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"Thoughts?"

"When she died," he said slowly and with patience

Right I kept ain It was too bad, in a gruesoht have been able to get a reading off of thehts, but surely he could dobyI couldn’t see er than hate It’s evil"

"Evil?" I repeated I felt suddenly cold all over and wished I earing more layers

Maxih one," he said softly Then he relaxed a little, his shoulders and ar

"Are you OK?" I asked him I took a step forward

He nodded and winced, as if he was in pain His eyes atering

"Is it painful when you do that?"

"That one was," he said, his voice straining

"What can I do?" I joined him at his side and took his hand in mine

He rubbed his forehead with his free hand, then shook out his shoulders and ars

"Bah It’l pass"

"So you know for sure it was Abby?"

"I thought so," he said, then sat down on h his thick, glossy orange hair "But then, it didn’t make sense If it’s her, she died and went to someplace where she should have never coers nervously "Where is that?"

"I don’t know," he said, his voice muffled "I don’t know if I want to know"

I sat down beside hioing to solve this No trying, re"

He slowly raised his head and eyed me He was paler than usual and a thin sheen of sweat had broken out along his wide forehead "I’ to have to poke around the rest of the house, if that’s OK"

"Of course"

"I feel like…maybe it’s not just Abby"

My eyes felt like they were going to pop out "I have htened up "I don’t know It felt like it

This felt…special"

Oh, fucking brilliant, I thought I have a special ghost

He got up and reached down forme to my feet by the elbows

"Is there anywhere else where there’s been activity?" he asked

I thought about the obvious places like the study and the kitchen Then I remembered

"Ada’s roo her"

"I hope she won’t mind," he said with a small smile "I reckon you don’t want to piss that lady off And I have a feeling she doesn’t like me too much"

"No, you don’t want to piss Ada off," I replied, and we left the room and went down the halI could hearto each other and the drone of yet another inane TV program

I knocked at her door She had her Do Not Disturb sign hanging from the knob but it was always like that

I heard afrom behind the door

She opened it, not at all surprised to see us

"Wel ?" she asked impetuously

"Can we coreatest inconvenience of all ti herself down butt first and crossing her arms She eyed us like ere about to rob the place What happened to the chipper girl I ?

"We just, uh…" I looked at Maximus for help He looked uneasy around Ada and I didn’t blaer’s roo," Ada fil ed in for him She balked at our surprised looks "Whatever You told host whisperer"

"I did not cal hiht, darling," he said toto barf at his southern-style sentiet a feel for things Do you hed, then shook her head no I closed the door behind us and joined Ada on the bed beside her

"Would it kil you to be nice to him?" I whispered harshly in her ear

"Ladies, please, silence," he said He stuck out his ar to be rained doith riches

Ada and I sat side-by-side and watched hihostly stuff I didn’t know if she felt the sah