Abe Lincoln and Mae West. An odd combination, right? Luckily, I’d been able to help them cross over. I’d picked up Abe Lincoln while visiting his birthplace which was close to my hometown, and Mae had been hanging out in a little ranch-style house after she’d been conjured up by a Ouija board. But I digressed.
Anyway, with any luck, the ghosts would give me a little vacation now that the latest bunch had crossed over. I needed a rest.
“So tell me what’s going on?” I asked while looking around her living room.
Everything seemed normal in the room. The toss pillows were neatly aligned on her beige sofa. The side chairs were perfectly parallel from each other and the floral area rug didn’t have a speck of lint. Typical Mindy—all looked normal to me.
She tucked a loose curl behind her ear. “Well, I didn’t mention anything over the past few days because I was, well, under that crazy spell and not in the right frame of mind, but a lot of strange things have been going on in here.”
Like I said, Mindy had been affected by a black magic spell. A witch who wanted to be the coven leader got a wee bit jealous and thought she’d hurt me by attacking my best friend and turning her against me. Luckily, it hadn’t worked out for her. Thank goodness.
“What have you heard? Have you seen anything?”
Callahan stood beside me taking in the whole conversation. His blue eyes seemed sharper under the glow from the overhead light. He’d slipped into his blue T-shirt and jeans when we’d rushed over to Mindy’s. The casual look suited him… well, any look suited him.
“There have been footsteps up in the attic.” She gestured above. “I’ve heard my name called out and mumbling. I’m not sure what the voice is saying, but it’s definitely there. Oh, and one more thing. I smell cigarette smoke. No one smokes in my house.”
Why was it always the attics? Why did the spirits like the dark and spooky spaces? Not to mention the spiders and mice that liked to call those places home too.
Chapter Two
Taking in a deep breath, I prepared myself for what I might find. Since spirits talked to me and I talked to them, if I didn’t mentally prepare myself, the spirit could take over, drain my energy, and I’d be in big trouble. “Okay, I’ll go up and check it out.”
“Larue, why don’t you let me go check it out.” Callahan touched my arm.
I wrapped my fingers around his hand and squeezed for reassurance. “Callahan, if it’s a spirit, it may hide from you. But if I go up, the person will know that I can communicate. I really appreciate the offer though.”
How sweet was he? He’d been through hell ever since he’d met me and I wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d never spoken to me again. Lucky for me, he didn’t choose that route.
He sighed, then let go of my arm. “Just be careful.”
I made my way toward the stairs, then eased up each one. I didn’t look over my shoulder, but I knew Callahan and Mindy watched my every move. I felt their stares on my back. Unfortunately, I was wearing my baggy sweatpants that said ‘Got ghosts?’ on the rear end. They had seemed like a cute idea at the time. Regrettably, now I knew Callahan was watching the words as they ascended the steps. Not so cute anymore.
When I reached the landing at the top of the stairs, I pulled down the little ladder from the ceiling that led up into the attic. The space was nothing but pitch black when I stared up into it. It was now or never. After climbing to the top, I poked my head in the opening and looked into the dark space. Alone in a spooky attic with spiders, mice, or ghosts… it was not where I wanted to be at the moment. I could think of many more enticing scenarios—number one being in bed with Callahan’s arms wrapped around me. But if I had to pick between the insects, rodents, or spirits, I’d much rather have the ghosts. Although some of the ghosts could be very ornery.
Air escaped my lips as I exhaled, made my way up the rest of the stairs, and stepped onto the attic floor. It didn’t help that I was afraid of heights too. Ghosts were about the only thing I wasn’t afraid of.