J

ackson’s stomach clenched. Anger coursed through him—he would get rid of these things if it was the last thing he did. He strode in, giving Emily a big hug. “We’ll fix this.” She buried her head in his shoulder, and he could feel the wet tears on his shirt. His resolve strengthened, and he said, “Jinx, do you want to set up the equipment?”

Jinx saluted him and said, “Aye, Captain!” Sarcasm dripped from her voice. He ignored it and said to Emily, “Tell us what happened.”

Emily took a shuddery breath. “I was lying in bed and I heard the voice in the kitchen again and when I walked out to see if it was my dad, something slashed me. It happened right before you came.”

Jackson sat her down on the couch. “So in our research, we found that the kitchen and this living room is where something did actually happen.”

Emily’s eyes widened. “What?”

Jackson met Jinx’s eyes as she set up the camera in the corner. “Well, there was a murder-suicide here, Emily. About fifteen years ago. Right in this very place.”

A shudder ran through Emily, and she looked down. “Actually,” she said, “that makes me feel a little better. At least I know why these things might be happening.”

Jackson nodded and looked back at Jinx. She was placing letter magnets on the refrigerator. He noticed a teddy bear sitting in the corner.

“What are those things?” He was slightly annoyed that she forgot to mention this part to him.

“Oh, just extra things I thought about today. The magnets are in case the ghost has a message for us, and the teddy bear is something light for it to throw.” She kept her eyes down.

She’s acting weird, Jackson thought. He shrugged it off.

Turning back to Emily, he said, “Are you ready for this?”

“More than ready,” she replied. “I want this to stop.”

Jinx called from the corner, her eyes already fixed on her EMF sensor. “All systems are go. Now we just wait.” Emily sank into the couch and Jackson slumped in his chair.

A couple of hours later, Jinx sprang up. Emily had gone into her bedroom, so exhausted she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Jackson had been dozing on the couch. He heard the gasp and sat up sleepily, checking his watch. 1:12 a.m.

“What?” he said.

Jinx’s face was pale, and he could see the EMF sensor in front of her blinking a bright red.

“Are the hairs on your arm standing up?” she asked.

Jackson checked his arm—yep. He looked in wonder at Jinx.

She nodded. “We’re not alone.”

Jackson shivered. The temperature in the room had dropped significantly. He started to whisper, though he didn’t know why. “What should we do?”

Jinx swallowed. “Talk to it?”

He nodded and willed his voice to work. After all, this was the plan. Funny how in the moment, though, both he and Jinx almost forgot what they were going to do.

Jackson cleared his throat and said, “Hello?”

Jinx said, louder, “If you’re out there, will you say something?”

Jackson remembered something and leaned toward her. “Jinx, the paper said the clocks stopped at 1:15. Maybe that’s when everything happened.” They both looked at the clock. The temperature dropped another degree, and static rippled through the air.

At that moment, the clock on the stove flipped over to 1:15.