Read Online The Haunting at Grays Harbor (The River Book 8) by Michael Richan - Free Book Online

pointed the camera at the object and took several
pictures. When he and Barbara looked at the photos on the phone’s screen, the
object looked like a long, white fuzzy light hanging in the air. None of its
details could be seen.
    “You knew it couldn’t be photographed,” Steven said to Roy.
    “Oh, it can be photographed,” Roy said. “You just wind up
with all those photos people put in UFO books and crazy websites, all grainy
and fuzzy, leaving people wondering what’s wrong with your camera. I suspect if
this object weren’t screwed up, none of us would be able to see it out in the
open like this. Something broken inside it probably hides or camouflages it
from normal view.”
    “This just keeps getting stranger and stranger,” Barbara
said. “If we weren’t so terrified by it, I’d find it interesting.”
    Roy finished his sketch and stood. “Give us a few days,
Barbara. We’ll see what we can do.”
    “I guess part of what we need to answer,” Barbara said,
leading them back to the ladder, “is not only what it is, but why it’s broken.”
    “I knew I liked her,” Roy said to Steven as they climbed down
the ladder to the third floor.
    When they reached the landing, Steven turned to Barbara. “It
seems like it’s worse at night?”
    “Much worse,” Barbara answered, heading down the stairs.
    “Well, let us get on this, and you let us know if you’re
going to stay or not,” Steven said. “If you decide to pack off to a motel, we
may still need to get into the house.”
    “Hold on,” Barbara said once they reached the bottom of the
stairs. She went into the kitchen and returned with a set of keys in one hand
and a pot of coffee in the other.
    “Here’s the house keys – keep them,” she said. “You can
return them to me when this is all over. And here’s that refill I promised
you!” She held out the pot and Roy uncapped his cup.
    “I want you both to know I appreciate what you’re doing,” she
said as she poured the hot coffee. “We just paid that charlatan thousands, and
neither of you have asked me for a dime. Your generosity is kind of rare these
days.”
    “But you are paying us,” Roy said, placing the lid back onto
his cup. “You just keep that coffee flowing, and we’ll be paid in full.”
    She smiled at him and tilted her head with a look that said
“I like you too!”
     
    ◊
     
    Cell phone coverage at the Winters’ house was spotty, but as
soon as they were back in Aberdeen, Steven pulled the car over and used his
phone to take a picture of Roy’s drawing. Then he sent it to Eliza and gave her
a call, passing the phone to Roy to hold while he drove.
    “Hello?” Eliza answered.
    “Hi, Eliza, it’s Roy. Got you on speakerphone so Steven can
hear you too. He just sent you a picture of an object we’ve run into. We think
it might be the cause of the hauntings we’re working on up here. Did you get
it?”
    “I was just looking at it when you called,” Eliza said. “I’ve
never seen anything like it.”
    “Any ideas?” Roy asked. “Stabs in the dark, even?”
    “No,” Eliza replied, “and it sounds like you’re as baffled as
I am.”
    “Anyone you know who might be able to help?” Roy asked.
    “Well, there is Elliott, that database guy in Magnolia,”
Eliza said. “Wasn’t he starting to track objects in addition to people?”
    Roy rolled his eyes. Steven caught him doing it and jumped in
before he could say anything.
    “Yes, he might be an option,” Steven said. “I went back to
him just after we finished up with Vohuman, gave him what he wanted. We’ve got
a huge credit with him. Roy doesn’t seem enthusiastic about it, though.”
    “Come on, Roy!” Eliza said. “He’s just a geek! Don’t be
intimidated by him!”
    Roy pulled his face back in disgust. “I am not intimidated by
him!” he said indignantly.
    “We’ll try there when we’re back in Seattle,” Steven said to
Eliza. “In the meantime, we’re stuck. We don’t know