GHOST 👻 (A Paranormal Romance)

Elementary

"Reopened?" I gape at Jerry. "Don't you mean closed with a few stakes to the heart? I want this nightmare to end as quickly as possible!"

Across from me, Dylan stands up. I know he's relieved his voice is back because he starts using it immediately, "I can see why this case was never solved. There's been some sort of sinister cover up going on here." Jerry nods in confirmation while Dylan's manic energy reminds me of Sherlock Holmes on the hunt. Any minute I expect him to shout, "The game's afoot!"

Madam Regina stands up, still emanating her calm strength. The atmosphere in the room is slowly returning to normal.  She looks slightly disoriented as if she's just stepped off a triple loop roller coaster, but she's smiling regally as if she enjoyed all the action. 

"Lizzy, I hoped this seance helped you and your friends."

"Yes, it did. It helped tremendously. Even though it was terrifying the seance answered a lot of our questions."

Jerry's taking inventory, standing in front of the demolished window. "Madame Regina, we'll pay for all this damage."

The cold night air is blowing through the window, making the curtains move like ghosts reaching for the ceiling. Unperturbed, Madam Regina dismisses the damage to her home. "Don't worry, I have insurance." She nods towards the wood paneled hallway. "Jerry, there's some boards in the basement. The hammer and nails are on the shelves next to them. If you and Dylan don't mind putting those up, that will suffice for tonight." He's happy to do this and heads off in search of the required materials.

Reaching down on the table, she picks up my mother's diary. She hands it to me with a warning. "Lizzy, it's very important that you don't remove the binding twine that I've shrouded this book in. There's a spell I've placed on it to keep the spirits from trying to reenter this realm again. Whatever you do, don't open or read from this book again until this is all sorted out."

Taking the book from her, I gladly acquiesce with her request. "Don't worry, I won't. Thank you so much for all your help, Madame Regina."

Reassured, we understand her instructions, she pulls out a leather binder out of a wooden side table. "I have an associate who might be able to help you decipher the code in the grimoire. Did you make a copy of it?"

"Yes, Dylan did."

"Good. Contact him. I think he'll be able to decipher what it says." Carefully, she copies the mysterious man's name onto a piece of paper and hands it to me.

Thank you for reading! 👻