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“Well then this can work for all of us,” Lincoln answered. His booming voice quieted the chaos. “How about we go grab coffee and donuts and come back for a mutual chat. We’d love to hear any real experiences you’ve had, not just stories the locals are throwing around.”
“You’ve cleaned here before, right?” I questioned. If this was their first time, this conversation would be useless.
“Oh yes, this is our sixth time coming, our boss just delayed the last few since you were getting settled,” the first woman answered.
“Then I can’t wait,” Brea chimed in. “Any requests?” She pulled out her phone and wrote down names and coffee orders. Even with six vans out front there were only eight of them, which made this a bit more manageable.
Thankfully, our new favorite coffee shop came through, packing up several boxes of donuts before making quick work of our insanely long coffee order. We could have gone simpler, but there’s just something about having your favorite drink that changes your day.
When we came back some of the excitement had worn off and the entire place smelled like citrus. They’d definitely been busy in the short few hours we’d been gone. We made a beeline for the conference room, yelling out to whoever was around that we’d meet them there. They’d have to spread the word.
It took about five minutes before they’d all trailed in, everyone taking a seat as Brea and Ben passed out coffees and the donuts were set in the middle of the table.
“Thank you, you didn’t have to do all this,” another woman told us. She was the same one who had spoken first before. “I’m Mariana by the way.”
“You’re working hard, so we’re happy to treat you,” Brea grinned. “Plus, we wanted an excuse to hear all you have to say.
They all turned and looked at one woman. She seemed timid, quiet, but from the smile spreading on her face she clearly had more to her than that. My eyes flickered down to her cup to read her name. Lilly.
“Lilly, we’d love to hear it,” I prompted. There was a bit of hesitance in the room, but a whole lot of anticipation.
“I think I was the first to bring it up to the group,” she admitted. “We always head for the diner after this job, a few hours of cleaning big buildings makes you hungry.”
“I can imagine,” Ben said. “This place is huge.”
“Well the last time we were pretty booked so we got here just before sun down,” she continued. “The place has lights obviously, but the moment the sun was gone it was like a beacon for creepy things. I went to mop the floor and suddenly the bucket was empty. So I go fill it up, and as I’m dragging it, the water is so full it starts spilling out, even though I had only filled it halfway.
Another woman, whose cup said Trina, spoke up next. “I was doing windows and I kept seeing shadows behind me. But when I turned I was alone. It’s why we do this job in pairs now.”
“That’s probably for the best. Even we’ve never seen so much activity in one space,” I admitted.
“I was touched.” Another voice chimed in. The words had every set of eyes in the room turning on her, even her coworkers were shocked. The woman’s cheeks were flaming red at the attention and I could feel her discomfort from here.
“Really, Claire?” Lilly asked quietly. “When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I thought I was going crazy or had maybe just imagined it,” she admitted. “But I went back to the van to grab more rags, and I felt someone brush a hand over my hair. Like it was stroking me lovingly.”
She shivered at the reminder and I felt the disgust and fear she was holding onto.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” I told her. She gave a small smile before folding in even more on herself. It was like she tried to remain unnoticed here.
“I lived in Serenity Harbor most of my life. This whole area is cursed,” Sasha concluded, taking a pointed sip of her coffee. “You’ll find no real answers. It’s all lore and death.”
“Well, we know how to dig,” Ben countered. “So hopefully something pops up. This isn’t natural.”
“Everything else is just small things. Moving objects, footsteps, odd voices when no one is there,” Lilly finished. “That, and the feeling like you’re being watched. Constantly. I thought I was paranoid until we finally all talked about everything happening.”
“You’re not paranoid,” Brea reassured them. “I’ve felt that here.”
“We won’t occupy your time anymore, we’ve got a lot to do. Thank you for speaking with us,” Lincoln said. We gave an array of goodbyes before we hurried out. It wasn’t a huge breakthrough like we’d hoped, but at least it confirmed that these ghosts were showing themselves to anyone who dared get too close. And that was a dangerous thing.
* * *
The bar wasin full swing by the time we arrived. It was like the entire town had come out to party.
“I’ll grab drinks,” Ben offered, pulling Lincoln with him. I led the way to the back where two round tables were free. Sully and Ryker helped shove them together before we sat down to stake our claim.
“Look, apparently this town has festivals,” Ryker noted, holding up a flyer that was left on the table.
