The Rockford Files - Ginger Townsend and Lou Trevino - #14 - I'm a Believer
Title: Things That Go Bump in the Night
Fandom: The Rockford Files (specifically, The Queen of Peru episode)
Characters: Ginger Townsend, Lou Trevino; Johnny Gage, Roy DeSoto, Dixie McCall, Harry Teal, the spirit
Prompt: Table 3, #14 - I'm a Believer
Word Count: 5,150
Rating: PG-13/T
Warnings/Spoilers: A follow-up to and crossover with the Emergency! episode Seance, based around the premise of "What if Dorothy Teal wasn't mistaken about there being a ghost in the house?" Hence, supernatural content.
Summary: A terrified Harry Teal realizes his wife isn't losing her mind about the presence of a ghost and he contacts Ginger and Lou for help.
By Lucky_Ladybug
The house was cold when he felt his way downstairs to the kitchen for a drink. It had felt cold ever since he had come home, leaving his wife Dorothy safely at the psychiatric ward of Rampart Emergency Hospital several days before. She insisted her dead sister Alice haunted the house and wanted him out. Of course it was nonsense, but she honestly believed it. She believed it so much that she had no idea she herself had set the fire in the house and burned her husband Harry’s hands. She still blamed Alice. Now she would get the help she needed.
Harry really should have stayed at the hospital himself, he supposed. But it had been several days and he had grown antsy being there and thinking of Dorothy in the psychiatric ward. The 72-hour observation would be up that night and the doctor would report his findings. She would no doubt need to stay there a while, but everything would be alright in the end.
Maybe if he kept telling himself that, he would come to believe it.
The heat was on. Why did the house feel like an igloo? And why did it feel like eyes were watching him? No one was there.
“I’m letting all those spooky stories get to me,” he said under his breath with a weak laugh.
He had only barely set foot in the kitchen when a knife flew across the room and embedded itself in the door. He jumped a mile, turning to stare at the utensil with wide and disbelieving eyes. There was no way.
No way. . . .
He walked farther into the kitchen. The floor creaked, but that wasn’t unusual. It was normal for a house of its age and structure. Just normal. . . .
Icy breath on his neck sent the hair in that area standing on end. “I don’t believe in ghosts, I don’t believe in ghosts,” he whispered almost as a mantra. He had never believed in ghosts. They were nonsense. No one was there. No one could be there.
The silverware drawer flew open and every knife and fork they owned aimed for him like a projectile. He cried out, diving to the floor with a crash that jarred both his bandaged hands. When the silverware slammed into the door, all was deathly silent and a question he had never thought he would ask was now upon his lips.
“Alice?” he quavered.
He had never thought his wife’s sister was evil. But he knew without a doubt that whatever was in this house with him was evil now.
“Oh honey,” he breathed as he got up and scrambled out of the room. “Dorothy. . . . What have I done to you? You really aren’t losing your mind, are you?”
And was there any way to save both himself and Dorothy from whatever was the truth?
****
It was a relatively quiet evening, which was why Ginger really should have expected everything to go frightfully wrong. But when the telephone rang and he dared to answer it, he was bewildered by what he heard on the other end.
“Hello,” an obviously frightened voice drawled. “Is this Ginger Townsend or Lou Trevino?”
“Ginger Townsend,” Ginger grunted. “Who is this?”
“Harry Teal,” was the reply. “I . . . I heard that you two are ghostbusters on the side?”
Not again, Ginger groaned in his mind. “Where did you hear such a thing?” he asked.
“Around,” Harry said vaguely. “I think one of my coworker’s brothers works at your company. Is it true? About the ghostbusting, I mean.”
Ginger was not pleased. “We don’t dabble in it for money, but it’s true that out of necessity we’ve had to remove malevolent spirits from time to time. It only works on malevolent ones.”
“Well, that’s what I’ve got,” Harry said. “At least, if someone isn’t playing a really cruel joke on me and my wife. I don’t know who would do that, though. Or who could rig all the silverware to fly at me or make the house like a freezer when the heat’s on or . . .” He trailed off. “Can you help us?!”
Ginger frowned. The terror creeping into the man’s voice was definitely real. “I’ll have to discuss the matter with Lou,” he said. “Supposing we agree to come out there. What’s your address?”
Harry gave it, his voice still shaking. “M-My wife was taken to the hospital for psychiatric evaluation,” he stammered. “She set a fire in the house and thought it was her dead sister doing it. Only . . . only now I’m not so sure she really set that fire. But I never thought it of Alice, either. That’s her sister. . . .”
“We heard about that on the news,” Ginger said. “I’ll speak with Lou.” But he knew Lou would feel they needed to try to help. “Perhaps we can come out after dinner.”
“Oh, thank you!” Harry exclaimed. “Thank you. I . . . I think maybe I’ll wait outside until then. Or something. I don’t want to be alone in this house. I’m amazed I was allowed to call you. I . . .”
Suddenly the phone filled with static.
“Hello?!” Ginger demanded. “Mr. Teal, are you still there?” He hit the dial tone button, but nothing happened. The static remained and Harry was no longer there. It took several rapid-fire attempts with the button before the dial tone sounded in Ginger’s ear. Swearing under his breath, he hung up the phone and went to the kitchen to find Lou.
Lou was just setting out the plates for dinner. “Who was on the phone?” he blinked.
“The bloke said he was Harry Teal,” Ginger said. “You know, the husband of the dotty woman what set fire to their house and blamed the dead sister?”
“Yeah.” Lou regarded his friend in confusion. “What did he want with us? . . . How does he even know we exist?”
“I bloody well don’t know. Some mutual acquaintance, apparently. He was downright terrified. Said something really was in the house throwing silverware at him and planting cold spots. Then we were cut off.”
Lou paused. “That’s . . . not good.”
“No, it is not. At least if he’s on the up and up.”
“Do you think he is?”
Ginger paused. “Unfortunately, I’m afraid he just may be. And if he is, someone didn’t want us to finish our conversation.”
“Good thing I haven’t started dinner yet,” Lou said. “It sounds like we’d better get over there now!”
“Exactly what I was thinking,” Ginger growled.
****
The house was quiet when they arrived. It wasn’t a peaceful quiet, but the kind that chilled them both to their bones. Lou gave Ginger a worried look before they headed up to the porch and knocked.
“Mr. Teal?” Ginger demanded.
“Hey, are you okay in there?” Lou added.
Ginger tried the knob. “It’s locked.”
As if on cue, the door creaked open.
Lou stared at it in horror. “Well . . . it’s not now,” he gulped.
Ginger narrowed his eyes and walked inside in determination. “Mr. Teal?”
Lou was right with him, whispering prayers under his breath.
It didn’t take long to spot Harry Teal sprawled lifeless on the floor. Near him, the phone was hanging off the table. But instead of a dial tone or a busy signal, the sound of static persisted.
Ginger immediately hung up the receiver and knelt next to the fallen man. His expression darkened.
Lou didn’t like that one bit. “Is he dead?” he worried.
“He’s not,” Ginger said slowly, “but his pulse is very weak. Something really does seem to be trying to kill him.”
Lou pulled out his phone. “We’ve gotta call 911!” But No Signal flashed on the screen. He cried out in frustration and dismay, shoving the phone back in his pocket.
“Not from in here, we’re not,” Ginger grunted. “And you probably won’t be allowed outside to place the call. If you possibly are, I doubt you’ll be allowed back in.”
“So what the heck are we gonna do?!” Lou exclaimed.
Ginger straightened and looked around the room. “Where are you?” he demanded. “Who are you? You’re not really this woman Alice, are you?”
A cold chill swept over them both and the door slammed shut.
Lou jumped. “So what did that accomplish?!”
“It let us know it’s here,” Ginger said flatly. “Now we just need to set about getting rid of it.”
“If it’s not Alice, though, how the heck did it get in?!” Lou yelped. The cold chill was graduating to an icy breeze that was blowing his hair about. He held up an arm to shield his face.
“The news story said the trouble all started with a séance,” Ginger said. “Something must have gotten summoned here then, only it wasn’t Alice, but something evil. Unless, of course, Alice is evil.”
“I don’t know why people keep thinking séances are a good way to contact the dead,” Lou whimpered. “The good ones hardly ever have time for that kind of thing, unless maybe they need to deliver an important message. But the bad ones . . . oh brother, do they love it!”
“I suppose people just get so desperate to hear from their departed loved ones that they’re willing to try anything,” Ginger said. His hair was also flying about, but he steadfastly tried to ignore it and start the St. Michael prayer.
The only problem was, as soon as he tried to open his mouth, his voice was choked off.
Lou stared at him in confusion and alarm. He wanted to ask what was going on, but when he attempted to speak, nothing came out. He fell back in horror, frantically praying in his mind. It was all he could do.
It seemed to be enough. As both he and Ginger silently prayed, the wind slowly ceased and the cold chill faded. They gasped for air and words.
“Oh man, that was a trip,” Lou exclaimed.
Ginger nodded. “But is it gone or has it merely receded for the time being?” he frowned.
“I don’t know, but we’d better get 911 called for this guy,” Lou gulped. He pulled out his phone again and was relieved that this time there was a signal.
“I just wonder how we’re going to explain why we’re here and what happened to him,” Ginger said. “And how we’re going to keep from ending up in the psychiatric ward ourselves.”
“Maybe, if they remember what happened when Vivalene and Florence tried to take over the county with their stupid magic box, there won’t be any trouble,” Lou hoped. “If we all say something was here, they might believe us.”
“Can you really be sure of that?” Ginger bent down to check Harry’s pulse rate again.
“No,” Lou sighed. “How is he now?”
“About the same,” Ginger frowned. “They had bloody well better not think we did something to him.”
Lou hadn’t considered that. He paused, looking at Ginger in alarm. But there was nothing else to do; the man needed help. When the dispatcher answered, Lou quickly told the basic situation and the address.
“And now we wait,” Ginger said as Lou hung up. Spying a throw on the nearby couch, he draped it over Harry in case he was suffering from shock.
Harry didn’t stir.
“It still feels creepy in here,” Lou said. “But usually the praying’s enough to make things stop for good. . . .”
“There are probably stronger spirits that aren’t as easy to stop,” Ginger said. “Some of the blasted things can be extremely stubborn, especially if they’ve really latched onto a house for some reason.”
“So what can we do if that’s happened?!” Lou exclaimed.
“Just what we can. And then recommend a professional exorcist,” Ginger said flatly.
“Great,” Lou mumbled.
****
It was the usual paramedics who arrived to take care of Harry, and they were surprised for multiple reasons.
“I thought we’d taken our last call from here,” the brunet exclaimed.
“Apparently not,” the redhead said.
“And fancy meeting you two here,” the brunet blinked, spotting Ginger and Lou. “Do you know what happened?”
“Unfortunately no,” Ginger said. “He rang us and then was cut off. When we came out, he was like this.”
“These poor people sure have been having more than their share of bad luck lately,” the redhead frowned.
They fell to examining Harry, soon calling in to Rampart with their report. Ginger listened, debating the practicality of simply slipping out the door and quietly departing. But the paramedics knew them. If they were wanted, they could be tracked down whether they left or not. It would look better for them if they stayed.
“Well? How is he?” Lou asked when they hung up.
“We’re not sure,” the brunet said. “We can’t find anything that could be causing him to be unconscious and unresponsive like this. Roy . . .” He turned to his partner with worry in his eyes.
“Oh no,” Roy retorted. “Johnny . . .”
“Hey, you’re the one who had a really creepy feeling going through this house before,” Johnny pointed out.
“Yeah, but there’s no such thing as ghosts,” Roy said. “And even if there were, why would that woman’s sister keep trying to kill her brother-in-law?”
“Maybe if she was that determined that her sister was in danger from him or something,” Johnny said. “Oh, I don’t know, Roy. But isn’t it more than a little weird that just when we thought everything was resolved, something else happens in this house? And when the wife definitely wasn’t here to cause it?!”
“. . . Yeah, it is,” Roy finally admitted.
Ginger and Lou looked at each other. Neither really wanted to be the one to volunteer the information that there really were ghosts and they had just fought with something evil.
“Wait a minute.” Johnny turned to look at them. “Why was Harry Teal calling you guys anyway?”
“We have a mutual acquaintance,” Ginger said brusquely.
“We’ll worry about that later,” Roy said. “Right now we have to get Harry in to Rampart.”
“Do you think he’s gonna be okay?” Lou asked, watching as they loaded the unconscious man onto a gurney and strapped him down.
“Right now, we’re not sure,” Roy admitted.
****
Not quite sure what to do, Ginger and Lou followed them to Rampart and waited for any news of Harry’s condition. They didn’t have long to wait before they overheard some other unexpected news.
“Hey, Dix, is there any word on the results of Harry’s wife’s psychiatric evaluation?” Johnny asked the head nurse.
“And has she been told about her husband?” Roy added.
Dixie leaned over the nurses’ station desk, clasping her hands. “She hasn’t been told yet,” she frowned. “The psychiatrist was worried about what it might do to her emotional state. But it’s starting to look like it’s possible that she’s of sound mind after all. She was put under hypnosis and even then, she still remembered seeing someone else start the fire.”
“Is that possible?” Johnny frowned. “That she could have it so ingrained in her mind that Alice did it that even hypnosis can’t get through to the truth?”
“Oh, it’s possible,” Dixie said. “But it’s also possible that someone else really was in that house.”
“Not a ghost,” Roy scoffed.
“No, but maybe it’s someone who wants them to think it’s a ghost,” Dixie said. “The psychiatrist wanted to talk to Harry about any possible enemies they might have, but now that won’t be possible for a while.”
“What the heck could have happened to him?” Johnny exclaimed in dismay. “There’s no reason why he should be unconscious like this! We should be able to figure out what’s going on!”
“Maybe those two know more than they’re saying.” Dixie looked to where Ginger and Lou were still awkwardly standing in the waiting area and clearly listening to everything being said.
The paramedics looked over too. “Hey, yeah,” Johnny said. “We never did get a real good reason why Harry was calling them. Why was he calling you?” He took a few steps in their direction.
“Johnny,” Roy hissed. “This really isn’t our business. We brought Harry in. Our part in this is over.”
“Yeah, until the next time we get called out to that house!” Johnny shot back. “I’m thinking that by now it is our business! I know you want to solve this mystery as much as I do!”
“Of course I do, but . . .” Roy trailed off at the look Ginger was giving them.
Lou shifted, uncomfortable. “Hey, look, we don’t want any trouble. . . .”
“Or to get put under observation ourselves,” Ginger added.
“But . . . the guy called us because he was creeped out,” Lou said. “He was alone in the house and weird stuff was happening, like the silverware flying out of the drawer right at him and getting stuck in the door. He believed that his wife was right about something supernatural being in there and he wanted us to come check it out.”
“But you’re not ghostbusters,” Johnny objected.
“No, we’re graphics designers,” Ginger said. “Who have unfortunately encountered many bizarre things on our business trips.”
“And sometimes closer to home,” Lou said. “One thing that got in the paper was that incident where people were falling unconscious from looking at some creepy statue in the cemetery. My brother was one of those people, so we got involved because of that.”
“I remember that,” Roy acknowledged.
“Yeah!” Johnny perked up. “And all the people suddenly woke up for no medical reason!”
“The reason was because we defeated the evil spirit that was keeping them unconscious,” Ginger said, folding his arms.
“Now that’s a little hard to swallow,” Johnny said. “. . . Isn’t it?”
Roy looked thoughtful. “I remember they found a bunch of white candles all around that statue the morning after everyone woke up,” he mused.
“And one thing that didn’t get into the paper was that all of the victims talked about having looked at that statue and seeing something they described as evil right before they fell unconscious,” Dixie said. “But nothing of the kind has happened out there before or since.”
“So . . . you believe us?” Lou looked cautiously hopeful.
“Well . . . let’s say we’re not ready to drag you off to the psychiatric ward just yet,” Dixie said. “Tell us this. When you got to the Teal house, did you encounter anything that seemed supernatural?”
“. . . Yes, we did,” Ginger finally admitted. “We tried to get rid of it, but it might instead be trying to trick us into believing it’s gone. Especially since Mr. Teal is still unconscious.”
“So what’re you gonna do?” Johnny asked.
Ginger and Lou exchanged another look.
“Go back to the house, I guess,” Lou said. “We’ll look around, try to see if it’s still there, and try to get rid of it for good if it is.”
“Like an exorcism or something?” Johnny blinked.
“Something like that,” Lou agreed.
Roy’s expression was nondescript. “Well, good luck with that.”
Ginger gave a curt nod. “Let’s go.”
Lou was all too relieved to get out of there-although he most certainly wasn’t relieved at the thought of going back to that house.
“Do you think we’ll still be free after we go back there?” he worried.
“If we don’t drop unconscious as well,” Ginger said matter-of-factly. “I’m sure that if Mr. Teal wakes up following another fight with that thing, the hospital staff will want to keep it very quiet but let us go on our way.”
“I sure hope you’re right,” Lou moaned.
****
The house still didn’t look inviting when they pulled up again. Lou swallowed hard and climbed out, then reached for the box of exorcism materials on the back seat. “Every time we have to do this, I always wish it was the last time,” he said.
“You’re certainly not the only one,” Ginger said.
Lou looked around the cold yard. “I wonder if we should try putting white candles all around the outside of the house, or at least in the corners or something. . . .”
“It couldn’t hurt,” Ginger said.
Lou was only too happy to light the candles and start placing them outside. But even there, he could feel the darkness pulsating through the very walls of the house to the outside. “It knows what we’re doing,” he realized. “It’s really ticked off.”
“I’m not feeling that peachy keen myself,” Ginger retorted. “This answers the question. It isn’t gone.”
“Oh, more’s the pity,” Lou moaned. His hands were shaking as he set the final candle in place. “It’s probably gonna be a lot tougher inside. . . .”
“We may just have to throw the Holy Water in all directions,” Ginger said.
“Sounds good to me,” Lou said.
They went on the porch and Ginger quietly unlocked the door with Harry’s key.
“I wonder how we’re going to explain why we had that, if anyone asks,” Lou said.
“We’ll say he gave it to us so we could come back and look around,” Ginger said. “It isn’t entirely false. I’m certain he would have given it to us had he been conscious at the time.”
“Yeah,” Lou said slowly.
Both of them went stiff when the door swung open and frozen air blasted out at them.
“How nice,” Ginger said with dripping sarcasm.
Lou lit a candle, but as he half-expected, it didn’t stay lit. “I’ve got a feeling we’re really in for it.”
“I have that same feeling,” Ginger said. “But we have no choice. We must go in.”
“Maybe you could try that thing you did last time we fought something weird?” Lou asked hopefully. “It sure worked on that other spook.”
“Perhaps I will,” Ginger said. “Although I resorted to that because Janet Roberts was a mortal and I couldn’t seem to get her to back down with prayers alone.”
Lou reached into the box and took out a bottle of Holy Water. He started to pour it around the threshold. The bottle shattered in mid-air and he yelped, shielding himself from flying glass.
Ginger swirled his coat around to protect them both. When the shards fell to the floor, he put the coat back around his shoulders. “I’d like some answers before I start attempting to get it to leave. If it is the sister, we need to know.” He stepped inside the doorway. “Who are you?”
Lou followed him in, his heart pounding. When the door slammed shut behind him, he jumped a mile.
“Are you Alice?” Ginger persisted.
The silverware, still stuck in the door, began to shake. One fork tore free and flew at Ginger, who stepped to the side and let it hit the wall.
“Ginger, you’re crazy!” Lou yelped. “Forget about who it is. Just get rid of it!” He started shakily reciting the St. Michael prayer.
Ginger was inclined to agree, except that now he wondered if it could be Alice and she stubbornly insisted on staying because of her strong connection to her living sister. If that were the case, he wondered if anything they tried would work.
“Whoever you are, you are not welcome,” he snarled. “Leave the people in this house alone and go back from whence you came.”
The wind increased. All the silverware came loose from the door. When Ginger dodged it, he became airborne and flew across the room to slam into the stairs. He growled in pain.
“Ginger!” Lou cried in horror. He was soon following suit, tumbling over and over to land upsidedown near Ginger.
By now Ginger was desperate. “Stop tormenting us and the Teals, in the name of Jesus Christ!” he roared.
For a lingering second he felt absolute hatred. Then everything was deathly still.
Lou flopped over. “Oh . . . do you think that got it for good that time?”
“I don’t know,” Ginger frowned. “Especially since we also don’t know yet if it could be Alice. They should probably have a professional come and try to cleanse the house. And not have any more séances!”
“I’m sure they’ll agree to that,” Lou said.
****
It wasn’t really a surprise when they got back to the hospital and Dixie greeted them with, “Welcome back. Mr. Teal woke up fifteen minutes ago.”
“That was exactly when we seemingly vanquished the spectre,” Ginger said.
“Well, good for you,” Dixie said. “It must have worked.”
“What about the wife?” Lou asked.
“I have a feeling she’ll be released,” Dixie said. “But tell me this: was it really the sister?”
“We don’t know,” Ginger admitted. “But whether it was or not, that woman had better not try any more to have her sister contacted. That is most likely what started the entire problem.”
“I’ll be sure to let her know what you said,” Dixie said. “Or you can. You’re welcome to go up and talk with them. Harry Teal is in Room 412. Dorothy should be in with him now.”
“Hey, we’re just glad if everything’s worked out,” Lou said. “I guess I’m kind of worried wondering if we’d get Mrs. Teal bent out of shape again since we can’t say for sure whether it was her sister or not.”
“Maybe you’ve got a point there,” Dixie mused. “But Harry did call you for help.”
“So we do need to check in with him,” Ginger said. “We’ll do that.” He turned to head for the elevator. “Evening.”
Dixie smiled a bit. “I hope I won’t see you later, at least not as patients again.”
“So do we,” Lou replied as he followed Ginger.
They went up in the elevator, deep in thought.
“I know we always think and hope that the ghostbusting is over and it never is, but I hope at least we won’t have any more calls to that house,” Lou sighed.
“I’m sure the paramedics are thinking the same thing,” Ginger said.
“I wonder if we’ll ever know if that was the sister,” Lou shuddered. “I hope it wasn’t.”
“There’s probably no real way to know,” Ginger said. “Hopefully Mrs. Teal can get over her sister’s death regardless.”
“Maybe,” Lou said. “Or maybe she won’t wanna think her sister’s really gone nuts like this. Maybe she will keep trying to contact her.”
“All I can say is that if the sister isn’t responsible, it would be nice if she would show up and let Mrs. Teal know, so she can be at peace,” Ginger said.
“I know I’d sure show up if somebody thought I was doing awful stuff like that and I wasn’t,” Lou said. “Maybe the sister’s been trying to contact her and can’t get through.”
“That’s possible,” Ginger agreed. “She may be too filled with grief and too agonized thinking the sister is causing the calamities to hear the actual sister’s spirit trying to reach her.”
“I wonder if we should try telling this stuff to her and her husband,” Lou said.
“I’d say it’s really not our business, only when we nearly got killed by the blasted thing, it’s probably become our business,” Ginger grumbled. “And we should take steps to try to ensure that nothing else happens to them or us because of their problems.”
“Yeah, exactly,” Lou said.
The elevator arrived at the fourth floor and they stepped out, heading for room 412. When they found it and knocked, it was Harry who limped over and opened the door for them.
“Hey, guys,” he said in relief. “Did you get it?”
“We hope we did,” Ginger said. “It’s obviously released its hold on you in any case or you wouldn’t have woke up.”
“But we don’t know if it was Alice or not,” Lou said.
Harry cringed. “I was hoping I could tell Dorothy it wasn’t her.”
A dark-haired woman came to the doorway. “But there was definitely someone there?” she demanded.
“Yes,” Ginger said. “Without a shadow of a doubt.”
Harry smiled a bit. “My wife, Dorothy.”
“Good to meet you,” Ginger nodded.
“Are they going to let you go?” Lou asked.
“I think so,” Dorothy said. “If our house is really safe now. . . .”
“We’d like to talk with you about that,” Ginger said. “And offer some tips, if we may.”
Harry held the door open wider. “You may!”
****
By the time Ginger and Lou left, they were feeling hopeful that the Teals would be alright.
“I think they took what we told them to heart,” Ginger mused as they walked out to their car.
“I think so too,” Lou said. “And now I just wanna get home and see about the dinner we still haven’t had yet. Only . . . maybe by now I’d rather not spend a long time making anything. How about we go pick up some KFC or something?”
“That’s perfectly fine with me,” Ginger said. But his gait slowed and he frowned, staring off into the distance. “Lou . . .”
Lou looked over in surprise. “What is it, Buddy?”
“Right before that . . . entity left, I felt a rush of hatred. Did you feel it?”
Lou frowned. “Yeah. It was mad that we beat it.”
“What if there was more to it than that?” Ginger looked deeply troubled now. “Is there any chance that it was always after us? Maybe it knew about that scant connection with the coworker’s brother and it figured Harry Teal would turn to us once he believed the ghost was real. Maybe, just like that Janet character, its mission was to destroy us.” He looked to Lou. “Tell me I’m thinking too deeply into this.”
Lou stared at him, shaken. “I wish I could,” he stammered. “I wouldn’t think we’d be that important, but after what happened with that Janet and what she told us, I . . . I just don’t know what to think.”
“Nor I.” Ginger frowned. “It’s probably all nonsense, though. Just an evil spirit summoned by the séance, not likely to have any connection with us.”
“Yeah,” Lou agreed. But now he wasn’t sure he believed that.
“Or maybe it didn’t originally intend to get rid of us, but we were a bonus when we appeared,” Ginger said. “Judging from things said, we’re rather hated in the underworld.”
“Which is also pretty creepy,” Lou grimaced.
“On the other hand, it could just be like we originally thought, that it only felt hatred towards us because we defeated it.” Ginger pulled his coat closer around him. “Let’s go.”
Lou really wished the chill he felt was only from the weather and not from Ginger’s words.
Fandom: The Rockford Files (specifically, The Queen of Peru episode)
Characters: Ginger Townsend, Lou Trevino; Johnny Gage, Roy DeSoto, Dixie McCall, Harry Teal, the spirit
Prompt: Table 3, #14 - I'm a Believer
Word Count: 5,150
Rating: PG-13/T
Warnings/Spoilers: A follow-up to and crossover with the Emergency! episode Seance, based around the premise of "What if Dorothy Teal wasn't mistaken about there being a ghost in the house?" Hence, supernatural content.
Summary: A terrified Harry Teal realizes his wife isn't losing her mind about the presence of a ghost and he contacts Ginger and Lou for help.
By Lucky_Ladybug
The house was cold when he felt his way downstairs to the kitchen for a drink. It had felt cold ever since he had come home, leaving his wife Dorothy safely at the psychiatric ward of Rampart Emergency Hospital several days before. She insisted her dead sister Alice haunted the house and wanted him out. Of course it was nonsense, but she honestly believed it. She believed it so much that she had no idea she herself had set the fire in the house and burned her husband Harry’s hands. She still blamed Alice. Now she would get the help she needed.
Harry really should have stayed at the hospital himself, he supposed. But it had been several days and he had grown antsy being there and thinking of Dorothy in the psychiatric ward. The 72-hour observation would be up that night and the doctor would report his findings. She would no doubt need to stay there a while, but everything would be alright in the end.
Maybe if he kept telling himself that, he would come to believe it.
The heat was on. Why did the house feel like an igloo? And why did it feel like eyes were watching him? No one was there.
“I’m letting all those spooky stories get to me,” he said under his breath with a weak laugh.
He had only barely set foot in the kitchen when a knife flew across the room and embedded itself in the door. He jumped a mile, turning to stare at the utensil with wide and disbelieving eyes. There was no way.
No way. . . .
He walked farther into the kitchen. The floor creaked, but that wasn’t unusual. It was normal for a house of its age and structure. Just normal. . . .
Icy breath on his neck sent the hair in that area standing on end. “I don’t believe in ghosts, I don’t believe in ghosts,” he whispered almost as a mantra. He had never believed in ghosts. They were nonsense. No one was there. No one could be there.
The silverware drawer flew open and every knife and fork they owned aimed for him like a projectile. He cried out, diving to the floor with a crash that jarred both his bandaged hands. When the silverware slammed into the door, all was deathly silent and a question he had never thought he would ask was now upon his lips.
“Alice?” he quavered.
He had never thought his wife’s sister was evil. But he knew without a doubt that whatever was in this house with him was evil now.
“Oh honey,” he breathed as he got up and scrambled out of the room. “Dorothy. . . . What have I done to you? You really aren’t losing your mind, are you?”
And was there any way to save both himself and Dorothy from whatever was the truth?
****
It was a relatively quiet evening, which was why Ginger really should have expected everything to go frightfully wrong. But when the telephone rang and he dared to answer it, he was bewildered by what he heard on the other end.
“Hello,” an obviously frightened voice drawled. “Is this Ginger Townsend or Lou Trevino?”
“Ginger Townsend,” Ginger grunted. “Who is this?”
“Harry Teal,” was the reply. “I . . . I heard that you two are ghostbusters on the side?”
Not again, Ginger groaned in his mind. “Where did you hear such a thing?” he asked.
“Around,” Harry said vaguely. “I think one of my coworker’s brothers works at your company. Is it true? About the ghostbusting, I mean.”
Ginger was not pleased. “We don’t dabble in it for money, but it’s true that out of necessity we’ve had to remove malevolent spirits from time to time. It only works on malevolent ones.”
“Well, that’s what I’ve got,” Harry said. “At least, if someone isn’t playing a really cruel joke on me and my wife. I don’t know who would do that, though. Or who could rig all the silverware to fly at me or make the house like a freezer when the heat’s on or . . .” He trailed off. “Can you help us?!”
Ginger frowned. The terror creeping into the man’s voice was definitely real. “I’ll have to discuss the matter with Lou,” he said. “Supposing we agree to come out there. What’s your address?”
Harry gave it, his voice still shaking. “M-My wife was taken to the hospital for psychiatric evaluation,” he stammered. “She set a fire in the house and thought it was her dead sister doing it. Only . . . only now I’m not so sure she really set that fire. But I never thought it of Alice, either. That’s her sister. . . .”
“We heard about that on the news,” Ginger said. “I’ll speak with Lou.” But he knew Lou would feel they needed to try to help. “Perhaps we can come out after dinner.”
“Oh, thank you!” Harry exclaimed. “Thank you. I . . . I think maybe I’ll wait outside until then. Or something. I don’t want to be alone in this house. I’m amazed I was allowed to call you. I . . .”
Suddenly the phone filled with static.
“Hello?!” Ginger demanded. “Mr. Teal, are you still there?” He hit the dial tone button, but nothing happened. The static remained and Harry was no longer there. It took several rapid-fire attempts with the button before the dial tone sounded in Ginger’s ear. Swearing under his breath, he hung up the phone and went to the kitchen to find Lou.
Lou was just setting out the plates for dinner. “Who was on the phone?” he blinked.
“The bloke said he was Harry Teal,” Ginger said. “You know, the husband of the dotty woman what set fire to their house and blamed the dead sister?”
“Yeah.” Lou regarded his friend in confusion. “What did he want with us? . . . How does he even know we exist?”
“I bloody well don’t know. Some mutual acquaintance, apparently. He was downright terrified. Said something really was in the house throwing silverware at him and planting cold spots. Then we were cut off.”
Lou paused. “That’s . . . not good.”
“No, it is not. At least if he’s on the up and up.”
“Do you think he is?”
Ginger paused. “Unfortunately, I’m afraid he just may be. And if he is, someone didn’t want us to finish our conversation.”
“Good thing I haven’t started dinner yet,” Lou said. “It sounds like we’d better get over there now!”
“Exactly what I was thinking,” Ginger growled.
****
The house was quiet when they arrived. It wasn’t a peaceful quiet, but the kind that chilled them both to their bones. Lou gave Ginger a worried look before they headed up to the porch and knocked.
“Mr. Teal?” Ginger demanded.
“Hey, are you okay in there?” Lou added.
Ginger tried the knob. “It’s locked.”
As if on cue, the door creaked open.
Lou stared at it in horror. “Well . . . it’s not now,” he gulped.
Ginger narrowed his eyes and walked inside in determination. “Mr. Teal?”
Lou was right with him, whispering prayers under his breath.
It didn’t take long to spot Harry Teal sprawled lifeless on the floor. Near him, the phone was hanging off the table. But instead of a dial tone or a busy signal, the sound of static persisted.
Ginger immediately hung up the receiver and knelt next to the fallen man. His expression darkened.
Lou didn’t like that one bit. “Is he dead?” he worried.
“He’s not,” Ginger said slowly, “but his pulse is very weak. Something really does seem to be trying to kill him.”
Lou pulled out his phone. “We’ve gotta call 911!” But No Signal flashed on the screen. He cried out in frustration and dismay, shoving the phone back in his pocket.
“Not from in here, we’re not,” Ginger grunted. “And you probably won’t be allowed outside to place the call. If you possibly are, I doubt you’ll be allowed back in.”
“So what the heck are we gonna do?!” Lou exclaimed.
Ginger straightened and looked around the room. “Where are you?” he demanded. “Who are you? You’re not really this woman Alice, are you?”
A cold chill swept over them both and the door slammed shut.
Lou jumped. “So what did that accomplish?!”
“It let us know it’s here,” Ginger said flatly. “Now we just need to set about getting rid of it.”
“If it’s not Alice, though, how the heck did it get in?!” Lou yelped. The cold chill was graduating to an icy breeze that was blowing his hair about. He held up an arm to shield his face.
“The news story said the trouble all started with a séance,” Ginger said. “Something must have gotten summoned here then, only it wasn’t Alice, but something evil. Unless, of course, Alice is evil.”
“I don’t know why people keep thinking séances are a good way to contact the dead,” Lou whimpered. “The good ones hardly ever have time for that kind of thing, unless maybe they need to deliver an important message. But the bad ones . . . oh brother, do they love it!”
“I suppose people just get so desperate to hear from their departed loved ones that they’re willing to try anything,” Ginger said. His hair was also flying about, but he steadfastly tried to ignore it and start the St. Michael prayer.
The only problem was, as soon as he tried to open his mouth, his voice was choked off.
Lou stared at him in confusion and alarm. He wanted to ask what was going on, but when he attempted to speak, nothing came out. He fell back in horror, frantically praying in his mind. It was all he could do.
It seemed to be enough. As both he and Ginger silently prayed, the wind slowly ceased and the cold chill faded. They gasped for air and words.
“Oh man, that was a trip,” Lou exclaimed.
Ginger nodded. “But is it gone or has it merely receded for the time being?” he frowned.
“I don’t know, but we’d better get 911 called for this guy,” Lou gulped. He pulled out his phone again and was relieved that this time there was a signal.
“I just wonder how we’re going to explain why we’re here and what happened to him,” Ginger said. “And how we’re going to keep from ending up in the psychiatric ward ourselves.”
“Maybe, if they remember what happened when Vivalene and Florence tried to take over the county with their stupid magic box, there won’t be any trouble,” Lou hoped. “If we all say something was here, they might believe us.”
“Can you really be sure of that?” Ginger bent down to check Harry’s pulse rate again.
“No,” Lou sighed. “How is he now?”
“About the same,” Ginger frowned. “They had bloody well better not think we did something to him.”
Lou hadn’t considered that. He paused, looking at Ginger in alarm. But there was nothing else to do; the man needed help. When the dispatcher answered, Lou quickly told the basic situation and the address.
“And now we wait,” Ginger said as Lou hung up. Spying a throw on the nearby couch, he draped it over Harry in case he was suffering from shock.
Harry didn’t stir.
“It still feels creepy in here,” Lou said. “But usually the praying’s enough to make things stop for good. . . .”
“There are probably stronger spirits that aren’t as easy to stop,” Ginger said. “Some of the blasted things can be extremely stubborn, especially if they’ve really latched onto a house for some reason.”
“So what can we do if that’s happened?!” Lou exclaimed.
“Just what we can. And then recommend a professional exorcist,” Ginger said flatly.
“Great,” Lou mumbled.
****
It was the usual paramedics who arrived to take care of Harry, and they were surprised for multiple reasons.
“I thought we’d taken our last call from here,” the brunet exclaimed.
“Apparently not,” the redhead said.
“And fancy meeting you two here,” the brunet blinked, spotting Ginger and Lou. “Do you know what happened?”
“Unfortunately no,” Ginger said. “He rang us and then was cut off. When we came out, he was like this.”
“These poor people sure have been having more than their share of bad luck lately,” the redhead frowned.
They fell to examining Harry, soon calling in to Rampart with their report. Ginger listened, debating the practicality of simply slipping out the door and quietly departing. But the paramedics knew them. If they were wanted, they could be tracked down whether they left or not. It would look better for them if they stayed.
“Well? How is he?” Lou asked when they hung up.
“We’re not sure,” the brunet said. “We can’t find anything that could be causing him to be unconscious and unresponsive like this. Roy . . .” He turned to his partner with worry in his eyes.
“Oh no,” Roy retorted. “Johnny . . .”
“Hey, you’re the one who had a really creepy feeling going through this house before,” Johnny pointed out.
“Yeah, but there’s no such thing as ghosts,” Roy said. “And even if there were, why would that woman’s sister keep trying to kill her brother-in-law?”
“Maybe if she was that determined that her sister was in danger from him or something,” Johnny said. “Oh, I don’t know, Roy. But isn’t it more than a little weird that just when we thought everything was resolved, something else happens in this house? And when the wife definitely wasn’t here to cause it?!”
“. . . Yeah, it is,” Roy finally admitted.
Ginger and Lou looked at each other. Neither really wanted to be the one to volunteer the information that there really were ghosts and they had just fought with something evil.
“Wait a minute.” Johnny turned to look at them. “Why was Harry Teal calling you guys anyway?”
“We have a mutual acquaintance,” Ginger said brusquely.
“We’ll worry about that later,” Roy said. “Right now we have to get Harry in to Rampart.”
“Do you think he’s gonna be okay?” Lou asked, watching as they loaded the unconscious man onto a gurney and strapped him down.
“Right now, we’re not sure,” Roy admitted.
****
Not quite sure what to do, Ginger and Lou followed them to Rampart and waited for any news of Harry’s condition. They didn’t have long to wait before they overheard some other unexpected news.
“Hey, Dix, is there any word on the results of Harry’s wife’s psychiatric evaluation?” Johnny asked the head nurse.
“And has she been told about her husband?” Roy added.
Dixie leaned over the nurses’ station desk, clasping her hands. “She hasn’t been told yet,” she frowned. “The psychiatrist was worried about what it might do to her emotional state. But it’s starting to look like it’s possible that she’s of sound mind after all. She was put under hypnosis and even then, she still remembered seeing someone else start the fire.”
“Is that possible?” Johnny frowned. “That she could have it so ingrained in her mind that Alice did it that even hypnosis can’t get through to the truth?”
“Oh, it’s possible,” Dixie said. “But it’s also possible that someone else really was in that house.”
“Not a ghost,” Roy scoffed.
“No, but maybe it’s someone who wants them to think it’s a ghost,” Dixie said. “The psychiatrist wanted to talk to Harry about any possible enemies they might have, but now that won’t be possible for a while.”
“What the heck could have happened to him?” Johnny exclaimed in dismay. “There’s no reason why he should be unconscious like this! We should be able to figure out what’s going on!”
“Maybe those two know more than they’re saying.” Dixie looked to where Ginger and Lou were still awkwardly standing in the waiting area and clearly listening to everything being said.
The paramedics looked over too. “Hey, yeah,” Johnny said. “We never did get a real good reason why Harry was calling them. Why was he calling you?” He took a few steps in their direction.
“Johnny,” Roy hissed. “This really isn’t our business. We brought Harry in. Our part in this is over.”
“Yeah, until the next time we get called out to that house!” Johnny shot back. “I’m thinking that by now it is our business! I know you want to solve this mystery as much as I do!”
“Of course I do, but . . .” Roy trailed off at the look Ginger was giving them.
Lou shifted, uncomfortable. “Hey, look, we don’t want any trouble. . . .”
“Or to get put under observation ourselves,” Ginger added.
“But . . . the guy called us because he was creeped out,” Lou said. “He was alone in the house and weird stuff was happening, like the silverware flying out of the drawer right at him and getting stuck in the door. He believed that his wife was right about something supernatural being in there and he wanted us to come check it out.”
“But you’re not ghostbusters,” Johnny objected.
“No, we’re graphics designers,” Ginger said. “Who have unfortunately encountered many bizarre things on our business trips.”
“And sometimes closer to home,” Lou said. “One thing that got in the paper was that incident where people were falling unconscious from looking at some creepy statue in the cemetery. My brother was one of those people, so we got involved because of that.”
“I remember that,” Roy acknowledged.
“Yeah!” Johnny perked up. “And all the people suddenly woke up for no medical reason!”
“The reason was because we defeated the evil spirit that was keeping them unconscious,” Ginger said, folding his arms.
“Now that’s a little hard to swallow,” Johnny said. “. . . Isn’t it?”
Roy looked thoughtful. “I remember they found a bunch of white candles all around that statue the morning after everyone woke up,” he mused.
“And one thing that didn’t get into the paper was that all of the victims talked about having looked at that statue and seeing something they described as evil right before they fell unconscious,” Dixie said. “But nothing of the kind has happened out there before or since.”
“So . . . you believe us?” Lou looked cautiously hopeful.
“Well . . . let’s say we’re not ready to drag you off to the psychiatric ward just yet,” Dixie said. “Tell us this. When you got to the Teal house, did you encounter anything that seemed supernatural?”
“. . . Yes, we did,” Ginger finally admitted. “We tried to get rid of it, but it might instead be trying to trick us into believing it’s gone. Especially since Mr. Teal is still unconscious.”
“So what’re you gonna do?” Johnny asked.
Ginger and Lou exchanged another look.
“Go back to the house, I guess,” Lou said. “We’ll look around, try to see if it’s still there, and try to get rid of it for good if it is.”
“Like an exorcism or something?” Johnny blinked.
“Something like that,” Lou agreed.
Roy’s expression was nondescript. “Well, good luck with that.”
Ginger gave a curt nod. “Let’s go.”
Lou was all too relieved to get out of there-although he most certainly wasn’t relieved at the thought of going back to that house.
“Do you think we’ll still be free after we go back there?” he worried.
“If we don’t drop unconscious as well,” Ginger said matter-of-factly. “I’m sure that if Mr. Teal wakes up following another fight with that thing, the hospital staff will want to keep it very quiet but let us go on our way.”
“I sure hope you’re right,” Lou moaned.
****
The house still didn’t look inviting when they pulled up again. Lou swallowed hard and climbed out, then reached for the box of exorcism materials on the back seat. “Every time we have to do this, I always wish it was the last time,” he said.
“You’re certainly not the only one,” Ginger said.
Lou looked around the cold yard. “I wonder if we should try putting white candles all around the outside of the house, or at least in the corners or something. . . .”
“It couldn’t hurt,” Ginger said.
Lou was only too happy to light the candles and start placing them outside. But even there, he could feel the darkness pulsating through the very walls of the house to the outside. “It knows what we’re doing,” he realized. “It’s really ticked off.”
“I’m not feeling that peachy keen myself,” Ginger retorted. “This answers the question. It isn’t gone.”
“Oh, more’s the pity,” Lou moaned. His hands were shaking as he set the final candle in place. “It’s probably gonna be a lot tougher inside. . . .”
“We may just have to throw the Holy Water in all directions,” Ginger said.
“Sounds good to me,” Lou said.
They went on the porch and Ginger quietly unlocked the door with Harry’s key.
“I wonder how we’re going to explain why we had that, if anyone asks,” Lou said.
“We’ll say he gave it to us so we could come back and look around,” Ginger said. “It isn’t entirely false. I’m certain he would have given it to us had he been conscious at the time.”
“Yeah,” Lou said slowly.
Both of them went stiff when the door swung open and frozen air blasted out at them.
“How nice,” Ginger said with dripping sarcasm.
Lou lit a candle, but as he half-expected, it didn’t stay lit. “I’ve got a feeling we’re really in for it.”
“I have that same feeling,” Ginger said. “But we have no choice. We must go in.”
“Maybe you could try that thing you did last time we fought something weird?” Lou asked hopefully. “It sure worked on that other spook.”
“Perhaps I will,” Ginger said. “Although I resorted to that because Janet Roberts was a mortal and I couldn’t seem to get her to back down with prayers alone.”
Lou reached into the box and took out a bottle of Holy Water. He started to pour it around the threshold. The bottle shattered in mid-air and he yelped, shielding himself from flying glass.
Ginger swirled his coat around to protect them both. When the shards fell to the floor, he put the coat back around his shoulders. “I’d like some answers before I start attempting to get it to leave. If it is the sister, we need to know.” He stepped inside the doorway. “Who are you?”
Lou followed him in, his heart pounding. When the door slammed shut behind him, he jumped a mile.
“Are you Alice?” Ginger persisted.
The silverware, still stuck in the door, began to shake. One fork tore free and flew at Ginger, who stepped to the side and let it hit the wall.
“Ginger, you’re crazy!” Lou yelped. “Forget about who it is. Just get rid of it!” He started shakily reciting the St. Michael prayer.
Ginger was inclined to agree, except that now he wondered if it could be Alice and she stubbornly insisted on staying because of her strong connection to her living sister. If that were the case, he wondered if anything they tried would work.
“Whoever you are, you are not welcome,” he snarled. “Leave the people in this house alone and go back from whence you came.”
The wind increased. All the silverware came loose from the door. When Ginger dodged it, he became airborne and flew across the room to slam into the stairs. He growled in pain.
“Ginger!” Lou cried in horror. He was soon following suit, tumbling over and over to land upsidedown near Ginger.
By now Ginger was desperate. “Stop tormenting us and the Teals, in the name of Jesus Christ!” he roared.
For a lingering second he felt absolute hatred. Then everything was deathly still.
Lou flopped over. “Oh . . . do you think that got it for good that time?”
“I don’t know,” Ginger frowned. “Especially since we also don’t know yet if it could be Alice. They should probably have a professional come and try to cleanse the house. And not have any more séances!”
“I’m sure they’ll agree to that,” Lou said.
****
It wasn’t really a surprise when they got back to the hospital and Dixie greeted them with, “Welcome back. Mr. Teal woke up fifteen minutes ago.”
“That was exactly when we seemingly vanquished the spectre,” Ginger said.
“Well, good for you,” Dixie said. “It must have worked.”
“What about the wife?” Lou asked.
“I have a feeling she’ll be released,” Dixie said. “But tell me this: was it really the sister?”
“We don’t know,” Ginger admitted. “But whether it was or not, that woman had better not try any more to have her sister contacted. That is most likely what started the entire problem.”
“I’ll be sure to let her know what you said,” Dixie said. “Or you can. You’re welcome to go up and talk with them. Harry Teal is in Room 412. Dorothy should be in with him now.”
“Hey, we’re just glad if everything’s worked out,” Lou said. “I guess I’m kind of worried wondering if we’d get Mrs. Teal bent out of shape again since we can’t say for sure whether it was her sister or not.”
“Maybe you’ve got a point there,” Dixie mused. “But Harry did call you for help.”
“So we do need to check in with him,” Ginger said. “We’ll do that.” He turned to head for the elevator. “Evening.”
Dixie smiled a bit. “I hope I won’t see you later, at least not as patients again.”
“So do we,” Lou replied as he followed Ginger.
They went up in the elevator, deep in thought.
“I know we always think and hope that the ghostbusting is over and it never is, but I hope at least we won’t have any more calls to that house,” Lou sighed.
“I’m sure the paramedics are thinking the same thing,” Ginger said.
“I wonder if we’ll ever know if that was the sister,” Lou shuddered. “I hope it wasn’t.”
“There’s probably no real way to know,” Ginger said. “Hopefully Mrs. Teal can get over her sister’s death regardless.”
“Maybe,” Lou said. “Or maybe she won’t wanna think her sister’s really gone nuts like this. Maybe she will keep trying to contact her.”
“All I can say is that if the sister isn’t responsible, it would be nice if she would show up and let Mrs. Teal know, so she can be at peace,” Ginger said.
“I know I’d sure show up if somebody thought I was doing awful stuff like that and I wasn’t,” Lou said. “Maybe the sister’s been trying to contact her and can’t get through.”
“That’s possible,” Ginger agreed. “She may be too filled with grief and too agonized thinking the sister is causing the calamities to hear the actual sister’s spirit trying to reach her.”
“I wonder if we should try telling this stuff to her and her husband,” Lou said.
“I’d say it’s really not our business, only when we nearly got killed by the blasted thing, it’s probably become our business,” Ginger grumbled. “And we should take steps to try to ensure that nothing else happens to them or us because of their problems.”
“Yeah, exactly,” Lou said.
The elevator arrived at the fourth floor and they stepped out, heading for room 412. When they found it and knocked, it was Harry who limped over and opened the door for them.
“Hey, guys,” he said in relief. “Did you get it?”
“We hope we did,” Ginger said. “It’s obviously released its hold on you in any case or you wouldn’t have woke up.”
“But we don’t know if it was Alice or not,” Lou said.
Harry cringed. “I was hoping I could tell Dorothy it wasn’t her.”
A dark-haired woman came to the doorway. “But there was definitely someone there?” she demanded.
“Yes,” Ginger said. “Without a shadow of a doubt.”
Harry smiled a bit. “My wife, Dorothy.”
“Good to meet you,” Ginger nodded.
“Are they going to let you go?” Lou asked.
“I think so,” Dorothy said. “If our house is really safe now. . . .”
“We’d like to talk with you about that,” Ginger said. “And offer some tips, if we may.”
Harry held the door open wider. “You may!”
****
By the time Ginger and Lou left, they were feeling hopeful that the Teals would be alright.
“I think they took what we told them to heart,” Ginger mused as they walked out to their car.
“I think so too,” Lou said. “And now I just wanna get home and see about the dinner we still haven’t had yet. Only . . . maybe by now I’d rather not spend a long time making anything. How about we go pick up some KFC or something?”
“That’s perfectly fine with me,” Ginger said. But his gait slowed and he frowned, staring off into the distance. “Lou . . .”
Lou looked over in surprise. “What is it, Buddy?”
“Right before that . . . entity left, I felt a rush of hatred. Did you feel it?”
Lou frowned. “Yeah. It was mad that we beat it.”
“What if there was more to it than that?” Ginger looked deeply troubled now. “Is there any chance that it was always after us? Maybe it knew about that scant connection with the coworker’s brother and it figured Harry Teal would turn to us once he believed the ghost was real. Maybe, just like that Janet character, its mission was to destroy us.” He looked to Lou. “Tell me I’m thinking too deeply into this.”
Lou stared at him, shaken. “I wish I could,” he stammered. “I wouldn’t think we’d be that important, but after what happened with that Janet and what she told us, I . . . I just don’t know what to think.”
“Nor I.” Ginger frowned. “It’s probably all nonsense, though. Just an evil spirit summoned by the séance, not likely to have any connection with us.”
“Yeah,” Lou agreed. But now he wasn’t sure he believed that.
“Or maybe it didn’t originally intend to get rid of us, but we were a bonus when we appeared,” Ginger said. “Judging from things said, we’re rather hated in the underworld.”
“Which is also pretty creepy,” Lou grimaced.
“On the other hand, it could just be like we originally thought, that it only felt hatred towards us because we defeated it.” Ginger pulled his coat closer around him. “Let’s go.”
Lou really wished the chill he felt was only from the weather and not from Ginger’s words.