Behind The Window

Lauren Hiddles left work late in the afternoon with the excitement that a Friday provoked in her. She loved her job as a journalist on the Faryland Post; though she hardly got a chance to write something readable, she loved the opportunity to write interesting stories.

Lauren wasn’t much of a people-person, but that wasn’t because she didn’t have any friends; she was happy to have Samuel and Marie around. But that Friday, she felt she would rather spend a few moments of solitude thinking about something beyond her surroundings.

She took her time walking home because she liked to take that moment to breathe the cool autumn air. It was times like this when she let her mind wander, her imagination running wild. Her father used to say her creativity didn’t have limits, and she should use that to her advantage, so she did. She had a scratch book filled with stories she wrote for herself, like an escape from the cruel reality she lived. A reality made crueler since her father’s death.

When the path came to an end, her attention was drawn to an old house. By the look of it, she figured it might have been built around the seventies. It was tremendous in size, bigger than a two-story house. The facade was of a rich white but looked like it had faded with time. The windows had been partially destroyed, maybe by the rain. It looked abandoned, though she wasn’t exactly sure that was a fact. Lauren was fascinated by how imposing it was in comparison to the houses that surrounded it. Her mind suddenly drifted away, only for a small second: that kind of place must have had so many stories, it was impossible not to imagine things. Besides it was, after all, Lauren’s specialty.

Despite how beautiful the house might have once been, it looked scary now, as if it had been taken out of a horror story Lauren and her sister used to read before bedtime. It looked lifeless, colorless and terrifying. There were only three windows of a brown-ish color and a tree that was withered and dead. Lauren wished she had an explanation for her insane attraction towards it. As if something was calling her name, even dragging her towards it.

Her skin crawled at the sudden image of a little girl, no more than 10-years-old, peering out one of the windows and waving her small hand at Lauren, an angelic smile on her face. Absolutely attracted by the peace the little girl projected, Lauren smiled back. If someone else would have been there, their reaction wouldn’t have been the same. The house looked abandoned, so where had this little girl come from? A cloud of desperation and fear disturbed the sweet smile on her young face, and she began to slam her small hands against the glass. Her expression pierced right through Lauren’s heart.

Lauren frowned, about to call Sam, when she noticed the color drain from the little girl’s face, her jaw falling open in a silent scream. Forgetting about Sam, she ran and knocked on the front door, praying for a response. When one didn’t come, her impulsivity took control; she broke the first window she saw to make her way through. Her mind never considered the consequences of breaking into a stranger’s house; there was someone in danger. She looked around and found no signs of the girl or anyone else, only darkness and cold. Taking a step forward, with only the light of her cell phone to illuminate the room, she gazed at the living room. The curtains were closed tight, blocking all light from coming in. A shiver ran through her again.

Something around her changed. She could feel someone nearby, staring at her, close enough to touch her. When she was about to turn around and leave, a deafening scream echoed through the room. Lauren thought she was losing her mind; the living room, a moment ago dark and empty, was now lit up. A woman in her late sixties stepped in from the corner, looking positively upset. Lauren whispered an apology and backed up, trying to find a way out. Her plans evaporated when another woman grabbed her by the arm, holding her in place.

Lauren knew what was going to happen way before the patrol car arrived. She couldn’t complain; after all, she had broken into someone’s house.

Lauren sat in the car, handcuffed and cold, watching as Detective Samuel Patten spoke to a uniformed man, who pointed at her as he talked. Lauren had never felt so ashamed of herself; in the twenty years she and Sam had known each other, she had never embarrassed herself so badly.

Lauren knew a big sermon was about to come out her friend’s mouth just by staring at him.

“Before you say something. Yes, I know what I did was wrong, but it has a powerful reason,” Lauren said.

“I’m sure you do. So—you saw a girl?” Sam asked.

“Yes. She was around ten. A little bit pale, skinny and she had long dark hair,” Lauren explained.

Samuel looked at her with incredulity. They had been in a similar situation years ago, though there wasn’t any little girl or any breaking-in, but either way she had gotten into trouble and he had to make excuses for her behavior. He was looking at her the same way; as if she had gone nuts. She was, after all, a believer, and Sam was most definitely not.

“Where is she now?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know! That’s the weird thing, she just disappeared. Sam, I know this sounds crazy but I’m one-hundred percent sure there was a girl,” Lauren explained.

He rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. Lauren felt he was losing his patience, like many times before. She thought he was going to tell her off anyway, but instead he took the handcuffs off and helped her stand up.

“I’m taking you home.”

“I’m not arrested?” Lauren wondered.

“Do you want me to take you? I still can,” Sam said, and Lauren noticed by the tone of his voice he was upset.

“Listen to me, Sam. I might have a wide imagination but I’m not making this up. She was standing right beside me. You gotta trust me on this,” Lauren said.

“If the girl was in trouble, why didn’t you call me?” Sam asked.

“Because she was gone by the time I—broke in. There were just the screaming ladies.”

“Wouldn’t you react the same way if you saw a stranger in your house in the middle of the night?” Sam said.

“What side are you on, anyways?” Lauren questioned him.

“Yours, when you don’t break the law. And you know I can’t stop them if they want to press charges,” Sam said.

“Don’t worry about it, besides I do believe someone needs help and that’s not me.”

“You’re not really thinking about looking for the girl, are you?” Sam asked, though he already knew the answer.

“Wouldn’t you? She was terrified, Sam,” Lauren replied.

“Okay so let me ask you this, how could you possibly help someone who doesn’t exist?”

Lauren didn’t reply, not for the lack of words, but for the lack of a better explanation. She might have been exhausted, but she would never go as far as to imagine that little girl. Her eyes didn’t play tricks on her like that. For some reason, maybe because she’d had the fortune of finding the girl, she felt it was up to her to help. There was something in that house, and Lauren wouldn’t rest until she found out what it was.

XXX

When Lauren got to work the next day, the looks from her co-workers spoke volumes. She figured they already knew about her incident and were talking behind her back in the most vicious way.

Except Marie. Her friend only judged her decisions, not her mind.

“Is it true you almost got arrested?” Marie asked. Lauren gave her a side glance as she poured her third cup of coffee.

“The key is ALMOST, but I was really close to that.”

“Don’t tell me Sammy saved the day,” Marie said. Lauren refrained from complaining at the use of ‘Sammy.’ No one called him like that.

“He could have taken me in but he didn’t. He’s still angry though.”

“What happened?”

“It’s a long story,” Lauren said, trying to put an end to the conversation, but Marie was already grabbing a chair and waited for her to do the same, which eventually she did. “It summarizes with a girl and the house, basically. I broke into it.”

“Why would you break into a house?” Marie asked.

“Because there was a girl and she needed help.”

“Why didn’t you call Sam?” Marie asked. Lauren rolled her eyes.

“I’m gonna tell you the same thing I told Sam; you should have been there, you would have probably done the same,” Lauren said.

“Did you find her?”

“No, but I’m going to,” Lauren said. She could feel Marie judging her, but didn’t mean she was going to stop.

XXX

Lauren knew that if she didn’t have Sam’s or anyone else’s help, she could very well play the detective herself, run an investigation on her own. It wouldn’t be the first time; being a journalist meant investigating a lot, though all the stories she had written in her entire career had nothing to do with ghosts.

Lauren figured the first place to start was finding out about the house and who exactly those women were. According to the little information she could gather, the house belonged to a very well-off family who died in a tragic car accident. They had no heirs and no other family members to pass the house to, and as often happened with other abandoned properties, it was sold to the best bidder; two sisters identified as Marcia and Violet. The two women, who had scared Lauren almost to death. Even when she had found out about them, it didn’t explain why the house was so worn-down. But what shocked Lauren the most was that neither of them had children.

Now that Lauren knew the main story, all she needed was information about what she saw. If they didn’t have kids, where did that girl come from? Lauren was not going to accept that her brain was playing tricks on her. The positive thing was, since the town was quite small, that people whispering gossip with information about who might know more things about the house, had led her to someone she could talk to. It was doubtful going to do any good, but it was better than being empty handed.

The man was sitting on a stool in a questionable looking bar, with a smell she was certain wouldn’t leave her nostrils for days. He was old, in the sixties perhaps, and looked as if he had been sitting there for days. He played with the half empty glass in his hand, his eyes lost in a spot on the wall. He barely noticed when she sat next to him.

“No one comes around this place anymore except the crazy ones. You don’t look crazy to me,” the man whispered. His hair was messy, his clothes old and moth-eaten. He must have demons to be drinking so much, but then again alcohol can make people change. She saw it in her father before he died.

“Looks can be deceiving. I’m Lauren.”

“I’m Jacob, but some call me Crazy Jacob, or even lunatic. You can call me whatever you want,” he replied with a hint of melancholy in his voice.

“I like Jacob. It sounds nice.”

“Are you the woman who’s been asking about the house? The one who got arrested for breaking in?”

“Rumors fly nowadays, but yes. That’ll be me.” Lauren flashed a smile. He took a sip of his drink and sighed.

“That damn house ruined my life. It ruined my career, my whole existence and it might ruin yours too.” He didn’t look angry but broken instead, the reminiscence of his past life maybe bringing back feelings he hadn’t shared with many others. “That house is cursed.”

“Why do you say that?” Lauren asked with a frown.

“So many people have died there. There’s just so much pain,” Jacob whispered as a few tears fell down his cheek. He wiped them away with the back of his hand quickly. “It’s been too long, but I just can’t forget about everything I saw there.”

“What did you see?” Lauren asked carefully.

“It was my first case when I was in the force, I barely knew what to do, I—felt lost,” Jacob spoke. Lauren tried to make sense out of what he was saying but could barely understand.

“What was in that house, Jacob?” Lauren asked. Jacob took a long sip of his drink, pointing at the empty glass when the bartender was in front of him. The man reluctantly poured more liquid into it.

“There was pure terror. Violence, cries of mercy and death,” Jacob said with grit teeth. “And you know it because you saw it too, did you?”

“I don’t know what you mean---“

“Those girls were defenseless. I tried to help but the resources weren’t many back then,” Jacob said and turned towards Lauren with a look she could only describe as desperation. “But you—you’re just like me, you can see her too, right? Like I did back then, when they treated me like I was crazy. That’s why you broke in. She was calling for you.”

Lauren was absolutely bewildered.

“You—you said girls?” Lauren asked.

“Yes. I can’t remember how many there were they but—I just remember the bodies. All young, all innocent,” Jacob said.

“Did you ever find who hurt them?”

“Yes. I did. Those women were despicable. Everything they did—I could have made an arrest, but the back-ups never came here on time and then we realized they had destroyed every single evidence. There were no witnesses to begin with; no one knew what was happening inside that house, not even the neighbors. Every time we knocked on the door we got nothing,” Jacob replied.

“The women you’re talking about, who were they?” Lauren asked, though she had an idea. Jacob remained silent for a second and sighed before giving any sort of reply.

“Two sisters. Two horrendous, cruel, heartless women. They used those kids as punching bags, just to have the government’s money. Every single girl suffered at the hands of them, but no one believed me. They said I had taken it too personal so they pulled me off the case. But you—you can save them, right? You still have time, maybe they’re still there,” Jacob whispered. In his mind, perhaps, he still thought time had stopped when the crimes had been committed. Lauren didn’t have the heart to tell him it had been years.

“Yes—of course,” Lauren told him and smiled faintly.

“Good. Good. You’re good,” Jacob said, finally getting up from the stool, staggering towards the door and smiling before disappearing into the empty street.

XXX

Lauren could have liked to pretend as if her conversation with Jacob wasn’t bothering her the way it was, but her mind didn’t let her.

“How did the investigation go?” Marie asked her during their lunch break.

“Better than expected, but no less confusing,” Lauren told her. Marie was the second person Lauren trusted the most. They’d known each other for years, and Marie knew about Lauren’s weird way of seeing things. “I have to talk to Sam though.”

“Don’t worry about him. I’m sure he’s gonna be okay with it. Besides, what can go wrong?” That was the million dollar question. She knew a big speech would come from Sam because she had done exactly what he asked her not to, despite actually getting something good from it.

XXX

When she knocked on the door later that evening, she could tell by the look on Sam’s face that he wasn’t expecting her visit. Probably because it was past her sleeping hour, or maybe because Lauren looked as if she hadn’t slept in days. Either way, he opened the door and let her in, with a warm smile on his handsome face.

“Isn’t it a bit late for you to be around and not at home?” Samuel asked. Lauren gave him an innocent smile, followed by a soft kiss to the corner of his lips before letting herself fall onto the couch.

“I just thought I’d stop by to say hello.”

“I have pizza and I’m starving. Have you eaten anything?” Sam asked. Lauren frowned at his question. She couldn’t remember eating anything besides drinking coffee at work, otherwise her stomach was empty. She had been so focused on her investigation that food was the least of her concerns.

“No. I’ve been sort of—busy.”

“Busy with what, work?” Sam asked.

“You could say that,” Lauren spoke and then she bit her lip, like she usually did when she was anxious. Sam frowned, and narrowed his eyes when she avoided his gaze.

“Lauren—“

“It’s a story I’m writing. Really not a big deal. But now that you mention food, maybe I can eat something,” Lauren said, changing the subject before Sam could ask anything else.

“I know you enough to know you’re hiding something and don’t avoid me. If you didn’t want me to know, you would have stayed at your place. So tell me, what did you do? And please don’t tell me you broke into that house again,” Sam said.

“I didn’t break into anything. Like I said, I’m investigating,” Lauren replied while she grabbed a slice of pizza from the coffee table and took a big bite, all the while Sam’s eyes never left hers.

“I’ve never seen you so invested in a story before. Unless it had something to do with you, or me. In this case I’m 100% sure it’s you,” Sam insisted.

“Okay so, if I tell you, promise me you won’t be all judgmental on me. And you won’t get upset,” Lauren said. Sam frowned again but nodded slowly. ”I spoke to someone about the house and I got a whole lot of information.”

“The house?”

“The house I broke into,” Lauren said.

“You started an investigation on your own, on an open case, with you as the main suspect.”

“When you say ‘suspect’ you make me look like a criminal, which I’m not,” Lauren said, a bit upset.

“You broke into a house. If you don’t want me to call you like that, then stay out of trouble,” Sam told her. Lauren rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. This guy told me very valuable information on the house that I bet you didn’t know,” Lauren told him.

“Okay, enlighten me,” Sam said. Lauren turned her whole body towards him, sitting comfortably on the couch.

“He was an old cop. He said that house was part of his first case and he has never been able to get over it. Saw terrible things there too.”

“What’s this guy’s name?”

“Jacob,” Lauren replied. Sam laughed loudly, surprising Lauren. “What’s so funny?”

“Your source is Crazy Jacob? That’s where you’re getting your information from. Good luck with that,” Sam replied with a mocking tone.

“Well then, I dare you to make a better investigation. Go talk to people, do research and find out what that house really is,” Lauren said.

“That house is just a house, Lauren. There’s nothing more that needs to be known.”

“That’s not what Jacob said. He said he found bodies in there, kids. Which would explain why I saw that little girl, sort of,” Lauren said.

“So, now you’re telling me a series of murders were committed there and the girl is what, a ghost?” Sam asked.

“How would you explain what I saw? And don’t say I was tired. My eyes would not deceive me.”

“Okay, let’s say your buddy Jacob is right. Pray tell where the bodies are, because I’m guessing he told you that?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“Great. A reliable source he turned out to be,” Sam mocked again.

“Why are you being so negative?” Lauren demanded.

“I’m not being negative, I’m being realistic. Everybody knows Jacob is not right in the head and he will tell you whatever you want to hear,” Sam said.

“You’re a cop. He said there was an open case, maybe if you find it we’ll know if he’s as crazy as you say. If he’s wrong, I’ll step away and won’t bother you again,” Lauren stated. Sam grabbed her hand and gave it a light squeeze.

“You don’t bother me, Lauren. I just don’t want you to waste your time with him,” Sam said “But if it makes you feel better, I’ll search the archives tomorrow and let you know if I find something.”

“Thank you,” Lauren smiled.

“And if something comes up, I’ll get a warrant to search the house.”

“Now, as much as I love having you around, we’re both tired and have to work tomorrow,” Sam said, helping her up from the couch. Lauren walked with him to the door and they stood there. So close yet so far. Maybe it was because of their proximity, or maybe the heat of the moment, but there wasn’t a single part of her body that didn’t crave their past intimacy.

Lauren often received comments from coworkers regarding her relationship with Sam. She always replied with ‘we’re just friends’ or ‘he deserves better,’ but there were times that made her believe there was a chance for them after all.

“You’ve got to let me go, though,” Lauren said as their hands were still joined together.

“Yes, sorry about that,” he laughed and let her go. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay. Get some rest,” Lauren said.

“You too,” Sam replied.

Before she walked out the door, she dropped a feather soft kiss on the corner of his lips and gave his hand one last touch.

“Goodnight,” Sam whispered.

XXX

It wasn’t entirely hard for Sam to get into the archives and do the research that was needed, though he wasn’t too fond of getting his hand into incomplete files, like Jacob’s. The good fortune was that this particular report had more details. Sam could almost believe that he was really invested in what had happened in that house.

The words he had scribbled made Sam shiver, but more so the crime scene pictures; a living room full of toys, a single kids bedroom with too many little beds to count. But even though the whole scenario was supposed to project nothing more than tenderness, it was the opposite. Especially when one of the beds was covered in blood.

Sam felt the need to hear everything from the man himself. He figured there were things he had bypassed and probably remembered after speaking to Lauren.

All he had to do now was find him.

XXX

Lauren had woken up with a strange feeling in her chest. She couldn’t describe; it was very similar to a bad hunch. It had started the day before, when she’d had a dream about Jacob.

He was sitting on the bar, drinking just like he had been when they met. In the dream he spoke to her, and though she couldn’t remember the entire conversation, his last words provoked an uneasy feeling in her: ‘it’s up to you,’ as he put a picture of the little girl on the table. Lauren took that has a sign that perhaps he was telling her to save her.

Just a few minutes before she was about to leave the house, a knock on the door stopped her. Sam stepped inside, hands in his pockets. Lauren could read the sadness in his features.

“Did you find anything?” Lauren asked.

“Yes, actually I did. The case file Jacob wrote and some pictures. Among other things,” Sam said.

“See? I told you he was right. You don’t seem so happy though,” Lauren told him. He stepped further into the room and she followed him with her gaze, noticing how quiet he suddenly was, as if he had something to say but didn’t know how. “Sam?”

“I tried to talk to Jacob but I couldn’t find him, so I asked. He’s—“

“Dead,” Lauren interrupted. Sam turned around to face her with a frown. She understood now: the dream had been a message from him, that he was gone.

“How did you know?” Sam asked, but Lauren was starting to feel distressed .She had always been seen as the strange girl, because she sensed things. Seeing the girl at the house was one thing, but the messages were something she wasn’t prepared for.

“I don’t know—I don’t understand anything,” Lauren said. She could feel the desperation and the confusion growing. Sam sensed it and approached her just in time to hold her. “First the girl and now Jacob? Why is this happening to me?”

“Hey, hey, calm down. I’m sure everything has an explanation.”

“What explanation? I’m weird. I see dead people. Now I see them in my dreams too and they send messages,” Lauren said desperately. Sam stared at her without understanding.

“Is that how you knew Jacob was dead?” he asked. Lauren nodded slowly. “Since when has this been happening?”

“Since my father died,” Lauren explained in a whisper. Sam carefully led her to the couch and sat next to her while she talked. “But it wasn’t like this. I could feel energies and nothing else. Now it’s different, that girl, I don’t know how it happened—I’m weird.”

“No, you’re not, you’re special. Look, if this works out, imagine all the people you’ll help. And I’m not just talking about this girl or Jacob,” Sam reassured her, and she responded with a smile.

“So, this means you’ll get a warrant to search the house?” Lauren asked.

“With the report I have, I think it is enough to get one and take a look at what we might find,” Sam said.

“Jacob said there were a lot of bodies there, but he couldn’t tell how many. If this was years ago and they couldn’t make an arrest, maybe they kept doing it. Maybe there’s more,” Lauren said.

“We’ll see, but hopefully you’re wrong.”

XXX

The warrant he had convinced his boss to get was at his desk before the clock struck twelve. Lauren was as ready as he was, though she was going behind his boss’ back, being a civilian dealing with a police matter.

Later, Samuel and six uniformed officers walked up to the infamous house.

The house looked soulless to Lauren, but she supposed it was because of everything she knew now. Sam was ready too, despite the fact that he hadn’t seen or felt what she had. He hadn’t seen the girl, the pain and fear in her eyes, but he was here, warrant in hand, with police officers positioned on either side of him.

Lauren recognized the woman who opened the door as the one who grabbed her. A wave of anger invaded her, imagining what this woman had done to all the children, and she just refrained from slapping her. She had to get inside to save whoever she could.

“Good evening ma’am, I’m detective Samuel Patten. We have a warrant to search the house,” Sam simply said.

The woman stared at him with inquisitive eyes, from head to toe. She carried a deep frown and her arms were crossed against her chest. She apparently hadn’t noticed Lauren since she was standing behind Sam, her eyes only fell to the group of police officers that accompanied him.

“I’m Marcia. Why would you want to search my house for?” Marcia asked.

“We heard complaints of violence, and noises that led someone thinking there might have been an accident,” Samuel lied.

“Nothing has happened here. No accident and especially no violence. There’s no reason for you or any of your friends to get in,” Marcia responded. She was about to close the door on their faces when the angry side of Sam showed up; he slammed his foot down, stopping the door.

“If you don’t have anything to hide, there won’t be a problem for us to get inside. Unless you want us to do this the hard way,” Sam threatened.

Marcia stepped aside unwillingly and let Sam and the crew walk in. They dispersed, all going in different directions around the big house.

When Marcia noticed Lauren among the group, she stepped between her and the team and slapped Lauren across the face so hard she was certain it would leave a mark next day.

“Was breaking into my house not enough? You had to bring your little cop friends too?” Marcia hissed.

Lauren covered her left cheek with her hand and moved towards Marcia, her blood boiling. She was more than ready to fight; to hit Marcia has hard as she did. Her hand had already risen when Sam and his fellow friends stepped between them.

“Just get out of sight for now,” Sam hissed at Lauren. She dropped her hand, pushed Marcia out of the way, and headed further into the house.

Lauren’s intentions were only to stay away from the group, to let the anger vanish, but instead she was led towards the stairs, as if something was pulling her.

Suddenly a cold wind ran up and down her spine to the back of her skull. At first she found no explanation for it, until she saw her: The little girl. The child looked pale and expressionless. Unlike the first time they crossed paths, Lauren was more than willing to follow her whenever she wanted to go. And just in time, the little girl reached for her hand, which Lauren took gladly. She led her to the second floor and from far away Lauren could hear Sam calling her name.

The second floor consisted of a long dark corridor with doors that had chipped, worn out paint, just like the house itself. The minute Lauren stepped in; the little girl vanished, leaving her perplexed and alone. She looked around, barely seeing a few doors with little light from a dusty bulb. Once she had walked a bit further she saw two more doors. One caught her attention more than the others, though she couldn’t explain why. For some reasons and she was more than ready to find out what was behind it.

“Lauren, what are you doing?” Sam asked as he suddenly appeared next to her. Lauren jumped at hearing his voice, a hand on her chest to calm her erratic heart.

“Shit! You scared the living hell out of me, Sam. Don’t do that,” she cried. “I was about to open this door. There’s something here.”

“I searched the house, there’s nothing here, Lauren.” Samuel told her, but she wasn’t really paying attention to him anymore.

“Yes there is. I can feel it,” Lauren whispered, eyes completely fixed on the door and whatever might be found inside. Sam was about to pull his friend by the hand and leave, until the door opened on its own.

“What was that?” Samuel asked her. He didn’t want to admit it, and would never say it aloud, but he felt his knees tremble a little with fear. It was natural, he thought, fearing the unknown.

“I have to see what’s inside. I think she wants me to,” Lauren told him.

“The girl again? Lauren, come on, there’s nothing for us to see here. We have to go, now!” he urged, but she didn’t listen.

“Listen, the door opened for a reason. We are here for a reason too. Can you see she led me here?” she pleaded. She had never done that, pleaded for something she needed, but considering he had been the only one who stuck around with her, she had to. And he seemed to give in.

“Fine. We’ll search inside and if there’s nothing, then we leave. Stand behind me,” Sam instructed.

Lauren did as she was told and followed him inside, holding the back of his shirt as they moved.

The room was pitch black. Sam took his flashlight to light up the entire room. It was humid and cold, with a very peculiar smell Sam could recognize as death. Lauren could smell it too, and began to regret entering the room in the first place. There was, on the hand, part of her that begged for her to find out what was happening once and for all.

There was also something at the pit of her stomach that told her they were not alone.

Samuel halted and held his breath as he did so. Lauren couldn’t understand his reaction at first, until she saw her; the little girl, long black hair, dressed in an oversized white shirt. And suddenly his reaction made complete sense. He could see her too.

“Oh, my shit,” Samuel whispered, holding onto Lauren’s hand that held tight onto his waist. It was sweaty and shaky.

“She’s not going to hurt you, Sam. She wants to show us something,” Lauren whispered, squeezing his hand. Sam relaxed under her touch and sighed.

“Show us what?” Sam wondered.

“I don’t know,” Lauren replied in a low voice.

Sam let his flashlight move around, scanning the room with caution. Lauren pushed herself away from him, and even though it was a stressful and confusing situation, he wanted to have her as close to him as he possibly could.

He walked a bit further, to see what the girl wanted to show them, until his eyes fell to something that made his jaw drop and his heart skip a beat; there were at least ten small beds, carefully arranged in separated rows. They looked empty, at least from where he was standing, until he decided to inspect them from a bit closer. Sam realized from that moment how wrong he was.

When he pulled the dusty bedspread aside, his eyes took in the sight of small, human skeletons. They were kids, probably no older than ten years old, and they had obviously been there for a very long time.

“This is--this is what she wanted to show us,” Sam said.

Lauren approached him and gasped at the sight. Her hand immediately grabbed Sam’s.

She knew the little girl wanted her to know something, but Lauren had never imagined the magnitude of the information. She could be prepared for anything except death.

“Jacob was right—this house is filled with horror and pain,” Lauren whispered, her words almost turning into sobs.

“Do you think she’s here?” Sam asked. She knew who was referring to.

Lauren walked a bit further into the room, but unlike Sam, she refused to look at the beds, assuming they contained the same. She moved around though, looking for a sign, or even a feeling that could tell her where the little girl was. She waited until something pulled her towards the last bed, her fingertips grazed the bedspread. Lauren sighed with relief: she had found her.

Sam followed her footsteps. Lauren was transfixed on the headboard where a name had been engraved; Juliet. Sam was certain he would never forget it, nor the pain that suddenly filled his heart.

The little girl appeared next to Lauren as she was still standing at the foot of the bed. She felt the coldness of her small hand on top of hers and Lauren knew it had all come to an end, she felt it in her heart. It was a bittersweet moment, but something that eventually would happen.

Lauren breathed in and Juliet shared one warm grateful smile before disappearing into thin air. Sam wrapped his arm around her and she finally let the tears fall freely down her cheeks.

“It’s over. She’s gone,” Lauren whispered between tears. Despite her help having been crucial to solving the mystery and giving the girls some peace, the outcome was still heartbreaking. She hoped justice could be done to those children, even if it was too late for them.

XXX

Sam watched as both sisters were taken away into separated rooms, both with handcuffs on, but only one of them was brave enough to curse everyone around her, screaming for innocence. He wasn’t exactly paying attention; his mind was still on the crime scene that had been processed.

Almost everyone around him was in shock, his Captain included. Sam couldn’t put into words everything that had happened; he was still having a hard time wrapping his mind around everything. From Lauren’s vision, to his own encounter with Juliet. How could he explain that without feeling like he had lost his mind?

“Imogen sent me her report on what happened to the—children,” Sam told his Captain. The old man sat behind his desk, deep in thought. He was probably still thinking about the information Sam had shared, one where he had carefully omitted anything related to ghosts, spirits and visions. Sam wanted his boss to let Lauren work with them in the future and sharing everything in detail would mean he might label her as ‘crazy’. It was enough that she was still trying to accept this special part of her.

“Though their deaths remain undetermined, she believes they all died on the same date, approximately 20 years ago. The bodies hadn’t been moved so they died right on the spot.”

“Good God,” the Captain whispered as he rubbed a hand over his face. “Did you look for any missing persons reports? Any way we can identify them, search for some relatives?”

“I did. There was nothing,” Sam explained. “Maybe they were orphans, which would explain why no one was looking for them.”

“So they took advantage of the situation,” the Captain said.

“I don’t know, but I need to talk to these women, at least one of them. I need to understand what happened and--if I can, why,” Sam said.

“Do it. I’m sure no one else would want to,” the Captain said. Sam got up from his seat and walked towards the door. His boss called his name before he left. “Don’t try to be nice to her. She doesn’t deserve it.”

Sam was always nice. Always a decent kind of man, he tried to be as emphatic as he could no matter what crime had been committed. There was the benefit of the doubt, that’s what his boss usually told him. This was a whole different scenario. Besides his boss actually giving him ‘permission’ to leave his usual self aside, not that he really needed his approval; neither woman deserved any sympathy on his behalf.

XXX

When Sam walked into the interrogation room where Marcia had been taken, her bowed head immediately raised with a frown. The death glare she sent his way did nothing to her case. Violet, on the other hand, appeared to be a little more tormented by her future. Sam sensed that perhaps she didn’t have much to do in those children’s fates, so he put his full attention on Marcia.

“I want a glass of water,” Marcia demanded. “You’ve had me here for an hour, my mouth is dry and my head is spinning.”

“Must be your conscience speaking,” Sam replied. The woman narrowed her eyes at him, but he paid little attention. He put a series of photographs on the table for her to see, all from the crime scene. She looked unnaturally unaffected. “You don’t need to explain to me what these are, because we already know they’re children.”

“So? What do you want me to say?” Marcia asked, coldly.

“I want you to explain to me why. Why would you hurt any of these innocent kids? Why would you let them die, alone, in a cold room?” Sam questioned. He tried not to show his emotions very often, at least not in front of a criminal, but this time his feelings were too palpable he could not help it; he was heartbroken.

“They were far from innocent. Way far,” Marcia replied. “They were insolent, noisy, and uncontrollable even. I tried and tried to put up with the noise, with the yelling but it was impossible!”

“So you killed them?”

“I just wanted them to stay quiet. I wanted silence at least for a day, so I gave them something to sleep--they were supposed to wake up in an hour but they--didn’t,” Marcia explained. Sam wasn’t certain if the sadness he saw on her face was real or simply an act so she could glean some sympathy.

“Why didn’t you call the police, or an ambulance?” Sam asked.

“Because it was too late. They were dead. I told Violet to leave them there and closed the door. I knew no one would notice.”

“Someone did. Before us,” Sam said. Marcia frowned at his words. “He was far more intelligent than you, he wrote a report. If it wasn’t for him, maybe you would have committed the perfect murder.”

“They were orphans! Why would any care about some children with no family? They were nothing to society, if anything we did you a favor,” Marcia replied. Sam was getting more and angrier at the coldness of her voice.

“They were children. Human beings that deserved to be treated with care and love. If you didn’t want to, someone else should have. But you murdered them, and that will never go unpunished,” Sam said as he gathered the photos, rearranged his papers, and prepared to leave.

“I already told you it was an accident--” Marcia began, but Sam slammed his hand against the wooden desk, interrupting her excuse.

“You forced them to sleep with whatever thing you gave them. You locked the door on purpose, you didn’t give them a chance,” Sam snapped. “The lame excuse you’re giving me now will not save you from jail. In fact, I hope you stay there to rot.”

Sam walked to the door and let two officers in. They grabbed Marcia from her chair and took her away, her protest’s loud and echoing. He did nothing to shush her, for her words were indifferent to everyone.

XXX

When Lauren said justice would prevail, she wasn’t lying. With the lifetime sentence both sisters had, and Sam celebrated equally upon hearing the news. The citizens, on the other hand, had been more than shocked after hearing what happened for years right under their noses, the cruelty the little girls had suffered at the hands of the sisters.

The mayor decided to have the house demolished; if not for the peace of mind of his citizens, then for the memories of all the poor souls that suffered at the hands of Marcia and Violet.

It wasn’t exactly a time for celebration but Lauren was tempted to rejoice, and so was Sam. He had suffered too much with the case, it had touched him deeply inside, and Lauren was happy to see him smile.

“So, I suppose you’re not going to tell me the whole thing, will you?” Lauren asked Sam as they quietly drank coffee together at his house, as they did every morning. They had grown even closer now that the case had ended. She felt like he finally understood her mind. “Even when I feel I deserve to know?”

“Lauren, I don’t think you have to. We helped them, and I think that’s what all you need to know,” Sam told her.

“I also need to know the why and how. No matter how much the truth hurts,” Lauren said.

He sighed heavily and nodded. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to tell her, he just didn’t want to see her suffer anymore.

“Marcia said it had been an accident that her intention was for them to sleep, not to die. She wanted a little bit of peace, for herself,” Sam explained. Lauren just shook her head.

“She’s insane. They were kids. And she locked them in a cold room, all by themselves. How could that not been intentional?” Lauren questioned with anger.

“Intentional or not, at least they won’t leave jail for a long while,” Sam said, which made Lauren smile a bit.

“You know what I’ve been thinking? I want to give them a funeral. A proper burial, like those little angels deserve,” Lauren said. Sam reached for her hand and gave it a light squeeze.

“I was thinking the same thing. Maybe more people would join us too,” Sam said.

“Wouldn’t that be nice?”

And it was.

The citizens reunited at the cemetery, all holding pink and blue balloons. A priest said a few nice words, apologizing for not noticing the pain they had been through and how their suffering had escaped their hands. Lauren cried, her heart unable to handle the pain any longer. Sam wrapped his arm around her and dropped a kiss on her forehead. She felt calm knowing he was with her.

Juliet and her friends found the rest they deserved, their souls finding home somewhere far, but Lauren knew she was with her. After all, that little girl showed her a power within she didn’t know existed and would surely change her life forever.

THE END.