Page 14 of The Penitentiary (Ghost Seekers Inc. #1)

Callie

“C allie,” Callum greeted us warmly as we approached the RV.

“Callum,” I said, hugging the older man and smiling at him. Callum was in his late fifties but still had a vibrant personality.

“You dug up something here, didn’t you?” Michelle said as we hugged, too. Next to Callum stood another priest, but beside Michelle was a man who made my jaw drop.

“Connor Cartwright?” I gasped.

“Hey there, I hope you don’t mind me crashing your investigation,” Connor said with a warm smile. He reached out his hands and shook everyone’s.

“The king of the paranormal is always welcome,” I said, trying to control my urge to fangirl.

Connor had been among the premier ghost hunters for two decades.

He’d started when he was twenty and had been one of the first on TV.

He was direct, to the point, didn’t provoke, and took care.

But when his co-presenter began lying and making shit up, there was an enormous falling out, which had been filmed, and Connor walked away.

Connor straight out called his co-presenter a fake, a liar, and a drama queen and refused to work with him again. The network closed the doors on its number one paranormal programme a year later, after ratings dropped dramatically. People didn’t want drama; they wanted the truth.

“Why are you here?” Sunny asked, and I saw the flicker of concern in his eyes. Sunny was on guard.

“I was visiting Michelle when your call came in. There are things people don’t know about my leaving that were never made public. I’m not anyone’s entertainment. But I’m looking to get back into the field and have been researching who’s out there right now. You’re the best,” Connor said.

“Thanks for that compliment. What are you asking? For a job?” Sunny spoke before me.

“Yeah. Michelle told me to come along and visit you with her. And I’d like to apply to the team,” Connor said.

“You’ve been out of the field for what? Five years?” Jack inquired.

“Six. Let’s get on the bus, and we can talk,” Connor suggested.

“Sorry, I never caught your name,” I said, turning to the other priest. He looked to be in his late twenties.

“This is Father Hugo…” Callum said, and I squealed.

“How wonderful to meet you! Callum talks about you a lot!” I exclaimed with a welcoming grin.

Hugo looked at Callum, amused. “You do, old man?”

“Shush, pup! But yes, Callie, Hugo is my protégé, the man I’ve handpicked and trained myself. When you told me about your issue, I knew I’d need him,” Callum said, slapping Hugo on the shoulder.

“Let’s get on the bus; Freddie has made coffee,” Harry called out. We all shuffled on board, and I completed the introductions for everyone.

“Okay, I don’t quite know where to start. A couple of things have thrown me,” I said with a self-deprecating laugh.

“Here’s another. I want to take you up on your offer of a place on the team,” Michelle said, and I gaped at her.

“Is that dependent on Connor getting a place?” Sunny demanded.

“No.” Connor and Michelle swapped glances, and Michelle’s lips pursed. There was a secret between them. My gaze narrowed as I let the silence roll. Connor seemed to be struggling with a matter.

“Other than the reasons that are publicly known for my quitting The Ghost Hunter Extraordinaire, there was something nobody knew. Damon, my co-presenter, was messing with dark shit. It was plenty of reason to quit, and I’d already handed in my notice before the blow-up.

The reason it escalated to the point where people could film it was that Damon risked my safety, and I caught an attachment.

“For years, I’ve had a dark entity following me and harming me.

Damon caused that. Finally, someone recommended Michelle to me—and I can’t say how many times I’ve been blessed or exorcised and it didn’t work.

I was resigned to living in hell for the rest of my life, but Michelle succeeded where everyone else failed.

For the last twelve months, I’ve been free to recover my health and live again.

“I’d love to join your team, but I don’t want anyone to feel pressured.

You guys do good work. You’re straight up and don’t mess around with someone’s safety.

I want to work for a team like that, and I’m happy to follow behind you and Jack.

Callie, I just want to do the job I love,” Connor said honestly.

Michelle caught my eye and nodded. “There’s also another reason I brought Connor. The demon that attached to him left Connor with the ability to sense demons.”

Well, you could have knocked me down with a feather. “What?”

“Connor developed a sensitivity to demonic presences. And Callie, when you give birth, you’ll want time with the baby.

If you had another lead investigator, it would allow you to relax.

You’ve told me how stressed you’ve been about placing everything on Jack’s shoulders, and Sunny doesn’t want to be Jack’s counterpart.

Also, I’ve noticed how stretched you are during investigations.

You need more people,” Michelle said logically.

“Honestly, babe, it’s not a bad idea as long as Connor realises this isn’t his show; it’s yours. You make the decisions, not him. He’s a small cog in a large wheel,” Sunny said.

“You’re right. And we could have used three teams here.

It’s huge, and we’ve several more coming up like this, and then there’s New Orleans; that’s a fortnight investigation.

Connor, if you don’t mind, I’ll offer you a temporary contract.

Let’s see how we all get along for six months before making it permanent.

Michelle, you didn’t join us for a reason last time. Why now?” I asked.

“Because you’re heading into more dangerous situations, like tonight.

Out of your last ten investigations, you’ve called me seven times.

That’s a lot, Callie. It would make sense for me to come on board.

I can bless the equipment before the start and also cleanse it afterwards.

There’s a lot I can do, including helping Harry with research,” Michelle stated. “My joining is separate from Connor.”

“Okay.”

“The only thing I will say is if I get a call for an exorcism, I will attend it, but not at the risk of endangering everyone here. I can schedule exorcisms around the investigations you do. Callum and Hugo have agreed to help me if I can’t get through to someone.

That takes a weight off my shoulders,” Michelle added.

“I’ll have the contract sent to you. Welcome aboard, both of you. We’ve two spare bedrooms on the tour bus; you and Connor can pick which one is yours. I know you’re informed about how we live, are you, Connor?”

“Yeah, and trust me, this is better than a lot of hotel rooms I’ve stayed in,” Connor said with a self-deprecating grin.

“It’s something,” I agreed. “The demon we’ve got here. Have you seen the footage from Staci and Grace?”

“I watched on my phone, as did Hugo,” Callum replied.

“I’ve seen it, but Connor hasn’t,” Michelle replied.

“Phil, can you play it again, so everyone has it refreshed?” I asked, and Phil nodded. He linked his laptop to the TV, and we all turned to watch.

As Staci mentioned, the lights went out, Phil and Callum stiffened, and Hugo yelled, “Pause that!”

Phil had already hit the button, and I gazed at the screen, trying to determine what they’d seen. When I spotted it, I let out a hissing breath.

“What?” Levi demanded, frowning.

Phil got up and pointed to a pair of red glowing eyes peering through one of the tinted windows.

“What the fuck!” Levi exclaimed as the eyes were just above his shoulder in the footage. He’d been sitting next to Grace.

“I thought the demon was contained in cellblock five!” Callum exclaimed.

“That’s what they said,” I replied, shocked at the image. I couldn’t make anything else out but those eyes.

“Press play. Let’s see how long they’re there,” Sunny muttered with a dark frown.

The eyes stayed for a few seconds and then blinked out abruptly.

“That’s not confined. It’s free,” Hugo said.

Something niggled at my memory. “The spirit called Dutch, he warned us to leave and run. Dutch said we’d awakened him in cellblock eight.”

“And tonight’s antics, after the horrors we’d faced, suddenly we’re greeted with fun,” Jack stated.

My head shot up. “You think the demon was playing with us. Lulling us into a false sense of security.”

“Yeah, but Callie, our activity was happening at the same time,” Jack pointed out.

“Shit! There are two of them!” I gasped.

“One who invaded Jane and the other who threw Harry,” Callum said, nodding.

“Can we handle two?” I asked, worried.

“One is weaker. We can handle them. We have three exorcists and three fully fledged lead investigators who are all versed in exorcism,” Callum said confidently.

“Don’t get cocky,” I warned, and Callum smiled.

“Since when have I done that?” Callum retorted, and his words were true, but this was a situation I’d never crossed. I’d never faced two demons.

“We can only take in Phil. The rest of you need to stay here,” I said, and they nodded. Even Madi’s excitement looked dimmed.

“Apart from me,” Sunny stated, and I rolled my eyes.

“Naturally, apart from you!”

Sunny

I was alert to any threat to Callie. The moment I thought she was in danger, I was removing her as quickly as possible. The team was completely kitted out, so I couldn’t say they weren’t taking precautions.

Callum and Hugo blessed everyone, and then we moved out. The rest of the team was going to be watching the monitors.

“Cellblock eight is where you got the warning?” Connor asked as we entered the hub.

“Yes.”

“I’m not sensing anything from there… but that, there,” Connor said and pointed to the entrance to cellblock five.

“It’s unlocked,” Hugo called out after approaching it.