.
“I can do that,” he said with a laugh and headed in that direction. Once safely closed inside, he turned to me as I was finishing kicking off my shoes. “You look tired,” he said.
