Read Online In the Dead of Night by Aiden James - Free Book Online Page A

red-faced moment. But he gave no indication he remembered what had happened.
    Wish I could be like that, or have Fiona’s ability to shrug it off even though it remained fresh enough for her to recall with ease.
    “Well, if the image hadn’t faded away like it did, it would be easy to disprove,” continued Fiona. “From what I’ve researched in the Cumberland branch of the main library, the face we just saw looks a lot like Lizzy Robertson. I feel so much sadness with this haunting…felt it strong in the house, especially upstairs when Charlain showed me around.”
    “Did any of the other pictures we took turn up anything cool, or mean-like?” asked Justin, still in his Ali-G mode with arms raised and fingers pointed down, like he was casting a gangsta spell.
    “Well, there are some anomalies in a few of your pictures I had developed this morning, Justin,” Tom advised. “Along with a few orbs from Jimmy’s digital memory card.”
    He moved over to a desk in the room’s corner, where a pack of photographs sat. He brought them over to Fiona, who opened the pack while the rest of us gathered around her.
    “There could be evidence, at least in these pictures,” she said, pointing out the white, yellow, and red streaks that showed up in several of Justin’s pics. “But the orbs…I’m not sure about them since the house overlooks the river. They could be caused by moisture.”
    “What about this one?” asked Tony, pointing to an enormous orb, solid in its consistency, with yellow and red highlights along its edges.
    “I’m still not sure,” she confessed. “It could represent something, but I’d hesitate to claim it’s a spirit’s essence. Remember, gang, everything we review has to pass the most rigorous skepticism—“
    “And orbs can be caused by anything that refracts light,” I added, inadvertently interrupting her. Not a good habit of mine, and a sure invitation for an admonishment in private. “Water, dust, flying insects—you name it—can be a problem.”
    I’m sure my face turned bright red, because I felt fiery warmth spread across my cheeks. All three women, and Ali-G, were looking at me in a way that let me know my transgression hadn’t gone unnoticed. At least by them. Tom and Tony, both boorish in nature, seemed oblivious.
    Great. Just lump me in with the two Neanderthals in the group. Nothing like a slip of the tongue to hasten de-evolution. I resolved right then to do a better job of keeping my mouth shut until safe to open it again. At least in the presence of said company.
    “We could review the images from Jimmy’s photographs, but I’m afraid they are less conclusive than what Justin captured,” said Tom. “Tony’s results proved inconclusive as well.”
    “So, I guess that’s it for the preliminary run-through,” concluded Fiona, placing Justin’s photographs back inside the pack and returning it to Tom. “At least I’ll have something to offer Charlain when we chat this weekend.”
    She complimented Tom again about his nice set up, and turned to leave the studio. But, so soon? Maybe she and the girls really did have some clubbing plans. As for me, I needed to leave in the next few minutes, as eight-thirty rapidly approached.
    “Wait a second,” said Tony, whirling around in his chair. “What about the shadow person we caught just before we left last night?”
    “Yes, I almost forgot!” Tom’s excitement was revived. I’m sure he’d kick himself later for the near-oversight. “It should only take a moment to get there, since we caught the figure using the infrared camera. It’s near the end of the video clip currently queued up.”
    He was right. It took less than a minute, and since no one had previously viewed this video segment on Tom’s big screen, our collective amazement proved to be the most profound.
    “The figure looks so real…guys, I don’t think that’s a shadow person,” observed Jackie, squinting as if that’d help her see it more