horrifying thought hit her with the force of a sledgehammer to the back of her skull, rocking her forward in the chair. “Oh my God! What if it’s been happening all along and I never knew? What if I never manage to send any of them on all the way? What if they just appear to be gone and then come back the very next day? I could have been a failure my entire life and never even known!”
“Jo, get a hold of yourself. You aren’t a failure. If there had been anything wrong with your exterminations in the past, we would have heard about it from your other clients. This only serves to convince me more that Wyatt Haines is behind your current troubles.” She tapped a red fingernail against her mouth. “How certain are you that they are the same ghosts?”
Jo looked up in surprise. “Not certain at all,” she admitted. “After I realized the infestation was back, I thought there was something wrong with me. I grabbed Wyatt and hightailed it back here. Do not pass go, do not stop to consider if the ghosts were the same ones from last night. Although, admittedly, I might have had a hard time telling even if I had tried to check. I’ve never been one to get cozy and make friends with the spirits like Lucy. But if they aren’t the same ghosts, why are they there?”
“Why were the others there? Whatever it is about that house that drew such a large concentration of spirits in the first place could have drawn another fifty since last night. Haines could have drawn them himself, for all we know.”
“Wyatt hasn’t had the time or the opportunity to draw more ghosts to the house, even if he was capable of it. He hasn’t been anywhere but home and his office since he left me last night.”
“According to who? The man himself? You haven’t been with him every minute of the day, Jo. He could easily have dropped by and done some supernatural mischief this morning while you were watching Star Trek .”
“Hey, don’t blame Captain Kirk.”
“I’m blaming Wyatt Haines. He’s up to something and until we know what…” Karma’s voice trailed off. She sat behind her desk, regal and commanding, and studied Jo with narrowed eyes. “Can you stay objective? If I let you stick with him, can you keep your distance well enough to avoid giving him whatever it is he wants from you?”
“Golly, Karma, your confidence in me is so comforting.”
“You’re the best, Jo. But we both know you’re the best because, when it comes to ghosts, you never let your emotions into the equation. I want to be sure you aren’t going to get wrapped up in Wyatt Haines’ games before I send you out to keep an eye on him, to find out what he wants.”
“So we aren’t trying to get the ghosts out of him any more. Surveillance only, is that it?”
“We want the ghosts out eventually, but until we know what he’s doing in the house and why, maybe it would be best to leave them where they are. At least then you have a good excuse for dogging his steps.”
Jo thought bumping hips with him was a darn good excuse, but Karma’s idea sounded a little more professional. “So I pretend to be trying to take the ghosts out, figure out if he’s really an evil medium collecting ghosts to sabotage his own house—although why anyone would want to do that is beyond me—and keep my hands to myself. Any other instructions, boss?”
“Be careful.” She tapped Wyatt’s dossier. “I’ll put some of our people on finding everything we can about Wyatt Haines and that house, and I’ll see if I can find any possible use for that much spiritual energy stored in one place.”
“What if it isn’t Wyatt? What else could be drawing ghosts to the house besides a rogue medium?”
Karma pursed her lips, the subtle tension in her mouth the only indicator of her irritation. “I’ll look into other possibilities,” she promised. “But it’s Wyatt, Jo. And the sooner you accept that, the better off you’ll be.”
Chapter Twelve: Viral
“Jo, get a hold of yourself. You aren’t a failure. If there had been anything wrong with your exterminations in the past, we would have heard about it from your other clients. This only serves to convince me more that Wyatt Haines is behind your current troubles.” She tapped a red fingernail against her mouth. “How certain are you that they are the same ghosts?”
Jo looked up in surprise. “Not certain at all,” she admitted. “After I realized the infestation was back, I thought there was something wrong with me. I grabbed Wyatt and hightailed it back here. Do not pass go, do not stop to consider if the ghosts were the same ones from last night. Although, admittedly, I might have had a hard time telling even if I had tried to check. I’ve never been one to get cozy and make friends with the spirits like Lucy. But if they aren’t the same ghosts, why are they there?”
“Why were the others there? Whatever it is about that house that drew such a large concentration of spirits in the first place could have drawn another fifty since last night. Haines could have drawn them himself, for all we know.”
“Wyatt hasn’t had the time or the opportunity to draw more ghosts to the house, even if he was capable of it. He hasn’t been anywhere but home and his office since he left me last night.”
“According to who? The man himself? You haven’t been with him every minute of the day, Jo. He could easily have dropped by and done some supernatural mischief this morning while you were watching Star Trek .”
“Hey, don’t blame Captain Kirk.”
“I’m blaming Wyatt Haines. He’s up to something and until we know what…” Karma’s voice trailed off. She sat behind her desk, regal and commanding, and studied Jo with narrowed eyes. “Can you stay objective? If I let you stick with him, can you keep your distance well enough to avoid giving him whatever it is he wants from you?”
“Golly, Karma, your confidence in me is so comforting.”
“You’re the best, Jo. But we both know you’re the best because, when it comes to ghosts, you never let your emotions into the equation. I want to be sure you aren’t going to get wrapped up in Wyatt Haines’ games before I send you out to keep an eye on him, to find out what he wants.”
“So we aren’t trying to get the ghosts out of him any more. Surveillance only, is that it?”
“We want the ghosts out eventually, but until we know what he’s doing in the house and why, maybe it would be best to leave them where they are. At least then you have a good excuse for dogging his steps.”
Jo thought bumping hips with him was a darn good excuse, but Karma’s idea sounded a little more professional. “So I pretend to be trying to take the ghosts out, figure out if he’s really an evil medium collecting ghosts to sabotage his own house—although why anyone would want to do that is beyond me—and keep my hands to myself. Any other instructions, boss?”
“Be careful.” She tapped Wyatt’s dossier. “I’ll put some of our people on finding everything we can about Wyatt Haines and that house, and I’ll see if I can find any possible use for that much spiritual energy stored in one place.”
“What if it isn’t Wyatt? What else could be drawing ghosts to the house besides a rogue medium?”
Karma pursed her lips, the subtle tension in her mouth the only indicator of her irritation. “I’ll look into other possibilities,” she promised. “But it’s Wyatt, Jo. And the sooner you accept that, the better off you’ll be.”
Chapter Twelve: Viral
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