Beyond the Divide (Fractured Legacy Book 2) Page 4

  “After last night, I don’t feel comfortable bringing them home. My brother said he’d never experienced anything like that—there isn’t a rational explanation.”

  “What exactly did happen to him?” Leon asked, leaning against the banister to the stairs.

  Leon had down the role perfectly, just enough inquiry mixed with his relatable demeanor and concerned expression. She’d watched clients from all backgrounds relax and open up around him, even when he called into question their claims, or offered explanations that contradicted their beliefs. Answers and solutions could be easy for Kaylyn, but she usually fell short on tact.

  “He was sleeping up there. We were with the kids at a school concert, but he didn’t feel up to going—he’d been working all day, fixing up the attic. He said he went to bed early then started to hear voices. He woke up and thought we’d come home, so he came downstairs and no one was here. It was quiet again, so he went back to bed. The next time he woke up, he said it felt like something was strangling him—now, how would someone explain something as crazy as that?”

  “Sleep paralysis,” Kaylyn murmured, feeling a thud in her gut as she realized too late that she’d blurted it out.

  Raymond glared at her—apparently, he was in the category of those who did not want a rational explanation.

  “Just pointing out that there could be non-paranormal explanations—doesn’t mean we’ll rule out his story, but it can make someone feel like he’s being held down or strangled, and the ensuing panic can exacerbate the feeling.”

  “We should definitely look at the attic,” Leon said, stepping between Kaylyn and Raymond to take control of the situation.

  Raymond nodded and bypassed him to climb the stairs. “We have three bedrooms on the second floor and a bathroom, but we haven’t directly experienced anything there.”

  He pointed out each room as they passed, until they reached the stairs at the end of the hallway. The stairs led up to a white door, but Raymond didn’t begin the climb. Instead, he turned back to face the three investigators. “He said he fought with it for a few minutes. When he made it out, he came downstairs and went out to sleep in his car until we got home. We didn’t stay here last night. We went into town to stay with a friend.”

  His voice shook slightly as he continued, “We thought that maybe someone was breaking into the house and coming in the attic, so we put a dowel rod in the window to keep anyone from climbing in, then, just to be safe, we put a case knife in the attic door to hold it closed. My brother—Archie—and I searched the whole house and locked it up before we left. When we came back this morning everything was still locked,” he paused staring at each investigator in turn. “But the dowel rod and case knife were laying on the top step, right outside the attic door.”

  The man was understandably rattled by the entire experience, which led Kaylyn to second-guess her sleep paralysis theory. Either they had Houdini breaking into their house or a definite haunting.

  Kaylyn swallowed, not sure if she was ready to face down another entity—especially one who already had a propensity toward violence. “We should have a quick peek, so we’ll know how to plan our equipment this evening, you can wait here if you’d like.”

  “Well, I’m certainly not going up there again if I can help it.”

  “I’ll walk you out, then,” Leon said. “The girls can finish the walkthrough.”

  “We’ll make sure everything is thoroughly covered,” Kaylyn said.

  The homeowner nodded. “We’re staying with friends, but you can call my cell phone if you need anything.”

  Kaylyn glanced at Cole—normally this was her strong suit. However, her social sister was impossibly quiet, and Leon was the one to step up.

  “We assure you, it’ll be taken care of as soon as possible,” he said, patting the homeowner’s shoulder and directing him toward the stairs.

  The two men disappeared down the staircase and Kaylyn bumped Cole’s shoulder. “Back to action?”

  Cole chuckled, her gaze traveling up the narrow stairway to the white door at the top. “Any predictions?”

  “Mutant raccoon?” she teased, taking the first few steps. “The experiences are kind of all over the place—electronic, temperature, audio, a physical attack. It could be anything.”

  “It could be anything and your wager is on mutant raccoon?”

  Kaylyn peeked over her shoulder at Cole, impressed that she’d nearly earned a smile. “Okay, serious wager—former owner, doesn’t like them changing the place around.”

  “Boring,” Cole said in a sing-song voice.

  “Odds are still in my favor. What do you have?” Kaylyn turned the knob on the attic door, and pulled, but it wouldn’t budge. She twisted the knob and unsuccessfully tried again, then took a step back, examining the frame in case they’d decided to shove in another butter knife to keep it closed. Nothing seemed out of place, and there was no locking mechanism on the door.

  Cole took the handle and pulled the door wide open without a bit of resistance. “You have to turn the knob, sis.”

  “I did,” Kaylyn mumbled, glaring at the door as she followed her sister into the musty room. A rough wooden floor covered the expanse of the room—if one wanted to call it a room. The ceiling followed the peak of the roof into a point, leaving little room for walking except right down the middle.

  “I’d suffocate if I had to sleep up here,” Cole said. “It’s maybe forty degrees out and it feels like a sauna up here—not as hot, just thick and....” Her voice trailed off as she wandered through the room.

  “If they keep the door closed, it probably doesn’t get a lot of airflow up here.” Kaylyn moved to the end of the room where a single window looked out over the field and shed. Fiddling with the lock on the window, she tested it to see how easily it opened, but locked or unlocked, it seemed painted shut.

  Cole joined her, trying her hand at the window as well.

  “You open the damn thing and I’m done,” Kaylyn said, shoving her hands into her pockets as she watched her sister fight with the wooden frame of the window.

  Cole turned and put up her hands. “Don’t know why they’re worried about anyone coming in through there.”

  “So, we’re looking at something that was already inside the house, or has no use for windows and doors. You never put in your bet, by the way.”

  “Aren’t there believed to be spirits that promise a bountiful crop in return for offerings? Maybe the thing is irked because the place has been out of use.”

  “And it’s pissed because people are putting it back to use?” Kaylyn asked. Her eyes trailed over the walls and floor again. The family would have a lot of work to do if they wanted to fix the place up, and, from what she’d heard of the earlier conversation, the house was probably the small part of their worries—even if it was the most immediate. The attic walls were covered in some kind of thick paneling that was chipping and peeling, and the floor looked like it had been stained once, but barely finished and certainly not waxed in at least a decade.

  “No, it’s making itself known so that it can get what it believes it rightfully deserves.”

  Kaylyn jumped at the sound of something clattering to the floor and rolling.

  “Did you drop something?” Cole asked spinning around on her heels.

  Putting her hands in the air, Kaylyn shook her head. “Didn’t have anything to drop and I haven’t touched anything either.”

  They both searched the floor for whatever could have made the noise, and Kaylyn dropped to her knees to peek under the bed. “I don’t see anything,” she said, rearing back to sit on her feet. Then, the rolling noise started again, and a black marble rolled past the corner of the bed and came to rest in a divot in the floor near Kaylyn’s knee. “Okay,” she said, holding out the word as she felt Cole move to stand beside her—at least she hoped it was Cole that she felt moving, because she didn’t want to take her eyes off the marble to look.

  “Well, that’s a new one,” Col
e said. “Can you make it move again?”

  Both girls sat quietly hunkered over the black marble.

  “Come on,” Kaylyn said after a few minutes of nothing. “You obviously want someone to know you’re here.”

  Again, nothing.

  “We’re going to need a lot of equipment to cover this place,” Cole said. “And a lot more to go on than a random marble.”

  “Probably a fluke.” Kaylyn hoped that dismissing it would egg the entity on, but apparently, it was done playing for the time being. “Let’s go check in with Leon and make our plan.”

  They met Leon on the front porch, where he was leaned quietly against a porch post, obviously waiting to hear their ideas first.

  Kaylyn was the first to speak. “We’re going to need video and audio equipment to monitor the house. We should also look for electrical anomalies and temperature fluctuations. We’ll concentrate on the basement, living room, and attic since that’s where most of the activity seems to occur.”

  “You two should probably try to catch a nap,” Leon said, “It’s going to be a long night. I’m going to head back to the office and make sure everything’s good there.”

  “You joining us tonight?” Cole asked.

  “I’ll leave the overnights to the youth,” he said with a smirk. “Come on, Kay. I’ll take you back to pick up your car.” He hooked his arm around her shoulder. “We can continue our enthralling conversation.”

  Kaylyn spun on her heels and gave Cole a melodramatic look. “Save me!”

  Cole grinned and shook her head. “It’s good to have you back, Lee.”

  “Traitor,” Kaylyn scowled. But it was promising to see Cole smile. “Meet me around seven to gather equipment?”

  “Works for me.”

  After Kaylyn left the office, she knew there wouldn’t be any way she’d get sleep in the middle of the day—especially not with her brain running at a hundred miles an hour. Instead, she drove around for thirty minutes on autopilot and eventually ended up in Jonah’s driveway.

  Jonah’s house was near enough to the main city, but it was in an area that looked so rural, you’d never imagine there was anything but trees and wildlife for miles. The first time she’d made the journey to his house, she’d been oblivious to her own actions—“waking up” as soon as she crossed the threshold into Jonah’s house. It had been the middle of the night, but that wasn’t the only reason he’d been less than thrilled to see her. She’d also screwed up a case and called him “Sir Ass.” But he wasn’t supposed to have heard that bit.

  Yet, he’d surprised her, not only overlooking her crass and unimpressive first impression, to make sure that she was safe. Now, she was returning the favor—or so she hoped. Her intentions weren’t all that altruistic. Hard as it was to admit, she needed Jonah’s help.

  Even harder to admit, she wanted it.

  She laid her hands over the top of the steering wheel and rested her chin on them. She couldn’t figure out what his mother would expect him to need her help with, and part of her still wondered if she dreamed the whole thing.

  Then, she glanced to the glove compartment and popped it open. She pulled out the envelope Nathan had given her while Jonah was in the hospital with his fractured ribs. Dreading its contents, she still hadn’t opened it.

  He’d promised that it contained the details of her background, which could go a long way toward explaining whatever had been after her. There were still some things—the family details—she wasn’t ready for. Since finding out that she had been adopted, Kaylyn hadn’t brought up the subject again, and luckily, her family followed suit. But, she still couldn’t avoid the daily reminders that everything she’d known had been a facade.

  The envelope was the most daunting of those reminders, but eventually she’d have to get it over with.

  The front door to Jonah’s house opened and he stepped out on the front porch, tilting his head and watching her as she shoved the envelope back into its hiding place and climbed out of the car.

  “I was beginning to wonder,” Jonah said, bracing one arm against the door frame. “I heard your car pull up about five minutes ago.”

  “She’s not exactly stealthy, huh?” She closed the car door after double-checking that she had her keys in her pocket. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be up for a visitor.”

  “Only way to find out is to ask.” He looked more comfortable than he had at the office. He was now dressed down in pajama bottoms and a T-shirt, which was slightly reminiscent of the first time Kaylyn had showed up here.

  Kaylyn smiled although her nerves clenched at her throat. “Up for a visitor?”

  Jonah stepped back, waving his arm for her to enter. She jogged up the stairs, dragging her feet on the mat before she crossed the threshold.

  “Hungry,” he asked, “I was making a couple of sandwiches.”

  Kaylyn considered saying no—after all, she’d taken advantage of his hospitality while being hunted by the entity, and didn’t want to burden him further, but she’d been ignoring her stomach all day. “If you don’t mind.”

  Jonah nodded toward the kitchen and she followed him, leaning against the island as he threw together a couple of sandwiches.

  “You seem better than you did this morning,” she said.

  “The pain’s a bit duller. Can’t drive when I’m on the meds, so they had to wait until I got back,” he turned and sat a plate in front of her. “Shouldn’t you be working the case?”

  “The family is out of the house, so there’s no immediate danger. We’re setting up tonight since most of the activity seems concentrated in the evening and night.”

  He picked up his own plate and nodded toward the living room, “I don’t know about you, but I’m crashing in a soft chair.”

  Jonah took the couch, while Kaylyn sat in the armchair, resting her plate on her lap.

  “Sounds like you have everything under control,” Jonah said between bites, “so, what brings you here?”

  Kaylyn shoved the sandwich in her mouth, buying time before having to offer up the answer she didn’t have. “I wanted to see if you needed anything.”

  “As you can see”—he held up his plate—“I’m far from incompetent.”

  “Yeah, yeah, Jonah doesn’t need help.” That mindset was something they had in common, so Kaylyn flipped it around. “I needed a safe place to hang out.”

  “Your house is—”

  “My house is fine,” she sighed, her foot beginning to twitch as the restlessness swelled within her. “It’s everything. Nothing has been the same since you came here. I know I’m safe in the new house, but it’s not quite home,” she closed her eyes, forcing out the rest of the words for fear that Jonah would bore through her brain to find them first. “Cole is dealing with Dan’s family, Leon’s back but dealing with the office, and I’m not doing so well at being alone with nothing to do.”

  When she opened her eyes, Jonah’s features had softened. “I know what you mean.”

  “You’re probably itching to get back to work.”

  “And the moment I do, intense pain sends me back here.”

  “If you ever need a ride to work—” She shrugged, picking at a loose thread on her pants.

  “Is everything else okay?”

  She didn’t have to look up to know the intense look in his eyes. Her gut tightened, knowing exactly what he was referring to. There was no good place to start with it all. She was terrified that the entity was coming back, and this morning’s appearance by his mother didn’t exactly calm that fear. Not to mention, it added an entirely new problem to the equation. How exactly did one go about telling someone that his deceased mother paid a visit in the early hours of the morning with some kind of cryptic warning?

  “Kaylyn?”

  She was tired of the secrets, of the pent up emotions. She shook her head and smirked. “I think you have a knight in shining armor complex, always wanting to help.”

  Jonah pressed his lips into a sardonic scowl, “Have
you talked to Cole?”

  He could always see through her smart-ass remarks—as could Cole and Leon most of the time, but neither of them dug so mercilessly to get behind them.

  “Like I said she’s been dealing with stuff. And, I know I pushed her away with everything going on.” It felt as if the wave of emotions rolled up from her feet and slammed into her gut all at once. She stood, trying to get away from the wave, pacing back and forth near the coffee table. “My family isn’t even—” she swallowed the rest of the sentence. She’d brushed away all of the news when she first found out about her adoption, more intent on the entity threatening her.

  But that was just an excuse not to deal with it. An excuse to do the same thing she always did when confronted with a difficult situation—run as quickly as possible.

  “Your family is still your family, Sweetie,” Jonah said, sounding amazingly similar to his mother for a short moment, which only made the rush of emotions more intense. He climbed to his feet and intercepted her before she could make her next pass by the table. “They raised you, they love you. They were trying to keep you safe. All the things that matter and make people your family.”

  She knew that. Somewhere inside, all of that information was already stored, but that rational explanations didn’t seem connected to the emotional reaction. “Do you know what was in the envelope your dad gave me?”

  Jonah shook his head, placing his hands on her arms until her twitching stilled. “What?”

  “Still haven’t opened it. I was hoping you could, you know, give me a content warning.”

  He brushed one hand lightly against her cheek, catching her tears then smoothing back an errant strand of hair. “I have a feeling your wondering is driving you more insane than the actual contents will. But, when you are ready, you don’t have to go through it alone.”

  “You know,” she forced a smile, “you seem to trigger more emotional outbursts than anyone I’ve ever met.” Kaylyn’s muscles relaxed with his reassurance.

  Jonah scoffed. “Now isn’t that a dandy talent to have?”