Free Fragile Spirits by Mary Lindsey Page A

her finger was cut off.” Mrs. Nelson slumped into a chair in the corner. “They never found the murder weapon or the finger.” She began to sob again. “My real estate agent told me about the murder and the rumors that the house was haunted. I just didn’t believe her. I thought it was all nonsense and was glad to have such a cheap price on the home because of silly superstition. My daughter and her husband told me not to buy this house. She won’t even set foot inside it.”
    Vivienne jumped and a surge of surprise ran through her when Ethan yelled,
“Floorboard!”
She spun around to face the direction of his voice.
    “Okay, Ethan. Here’s how it’s going to go. You’re going to show me the floorboard. I want you to tell me when I’m close. Is it in this room?”
    “No!”
he screamed.
    “Lower your voice, or I’m leaving.” She walked to the kitchen. “How about here?”
    “No!”
He was not as loud this time.
    The hallway,
I said.
It’s where the homeowner first encountered him.
    “Two invisible people talking to me is over-the-top, Paul. Just felt the need to share that.” She stopped in the dark hallway. “How about here, Ethan?”
    “Here, yes! Here. Dig. Dig!”
    “Too loud, dude. Keep it down.”
    I marveled at her ability to remain calm and keep the spirit calm as well.
    “I’m not liking the idea of ripping out the entire floor. How about we play a game of hot and cold. You tell me when I’m standing over it, okay, Ethan?”
    “I’ll do it. I want to dig it up!”
he shouted. It felt like I’d been gut punched when he tried to enter her body to soul-share. I pushed back at him and he exited.
    “Why won’t you let me in? I need your body,”
he wailed.
    Vivienne took a few more steps down the hallway. “Yeah, well, I need it too, and you seem a little unstable to me. I’m afraid you’d get carried away if you had a real body.”
    She was even up-front and honest with ghosts. More than that, it worked.
    “There,”
Ethan moaned when a floorboard creaked under Vivienne’s boot.
    “Got a crowbar or something to take up this wood?” Vivienne asked Mrs. Nelson.
    “Now you’ve gotta stop being so cryptic and come clean with me, Ethan,” Vivienne said after Mrs. Nelson scurried to go fetch tools. “Exactly what’s under that floor? Because if it’s a body or something creepy, you need to tell me now so I don’t lose it when I see it, okay?”
    “Letter. Letter for son.”
    A flood of relief washed through her. “A letter I can deal with.”
    “Exonerate! Clear his name! ME!”
His screams were so loud, Vivienne covered her ears.
    “Shut it, Ethan, or that board stays right where it is. Got it? I’m not in the mood for this.” She leaned against the wall. “Are they always this loud and pushy, Paul?”
    They’re all different. This one is pretty agitated. It sounds like he killed his wife and his son was prosecuted for it.
I was glad Ethan couldn’t hear me talking to her from inside her body, or he would have probably gone nuts.
Since this one keeps trying to barge into your body, I think it’s actually a Malevolent and not simply a Hindered. The fact he wants to clear his son’s name, rather than seek revenge, makes it unusual. It’s good we’re catching him now, because after a while, they lose sight of what can be done to help them. We’ll know if he’s turned when you resolve it.
    “What does it matter?”
    We are kind of graded. We get more points for resolving a Malevolent.
    “Graded like school? This sucks.”
    Mrs. Nelson returned with a crowbar and other garden tools. Vivienne reached for the crowbar.
    No,
I said.
It’s best that she tear up her own house.
    Before long, Mrs. Nelson had pried up the creaky board.
    “There’s nothing here,” she said, dropping the crowbar with a clang.
    Having my soul in Vivienne’s body made reading her emotions easy. Disappointment flooded through her.
    “Further south!”
The ghost yelled.
“Idiot girl. Go