Free Haunted by Heather Graham

and he sure as hell didn’t believe in premonitions.
    Still, he didn’t like this.
    He shook his head, speaking with his back to the others.
    â€œThere’s an awful lot that’s bad in that place’s past,” he said.
    He walked back into the sunshine of the day, letting the door slam behind him.
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    There was silence in his wake for several seconds.
    â€œHe’s going to let it happen, Mae, don’t worry, you’ll get to go to a real live seance,” Clint assured the woman still standing behind the bar, and still staring after Matt Stone.
    â€œYeah, well, it’s not the whole thing with the house that makes him so hostile,” Mae said quietly.
    â€œHe just never should have married that bitch from New York,” Carter agreed.
    â€œRedhead, too,” David Jenner murmured.
    â€œWell, living or dead, it’s always people that haunt the living!” Mae said sagely, offering a sad shake of her head. Then she brightened, sounding like a girl about to head for her first dance. “And you bet your butts, gentlemen! I’m going to get to see a real live ghost!”
    â€œMae, if you see a ghost, the point is, it’s not ‘live,’” Clint said dryly. “But what the hell? Things could get darned interesting around here.”
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    Thirty minutes later, Darcy was back in her hotel room, listening to the voice on her cell phone.
    â€œYou want me to do what?” she said incredulously to Adam. “Not apologize , right?”
    Darcy actually pulled the cell phone away from her ear to stare at it, despite the fact that on an intellectual level, she knew she couldn’t see her employer’s face.
    â€œDon’t apologize, just rethink things.” Adam, far away inLondon, was quiet for a minute. “Darcy, I have a vested interest in the house. I’ll explain when I get back into the country.” He sighed softly. “Darcy, there’s no one like you. I need you. Please don’t sound as if I’ve asked you to make peace with hostile aliens or some such thing.”
    Darcy winced. She knew that there was something about Melody House that Adam hadn’t shared with her yet. Had to be. She was often certain herself that Adam, despite his own apparent wealth, was funded as well by another source—possibly governmental. They’d quietly gone in and out of a number of Federal buildings in previous cases. This was different. He really wanted in. For personal reasons, so it seemed. Reasons he wasn’t willing to share, as yet.
    â€œAdam, if this was so important, you should have been here.”
    â€œI know. But I had to be in London.”
    She didn’t ask for an explanation, because he was a man who always kept business confidential, and even with her, information was shared on a need to know basis.
    â€œDarcy, are you okay?”
    â€œI’ve met a lot of skeptics,” she said, “I’ve just never had to actually work with anyone so openly hostile.”
    â€œYou can do it. I know you can,” Adam said.
    â€œBut,” she said quietly, “you don’t really want me to call this guy and apologize, do you?”
    â€œI’d never ask you to do that.”
    â€œSo…?”
    â€œLet’s let it lie for now. I’m willing to bet that you’ll hear from him.”
    Darcy breathed out on a deep sigh. She hated the fact that she hadn’t handled the situation well at all. Her affection for Adam was very deep and real.
    â€œAll right. So what exactly do I do now?”
    â€œJust sit tight. Is the hotel okay?”
    Darcy looked around the room. “Sure,” she lied. As she didso, the hotel line began to ring. She stared at the phone distastefully. It was dirtier than a pay phone outside a heavily frequented gas station.
    â€œI’ve got another call,” she told Adam.
    â€œAny premonitions?” Adam said lightly. “I’m willing to bet