Page 72 of The Shape of Night

“Maybe if I saw a ghost myself.”

“Ah, but some people never do. They’re simply not able to. So what can we do to change your mind, short of having the ghost materialize in front of you?”

“Does it really matter what I believe? I’m just curious about the process, and I wanted to observe.”

Kim reappears in the foyer. “We’d like to go upstairs now.”

“Have you sensed anything yet?” Ben asks.

Kim doesn’t answer, but simply starts up the stairs with Todd and Evan trailing behind her, their cameras recording the ascent.

“How many of these investigations have you conducted?” Ben asks Maeve.

“We’ve visited around sixty or seventy locations, mostly in New England. When people experience disturbing phenomena, whether it’s just creaky floorboards or full-body manifestations, they don’t know where to turn. So they reach out to us.”

“Excuse me?” Evan calls down from the upstairs landing. “There’s a door at the end of the hall up here. Can we look inside?”

“Go right ahead,” I answer.

“The door’s locked. Can we have the key?”

“It can’t be locked.” I head up the stairs to the second floor, where Kim and her colleagues are standing outside the closed door to the turret.

“What’s behind this?” asks Kim.

“It’s just a staircase. It’s never locked. I don’t even know where the key is.” I turn the knob and the door creaks open.

“Hey man, Iswearit was locked,” Todd insists. He turns to his brother. “Yousawit. I couldn’t get the thing open.”

“It’s the humidity,” says Ben, providing a logical explanation as usual. He leans in to examine the doorjamb. “It’s summertime, and wood tends to swell up. Doors get stuck.”

“It’s never been stuck before,” I say.

“Well, if itisyour ghost at work, why is he trying to keep us out of the turret?”

Everyone looks at me. I don’t answer. I don’t want to answer.

Kim is first through the doorway. She climbs only two steps and abruptly halts, her hand frozen on the banister.

“What’s wrong?” says Maeve.

Kim stares up at the top of the stairs and says softly, “What’s up there?”

“Just the turret,” I tell her.

Kim takes a breath. And takes another step. It’s clear she does not want to ascend, but she keeps climbing. As I follow the others, I think of the nights I so eagerly climbed these same stairs with the captain leading me by the hand. I remember silk skirts swishing at my legs and candlelight flickering above and my heart pounding in anticipation of what awaited me behind those velvet curtains. Ben touches my arm and I flinch in surprise.

“They’re putting on quite a show,” he whispers.

“I think she really does sense something.”

“Or maybe they just know how to amp up the drama. What do you really know about these people, Ava? Do you actually believe them?”

“At this point, I’m ready to turn to anyone who can give me answers.”

“Even if they’re frauds?”

“We’ve come this far. Please, let’s just hear them out.”