7. Hannah

Chapter 7

Hannah

A fter we’d finished touring the house and without Reylor coming to any conclusions, he typed his number into my phone, telling me to call him at any time day or night.

As he left through the back kitchen door, I let Max in, fed him, and went around, shutting windows and making sure they and all the doors were locked.

Reylor had taken the pocket watch, telling me he was going to look up details related to it online tonight. I’d bet him that he’d discover it was made about ninety years ago and that Justin had owned it. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if it was engraved with Justin’s name inside the front cover.

Did I actually believe ghosts existed? Even I wasn’t convinced, and I could tell Reylor was “spooked” by the pocket watch.

It was easier to explain away the odd bumps and bangs I heard during the night, the chilly breezes that would rush through the room despite all the windows and doors being closed, plus the random moved objects, as a ghost, than think that there was someone inside the building with me. If I suspected the latter, I’d never be able to sleep.

I made dinner and sat on the patio to enjoy it with Max lounging by my feet again, batting at the sprig of catnip I’d picked in my garden.

When it started to get dark, I went inside, locked the back door, and filled my bathroom tub.

I peeked out the back window and . . . Was someone slinking through my backyard?

Garden saboteur!

I bolted from the room and around to the kitchen, bursting out onto my small back deck, where I clutched the railing and peered around.

There was no one there.

“Don’t you dare,” I bellowed.

A dog a few houses down started barking.

After grabbing a flashlight from inside my kitchen, I strode around my backyard, even walking all the way to the sand dunes, but I didn’t find any evidence someone had been there. My plants swayed happily in their flower beds, and my shed door remained locked.

I must’ve imagined I saw someone here. Was it any wonder I was spooked about all this?

Back inside, I rechecked the locks and windows, making sure everything was secure, then returned to my suite, plugging my phone into the cord I left on my bedside table.

After lighting candles and placing them around the bathroom and dropping a few beads of scented oil into the steaming water, I stripped and climbed in, leaning back against the sloped surface. My tension slid out of me all at once.

Boy, was my imagination working overtime. I needed to relax. Monsters, PI, and Reylor in particular, were on the case. Soon, all this would be in my past.

Max hopped up onto the stool I’d placed nearby for that very reason. He glared at me, nothing new there, before batting at the water, hissing when he got his paw wet.

“You do this every night, buddy.” I lifted my glass of wine to him in a toast. After taking a sip, I returned the glass to the low table nearby. “You’d think by now you’d realize you don’t want to join me in my bath. Although, if you’d like to take a swim when I get out, I’ll leave the tub full.”

He glanced toward the door and rose to his feet, sharing his glare with the building in general. Arching his spine, he bristled his fur, and his long howl rang out.

Chills ripped up my spine despite the toasty warm water, and I sat upright, grabbing a washcloth to clutch over my chest. As if that would do much to cover me up?

The lights flickered on overhead before going out again.

And when a stiff, cold wind burst through the room, blowing out my candles, I yelped.

I scrambled from the tub and wrapped a big towel around my body, securing it by tucking the top down by my right breast. After stuffing my feet into my bright pink fuzzy slippers, I hurried to the door and lifted the switch.

The lights didn’t come on.

Rhythmic thuds rang out overhead like someone walking, followed by a rattle and a bang.

My heart thumping way too fast, I slipped from my bathroom and over to where I’d left my phone on my bedside table to charge.

It wasn’t there.

The lights burst on overhead again before winking out, leaving me in darkness spotted by whiteness from the blaze. I groped around, trying to locate my phone I must’ve inadvertently knocked off the table, but I couldn’t find it. In fact, the cord I’d plugged into the wall behind the table was gone as well.

My skin peppered with goosebumps.

Where was my phone?

Something brushed against my legs, and I shrieked, nearly dropping my towel that I clutched together at my chest.

Max howled from nearby, telling me he was the one who’d startled me. He scrambled toward the door to the hall and clawed at it as if he was desperate to escape whatever was going on inside the suite.

I scooted over to the door and flicked the switch, but the lights didn’t come on in this room either. With shaky fingers, I unlocked the door and carefully tugged it open to peer out into the hall. Thankfully, my eyes had adjusted to the lack of light again, and I could see that the hallway remained empty.

Wind whipped through the first floor from the open front door.

“Who’s there?” I whispered, not sure I really wanted to know.

No one replied.

Max flung himself down the hall and to the right, his claws scraping the hardwood floor I’d recently refinished as he made his way to the kitchen. He was soon thumping on the cat door I locked at night to keep squirrels from entering and him inside while predators roamed.

Easing out into the hall, I shut the door and coded it to lock again. I tiptoed down the hall and through the foyer, not trying the lights because all the windows in both my front living room and parlor were wide open.

Someone was inside the house with me.

Muffling my yelp, I ran down the opposite corridor and into the kitchen, tugging the door closed and locking it behind me.

I flicked the switch, but the lights didn’t turn on. Had I lost power, had all the breakers been tripped, or . . .?

I didn’t want to think about what this might mean.

My phone lay on the kitchen table, the cord I’d used to charge it unplugged and dangling over the edge.

I snatched it up and grabbed my keys off the counter. After unlocking the back door, I slipped out with Max squirming in my arms. I raced to my car and jumped inside, placing my beloved pet on the seat beside me.

He hissed and glared, but at least he was safe.

With the doors locked, I speed dialed Reylor.