Page 77 of Be Our Ghost
Charlie scrubbed her hands over her face. “I…I don’t know. I’m not sure I could stick it out for three hours.”
“How about for a half hour?” Logan asked. “All we need is some kind of response from Maeve. Didn’t you say she bombarded you with negative vibes when you were in there?”
Knox frowned. Even if Charlie did experience a strong emotional response to the ghost, her feelings wouldn’t manifest as evidence. “I don’t think that’ll be enough. And it’s not worth it to put Charlie through all that turmoil.” He kissed the top of her head. “Not unless you want to.”
“If I start panicking, can you let me out of the room?” she asked. “I don’t want to have a heart attack or anything.”
A heart attack?Jesus. He’d just gotten her back. He didn’t want to lose her. “You don’t have to do this.”
“It’s okay.” She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ears. “I’m just going to freshen up first. To make sure I look good for the cameras.”
When she dashed into the washroom, Knox glared at Logan. While he appreciated everything his friend had done for him, he didn’t want to put Charlie at risk. “This is a bad idea.”
“Let her try it. She’s braver than you think.”
Knox mulled over that thought. Shewasbrave. And not just when it came to diving into the hotel’s haunted history. At the gala, she’d stood up for him, challenging both Lila and Evan. She’d followed that act of defiance by standing up to her mom and deciding to move out, after years of not wanting to rock the boat with her folks. For all the people-pleasing she did, she was pure steel underneath.
“Okay,” he grumbled. “But understand this. I refuse to stand by and let anything bad happen to her. If she’s in danger, we need to pull her out of there. Got it?”
His voice must have come across as sterner than he intended because Logan flinched. “Understood. I won’t let her get hurt.”
Knox wanted to trust him, but he wasn’t sure what their ghost had up her sleeve.
Thirty-Two
Charlie stoodoutside the door to the storage room. It was one thing to go in there with Knox or to show the crew around. But to deliberately provoke a ghost? What if she got possessed? What if Maeve’s spirit attached itself to her after she left? Based on what she’d read about spectral encounters, the possibility existed.
“You okay?” Logan asked. “Knox would murder me if anything happened to you.”
“It’s all right. I’ll give it my best shot, but I can’t promise I’ll get results.”
“Hey, it’s better than three more hours of nothing.” Logan rapped on the door four times, and it swung open. Burke ushered her in and closed the door swiftly behind her. As it clicked shut, Charlie’s spine stiffened. That click sounded more ominous than ever before.
“This isn’t our usual protocol,” Burke said to her. “Once we go into lockdown, we don’t like to compromise our findings by introducing new elements or people. You left your phone behind, right? And your two-way radio?”
“Affirmative. I even took off my watch.” She was still wearing her work clothes—a button-down shirt, a navy skirt, and matching heels—though she’d ditched her blazer in the hotel room. Good call since the storage area was as stifling as ever. “What do you want me to do?”
“Introduce yourself.” He directed her to one of the cameras. “Tell our viewers why you’re here.”
“Okay.” She took a second to conjure up the sunny persona she used at work, then waved at the camera. “Hi, everyone. I’m Charlie Fraser, the front office manager of the Duchess Hotel. Over the past two months, I’ve visited this room twice. Both times, I’ve gotten locked in. I tried using the key, but it didn’t work.” She let out a nervous giggle. “When I got trapped in here, my partner, Knox McIntyre, was with me. He couldn’t open the door either.”
“What else happened the last time you were here?” Burke asked.
“I smelled the faint scent of roses, which seems to be a pattern since the other women who were locked in here experienced the same thing. But the most notable effects were the extreme mood swings I went through. Sad one minute and angry the next. It was hard to control. I think the ghost—Maeve—was manipulating my emotions. She’s one of the people who was murdered in this room, and I believe her spirit still haunts it.”
Burke gestured to the familiar settee. “Is this where you were sitting the last time? Why don’t you take a seat?” He gave her a handheld device. “This is a temperature sensor with a built-in thermometer. If there are any spikes, they’ll show up here.”
She eased into the settee and tried to relax. Maybe tonight, Maeve would stay dormant, since there was so much testosterone in the room. She might also choose to hide from the investigators out of pure spite. But within a minute, the scent of roses returned, stronger than ever. A gloomy fog settled over Charlie. Like her own personal raincloud. Bleak thoughts crowded into her head, pushing everything else out.
Knox threw you under the bus, didn’t he? For the good of the show. He’s just using you.
She knew it wasn’t true. Or was it?
He’d only acted protective for a few minutes before letting her leave with Logan.
As a wave of sorrow seeped into her consciousness, an anguished moan escaped her lips. Accompanying it was an arctic chill that felt like walking into a freezer. She trembled all over, and the monitor beeped in her hands.
Burke leaned over her. “The temp’s going down. Good job. Try talking to the ghost.”
