Page 20 of Ghost Hunters 2

Chapter Ten

Jillian snickered a bit as she agreed they had the same humor for sure. Then she asked Claire, “Did he say what would happen now?”

Claire shook her head. “George hasn’t been happy the last few days. He knows Matthew is here and he’s not pleased about that. Oh Tilly, he scares me when he’s like this.”

Dino kept shaking his head. “You mean the fact that he killed you, your sister and himself didn’t scare you before now?”

Bane smirked again. “Damn... I liked that one.” He then added, “He is somehow able to move around the Inn,” he noted. “He took Matthew from his room to the basement.”

“He left him near the same place he put Tilly,” Jillian told Claire. “Do you know how he did that?”

Claire shook her head. “I don’t know how he did any of this. Right after the fire, he tried to tell me that he loved me but I told him I never thought about him that way. That there was something in his past I couldn’t understand. He asked what it was and I told him I read a letter I found in his room. At first he was angry that I would snoop through his things. The letter was addressed to some other man named Beau and it told him he couldn’t ever come back home. The police were looking for him and they wouldn’t understand why he had to do what he did.”

“Did the letter say what Beau did?” Jillian asked.

Claire shook her head. “I asked him about it but he wouldn’t tell me. He told me the man in that letter died a long time ago. He said he left Beau Lamprey in New Orleans and when he came north he became George Walker.” She looked at her sister and said, “I am so sorry I tricked you with Matthew. I felt you were pulling away from me and I didn’t want to be left here alone. It never occurred to me that you might really love him, not until I saw your face when you found us in bed together.”

Tilly walked over to her sister. “I know. It was very difficult for me too. I didn’t want to leave you but I was so in love with Matthew I didn’t care about anything else. Down in that room I had a lot of time to think about things.”

“You had a long time to think about things?” Claire asked. “I thought the fire killed you?”

“No, it wasn’t the fire that ended my life. I didn’t know about the fire at all. I was left alone in the dark with no food or water. I just got weaker and weaker then I gave up.”

Claire raised both hands to her mouth. “No, I’m so sorry you suffered like that!” she whispered. “I didn’t know where you were, I swear. I am so sorry.”

Tilly smiled at her and took her into her arms. “I know, sis. This wasn’t your fault. I know you would have come to me if you could have. I understand that now and I can forgive you for your part in all of this.”

Claire stared at her sister and kept blinking her eyes in shock. “How can you forgive me?”

Tilly smiled. “Because I love you. You are my sister and I love you dearly.”

Claire turned to look at Matthew. “Can you forgive me too?”

“I can if it frees your soul. I came back here many times over the following years after this all happened to try and figure out why you were gone. The both of you. I didn’t come back later on because it was too hard to watch the fire burn down everything I loved every year, knowing I couldn’t stop it from happening.”

“Now that you and Matthew are back together and you have forgiven me I suppose I’ll have to face whatever fate has given me,” Claire finally said.

“Wait a minute,” Jillian finally realized something. “Why haven’t you and Matthew moved on yet?”

“That is what I am wondering as well,” Bane said.

“What are you talking about?” Dino asked.

Jillian shrugged. “I just assumed that once their unfinished business was settled that they would move on to the ghostly plane or wherever ghosts go. No one has moved on yet.”

Suddenly, the lights in the kitchen went out and the room was plunged into darkness.

Claire screamed.

For a few minutes no one said a word. Then the lights came back on but they could all see the room had one more presence in it.

A black cloud shimmered near the back door and they could all feel the rage pulsing from it.

Then it slowly took the shape of a man. His features were badly burned from the fire years ago. His face looked almost demonic as his rage spilled out. “No one is going anywhere. I saw to that years ago.”

Claire moved to stand with Tilly and Matthew.

Dino and Jillian stood their ground.