I lay in bed thinking about the previous night long after Victor kissed me goodbye this morning and left for the Association.Even though Victor denied it, I knew he was upset about something. My guess is the faction was sabotaging his work again.What Cassidy said about there being better ways to spy on Victor was true. However, the grating to listen into his office was the only one that was wide open when I arrived at the spy's hallway.That meant someone had been listening in to what was being said in only his office before I did.I promised Alex that I wouldn’t say anything to Victor about the passages until he and Cassidy returned from their trip, but there were things I could do to help Victor before then.After giving it a lot of thought while Victor showered and got ready for his day, I decided what I could do to help him and still keep my word to Alex.I climbed from the bed and showered before dressing in jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers, grabbing a light jacket, and hurrying
“It started when Alex gave me permission to explore the passageways,” Cassidy said. “I’ve dedicated my life to our history. These tunnels beneath the oldest building in our world were irresistible to me.”“Alex loves history too,” I reminded her. “I’m surprised he’s not here with you.”“He has a touch of claustrophobia,” Cassidy explained. “He entered the passageway near the bathroom with me once and had to leave in just a few minutes.”I didn’t know Alex was claustrophobic. But a powerful man like him would hide anything he perceived as a weakness.“So why are you here in the passages every day?” I asked, eager to hear Cassidy’s secrets.“Originally, Alex gave me permission to attempt to find the undiscovered seventh set of Ivory Columns,” Cassidy explained.“The entrance to Lycaon’s Passage,” I said.Cassidy smiled and nodded. “You always were one of my best students.”“Thanks,” I said. “Did you find what you were looking for?” I wasn’t ready to admit that I was pretty sure I found
Even though I would rather deal with Amy’s haunted manor, I knew I had no choice. I had to help Cassidy because helping her would help Victor.“Okay, I’ll try,” I told her. “But I’m not sure I can find it again. All these passages look the same to me.”“The more you’re here, the better you can find your way around,” she assured me. “Lycaon’s Passage may not be the only one without electricity. Are you positive you found tombs embedded in the floor of a room?”I pulled out my phone and showed her a photo I took of the boxes. When I enlarged portions of the floor around them, you could see the chiseled stone grave markers.“Look,” I said and showed her the photo.Cassidy snatched my phone from my hand and studied the photo. “Oh, my Goddess. Daisy, you did find The Ancient Tombs. You must send me this photo and any others of this room.”“I will as soon as I’m outside and have cell service again,” I promised.“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.” Cassidy returned my phone. “Tell me where you
“Daisy, what are you doing here?” Victor asked as he got to his feet. He came from behind his desk and kissed my cheek.“I came back to admire some of the artwork again,” I slipped my hand into the crook of his arm. “It’s exquisite. While I was here, I thought I’d stop in and say hello.”“I’m glad you did,” Victor said. “You haven’t met my new executive assistant.”He turned to the woman in the skin-tight dress. “Daisy, this is Chloe. Chloe, this is my fiancée, Daisy Wilson.”Chloe gave me a tight smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Wilson. Victor, I need two more signatures, and I’ll leave you and your fiancée alone.”I hated the way she used Victor’s first name and the way I could see her belly button and other parts of her perfect body through the light, clingy material of her dress.Honestly, doesn’t The Association have a dress code? She looked ready to hit some clubs on a Saturday night instead of working for the leader of our government.She was prettier than me in a sophistica
I couldn’t let Amy give up on opening the shelter. A facility like the one Amy wanted to open was badly needed in the city.There were only a few small shelters in Denhurst for overnight stays, and there were no other job training facilities at all.Amy’s vision for people experiencing homelessness in our community was to support them while they learned how to make better lives for themselves.I couldn’t let anything stand in her way. Not even a ghost …if that’s what it really was. I read about cases of supposed hauntings that people faked for various reasons.But the fact that the Archer family had experiences with the spirit in the past made me believe the ghost could be genuine.I knew what I had to do.I would help my friend face the ghost and determine if it was real. After we knew what we were dealing with, we would find a way to make it leave Archer Manor forever.Amy wouldn’t like what I had in mind, but there was no way around it.I pulled in front of the manor and saw my bes
Victor and Justin pushed ahead of us and hurried downstairs. But a search of the first floor turned up nothing.“If someone was in the house, they’re gone now,” I Justin.“Was it a real person or a ghost?” Amy asked.“It looked like a real person in the upstairs window to me, and a ghost wouldn’t sneak out while we were all on the second floor,” Victor replied.“Whoever it was, at least they didn’t take the chicken,” Justin joked. “Let’s eat. I’m starving.”“Have you found anything missing since the ‘ghost’ showed up?” Victor asked Amy as we began to eat.Amy shrugged. “Aaron and Alfred, you know the house better than me. Have either of you noticed anything missing?”“Just some family photos from the parlor,” Aaron replied. “I thought you didn’t want photos of your mother’s killer and her family scattered around.”“And an antique vase and an expensive original painting from the library are missing,” Alfred said. “I also thought you took them.”“That’s a shame,” Aaron said. “Pat and Am
After Victor left for work, I looked through the photos and videos I had taken the previous night.Victor was right about the amateurish appearance of the ghost in the hallway. Instead of floating freely in the middle of the hall, it looked projected onto the wall.The groans were probably a recording. As I played the video over, I noticed the sounds seemed to be on a loop. It was five different eerie groans that played over and over.I decided to discreetly examine the areas of the Manor where the supposed ghostly events happened.Saying nothing to anyone and avoiding the others, I visited each spot where paranormal activity occurred.Starting in the room where Amy saw the melting ghost in the closet. I looked for evidence of trickery and recorded my findings with my phone.By the time I examined the far end of the second floor and the room on the third floor where we all heard the noises, I had my answer.I took more photos of the ceiling and pocketed an object I found on the floor
I left Archer Manor after everything was ready and before Aaron and Alfred returned. I was confident our ghost didn’t know about the cameras and silent alarms now in place at the Manor.After running more errands, I was eager to get back and wait for the ghost’s return. Amy’s ghost problem would soon be over.I strolled into the Manor a few moments after Amy and Heather. We were trying to hide our excitement from Aaron and Alfred. But it was difficult for us to act normally as it came closer to the time when we would unmask the ghost.Even Justin and Victor had sly smiles on their handsome faces when they arrived. Andrew got there shortly after them to dine with us.“This roast is superb,” Andrew told Alfred, who was waiting on the table this evening instead of eating with us.“Thank you, sir,” Alfred responded. He stood stiffly near the sideboard while he listened to our conversation. I thought we were putting in a good act.“I hope we get more sleep tonight,” Amy said. “Seeing that