Love Your Entity(48)
“Nicki doesn’t have roots. She moves around a lot. So did I,” Sierra said.
“What about now? Are you ready to put down roots here in Chicago?”
“For the time being, yes.”
“You didn’t answer about sensing ghosts in this house.”
“That’s right. I didn’t.”
“Are you refusing to answer on the grounds you might incriminate yourself?” Bob teased her.
“I’m not in court.” Her laugh sounded nervous even to her own ears.
“I’m sensing a spirit presence,” Mary said. Pointing to the sideboard, she said, “Over there.”
Sierra looked but saw nothing. Was that where Ruby went when she disappeared? Into the sideboard? How weird was that? Perhaps not that weird, given the goings-on of the past twenty-four hours.
“I don’t want to brag but I do have a sixth sense about these things,” Mary was saying. “Do you mind if I take a photo of the sideboard?” She snapped it with her digital camera before Sierra could protest. Looking down at the image, Mary made a face. “Damn. I was hoping for an orb of light indicating a spirit.”
“I don’t know why she’d see any orbs since there aren’t any spirits over there,” Ruby said from the other side of the room. “Relax. She can’t see me.”
Go away, she mouthed to Ruby.
“There is definitely a spirit in this room.” Mary looked around.
“She may feel the connection because she’s a descendant of one of the previous owners,” Bob said. “Maybe you’ve heard of him? Hal Bergerstock. He was rumored to be one of Capone’s crime bosses.”
There was no rumor about it.
“Tell me about him,” Sierra said.
“He died before I was born,” Mary said. “But my mom told me about him. He came from her side of the family. She remembered him puffing on his cigar as he played cards with his buddies. He’d slip her a hundred-dollar bill sometimes just to make her laugh while he was playing. He was incredibly generous that way. And he was very protective of his family and the business.”
“By business, you mean the Chicago outfit,” Sierra said. “The Mob, in other words.”
“Those were different times. Prohibition was a big mistake.” As Mary went on a mini-rant, Sierra wondered if this was the real reason Bob and Mary were sitting on her couch. This wasn’t about her books. It was about Hal.
“People still tell me how generous he was. A big tipper. The young son of the mechanic who took care of their fleet of cars needed an operation that they couldn’t afford so Hal paid for it.”
The sounds of Swedish House Mafia’s “Don’t You Worry Child” suddenly filled the room.
“I write to this song,” Sierra yelled over the high volume of the song.
“A little loud, isn’t it?” Mary yelled back.
The music stopped as suddenly as it started.
“How do you explain that?” Mary asked suspiciously.
“I have a defective iPhone docking system. The music goes off and on intermittently. I need to take it in to be fixed.”
The overhead light above the dining table flickered off and on.
“I’ve got an electrician coming to fix that,” Sierra said.
“You do know that these are all signs of a haunting, right?” Bob said.
“Just because I write about ghosts doesn’t mean I live in a haunted house.” Sierra eyed Bob and Mary suspiciously. “Is that why you came here? About the house? Not me?”
“About both,” Mary said.
She felt used. But since they were here, she might as well return the favor and use them right back. “What do you know about this place?”
“I gathered a file.” Mary opened her smartphone.
“E-mail me what you’ve got,” Sierra said, getting up to grab her own phone and confirming that Mary sent the file. After quickly skimming through the info, Sierra asked, “What about the murder of one of the girls who worked here?”
Mary frowned. “I didn’t find any reference to that. But I’m sure we’d get more answers if we held a séance. I’ve done them before and gotten answers from the other side. Not that I’ve ever held one here in this house. At least not yet.”
Sierra wasn’t eager to stir things up any more than they already were. “I’m not sure…”
“Come on. I’m sure you’ve attended séances before, right? For research, I mean.”
“Actually, no I haven’t.” She didn’t want to be present when spirits were called forth. She had enough trouble dealing with the ones who just showed up on their own. She didn’t want to go looking for trouble.