Friday Five April 30

Proper brand husband pigeon offend

This week’s entry:

Anthony strolled around the park, trying his best to look natural. This was not easy. He was a big guy, imposing, and he had to work hard to make sure people didn’t see him as a threat. He had tried to dress up but not to0 much-clean white shirt, and light jacket. He had no idea what he proper dress code was for paranormal investigators. This was the first time he had a potential paying client and he didn’t want to offend them or worse,  scare them off by dressing like a thug. 

He finally saw them. His contact, a woman named Lily, was sitting at one of the picnic benches with who he assumed was his client. She waved him over, and he made for them, scaring away a flock of pigeons as he stomped across the grass. He came up to them.

“Good Morning,” he said politely with a smile. Lily gave him a quick nod. She was a tiny woman, all skin and bones, and a constant ball of energy. He stood there stiffly.

“Thanks for doing this.”

“No problem,” even though he didn’t know what he was doing yet.

Lily turned to the woman seated beside her.

“This is Mrs. Peterson. Mrs. Peterson, this is Anthony Dawes. He’s the man whose going to help you. Trust me, he can do the job.”

Mrs. Peterson removed her sunglasses and stared at him coldly. Anthony didn’t know much about fashion but he could tell those were brand name clothes and expensive jewelry. She had money. And it was obvious she wasn’t thrilled about a meeting in a public park.

She held out a hand. Anthony shook it. He had a feeling she was testing him.

“Should I explain?” Lily said enthusiastically.

Mrs. Peterson shook her head.

“Lily speaks highly of you. And Principal Wright mentioned that you were skilled in dealing with unusual events.”

That surprised him. Principal Wright never mentioned hanging out with the wealthy and well connected. And he was surprised the old man told anyone else about the strange events at his house. He filed that away to ask about later.

“I help where I can.”

“My husband and I have purchased some property near the coast. We’ve renovated a hotel that we expect to open to customers for the summer. However, there have been issues.”

“Ghosts,” Lily butted in. “It’s ghosts.”

A look of displeasure crossed Mrs. Peterson’s face. Anthony couldn’t tell if it was the mention of ghosts or being interrupted. It was probably a combination of both. The woman fiddled with a diamond bracelet around her wrist and resumed.

“Unusual happenings have halted renovation. The old hotel was in a dilapidated state.”

“It used to be a drug den. And prostitution. Lots of suicides and overdoses. It’s probably brimming with ghosts,” Lily had clearly done her research. For her, this sort of thing much be exciting.

Mrs. Peterson sat up straight, glared at Lily, and continued.

“My husband believes it’s business sabotage. I have a reason to believe we should pursue other possible explanations.”

“I’m thinking a poltergeist,” Lily said oblivious to Mrs. Peterson’s glares. 

“I’d like you to investigate. I’ll pay you a substantial one time fee and I expect results within the week. I’m a believer, Mr. Dawes, but I’m no fool. Don’t think you can string me along.”

A poltergeist. Anthony had never dealt with a poltergeist, but he’d done his reading. In the ghost world, they were some of the strongest. It wasn’t an easy job to agree to take on and maybe he should turn it down.

“You’re up to this Anthony,” Lily said. She sounded confident even if he didn’t feel it.

“I’ll do it,” Anthony said.

copyright Echo Ishii 2021