Paranormal Agency BOOK 2 : THE FUNERAL HOME.

Josh loaded a small video camera, a voice recorder (something about the white noise phenomenon he had seen on TV where you catch the spirits voices on a recorder and listen to it later), and a digital camera into the trunk of his car. He threw in a couple flashlights and a sweater. Alison wasn’t sure if they were going to investigated a haunted morgue or going camping. Josh’s girlfriend was seated in the passenger seat of the car and Alison in the back.

Alison slapped a hand over her face. What the hell was she doing with these two? She felt like an idiot bringing them along. She could understand Josh’s curiosity, and of course, it didn’t hurt that he shared an interest in the supernatural, which was basically

Alison’s whole life, but still… she felt uncertain that she was doing the right thing. Would it be dangerous? Could someone get hurt?

Shaking off her paranoia she decided they’d be fine. Greg was coming and Alison considered herself a professional. If things got too bad she’d just kick the two out of the building and take care of the situation herself.

Josh climbed into the car. Elizabeth was clapping and jumping in her seat. “Oh, I’m so excited, honey. I can’t believe I’m gonna see a real ghost! I can’t to take a picture! Oh, and did you remember to put batteries in the flashlights.” The woman was definitely in a better mood than she had been in at lunch. It was almost disturbing.

“Yep. Even brought an extra pack. It’s in the trunk.”

“Yay!” She turned to look at Alison, a smile on her face. The small woman was dressed in a white sweater and a pair of jeans, a little too warm for the autumn weather but she didn’t look like she minded much. “Thanks so much for letting us come with you Alison. I’ve always wanted to go on an adventure like this. You’re my hero.”

“No problem,” Alison agreed. Ugh, what the hell was she thinking! This was the worst idea she had ever had! She snuck a glance beside her, catching sight of Greg hovering with his legs crossed tailor style in front of him. They were playing the quiet game since they were guests in Josh’s car and didn’t want to freak him and his girlfriend out.

“Which way did you say the morgue was?” Josh asked.

“It’s called Spring Falls Mortuary. The one on Independence Road.”

“Sounds good,” he replied. He pulled the car out of the driveway onto the street.

“I told my friend Penny we were coming here today,” Elizabeth rattled on. She turned to Alison again. “You know Penelope Garnder, Alison?”

Alison shook her head.

“Well, I’ll tell you, Penny is a bit of a ghost nut herself. Her house is actually haunted. Why, on several occasions, or so she’s told me, she has actually heard a woman ghost singing in the cellar of her house. No joke. She said her and her husband were both there at the time. They both heard it. It happened twice. Maybe even three times. I don’t remember but it was more than once?” She looked at Josh. “Honey, was it twice or three times they heard that ghost woman singing?”

“Twice.”

“Like I said, twice!” Elizabeth continued. “And she said her husband even saw the ghost woman once in the kitchen. Her husband, Frank, had gone downstairs in the middle of the night for a snack, and out of nowhere, he said he saw her. Said she was sitting right there at the kitchen table, as clear as day, sitting with a cup of coffee in her hands. He just about had a heart attack there and then.”

“He must’ve been scared,” Alison said. She wasn’t sure what to say. She was so used to the sight of the dead that it still surprised her when she ran into normal people who made a such a big deal out of the littlest things. Had she ever been like that as a child. She shuddered. Probably. Things had been so different before this curse had been forced on her. A lot nicer. Simpler. Peaceful, even. However, that was then and this was now, and she didn’t have much say in the matter. She couldn’t change the past and it didn’t look like this psychic power of hers was going away any time soon.

“Maybe you should have Alison take a look at their house,” Josh joked.

“Oh my goodness, you’re absolutely right Josh. I should mention you to them, Alison. Maybe you can help them. Do you have a business card I can give to Penny and her husband.”

Alison nodded. She grabbed her tan cloth purse and pulled out her wallet. “Here you go.” She took out a fresh business card and handed it to Elizabeth. “They can call me at the number on the card if they have any questions. I charge a one-time fee of $200, even if I have to make multiple trips to exorcise the spirit.”

“Thanks. I’ll definitely give them this and let them know,” Elizabeth said.

“Oh and by the way,” Josh stated, taking his eyes off the road for just a second to glance at Alison with his beautiful blue eyes. “I saw you on CRYSTAL.”

“We taped it,” Elizabeth chimed in.

“You did a great job on the show. I can’t believe you got to be on TV.”

“They invited me onto the show,” Alison said, smiling a little. It was pathetic, but she knew Marissa was right. Alison still liked Josh. There was just something about him that made her just that much happier. Maybe that was why she had let him and his girlfriend come with her today. Just so she could have an excuse to spend the day with him, even with Elizabeth there too. “A chance to fly up to New York for free, and a free hotel for two nights. I couldn’t pass it up.”

“How’d they hear about you?”

“They said they saw my ad in the paper. Called around and heard good things about me. I was kind of nervous at first but I decided to give it a shot.”

“You didn’t look nervous,” Josh commented.

“Well, I was. Guess I have a good poker face.”

“I didn’t know you played poker,” Elizabeth chirped. “Are you any good?”

“Oh no, I’m sorry,” Alison apologized, trying her best not to show how annoyed she really was. “It was a figure of speech. I’m actually no good at poker.”

Greg snickered loudly from beside her, even though only Alison could hear it. “What an idiot. What the hell does that guy see in Elizabeth anyway? That woman is the most aggravating person I’ve ever met and Josh was fascinated with her.”

Alison made a face at Greg. Thanks Greg, she thought to herself. That made her feel much better. Way to go boosting Alison’s self-esteem about the situation. She was already self-conscious enough knowing that Josh and Elizabeth were together without having to hear Greg say that Josh was crazy about Elizabeth too. It was just annoying.

Her dead friend turned and looked at her. “What’d I say? It’s true. She is annoying. He’s missing out. That’s all I know. He could be with a gorgeous, intelligent, dark haired beauty like you and insead he goes for Miss Retarded over here.”

Mouthing the words, “Shut up,” she turned her attention back to Josh and Elizabeth.

“Almost there,” Josh said. “Bet you’re excited, huh, Sweetheart.”

“Oh, I’m so excited, honey,” Elizabeth said. She ran a finger over his shoulder teasingly. “So you gonna protect me from all the scary ghosts?”

He laughed. “Aw, of course sweetie.”

Alison rolled her eyes. Actually, Greg was right. Elizabeth was pretty annoying.