The Silent Ghost (3 page)

Kelly turned back to look at the ghost. “I guess. I mean, what I really want is for Mom to be happy. Dad was so mean to her sometimes. She seems so happy with Phil and, well, when we’re all together with Phil and his family, it feels like we’re a normal family. As much as I love my father, it never felt that way with him. Not really. It always felt like we were his entourage, instead of his family.” Kelly let out a short laugh. “Mom used to call us Dad’s groupies.”

“It’s that foolish Hollywood nonsense, is all. Those people are all teched in the head.”

“Mom’s in show business.”

“Your mother has a sensible head on her shoulders and her feet planted solid on the ground, thanks to her parents.”

Kelly nodded in agreement and went back to her studies. Her mother, in spite of being a celebrity in her own right, was practical and down-to-earth and didn’t care for the trappings of Hollywood.

Granny looked around the dorm room. Only Kelly was present, but Granny wanted to be sure. “Is your roommate around?”

“No, Delilah is with her new boyfriend.”

“Good. We need to talk about that Tanisha girl.”

“Tanisha?” Kelly dug through her memory trying to place the name. “Oh, you mean the reporter from a few days ago? The one from the coffee shop?”

“Yep, that’s the one.”

Kelly rolled her eyes, a habit developed in high school that her mother hated.

“Don’t roll those eyes at me, young lady,” Granny admonished, shaking an index finger at Kelly. “I’m not your mother.”

“You’ve done it to Mom, too,” Kelly shot back. “I’ve seen you do it. And she hates it just as much from you.”

“You know the old saying,
Do as I say, not as I do
? I think it’s appropriate here, don’t you? I am your elder.”

“Poor Mom. With you around, it’s like she’s raising two kids.”

“Humph,” Granny crossed her arms and plopped down on Kelly’s bed, her hazy outline looking like a Godzilla of a dust bunny. “Just let me know when you’re ready to talk about Tanisha like a grown-up.”

With much exaggeration, Kelly rolled her eyes again and went back to her work. “I don’t have time for her B.S., Granny. It’s early in the school year, and I already have a lot of studying to do.”

“I think we should help her,” Granny persisted. “Or at least look into the ghost pestering her.”

With a deep sigh, Kelly turned her attention back to Granny. “You’re not going to let up on this, are you?”

Granny jutted her chin out and shook her head slowly. “You need to at least check out her story, Kelly. It won’t take long. Then I’ll leave you be and you can get back to your schoolwork.”

Kelly got up and went to the mini-fridge she and Delilah kept in the room. From it she grabbed a carton of Greek yogurt. From a holder on top of the fridge, she snagged a plastic spoon. “Did you talk to Mom about this?”

Instead of answering, Granny pursed her lips and stared up at the ceiling, letting Kelly know the ghost hadn’t said a word to Emma.

“You know her rules.” Kelly opened the yogurt. “You and I can visit as long as it doesn’t interfere with my studies. This sounds an awful lot like interference.”

The ghost’s face softened as she winked at Kelly. “Don’t worry, what happens in Boston, stays in Boston.”

Kelly swallowed a spoonful of yogurt as she considered the tempting possibilities of Granny’s words.

Upon learning a few months earlier that her daughter could see and hear Granny, Emma Whitecastle had sat them both down and established guidelines for their visits.

“Where’s your sense of adventure?” Granny pushed. “Don’t you want to take your ghost skills out for a test-drive? You know, kick the tires a little and see what’s under the hood?” She emphasized her comment with a slight kick of her foot.

Kelly stopped eating and stared at Granny. Granny, whose real name was Ish Reynolds, had died at the end of the 1800’s. She was from Julian, California, a gold rush town in Southern California located in the mountains just north of San Diego. She had lived on a small homestead when she was alive and even in death wore standard pioneer garb of a floor-length homespun skirt, a long-sleeved cotton blouse, and work boots. Her hair was braided and worn up, encircling her head. Granny spent as much time on earth with her living family as she spent wherever ghosts went when they weren’t earthbound, and had developed an obsessive fondness for TV and movies, especially crime dramas, and professional football.

“Mom’s right, you do watch
way
too much TV.” Kelly took her snack and return to her desk, attempting to put the topic to rest by not addressing it further, but Granny was not in the mood to be
ignored. She got up and floated over to Kelly’s desk.

“I’m telling ya, that Tanisha has talent. Not like you and your mother maybe, but who knows if it might turn into something more?”

“Have you been stalking Tanisha?” Kelly put her yogurt down and turned her attention back to Granny, clearly not happy with the ghost. “Is that where you’ve been for the past few days?”

“I’m not stalking nobody.” Granny stuck her chin out in defiance. “I’m just doing good detective work, that’s all. She came to you for help with a spirit and I wanted to check it out and see if she was telling the truth.”

“And is she?”

Granny paced the room as she spoke. “I popped in at the coffee shop the past couple of days and waited until Tanisha showed up. She finally did yesterday. When she left, I followed her. I didn’t see any sign of spirits until she went back to her apartment.”

“Her apartment is haunted? You really saw a ghost there?” Kelly forgot her schoolwork.

“Not really,” Granny admitted. “But I did sense the presence of at least one spirit, even if I didn’t see it.” Granny stopped pacing. “Whatever is there, it’s disturbed.”

Kelly’s eyes widened. “You mean evil?”

Granny shook her head. “No, not evil. At least that’s not the feeling I got. But it’s definitely agitated and miserable. I called to it to show itself, letting it know I was there to help, but the feeling just swelled and ebbed, like a wild thing that’s not sure if you’re going to feed it or kill it if it gets too close.”

“Did Tanisha know you were there?”

“Yes, I believe she did. Her apartment isn’t very far from the coffee shop. When I was following her, every now and then she’d stop in her tracks and look around, like she knew someone was tailing her.”

“Tailing?” Kelly shook her head as she’d seen her mother do so often when Granny exhibited jargon she’d picked up from shows on television.

“Every now and then I’d materialize. You know, just to test her.” Granny was relishing her role as a private investigator and was telling the story with gusto. “I don’t think she can see me clearly like you can, and I still don’t think she can hear me, but there were times she knew I was there. And that I wasn’t her usual visitor.”

“How can you be sure?”

Granny stopped moving and stared at Kelly like she’d missed an important part of the story. “Well, because Tanisha called to me. Twice, she called out, ‘Who’s there?’ and ‘What do you want?’ That’s how I know.” Granny went back to crossing back and forth in the room. “I spoke to her a couple of times, but I’m sure she didn’t hear me. And when I was in her apartment, you could tell she was on alert, like she knew stuff was going on that she couldn’t see. I went back again this morning, and it was the same thing.”

Granny floated back to stand in front of Kelly. “The spirit in Tanisha’s apartment needs us, Kelly. I’m sure of it. More importantly, Tanisha needs us. Whatever spirit is there is taking a toll on the girl. I think the ghost is transferring her misery onto Tanisha, making her depressed and melancholy. At least that’s what it looked like to me when I was there. Tanisha wasn’t near as perky as when we first met her. It’s like she’s shouldering the ghost’s sorrow, whether she wants to or not. We have to help that ghost and that will help Tanisha.”

Kelly became alarmed. “Is it like that ghost you and Mom dealt with earlier this year? You know, the one causing people to kill themselves?”

“I don’t think this ghost is trying to hurt Tanisha outright, but in pressuring her for help, maybe it’s engulfing her with the same despair it feels, like infecting her with a cold.”

Kelly turned back to her studies, but her mind wasn’t focused. “You know I don’t like reporters, Granny. You can’t trust them. And I’m sure there are other people around with much more experience who can help Tanisha. I don’t know that much about it.”

“Yes, but she came to you, Kelly. She specifically wants you to help her.”

Kelly whipped her head around. “And why do you think that is?” When Granny didn’t answer, she added, “Because I’m the daughter of Grant and Emma Whitecastle, that’s why. It’s a possible twofer for Tanisha. She can exorcise her ghost and get a juicy story on top of it.”

Kelly spread her hands in the air like she was hanging a banner. “Baby Whitecastle sees ghosts!” She dropped her hands and scowled. “Dad’s producer will want me on his show, I guarantee it. Like I was one of Dad’s other freaky, gossip-rag guests.”

“And your mother?” asked Granny. “She’s the one with the paranormal TV show.”

Kelly paused and took a deep breath. “Mom will be horrified. She’ll want to hide me away from it all. Maybe take me on a long trip until it blows over.”

Granny’s heart broke for Kelly. She’d seen Emma go through similar worries when she’d first discovered she could see and hear spirits. Concern over sensational headlines and snooping gossip reporters was always in the back of Emma’s mind, even now, although so far she had managed to handle it with grace and minimal exposure. When she’d first learned Kelly had the same gift, Emma hadn’t been pleased. It had been difficult enough to give Kelly a normal upbringing. And now, with the added burden of worrying about others discovering Kelly’s newly minted paranormal talents, Emma was even more determined that her daughter have a regular life and college experience. Unlike Grant Whitecastle, Emma didn’t seek the limelight and headlines. Granny was happy that Kelly took more after her mother than her father.

The ghost approached Kelly and lovingly stroked her head. Her hazy hand went through Kelly with each pass, but Granny continued the movement, wishing she could do it for real and that Kelly could feel it.

“I know your concerns, sugar,” the ghost cooed, dropping her usual brusque manner. “I’ve seen your mother go through the same thing. But my heart tells me this Tanisha is different. Her gift seems to be a lot like your Gram’s, but somewhat limited. While Elizabeth can hear spirits, Tanisha cannot. She can only sense their presence. She won’t be able to help that wretched spirit, and I don’t think she’s
interested in sensationalizing anything.”

Granny stopped caressing Kelly and moved to face her. “I’ve watched this Tanisha for two days and all I’ve seen is a young woman trying to battle something she doesn’t understand. She also seems very serious about doing the right thing and building a proper career. There are honorable news people, aren’t there?”

Kelly took a deep breath and picked up her iPad. Quickly she located the web site for
The Boston Globe
. “She said she wrote an article for the
Globe
recently.” She glanced up at Granny. “How about I check her credentials and let you know what my gut says?”

Granny bobbed her head in agreement. “Fair enough.”

“Are you sure this is the place?” Kelly looked at the front door of the converted building. Once a historical commercial building, it was now a pricey residential structure divided into trendy apartments and lofts.

“I’m not a hundred percent, but pretty sure,” answered Granny.

Kelly climbed the steps to the landing and ran a finger down the list of tenant names printed neatly next to corresponding apartment buzzers. “Here’s her name.”

“You know,” Granny pointed out, “if you hadn’t thrown away her business card, you could have called her first like a well-mannered young lady.”

“Or I could have stalked her at Gabby’s, like you did.”

“I’m just saying.”

Kelly swung her head in the direction of the spirit. “Quit nagging, Granny. You’ve already mentioned the card thing twice on the way here.”

“Just stating the facts.” Granny pointed her nose up in the air and sniffed with superiority.

“Are you this bratty with Mom?”

“Worse. I’m cutting you some slack because you’re new at this. But if you’re gonna get all uppity, you’re on your own.”

“Granny,” Kelly hissed into the air, “Come back here. I need you.” Kelly sucked in air, then blew it out. She was indeed on her own.

Shortly after hitting the button next to Tanisha’s name, a woman’s voice came through the
intercom, “Yes?”

Kelly gave her name. When she received no response, she thought Tanisha had hung up. But a few seconds later, a slow, tired voice asked, “What are you doing here?”

“You wanted my help,” Kelly said into the intercom. “Well, here I am.”

While Kelly waited for Tanisha to make up her mind, the door to the building opened and a man came out. Kelly judged him to be in his mid-forties, about the same age as her parents. He was very nice looking and fit, wearing khakis and a light blue denim shirt worn over a white t-shirt.

“Hey, beautiful.” He greeted her with a megawatt smile. “You looking for me?”

Almost in response, the door buzzer sounded, confirming Tanisha’s decision. The man held the door open for her and with a gallant sweep of his arm, invited Kelly over the threshold. Their eyes met as she passed. His twinkled with appreciation as they scanned her body. In spite of not liking it when men looked at her as if she were a tasty option on a menu, she blushed.

“You ran here?” Tanisha studied the sheen on Kelly’s face, then let her eyes drop, scanning her leggings and serious running shoes, though not in the same way the man downstairs had. Tanisha’s eyes expressed surprise.

“Sure. It’s not that far from campus. I run almost every morning.” Now on the top floor of the building, Kelly stood on the threshold awaiting entrance into the apartment itself. Tanisha had opened the door halfway, but had not yet invited Kelly into her home.