Maeva.”
“Oh, I agree. I heard her speak at a convention a few months ago and the stories she
described were positively hair-raising. That’s why I was convinced she’d help with
our situation. Of course, I’d like to do it in a cost-effective manner. This house
was a bargain but it’ll only be a great deal if we can flip it for substantially more
in the near future. Owen doesn’t mind the cost of Madam Maeva’s, provided we both
get what we want, which is to have the renovations completed as soon as possible.
The main thing we want is for the workers to be safe in the house, and something is
obviously keeping that from happening.”
“I’m not exactly sure how I can help. I explained to Mr. Sorkin last night that I
do trauma cleaning. I’m merely friends with the people who run Madam Maeva’s.”
“Yes, but Rosemary Thingvold seemed insistent that whatever is going on in the house
may be connected to you and . . .”
Sadie was furious. Gayla continued to speak but all Sadie heard was the voice inside
her head that said she wanted to
kill
Rosemary, or at least have a serious discussion with her that involved the threat
of bodily harm and possibly pummeling her bald little head.
She became aware that Gayla had paused expectantly.
“Sorry, I was momentarily distracted,” Sadie stated without adding,
by my need to get off this phone and kill someone.
“I was just asking if you’d reconsider helping out at the house if I offered to pay
you your usual rate.”
“I don’t have a usual rate for cleansing a house of ghosts,” Sadie replied, trying
desperately to keep her voice even. “My usual cleaning involves mopping up after a
murder, suicide, or an unattended death.”
“Oh. And what do you charge for that?”
“A lot.” Sadie rubbed the back of her neck. “You can’t seriously be thinking of hiring
a trauma-clean company to work with psychics?”
“Let me explain how this was supposed to work,” Gayla began. “I make my living buying
homes in various cities, fixing them up and selling them for quick profit. Sometimes
I secure a partner to lower my cash up front. In this case, Owen and I were both bidding
on the house. We decided to partner up to lower our expenses and split the profit.
This is what I do as a main source of income. I’m sure you can appreciate how tough
my business must have it during this housing crash and these difficult economic times.”
“Sure. Times are hard for everyone,” Sadie agreed. She picked up a stack of unopened
bills and shuffled the envelopes in her hands.
“Right. Well, we bought the house on Halladay because it was undervalued. We got it
for a song and stand to make an easy profit. That’s provided that we can get the renovations
done in a timely fashion. The market is falling rather quickly in Seattle and time
is of the essence. So, as you can see, I’m desperate. We’re four months behind on
the renovations. My fiancé and I actually delayed our wedding until this job is completed.
That’s how serious I’m taking this.”
“I understand this is rough on you, but I truly think that you’re barking up the wrong
tree here,” Sadie replied. She toyed with the necklace around her neck as she talked.
“When we bought the house we got it for a deal because it stood empty for years after
the murder. If word gets around it’s haunted, then we’ll be stuck with it, or end
up selling at a loss. Your name was written by ghosts on the bedroom wall, and—”
“We don’t know that,” Sadie cut in. “A name was painted on the wall but we don’t know
that I’m the Sadie it refers to, and we sure as hell don’t know that it was written
by ghosts.”
Sadie’s fingers released the pendant and allowed it to rest warmly against her chest.
“Well, if you believe that, then it’s my loss if things don’t work out, right? How
about we meet for dinner tonight to discuss an
“Oh, I agree. I heard her speak at a convention a few months ago and the stories she
described were positively hair-raising. That’s why I was convinced she’d help with
our situation. Of course, I’d like to do it in a cost-effective manner. This house
was a bargain but it’ll only be a great deal if we can flip it for substantially more
in the near future. Owen doesn’t mind the cost of Madam Maeva’s, provided we both
get what we want, which is to have the renovations completed as soon as possible.
The main thing we want is for the workers to be safe in the house, and something is
obviously keeping that from happening.”
“I’m not exactly sure how I can help. I explained to Mr. Sorkin last night that I
do trauma cleaning. I’m merely friends with the people who run Madam Maeva’s.”
“Yes, but Rosemary Thingvold seemed insistent that whatever is going on in the house
may be connected to you and . . .”
Sadie was furious. Gayla continued to speak but all Sadie heard was the voice inside
her head that said she wanted to
kill
Rosemary, or at least have a serious discussion with her that involved the threat
of bodily harm and possibly pummeling her bald little head.
She became aware that Gayla had paused expectantly.
“Sorry, I was momentarily distracted,” Sadie stated without adding,
by my need to get off this phone and kill someone.
“I was just asking if you’d reconsider helping out at the house if I offered to pay
you your usual rate.”
“I don’t have a usual rate for cleansing a house of ghosts,” Sadie replied, trying
desperately to keep her voice even. “My usual cleaning involves mopping up after a
murder, suicide, or an unattended death.”
“Oh. And what do you charge for that?”
“A lot.” Sadie rubbed the back of her neck. “You can’t seriously be thinking of hiring
a trauma-clean company to work with psychics?”
“Let me explain how this was supposed to work,” Gayla began. “I make my living buying
homes in various cities, fixing them up and selling them for quick profit. Sometimes
I secure a partner to lower my cash up front. In this case, Owen and I were both bidding
on the house. We decided to partner up to lower our expenses and split the profit.
This is what I do as a main source of income. I’m sure you can appreciate how tough
my business must have it during this housing crash and these difficult economic times.”
“Sure. Times are hard for everyone,” Sadie agreed. She picked up a stack of unopened
bills and shuffled the envelopes in her hands.
“Right. Well, we bought the house on Halladay because it was undervalued. We got it
for a song and stand to make an easy profit. That’s provided that we can get the renovations
done in a timely fashion. The market is falling rather quickly in Seattle and time
is of the essence. So, as you can see, I’m desperate. We’re four months behind on
the renovations. My fiancé and I actually delayed our wedding until this job is completed.
That’s how serious I’m taking this.”
“I understand this is rough on you, but I truly think that you’re barking up the wrong
tree here,” Sadie replied. She toyed with the necklace around her neck as she talked.
“When we bought the house we got it for a deal because it stood empty for years after
the murder. If word gets around it’s haunted, then we’ll be stuck with it, or end
up selling at a loss. Your name was written by ghosts on the bedroom wall, and—”
“We don’t know that,” Sadie cut in. “A name was painted on the wall but we don’t know
that I’m the Sadie it refers to, and we sure as hell don’t know that it was written
by ghosts.”
Sadie’s fingers released the pendant and allowed it to rest warmly against her chest.
“Well, if you believe that, then it’s my loss if things don’t work out, right? How
about we meet for dinner tonight to discuss an
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