Ghost Hunt 2: MORE Chilling Tales of the Unknown (17 page)

“All the dreams have one thing in common: They all take place
inside the house.
Sometimes, there are strange sounds. And strange things happen. Drawers open and close on their own. Lights flash on and off. That’s freaky enough. But that’s not what’s really scaring Angie. The thing that scares her the most is what happens when she wakes up.”

“So what happens when she wakes up?” Mark asked.

“There’s really no other way to say it,” Lyssa said. “The dreams come true.”

“What?”
Jen exclaimed.

“The dreams come true,” Lyssa repeated. “If Angie Larson dreams about something, the exact same thing happens once she wakes up. Every single time. It’s gotten so bad she’s afraid to fall asleep at night.”

“That
is
spooky,” Mike said.

“I used to have nightmares when I was a kid,” Grant said. “I woke up really scared, but my dad would say, ‘It’s just a dream.’ And that always made me feel better.” He shook his head. “It would be so weird to know that it’s
more
than a dream, that all the scary things don’t go away the second you wake up.”

“Angie’s dreams are getting scarier and scarier,” Lyssa added. “She says there’s a woman in the shadows—a woman who is
after her, or at least that’s what it feels like. That’s why she finally called us last night. She’s afraid the woman in the dreams means to do her harm.”

Lyssa turned to Jason. “I think we should take the case. Angie Larson is frightened. She needs our help.”

“She certainly needs help,” Jason agreed. “I’m just not sure she needs
ours.
There are a million reasons for dreams. There may be nothing paranormal here at all.”

“But how will we know that if we don’t investigate?” Lyssa asked. “And we’re not the first people Angie’s turned to for help. She’s been to a sleep doctor, and she’s more frightened now than ever. My instinct is telling me there’s something here, Jason. I think we should take the time to find out what.”

Jason took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

“Okay,” he said, “since you feel that strongly about it. Check our schedule and find out how soon we’ll be in Angie’s area.”

“I already did,” Lyssa said. She flashed Jason a grateful smile. “We’ll be close to Angie’s house next Tuesday.”

“Tuesday it is, then,” Jason said. He stood up, signaling the meeting was over. Just as he did, the telephone rang.

Lyssa moved quickly to the phone on her desk. “Hello?”

“Lyssa?” said a breathless voice on the other end of the line.

“Angie?” Lyssa said. “Is that you? Are you all right?” She turned to face the others.
“It’s Angie Larson,”
she mouthed silently.

“Fine. I’m fine,” Angie’s voice said. “It’s just… please tell me that you’re coming.”

“Of course we are,” Lyssa said. “But I’m afraid we can’t get there until next week.”

“No,” Angie said. Lyssa could hear her voice rise. “That’s not soon enough. You have to come now. Tonight.”

“I’m sorry, Angie,” Lyssa said. “But we’ve checked the schedule and—”

“Listen to me, Lyssa,” Angie interrupted, her words tumbling over one another she was talking so fast. “I was so tired this morning that I fell asleep on the couch. I had another dream. You have to come…”

“I understand, Angie,” Lyssa said firmly, “but we can’t just drop everything. Other people need our help, too. Tuesday is the first day we can come.”

“No, you
don’t
understand,” Angie insisted. “I’m sorry. I think it’s my fault. You guys were in the dream I had, Lyssa. It was nighttime. I saw the date on my phone. The fifth. That’s tonight.

“You have to come. You have to come
now.
”

“Thank you. Thank you so much,” Angie Larson said as she opened the front door. It was late that night. After Angie’s
frightened phone call, the TAPS team rearranged their schedule, then headed straight for Angie Larson’s house.

In the glow of the porch light, Lyssa could see that Angie had shoulder-length blond hair and dark brown eyes. She looked tired and worried.

“Hi, Angie. I’m Lyssa,” Lyssa said. She held out her hand, and Angie shook it. Her fingers were icy cold.

“I’m really happy to meet you,” Angie said. Quickly, Lyssa introduced the rest of the team. Angie opened the door wider. “Everybody, please, come inside.”

She stepped back so the TAPS team could enter the house.

“Go on into the living room,” Angie said. “First door on the left.”

The living room
looked
warm and cozy. Its walls were covered in creamy wallpaper. Floor lamps gave off warm light. But as she chose a place on the couch and sat down, Lyssa didn’t
feel
warm and cozy. Across from her was a huge brick fireplace. Above it was a striking portrait of a young woman dressed in a simple black dress.

The woman’s dark hair was swept back from her face. She had icy blue eyes. They seemed to be staring at Lyssa—almost as hard as Lyssa was staring at her.

“That’s quite a painting,” Lyssa said. “Do you know who she is?”

“Of course I do,” Angie said. She sat up straight, as if she expected to bolt right out of the wooden chair she sat in. All the
furniture in the room was old-fashioned and not very comfortable.

“That’s the first owner of the house, Eloise Cavanaugh,” Angie went on. “My best friend, Ellen, is Eloise’s great-granddaughter. She inherited the house last year, after Eloise died.”

“So you’re the first person to live in the house after Eloise’s death?” Jason asked.

“The first person who isn’t a family member,” Angie corrected him. “Ellen and her parents lived here for a little while.”

“Did Eloise die in the house?” Grant asked.

“Yes.” Angie nodded. “Ellen told me a little about her. Eloise died right here, in the living room.”

There was a beat of silence.

“Eloise’s husband, John, built this house for her when she was just a bride,” Angie went on. “It’s the first house they lived in after they were married. It was her pride and joy.

“But John was a very successful businessman. He wanted a bigger house right in the middle of town. So the couple moved, but Eloise was never happy about it. She always pined for her first home. She refused to let John sell it. She moved back here after he died.”

Angie paused. “You’ll probably think I’m losing it,” she said. She gave a funny little laugh. “I pretty much think that myself. But lately, I can’t help wondering… what if Eloise is responsible for what’s been happening to me?”

“What makes you think that?” Jason asked.

“Lately the dreams are getting scarier and scarier,” Angie answered. “Before, I just dreamed about the house. That was freaky enough! But now it’s like there’s someone in the dreams with me. Someone watching from the shadows all the time. But I can never get a good look at her face.”

“Then why do you think it’s Eloise Cavanaugh?” Grant asked.

“Because the one thing I can see is something glittering at her throat.” Angie pointed at the portrait.

“The pin,” Lyssa said.

Angie nodded. “At first I thought it was a necklace. But now I think it’s that pin she wears. I’m sure of it now. The shadow woman in my dreams is Eloise Cavanaugh.”

“What about your most recent dream? The one with the TAPS team in it?” Lyssa asked. “Where did that take place?”

“In the kitchen,” Angie answered. “I can show you where.”

“What happened in the dream?” Jason asked.

Angie shrugged. “We were all in there together. Everything was going crazy—the drawers and cabinets opening and closing.”

“Sounds interesting,” Grant said. “Let’s get some equipment set up so we can start our investigation.”

“You got it.” Jen stood up and gestured to the Hammond twins. “Okay, guys, let’s roll.”

Several minutes later, Mike and Jen were in the kitchen,
installing cameras and audio recorders. “How cool is this?” Mike asked. “For once, we actually know right where to aim our equipment.”

“It’s definitely not the typical case,” Jen agreed. “It’s amazing that Angie can tell us exactly where to expect paranormal activity.” From her position on the ladder, Jen adjusted one of the cameras. It was pointing at a set of kitchen drawers. A second camera was aimed at the cabinets just above them.

“Still, I really feel for Angie,” Jen continued. “She’s acting brave, but it’s pretty easy to see she’s scared to death.”

“Can’t say I blame her,” Mike commented. He slid an audio recorder into place on the kitchen counter. “Okay,” he said. “I think we’re good to go.”

At that moment Lyssa, Angie, and Grant walked into the kitchen. “I don’t know how much more I can take,” Angie was saying.

“What will you do if nothing changes?” Lyssa asked. “If you keep having the dreams?”

“There’s only one thing I can do,” Angie said. “I’ll have to move out, even though I promised Ellen I’d stay. I can’t go on living like this. I hardly get any sleep. I can’t stand being so terrified all the time.”

“If you do move and the dreams stop,” Jen said, “that could be proof that they really are related to Eloise.”

“I have a vacation coming up,” Angie said. “I’m thinking of
spending some time with my sister. She has this great place on the coast, and—”

“Guys,” Mark suddenly said, “I hate to interrupt, but…” He pointed to the opposite side of the kitchen; the silverware drawer was slowly sliding open. The doors to the cupboards right above it were already swinging back and forth.

And all in perfect silence. They didn’t make a single sound. Not even a squeaky hinge.

“Angie,” Lyssa said. “Is that—?”

“Yes.” Angie nodded. Her face was pale but composed. “That’s what I dreamed. That’s it exactly.”

For several moments, the TAPS team stood perfectly still, watching the activity in the kitchen. It showed no signs of slowing down. Back and forth. In and out went the cupboards and drawers in a bizarre and silent ballet.

“I don’t know about anyone else,” Lyssa finally said, “but I think someone is trying to get our attention.”

“It worked,” Jason said. “Whoever it is has definitely gotten mine!”

“All right,” Grant said a short time later. “Here’s how it’s going to go down. Lyssa, you and I will take the living room. Jay and Mark will cover the rest of the downstairs. Mike and Jen, you
take the second floor. Everybody, check back in here during the night.”

“Roger that,” Lyssa said. “Angie will be sleeping in the spare bedroom. That way, you guys can investigate her room. Mark and I set up several cameras in there, and audio as well.”

“Excellent,” Jen replied as she moved to stand by the light switch on the dining room wall. All the other lights downstairs were already out.

“Let’s see if we can’t figure out what’s going on around here,” Jason said. “On three. One. Two. Three… And we’re dark.”

Jen turned off the switch. The house was plunged into darkness and the team split up.

“This is Grant and Lyssa. We’re entering the living room,” Grant said in a quiet voice.

There was a recorder on the mantel just below Eloise Cavanaugh’s portrait. Lyssa had put it there herself. She aimed her flashlight at Grant as he walked across the living room. He was heading right where she figured he would—to Eloise’s portrait.