Deadly Chaos by Annette Brownlee Page B

his awful cologne. Then he started appearing - first in the mirror, then at the foot of my bed. I assumed it was my guilt causing the hallucinations. The next night he came again. So I left. I figured I needed a vacation if I was seeing things. I packed a bag the next morning and jumped in my car. But he’s following me. It doesn’t matter where I go, he’s there. I don’t know how to get rid of him.”
    “So here you are.”
    “Yep.”
    Linda stood. Holding her fingers together as if in silent prayer she closed her eyes and brought her hands to her mouth.
    Chaos waited. Linda stood silently, her hands held to her mouth. After a few moments she opened her eyes.
    “Your ghost is an unusual one. Spirits often attach themselves to material belongings. Their energy is drawn back to a place or a thing. Your Dead Bill is malevolent too. He’s powerful. A very bad person. He has attached his energy to you. You’re his anchor, which is why he can find you. Most of the time when someone passes they go into the light.”
    Chaos fought to refrain rolling her eyes. Despite having captured a ghost on her camera phone she struggled to believe in ghosts. She’d spent twenty-five years not believing. It wasn’t going to change overnight.
    “When someone dies and passes over, they come back occasionally to visit their loved ones and they can find you wherever you go if the connection is strong enough. However, when a spirit doesn’t cross over they’re normally attached to a place. Sometimes their energy is attached to an object but usually it is a place. If they were murdered they’d be attached to the place where they were murdered. That’s common. If they die suddenly, they don’t know they’re dead and they hang around the place where they died almost as if they’re trapped. However a person can also haunt a place where they spent a lot of time or where they died.”
    She paused. Chaos nodded. “But Bill’s death is on my hands so he’s attached himself to me?”
    “I don’t think so. I think if someone else had killed him or he’d been hit by a car or something then he’d still be attached to you. The depth of his obsession is much stronger than you knew. I think, when you killed him that night, you did two things. You most certainly saved your own life but you also prevented him from doing whatever he had planned for you. The anger he felt when he died is what has attached him to you. I think he wants something more from you. I don’t think you should be alone. Especially at night.”
    “So how do I get rid of him?”
    “That, my dear Chaos, is something we’ll have to figure out. Hold on, someone’s coming to the door.”
    “Figure out? I don’t…” Chaos stood. Ready to tell this woman she didn’t have time to figure anything out, the doorbell rang.
    Linda opened the door, flashed her cheerful welcoming smile and gestured the people inside. Crossing her arms, Chaos took a step back and watched the entourage enter. The first to pop into the home was a short perky blonde with big Disney eyes and Farah Fawcett hair. Wearing designer jeans, a cotton candy pink polo tucked into her jeans, and a white denim jacket, she was a blast from the past. Her sneakers were whiter than the first snowfall, as if they were brand new but the design looked at least thirty years old. Grinning like a happy puppy, she radiated enthusiasm. She was followed by her exact opposite. Tall, with long jet black hair and a body that made Chaos feel like a frumpy boy, the woman stepped into the room. She gave Chaos a nod, and then she smirked and turned away. Chaos didn’t have time to think about it because another person was stepping into the home. Tall, Dark and Demented, now wearing a navy t-shirt and a black leather jacket, embraced Linda. His hair was pulled back into a pony tail and he smelled clean, like he’d just showered. She couldn’t stop staring. Her heart pitter pattered and her hands were too sweaty for comfort.