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"I told you I need your help"

"That doesn’t answer my question about the coffee What do you want in it?"

"Just black, thanks"

"Of course A fed fro, "What do you need from me?"

"Information about the people you ith"

"Everyone fills out an extensive form in order to work at the house, and then has to pass an oral exa Believe it or not, the place gets a lot of applications When the board hires, they want people who not only have a good grasp of history, but really love it So they ask personal questions, as well"

"I’m aware of all that What I want to hear is more about what you’ve seen What you, personally, have observed"

She paused, eyes narrowing "You think one ofto do with this?"

"I don’t think Julian Mitchell went crazy, trashed his workplace, then sat down and killed himself on a bayonet--no"

Allison shook her head "I’ve been through it and through it, with you and with the cops I don’t knohat else I could possibly tell you"

"Start with your day," he told her "Tell hed "It was pretty much like any other day," she said

He took a sip of his coffee, s for a little more detail than that Were any of the tours unusual? Did anything stand out to you?"

"Yes, I found the body of a friend in the study," she said curtly

Before he could respond, his cell phone rang He excused hi as he listened

Allison felt a chill; she knew it had so said

Aup "You took a family with two boys, Todd and Jimmy, on your last tour"

She nodded "Yes, why?"

"Their father’s in the hospital He woke up in the ht, screamed and fell into a coma One of the kids was so hysterical when they reached the hospital that someone on staff called the police"

"What? Why? That’s terrible, but--"

"The boy, Todd, wants to talk to you He said that you’d understand According to Todd, a ghost did follow them home"

3

The hospital was cold Outside, the late-su to wane and the day was still beautiful, but inside the hospital, Allison shivered against the chill that seeped into her bones

She didn’t want to be there; she wanted to run away But Todd wanted to see her because for some reason he believed she could help

And she wanted to help

The two boys were seated in an otherwise e area Todd’s mother was in with his father, and an attractive wo Allison, Todd leaped to his feet and ca over to her She was startled when he threw his ar hi his hair

"He followed us home! He followed us home That awful man followed us home The beast--Beast Bradley He killed your friend and he made my father sick!" Todd said, his words muffled

Allison looked helplessly at the woue