Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

“Shit,” Sybil whispered.

Time seemed to stop. She stared into the Stygian darkness and the silence felt as thick as a living presence.

Instinctively, she reached out for a wall. For anything. Fear launched into her throat.

“Sybil?” Doug’s query came from the other part of the basement, around the corner.

She fumbled for her phone in her pocket, but before she could grab it, a light arched around the corner. Doug stood there with his phone acting as a flashlight.

She huffed out a half-laugh filled with that relief. “Wow, it is really dark in here. I wonder if the lights went out upstairs, too.”

“Good question.” He continued her way, his phone sending out the blessed light.

She pulled out her phone and switched on the flashlight. “Let’s see if the lights are on upstairs.”

“Good idea.” Doug led the way back out of the cellar.

She breathed deep and tried to steady her pounding heart. Something down in the cellar wasn’t kosher.

Voices came from the upper floors. The lights appeared to be out in the Great Hall, too. A moment later, they reached the main floor, and her breathing eased.

The lights went back on.

Doug and Sybil went into the Great Hall, and she didn’t know what to say or to think about the last few minutes.

“That was interesting,” he said. “I didn’t have time to finish measuring, so I’m going back down.”

“I’ll stay up here.”

He seemed to take it all in stride and headed back to the cellar. Drawn toward the terrace window, she stood and looked outside at the building clouds. It looked threatening again. She opened the terrace door and went outside for fresh air. The cloud cover made the forest darker. More forbidding.

This house is more than bizarre. Weird. Uncanny. Unsettling.

Each day here became odder. More complicated, and far more than she’d expected when Clarice had hired the company. The situation had quickly turned bizarre, which was unexpected, considering how easy it should have been.

She walked to the edge of the terrace and stared into those woods. Heard them speak to her.

Come here.

Enter us.

We want to see you.

Talk to you.

Feel you.

Touch you.

She drew in a breath and jerked back.

She pulled herself from a fog. A stupor that had come out of nowhere.

She drew in the cool air, and it cleared her head.

The terrace door opened, and she flinched and turned toward it.

Doug came outside and closed the door. “Hey. You okay?”

He seemed to ask her that a lot. She didn’t know whether to appreciate his concern or be worried that she showed signs of things not being okay.

She smiled, well aware she didn’t feel the amusement behind it. “Sure. Why do you ask?”

He moved closer, eyes filled with curiosity and concern. “I’m being presumptuous, but it seemed like the lights thing freaked you out a bit.”

“A little. It was unexpected. The dark doesn’t normally scare me.” I like it. No…I can’t tell him that. “Did you get all the measurements you needed?”

“Yep. I’m going into Estes Park tomorrow to pick up what is needed. Then it’ll probably be a full day of work after that to install the system. I want to make sure that doesn’t interfere with your schedule.”

“Not at all. I mean...Clarice is the ultimate boss.”

“True.” He cleared his throat. “Different subject, but are you free sometime this week for dinner?”

Surprise hit, but so did pleasure. “Oh. Yes. I would like that. When and where? There isn’t anywhere nearby to eat around here, is there?”

“Not unless you head back towards Estes Park. Did you see that place called Clinton’s on the edge of town just before you entered this crazy forest?”

“I think so. The place that said it was opening this week?”

“That’s it. I served in the Marines with the guy who bought the place. Clinton Smith. He invited me to the grand opening in two days. Want to come with me? Or you could drive yourself there.”

She didn’t hesitate. “Sounds great. I’d leave the van here for the ladies in case they need it. So yeah…if you don’t mind stopping here to pick me up.”

His eyes brightened. “Great. I’ll keep you updated, but I should be out the day after tomorrow to do the system. What time did you want to eat at Clinton’s that night?”

“Six o’clock sound good?”

“Perfect. I’d better get out of here.”

She walked him to the front of the mansion. As he opened the door, he turned back to her for a second, and the warmth in his eyes took her off guard. There was a cautious but unmistakable heat in his gaze, and her mind and senses reacted on a purely primal level. Though they barely knew each other, she saw it in his eyes. That telltale interest that made her want to lean closer. To do something incredibly impulsive and to kiss him.

“I’ll call you tomorrow afternoon and let you know if I found everything I need to put together the security system,” he said.

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Good night.”

“Night.”

After he exited, she closed the door and locked it. She turned, and that’s when she saw the figure sitting on the couch that faced the fireplace. The light in the Great Hall had turned a murky gray, and the woman’s mid-length, dark curly hair and absolute stillness sent a bolt of apprehension through her.

Then she recognized the woman. Didn’t she?

Maria?

Sybil headed toward the figure quickly. The woman didn’t move.

Slowly, the woman turned. Freakishly slow.

The head turned.

Sybil felt caught in the moment, almost unable to breathe, unable to move for fear of alerting the person. The thing sitting there.

“Maria?” Sybil asked.

The figure on the couch jumped and let out a little gasp as she jerked around to look at Sybil.

“Oh, shit,” Maria said. “You scared the hell out of me.”

The odd, unutterable lack of recognition she’d felt originally viewing Maria disappeared. Yet the disturbance it caused didn’t.

“I didn’t see you a moment ago,” Sybil said. “I mean, I went by here with Doug and you weren’t there.”

Maria smiled. “I just came out of the kitchen.” She held up a mug. “I’m freezing my ass off and made some hot tea.”

Sybil moved toward the younger woman and sat down on the couch that faced the terrace.

Uncertainty came over Maria’s expression. “What happened to the lights a bit ago?”

“A power surge, I guess. I imagine that happens occasionally out here in the middle of nowhere.”

Maria shrugged. “Look, I know I said there are no such things as ghosts. But...this place is strange. I saw that person when we first got here. The one I went after. I saw them in the backyard that time and they literally disappeared. It’s freaking me out thinking about it.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in creepy things and ghosts.”

“Well, I don’t. Not really. But whatever is going on…it’s got me thinking.”

“I could see how that’s disturbing,” Sybil said. But then she remembered something. “I didn’t hear you tell Deputy Annapolis what the figure looked like.”

“It was an old guy. Well, at least in his seventies. I didn’t see his face, but he had this grayish hair, and it was messy. He wore a dark gray suit that was sort of...Victorian.” Maria’s gaze snapped to Sybil’s, and the younger woman’s expression held suspicion. As if she expected to be mocked. “And just like that, he vanished.”

Sybil took this in, but her silence appeared to strike Maria the wrong way.

“I knew it. You think I’m nuts,” Maria said.

Sybil held up one hand. “No, no. That’s not it. In fact, I think I can make you feel more at ease about it.”

Sybil explained she had seen such a man and so had Doug.

Maria’s expression lost a bit of apprehension. “Really? Who do you think it is?”

“Perhaps the ghost of someone who lived here or visited here?”

Maria rubbed her arms and made a snorting sound. “Pauline said you’re prone to seeing things.”

Sybil’s suspicion rose, and so did her anger. “Did she?”

Maria pulled a slight smile. “I told her I didn’t want to hear gossip.”

Sybil lowered her temperature on the subject. “Thanks.”

“I didn’t even want to tell you what she said.” Maria shrugged. “Because if she finds out I ratted on her...” She shrugged again. “I don’t need complications in my life. I just want to do my job. And I don’t want Pauline losing her job.”

“Well, it’s true what Pauline said,” Sybil said. “I am sensitive to energies. To knowing what some people are feeling. Whether they have motivations they’re trying to hide. That sort of thing. I don’t advertise it. As far as Pauline is concerned, don’t let what she says worry you.”

Sybil waited for Maria to react. To perhaps pepper her with more questions.

“Look,” Sybil finally said. “If she tries to drag you into drama, you could try telling her you’re not interested in hearing it.”

Maria nodded, her eyes still doubtful. “Okay.”

“Great. Well, I’m starving. How about you?”