Chapter 295

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 best friend on the tiny front porch. She was talking to someone on her phone.

Waiting for Amy to finish her call, I called Victor and told him my plans for the evening had changed. I was surprised by his offer to help.

“The shelter will do a lot of good for the city,” Victor said. “I’ll be there around seven and bring dinner for everyone. Text me and let me know how many people will be there.”

“You are the most wonderful man in the world,” I told him. “Thank you.”

“I’d do anything for you, sweetheart,” he said. “But Amy’s shelter is important to the city, too. Besides, I’ve never spent the night in a haunted house. It may be fun.”

We disconnected, and I joined Amy on the porch.

She put an arm around my shoulders. “Heather insists she isn’t afraid and is coming to help. She wants to start making the beds and folding towels for the bathrooms.”

“Victor is coming later,” I said. “He’s bringing dinner, and we are spending the night.”

Her excited smile faded quickly. “That means I should stay too.”

“Andrew told you a ghost can’t hurt you,” I reminded her. “And Victor and I will be here.”

“I’ll ask Justin to spend the night with me,” she said.

“That should keep you from being scared,” I teased.

Amy had confessed when they returned to the city that the beach house had worked its magic on her and Justin. They had their first romantic encounter before they returned to the city.

“A little romantic distraction will be nice,” she agreed with a giggle. “And Justin doesn’t believe in ghosts.”

“With you two, Heather, Aaron, Alfred, and me and Victor make seven for dinner,” I said. “Are you expecting any of the other new employees this evening?”

“No, they’re too afraid,” she said. “I won’t have any employees if we don’t get rid of the ghost.”

I sent Victor a text before answering Amy. “Don’t worry, sweetie. With Justin and Victor’s help, we will soon have that ghost out of here.”

Things were quiet at Archer Manor for the rest of the afternoon. I helped Amy wash new sheets and towels in the industrial washer and dryer she bought for the laundry room.

While the clothes were in the machines, I researched fake hauntings online. I wanted to know what kind of effects someone could produce to make a house appear haunted.

Archer Manor was the perfect place for faux spirits. It had a spooky vibe and a history of unexplained phenomena.

Martha’s second husband was the perfect scapegoat to be the ghost. And who knew, maybe Martha was unhappy in her second marriage, and she did murder him.

I needed to know exactly what we were dealing with so Amy could hire a psychic to get rid of the ghost or have someone arrested for harassment.

After watching several videos of ghosts that had been produced by clever means, I had Amy watch a few with me. Heather did, too, when she arrived to help us make the beds.

The three of us were in the laundry room on the first floor. I sensed Alfred was listening in on our conversation from the nearby kitchen.

Amy shook her head and sighed. “I don’t know, Daisy. If someone is faking the ghost of Archer Manor, they’ve been at it for a long time.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s the same person,” I said. “We should record what we see and hear tonight. Then we'll ask Andrew and Amanda if similar things happened when they lived here.”

“I hope nothing happens tonight,” Amy said. “You’ve missed your calling, Daisy. You should be a ghost chaser. You’re enjoying this.”

“I do enjoy investigating,” I admitted.

“I can stay the night if you want,” Heather said. “I’m not sure if I believe in ghosts, but I’m willing to help you find out if the ghost is real or not.”

“You’re more than welcome to spend the night,” Amy told her. “Let’s go upstairs and start making beds and stocking the bathrooms.”

We carried heavy baskets of linens and towels up the stairs. We started on the third floor, making each bed and placing towels and washcloths in the bathrooms.

“We can bring soap, toilet paper, and personal hygiene items up here tomorrow,” Amy said. “We’ll sleep on the second floor tonight. This floor always makes me feel like I’m being watched.”

I agreed with her. I had the sensation of being watched since we climbed to the third floor. “Let’s go make up the beds.”

We put sheets on most of the beds on the second floor. We didn’t go into Martha’s room. It seemed wrong to disturb her things. Plus, Amy wasn’t sure what she should do with them.

The three bedrooms further down the hall from Martha’s and the two bathrooms were ready for our use that night before we went downstairs to wait for Victor and Justin.

The parlor seemed different even though Amy hadn’t changed anything since the day Amy and I were waiting on Amelia, and Martha tried to hit Amy with her cane.

“Aaron uses this room a lot,” Amy explained. “I haven’t had the heart to change it. It seems wrong.”

“It’s a nice room,” Heather said. “Maybe you could make it a private lounge for family and staff.”

“That’s a good idea,” Amy agreed.

Everyone helped Alfred set the table. It was nice to see Aaron and Amy joking around with each other as they placed silverware next to the plates.

We had just finished when Victor and Justin carried the food Victor brought into the dining room. There were platters of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, rolls, and biscuits that they placed on the dining room table.

Victor looked around the room. “I thought you said seven people for dinner. I’m glad I got extra.”

Amy counted everyone in the room. “There’s only seven of us.”

“What about the person upstairs?” Justin asked.

“What person upstairs?” I asked.

“Somebody was watching us bring the food in from my car,” Victor replied.

“Was it a man or a woman?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. The curtain moved in a window, and I saw a figure standing in the window,” Victor insisted.

“I saw it too,” Justin added. “But I didn’t get a good look at them either. The room was dark, but the hallway light was on behind them.”

Amy turned pale. “Nobody is upstairs. Everyone in the house is in this room.”

Victor and Justin exchanged glances and started for the stairs.

“Wait, I’ll go with you,” I said and followed them from the room.

The rest of our group was right behind me, as if nobody wanted to be left alone downstairs.

We made it to the bottom of the stairs when the sound of a crash from upstairs reached our ears.

Amy lurched forward and clung to Justin. “What was that?”

“We won’t know until we look,” he told her. “It’s okay, babe. There’s enough of us to take down any ghost.”

Amy clung to Justin’s arm, and the seven of us climbed the steps together.

“Things like this have happened before,” Aaron whispered. He and Alfred were last in line on the stairs. “But it has never harmed anyone.”

I pulled my phone from my pocket and began recording video. “I’m going to see what I can record tonight. Perhaps I’ll record a real ghost.”

But after thoroughly checking all the rooms on the second floor, we found nobody, human or spirit.

Yet, as we were walking back to the stairs, we jumped when a door slammed somewhere below us.