The Shattered Frame

Redwood Manor

           

Mr Taylor turned out to be a timid shadow of a man in his late thirties, with eyes that darted back and forth like prey on the lookout for its predator. According to George, he'd been quite the formidable agent in his youth, but the fading of his Talent had left him jittery, terrified of being killed by the ghosts he could no longer see.

He guided us around the manor with the air of someone who would rather be in a cage with several lions who hadn't eaten in weeks, because at least then he could see them. His stuttering commentary accompanied us from the vast foyer, through the living room with its musty armchairs and wide fireplace, upstairs through the dusty bedrooms, and downstairs to the basement that used to be the servants' quarters, but was now used to store old furniture draped in moth-eaten sheets.

He refused to enter any of the bathrooms or the kitchen, informing us that many had been found drowned there, and he stayed on the porch when he took us to the back garden where the swimming pool was situated.

"Th-that's where they found Lady Moore," he stammered, gesturing weakly to the empty pool.

I walked up to the edge and peered in. Thick slime and dirt obscured the tiles, and puddles of old rainwater had formed in cracks at the bottom.

"Wouldn't want to drown in there," I said, grimacing.

Lockwood patted Mr Taylor on the shoulder. "Well, Ms Moore won't be bothering you for much longer. How about you head off home before it gets dark and we'll set up?"

Mr Taylor wasted absolutely no time in leaving us alone in the garden.

"See any death glows yet?" I asked Lockwood.

He hummed. "There's one in the middle of the pool, quite bright already. I suppose it'll only get brighter." He pulled out his spare pair of sunglasses from his coat pocket and handed them to Skully for later.

I'd never been on a case with the living, breathing Skully before. None of us had. He tended to lounge around at home while we went out and risked our lives. I didn't question it much; I just guessed he'd had enough of death. It was a shame, though; with his connection to the Other Side, Skully's Talent was the strongest out of all of us. He had Sight as sensitive as Lockwood's and Listening on par with mine. That, combined with his supernatural powers, meant clearing this manor of Visitors shouldn't be too much trouble, as long as he actually cooperated.

Kipps put on his goggles. As a group, we scouted out the manor again, this time putting our combined talents to use and checking the temperature as we went along.

We set up our first iron chain in the living room in front of the fireplace, dumping all our spare equipment in it, then we set up smaller chains outside the bathrooms, kitchen, the back porch, and, finally, the basement, which was a few degrees colder than was natural.

The temperature steadily dropped as the sun gradually dipped below the horizon, colder near the water sources; dozens of death glows appeared, forcing Skully and Lockwood to don their sunglasses; shadowy figures began to drift through the hallways, but they seemed harmless for now, and I caught faint gurgling sounds coming from the kitchen sink.

As we were circling the perimeter of the house near the pool, Skully let out a yell.

"LOOK OUT!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin, Holly shrieked, Kipps squealed and clutched my arm, George leapt several feet into the air and his glasses went flying, Lockwood stumbled and fell flat on his face.

"Oh," said Skully. "Never mind. Just a shadow."

I slapped his arm.

"Ow!" he yelped. "What was that for?!"