Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum (18 page)

“No, thanks,” Zach said. “We’re fine with
this.”

The barista looked at Zach as if he had the
bubonic plague. Was he new? How unusual was it for someone to get an order to
go?

“Okay, have a good evening,” the barista
turned and stormed back into the store. Maybe he was just pissed at having to
make such a large order so late or maybe because he didn’t get a big tip? As he
slammed the store door, the bell rattled harshly. Zach made a mental note to
mention the behavior to a manager the next time he came in.

“Hey Zach!” Matthew approached from the
direction of
GrocersMart
carrying a large paper bag.

Evelyn’s back was to him. She looked
horrified. “I cannot be seen with you,” she said.

Zach held up his index finger. “Hey Matthew,
could you give us a second?”

Matthew stopped dead in his tracks. “Yeah.
Sure.”

Zach sensed his time with Evelyn was drawing
to a close. “Please,” he said. “Tell me the rest of the story.”

She stood up and brushed by him. “Meet me
here tomorrow, anytime after sunset. I’ll tell you everything then.”

“Wait a second.” Zach stood up and took a
step toward her, but she quickened her gait and did not look back.

“What did you say, Zach?” Matthew called
out.

“Just a second, Matthew.”

By the time Zach trotted after her, Evelyn
had zipped around the corner of the building and was gone.

Chapter Nineteen

“What’s up, boss?” Matthew asked.

“Nothing,” Zach said. “What brings you
here?”

“Sara sent me out for snacks and things.
Anything specific you want?”

Zach retrieved the box of coffee drinks and
peered at the array of junk food pouring out of the bag. “Nacho Chips,
Pretzels, Cheese Doodles and Barbeque Potato Chips.”

Probably half of it would be consumed by
Bryce before 3 AM’s Spirit Hour.

Zach shook his head. “Nah. That should cover
it.”

They made their way to the parking lot. The
traffic on 115th Street had all but ceased for the night, however the distant
hum of the 94 freeway to the east and the closer chirp of crickets was nearly
loud enough to fill in awkward gaps in the conversation.

“Thanks for giving me more of an active role
tonight,” Matthew said. “I think you’ll see that I really am capable of much
more investigative work than you give me credit for.”

“That’s not been the issue,” Zach said.
“It’s just that there are only so many investigative roles possible on the
show. Had we needed to cover this place on our own, that would be a different
story, ya know?”

“Yeah. It’s just…yeah. I get it.”

He struck Zach as someone who was never
satisfied with what he had. Zach could identify with his ambition, but there
had always been something about Matthew that seemed a bit too aggressive—in a
passive aggressive way.

“Oh, hey,” Zach said. “Before I forget, I don’t
want a lot of questions being asked, so please do me a huge favor and don’t
mention that you saw me here with that woman tonight?”

Matthew smirked. “What woman?”

Zach grinned. “Exactly. Thanks.”

“One thing, though, on a serious note,”
Matthew said. “Can I ask you a question?”

One of Zach’s biggest pet peeves was people
asking permission to ask a question, but he shrugged it off. They’d reached
Zach’s white Ford Focus and he hoped the question didn’t require a lengthy
answer. Hunter was due at midnight. He looked at his watch—11:56.

“Sure, but I have to hurry back to meet our
psychic.”

“This woman…” Matthew’s eyes widened at
something behind Zach. “Holy Christ!”

Zach turned around and almost dropped the
whole box of drinks. Beyond Lincoln Avenue, a fire raged. One of the massive
oak trees standing near Rosewood was completely ablaze.

They drove around to the front gate where
fire trucks and squad cars were already pulling up. Their sirens blared only
until they reached the property and then were turned off. The red and white
lights continued to flare in circular orbits.

A group huddled well outside the area under
the care of the fire team.

“What happened?” Zach asked to no one in
particular as he walked up.

Sara had one cameraman filming the fire
extinguishing. “We don’t know yet. Rebecca smelled smoke, we came outside and
saw flames at the base of the tree and called the fire department. That’s all
we know at this point.”

The flames were contained to just the one
tree and were doused with seeming ease. Fortunately no one was injured, but
aside from losing a century-old tree, the blaze was terrible news for
conducting a quiet investigation. News teams most certainly would follow up on
a fire at the infamous Rosewood Asylum, and finding both
Xavier Paranormal
Investigators
and
Demon Hunter
crews was certain to cause a stir.

The Fire Chief came over and shouted for
whoever was in charge. Both Zach and Sara approached him. Bryce laid low,
apparently not wishing to tempt fate with his marijuana scented overcoat.

The firefighter could have been a lifeguard
with a slick backwards hat. “Are you two’s the ones in charge here?”

Sara answered first. “Yes, we both are.”

“Well everything here appears to be taken
care of. Since no structures were damaged, we don’t conduct a formal
investigation, but do you folks happen to know how this fire started?”

“No,” Sara said. “Of course not.”

“Well, we didn’t find any cigarette butts in
the vicinity. There was no accelerant used, no gasoline or nothing, I can tell
ya that. I don’t suppose any of you kids smokes a
pipe
, do ya’s?”

Zach didn’t like the tone and implication of
the way he said “pipe.” Sara was staring at Bryce. Zach glanced over at Pierre
who was slugging down a beer. For the first time in a long while, he and Sara
seemed to be on the exact same wavelength.

At the same time, they both answered, “No,
sir.”

“The psychic is a’near!” Hunter shouted as
he meandered up the Rosewood driveway. “Although I practically had to pull my
‘Obi-Wan Kenobi' on the guard at the gate in order to get through.”

“Don’t film this yet,” Zach said to Sara
before rushing to greet Hunter and embracing him in a hearty hug. “I’m glad to
have you here, buddy.”

“This is really happening, eh? Rosewood
Asylum.”

“Yes it is.” Zach pulled away from the hug
and called back to Sara. “Are you guys about ready to film ‘The Talent’s’
entrance?”

She flashed him a thumbs up.

Before they began shooting, Hunter grabbed
Zach’s forearm. “Hey brother, is your dad okay?”

“He’s doing alright,” Zach said.

Hunter scrunched his face. “Does he
have…fleas?”

“What?”

“I don’t know I picked up something
strange...like he has fleas or something.”

“Oh!” Zach got it. “My dad has
termites
.”

“Ah. That’s it.”

“Too funny. You were close, but you might
want to hone the focus of those psychic talents.”

“Hey, I was close,” Hunter said. “A bug is a
bug.”

“Ready to roll!” Sara shouted.

In order to film the psychic’s “arrival”,
Hunter and Zach parted about ten paces from each other as if they were starting
a duel.

“Rolling.”

Zach and Hunter approached each other and
shook hands warmly.

“Welcome, Hunter. Have I told you anything
about this case?”

“No. Absolutely nothing.”

“Have you conducted any research on your own
or do you have any prior knowledge of this case?”

“Only what I read in the funny papers.”

Cute. Zach had gone on autopilot and asked
Hunter the question he did before every case. Of course, Hunter knew
something
about Rosewood. He introduced Hunter to Bryce and the other Demon Hunters
.
XPI
members greeted Hunter.

“So, there’s been a fire here tonight?”
Hunter asked.

“Wow!” Bryce exclaimed. “Did you pick up on
that psychically?”

“No, I can smell the ash, I saw fire trucks
leaving as I pulled up and,” he pointed towards the burnt oak, “one of these
trees is not like the others.”

The quip elicited a chuckle from the group
and seemed to endear Hunter to the Demon Hunters, except perhaps Bryce.

They proceeded to the fire site where the
burnt scent of wood and leaves left traces in the night air. It wasn’t an
unpleasant smell, but the knowledge that an ancient tree was gone—had died,
made the scent unwelcome. Both groups of investigators crowded close to Hunter.
Plans were for his Rosewood tour to be conducted only with Zach and Bryce, so
everyone seemed eager to experience this psychic reading. The Demon Hunters
especially appeared interested in what he had to say.

“Give Hunter some space,” Zach ordered.

The circle around him expanded; some stood
under the blackened branches. Hunter closed his eyes. His chest heaved in slow
regular breaths. There were no passing vehicles on 115th Street, and with
traffic on the 94 having tapered off, it was quiet. Not silent but city quiet.

Hunter’s arms hung at his side. His right
hand jerked forward. His left hand pointed in one direction and then another.
The spastic movements gained in rapidity. His eyes opened, but they seemed
focused on something a thousand miles in the distance. “This fire was started
by something paranormal.”

Zach knew and had experienced Hunter’s
psychic skills on other cases. He glanced around at the group.
XPI
members stared with interest at every word. Demon Hunters seemed mesmerized.

Hunter’s eyes closed again. His nose
scrunched as though not understanding the psychic message he was receiving. “It
was not only done to get our attention, but to serve notice to other spirits
here at Rosewood.” His arms jerked at his side. “This won’t be the last fire.”

Chapter Twenty

“That was impressive, bro,” Bryce said to
Hunter once the group’s ranks had thinned.

Bryce’s demeanor had mellowed considerably
since earlier in the night, and the whites of his eyes had taken on the hues of
a sunset. Zach wondered if his co-host would even make it until the 3 AM
festivities. The three of them, accompanied by Sara and the cameraman, entered
the administration building.

“Yes,” Hunter said. “Yes, I feel a presence
in here.”

“Female or male?” Bryce asked.

“Male. Definitely male.”

“How old?” Bryce asked.

“Shh. Quiet. Let him do his thing,” Zach
said. Interruptions annoyed Hunter and Bryce’s interruptions were annoying
enough to upset just about anyone.

Underfoot, the floorboards creaked. Their
instruments’ gages exuded faint light in the darkness.

“He’s a doctor.” Hunter’s arms flinched at
his side. “He’s upset. Upset at what happened in the stables.” He pointed
toward the other building. “Yes. Yes. I feel him in here.”

“Who?” Zach asked.

“The doctor.” Hunter inched through the
darkened administration building. His hands extended out from his torso but not
as though trying to avoid bumping into anything; it was more like he was wading
through waist-high waves. Unlike Bryce’s directed questioning of Sashza, Zach
knew to allow Hunter’s psychic feelings to wash over him.

“Doctor...” Hunter looked around as though
trying to feel for the name. “J-something.”

“Johansson?” Sara asked off camera.

“Yes! Dr. Johansson,” Hunter said.

Zach glared at her. He knew she’d splice out
her hint and air the episode as if he’d guessed it right off. Hunter didn’t
need help to make his readings appear accurate.

“Was Dr. Johansson the spirit who burned
down the tree?” Zach asked.

“No. He didn’t start the fire, but he seems
to know who did.”

“Who?” Zach and Bryce asked at the same
time.

“Over here,” Hunter pointed and crept toward
a nearby room. They followed him in. “This is where he found...a fingerprint.
It was too large.”

“Too large for what?” Zach asked. “Does this
have to do with tonight’s fire or does it deal with past events?”

Hunter’s eyes were glazed over. “They were
new. Fingerprints were. Not used like today. He realized though. Too large he
said. Not hers. He’s scared now. Scared and angry. Scared of them both. Upset
too. Upset over what happened in the stables. And afterwards. He’s concerned
now about the fires, but he doesn’t venture out much anymore. He just
protects....protects Rosewood as best he can.”