“It sounds like all of these people were living relatively normal lives,” said Shep. “They were happy, energetic, and then decided to take their lives.”
“Shep, there has to be something we’re missing,” said Luke.
“I don’t doubt that at all. I think each person was hiding something or had something they were afraid to tell their families. Luke, I think you all need to understand that this could be something that you won’t uncover. You might be stuck with these spirits for a while.”
“No,” said Hex. “No, I don’t buy that. This is what we do for a living, solve problems, solve mysteries.”
“Yes, but these are the mysteries of dead people. How many of those have you solved?” asked Shep.
“More than you might think,” smirked Luke. “I think we have to dig in further with each of these people. It’s going to take us some time.”
“Luke?” called Trak coming down the hallway. “Luke?”
“In here. What’s up?”
“I think you need to come out to the animals sanctuary. We’ve got an issue.”
“Shit.”
The men headed out to the sanctuary, Shep tagging along to see things for himself. The first thing that surprised him was how easily the men maneuvered through the dark, murky waters. The second thing was the view of the animals roaming around the island freely.
Gaspar was standing between several animals and he looked sad. As they stepped off the boat and walked toward him, Shep nearly fell to the earth.
“Ghosts,” he whispered. “New ghosts.”
“Yes. I mean, no,” said Luke. “Those are the four we’ve been looking into. Why are they all on the island?”
“I don’t know,” said Gaspar, “but the animals are struggling with them being here because they won’t speak to them. They can’t speak.”
“And yet they all moved to the island,” said Luke.
Chaos was circling Gaspar’s feet, sensing his distress. The massive Great Dane puppy was growing fast and already nearly hundred and twenty pounds.
Rusty, the bison nudged Gaspar’s shoulder and he turned, rubbing the big beast between the eyes.
“Careful, Dad,” said Adam.
“He’s fine. He’s just spooked.” Semu looked at the men, quickly signing to them.
“See-through people no talk. They’re sad. Very sad. It hurts Semu.”
“We know, Semu,” said Eric. “We’re trying to help them.”
The ghosts seemed to be standing in a straight line together, staring off into space. It didn’t appear that they could see the humans or the animals. They didn’t respond to calls, commands, or questions. They were just there.
“I have no clue how to get them away from the animals,” said Gaspar, “but they need to move elsewhere.”
“Maybe we move the animals to the south side of the island,” said Eric. “We can try to keep this side clear.”
“They’re staring toward the city,” said Adam. “Or at least they’re looking northward, toward the city.”
“That’s true,” said Luke. “They’re looking in that general direction. Maybe they can’t figure out how to get from here to there. But Morgan was wandering the city on the bus. Why come out here?”
“I think she senses that you can help her,” said Shep quietly. The ghostly female figure cocked her head slightly as if she heard him.
“Shep, say something to her,” said Hex.
“Morgan, can you hear my voice? If you can, come toward me.” She didn’t move, didn’t say anything or do anything. Shep tried again. “Morgan, I won’t hurt you. I want to help you finish the work you started.”
