A Ghost of A Chance- Chapter 2

Chapter 2- The Ghost Whisperer

Most of the drive we were both quiet, eyes on the road and engrossed in our own thoughts.  We were concerned about ending this situation and getting the case closed.  And I don't know if she was thinking about it as much, but I know that I was wanting to get closure for the poor girl and helping her move on.  At one point I looked over to my detective friend, and couldn't help but smile as I saw how she looked all dressed for work.  Her dark red hair was pulled back into a ponytail away from her face and although she looked grim, there was a sparkle in her light green eyes.  I had known her since we were in highschool and she had always wanted to be a detective, someone who crusaded for the victims of bad people.  And it was great to see her in the job of her dreams, still filled with that steely determination even while faced with gruesome scenes.
As she turned onto 285th Street I was pulled back to the present, my eyes going to the row of houses lining the sides.  Most of the homes here were well known for being older and large, the smallest one having been a manor at one point.  But the house we were going to stood out even amongst the ones we passed, and as we pulled up I could see why many people thought it was haunted without even going inside.  It was a large two floor rennaissance home with darkly elegant trimmings.  Painted in a cherry oak color it loomed over the 6-7 foot hedges lining the property for privacy.  Shadows played this way and that in the dark windows you could see in on the second floor.  Even the one balcony that led out from somewhere upstairs was a little spooky in a way.  
We pulled in on the gravel driveway to see that there were already several police cruisers parked in front of the house.  From what I could see they were still trying to scout it out and blocking off any escape routes that he could try and use.  They were being careful about it, and I didn't blame them.  From what they could tell he was a maniac and didn't know if he had any weapons or not.  There was no lights on at all, but that didn't mean he wasn't there since he was supposed to be hiding.  
Liz had turned off her headlights as she pulled into the driveway, coasting in and coming to a stop in sight of the door.  Turning off the engine she undid her seatbelt before checking her gun at her hip to make sure that she had everything.  
"Remember, you promised me you will stay in the car Jade," Her eyes turned to me as her hand rested on the door handle, not moving while she waited for me to answer.
"I remember.  I'll be here like I said," I smiled faintly at her knowing she just wanted to make sure I stayed safe.  She nodded before opening the door and slid out.  Going to close the door she stopped a moment before poking her head back in.
"Jade, I want you to keep the doors locked, until he's arrested.  Don't open them for anyone but me, same with the windows.  My keys are in the ignition, so if anything happens I want you to take off," Her expression grim she pinned me again with her eyes.  Shocked by the suddeness of this I blinked up at her, not sure how to react.
"But Liz..." I started to argue with her but she interrupted me, frowning fiercely.
"I mean it Jade!  I want you to survive, no matter what happens.  I chose this path and knew this was always a risk.  You didn't, and I don't want you to get killed because of me!"  Liz's words were firm and angry, yet I knew they were just coming from a place of fear.  I looked down at my hands for a moment before looking back up at her.
"I can't promise you that I won't try to make sure you're safe before I do so Liz, but I'll try ok?" My words were spoken softly as I looked into her eyes.  She could see that I was telling the truth and knew that I meant what I said.  Letting out a sigh she shook her head.
"What am I going to do with you?" She asked rhetorically before looking me in the eyes again, "Alright, but you better not do anything stupid!" Having the final word she stood up straight and closed the door behind her softly before pulling her gun and going for the door where some of the officers were waiting for her.  From what I could see the door wasn't locked and hanging open slightly.  So after a moment of whispered conference they made their way in one by one. Liz was the last to disappear into the gloomy darkness beyond the doorway.  Now all I had to do was wait, which I had to admit would be a little boring.  Shifting in my seat I leaned back and shut my eyes, retreating into my thoughts.
"I don't think they're going to find him," The soft voice made me jump, my eyes snapping open as I looked over to the driver's seat.  Laurie looked like she felt bad for making me jump but she had more on her mind then scaring people.
"Why's that?" I asked her, concern etching across my face as I watched her.  Shaking her head she leaned closer, panic lurking in her eyes.
"Because they keep walking right by where he's hiding.  He's sleeping right now, but I don't know how much longer he'll stay asleep.  You have to tell them!" Laurie was obviously upset at the thought they'd miss him after being so close.  I bit my lip as I looked down, thinking for a moment.  I had promised Liz that I would stay in the car, but if they were going to completely miss him while I could do something about it, I couldn't very well just watch it happen could I?
"Ok, I'll tell Liz," I agreed to help as I unbuckled the seat belt and slipped out of the car, closing the door as quietly as she could.  Laurie had disappeared from the car and now stood in front of the door.  Although it probably looked silly I ducked down as I moved as quickly and quietly as I could to where she stood.  
"Ready?" She asked me as I came to stand by her side, peering around the corner to see the inside.  Looking at her I just nodded my head to show her I was, not wanting to talk unless necessary.  The killer couldn't hear her, but it would be possible for him to hear me.  Moving ahead of me she walked through a wall and led me inside. The place was beautiful even though it had been abandoned for what looked to be a long time.  The walls were made with fine cherry wood paneling and an elegant wallpaper on the upper half.  Sparse furniture decorated the hallway covered in dust and the like.  There were three doorways, two open style to the sides and directly ahead was a set of double doors.  Looking to the right you could see that it lead to a dining room type of area, and to the left it looked like it led to a parlor.  Laurie headed straight for the double doors and disappeared through the doors.  Following her, I noticed that one of the doors was already slightly opened, so I slipped through there to make as little noise as possible.  She was waiting for me on the other side.
This room was no less impressive then the first and in fact seemed to be more so. I stood in front of a set of majestic stairs that swept upwards in a half spiral to the second floor.  To the left the door was open to a room I couldn't identify at the time because of the dark, and to the right was another open doorway that led again to the dinig room area.  The same type of theme decorated the room but fancier.  The stairs were lined with a royal red carpet with gold trimming, the chestnut brown railing also trimmed in gold. And from the ceiling hung an unlit chandelier, golden with what looked like to be rows of crystals hanging down from it.  I imagined that if it was lit it would be a glorious.  
After I had a chance to adjust to the darkness in the room I followed Laurie to the stairs, but just to the left of them.  Until she pointed it out I hadn't really noticed the fact that the stairs didn't stretch completely from wall to wall and there was a narrow gap between the the railing and wall.  It was big enough for a single person to walk by just barely and as I gazed where she indicated, realizing that there was an open doorway to under the stairs.  After seeing it I turned to look at her questioningly.
"He's under the stairs sleeping. Please hurry, he could escape through a door back there.  I think it was used as a servant's passageway at one time," She informed me of the situation, afraid of him getting away.  I nodded again to her before I turned and looked around, trying to figure out where someone was to tell them. Not sure where to go I went to the left, venturing into the dark room cautiously since I knew they were looking for a dangerous criminal.  It was even darker in the room, but from what I could make out it looked like it had been an office.  It was sort of eerie fumbling around in the dark alone since Laurie had stayed behind to keep an eye on her killer.  Despite knowing that my heart turned to ice when I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder. Slowly I turned around, trying to swallow the scream that threatened to escape.
"You promised to stay in the car!" I heard Liz's familiar voice hissing at my lowly.  Relief flooded my system as I laid my eyes on her, glad that it was just her.  But that didn't last long as I saw that she was furious with me and was doing all she could to not explode at me.  I brought my hands up as I took a step back, trying to look as apologetic as I could.
"I know I did Liz.  But Laurie came to me and told me that everyone keeps missing where he is.  She's worried that if we don't hurry he'll wake up and get away," I whispered back to her, giving her a wide eyed look.  Putting her hand to her forehead she sighed and looked behind her before looking back to me.
"I don't like this one bit Jade, but she's right.  We haven't been able to find him anywhere so far.  Show me," She whispered back to me in a tired voice.  I could tell she was frustrated but knowing that I could lead them to the killer she gave in without arguing further and gestured for me to lead the way.  Nodding to Liz I stepped by her and out the door to where the stairs were, looking to her as I stopped by the railing, placing my hand on the end of it.  Making sure she was watching me, I pointed down the side straight at the gap that I had barely picked out when Laurie showed it to me.  Nodding to me now, Liz gestured for me to follow her back into the room she had found me in.  Of course I would follow as she led me inside and into the corner opposite to the stairs.
"Alright I'm going to get the rest of the team together to take him down.  You hide here Jade, do not leave this spot until I come to tell you it's ok," Liz demanded that of me in a harsh whisper indicating the large wooden desk we stood by.  When I hesitated, she would give me a glare and pointed downwards. I nodded and kneeled down before crawling underneath and looked up at her with a roll of my eyes.  Liz would just shake her head at me as she pulled out her radio and cupped her hands around it while she gave out the information I'd given her along with orders to meet her there.  Suddenly I remembered something else that Laurie had said, and I gestured at Liz to kneel down.
"Laurie also said there was a back door in there that may have been part of a servant's passageway at one time," I whispered to her when she had kneeled down to where I was.  
"Ok, thanks," Was all she'd reply with before she stood up and disappeared from my sight.  Although I did plan on staying under that desk like Liz wanted me to, I still wanted to see what was going on.  So, when I noticed that there was a gap between the bottom of the desk and the floor I decided to lay down and watch from there.  As I did that, I noticed one odd fact that I would brush off until later, although things were dusty I had found no cobwebs anywhere so far.
Watching out from under the desk I saw Liz's feet by the door as she waited for everyone with her to regroup there.  Although some would think watching the police take down a psycho killer would be exciting, it was times like these that were honestly incredibly boring.  They confered in whispers for a moment once everyone was together, so I couldn't hear any of the details, and then one by one each pair of feet disappeared out the door and around the corner, leaving me alone to wait in the darkness and silence.