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The landing was rough. Captain Griffey immediately apologized. “Sorry for the bumpy landing. Tough crosswind out there today. Storm’s due to hit this evening. As you can see it’s already started raining.”
Shit.“No problem Captain. Thanks for getting me here so quickly.” He stood and shook the man’s hand. Then he walked down the stairs and immediately regretted not wearing a heavier jacket. He was going to have to do some shopping while he was here.
A Society SUV waited on the tarmac. A black BMW X5 was parked at the base of the stairs. Flynn got in and then hit the button for home on the GPS. The nav would take him to Everlasting Manor.
The manor was a recent addition to the Society’s stable of retreats, resorts, and recreational facilities. The newly added residence might be the only one with ghosts.
He snorted. Ghosts. Seriously. He supposed he should look at it as a nice break from dealing with the growing criminal element within the Society.
Okay, that wasn’t true. The criminal members were smart enough to not draw too much attention to their activities, and usually held true to the rules. The politicians and the businessmen were the major offenders. He’d found them all to be lowlife assholes. Abusive both mentally and often physically to those around them. Some of them were also rapists. Not to mention murderers, thieves, and the run-of-the-mill cheats. He enjoyed enforcing the rules when it came to these types. Rapists, in particular, were a scourge he had no trouble getting rid of. He knew the rest of the team felt the same way.
Eli Fisher was on the top of all their lists on that score. They all wanted a piece of him. Someday he’d screw up while they were watching. They all knew it. The only thing they could do until then was keep close tabs on him. The fact that he was here in Maine was a bonus. As far as Flynn was concerned. Maybe he’d have a reason to put him down. That brought a smile to his face. He could only hope.
He checked the GPS as he cruised up to the entrance. A realtor’s sign had been jabbed into the grass at a fork in the driveway. For sale? That was odd. No one mentioned that. Pulling up to the gate, he showed his ID to the guard. Flynn hadn’t met this man before, but he did work for the Society and technically they worked for the same department, albeit on different types of tasks. Flynn always made sure to acknowledge anyone who worked in security and treat them with respect. Never know when he’d need backup. Of course, he wasn’t sure what kind of backup one needed when ghost hunting.
“Mr. O’Connor.” The guard had emerged from the small, stone gatehouse. After studying the ID Flynn had presented, he stepped back until he was partially under an awning. “I was told to expect you. Welcome to Everlasting Manor.”
Flynn glanced at the man’s name tag over his left pocket. “Thank you, Mr. Wallford.”
“Karl, please,” the man said as he wiped rain out of his eyes. The small overhang on the guard shack wasn’t doing much to protect him.
His close-cropped white hair wasn’t stopping any of the rain from streaming down his craggy face. He looked like he’d spent a lot of time outside and his expanding middle said he was past his prime, but his blue eyes were bright and there was an intelligence behind them that Flynn didn’t often see in a security guard.
“Flynn,” he said offering his hand through the open window. “You look like this isn’t your first rodeo. Military? Law enforcement?”
“Both. Was in the army and then spent thirty years with the Sheriff’s department. This is my retirement. I just couldn’t sit home and do nothing.”
“I hear that,” Flynn said. “I’m not much for sitting around myself. What’s with the For Sale sign? No one mentioned the place is on the market.” What a nightmare that could be. People would want to walk through it, which meant corralling all the members and making sure they were behaving themselves. Or temporarily closing the doors to members.
“That’s for the property next door. We share a driveway at the bottom but it winds behind the Manor and then goes to the far side of it. The property is about forty acres. Been for sale for a while.”
“Huh. No takers? How come?”
Karl took another step back until he was in the doorway to the gatehouse. He slicked water away from his shoulders as he explained, “Zoned for residential. Also, some sort of bird habitat so potential buyers can’t do much with the shoreline. Cost a ton to put in any kind of jetty. People around here want ocean frontage they can use.”
Made sense. He’d want to use it too. Staring out at the ocean wasn’t his thing. He’d want to be in it. “So, know anything about ghosts?” he asked with a grin. “Apparently I’m here to investigate a haunting.”
Karl didn’t return his smile. “I’ve lived here my whole life and heard stories about the Manor that would curl your hair. My advice; take the rumors seriously.”
Flynn studied the other man for a moment. “Thanks. I’ll come find you if I need help. Sorry for getting you wet.”
“Yes, sir. Not a problem,” Karl stepped into the small building and hit a button. The gates slowly swung open. “Good luck.”
Flynn waved as he rolled up his window and proceeded through. That was not the warmest of welcomes and it wasn’t what he’d thought he’d hear from someone like Karl. Maybe Karl was right and he needed to take this much more seriously.
He drove along the paved driveway that wound through the trees and climbed slightly up hill. Eventually, the trees gave way to rolling lawns with Everlasting Manor perched at the very top of the bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
The house itself was huge but butt-ugly. It looked to Flynn like it started off in one style and somewhere along the way, another owner added on a wing in a completely different style. The end result was three stories tall, with lots of windows reflecting the stormy sky. He searched his brain, Victorian. Kind of. That was the look. A round turret on one side dominated the roofline. It was painted a maroon with black shutters. On the way up he’d noticed a more recent addition that was more of a rectangle and it protruded out the back forming an L with the rest of the building. The circular driveway framed a grassy area with a stone fountain with what looked like chubby angels in the middle. There was a turn off for a large parking area before entering the circle.
Flynn drove around the circle and parked the BMW to the side by a group of bushes. The spot was close enough to the door so he wouldn’t get soaked and far enough out of the way so people could get by him. There was no way he was parking around back. The heavens had just opened and he would be drenched. He grabbed his stuff out of the SUV and bounded up the steps. He was soaked to the skin by the time he pushed open the front door. The door banged closed behind him, and he found himself on what he assumed was an expensive rug in the foyer.
“Mr. O’Connor,” a tall elderly woman said as she entered the foyer from the back of the house. “Welcome to Everlasting Manor.”
This must be Helen Carruthers. She ran the place or at least she was the overseer that answered to Archer. A place this size would have a few different department heads running it.
“Mrs. Carruthers. How are you?” He tried to keep his tone warm, but the woman put him in mind of an old nun, with her pinched lips, iron-gray hair, and frigid blue eyes. She gave the immediate impression she was disapproving of whatever was going on, including his visit.
