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“Is this a photo you caught during your investigation?” she questioned, her voice a bit shaky.
“Yes,” I said. I wasn’t going to lie to her. She hired us for a reason. We were investigators, and we sometimes did catch things that were hard for our clients to see.
“I can’t be one hundred percent certain, and I’ll explain why, but it might be my dad.”
“Wait, we have his photo in our files. We created a family tree to try to piece these ghosts together. This doesn’t look like the man in the photo.”
“That’s because he aged. This is what my dad looked like when I was in elementary school.”
“Then why aren’t you certain?” Lincoln questioned.
“He had a twin.”
“Had?” Ryker asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Yeah, let’s just say that those two were obsessed with the Bellmore name and that castle. Fuck that place,” she muttered the last part under her breath. “It was so bad that they feuded for years. In fact, they split the castle in half for a long time, keeping two wings each. But before my father met my mother, my uncle disappeared.”
“Sounds suspicious,” Ben said, hanging onto her words.
“Definitely,” she agreed. “I only knew about him because I found a photo one time when I was snooping around. My mom got super weird about it and made me promise her that I wouldn’t say anything to my dad. It wasn’t until a few years later that my grandma was here for Christmas, and she mentioned missing her boys together. A few eggnogs later, and she told me the whole story.”
“Patrick allowed that?” I asked.
“He was drunk and showing something off,” she said. “She said that my uncle had died in his room. It was a self-inflicted wound. She admitted that it didn’t make sense. He had a thirst for life and adventure and loved this house; that he wouldn’t do that.”
“Where did your dad die?” I questioned. “I’m sorry for the crass question, but it might help us.”
“No, it’s fine. He also died in the house. His was a heart attack. But let’s just say things were not good in the end. My dad was delusional at best, and his obsession turned into something psychotic. He tried to make me sign papers that I would never sell the house. There was just a lot of crazy, old-man ranting.”
“We think whoever is in these photos is behind the bulk of the haunting here.”
“‘The bulk,’” she questioned. Elizabeth was smart and she didn’t miss what I was trying to hide.
“Well, he’s not theonlyghost here. He’s just the only harmful one.”
“You know, I knew that place was haunted for my entire life. Nobody ever believed me. As I grew up, I noticed it less and less. Until dad died, at least. Part of me wonders if it is actually him at fault or if it’s both brothers going at each other’s throats again.”
“That’s a real possibility,” I said. “We’re going to do our best to help you, Elizabeth, to give you your home back.”
“After being here, I’m not so certain I want to be back,” she said with a deep sigh. “I also don’t want to be haunted forever if I sell it.”
“If you’re ever interested in selling, let us know,” Lincoln said, surprising us all.
“Let me think it over,” she said. “Good luck, guys.”
The call ended abruptly, and we all blinked over at Lincoln, who just shrugged.
“When we get rid of whatever is causing all this turmoil, this house is gorgeous. It’s growing on me.”
“Lincoln, it’s not a house, it is a castle,” Ryker corrected, looking at him like he’d grown an extra head. “We can’t run or own a castle. We have a home.”
“I didn’t say we had to live in it full time,” Lincoln said. “Just imagine if she sold this place to someone else. That person would be terrified even if it wasn’t malicious supernatural activity.”
“So, you want to buy it just to save someone else?” Ethan asked. He was rubbing a hand through his beard and staring at Lincoln with more curiosity than shock.
“It would make a really cool hotel or museum, or a mix of the two,” I offered. Now they all turned and looked at me. I shrugged and continued. “What? I thought the same thing. I just figured Elizabeth would never sell this place. It’s been in her family for centuries.”
“If she’s not willing to sell, we could propose something shared. We could fund the changes, turn it into some sort of partnership, come up with a contract, submit the details, the works,” Lincoln said as he ran a hand through his hair.
