This story was donated by Mariedees for demonstration purposes.

When the Ghost is Clear

Chapter One

The dim glow of dawn lit Eula's way to the stairs. Having lived in the house for more than fifty years, she knew each step and saw no reason to use up the electricity. She put her hand on the banister and took a step down before she spotted him. The Captain. He was midway down the stairs, his coat and a watch cap as black as shadows.

Eula grinned. She'd been hearing tales about the Captain since she'd moved into the house, but no one had ever seen him. Sure, they'd heard him. That ghost writer fella had even come and written the Captain up in a book.

Eula knew what to do. She'd sneak up and wave her hands through his ghostly body. It would be a great story to tell the grandkids. She could even call that ghost writer and tell him.

The fourth step down squeaked when she stepped on it. The Captain turned, and Eula faced him, seeing nothing more than a pale blur for features. "You're mighty nervy sneekin' round my house," she told him.

A gloved hand shot out and gave her a solid shove. Her hand slipped off the banister as she fell backwards landing on the step above her. Something cracked as she landed. Something that wasn't the solid wood of the stairs. Eula gasped through the pain, then realized she was alone. Cursing the Captain nine ways to Sunday, she began yelling for help. Irene always checked on her around breakfast time. Nosy neighbors who wouldn't let a body get a moments peace were sometimes worth the trouble.

***

The nurse finally left, and Eula reached for the phone. Those doctors, goin' on about imaginings and senility and such. She knew what she'd seen. The Captain. Now, she had been a mite surprised when he gave her a shove. She wouldn't have thought the old soul had it in him. Then again, maybe in spirit years he was still young. After all, he'd only been dead a century or so.

She couldn't remember the number she needed, so she dialed the operator. "I want that ghost writer fella," she demanded.

"What city, please?"

"City? Place barely counts as a town."

"Which town?"

"That psychic one. Cassadaga." She heard a few clicks.

"New York or Florida?"

"Lordy, don't tell me there's two of them? I'll take the Florida one if that writer is there. His name's Beach. No, that don't sound right, but it's beachish. Shell, Sand. That's it. Sand. Joshua Sands."

"Would you like me to connect the call for you?"

"Why, that's right kindly of you. Don't have my glasses so I can't write the number down." Eula said, then realized she was talking to a ringing phone.

"You have reached Joshua Sands, please leave a number after the beep."

"Of all the," she said, flustered, "I don't know the number. I'm at the Halifax Hospital in Daytona. The Captain pushed me down the stairs. I want you —" She heard the phone click.

"Miss Eula? Is this Miss Eula?"

"Of course it is," she replied. "Who else would the Captain be pushin' down the stairs?"

"He pushed you? Are you okay?"

"Got a broke hip," she told him. "Doctors are talkin' about replacin' it. They want me to go to a home 'til I get all healed up. Maybe longer. They don't believe in the Captain. Think I'm a little loose in the noggin. I need you to help me."

"Oh, umm, okay, what do you want us to do?"

"Prove he's there. Why do you think I called you? You let him know that I don't mind him hangin' about if he's just squeakin' the stairs a bit, but if he starts shovin' people around, he's got to go."

"Like an exorcism?"

"I don't know. You're the expert," she said, though he didn't sound as expert as usual.

"Umm, yeah, maybe you better tell me what happened."

"I got up early," she said, thinking back. "Don't know the time. Afore dawn. Anywise, I started down them stairs to make the coffee and there he was big as life." She chuckled at her joke. "I gave him an earful about sneakin' around the house then he right out shoved me."

"What did he do next? Vanish? Walk through a wall?"

"Don't know. All I could see was the ceiling. Doctors think I had a dizzy spell. But I saw him. He was wearin' a sea coat and cap, just like he was fixin' to sail. When can you come investigate him?" Writers were uncertain sorts. She'd feel better if she got this straightened out right away.

"Spring break is coming up next week."

"Good. Spend it at my house. You can hunt for ghosts at night and hunt the girls on the beach in the day." She was surprised when he giggled at that. He hadn't struck her as the giggling type. "Joshua?"

"Umm, yeah?"

That didn't sound right either. "You come see me at this hospital so we can get this fixed up. I'll have Irene bring a key for you." She heard her door opening. "Gotta go," she whispered. "Them nurses are comin' back."

***

Patrick hung up the phone. How was he going to tell Joshua he'd impersonated him? Well, he hadn't really. Miss Eula had just thought he was Joshua. Maybe he didn't have to tell. Maybe he could convince Miss Eula to let him investigate the ghost.

"Toilet fixed?"

He whirled. Joshua stood in the doorway.

"Yeah. Just needed a new flap thing." He ran his hands over his jeans. How long had Joshua been there? "I should get back to the inn." He turned, then jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," he blurted.

Joshua turned him back around. He held out a twenty. "I was just going to give you this for the repair work."

Patrick took the twenty and stuck in his back pocket. "Thanks." He looked down at the floor and a lock of blond hair fell in front of his eyes. He pushed it out of the way.

"Now, do you want to tell me what you're sorry about?"

Patrick shrugged. Joshua waited, looking like Joshua always did, like he knew the answers to everything. Maybe he looked that way 'cause he was older and had gray hair. Joshua would be a good Emperor for the tarot deck.

"Patrick?"

"Nothing. I just—" Then he saw the the message light blinking on the phone. He hadn't turned the machine off when he'd picked up. It had probably recorded half his conversation. He felt his face grow warm. "I answered your phone."

"I got a call that makes you blush? I'm sorry I missed that."

"It was Miss Eula," Patrick said. "She thought I was you."

Joshua chuckled. "So that's it. Well, Eula is getting up there in years. Her mind probably isn't as clear as it should be."

"I didn't say I wasn't," he admitted.

"So you've taken up deceiving elderly ladies?"

"I didn't trick her. I just—I mean, I wanted to—I mean, I didn't." He took a breath. "Miss Eula saw the Captain and he pushed her down the stairs, and we have to investigate him."

Joshua held up a hand. "Whoa, slow down. She saw the Captain?"

Patrick nodded. "He pushed her, and she broke her hip. The doctors think she's crazy and seeing things. We have to prove she's not. We might have to do an exorcism."

Joshua ran a hand over his gray hair and frowned. "An exorcism? That sounds a little extreme."

"But that's how you get rid of ghosts. Alex probably knows how to do one. And Miss Eula wants you to go to the hospital and get a key to her house, so we can investigate. I told her we would during Spring break."

Joshua shook his head. "Patrick, I've already investigated the Captain and found no evidence of his existence beyond a few creaky stairs. I'm afraid Eula is just showing signs of age."

"She didn't sound crazy to me," he insisted.

"You live in a town full of psychics and give tarot readings for a living. You aren't the most objective witness."

"You live here too. Why are you objective?"

"Because I have a good thirty years experience on you. Enough experience to know not to offer false hope to someone who needs good medical care. Not ghost busters."

"We can help her. I feel it." He did. A sort of tugging sensation. "At least we can talk to her," he pleaded.

"That I'll do," Joshua said. "Alone."

"But I can help."

"If I need help, I'll let you know."

Patrick shrugged and picked up the toolbox. If he kept challenging Joshua, he'd only lose, but he needed to find a way to help Miss Eula.

He left Joshua's by the back door, then hesitated. Would Myra be at home or at the bookstore? If he cut through the back yard to the inn and she was at the bookstore, she'd see him. If he went around the front, she'd see him if she was at home. And she'd see the toolbox. She'd threatened to get him kicked out of the Society if she caught him doing unlicensed repairs. Patrick sighed. Since Josh was the president, he wasn't likely to be kicked out, but Myra liked to have an excuse to yell at him. If he went to through the bushes to Luke's, she'd never know, and Luke would know how to help Miss Eula. He headed for Luke's, cutting through the rough section that ran behind the houses.

***

Luke sat on the grass with his long legs wrapped into the lotus position. He sat so still that the only thing that moved was the wind stirring his pale hair. Patrick shook the leaves out of his own hair, and sat on the grass to wait. The yard had lawn chairs, but Luke never used them. Luke liked to sit on the ground so he could feel nature. He could be the hermit in the tarot deck, Patrick decided. Luke wasn't really old, which was how most artist drew the hermit, but he knew the right kind of things.

After a few minutes, Luke opened his eyes and looked at the toolbox. "What needs to be fixed?"

"I want Joshua to let me investigate a ghost with him."

"I would suggest using the hammer. Joshua can be hard-headed."

Patrick stretched out on the grass. "Probably you should help instead of me. You're better with ghosts."

"Spirits, Patrick." Luke said. "Ghost is a term for campfire stories."

"What's a term for a spirit that pushes Miss Eula down some stairs?"

"Is this as good as a campfire story?"

"Better 'cause it's true. I was at Josh's house fixing the toilet. It was just the flap thing so it's not like Myra needed to call a real plumber, even though she says she has too." He waited a moment, but Luke didn't seem worried about the Society's repair policy. "Josh's answering machine came on and it was Miss Eula. She was upset 'cause she was in the hospital and didn't know the number for him to call back, so I answered the phone." He paused again, but Luke only nodded. "Miss Eula said that she saw the Captain and that he shoved her down the stairs. She broke her hip, and the doctors think she's, like, just old and senile. She wants Joshua to help her, but he thinks she's old and senile too. But she's not. You should help her 'cause you know all about ghosts, umm, spirits."

"I am not the one Eula called. You are."

"But that was an accident. She thought I was Joshua."

"Tell me the lesson."

Patrick squinted into the sunlight. "There are no accidents. Everything has a connection if we take the time to understand it."

"Think about the lesson."

He closed his eyes and breathed out. Luke always told him things would be clearer if he stayed still long enough for them to come into focus. "Miss Eula was supposed to talk to me 'cause I can help her. But Joshua doesn't want to investigate." He opened his eyes. "I can do it without Joshua." Luke was silent. Patrick thought some more. "She called when I was at Joshua's. Does that mean she needs both of us?"

"You are the intuitive. He is the ground."

"So I have to find a way to convince him to go. How do I do that? He's Joshua."

"Yes, he is."

Patrick watched the sky and waited to see if Luke had more to say. Pauses were Luke's way of teaching him patience. He resisted the urge to sigh. Luke once told him that it took more patience to teach patience than to learn it.

"How are your college classes going?" Luke asked.

Patrick did sigh. He wanted to talk about the ghost, not class. "Okay, I guess. I want to drop the honors program and go into the public relations major so I can help more with the inn. Rafe says no. He won't let me change 'cause my stupid entrance scores were so good."

"So is Rafe the problem or your entrance scores?"

"College is the problem. The honors program makes it worse. Everyone else in it is all normal. When they ask me where I went to high school, I don't even know what to tell them."

"You have a different range of experience to draw on," Luke said. "There is no shame in that."

Patrick flipped to his stomach and looked at Luke. "Dayne is nineteen and still lives with his parents. By the time I was that age I'd been out and on my own for four years."

"Not completely on your own."

"Not after I met Rafe. But before that." He hunched his shoulders and looked down at the grass. "Some things are worse than being alone."

Luke touched his shoulder. "No shame, Patrick."

Patrick shrugged. With anyone else he would have wanted to scream that they didn't know what they were talking about. But not with Luke. Luke had always helped. Even when the worst came out.

"Tell me about your classes," Luke said.

"Well, I have ancient history with Alex, who I have to remember to call Doctor Janick in class or everyone looks shocked. And then the special seminar Josh teaches on psychic stuff. Only he's Professor Sands and the class is the paranormal and the human experience. The class isn't hard. Least I don't think so. Some of the others are complaining. They only took the class 'cause they thought it would be an easy A. Like being psychic is supposed to be easy. But they don't wanna hear me tell them why it isn't and now they're in agony over Joshua's, excuse me, Professor Sands's, class project. He said we can't write a paper but have to do something unique that relates to the parapsychology stuff." He stopped and smiled to himself. It had been fun watching some of them get so worried because they couldn't just write a paper.

"Do you have a project?"

Patrick nodded. "Joshua already approved it and everything. I'm going to design a tarot deck. Josh says I only have to do the Major Arcana for class."

"Is young Dayne agonizing over his project?"

"Yeah. He's like a techno-geek and this whole spiritual thing has him scared."

"Perhaps you could help him," Luke said. "Like you want to help Eula."

Patrick looked up. Help Dayne and Eula? "You mean like investigate the Captain as a project?" He smiled. "Maybe if I asked that, Joshua wouldn't say no." He pushed to his feet and picked up the toolbox. "Thanks Luke. Hey, you wanna know something? If we followed Myra's rules, Miss Eula would have been talking to a plumber."

"There are no accidents," Luke said.

***

Alex turned off the kitchen faucet. The water trickled, then dripped. He jiggled the tap. The water still dripped. It wasn't a very big drip. Maybe if he left it alone it would just stop on its own. He doubted that. The tiny cottage Lynn and he rented was small and old. It didn't need repairs so much as constant attention. He frowned at the sink. He either needed to learn how to do more repairs or move to a real city where the apartments came with luxuries like maintenance people. Then the phone rang. He answered it while walking away from the dripping sink.

"How are you with exorcisms?" Joshua asked.

"I've assisted at a couple."

"You have? I didn't think the church still went in for that sort of thing."

"Only in a quiet way." Alex dropped into one of the beanbag chairs in the living room. Lynn kept refusing to buy furniture until they could go shopping together. He'd started thinking of the beanbag chairs as penance for constantly putting the chore off. "Why are you asking?"

"How about a ghost hunt? You busy over Spring break?"

"I promised Lynn we'd go furniture shopping."

"Alex, you've been in that house for months."

"I know. My spiritual advisor says this shows I'm having doubts about leaving the monastery."

"Are you?" Joshua sounded worried.

"No. I'm afraid of furniture stores. With my current salary, the vow of poverty is the only one I haven't broken, and Lynn is struggling to get by with odd jobs. We can't afford furniture."

"I believe they have things called payment plans."

"Yes, I know," he said, shifting in an attempt to find a comfortable way to sit in the beanbag chair. "Josh, do you know the type of information they can find out in your credit report? When I bought the car, they checked my job history. There it was. Monk. I can't go into a furniture store with my girlfriend to by a sofa and have that show up."

Joshua chuckled. "I can see where that would be embarrassing, but I can offer you a temporary reprieve. Tell Lynn you have to help me with a project over Spring break—Miss Eula in Daytona. Lynn's met her. The poor woman fell and broke her hip. The doctors say it was a dizzy spell. She claims it was a ghost. I talked to one of the daughters, and they think she'll feel better if I investigate."

"I'll go if you help me with another problem," Alex said.

"What's that?"

"The kitchen faucet leaks. What do I do to get it fixed?"

"Since you rent the house from the Society, we have to have a licensed plumber do any repair work. You report the problem to Myra. She'll insist on inspecting the premises to see that the repair work is needed. She'll probably also check to see if you've done any damage she can claim you need to reimburse the Society for. When she's satisfied, she'll make arrangements for the plumber."

"How long does this process take?" He glanced around, considering all the other repair jobs. The front door squeaked. One of the porch steps was loose. One closet door wouldn't close at all. Myra had promised to see to those repairs when Lynn had rented the place last fall.

"Not usually more than six months or so," Joshua said, cheerfully. "Of course, there is another option."

"Fix it myself," Alex said. "I don't know how."

"I figured that. The other option is to give Patrick a few bucks for expenses and ask him to fix it."

"Patrick?" Alex asked, dubiously. "The same Patrick who is responsible for this damn beanbag chair I'm sitting on? He knows how to fix sinks?"

"Yep. I asked him once and he muttered something about a brother who was a plumber. But think about it, he helps Rafe with the inn. That means lots of bathrooms. Someone has to keep them working."

"I always assumed Rafe hired someone."

"Ask Patrick about the sink. Don't tell him about the ghost hunt. He wants to go."

"Why not let him?" Alex asked.

"Because I'm going simply to satisfy an elderly woman who needs some reassurance. Patrick expects to find a real ghost. I'm trying to avoid the enthusiasm he'd bring to the project."

"Coward."

"Do you want to investigate a ghost with Patrick?"

"He'd probably do as well as either of us," Alex said. "Actually if there is a ghost, he'd probably do better. Still, I think he needs to do something fun over spring break. He's been too quiet in class. His grades are good, but I'm worried. If he keeps retreating, he's going to give up and drop out."

"Then we'll find a way to keep him in," Joshua said. "Let me think about it."

Joshua hung up and Alex levered himself out of the beanbag chair. He went back to the kitchen and stuck a plastic container under the dripping faucet. Lynn didn't want to waste water, so until the leak was fixed, she was collecting it to use in the garden. Alex listened as the first drops plopped against the plastic. Joshua's ghost hunt sounded like a tempting escape.