She shook her head. It’s not as bad as Mom’s Precious Moments collection. Ugh, makes me gag.
Jody saw a short hall that led to the kitchen and followed it.
So, this is where they must have all been killed, she thought.
Not a single chair was left standing. The table was on its side, one leg broken off and missing. Jody wondered if it had been used to beat the homeowners to death.
Broken dishes were scattered across the floor and the counter, and there were dark stains near the sink. Jody had looked at enough crime scenes online to know she was seeing dried blood. Without effort, she was able to imagine the broken table leg in the hands of the murderer, the end of it smeared with blood while bits of flesh and hair clung to it.
She took her phone out, opened the camera app, and then frowned as the battery died. Her shoulders sagged, and she shook her head.
Ghosts drain batteries, she thought. I know this. Maybe if I charge it, I can get a couple of pics.
She walked to the counter, pushed aside some of the broken dishes, and opened up her lunchbox. Jody removed her charger, plugged it in, and connected her phone.
“What are you doing?”
Jody screamed with fear and jerked around, her chest heaving as her eyes fixed on a dead woman standing near the broken table.
“Um,” Jody stuttered, “I just wanted to see the crime scene. Were you killed here?”
The woman’s lip curled in a sneer. “Does it look like I’d live in a dump like this? No, I didn’t live here. Besides, I was killed by being shot.” The ghost gestured to the bullet wound in her belly, the sight of which made Jody physically ill.
“These idiots,” the woman sighed, “they were killed. That’s all. The boy died last, though. He seemed kind of sweet, so I killed him quickly. His parents, well, they suffered. But only for a short time.”
“What about the other two?” Jody asked, finding her voice as confidence returned. “Did you see what was used on them?”
The dead woman laughed. “Sure did. It was my hand. Or hands, rather. You know.”
“Oh.” Jody nodded. Then, she stopped, blinked, and asked, “What did you say?”
“My hands,” the ghost replied. “I slid them inside, here and there, just long enough to hurt parts of them. Parts they needed to keep living. You should see the way a person twitches when you touch their heart.”
“I didn’t think ghosts could kill people,” Jody whispered. The thrill of being in the house had vanished, swept aside by a growing fear. She tried to move, but her legs didn’t listen.
“Oh, some of us can,” the dead woman informed her. “Some of us like it. I find it’s a necessity. Sometimes, it’s enjoyable. Other times, not so much.”
“Okay.” Jody smiled weakly, cleared her throat, and unplugged her phone. She put the phone and charger in her lunchbox and closed it. Taking hold of the plastic handle, she said, “Well, it was really nice to talk to you, but I’m going to leave. I have to get to school.”
“No,” the ghost replied, shaking her head. “You’re not going to school today.”
“I have to.” Jody fought the terror creeping up.
“You may have to, but you’re not,” the dead woman stated. “I don’t want you to. I want you here.”
“Why?”
“I don’t like you,” the ghost answered. “Look at you. What the hell’s wrong with you? Are you trying to look dead or something?”
“It’s just makeup,” Jody whispered, taking a step toward the back door.
“Makeup makes you look like a better woman. More attractive. Approachable. You,” the dead woman shook her head, “you’re looking a damned corpse.”
The ghost took a step toward Jody. “I don’t like it.”
“I’ll leave, and you won’t have to see me.” The words rushed out, trembling and tumbling one after the other. “Please, just let me get out of here.”
The dead woman appeared as though she was going to say something else, but she paused, closed her eyes, and when she opened them a moment later, there was no more anger on her face or in her words.
“Get out of here,” the ghost muttered, waving Jody toward the other room. “Just go.”
Jody didn’t hesitate. Clutching her lunchbox, she ran for the door, almost tripping over herself. Her head was pounding as she reached for the doorknob, and then she screamed as the dead woman stepped through the door.
“Just kidding,” the ghost laughed, striking Jody in the chest and sending her tumbling backward. Jody’s chest was numb from the bitter cold of the dead woman’s touch, and her mind was reeling as she struck the couch and fell over it onto the floor, slamming her head on the coffee table. Nausea filled her as she tried to get to her feet, but the dead woman was already there.
“No one gets to leave. Not when I’m dead, and you aren’t,” the dead woman hissed.
Jody tried to get away, to scramble around the couch, and get to the back door, but the dead woman grabbed her by the hair and jerked her head back.
“Come on,” the ghost whispered, pulling Jody toward the fireplace. “Let’s see how well the brick holds up against being smashed with your face.”
Jody screamed and tried to tear her hair out of the dead woman’s grasp, but it was of no use.
In a matter of seconds, she was at the surround of the fireplace. She tried to beg, but as she did so, the dead woman drove Jody’s face into the brick.
The brick held up better than Jody did.
Chapter 34: Waylaid Plans
Monday, 11:00 AM
Shane sat at the dining table and laid out a fresh hand of solitaire. He found himself humming the Marine Corps Hymn as he did so, and he chuckled. There had been plenty of nights he had played solitaire when he was in the Corps.
He tapped the head off of his cigarette, took a sip of water, and turned the first card. As he decided on where and how best to play it, Carl entered the room. The dead German appeared to be irritated.
Leaning back in his chair, Shane asked, “What’s up, Carl? You look a little upset.”
Carl sat down across from Shane. The dead man forgot to pull out the chair, so he appeared to be rising up from the edge of the table.
It reminded Shane of old fortune-teller arcade machines, but he kept his comments to himself, knowing how it would bother Carl.
“Talk to me,” Shane said, setting aside the cards. “Tell me what’s going on, my friend.”
“I am upset,” Carl began, “over the violation of our home earlier this morning.”
“It’s not the first time,” Shane reminded him.
“And it will not be the last, of that I am certain,” Carl added. “However, I can say that I will never be pleased by it. I will add to that my disgust at having to let one of them get away.”
“Yeah, I’m not too pleased with that either,” Shane agreed. “Thing is, we know where he is. Manchester.”
“It is not a small town,” Carl muttered.
“No, but we’ll find him.”
Carl nodded. “You have had no word from Captain Thompson?”
“None,” Shane confirmed. The phone rang as the word left his mouth, and he glanced down at it. “Huh, speak of the devil.”