Faye's Spirit Read Free

brightened. “The staff room. It was the old kitchen in the original house and we’ve kept that function. We put in a table and chairs for informal meetings.”
    “Sounds perfect.” She followed Garth, noticing again how broad his shoulders were.
    Jai brought up the rear. When she inhaled deeply, she found herself intrigued by the combined aromas of their chosen colognes—sandalwood and musk for Garth, and something exhilarating, reminiscent of the seashore, from Jai.
    “Actually, this is where we’ve both sensed the ghost’s presence most of all,” Garth said as they entered the large kitchen area. “Here and on the staircases.”
    Faye nodded and studied the place. It had been updated in line with the rest of property, but with more basic furniture, giving it a more practical look than the public areas of the building. A large table in the centre of space was the focal point. “Yes, I can sense some residual paranormal activity in here.”
    She crossed to the sink. A big picture window there overlooked a backyard. It was hard to see how large it was, in this light. A sturdy door in the corner opened onto the same.
    Once she’d got her bearings, she stepped behind the table and put her bag on it, lifting out her notebook, pen and phone as she did so.
    The two men took seats opposite her. Faye liked the arrangement, because it meant she could look at them as they chatted but she could also see into the hallway beyond. If www.total-e-bound.com

    FAYE’S SPIRIT
    Saskia Walker
    12

    anything non-corporeal stirred, she’d sense it. She opened her notepad and brought up the Internet on her phone. “So, I suppose we better get down to business.”
    Both men looked at her expectantly. Jai sprawled back in his chair, one arm latched over the back rest as he got comfortable. Garth rested his elbows on the table and stared across at her. For a moment she stared back, enjoying the attention. The interest definitely seemed to be reciprocal, if she wasn’t misjudging things. It could be simple curiosity about her work, but she was aware of them looking at her even when she looked down at her notepad and dated the page. It made her remember sliding between the two of them as she’d entered the house. All that masculinity, surrounding her. She squeezed her thighs together under the table. That only made the wild tingle of arousal between them worse.
    Focus , she told herself. She was here to work. “Can I begin by asking what you know about the history of the house?”
    “It was built in the 1850’s,” Garth replied.
    “1850’s right. Do you know anything about the people who lived here before you bought it?”
    Garth shook his head. “The place stood in complete disrepair when it went to auction.
    Apparently it’d been a family home for most of its history, but it had been abandoned and let go derelict for the last forty years.”
    “Interesting.” Faye drew herself a quick time-diagram of occupancy with the approximate date noted alongside it. “What a waste of a great building while it was empty.”
    “That’s what I thought,” Garth said.
    “The place was a nightmare when Garth got the keys,” Jai interjected. “Woodworm and dry rot and damp.”
    It sounded as if he hadn’t approved of the purchase to begin with. Faye scribbled on.
    “Do you know the reason why it was left derelict?”
    Garth shook his head. “There weren’t any details in the estate agent’s information package.”
    There wouldn’t be, if some sort of a drama or tragedy had happened in the house.
    Faye didn’t verbalise her thoughts on that score, but she picked up her phone, opened her favourite search engine and tapped in the street address. She continued to chat as she looked www.total-e-bound.com

    FAYE’S SPIRIT
    Saskia Walker
    13

    over the links that appeared. “It can happen that way, if people can’t live with the paranormal activity. Is your ghost noisy, I mean does it throw things around?”
    “What, you mean like