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Was the girl already dead?

There was no way to know Not until he discovered the truth of where she had gone, and why

Alone in the night, he swore out loud, drove around the block and parked again

In front of Hastings House

Where he spent the night, dozing in his car

8

M att didn’t co ti for him to appear in the flesh

Then she punched her pillows andhim into her dreams But she woke early, all too aware that there had been no Matt--not even dreaers through the tangles in her hair, and looked around

"Please," she whispered "I know you’re here Please…you have to let h it was ridiculously early, she knew she wasn’t going back to sleep, so she showered and dressed for the day, then went downstairs towater into the pot that she saw so with her peripheral vision She held still for a moment, until she realized that the pot had overflowed and the water was running over her hands She turned it off and looked toward the hearth

Where she saohostly fire

Leslie re amoment, Leslie spoke to her "Please, don’t leave," she said softly

The woman froze; Leslie was sure she was about to fade away to nothing

"Please," Leslie said very softly "Who are you? Why are you here?"

The woain

"I was betrayed," she said Her eyes becareat pools of tears "By one I trusted One I loved," she whispered

Suddenly she spashtly backward, then slumped forward and faded away co tione, and she knew it Still, she felt a sense of elation The apparition had not just appeared; it had spoken to her

She turned, newly invigorated and wide awake, and finishedthe coffee A few minutes later, she heard a noise at the front door and Melissa came in "You’re up early"

"And you’re at work early," Leslie replied

Melissa nodded "I have soht, though I’ money back on the table for htfully, then frowned suddenly "Melissa, how long have you worked here?"

"Well, I was hired right before they had that party to open the place, but then they had to close it for a while because…well, you know"

"So what happened then?" Leslie asked

"Greta--she insists we call her Greta--said she was sorry, but the society couldn’t afford to keep us on while the house was being repaired, so I told her I’d just take a teain I love this house I would never give up an opportunity to work here And now that I know it’s haunted…"

"Maybe"

Melissa pointed a finger at her "You know it is"

"I do?"

Melissa gave her a s to pull the wool over her eyes "You know it’s haunted You’re special"

Leslie felt uneasy, as if she belonged in sohost, you’ll lethere and a ghost appears, I’ll let you know And you let ht?"

"There was one here yesterday That’s why the books balanced"

"So we have a ghost who used to be a CPA, huh?"

Melissa frowned and looked hurt

"I’host didn’t help you, right?" Leslie said, then went on to say, "If you still want to help with the dig, I’ll arrange for you to come help on Saturday, how’s that?"

Melissa looked as if she were experiencing pure rapture for the first ti to head over there now"

"This early?"

"I like to get to the site ahead of the crowd"

Melissa nodded sagely "Better for getting vibes, right?"