Ghost Hunt: Chilling Tales of the Unknown (6 page)

Jen’s question made Lyssa shiver. The TAPS teammates plus
Jason and Grant were in a small powerboat. They were on their way to Heron’s Point Dock to investigate a haunted houseboat.

“Nope,” Jason answered. “It’s pretty much a TAPS first.”

He tucked one hand into his jacket pocket. He held on to the side of the boat with the other.

The sun was lowering in front of them. It made the water sparkle with red and gold. The air felt chilly. The water had choppy waves. The small boat bounced up and down, like a carnival thrill ride.

Lyssa held on tight. She felt excited. Jen was right. How many times did you get to investigate the possibility of a haunted boat?

“Do the Martins live on the houseboat year-round?” she asked.

“No,” Grant answered. “They mainly use it in the summer for vacations. It’s big enough to live on, but Diana, the twelve-year-old daughter, has to go to school.”

“She’s the one who has made most of the claims, right?” Jen asked.

“Yes,” Grant answered. “She says she’s seen a full-bodied apparition.”

“I don’t know about you guys,” Jason said. “But I can’t wait to get started. Heron’s Point is a very old, very lonely spot. The perfect place for paranormal activity.”

“I’m excited too,” Lyssa agreed. “I mean, a haunted houseboat? How cool is that?” The boat bounced hard. Frothy water splashed over the side. Lyssa dodged away from it.

“Look!” Grant said. He pointed. “I think we’re almost there.”

Up ahead, Lyssa could see a small island. It looked like a green hill growing out of the ocean.

As they roared closer, she could see that the island was mostly covered with trees. She could make out a rocky shoreline and a half-moon cove dead ahead.

Jason pointed to a long wooden dock on the right side of the cove. A single boat was tied up beside the dock.

“Wow!” Jen said. “That is a big boat!”

“It looks huge from here,” Grant said. “But you’ll be surprised at how small it feels inside. Good thing we left the twins back at the office.”

The Hammond brothers—Mike and Mark—had agreed to stay behind. They would go to work on the case after the evidence was collected.

“Get ready, everyone,” Jason said. He glanced up at the sky. “There’s a storm coming in. Take a look at those clouds. Something tells me we’re in for a rocky night.”

The three Martins welcomed the TAPS team onto the boat.

Lyssa took a few awkward steps across the deck. She knew it would take a while to get her sea legs.

She couldn’t stop staring. The houseboat was just awesome. On the outside, the boat looked like a big, tall speedboat.

The decks were polished wood. There were metal handrails all around the deck. They were so shiny, Lyssa could see her reflection. A short gangplank led from the dock to the boat itself.

Hey! I just walked the plank,
Lyssa thought with a smile.

“Thank you for coming,” Mr. Martin said. He led the way into what looked exactly like a normal living room. There was a couch, a coffee table, a couple of chairs. There was even a rug. Big windows on three sides reflected the red setting sun. The only things that felt unusual were the super-low ceilings.

At the front of the boat, Lyssa caught a glimpse of the pilot’s station. There were tons of navigation equipment, a radio, and some round video screens.

Just to her left, she saw a short, steep flight of steps with handrails on both sides.

That must lead to the sleeping cabins and the galley,
she thought.

Mr. Martin sat down on the couch. He gestured for everyone else to sit down, and then his expression turned serious. “I want to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible,” he said, and glanced at Diana, sitting shyly beside him on the couch.

He’s not very happy to see us,
Lyssa thought. Jason said the dad had more trouble believing what his daughter said.

“How quickly can it be done?” Mr. Martin asked. “I don’t want this to drag on. I mean, this is our vacation.”

Grant leaned forward in his chair. He scratched his ear. “We’ll
do our best,” he promised. “We can’t really promise a timeline. Let’s see what happens tonight. Then we’ll get in touch.”

Mr. Martin nodded. “Sounds good.”

Lyssa turned to Diana. She liked the girl’s wavy dark hair and bright green eyes. But Diana looked pale and troubled.

“So,” she said to Diana. “Do you like to vacation on the boat every summer?”

“Usually, I do,” Diana said. She tugged nervously at a strand of hair. “We used to go all over. But lately…” Her voice trailed off.

“What Diana is trying to say is that lately we’ve been coming only to Heron’s Point,” Mr. Martin spoke up. “Diana would like a shopping mall everywhere we go. I prefer to get away from the crowds.”

Mrs. Martin smiled. “He’s been very stubborn. He really likes it here.”

“The report you gave us was very clear,” Lyssa said to Diana. “Lots of good details. You gave us a lot to go on.”

“Good,” Diana said quietly. She kept her eyes down. “I… wanted to help. It was… pretty scary.”

“Diana hasn’t been able to sleep at night,” her mother said.

“I keep picturing that creepy man,” Diana said. “Floating. He… he was so close to me.” She shuddered.

Mr. Martin put an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s leave the boat to them now. Okay, Diana? I’m sure they’ll have an answer for you.”

“We’ll see what we can find,” Grant said.

Mr. Martin jumped to his feet. He pulled Diana up. “We better get going. The wind is really picking up.”

“Ready whenever you are,” Mrs. Martin said.

The family was going back to the mainland. They were taking the same boat that brought the TAPS team out to Heron’s Point. A friend of theirs was the pilot.

Then we’ll be all alone out here,
Lyssa realized. She gazed out the window. The sun was nearly down. The water had darkened to a charcoal color.
Just us and the boat bobbing on the water in the dark… with a ghost on board?

“We’ll be in touch tomorrow, then,” Mr. Martin said. “Come on, you two. Let’s go.”

They swung backpacks over their shoulders. Mrs. Martin had a small suitcase. They made their way onto the dock. Lyssa watched them climb into the small motorboat. A few minutes later, they roared off.

“Okay,” Jason said. “Let’s get the equipment set up. It will be dark before we know it.”

“One good thing about the close quarters,” Jen said. She opened a trunk and began to unpack. “Anything moves or makes a sound? The equipment should pick it right up.”

“Outstanding,” Grant said. “Let’s get on it. Let’s see if we can find that floating old man in the raggedy clothes.”

Soon after dark, the storm hit hard. Heavy rains drummed the deck, sending up a roar. The wind howled. The boat rocked and bumped against the dock.

“Lyssa? You feeling okay?” Lyssa felt Jason’s hand on her shoulder.

“Why? Is my face green?” Lyssa replied.

“It’s too dark to tell,” Jason said.

The boat lurched up, then down. Lyssa’s stomach rose and fell with each toss of the waves.

Despite the storm, they had all worked hard. The equipment was set to go.

“I do feel a little woozy,” Lyssa admitted. “All this tilting up and down. It’s weird. The longer we’re here, the smaller everything feels.”

“Yeah, it’s like the cabin walls are closing in on us,” Jen chimed in. “I swear, I bump into something every time I turn around.”

“Tell you what,” Jason said. “Jen and Lyssa, you take this level. Grant and I will investigate down below.”

“Really? Sounds good.” Lyssa sighed. She felt relieved. But she knew Jason didn’t like small spaces any more than she did. “You’re sure?”

“No worries,” Jason said.

“Everybody ready?” Grant poked his head up from the stairs.

“Oh, yeah,” Lyssa said. “Ready to rock and roll.”

“Okay, then,” Jason said. “Let’s go dark.”

Going dark on a boat really
is
going dark
, Lyssa thought.

She and Jen stood still, waiting for their eyes to adjust. There were some colored lights on the navigation equipment—small red and green lights. But other than that it was total blackness. No streetlights or lights from passing cars. No chance of a nightlight or two down a hall. No moonlight or starlight. The sky was covered by heavy, black storm clouds.

The boat’s motion felt bigger in the dark. Sounds grew louder. The wind moaned. The water went
slap, slap, slap,
trapped between the boat and the dock. The boat creaked and groaned, rolling on the sharp, steady waves.

And all around them was deep, dark water.

Lyssa shivered. Even with Jen close by, she felt alone on this small bobbing boat. A tiny speck compared to all this water.

She took a deep breath and shoved these thoughts away. After all, she had a job to do.

“This is Lyssa. I’m in the main cabin with Jen,” she said out loud for the recorder.

“I want to take an EMF reading,” Jen said. “With all this equipment, I expect the magnetic field to be fairly high. I don’t want us to get fooled and think it’s paranormal.” She moved toward the navigation equipment in the front of the boat.

Lyssa stayed toward the back. “What’s the reading?” she called. She had to shout over the howling wind outside.

“Like I thought. It’s pretty high, over five,” Jen called back.

“Makes sense,” Lyssa said. “Even so. A high level in a small space like this could add to the general creep factor.”

“Definitely,” Jen agreed. “Did Diana say she went outside onto the dock?”

“Nope,” Lyssa said. “She said she stayed inside.”

“Well, maybe the high EMF—” Jen started. But she stopped suddenly. “Hey!”

“What is it?” Lyssa asked. “What’s wrong?”

She began to move toward Jen. She took two steps. The boat jerked up, up, up. With a startled cry, Lyssa lurched to one side and crashed into the side of the couch.

“Whoa. I thought I saw something,” Jen called in a trembling voice. “Outside. On the dock.”

Lyssa struggled to her feet. She staggered to the window. She pressed her face against the glass. The glass felt icy cold.