Chapter 9: The Search Begins
“Well what now?” Luke was the first to speak. His color had returned. He was no longer frozen but he still seemed a bit shaken. After all, he never really encountered ghosts personally back home. Let alone ones that were holding him against his will.
“Well the sooner we solve this the sooner we can go,” Tracy had pulled her phone out of her pocket and headed to the living room.
“I'm gonna see if I can find records of the case online,” Courtney followed Tracy out of the kitchen, Luke on her heels.
Sam was still doing the dishes but Alex however had jumped off the counter and began pacing. He was trying to think of why someone would want to kill her. She seemed nice after all. Was she holding them hostage? Maybe but she'd been wronged when she was alive and she wanted help. He began searching for stationary as he pulled a marker out of his pocket. She was rich, had to have been for her to have afforded this place and everything in it. Not to mention the big diamond necklace she'd been wearing in the portrait in the library.
“Uh… Are you okay?” Sam raised a brow, watching move back and forth along the far wall. He'd finished the dishes alone and put them away without second thought but now he just thought it was odd. Alex looked at him briefly, shrugged, then just continued pacing.
“Do you want to be left alone? ‘Cause I can go so you can have peace in quiet,” Sam had finally realized Alex was trying to piece together the mystery of Vivian's death and could probably use someone who didn't love to talk as much as Sam usually did. The only reason he didn't talk Alex's ear off was because he didn't think Alex would take too kindly to someone disrupting the bubble of peace and quiet that usually surrounded him.
“What? No… Actually come with me upstairs. There was an old office we passed yesterday. It might have some clues,” Alex passed Sam on the way out his path set for the main hall. Sam followed on his heels the corners of his mouth turning up into a smile. At least Alex had asked for his company and he didn't feel like he was forcing it on him like he had yesterday in the library.
Pov Change
Courtney was sprawled on the couch looking through resources on her phone. Old newspaper articles and obituaries looking for a photo that resembled the not-so-friendly ghost who had enlisted their help. Tracy, after striking out for the sixth time in a row, was aimlessly flipping through old papers on a nearby desk. Luke had pulled a chair from the kitchen and was actually succeeding in getting his jacket down from the chandelier. He'd gotten so focused on that that he nearly missed the ‘ah-ha’ moment Courtney had.
She'd finally found an obituary however it was from the 60’s, way before her time. Guess it was true that anything could be found on the internet if you looked hard enough. “The old lady's name is Vivian Bucks. She died in the fall of 1967 so we won't be able to get any real evidence. What does she expect us to do anyways?” Courtney sighed. They still had a while so he guessed they might be able to crack the case but she was seriously beginning to doubt it.
“She probably just wants to know who killed her. I mean that's all any ghost in the movies usually wants. Unless we're talkin’ then they want you dead. Besides, it can't be that hard. I've seen detectives on TV solve cases like this before,” Tracy said to no one in particular.
“TV detectives make it look easy. It's always someone the victim knows or at least had a brief encounter with. Someone with motive and opportunity,” Luke spoke, getting down from the chair jacket in hand. He beamed at the girls, finally glad to have his jacket back.
“So who would have had motive and opportunity?” Courtney sat up resituating herself. She wanted nothing more than to be home with her friends at the mall with a latte or cappuccino. She missed her cat, Sir Fuzzles, and her mom most of all. If solving this was the only way home she'd do it, no matter what.