Chapter 11

Everyone stood in awe before realizing that the gunmen were still upstairs in the closet. Joe finally stopped shaking. Staci stopped scratching at the “ants”, and she was able to stand up.

“What just happened?” Joe finally asked, breaking the silence.

Professor Waller looked back at the space on the wall where Jim had disappeared.

“Amazing, absolutely amazing,” he answered.

Frank stood up from the couch. “I don’t think they’ll be any trouble. If Jason was lucky he was able to call the police. I suggest we just calm down and wait for them.”

“I don’t know if I can calm down.” Joe admitted, “I’ve never been so scared yet felt so safe in my life.”

“Then it proves that Jim is not hurting any of us deliberately. He just wants to protect us so we can get the justice he wants,” Frank added.

Professor Waller looked over at the camera Justin had left running. “I wonder how much of Jim the camera managed to capture. It’s not easy to get physical manifestation on DVD.”

“We’ll find that out later. Did you see the wall that Jim disappeared into? I think that might be a clue,” Frank said.

It was then that there was a knock on the door followed by someone calling out, “Police department!”

Frank opened the door. He was surprised to see Detective Boone standing there with two police officers.

“Where are they?” Boone asked.

“In the upstairs hallway closet. They got scared and locked themselves in there,” Frank answered.

“Are they still armed?” Boone asked.

Frank shook his head. “The first gun fell apart. The second one blew up in his hand. I don’t know how badly he’s hurt.”

“All of you get outside, walk across the street, we’ll handle this,” Boone told them as he and the officers took their guns out of their holsters.

Professor Waller looked like he wanted to protest but instead he quietly signaled to Justin to leave the camera on and leave. Frank helped his brother and Staci followed behind him. Professor Waller reluctantly left with them. They walked across the street to where Mrs. Nathan was setting out lemonade for everyone to drink.

“Is everyone OK?” she asked as they came over.

“Ironically I think the only one hurt is them,” Frank replied as he accepted a glass of the lemonade.

Mrs. Nathan looked over at the house. “All my life I didn’t think ghosts were real, now I’m a true believer. Are any of you hungry? I have lots of food.”

Joe felt his stomach rumble. “Actually I could use a snack.”

Mrs. Nathan smiled. “Say no more. I’ll have food ready for all of you in a minute. Come inside while the officers do their job.”

Mrs. Nathan ushered them inside. She set out cookies, fruit, homemade rolls and butter, and some baked ham slices. She also brought out a large pitcher of iced tea and cups. She told them to eat everything because she wasn’t expecting anyone to come over. As they ate, the police officers knocked on her front door. Detective Boone came inside.

“What happened in there? Those two are babbling something about demons coming after them.

Professor Waller put down his cup of water. “The house is supposedly haunted. We saw some things going on in there. They must have seen something different that what we did.”

Detective Boone nodded. “They were screaming that demons were coming to get them.” The other officers were trying to keep from laughing. “They practically begged us to arrest them and take them out of the house.”

“Did you find anything from the stuff we gave you?” Frank asked.

Detective Boone nodded. “Oh yeah. I found out that Mr. Latch is Mr. Branch. He had his name changed shortly after the incident involving his first two kids deaths. Like you found out, there were very large insurance payouts for all four kids. So the new D.A. is taking an interest in it.”

“Thank goodness they’re going to look into that horrible man,” Mrs. Nathan replied.

“So are they going to be charged?” Joe asked as the fire in his back faded.

Detective Boone nodded. “They admitted to everything, and we confiscated the guns. That second guy has some nasty burns on his hands so he’s going to be taken to the hospital before the police station.”

“They hinted that Mr. Latch or Branch sent them. Did they admit to it?” Frank asked.

“They admitted to that and every other crime they managed to get away with. Whatever they saw in that house, it’s scared them to the point that they want to go to jail,” Detective Boone replied.

Joe shook his head. “Well, at least they admitted to that. Will you be picking up Mr. Latch?”

“I’ll let you know. It’s up to the D.A. to decide,” he replied.

He asked them all if they needed an ambulance. After declining the officers took their statements before leaving. They watched as the squad cars containing the two gunmen pulled away from the curb and drive down the street. Mrs. Nathan insisted that they sit down and finish up the food that she had offered. Frank had noticed that the scratch on Joe’s face had nearly disappeared.

“Joe, your face has healed,” Frank remarked.

Joe touched his face. He was surprised that he didn’t find any blood or stinging. “Wow, now that is amazing. Even the fire in my back is fading.”

Frank gently pulled up his brother’s shirt. He eased off the bandages and to his amazement and everyone else’s the letters were gone! There wasn’t even a trace of blood on the bandages. Frank touched the area.

“Does that hurt?” Frank asked.

Joe shook his head. “No, all it feels like is that I have an itchy bandage on my back.”

Frank gently pulled off the bandage. “How does that feel?”

“Much better,” he replied.

Frank handed the bandage to Professor Waller who put in a plastic bag for later research. Mrs. Nathan brought out a homemade chocolate cake and sliced big pieces from it for her guests. Joe could tell that she was enjoying the temporary company that had invaded her house.

“If you want to stay for the night, I don’t have many bedrooms, but you can campout here in my living room,” she offered.

Professor Waller looked back at the house. “I want to see if Jim appears again. Remember what he said?”

Joe nodded. “He said you’re safe for now.”

Frank looked out the window. “Which means there still is danger there. Probably from Mr. Latch himself. Detective Boone did say that the new D.A. is looking into the deaths. If that’s happening than we can safely say that the insurance company will be getting suspicious and will be asking that the money be returned or set up an inquiry into the payouts.”

“Which means he’s going to be in a hurry to cover his tracks,” Joe added.

“So what are you going to do?” Mrs. Nathan asked.

Frank looked back. “Professor Waller do you have an extra camera?”

“I do, what do you need it for?”

“Set up so that it faces the street. I have a feeling that between tonight and tomorrow night, Mr. Latch is going to make his presence known. I think once those two crooks tell the detectives exactly how Mr. Latch was involved he’s going to get desperate to hold on to all the money. Which means he’s going to come to the house to find those papers he sent the crooks to steal.” Frank explained, “We don’t know if Jim can do the same things that he did today. So we can’t take any chances. Having Mr. Latch on the DVD entering the house will be proof that can be used as evidence.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Mrs. Nathan asked.

Joe looked over at her. “Do what you were doing before, keeping watch on the house. If you see Mr. Latch going into the house, you call Detective Boone. He will know what to do. If you see anyone else going to the house, call the police.”

Frank thought of something. “Mrs. Nathan do you remember the person you talked to when you called child protective services?”

She nodded. “I do in fact I still keep in contact with him.”

“Call him in the morning. Tell him to send over his reports to Detective Boone as part of the case pending against Mr. Latch. And write down everything you can remember that went on over at that house. You might be called as an eye witness,” Frank explained to her.

After their dessert and glasses of lemonade, they left Mrs. Nathan to work on her list while they went back to the house to see what had been left on Justin’s recorder. To their surprise Jim didn’t appear on the screen, nor did his voice sound out. It looked like they had been talking to the air!

“I can’t believe it didn’t pick anything up. I was sure it would have at least picked up his voice,” Professor Waller remarked.

“Well, at least he did the job we needed him to,” Joe added as they watched Detective Boone and the other officers take the two very scared, very open to confessing gunmen out of the house.

Frank looked over at the wall that Jim had disappeared into. It was then that he noticed that the living room looked like it should be bigger than it actually appeared.

“Something’s not right with this wall.” Frank said, “It’s almost as if it shouldn’t be part of the room.”

Joe came over to one of the corners. “I don’t feel a draft. But I see what you mean about the wall not being part of the house. The seams are a little off with the other side.”

Professor Waller came over. “Matt, do you know if this wall has a hidden door?”

Matt shrugged. “I don’t know. I have the blue prints over on the dining room table.”

He went and retrieved the maps. They looked at the map of the living room. Justin opened up his back pack and pulled out a measuring tape. They measured the size of the room. The room was much smaller than what the blueprints indicated.

“So there is a hidden opening, but where?” Matt asked, “I didn’t know about this one.”

Frank and Joe searched the wall as Justin and Jason watched with their cameras. They tapped along the walls with no result. Joe went to move the picture over when an opening appeared in the wall! It was nearly the size of a door. Joe stepped inside to see a very small hidden room with one shelf on it. The only thing on the shelf was a small plastic box. He came out from the small room and blew the dust off the box.

“Well, maybe now we can figure out what Jim was trying to protect,” Frank said as Joe opened the box.

They opened the box. Inside were the original insurance papers for both Branch children and their birth certificates!

“So that’s why he wanted the papers found. He didn’t want us finding out about his other kids,” Joe remarked.

Suddenly there was the smell of flowers that filled the air. Professor Waller spoke to the camera. “Note that right now we smell a heavy floral scent.”

Staci sniffed again. “It’s like roses, as if we had just filled the room with some fresh cut roses.”

Frank looked around. He felt something lightly brush his shoulder. Joe looked around feeling the same brush.

“What was that?” Joe asked.

They looked around.

“There’s a change in the temperature of the room again,” Staci said, shivering slightly.

They looked over at the wall. Jim was standing in the opening!

Chapter 12

Jim looked at the open doorway then looked back at them.

“This is where you'll find the documents which prove that my father had a motive to kill us all. With those two confessing it won’t be long before he comes here,” Jim said to them.

He appeared translucent and looked a little tired.

“You have to get those documents to Detective Boone. He will know what to do with them. Don’t worry my father probably won’t try until tomorrow night. Right now he’s hosting a party, basking in the glow of that blood money.”

Frank looked at him. He knew what it was like to be protective as Jim was of a younger sibling. Jim disappeared and reappeared right in front of him!

“You’re just like me.” Jim said, smiling tiredly at him, “You’re willing to die for your younger brother.” He looked over at Joe. “And you are the same. You are willing to go anywhere, do anything, and even die for your older brother.” He looked at the two of them together. “Treasure each other. Love each other. Because in a flash all of it can be taken away.”

Jim disappeared, then reappeared again in front of the secret door. “I have to rest for now. Please watch yourselves. My father is very evil.”

“Wait.” Professor Walling said, “Is it you that’s doing all these things?”

Jim stared at him. “When a person dies in a way like my sister did, and as I did, the two souls that pass aren’t the only ones that become angry.”

Jim disappeared into the wall and the door closed itself!

Matt looked around. “Does he mean that it’s more than him and Hannah running around in here?”

Frank nodded. “Makes sense. Detective Boone did say that the gunmen were babbling about demons coming after them.”

Professor Waller looked around. “Looks like we’re going to need more than the camera watching the street. It’s going to be hard setting up in the dark but will be worth it. Matt, can you call the electric company in the morning.”

Matt nodded. “I can use my cellphone. Though I don’t know how long it’s going to take to fix it. Don’t forget the gas company is coming in the morning.”

Joe looked around. “Don’t worry about the gas company. Did you notice that the lights have stayed on?”

Frank’s eyes went wide and he looked around. “They are. Joe let’s go check the meter again. I don’t think we’ll have anything to worry about.”

They went outside to check the meter. Professor Waller followed with a camera. To their surprise the wires had been repaired! Waller took a picture before they walked back into the room.

“Matt, you don’t have to call the electric company. The meter’s been repaired,” Joe announced.

Matt’s jaw dropped. “No way.”

Frank nodded. “Yes way. It looks like it was never tampered with. At least tonight we won’t be stumbling around in the dark.”

They walked around the house, setting up the equipment. Each room had a camera recording any activities while another one was aimed out of a window towards the street. Justin went through the house checking for hotspots while Jason looked for anything on the electromagnetic detector. Frank and Joe walked around with their cameras alongside Professor Waller, asking questions to the rooms. Matt walked with Staci throughout the house to see if she could feel anything. As they waited for the pictures to develop, they could see words forming.

They looked at the one where Frank had asked the question, “Is that all you wanted us to do?”

The words “she needs justice” appeared floating around Joe.

The next picture came into focus. It was a picture where Joe had asked, “How do we find justice for her?” when he took the picture facing Frank.

The words “stop him” appeared floating around Frank.

The next picture was when Professor Waller took one of Frank and Joe standing together as he asked the question. “Who is the guilty person?”

The word “Latch” appeared floating above them.

“I wonder which Latch they’re referring to,” Joe asked out loud.

Just then the camera that had been sitting on the counter took a picture on its own!

Professor Waller spoke to the camera Jason was using. “As you just saw the camera on the counter operated on its own without anyone touching it. There is no remote way to activate it.”

They eagerly waited for the picture to come into focus. The picture was of them looking down at the table. The words “they both are guilty” appeared floating above them.

“Why would they accuse Mrs. Latch of being guilty? What would she be guilty of?” Matt asked, looking right at Frank and Joe.

The camera went off again. Professor Waller took note the camera before putting the picture on the table to wait for it to come into focus.

The picture was of Matt looking over at Frank and Joe. They were looking back at Matt. The words “she kept quiet” appeared floating around them.

“I can’t understand that.” Joe said, “I mean if she knew her husband had abused and killed four of her kids, it’s no excuse to keep quiet.”

“Well, they say that greed is the root of all evil. I guess she too was enjoying the money that came from those insurance policies,” Frank added.

Staci came over. “Someone is watching us. I can feel them around me. Whoever is in here is definitely angry at those two.”

Professor Waller looked around. “If Jim is resting for now then someone else is in here doing these things.”

Joe looked at him. “We do know that Hannah has appeared several times. Though there’s something else that bothers me.”

“What’s that?” Frank asked.

“Remember we found stuff on the Branch children. Do you suppose they followed their parents here?” Joe asked.

Just then, the banging noise sounded again, running up and down the upstairs hallway. All the doors slammed themselves shut. The lights began flickering on and off. The TV began switching channels. This time instead of horror sequences or blasting volume, it acted as if someone was just watching the TV, trying to find something to watch.

Frank looked around. “You know this is like someone having fun in the house. It’s almost as if someone is trying to have a party.”

Joe nodded. “It’s a good thing we don’t have a CD player or radio in the house. The neighbors would probably start calling in noise complaints.”

Professor Waller looked at the blinking lights. “OK, everyone just keep doing what you’ve been doing. The more that gets observed on the instruments, the more I get for analysis.”

Jason looked over at the electromagnetic detector. “It’s picking up a high level.” He waved the detector’s wand around. “Yeah, there’s definitely a lot of activity happening.”

Justin looked at the thermal camera. “This is interesting. Take a look.”

They looked and saw four hotspots on the wall behind them.

“I guess they’re just letting us know the answer to your question Matt.” Frank told him, “There is definitely more than just Jim and Hannah in here.”

The banging noise stopped along with the slamming of doors. The TV stopped switching itself and remained on a station showing a football game.

“Looks like it might be a long night,” Staci said, sitting down in a chair.

“I don’t know. If they feel we need to sleep they just might let us have a few hours of sleep. Otherwise why keep us awake?” Joe asked.

Frank sat down. “Jim did say that he was able to keep us safe for now. I think Mr. Latch is already on his way. They probably want us to keep on alert. If it’s anything like those two gunmen, he’s going to be armed as well. That was a lot of money he got from those insurance payouts.”

“How much did he get?” Matt asked.

Frank thought for a moment. “He was able to get one hundred thousand each for Jim and Hannah through double indemnity. Now from what I saw for the Branch children they two had double indemnity clauses, but for much more. They had two policies for two hundred thousand dollars each. So grand total he received six-hundred thousand dollars.”

Joe’s jaw dropped. “No wonder he sent those clowns here. That’s a lot of blood money.”

Professor Waller. “I can safely say that with the first two he invested some of the money and it paid off. He’s just greedy.”

Frank nodded. “Unfortunately in our line of work we see more often than people think. He probably got tired of being a father and saw a way to cash out and take care of his problem at the same time.”

They were hit with a strong floral scent.

Staci sniffed. “Mmm. Roses.”

“So we’re on the right track,” Joe said.

“I still want to ask him how he could hurt his own children for money. I wouldn’t do that to my kids,” Professor Waller said.

“Jim did say that Mr. Latch is evil. With evil there really is no explanation it’s just evil. It probably started with greed and then grew. He may have even enjoyed putting fear in his children.” Frank explained, “Joe and I have a friend whose father enjoyed beating him on a daily basis. It only stopped when his mother divorced his father and moved out taking our friend with her”

Matt sat down, feeling tired. “So that’s why they said Mrs. Latch is guilty because she if she kept quiet she probably saw the abuse happening but did nothing to stop it.”

“Are you OK Matt?” Joe asked.

He sighed. “I don’t know. Granddad wanted me to have this house so I’d have a place to live. I didn’t want do be dealing with any of this.”

“Matt, this would have happened to whoever owned the house. My guess is they realized you know Joe and I and you called us for help.” Frank explained, “So far we’ve managed to expose Mr. Latch’s crimes. My guess is once they get the justice, they’ll stop.”

Professor Waller sat down. “He’s right. Normally when justice is found, an object is returned or a grave is restored, something along those lines, the haunting stops. The hauntings, like this one are for attention, once Jim and Hannah are at peace, it will stop.”

Staci suddenly felt very cold. “It’s cold in here again.”

Justin looked through the thermal camera. “Yeah, there’s definitely a cold aura around you. Are you OK?”

She nodded. “Yeah, usually it stops after awhile. Whenever I feel intense cold it means they’re letting me know they’re here. Something big is going to happen again. I get the feeling it’s going to happen really soon.”

The camera snapped another picture. Professor Waller put it on the table, and they waited for it to come into focus. It was a picture of all of them around the table. They were all looking very tired. The words “just a little longer” appeared floating around them.

“Wow, so they know everything we’re saying,” Matt remarked.

Joe nodded. “That and more. They know you’re frustrated Matt. Probably after tomorrow night everything will be quiet again.”

Matt sighed. “I was thinking of keeping the house. It is a nice house, and Mrs. Nathan is really nice neighbor.”

Professor Waller stood up from his chair. “Then let’s get ready for the rest of the night. Taking more pictures, looking for hot spots, if it indeed stops after Mr. Latch is caught, then it’s definite proof of a haunting.”

They set up throughout the house. Trying different tactics to get the other ghosts to show themselves or offer proof that they were there. There were various noises that sounded and hushed voices that were picked up on the digital recorders. Joe shivered as he could feel the touch from the ghosts on his skin. Staci could feel their presence all over the house. She knew she wasn’t going to sleep tonight.

The night had slowly passed, and it was now getting close to 2AM. Everyone was tired, but the constant activity kept them awake. Although the ghosts were scratching him any more, Joe could still feel that there was someone inside the walls watching. Frank checked the lights along with Justin and they found that everything was working properly. Nothing physically could account for the lights turning themselves off and on. They showed to the camera that the TV was working on its own without being plugged in. As everyone was taking a break in the living room, they noticed that all the activities had stopped.

“Is it me or did the house get quiet all of a sudden?” Joe asked as he suddenly felt the watched feeling disappear.

Professor Waller looked through the thermal cameras. “You’re right. It’s all the normal activity.”

All of a sudden the lights turned themselves out!

“I think we better figure just keep still until the ghosts figure out what they want us to do,” Frank said.

Suddenly they heard someone trying to go through the back door.

“Matt, does anyone else have a key?” Frank whispered.

Matt shook his head. “Not that I know of.”

The rattling continued until there was the sound of a door opening.

Chapter 13

They heard the footsteps coming into the house as the door closed. Everyone froze in their spots. Staci quietly moved off the couch and into a corner. They could see the cold air coming from her mouth again. Frank could see the weary look once again take hold of his brother. The rest scattered against the far wall hoping not to be seen. They could see the shadow of a man as it moved from the kitchen to the dining room. It was clear that whoever it was had a gun in one hand. The sounds of footsteps echoed through the house as the person moved from the dining room to the living room. They could see the person come into the living room. He scanned the room with his gun.

“Come out wherever you’re hiding!” Mr. Latch demanded.

They could see that he had the look of man who was about to lose everything. He tried the wall switch but couldn’t get the lights to work. He looked around and tried a lamp but could not get the lamp to turn on. They could hear him stepping on the broken mess that had been the TV.

“You may have been able to put on a fake light show and fool those two idiots but not me!” he yelled.

He tripped over Joe, who was huddled by a table. He aimed his gun at him!

“Alright, so you’re one of the people in here. Now where are the papers?” he demanded.

“Stay away from my brother!” Frank yelled coming over to him.

Latch took aim at Frank. “Maybe you’d prefer a bullet instead? Now where are the papers?”

The banging noise came at a frantic pace, as if someone was racing from one side of the house to the other. Mr. Latch shot a hole into the ceiling causing everyone to jump.

“You come down here, or I’ll start shooting!” he screamed.

The others moved towards the far corner, trying to get away from him. Joe scrambled away into the protective embrace of his brother. Frank moved him away from table and over towards the couch. Mr. Latch turned his gun back towards them even as the doors started slamming.

“OK, knock off the floor show and hand over the papers, before I decide to empty this gun!” he shouted at them.

“We don’t have them!” Frank shouted back, trying to shield his brother.

He fired a shot into the floor near the couch. “Don’t lie to me! I know you have them!”

The lights flickered on and off followed by a strong breeze throughout the entire house.

…Justice…Justice…Justice…

The word echoed through the house. The banging noise came louder as the doors upstairs repeatedly slammed themselves shut. A childlike laughter ran through the house.

“Who are you?” Latch screamed.

He looked at all of them. “What game are you trying to play?”

Then as they heard crying coming from upstairs. It sounded like a small child in her room. It was followed by the sounds of running and a loud scream. He turned and saw Hannah lying at the bottom of the steps, exactly like she was in the crime scene photos! He shot at Hannah, and she disappeared! Staci could feel all the spirits around her. Her chest heaved as if someone were sucking all the air out of the room. Jim appeared again. He ran up the stairs and Mr. Latch gave chase. He chased Jim through the upstairs before coming back into the living room where Jim disappeared.

“Don’t be afraid,” a voice whispered to the terrified hostages.

Mr. Latch ran over to wall and moved the painting. The secret door opened. He looked to the side and found something that had been overlooked, a gray box in the corner. Frank helped his brother off the couch to a darkened corner with the others. They were all scared at how cold Joe’s skin was to the touch. They watched as Mr. Latch dumped over the box to reveal blood-stained clothing. He tried to tear the fabric by stepping on it with his shoe and pulling, but the fabric stayed strong. He put the gun down and began tearing at the fabric with both his hands. It refused to yield. Professor Waller moved Justin and James across the room, moving against the wall. They took the chance, and he was able to move them to the front door. By then they could see a police car outside. Mr. Latch screamed and pulled out a lighter, trying to set fire to the blood stained clothes. No matter what he did, he couldn’t even put burn marks on the material. Jason and Justin opened the door and slipped out. They ran over to the officers.

“What’s going on in here?” Latch demanded.

Just then the front door slammed shut and locked itself. The lights began to blink on and off. Jim appeared in the secret room.

“I killed you!” Latch screamed.

He fired into Jim until the gun ran empty. Jim continued stand there.

“You will pay for your crimes,” Jim said, staring down at him.

“Not me! I’m a rich man!” he snarled back. “No one will believe you!”

Jim smiled. “You will pay for your crimes.”

The secret doorway closed itself. Staci could feel as if there was nothing but anger and fear in the room. Joe felt as though someone had dunked him in an ice bath.

“Leave now!” the voice told them.

Professor Waller helped Staci while Frank helped his brother. The door opened and they ran out.

Chapter 14

Frank, Joe, and Professor Waller ran out just as they heard Latch screaming. The door slammed shut behind them. They ran with their hands up as the police officers came over to them, guns drawn.

“Are they armed?” the first officer asked.

Frank nodded. “Yeah, but he emptied his gun. I don’t know if he has any more. He’s locked in a room that only opens from the outside. There’s no one else inside.”

The police ordered all of them to stand either behind the police cars or inside them. Mrs. Nathan had come out.

“Over here!” she screamed.

They all took cover in her house and watched as more police cars came to the house. All of the officers had their guns drawn. The screaming had stopped completely. The officers coordinated then spread out across the perimeter of the house. The officers shouted several times for Latch to come out, but it was completely silent inside. They watched as the officers stormed the house. Minutes later they were dragging Mr. Latch from the house in handcuffs. His face was pale and seemed to be transfixed in mask of terror. The Hardys and everyone else came out from Mrs. Nathan’s house.

“What happened in there?” the first officer demanded.

“We can’t get him to speak, but there’s a pile of bloody clothes he tried to set on fire in there and bullet holes everywhere,” he said.

Frank took a deep breath and explained everything from beginning to end. The detectives cleaned up the scene and secured all the evidence. By then all the officers were standing staring transfixed at the house as all the lights turned back on, and the door opened itself. The officers handed over a stack of forms for each of them to fill out. Mrs. Nathan had more lemonade for everyone including the officers who had stayed to take statements.

“What happened in that house? You really saw ghosts?” the first officer asked.

“Well, whatever we saw, it scared him stiff,” Joe remarked.

The officer nodded. “I know. I’ve never seen someone like that before. The hair on the back of his head is a shade of white I’ve never seen before.”

Professor Waller was surprised. “Could you get me a photo of that? There is an urban legend that a person’s hair can go white in fear. This is the first proven case of it.”

Frank nodded. “I heard about that. I’ve never seen it though.”

“We’ll get you a picture of that. Trust me he won’t even notice,” the officer replied.

“How far out of reality do you think he is?” Joe asked trying to calm his nerves.

“I don’t know if he’ll ever come back. I’ve seen this before in some post-traumatic-stress disorder people. Some are fortunate enough to come out of it but with him, who knows,” the officer replied.

Matt leaned back in the chair. “Do you think there’s enough information to prosecute him now?”

Frank nodded. “Plenty. Not only do we have him on tape confessing that he murdered someone, we have all the hidden papers, the autopsy photos, the bloody clothes, and a new DA. If anything he can be charged with breaking and entering, hostage taking, carrying a fire arm, attempted murder… I could go on and on. Trust me he won’t see the light of day for a long time if he ever does.”

The officer nodded. “He’s right about that. We have plenty to keep of charges to keep the D.A. busy for the next year.”

“Thank goodness.” Mrs. Nathan said as she offered everyone a second helping of the warm chocolate chip cookies, “That horrible man deserves every punishment coming to him.”

No one in the room could refuse the old woman’s delicious cookies.

“Don’t worry ma’am. He has more than enough charges against him to keep him in prison for life, I’ll make sure of that,” the officer promised her.

The officers gathered their paper work and a bagful of cookies each before leaving the house.

Matt took a sip of the lemonade. “Do you think that the ghosts will stop for good?”

“That depends. Since Jim and Hannah will get justice they will be at rest, I’m not sure about the others,” Frank said.

Professor Waller finished his glass. “I’ve talked with several psychics. The consensus is that when the vengeful ghost is at rest, the others will follow and be at rest as well.”

Frank looked over at his brother. “Joe, remember that show were that really famous psychic talked about spiritual vortexes?” Joe nodded. “Jim’s anger over his father’s crimes must have created one, causing other ghosts to sense it and help him.”

Staci looked over. “I saw that. Now that Jim is at peace, there’s no more anger to draw the others in.”

“Matt, I would like to stay one more night in your house.” Professor Waller said, “Now that everything should be quiet an observation of what the house should be would help in the research.”

Matt shrugged. “Sure why not, so long as it’s quiet.”

“I think it will be,” Frank assured him.

They continued munching on their snack before returning to the house. To Professor Waller’s surprise, none of the equipment was moved or damaged. In fact, they were still recording as if nothing had happened!

“Great, we’ll see if they are some voice recordings besides that guy screaming,” Professor Waller said.

They worked through all their findings. They recorded some new stuff. Neither Joe and nor Staci could feel any outside emotions or temperature changes as they walked through the house. On the pictures that they taken of the house, the writing had ceased. It was as if they were walking through an old house with all the normal house noises, like rattling pipes, creaking floors, and drafts from the windows. As they were sitting in the living room going over what they had seen, two figures appeared in the living room; Jim and Hannah! Jim was holding onto Hannah’s hand. She looked exactly like Matt and Mrs. Nathan had described her, with her pink dress and sandals. Her brown hair had been pulled into pig-tails.

“Thank you for helping me get justice for her.” Jim said, smiling, “Now I can take her to a better place. It’s a wonderful house with a huge backyard with a dog and everything she can ever play with.”

“What about you?” Joe asked.

“I’m going to stay with her until it’s time for our new destinies. I didn’t know anything outside of protecting her and now I don’t need to. The house has everything I could ever want as well.”

“Will you be coming back?” Frank asked.

Jim shook his head. “Not here. Not for a very long time anywhere. But don’t worry. When you’re soul bonded like you and your brother are, you always find your way back to your other half no matter where that half has gone.” They watched as Jim tightened his grip on Hannah’s hand. “Don’t worry. She and I will not remember what happened here once I finally take her to that house. But my father will always remember. And I have nothing but thanks for all of you for helping me make sure of that.” He looked down at Hannah. “Come on. Let’s go to your playhouse.” Hannah smiled and he smiled back as they both disappeared.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the place as the two disappeared. Everyone wished they could stay to answer all their questions but felt they had already been delayed long enough. The night would pass quietly with everyone taking naps in between watching the monitors until the sun broke over the horizon. As the morning came Professor Waller took final readings before packing up his equipment. Both Jason and Justin were going to have a long week ahead of them as they helped him analyze all the data they had gathered. After having breakfast, he and his students left to get a head start on everything before too much time had elapsed.

Staci was taking a walk to clear her thoughts while Frank, Joe, and Matt sat down in the dining room.

“That was a few strange days,” Joe remarked as he sipped a glass of water.

Frank sighed. “Tell me about it. I feel like I could sleep for a month.”

Matt looked around. “At least you managed to stop the ghosts and send them to where they should be. Now I can take my time and decide what I want to do with this place. Thanks guys, I really appreciated what you’ve done for me.”

Joe smiled. “Anytime. It was a welcome change from our normal cases. This time we didn’t have to spend money on plane tickets or much food.”

Frank nodded. “And we finished it in a few days. Some cases take much longer than that. This is the first time we’ve every proven an actual haunting and not just someone’s idea of a haunting.”

“What’s going to happen to Mr. Latch?” Matt asked.

“I called this morning. He confessed to all four murders and that his wife was also responsible for them. Of course she’s denying it, but I guess with all the evidence they’re both going to see hard time.” Frank explained, “I turned in all the evidence and the new D.A. assured both Detective Boone and Detective Morgan that he would prosecute both Latches to the fullest extent of the law.”

Matt smiled. “So that’s why Jim said that he and Hannah could leave now.”

“Yeah. It should be quiet in here from now on. So you won’t have any problems selling it,” Frank added.

“But as much as we would like to stay, our new brother is coming home this week and we should be there for him. We promised to show him around town,” Joe said, standing up.

Matt stood up with him. “That’s fine. I’m going to lock this place up and go to a hotel for a couple of nights. I just need to relax without worrying.”

“That’s understandable.” Frank said, “We’ll leave with you. But you call us if you need our help again.”

Matt smiled. “Thanks, that’s all I needed to hear.”

After waiting for Matt to pack a bag and lock up the house, and Staci to return they left but not without receiving large bags of food from Mrs. Nathan. Frank gave her their aunt’s address and phone number. Matt left feeling better than he had in months.

Back on the road after dropping Staci off at her house, both brothers were silent, enjoying each other’s company. The truth to what Jim had told them had hit home with both of them. It was Frank who finally broke the silence.

“Since Dad and Dan are going to be spending more time together, why don’t you and I plan a camping trip of our own? Just you and me,” Frank suggested.

Joe smiled. “Sounds great. No cases. No ghosts, no gunmen, no aliens, just the great outdoors. A nice fire, some s’mores. Yeah, sounds great.”

Frank smiled back. “Then let’s start planning as soon as we get back.”

“No problem. You start the planning, I’ll get our equipment ready and make lists of what we’ll need,” Joe replied.

They rode in silence for awhile again.

Joe looked at Frank. “Big brother, do you believe in what Jim talked about? That two souls that are bonded will find their way to each other no matter what?”

Frank thought for a moment. For a second he thought he didn’t have an answer then it came to him. He didn’t know how, but it did. “Yeah, I believe in that. I don’t know how, but I know that soul bonds are real. You and I have both proven that.”

Joe smiled and nodded. They didn’t need to say any more. They both had gone through so much and knew that they were bonded in a way they couldn’t explain. They didn’t need a ghost to tell them something they already knew. They were soul bonded and nothing that came in the future could break it.

End