Mr. Fox seemed to enjoy telling the tale of the lecherous Henry Van Tassel and the murder of his family. He went into a little too much detail for Chloe’s liking, describing several reports from the servants of the house. “They say he was always watching little Emily. He would lurk out of sight, thinking no one saw him, and he spy on the little girl every chance he got,” Mr. Fox stated in a mock whisper. “They say he got a taste for the younger ones when he was fighting the Native Americans out west.” He shrugged as if this were common.
“You know, sometimes,”—Chloe spoke up from the overgrown fountain she had been investigating—“the stories we hear and the things we think we know turn out to be completely wrong.”
“Oh, my dear,” he replied in a tone that caused her to dislike him further. “I think I may know a thing or two more about hauntings than you do.” He faltered at the glare she gave him. “Oh, please don’t be insulted. I’m sure you have read some interesting things, but at your age I doubt you have come across as much,”—he smiled as if he were speaking to a very young child—“in the way of the supernatural as I have.”
“I wouldn’t count on that,” Chloe growled.
A hand gently touched her arm; Alex had materialized next to her at some point. He was facing away from Mr. Fox, and when he spoke it was so softly that no one but she could hear. “Let the little man think he’s the expert.” He held his breath. “Please?”
Chloe inhaled a calming breath. “Only because you asked me to,” she replied through gritted teeth. Mr. Fox cocked his head to the side, as if waiting for her to continue their discussion, but before she could say anything, she heard Arthur speak up.
“That lady may look young, but she is an old soul. One hell of a worker, too, and she knows more than, I think, many people three times her age.” When Chloe glanced at him, Arthur gave her a wink and continued, “Especially about the supernatural world.” Certain he had Mr. Fox’s attention, he added, “That, and she was with us at Sterben house.”
“Oh, so she helped with the Grey girl and the poltergeist?” Mr. Fox asked doubtfully.
Chloe couldn’t stop herself from clarifying that statement. “It was a demon, an angry ghost, and someone who made a deal with the devil, as well as the three other girls he killed.” She stopped as she spied Aaron standing behind Mr. Fox, shaking his head frantically.
“She played an integral part,” Alex soothed, “in helping us research the place.” He squeezed Chloe’s hand.
“Apologies.” Mr. Fox bowed then changed course at lightning speed “Now, you may know about Henry and his family, but did you know they were not the only ones to die here?” He led them to the front door. “In the late ’fifties the house was up for sale, and a man by the name of Stevens was interested in the place.”
They were on the porch now. Arthur, Alex, and Chloe were inspecting the boards and the posts, but Aaron listened intently, enthralled by the tale.
“He was attacked by something that sent him running, bloodied and terrified,” Mr. Fox continued as the group stepped off the porch to walk the perimeter of the house. “Then in the ’sixties, his nephew found the real estate man who had taken his uncle to the house. He got the story from the man and was later found dead in the same room where Henry killed his family.
“It seems the agent went crazy after talking to the boy, followed Stevens’ nephew out here, and killed him. They found the agent—Lewis I think his name was—covered in dried blood three days after the man went missing. Lewis was sitting on the front porch with a bloody letter opener in his hand.”
Chloe and Alex shared a look, silently commenting on the man’s story, but they did not interrupt him. The group had been walking around the house as Mr. Fox spoke and were now at the back door. There was no evidence of rot or forced entry, which was very odd for a neglected house this age. Alex and Chloe shared a surprised expression as they noted none of the windows had been broken.
“They say Lewis was screaming about saving a woman from Henry.” Mr. Fox frowned, seeming to realize that his tale did not hold the most interest for his audience. Well,” he shrugged as they continued around the house. “The evidence was overwhelming against this Lewis person, but he kept raving about ghosts. In the end he spent the rest of his life locked up in a mental hospital.”
The unease Chloe had started to feel as they made their tour of the exterior had only grown with each step. As if he could feel her unease, Alex looked askance at her. Chloe smiled at him, shaking her head slightly to reassure him. The smile disappeared when she heard the laughter of a young girl.
Glancing through the window, she saw the hem of a white dress disappear through a doorway. She turned quickly back to Alex, but he was listening to something his father was saying about structure and timbers. Aaron seemed intrigued by some intricate carving on the top of a post and did not seem to notice anything else. Only Mr. Fox appeared to be watching her. His face was unreadable, so Chloe did her best to match his mask. Then she heard the laughter again. Glancing between the window and the man, she could tell he heard it too, although it seemed they were the only ones. A knowing smile twitching in the corner of Fox’s mouth was the only emotion he showed.
Chloe decided to ignore the girl for the moment. The sky, which had been bright when they arrived, had become darker during their tour. From the distance came a rumble of thunder. Arthur’s hand was reaching for the doorknob when reflected lightning flashed in the stained glass of the door. As if this were not warning enough, the air was shattered by a crash of thunder. The rumble seemed to linger in their ears.
“Perhaps we should come back tomorrow,” Alex suggested, looking intently at Chloe.
Arthur looked from the door to the sky and back again. “If this turns out to be the storm it’s threatening to become, we could get some good …” He caught the looks between Chloe and Alex and hesitated. “… information on the roof …” He paused again. Chloe gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. “… but I don’t want to get caught here in a thunderstorm,” he backtracked.
It was unconvincing, but Mr. Fox did not seem to notice. “Yes, this does appear quite ominous,” he murmured. Several minutes later found them in the car, watching the taillights of Fox’s expensive SUV disappear down the long drive.
Heavy drops began to hit the windshield, a few at a time. It soon became a deluge. The rain on the car was the only sound for a while. Finally, Aaron spoke up. “You guys were doing that thing where you talk without saying anything at all.” He turned in his seat to look at them in the backseat. “I don’t know about you guys, but there was something, um …” he stuttered, looking at Chloe.
She shook her head at him. “I saw the little girl,” she whispered. “There was something else.” She shut her eyes. “Something else is in that house. Not the anger that Edgar had but … but it is nasty.”
“Do you think we should call it off?” Arthur asked, watching her through the rearview mirror.
She shook her head, “No, the money is too …”
“Don’t worry about the money,” Arthur interrupted. “We still have plenty from Kerlvin and the other projects. We don’t need this job.”
“I think we can help this little girl,” Chloe said. “I know that’s not what we do but …” She fell silent.
“You know we know about the one from the barn,” Alex said, not meeting her eyes. “That was a nice thing you did.”
“He was simply lost,” Chloe mumbled.
“And he gave you a really nice bike.” Aaron shrugged.
“Yes, he showed me where his motorcycle was, but that isn’t why I helped,” Chloe argued. The brief anger melted as a smile crept on her face. “But yes, it is a nice bike.”
“We’re not going to take this job if it’s dangerous,” Arthur stated.
Chloe thought for a moment. “I think we should do this.”
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