Page 47 of The Silence of Hell

“I was in Deadwood. Trust me, as soon as I received the call, I rode out,” Slaughter replied.

“What happened next?” Chance asked me.

“There was a loud groaning that echoed through the house and further bangs and crashes. I was worried about the students, but they came downstairs together,” I continued.

“Yeah, Dan and I collected the girls and deemed it safer down here. We’d no idea if somebody had broken in,” Kelly interjected.

“That’s what we thought at first, but the groaning… nuh, huh. That sounded like someone being tortured,” Harriet said.

“I phoned Fanatic, as suddenly a face appeared at the window. Dan and I gave chase, but we didn’t see anyone. There was a light in the trees, so we chased that, thinking it was an intruder. Neither of us had a torch, and it wasn’t safe, so we came back and noticed the widow’s tower fully lit. There was a hulking figure moving about inside, so Dan and I went up there,” Jinx said.

“I got the call and woke up Chatter, Wraith, Smokey, and I grabbed Harlequin from the gate. I left Rascal there. Wraith knocked Bone up, and we all headed here. Wraith and Bone were in front, and we spotted a light in the trees. They pulled over, and we continued. When we arrived, there was chaos. The widow’s tower was lit up and there was a shadow, probably the same one Jinxy saw.

“Chatter, Smokey, Harlequin, and I came and noticed a female watching us from the third floor. Smokey and Harlequin headed up there, and Chatter passed out,” Fanatic explained, rolling his eyes.

“Don’t say a fuckin’ word. That was some fucked up shit,” Chatter growled out.

“We ran upstairs and checked every door, and they were all locked. But as we turned to come downstairs, there was an old woman at the end of the corridor and fuck me…” Smokey said.

“She faded right before our eyes!” Harlequin exclaimed.

“A ghost!” Harriet squealed.

“Shut up,” Emory hissed.

“And then everything went to hell!” Smokey added.

Chance nodded. “I was there for that bit. Well, can’t say shit ain’t got interesting here.”

“Give me a few,” I said, slipping out of the kitchen and heading to my bedroom. I picked up a picture frame and hurried back. Nobody had moved, and I showed them the photo.

“Was this her?”

“Yes!” Smokey and Harlequin yelped.

“Aunt Aggie,” I muttered, exchanging looks with Jinx.

Why the hell was my aunt haunting Ravenberry? Didn’t she want me here? Or did she wish to tell me something?

“You need the ghostbusters,” Wraith announced, staring at me.

“Good job we have one in town,” Chance said. Hellfire exchanged glances, and Bear began to grin.

“We’ve got the best fuckin’ one out there!” he exclaimed.

???

Well, now. This was unusual. Calliope Dixon stood in front of me with her team. She’d hit it big in twenty-twenty with her popular ghost-hunting show. Calliope was looking around Ravenberry and frowning.

“There’s something here,” she murmured. “Hi, I’m Callie. You must be Lavender. Chance is my brother-in-law, and he said you had an issue. We’re in-between filming right now and on a break, and I’m back in Spearfish for a bit.”

“I don’t think I want Ravenberry Manor splashed all over the TV,” I replied.

“Oh no. I do private investigations as well. The money I make from TV lets me fund them. This won’t be on TV unless you choose it to be. But I do need cameras setting up to catch things and also, I’ll want a chat with everyone that experienced anything,” Callie said.

“You don’t think we are crazy?” I asked.

“Nope. And if Chance is saying shit’s happening, it must be. Chance is as bullheaded as they come,” Callie replied.

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