“That might change once Haunted Histories is in full swing out here,” I countered. “Tourists can do a lot for towns like this.”
“What was on it?” Sully asked. He didn’t get quite as distracted as the rest of us.
“Some local ads, a few festivals and stuff like that. But one was from a widow that lives near the area we’re exploring. It didn’t give an address only that she was ‘closest to the lighthouse’ and she kept reporting screaming at night.”
“And someone who lived and breathed coastal life for most of their lives likely wouldn’t mistake that as a storm brewing or harsh winds,” Ben pointed out.
“Police investigated but nothing came up so they posted asking for anyone to come forward. That was about all I could find on the story, but we should ask our waitress about local legends.”
“Speaking of…” I trailed off as she came over with our plates.
“Can I ask you a question?” Ben started. His dimples were in full force and I swear this sixty year old woman swooned a bit. Her cheeks tinted pink and she waved him off.
“Oh, of course. We’re always happy to point newcomers in the right direction. Passing through, I assume?”
“Actually,” he explained. “We’re staying for the next month. Over at the new museum.”
“Why on earth would you stay there?” She was alarmed now, taking a visible step back from us like we were the ghosts.
“We’re professional paranormal investigators. So we stay to record and gather evidence for the owners,” I explained. “We were kind of hoping you might have some local stories for us. The kind that we’d never find in our research.”
She gripped the edge of her order pad so hard the paper ripped. “N-no, I wouldn’t be much use for that,” she stammered. “But old man Johnson would. You can find him over at Charlie’s Pub in about an hour. He’ll be there until close.”
“Thanks,” Ben said quickly, letting it drop since she seemed out of her element now.
“Anytime,” she promised shakily as she walked away. I had my doubts that it was a sincere offer after that reaction.
“So locals are afraid of that place. Noted. Now I can’t wait to hear what this crazy old guy has to say,” Lincoln said. It was nice to see everyone so happy again. We didn’t realize how hard it was to take the year off and work on the house. We did local hunts, sure, but traveling was in our blood.
“I’m about to go fix the man’s boat for him to avoid another flashback in the future,” Sully said with a chuckle.
“Hey, not a bad plan. It might earn you some good stories and get us on their good side around here.” I shrugged. “Might not hurt to have them like us.”
“True enough,” Lincoln agreed. “But she seemed pretty spooked and I doubt she’s the only one. So doing local interviews might not be as easy as we’ve come to expect.”
“Alcohol loosens lips,” Ethan pointed out as he finished off his plate. “Give me a second.” He got up and walked up to the counter to talk to the waitress. I knew exactly what he was doing. Because that man would not let us leave without dessert. Man after my own heart.
When he walked back he had a heaping plate of the whoopie pies. I snatched a chocolate one off the top and the rest split the other flavors. Sully groaned as he bit into it.
“Man this beats military food… which funny enough was better than mom’s cooking,” he laughed.
I laughed around my bite. “You’re not kidding. She cooked pizza for one of Olivia’s birthday sleepovers and it was horrendous. I didn’t know you could ruin pizza.”
“Pizza, pasta, sandwiches, she hasn’t met a food she can cook,” he agreed. “One time she had Liv help her make a birthday cake. When she went to sleep that night dad took us outside to share ice cream. She replaced sugar with salt somehow.”
“That’s even worse than Lincoln’s cooking,” Ben teased.
“Hey now,” Lincoln growled. “I’m a very fine grill master.”
“That you are,” I agreed. “But that’s why weonlylet you grill.”
“We ready to hit the pub? Maybe we can find more than one old man with stories,” Lincoln asked as we all chuckled lightly. We finished up and paid before using the waitress’s directions to head further into town.
The pub looked like every other small town dive bar, from the blaring old-school rock music to the wood paneled interior with more decor than should be humanly possible to hang up.
“Oh, I love this song!” Sully announced as it switched over to one I didn't recognize. He snatched my hand before I realized what was happening and pulled me to the dance floor.
“Uh, I don’t dance,” I protested. He just gave me a smirk and led me through the moves. Seeing him smiling and moving so fluidly over the dance floor had me willing to try. This is why Olivia wanted him to come with us. I only wished I could show her this side of him. As he spun me around I saw Ethan recording with a huge smile on his face. That man was getting some tonight. Always one step ahead of me.