 |  |
Matt couldn’t believe it. Someone had broken into his house! Everything was turned over, all drawers had been pulled out, and their contents spilled on the floor. He looked through, seeing if anything had been left untouched by the unseen hands. Frank stopped him before he could touch anything.
“Stop, don’t touch anything because you might destroy fingerprints.” He said, “Go outside and call police with your cellphone. Joe and I will give this place a visual inspection, see if we see anything.”
Matt nodded and went outside.
Joe looked around. “I don’t think this was a robbery.”
Frank nodded. “I know. There’s too much destruction. A smart burglar would not have overturned drawers. It would make too much noise.”
They walked through the rooms. Everything had been opened or turned over, yet nothing appeared to be taken. The person or persons were looking for something very specific over looking the valuable paintings and antiques on the walls. It didn’t look like any of the secret areas had been touched.
Matt came back into the house with two police officers. He showed them through the house showing the damaged they had found. The officers talked with the Hardys after verifying who they were. Mrs. Nathan came over and explained something odd she had seen.
“I saw someone dressed in suit. Two people actually. They knocked on the door repeatedly then tried getting in with a key.” She explained, “When the door didn’t open they went around the back. I didn’t see them for about thirty minutes before they came back. I assumed they were realtors since the house was being sold.” She looked at Nathan, “I’m sorry honey I didn’t know they were robbers.” She looked around the house for the first time. “Oh honey they trashed your house.”
“Mrs. Nathan it’s OK, you didn’t know. But you have helped the officers figure out that it was a break-in,” Mark told her.
“I’ll make it up to you. Say, are you hungry? Officers? I have a huge twenty pound turkey in the oven that I need people to eat. It’s almost done.”
Seeing the look in the old woman’s face, not even the officers could resist the thought of a turkey dinner, being that they were just about to go on their dinner break.
The officers finished their investigation and then they all headed over to Mrs. Nathan’s for the hot turkey dinner. The old woman seemed please with the company and blushed at the compliments for her delicious side dishes. One officer even requested her recipe for her turkey dressing.
As the teens were leaving Mrs. Nathan apologized a second time.
“Don’t worry.” Frank assured her, “In fact keep doing what you have been doing, watching the house. It will help.”
Full with Mrs. Nathan’s dinner, they returned to the house to begin the clean up. Mark also remarked at how nothing seemed to be missing.
Frank looked around. “Mark, we’re going to have to check all the secret hiding places. This may have been staged to cover up the real robbery.”
Mark nodded and went through all the places they had found. Joe was surprised at how much of a mess two people could make in a few minutes. They were lucky that the kitchen seemed to have been spared. None of them felt like they needed to clean eggs and flour off of the floor. Going through one of the bedrooms, Joe noticed that none of the trinket boxes had been opened. Since nothing had been broken, the clean up was going faster than they thought.
Joe was picking up something of the debris in the hallway, when he felt the same cold chill pass through the hallway. He looked up and felt a cold breeze his throat, causing him to gasp. When Frank came into the hallway he was surprised to see his brother’s breath! He was shivering as if he just spent an hour in a frozen food locker. He rushed over to him.
“Little brother what’s wrong?” he demanded, shocked at how cold his skin felt to the touch.
“I-I f-f-feel c—cold,” he replied through his chattering teething.
Frank felt a cold breeze brush past the back of his neck. He took his brother into one of the rooms. He could feel the warmth instantly returning to his brother. His teeth stopped chattering, and the shivers died down.
“What happened?” he asked.
Joe took a deep breath. “I’m not sure. It was as if I suddenly stepped into a freezer. I didn’t hear the voice, only something that sounded like the wind during a blizzard.”
“I felt the cold chill too.” Frank admitted, “I looked around and didn’t see anything. I’m wondering if the burglars broke the heater.”
Matt came into the room. “You guys OK?”
Joe retold him what he had told Frank. Matt went over and put his hand over one of the heating vents. “It’s not cold, but I don’t feel any warm air coming out of there. I turned the heat on this morning.”
Frank nodded. “We all better go down and check the heater. If it’s a gas heater there could be a blown pilot.”
Going through the hallway and down the steps, none of them could smell any hints of a gas leak. Joe didn’t feel sick to his stomach, and he didn’t have a headache.
…Bang…Bang…Bang…Bang…
Came the sound that echoed from one end of the house to the other. As if someone were punching the wall as they walked around. A persistent banging that sounded like it was coming from within the walls. Frank put his hand on the wall. He could feel a vibration under his fingertips that came with every sound.
“I don’t know how we’ll be able to sleep tonight if that keeps up,” Joe remarked.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the banging stopped.
“Looks like we’ll have to tell the ghost, or whatever it is that we need to sleep,” Frank added.
They walked into the basement. There was no smell of gas.
Matt looked around. “I guess they replaced the old gas furnace.”
Suddenly a loud car alarm went off.
“The van!” Joe thought as he ran up the steps, through the house and out the front door.
He saw two men about to hit one of the windows in the van with a bat.
“Hey!” he shouted.
The two men turned to find the three teens running after them. Dropping the bat they ran down the street, with Joe Hardy in pursuit. The two of them got into an idling car that sped away. Joe stopped and memorized the license plate. It was too dark to see much of the car. Frank came running over flashlight in hand. They slowly walked back, trying to see if anything had been dropped.
“Want me to call the police?” Matt asked, standing over near the dropped baseball bat.
“Don’t bother. They were wearing gloves,” Joe replied.
“What were they after anyway? They already trashed the house.”
Frank looked around with the flashlight. “Did you check all the hidden areas?”
“Not yet, I got involved in putting things back in order so I can get to them.” Matt replied, “I’ll go now.”
Joe reactivated the alarm on the van after making sure nothing had been stolen. They searched around the lawn, checking for anything that was dropped. Finding nothing, they returned to the house.
“Is that you?” Matt’s voice echoed from the kitchen.
“Yeah, find anything?” Frank asked.
“Looks like someone did ransack through several of the hiding places. I don’t know what they could have wanted, there were just old papers.”
They went back to cleaning up the rooms. Taking almost four hours, all three were very tired by the time they had finished. Joe constantly felt as though there was someone watching him. Every time he looked over his shoulder, he saw nothing but the furniture. It felt like someone was playing hide-and-go-seek with him.
“Joe, are you OK?” Frank asked.
Joe shrugged. “It’s almost as if there are two entities if you want to call them that. One keeps wanting to play games, the other is angry.”
Frank looked around and felt as though there was an angry face staring at him. He sighed. They needed help. “Little brother, I think we should have Staci call that professor friend of hers. We need help.”
Joe nodded. “I couldn’t agree with you more. I’ll call her while you find out if Mrs. Branch had her children before she was married.”
Frank searched through the Internet. Looking at the marriage certificate with the Branches, then another search, he was able to find that Mrs. Branch had indeed had children with another man before marrying Mr. Branch. Now that he knew her kids real last name, he could find maybe a living relative.
Joe looked over his shoulder. “Staci said that the professor was on stand-by. She’s going to call him tonight, and he can be out here tomorrow afternoon. She may even stop by herself since she’s often worked with him.”
Frank raised an eyebrow. “Wow, I didn’t think she was interested in the paranormal.”
“Well, after what happened, I’m not surprised. But doesn’t something like what she has exist already, and it was just amplified?”
Frank nodded. “That could be it. Though how much so we don’t know. It might not be something she liked to talk about.”
Matt came over to them. “I checked all the hiding places that we found. Every one of them has been ransacked. All the dust is gone.”
“My girlfriend’s coming over tomorrow afternoon with a professor who studies events like what’s going on here. I think we should figure out whether or not someone has rigged the house to make us think it’s haunted.”
Joe turned to his brother. “I don’t think that cut wasn’t faked.”
“Not that. I mean like the thumping, the banging, the voice, and the body we saw at the bottom of the steps. All of that can be faked. This professor can prove whether or not if it’s a real ghost or a result of lasers, speakers, and drum machines.”
Joe sat down in a chair. “Why though? Why make the house appear haunted? No one would find those hiding places unless they had blueprints of the house.”
“I will admit I did find one of the hiding places by accident. If someone were to renovate the house, they could find them easily,” Matt added.
“Still seems like a lot of trouble…” Joe started but Frank stopped him.
“You know I never looked into insurance polices. Officer Boone did say that he was never able to find out where Mr. Latch got all of his money from.”
Just then the sweet smell of flowers hit their nostrils.
Joe sniffed. “Mmm…smells like daffodils. The last time we smelled them was when we saw the body on the front of the stairs.”
Matt nodded. “And someone said that it didn’t look like a fall that she had been placed there to look like she had fallen.”
The smell of daffodils combined with roses.
Frank turned around to his computer. He began searching on his hunch. Sure enough there had been substantial life insurance polices on both Hannah and James.
“Double indemnity. Why am I not surprised?” Joe grumbled.
Matt looked over at him. “Double indemnity?”
Frank looked at the payout. “That means the insurance company will pay double the policy if the person dies in an accident. See here?” They looked. “Hannah was insured for $50,000. Already that’s a really big clue because to insure someone that young for such a high amount sets off a lot of warning bells. Because she supposedly died in an accident, the company paid out $100,000.”
Matt’s eyes went wide. “That’s a lot of money. Even the most elaborate funeral wouldn’t cost more that $15,000. And I doubt she had a serious illness that required a lot of expenses.”
Frank looked back at the computer screen. “Now let’s see if the Branch children were in the same way.”
They both looked over his shoulders.
Joe looked closely at the policies. “I wonder the insurance companies ever investigate these types of claims?”
Matt thought a moment. “You know when my grandfather died from a fall, the insurance company did investigate, but the claims person was so harried that all he did was look at the police report for a minute and release the check. That guy had almost 50 claims to deal with in one day. Maybe they’re just too busy.”
Frank nodded. “That’s one reason. Now the larger companies do make it a habit of investigating large claims like this especially under double indemnity and when the police are involved. Now if Mr. Latch was able to get the police to go away and have the case swept under the word accident, added to the fact that you have a family that’s lost their child, I think an insurance company wouldn’t want to look like a cruel person.”
…Justice…
The word echoed through the house. They looked through the hallway. A shadow moved through the house.
…Justice…Justice…
The word sounded as if it were on a heartbeat, growing louder. Joe ran after the shadow as it floated up the stairs. Frank and Matt ran after him. The shadow floated over to what they had suspected was Jim’s old room. The shadow moved through the door. Joe ran against it and was surprised that it nearly flew open in his hand. Going inside they all stopped when they saw Jim looking at them! He was standing with his back towards the window.
…Justice… He yelled at them….Justice!
He screamed and he flew backwards through the window! They ran through the room to the window. It opened right before their eyes! Looking out, down to the ground they saw the body of Jim, lying exactly as he had been in the crime scene photo!
All three of them stared at the body on the ground until a breeze came, and the ghost faded away. Joe moaned and grabbed his back. Frank gasped when he saw the three oozing, bleeding scratches on his brother’s back. Matt ran out of the room and came back with a first-aid kit. He handed Frank a gauze pad who put it on his brother’s back. He pressed down hard, causing Joe to wince.
“Sorry,” Frank whispered.
He wiped away at the blood and covered the scratches with ointment before securely bandaging them. Joe moaned again as the pain began to leave him. Frank thought back to the photo he had scene of the crime scene.
“Joe, when I saw that picture of James, he had fallen on his back with his arms spread out. I looked at the close up of his arms. There were more cuts on his back than his arms.”
Matt was confused. “I don’t get it.”
Joe ignored the pain and turned his body sideways. He pointed his arms out in front of him. “If Jim fell out of the window when he was hanging something over his window like his father claimed, the majority of the cuts and glass would be in his arms and chest, perhaps in his face as well. His arms would have very deep gashes. Instead the coroner found the majority of the glass and deep gashes in his back and shoulders.”
Matt nodded. “So he had his back turned to the window and was pushed out.”
“Yeah,” Frank agreed. “Windows need some force before they break. He had to have pushed hard out of it.”
Joe looked back out of the window again. On the ground were leaves covering the spot where the body had been. He couldn’t understand how the neighbors could not have seen that.
“Maybe we were the only ones supposed to see that,” Joe thought as he looked out into the night.
Joe finally felt the pain leaving his back as he turned around. He sighed knowing it was going to probably be another long night.
“We might as well try to get some sleep. There’s going to be plenty of work to do when that professor arrives,” Frank suggested.
Joe couldn’t agree more. He was tired and desperately need a night’s worth of sleep.
“I won’t argue. I can’t guarantee it’s going to be quiet though,” Matt said.
Joe sighed. “I doubt it would be quiet during the day. Let’s just try. If not we can sleep in the van. We’ve done it before.”
Matt nodded and went to make sure the heat was down for the night. After cleaning up and settling down, the pipes finally stopped rattling long enough for them to sleep.
Waking up early the next morning, Frank was surprised to see that the cuts on his brother’s back had completely healed, leaving no scar. Matt passed around some juice and muffins that Mrs. Nathan had brought over. She was still upset that she had not done anything to stop the burglars from trashing his house. A brief call to Staci said that she and her professor friend would there later that afternoon.
“So what are we going to do while we wait?” Matt asked.
Frank looked over at his computer. “I’m going see if I can find where Mr. Latch went to. I have a feeling that since he has that money from the insurance companies, he’s not going to stay quiet for long.”
As he worked on his computer, his suspicions were confirmed. Mr. Latch and his wife were now living in the lower part of Vermont. He was becoming a prominent member of the community where he lived, using his wealth to establish his place.
“He really thinks he got away with their deaths,” Joe whispered, looking at the newspaper photos of the couple.
Frank nodded. “We have to talk with that detective and let him know what we’ve found. We can explain the photos. I want to know why the people there, didn’t notice the obvious signs that we saw.”
Matt sat down. “You mean those officers may have looked the other way?”
Frank shook his head. “No. I mean he may have given the DA a hard time or passed around a few dollars. All the paperwork and pathology reports were filed properly.”
“Think you can talk to the DA. Maybe she might listen to the two of you considering who your father is.”
Joe sighed. “That may help but may not get us the answers we need. We could talk to that reporter who tried to say that Mr. Latch may have killed his children but that could open a very nasty can of worms. We could have our friend Sam Radley look into it. I wonder if he’s not busy.”
“Only one way to find out,” Frank replied.
Frank called up the detective. They were in luck that he was not working on any cases at the moment. He agreed to try to talk to the DA later that afternoon and would call them back if he found anything.
“OK. That takes care of that.” Frank announced, “You two get the stuff out of the van. I’m going to call the Detective Boone and explain what’s going on.”
After a few minutes, Frank had peaked Boone’s interests. He looked at the photos and reports. He noted what Frank and the others had spotted in them. He said that the DA felt that there wasn’t enough evidence and didn’t prosecute. However they should inform the insurance companies and tell them of their findings. The companies themselves could demand a return of the monies paid out. In turn in might get Mr. Latch to return to the town. After hanging up, Frank followed the detective’s advice and called the insurance companies. They in turn promised a full investigation and would be informing Mr. Latch that the remaining payout would be halted until it was completed. After hanging up, he explained to his brother and friend what would happen.
“You think that might cause him to come back here?” Matt asked.
Frank nodded. “That’s a lot of money that I think he needs to keep up his position where he lives. He’s going to need it to be paid out in order to keep going. If word gets out that there is an investigation and why, he may come back here to find out.”
Just then the banging noise came again.
…Bang…Bang…Bang…Bang…
“I don’t know if whoever it is in here will appreciate that,” Joe said.
Frank sighed. “I get the feeling it’s what it wants.”
Joe looked around. “Maybe. It might explain why the only word we here is ‘justice’. Do you think we should drop off everything with found with the detective to keep it safe?”
“We might as well. The stove is acting up again. Lunch will be better out of the house than inside,” Matt added.
They dropped the information off with Detective Boone. Frank was relieved that the information would be safe from future burglaries. Coming back after lunch, they were met there by Staci and her friend Professor Waller. He was in his early forties, with dark hair and dark eyes and had a passion for investigating the paranormal. He had brought with him two of his students; Jason Lands and Justin Brown. They reminded the brothers of Pat Maverick and Mike Snow from Kane University. Staci looked over at the house. Her face looked very far away.
“Love, is something wrong?” Frank asked.
Staci blinked a few times. “I don’t know. Something’s wrong with the house. Something’s definitely wrong.”
Justin began taking pictures of the house.
Professor Waller looked over at her. “Staci, why don’t you wait out here until we can get set up? I want to see if you cause any sudden changes as part of my research.”
Frank nodded. “Why don’t you go over to Mrs. Nathan’s across the street? She could the company and always has plenty of lemonade.”
Staci nodded, casting a glance back at the house before going across the street. She smiled at the old lady who invited her into the house.
Justin and Jason walked through the house with both a digital camera and a thermal camera after setting up the equipment. The thermal camera picked up on several hot spots throughout the house. The areas where they had seen the ghosts; the stairway and the window had the hottest areas of the house. Professor Waller documented each hot spot before interviewing the brothers and Matt on what they had experienced. Joe watched the thermal camera. Each hotspot showed up like a multi-colored bull’s eye with the hottest part showing up in red in the center. He would move his hand over the spot and could feel the heat radiating from it.
“Frank, could these hotspots be the heating vents or electrical lines?” Joe asked they moved through the house.
“It could be. If it were the heat, the hotspot would be right over the vent or close to the heater. The electrical system, now that could be a possibility, but if it were generating that much heat in the walls, there’d be problems like flickering lights and the smell of burning copper.”
Professor Waller looked closer at one spot near the window where they had seen Jim’s ghost.
“Now this is the spot where you saw one of the ghosts?” he asked.
Joe nodded. “Yeah, it was screaming the word ‘justice’ at us, then fell backwards out of the window. I was surprised that the neighbors didn’t call the police.”
“Well, lots of times it’s all about perception. One person may see it in this room and even someone in the street may see them but because ghosts don’t abide by normal gravity, not everyone can see it.”
Seeing his brother was confused, Frank added. “It’s like a rainbow. You have to be standing in certain spot to see it. Even if you and I were in the same field, only one of us may see it.”
Joe nodded. “I get it now.”
Justin lowered the thermal camera. “Sorry David, the sun is interfering with the thermal readings.”
“Hmm, can someone pull the curtain? Justin keep an eye on the window with the camera,” he said.
As Matt pulled the curtain closed, they could see a change in the thermal image. There was a prominent bull’s-eye that developed below the window sill. Joe noticed that the window had the distinctive outline from the sun’s heat, yet the bull’s eye shape of the hotspot was unmistakable.
They continued filming throughout the house. Professor Waller talked to his students about what they were seeing on the cameras, to Matt of what he knew of the house before and after the brothers arrived and to Frank and Joe about what they had seen. Frank looked over and noticed that he was carrying a digital recorder.
“What’s the recorder for?” Frank asked.
“Have you heard of the phenomenon where ghosts can actually imprint their voices on tape even though the people in the house here nothing?”
Frank nodded. “EVP, electronic voice phenomena. I heard about it but up until this time didn’t really believe things like that could happen.”
Joe looked at the device. “Should we talk in whispers?”
Professor Waller shook his head. “No, talk normally. If you hear a loud sound, point it out.”
Frank looked out a window. “Do you want me to go get my girlfriend?”
“Not yet. The reason why is because someone like her with a high ESP, can suddenly open a vortex so to speak. So I want to get some readings before hand to have something to compare.”
Joe looked over at his brother. “Did she ever tell you she had ESP?”
He shook his head. “I guess she didn’t want to creep me out.”
“OK everyone.” Professor Waller announced, “I’m going to walk through the house asking questions. When I ask one I want everyone to ask a question one at a time when I point to you.”
They went through the house asking questions. Several times they heard banging, rattling, or someone running through the house. Joe screamed as slash marks appeared on his arm, oozing blood. Frank used several gauze pads to cover the wound and stop the bleeding.
“I had the camera on him the whole time.” Jason said, “Something came across the camera when he screamed. I don’t know what it was.”
“OK, turn on the lights and let’s see if the ghosts can write on pictures,” Professor Waller said.
Joe nodded. “I’ve seen that on that show Sightings. Think it will work here?”
Jason moved around with his camera. “Ghosts tend to use one or several methods of communication. Noises, spoken words, and images. Others move things around or throw things. Then there’s the temperature changes. The more violent ghosts use scratches, bite marks, bruises, and things like that. Written word is the rarest form but often helps the most.”
The professor looked around. “He’s right. In fact the ghost-writing has only been documented in two places.”
He took the instant picture camera from the table and took two pictures. “OK, when I point the camera at you, ask the ghost a question. We already know they are here. Just ask them questions as if they were a new friend.”
Which each picture, a new question was asked.
“What do you look like?” Joe asked.
“What is your name?” Frank asked.
“Do you see me?” Justin asked.
“What do you want?” Jason asked.
“Why are you in this house?” Matt asked.
Jason took the camera and aimed it at Professor Waller.
“How can we help you?” he asked.
The pictures were put on the table, and they waited while the pictures came into view. Joe’s picture was first. Two figures, James and Hannah appeared behind him! Joe’s mouth dropped.
“Wow, I almost don’t believe it, but there’s no way the camera could have been rigged to do that,” he said.
The next picture was Frank’s. In a white wispy-like flame the words, James and Hannah appeared in the picture above his head. Frank was surprised that he actually got a response.
Justin was staring at his. The word ‘Yes’ appeared above his head.
Jason picked up his. ‘Justice’ appeared along the side of the picture, along his arm.
The phrase ‘because of him’ appeared next to Matt.
Then the phrase ‘bring him to justice’ was written over the picture of Professor Waller.
Joe sat down in a chair. “What’s going on here?”
Justin looked around. “I think we have a genuine haunting here. It might be time to bring in your friend, to make sure this isn’t some sort of rigged prank.”
Frank was nervous. So far the ghost had only attacked his little brother and that was bad enough. He didn’t know how Staci would react if she were attacked mentally by whatever it was in the house. She her gift wasn’t as strong as it had been when she was empowered by the Phoenix.
“Before we do that let’s play the tape,” Frank suggested.
Professor Waller played back the digital tape. They listened to themselves walking through the house. They themselves asking the questions but getting no answer. It was Joe’s question that froze them all in their places. Joe paled when he heard his question.
“Why are you hurting me?!” he demanded.
Something came next that rocked all of them. The voice came through loud and clear:
“I WANT JUSTICE!”
For a few minutes on one could speak. Professor Waller replayed the recording. Again the voice came through loud and clear. This wasn’t a one time flaw. Professor Waller talked to the camera talking about the voice discovery.
“The one thing we know for sure is that the voice did not come from anyone who was walking around with me at the time,” he said.
Joe looked around. “So this house really is haunted.”
He nodded. “Definitely. This is the first house I’ve had with the strongest impressions yet. It’s rare to have more than one phenomenon such as the writing and the heat spots. Whatever is here is making very sure we don’t think it’s fake. We better get everything set up for Staci to come over. If she really has ESP, she’ll light up all the equipment.”
Frank wasn’t sure if he wanted her to come into the house. Yet, there was something that was telling him that with her here, the ghost might be willing to stop hurting his brother. “I’ll go get her.”
Staci was sitting outside with Mrs. Nathan on the porch when she saw Frank coming over. She knew they needed her to come over to walk through the house. She already sensed that something was wrong with the house. She could feel as though something were trying to warn her that danger was nearby. She could see Justin with the camera watching her. Professor Waller came out of the house.
“Hi, are you ready?” he asked.
Frank walked up to be next to her. She nodded. “I’m ready. I’m already feeling a sense of danger. Like something is warning me that danger is nearby. It’s like the sense dogs get when a tornado is coming.”
She walked onto the porch when another feeling consumed her. “There’s fear everywhere. It’s like someone or several people were very scared to come into this house.”
She walked through the doorway. “Several people tried to get out I can feel their feel…their need to escape.”
“What does it feel like?” Joe asked.
“It’s like when you see a dog running in circles in a cage, trying to escape. It’s like there’s this driving need to escape.”
Jason focused the thermal camera on her. “This is amazing.”
They all watched the camera. As Staci moved through the hallway, two heat bull's eyes would follow her!
“So Staci can you here or see them?” Frank asked as he walked over to her.
She shook her head. “No, my ESP only picks up on emotions, nothing more.”
She began rubbing her arms. Frank retrieved his jacket and gave it to her.
“Thanks. This house as a very cold feeling,” she announced.
Justin looked at her through the camera. “Well, your body temperature is a few degrees colder than everyone else. Unless you’re sick, I don’t know what could be causing it.”
Frank could feel her skin becoming cold. “Maybe you should leave. This might make you sick.”
She shook her head. “It’s only because I’m feeling the cold sensation that my body thinks it’s cold. I’ll be fine.”
Just then Joe screamed. Frank rushed to his brother who was holding his back. He lifted his shirt. Three deep oozing scratches appeared on his back. Matt hurried to get the first-aid kit.
“Just as he screamed I felt something brush past me. I don’t know now what it was,” Staci said.
Professor Waller nodded. “This is another indication of haunting, especially vengeance haunting. Usually the ghost or spirit is very angry and lashes out. It can be anything from slaps, to bruising, to bloody scratches like this one.”
Joe winced as Frank put antiseptic on the cuts. Just as the previous ones, he hoped that these would heal with no scars. He was surprised at how much blood came from an invisible attack. He put a bandage on the cuts and tried his best to stop the bleeding.
“That hurts.” Joe moaned, “Why would the ghosts be scratching me?”
Jason looked around with the camera. “My guess is that they attack either the person they’re mad at or someone they feel will do what they need. Think about it, what’s the best way to get someone’s attention?”
“Scratch them hard enough to bleed.” Frank replied, “For the past two days we’ve been attacked. Oddly enough there are no marks the next day. My own guess is that if they were evil then the scars would still be there. The one that looks like James keeps screaming ‘justice’.”
Matt closed the first-aid kit. “Up until the time Joe and Frank arrived, the worst thing that happened was the banging on the walls. After they arrived, that’s when James started appearing and screaming.”
Professor Waller looked at the two of them. “So it definitely wants something from the two of you, but why would it scream the word ‘justice’?”
“My brother and I are private detectives. We help our father, Fenton Hardy, all the time,” Joe said as he gently tested his back.
Waller nodded. “So it could be after you for that reason, they want you to get justice. Have there been any more areas of activity besides here in the living room?”
Frank looked around. “There have been. Do you want Staci to walk around before I point them out?”
He nodded. “Do that, let’s see what happens.”
Staci continued walking through the house. She felt something as she neared the stairs. “The air is getting thinner around here. Almost as if something is trying to stop me from breathing.”
“Do you need your inhaler?” Frank asked looking around for her purse.
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Justin and James followed her as she neared the bottom of the stairs. She stopped, feeling heat underneath her feet. She knelt down.
“I see a hot spot underneath your feet,” Justin announced.
Frank knelt down. “There’s definitely a lot of heat right here. Matt, do the pipes run under here?”
He shook his head. “Not that I know of.”
Staci walked up the steps. “What happened in this house? I feel like I’m being hit in every direction.”
She screamed and grabbed her face. Frank ran up the stairs to catch her.
“I saw something pass the thermal cam just as she screamed.” Justin announced, “What ever it was it was almost the shape of a human hand!”
Frank pulled back Staci’s hand from her face. A bruise was rapidly forming on the delicate skin.
He winced. “Matt, can you get an ice pack?”
Matt nodded and went into the kitchen. Professor Waller walked up to take a closer look.
“It’s a definite bruise. Looks like a fist shaped bruise,” he said down to the camera.
Jason focused in on her face. He could definitely see a large fist-shaped bruise on her face. They followed Frank and Staci as they continued walking up the steps.
“Wait.” Joe said, stopping everyone in their tracks, “Did you hear that?”
They listened for minute. The banging noise came again. They walked up the steps just as Matt came up with the ice-pack. Staci took it and gently applied it to her face. The sound seemed to be moving from room to room. Jason watched through the camera as pictures and other objects along the walls began rattling. Professor Waller watched with a combination of shock and excitement as he watched the walls rattle.
“As you can see, everyone is around here. No one from the group is hitting the walls or blasting a music device to create the banging sound,” he told the camera. He turned to Matt, “Do the pipes rattle when you turn on the water?”
Matt nodded. “They do, but never in way where the sound carries throughout the house like that.”
“We’ll do an experiment to compare the noises in a little while. If it’s the plumbing we’ll know the differences right away,” he said.
Staci walked to the top of the steps. She felt the air gradually leave her throat again. Something bad had happened. “The air is getting really thin again. Something happened on these steps. Something evil.”
“Did any of you notice any activity on here?” Professor Waller asked.
Frank nodded and explained the ghost they had seen running through the hallway, stopping at the steps, and screaming like they were pushed down. Then the ghost of Hannah at the bottom of the steps.
“Did you guys see what the form looked like in the hallway?” he asked.
“No it was just a shadow.” Joe answered, “We were in one of the bedrooms, when the stomping brought us out. By the time we got here, the form of Hannah was at the bottom of the steps.”
Staci continued walking through the hallway. A new feeling came over here, fight or flight. “Something is scaring me here. Something is nearby that’s telling me to run and run fast.”
“That’s the same feeling we get when we sleep here at night.” Frank added, “In fact most of the activities do take place at night.”
Joe looked around. “Thank goodness they finally stopped early in the morning so we could get some sleep.”
Frank looked over at his brother, checking to make sure he wasn’t in pain. “I read somewhere that most paranormal activities tend to mirror the time the actual events took place. Maybe that’s why things are so noisy right now.”
“You’re right about that.” Professor Waller added, “The spirits or ghosts fees that the closer it mirrors what actually happened the more the living world can figure out what happened.”
…Bang…Bang…Bang…
The heard the loud noise that had kept the brothers and their friend from sleeping comfortably. With each bang, something along the hallway rattled. The crew filmed as everyone watched as an invisible entity came down the hallway banging hard enough on the wall to rattle pictures and shake objects on tables and shelves. Both Staci and Joe felt themselves being shoved down by the entity as it walked passed them. As they watched, they saw the rattling continue down the hallway and finally stop when it got to what had been Jim’s room. Frank helped his brother and his girlfriend to their feet.
“There are hotspots all over the hallway.” Justin announced, “All of them looked like the shape of a fist.”
Frank walked to the door. He gently touched the knob. It was cool to the touch. Justin and Jason focused the cameras as Staci walked through the door. She couldn’t believe the amount of fear that was in the room. She began to shiver. Everyone watched in awe as she began to blow cold air from her mouth. She literally looked like she was standing outside on a cold day! Frank hugged her.
“Someone is really scared here. I can’t believe how much fear is in this one room,” she whispered.
“The thermal camera shows that there is a significant drop in the temperature of this room. Almost a 15 degree difference from the hallway. Staci, you must be cold, there’s also a big difference between you and everyone else,” Justin added.
“Frank, what happened here?” she asked.
He was about to say something when the door slammed shut behind them. Professor Waller tested it. It was locked! The banging noise came again, as though someone where trying in vain to break down the door. Joe was shoved against the door. Frank grabbed him and covered him with his own body.
“Leave him alone!” Frank shouted.
Frank could feel that the ghost or whatever it was backed up a few steps. He turned to see that Jim had appeared and was standing near the doorway. He was looked remorseful as he spoke.
“I’m sorry…All I want is justice for her…”
He was about to speak again when a loud crash from downstairs caused him to disappear!
Chapter 9
They ran downstairs. Frank was the first to come into the living room to find the brick that had been thrown through the window. He and Joe ran outside only to find Mrs. Nathan rushing over to them.
“It was them!” she shouted, “The same men who broke into his house.”
Joe was already getting into the van, starting it up. “Which way did they go?”
“That way!” she pointed, “It’s a blue, four-door car. It had NY license plates.”
They drove down the street, looking everywhere for the car that Mrs. Nathan had described. Frank was furious for allowing himself to be distracted to the point that they were not paying attention to the outside. They looked around. Her description described a lot of vehicles in the area. Joe kept driving for nearly twenty minutes, but they finally relented that whoever it had been was know long gone. They drove back to find a police car parked outside of the house. Getting out and going inside of the house, the officer asked them if they had found the car. Frank explained that they had looked around but couldn’t find it. After taking a report and some pictures, he confiscated the brick that had been thrown through the window. He told them it would be dusted for finger prints, and he would be calling back to let them know if he found anything. After he left, Staci sat down on the couch.
“Why do you suppose someone would do that?” she asked, “Do you think they were trying to get Jim to go away?”
Frank shook his head. “I doubt that. Maybe they were trying to scare people in here to leave.”
Matt went to retrieve a broom and dustpan. Coming back, he said, “You know it’s a good thing there’s no carpeting. I’m afraid to run any appliances.”
Joe helped him clean up.
Professor Waller was looking around at the walls. “Matt, do you get power surges or times when the appliances turn on or off?”
Matt nodded. “That’s why I always unplug the TV. I got tired of turning it off in the middle of the night.”
“Could you let Frank and Joe clean up in here while you set up the TV? I want to see if that works,” he said, trying to listen for anything in the walls.
“It only happens at night. During the day it may not happen for hours,” he replied.
“Get it anyway. We can set it up for the night. Justin, go to the van and get the electromagnetic detectors.”
Justin left to get the detector while Matt retrieved his TV out of the closet. Jason began to set up recording equipment for the night.
“What’s an electromagnetic detector?” Joe asked as he gingerly touched his back.
Frank checked it to make sure it had stopped bleeding. “Some people think that ghost apparitions are caused by things like under ground powerlines and cables. The detector helps to locate it. Sometimes a lot of underground lines may cause powersurges. Professor Waller should you check for fumes?”
“Have you guys been feeling OK? No dizziness, headaches, throwing up or anything else?” he asked.
“We’ve been fine.” Frank answered, “Though the gas would give us all the same symptoms, not varying degrees of it. Besides wouldn’t the thermal camera pick up the gas leaks?”
Professor Waller was surprised but very interested in what Frank was saying. “You’re right about that. Maybe when it becomes night, we’ll do a survey around the house to check for any gas leaks. And as far as the symptoms, you’re right in that we would be suffering nearly the same things.”
Joe stood up, trying to ignore the pain. “Also, I don’t think the gas would cause bruises or bleeding cuts to appear out of nowhere. Don’t forget it was hitting Staci and me around. We couldn’t have imagined that. Though if Jim wanted us to do something why does he keep attacking?”
Professor Waller stopped moving around. “Spirits that are not at rest often carry the emotion that they had before them when they died. Sometimes they feel that be holding onto that emotion, they can get things they seek. In Jim’s case it might be rage that something was done to his sister.”
Frank look at the spot where they had seen Hannah. “He’s not angry at you, little brother. He’s just angry that his father probably murdered his sister and got away with it. I know that feeling. Trust me I know.” He paused as if in thought, “He’s not going to let go until Mr. Latch pays for what he did.”
Joe turned to Professor Waller. “Has any evidence like this been used in a court of law?”
He shook his head. “I’m afraid not. While it can be used to prove natural flaws in the house and that none of us are crazy. Trouble is…well I’m not sure how I can explain it.”
Frank looked over. “I think you mean because you can’t duplicate your results some place else or run the same test and get the same exact result, the court can’t accept it like they would a DNA test or fingerprint check.”
By now Justin had come back inside with the electromagnetic detector. Jason followed him with the thermal camera. Frank took up the regular camera as they followed Justin throughout the house.
“OK, so far I’m getting the normal readout for the cable lines, nothing to high,” said as he waved the wand connected to the machine via a small wire.
Joe stood up and looked around. “Frank, could gas lines disturb that?”
Frank nodded. “Any piping underground made of metal can be picked up. Our best bet is to call the gas company and get an inspection.”
“Already done.” Matt said as he finished getting the TV ready, “Before everyone came I had called the gas company to come out and inspect the lines because of all the heat and cold spots. They told me the man would be here tomorrow morning.”
Professor Waller looked at the detector readouts. “That’s good. That will help clear up any further questions that there’s a gas leak causing hallucinations.”
“Frank, I think I’m going to need some pain relievers,” Joe said gingerly touching his back.
“Still hurting?” he asked.
He handed the camera to Staci to check the bandage. Professor Waller stopped him. “Wait, I want to get the scratches on the CDs. Someone close the blinds.”
Frank closed the blinds while Jason and Staci focused the cameras on Joe’s back. Joe took off his shirt. Frank slowly lifted the bandages on his brother’s back. The word ‘JUSTICE’ was clearly spelled in scratches on Joe’s flesh. The scratches were oozing blood and turning the skin around it painfully tender. His entire lower half was now pink as the skin became inflamed.
“I’m looking at the scratches through the inferred. They are showing up white. Are you feeling anything?” Professor Waller asked.
Joe nodded. “My entire back feels like it’s on fire.”
Frank couldn’t help but wince. Vengeful for justice or not, if Jim were alive he would have pounded into him that no one attacks his little brother. Frank looked at his brother’s back on the inferred. He couldn’t believe that he could actually see the word “JUSTICE” distinctively from the heat that the rest of his body was showing. He could feel the heat coming from the wound when he put his fingers on the swollen skin.
“Matt, do you have anything that can bring down the swelling?” Frank asked.
Staci looked over. “I have some Motrin in my backpack. That will bring down the swelling.”
“May I have some?” Joe said, wincing.
She smiled. “You don’t even have to ask.”
She put down the camera and went to retrieve the medicine and a fresh bottle of water. Joe took it and quickly downed the medication. He took a deep breath and waited for the pain to lessen. He could feel Frank put the bandage back into his place, and he put his shirt back on.
“It’s never hurt like this before,” Joe admitted.
“Something’s here,” Professor Waller said.
They looked around in the darkened room.
“Show yourself!” Joe shouted to the room.
A large arc of light flashed from one end of the room to the other. The TV turned itself on then off.
“Good, the TV is plugged in,” Professor Waller said.
Matt shook his head. “The TV doesn’t work until you flip the wall switch.”
They all turned towards him. He nodded. “The TV, lights, or anything plugged into this room can only be turned on using the wall switch.”
The TV turned itself on and off again. Matt went over and flipped the wall switch. All the lights and the TV came on. Everyone was frozen in their places. Joe felt the pain in his back but couldn’t move when the lights came on. Matt turned them back off.
“See?” he said, before turning them back on.
“Wow, this house is more active than I could have hoped.” Professor Waller admitted, “Do you guys notice a higher frequency of events at night?”
“That banging noise has kept us from sleeping for the last two nights.” Frank answered, “It also seems like Hannah only comes out at night.”
“Now have you physically seen Hannah walking around?” Justin asked.
“Sometimes she appears at the doorway, ringing the bell,” Matt said.
Joe pointed to the floor above him. “We saw her peaking through some of the windows. The place where she appeared the longest was at the bottom of the steps.”
“What’s the significance of the bottom of the steps?” Professor Waller asked, leading them over there.
“According to the crime scene photos, that was where Hannah’s body was found when she supposedly died from the accident. However things don’t look that way.” Frank explained, “In fact before she appeared we heard someone run from the hallway upstairs, scream, then fall down the stairs.”
“How exactly did the noises go?” he asked.
Joe thought back. “There was the sound of someone running. The scream came first then there was the sound of someone falling down the stairs.”
Frank looked up the stairs. “That means she knew she was falling from the top and didn’t trip on the stairs.”
Jason looked at the top of the steps. “What if she ran and fell down the steps?”
“I don’t know. I felt a lot of fear in that upstairs hallway. She was running from something,” Staci said.
“The autopsy photos show that Hannah’s body was at the foot of the steps, but it was positioned in a way to where she couldn’t have fallen down the steps.” Frank explained, again pointing to the spot. “Also on the photos there were deep bruises on her neck but not on her arms and legs,” Frank explained.
Jason nodded. “I know. My grandfather fell down the steps three years ago. He had bruises all over. With this many steps and the banister she couldn’t have avoided not getting bruised.”
“That’s the point with the autopsy photos. We don’t know why the D.A. chose to drop the case.” Joe added, “There’s more than enough evidence to charge Mr. and probably Mrs. Latch with murder or at least homicide.”
“So how do we get Mr. Latch to confess?” Staci asked, feeling cold again.
“There has to be reason why the ghost is haunting this place. I mean Jim obviously knows you two will get him the justice he wants. But if you guys don’t know if you can get a confession, then there has to be another reason why he’s still around,” Professor Waller explained trying to see if he can spot the light streak again.
“Frank, should we call in Tony or some of the guys> We have to see if we’re the only ones seeing these things,” Joe said.
“I don’t know. Sometimes, if there’s too much activity the person will not appear. I think we’re just going to have to gather what we can for the night and wait for the gas company man in the morning,” Frank replied.
“Then let's set up.” Professor Waller announced, “As soon as we set up and go about a normal evening, like having dinner here. We’ll get more evidence to get on the recorders.”
They set up the equipment for the night. Professor Waller ordered dinner for all of them. He said that most paranormal activities take place when the people walking through the house go on with their own daily activities. Frank didn’t know how much longer he could take watching his brother being attacked. The cuts had finally stopped oozing, and the swelling was subsiding. He was able to sit down without his back hurting him. Anyone hurting Joe he could physically stop. How could he stop something that he couldn’t even see?
Everyone was quiet as they ate dinner. The banging noise came again. This time it sounded like someone was running back and fourth in the upstairs hallway.
Frank looked up at the ceiling. “You know now I think it’s not someone running. I think it’s someone pacing up and down, hitting the walls. The sound is too fixed. I’m thinking every second to every two seconds it bangs on the wall.”
“Wait, didn’t Mrs. Nathan say that Jim would deliberately do things to distract their father from hurting his sister?” Joe asked, causing Frank to look back at him, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he resorted to pounding on the walls.”
Professor Waller nodded. “Then that would make sense. Jim probably only knew one thing throughout his life and that was to protect his sister. Even now he probably feels he has to distract his father. Many protective people in real life become very protective after death.”
They finished up dinner and went to walk around the house, taking pictures, talking to the walls and waiting for something to happen. Professor Waller made sure to keep two cameras focused on the stairs. Frank couldn’t help but feel that he had to keep an extreme watch over his brother.
As they watched the house, the clock slowly dragged towards midnight. The house was getting colder. It seemed like no matter what temperature Matt set the thermostat, the house just would not retain the heat. Staci wrapped herself in her coat, trying to get warm. Professor Waller walked about, asking questions to the air and taking pictures. Justin and Jason moved around the rooms, following him. Frank followed his brother where ever he went. Joe claimed that something was pulling him throughout the house. Several pictures were taken of his brother as he moved. Everyone was surprised at the image that developed along side Joe in the picture.
A ghostly hand was on Joe’s shoulder in each frame. The hand looked like it was pushing him forward. The last one showed one hand pushing Joe, and the other one pointing a direction.
“Frank, I wonder if the hands are trying to force Joe to leave the house,” Staci asked.
Joe looked at her. “You think it doesn’t want me here to get justice?”
Staci shrugged. “Maybe now that you know and can solve the case, they may want you to leave to protect you.”
Frank looked back at the pictures. He pointed to each one of them. “In this one the hand is pointing towards the front door. In this one it’s pointing towards the living room window and in this one it’s the back door. I think she’s right on that one. Though we don’t know yet what it’s trying to protect you from.”
Matt spoke up. “From what I’ve read through urban legends, the protective ghost usually is trying to warn a person of a nearby danger and they have to protect themselves or a danger that’s coming and they have to leave.”
Just then the lights went out throughout the house. Everyone froze. Matt tried the switch. “Power’s out. The fridge isn’t running.”
“I’ll go check the meter than I’ll check the fuse box,” Joe offered.
Everyone fumbled for flashlights.
“The meter is on the left side of the house towards the front,” Matt told him.
Joe stumbled through the house to get to the front door. Just as he was about to open it, his brother stopped him.
“Wait, I’ll go with you,” he said.
Joe nodded as Frank pulled a flashlight out of his pocket.
“Frank, be careful.” Matt called out after them, “The neighbor’s dog has been digging a lot of holes.”
Frank walked directly behind his brother as they used his flashlight and the street light to find the meter. Going towards it, they could see that the lines had been cut.
“No point in checking the fuse box,” Frank said.
“Don’t move,” a voice ordered them.
Joe could feel a gun pressing into his wounded back.
“We’re going back into the house. You, the dark-haired one, you go first. This one will follow behind you. If you try anything I’ll kill him.”
Chapter 10
Frank walked back towards the house. He wanted desperately to turn around and see if his brother was OK. He could hear two people following them and didn’t want to take the chance. He walked towards the door and opened it. Going inside he could hear everyone in the house setting up tap lights and candles.
“Did you find the meter?” Matt asked as Frank came into the house.
Seeing the look on her boyfriend’s face, Staci could tell something was not right. “Frank, what’s going on?”
Joe came in behind them. It was then that they all saw the armed men coming in behind them.
“Nobody say anything,” the first gunman ordered.
Everyone froze as the second gunman closed the door behind him. They ushered in everyone into the living room.
“Where is the stuff you found in the safe?” the first gunman asked.
“What stuff?” Frank asked.
The gunman waved his gun closer to Joe.
“Don’t play dumb with me! Where are the birth certificates?” he demanded.
“They’re not here. The police officer has them,” Frank immediately answered.
“Liar. I know about the secret hiding places.” The first gunman said as he grabbed Joe by the arm. “Now we’re going to go through the places one by one until we find them. If you try to skip one I’ll blow his brains out.”
“I don’t know where some of them are,” Matt said, trying to get them to leave.
The first gunman turned to him, “That doesn’t matter, I know where they are.”
Suddenly the banging noise came again, running up and down the hallway.
“Who else is here?” the man demanded, tightening his grip on Joe’s arm, causing him to wince.
“No one is here. That’s the pipes,” Frank said, desperate to get him let go.
The first gunman turned to the second. “Take the dark-haired one upstairs. Find out what’s going on.”
The second gunman took Frank up the stairs as the banging noise came again.
“What is going on in here?” the first gunman demanded.
“I’m Professor Waller. I study the paranormal on the side as part of my research. I’m trying to prove that ghosts are real.” Professor Waller explained, “My students and I are here to investigate this house because there are rumors that it’s haunted.”
The man laughed. “Haunted? You actually believe in that garbage?”
“It’s real stuff. This house is haunted,” Joe said, trying get him to ease his grip on his arm.
“I want all of you to sit down on the couch and keep your mouths shut,” he ordered.
Keeping a tight grip on Joe’s arm, he waved the rest of them into the couch and chairs. Staci could feel the cold chill coming again. This time she didn’t know whether it was from the spirits or from her own fear. Joe could feel a cold chill coming along his left arm.
“Now you expect me to believe that an old house with power surges and rattling pipes is really haunted?” he sarcastically asked.
He laughed as the second gunman forced Frank back down the steps, into the living room. Frank sat down on the couch. He couldn’t think of anything to do to get his brother away from the gunman. Their only hope was the gas company man who would be coming in the morning. His eyes had completely adjusted to the dim light and now he could see that the men closely resembled the pair that Mrs. Nathan had seen breaking into the house the previous day.
“You tried to break into this house!” Frank accused, trying to distract them.
“You are the smart one. Now we’re going to start looking through those hiding places one at a time,” the first gunman told them.
Matt went and started looking through each of the hiding places he knew of as the first gunman dragged Joe behind him. He was trying to figure out a way to help his friends. His hands were sweating as he moved from place to place. The first gunman was growing increasingly agitated that every place was coming up empty. Joe could feel him tightening his grip on his arm each time the hiding places were revealed to be empty.
“I’m warning you for the last time.” The first gunman said as the last hiding spot on the first floor revealed itself to be empty, “If you don’t hand over what you found I’m going to start killing people starting with blondie here.”
Frank felt his pulse race as the gunman put the end tip of the gun against Joe’s head. Just then Joe screamed as something hit him in the face, knocking him out of the gunman’s grip. They all froze with horror as a long bleeding scratch appeared on his right cheek. Staci walked over to him, her breath coming out of her as though she was standing outside on a very cold day. The second gunman shoved her against the wall. There was a blank look in her eyes.
“Leave them alone!” Frank shouted.
Both gunmen trained their guns on him. Frank froze in his place. The second gunman dropped Staci, and she slid gently downward to the ground, as if someone had helped ease her to the ground.
The first gunman turned his gun towards Professor Waller. “I don’t know what kind of cheap magic show you’re putting on. But it’s not going to work. If you don’t knock off the floor show, I’m going to put a bullet in these kids one by one.”
Professor Waller’s hands were shaking. “I-It’s not me. It’s t-the spirits.”
The second gunman shook his head. “You know instead of being a professor they should lock you up in a loony bin. Now knock off the floor show, this gun is no prop.”
The first gunman picked up Joe by the arm. “I know specifically that there is a hidden stairway to a room downstairs in here. Find it.”
Frank and Matt moved the bookcase aside, revealing the hidden entranceway to the room in the basement.
“Alright.” The second gunman said pointing his gun at Frank, “You go down first.”
“It’s dark down there,” Matt said.
“It’s dark everywhere,” the gunman replied, nudging Frank with the gun.
The lights in the living room flickered on and off. The TV turned itself on and began to slowly change the channels. Loud footsteps came from the second floor, running from one side of the house to the other. It sound like there was fight going on in one of the rooms.
“Alright whoever you are,” the first gunman shouted at the ceiling, “You don’t come downstairs right now I start killing people at random.”
The noise instantly stopped. Footsteps appeared to go from the room to the top of the stairs. The gunmen forced both Frank and Joe to the bottom of the steps. Staci managed to get up and walk over. Looking up at the top of the steps they could see Jim standing there!
“So it was you hiding up there,” the second gunman said.
Jim didn’t say anything. He just stood there staring at all of them. He blinked but didn’t move. He turned and ran into one of the rooms, slamming the door behind him. The second gunman ran up the steps and began searching each room. They heard him running through each of the rooms. Frank could feel the tension in the room. Staci was on the chair trying to keep warm. He could see Joe trying to stop the bleeding from the scratch in his face. He also looked over to Justin’s camera. He had noticed what the gunmen had failed to see, the machine was on! The second gunman came back downstairs.
“I checked everywhere. I think he’s hiding in one of the passageways,” he said.
The first gunman looked over at Matt. “OK, open the passageway to the second floor.”
Matt paled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The first gunman twisted Joe’s arm and shoved him against a wall.
“Leave him alone!” Frank shouted.
He stood up to help his brother but was stopped by both guns pointing at him. He swallowed, trying to think of a way to free his brother. The lights flickered on and off again.
“I thought you said you got all the wires on the meter!” the first gunman yelled.
“I did.” The second gunman fired back, “This is an old house. Who knows what’s going on?”
Something slammed into Jason, knocking him to the ground. Professor Waller went over to help him up.
The first gunman looked around. “OK, whoever you are, you like to play games? Then we’ll play one of mine. It’s called Russian roulette, only I have a completely loaded gun.”
Jim appeared in the hallway.
“You know you get around really fast.” The first gunman remarked, aiming the gun at him. “Now move.”
Jim moved towards the coach. His form was so solid, he looked real.
“Now where are those papers?” the first gunman demanded.
“Why don’t you ask the man who murdered my sister?” Jim replied.
“So he did murder your sister,” Joe moaned, trying to ignore the pain in his arm.
Jim nodded. “No matter what I did, my father would find something to beat her. He finally killed her to get the insurance money. That’s what these two are here for. The insurance papers he had for the two he killed years before my sister.”
Frank leaned back. “All this for an insurance check.”
“I don’t care what he wants those papers for. All I do know is that he wants them. Now if you don’t hand them over I will play my game. Now move,” the first gunman ordered.
It was clear both gunmen were getting agitated by the delays. The first one threw Joe to the floor and put the gun to the back of his head!
“OK, you have thirty seconds to point out where those papers are hidden, or I’ll blow his brains out,” the first gunman threatened.
Frank felt his jaw clench. He could see the pain in his brother’s face.
“There’s got to be something I can do!” Frank thought, desperately trying to figure out a way out of this.
Suddenly the TV came on again to a show a rerun of one of the many movies in the Halloween series. Right then there was a gruesome murder scene. The TV switched to a scene from the Friday the 13th series. Then it switched to scenes from Night of the Living Dead to a scene from Twenty-Eight Days Later.
“Shut it off!” the first gunman yelled.
The TV switched to a murder scene from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as the second gunman went and yanked the plug from the wall. They watched wide-eyed as the TV kept changing channels! The TV switched from the shower scene in Psycho to the battle scene in Freddy vs. Jason.
“Shut it off!” he screamed again.
“I can’t shut it off!” the second gunman screamed.
The TV began switching channels faster. Now it was flipping back and fourth between the vampires in Forever Night and Port Charles. The second gunman yanked out the cable wire but the TV continued switching channels. Then the volume turned up to as loud as it would go as it switched back to Freddy vs. Jason. The second gunman knocked the TV off the stand, breaking the picture screen and finally stopping the TV.
Staci felt her skin crawling. She began scratching as though she were covered in ants. Joe felt himself being picked up as the first gunman was knocked down by an invisible force. Frank ran and grabbed his brother in a tight hug, shielding him from the first gunman. Jason ran to the front door, opened it and ran out. Both gunmen tried to fire, but their guns jammed as the door slammed shut.
Jason ran across the street to Mrs. Nathan’s house to get her to call the police. He could still feel Jim’s presence all around him.
Professor Waller watched wide-eyed as Jim walked calmly in front of the first gunman.
“You know that evil people like you always pay, one way or the other,” Jim said smiling at them.
The first gunman raised his gun and took aim at Jim. Jim waved his hand, and the gun feel apart in his hands! He ran towards his armed comrade. The second gunman fired but the gun blew up in his hands, causing the man to scream in pain as he dropped the now useless weapon. They ran as Jim chased them through the house. Finally they locked themselves in the upstairs hall closet. Jim came back downstairs.
“You’re safe for now,” he said.
With that he disappeared into the wall!
| |