Erik parked down the block from Haley’s apartment, where she also held psychic readings. Their plainclothes bodyguard found a spot nearby.
“At least we should get a heads up if anyone is following the guy who follows us,” Ben noted with a nod to the cop. “And if he thinks there are sketchy people scoping out the store.”
“I didn’t want to bring anyone else into this because of the organized crime angle, but if we can make contact with some of the spirits, it could fill in some of the missing information and maybe prevent this from getting to be a bigger deal,” Erik said.
“Do you think Haley is a strong enough ghost whisperer to handle this kind of stuff?” Ben asked.
“I guess we’ll find out,” Erik said.
“Just like getting a witness to spill their guts. Sometimes one cop will make a stronger connection than another, and if the informant feels more comfortable, they say more,” he added.
Ben had certainly seen that play out with human witnesses and guessed there was no reason for ghosts to be different.Ghosts are still people—just dead ones.
Haley had a quiet table ready when they showed up. “I made fresh tea,” she told them as she ushered them inside and closedthe door, leading them to the back room. “Always helps to soothe the nerves.”
She poured cups for all of them, then sat facing Ben and Erik. Candles flickered on the table.
“Before we go further, I need to ask, do you really want to know?” Haley gave a pointed look to Erik then Ben. “Because you can’t un-know once I tell you, and that may make you a target for bad people.”
“Yes, Erik said. “We need answers, and bad people are already targeting us. That wouldn’t be new.”
Haley laughed. “If you knew half of what the ghosts tell me on a regular basis, you’d put me in witness protection. People who didn’t get their sins off their chest before they die want someone to hear their secrets afterward.”
“How do you deal with that?” Ben asked, intrigued.
“If the new information can help solve a crime, find a missing person, or save someone, I will make an anonymous tip to authorities,” Haley replied. “If it’s just someone getting bad choices or indiscretions off their chest, I don’t. Confessing to murder? Yes. Confessing to an affair? Nope.”
She paused to sip her tea. “It’s something I had to wrestle with for a long time. But no human harm can come to the ghost; they told me of their own free will, and doing my best to prevent more damage or right a wrong is the closest to absolution I can give them.”
“That makes a lot of sense,” Erik said. “I’ve used the information that ghost informants have provided numerous times to solve cases, find stolen goods, and identify criminals. It’s not admissible in court, but the ghosts’ information usually leads me to something thatcanbe used.”
“And given what we talked about last time, I’m guessing this has to do with the Mafia and old cold cases?”
“Yup,” Ben said with a grin. “I guess we’re predictable.”
“I heard about the guy who tried to break into your shop, and that makes me suspect that the two recent murders the cops aren’t saying much about have something to do with it all,” Haley said.
Erik and Ben took turns explaining more of the basics of the case, with the stolen dome, the haunted window, the known Mafia ties, and what they had pieced together from research.
“You boys managed to step in it.” Haley shook her head. “And it sounds like the Commodore Wilson is the biggest ghost. But I have to ask, if the dome has been missing for thirty years, why does it matter now? I’d think you would be glad to have it out of Cape May. Good riddance.”
“Yeah, we probably should feel that way,” Ben replied. “But since there have been two murders connected to Tiffany windows, and one of those victims helped to sell off the dome from the Commodore Wilson, it seems like it’s not going to end until we figure out what’s going on.”
“You think someone wants to use the dome for some sort of magic?” Haley asked.
“We know the panel has dark energy,” Erik said. “Domes concentrate power. It might be able to boost the efforts of a spellcaster with bad intentions.”
Haley nodded after a moment to think over what he had said. “I guess that’s possible. We draw warded circles and create energy domes on a much smaller scale, and for very brief uses.”
“The storms are already boosting energy,” Ben added. “And someone is interested enough in the Tiffany dome that they’ve killed twice. That’s definitely not the kind of person we want ‘boosted.’”
“Okay. You’ve made your case,” Haley agreed.
“We want to contact Grant Samuels,” Erik said. “There’s a chance he knows more than we do about the dome.”
“No guarantee Samuels will show, but let’s give it a try,” Haley said.
They joined hands, and Haley slipped into a trance. “Grant Samuels. We call to you. Please speak with us.”
