Tainted Souls

Chapter 3 - Whodunnit

I could feel a chill resonate throughout my entire body, my arms were covered in goosebumps at the sight in front of me. I forgot about the mirror in my hand and it fell to the floor, luckily it didn't sound like it broke. Just as fast as the woman appeared before me, her figure evaporated into the air. I bolted out of the house shouting for Caleb, I hadn't finished processing the fear that the woman instilled in me, although she obviously meant no harm, just the fact that there seemed to be malicious intent with her death freaked me out. The worst I had dealt with was a car wreck, and that didn't have nearly as big of a freak out factor for me.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Caleb responded jokingly, trying to ease my panicked state as I caught up with him, he usually tried to use comedy to lighten situations. In response I just slapped him in the back of the head. "Ow, okay okay we can just hang out at my place for a while and watch TV or something."

As we entered his house I could hear his dad talking with a client in his office immediately to the left as you enter. He was an accountant that did his practice from home, I guess even small towns need accountants. I rarely saw him because he occupied himself in that office of his a fair amount of the time I was ever over. His mom ran a local flower shop, so she wasn't ever home during the day. Their house was probably one of the nicer ones in town, being fully updated with a sleek modern look both inside and outside. It felt good to be anywhere but my house after seeing the woman, although being at his place didn't guarantee that she couldn't appear again.

We went upstairs to get to his room, once we were finally in his room he finally asked me why I was acting up. I explained to him the woman I saw with what seemed to be a victim of a murder possibly. "Okay then, if anyone has been murdered then we can see if there's been any recent killings, to the internet," he declared. Although he wasn't too tech savvy he could at least Google things.

"Fine, but what if she's not from around here?" I asked him, because after all, I've found out that spirits aren't tied really bound to any border they magically can't go past as they can travel wherever they want to. However, most of the time they tend to stay around a place or person they are familiar with to keep close to the life they lived.

"Well if she was as panicked as you say she was, she probably hasn't been able to fully process everything that occurred with her death," he responded as he googled for recent deaths on his old bulky Dell laptop. Possibly having a red flag on his computer now from the NSA.

I looked over his shoulder looking at the results Google had given us. As he scrolled there wasn't anything about a recent murder, the last person found apparently killed in town was several months ago. "Well that's great, nothing to go on to help," I said, huffing as I sat down on one of the few places on the floor that wasn't taken up by the surrounding books, some still being opened where Caleb left off in them.

"We'll figure out who the woman is, or was, or whatever you know what I mean," he insisted patting me on my back.

"I just hope she doesn't come back soon, or at night," I told him, I really didn't like dealing with spirits at night because it just always creeped me out, even if they were a sweet old lady. I'm pretty sure anyone could understand that seeing anyone, dead or alive, lurking in your bedroom at two in morning pretty rattling.

"Here, distract yourself, read this," he insisted as he tossed a book to me.

Once I reoriented it upright from my perspective, I rolled me eyes, "Really? Sherlock?" I groaned.

"What? It's a classic," he responded. I didn't feel like arguing so I just stuck to the selection made for me. While I read the adventure of Sherlock in his original story, Caleb got to reading one of the books he purchased at the yard sale. Every now and then he would make a note on a scratch pad. I'm a fairly quick reader after being around Caleb for several years now. By the time

I was half way through the book, my phone buzzed in my pocket letting me know I had a text. It was my mom, not surprising considered only a handful of people would ever text me. 'On my way home,' the text read.

"Looks like I should go," I told him as I closed the book and placed it on the top of the books to my right. "I guess I'll see you later."

He stopped reading and looked up at me, "Alright, well I'm always a call away or a 10 second sprint should anything happen again, whichever you prefer," he jokingly said to me.

"See ya," I said as I waved to him as I exited his room. His dad was still busy in his office with someone else as I left the house. On the very short walk back home James passed by driving his red 1997 Ranger. He was Caleb's older brother, although just by a year, while Caleb was widely ostracized in school, just as I was, James was one of the prominent quarterback for our school's football team. We both did a short wave to acknowledge each other as he drove by.

When I got back to my house I was glad that I got home before my mom as I forgot to lock the door with me bursting out of it like I did. I felt stupid for not even thinking of locking it. The house was a smallish ranch style home, so it didn't take long to do an assessment. As I looked around it didn't look like anyone had intruded, while in my bedroom I hid the mirror in my dresser.

Later that night my mom and I were watching TV and eating our spaghetti dinners when the local 8 o'clock news came on. The anchorwoman came on screen and started to announce local news and events, with the first detailed report after the quick line up was the most news worthy. "And now we have learned of a local homicide this evening in the town of Ivywood," she informed me and whoever else was watching. The goosebumps instantly returned, "Police have identified the victim as local artist Tori Harmon," a picture of her was now displayed on screen, making it feel as if my heart stopped. She was the woman I saw earlier, there was no mistaking it, it was her face down to the slight crook in her nose. "Tori was found in her studio where she was apparently collecting some last minute works for the gallery showing she was going to have tonight. Police have not released any details about finding the perpetrator yet, as we learn more we will bring it to you."