Free Finding the Way Back by Jill Bisker

out,” Emmett said slowly.
    “What are you and your friends going to do
about it?” I asked, laughing lightly.
    Emmett and Connie exchanged glances. “I
wondered if that’s why Connie called me,” Emmett replied. “Now you
might think I’m crazy, but I do some ghost hunting on the
side. Kind of like a hobby,” he said and shrugged, looking at me
with half a grin.
    I felt my blood begin to boil as I glared at
Connie. “You called a ghost hunter?” I demanded, bolting upright.
“Are you kidding me? What were you thinking? Everyone in this town
has always thought our family was nuts, now we’re going to hand
them proof.”
    “Laney, he’s my friend. It’s not like I
Googled ‘Ghostbusters’ and called the first name that came up.
Besides, what’s wrong with calling a ghost hunter? We heard all
those weird sounds in the house and then we saw that black shape in
the window just disappear into nothing. Why shouldn’t we call a
ghost hunter?” Connie challenged.
    “He probably set up the whole thing. Connie,
you are so gullible.”
    “Oh come on! That is the most ridiculous
thing I ever heard. How could he possibly have—,” Connie began to
interject then was cut off by Emmett.
    “Hey, wait a minute there, Laney. Number one,
I’m still right here. Number two, I am not a charlatan. I don’t
‘set things up’. I study things that are happening that no one else
can explain,” Emmett retorted.
    “He’s not even the only ghost hunter I know,”
Connie said, partly to herself. Emmett glanced at her sideways in
mild surprise.
    “There is nothing to explain if it’s just a
door closing because a window is open, or if it’s an animal living
in the walls, or it’s just an old house that makes noises,” I said,
ignoring Connie’s other comment.
    “You know, that’s fine, I can just leave.
Sorry, Connie,” Emmett said and headed for the door.
    But Connie put her foot down, both
figuratively and literally. “You, stay put,” she said to Emmett who
stopped at the front door. Then, turning to me she continued, “You,
listen. Laney, can you just open your mind for one minute? Have you
forgotten that our grandmother died in this house? She fell down
the stairs. That could give her unresolved issues,” Connie said,
exasperated.
    I took a deep breath, why was I fighting
this? I actually had always wanted to believe in ghosts. Our family
had many tales of paranormal experiences. My grandmother on my
father’s side swore that her father sat on her bed and spoke to her
the night he died. He said goodbye in the same room with her when
his body lay fifty miles away.
    “Laney, just give me a chance,” Emmett said.
“I take the approach that part of our objective is to expose as
much as we can with logical explanations. In reality, we debunk way
more than we ever find that’s paranormal. We look for the slanted
floors, the breeze coming through, animals in the walls, you name
it,” Emmett quietly spoke, walking back into the living room. “It’s
totally up to you. If you’re not interested, we won’t do it, and no
hard feelings.”
    I looked at Connie who was standing behind
Emmett nodding. Emmett said nothing more but waited patiently for
my decision. I could actually see him becoming a friend. I took a
large breath and let it out slowly. “One night, that’s all. If you
find nothing, I don’t want to hear any more talk about it. And I
want to be here. I’m not leaving and coming back to your evidence
like they do on TV. I want to be here to help debunk these things.”
I was adamant on this point. I wasn’t about to turn my house over
to strangers who could then make up whatever they wanted in order
to make it look like they found something.
    Emmett smiled. “No problem.” Then looking at
Connie, said, “Would you be more comfortable if I stayed tonight? I
could sleep on the couch here in the living room.”
    “No, we’re fine,” I answered for her. “I
think the witching hour has come and