Jarvis Street Chapter 14
The next morning when James arrived at work, Gabriella was already sitting at the dining room table with a stack of photocopies and books. “What’s this?” James asked, suppressing a yawn as he walked over and looked at the pile.
“Hi,” Gabriella said, looking up at him with a smile. “This is everything I could get on the history of the Jarvis Street School.”
There were two library books, plus at least twelve printouts neatly piled next to the book she had open in front of her. “Where’d you find all this?” James asked.
“The books are from the library. I ran over on my way to work this morning,” she said, putting a hand on the pile. “The printouts are from the Foundation. I just got them actually, so I haven’t looked through to see if anything important is in them.”
James wasn’t sure what to say. He’d planned on doing this work today after sending in the last information needed about the bear cryptid, but apparently Gabriella had taken to being the team’s unofficial researcher and she was damn good at it. “This is awesome, Gabs,” he said, picking up a small book of Leominster history and flipping through it. “Thanks for taking this on.”
“No problem,” Gabriella said. “I didn’t have anything pressing this morning, and I wanted to be useful.”
He waited for that wistful look, but it didn’t come. Instead, she looked up at him. “There’s one more thing that the archivist over at the historical society was looking into for me. Do you mind if I run over to pick up the copies he’s making when he’s done?”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
Gabriella went back to her research and James glanced over at the closed door across the table from them. He needed to go in there eventually, didn’t he? It didn’t have to be his office though. He didn’t need an office, right? They could clear it out and use it for…computer space? That library? After all, they already had one sealed-off room. Having two was just wasteful.
“I thought about checking in there.”
James jumped as Gabriella spoke. “What?”
She gestured toward the closed door. “Robin’s office. I know there are bookshelves in there and I thought maybe there would be records of former cases. And they would be connected with the school. But I couldn’t bring myself to go in.”
“Me neither,” James admitted.
“Do you-do you have nightmares?”
James glanced around the room to see if anyone else was around. Then he nodded. “Every night.”
“Same,” Gabriella admitted.
They stayed there for a moment, letting the words hang between them. Then James shook his head. “There aren’t any in there though,” he said. “At least as far as I know. The Foundation keeps all of its records at the main Boston branch. So if you’ve been in touch with their records department, you’ve gotten everything.”
Gabriella’s face lit up. “Records!” she exclaimed. “No, I was talking to the research librarian. Hang on, I’m going to call them too.”
She hurried into the living room and picked up the phone to call. James watched from the doorway as she spoke to the main line. It had been only three or so months since she’d joined and she was already so professional and finding her place. Even after everything, he didn’t regret bringing her on. Robin may have agreed to it just so he’d have a mark for his plan, but that didn’t mean they didn’t need the help. And she filled that role.
He just had to convince the others to see it. And then get more roles filled with more help.
***
Two hours later, James was on a call with the Foundation when Gabriella hurried into the room. She grabbed something off of the printer, then stood back a little, clearly waiting for him to finish.
Unfortunately, it seemed like that would never happen. “This Jarvis case is important,” the same representative that had been making his life just a little more irritating lately was saying. “I understand you need to be thorough, especially in a volatile situation. But I need to impress upon you the importance of getting this done quickly. The developer wants to have these condos on the market for spring, which means starting them now.”
James rolled his eyes toward Gabriella, who laughed, but still looked eager to interrupt him. “I understand,” he said. “Our team is working on it, but we need to know what we’re up against before we know what tools to use in cleansing it.”
“Of course, of course,” the man said.
His voice was gratingly calm, and James realized it was an attempt at being soothing. Did he really sound that agitated? “We’re working on the case now,” he said. “In fact, my team researcher is waiting to meet with me about it, so I’m going to need to go.”
“That’s alright,” the man said.
“Oh, when am I getting those training modules?” James asked, knowing the answer he was about to get.
He wasn’t disappointed. “Soon,” the man promised. “We’ve got a lot on our plate right now, so some things have been delayed. But I’ll check on that and let you know.”
Sure, they could have things delayed, but he couldn’t? “Thank you,” he said flatly.
The man hung up and James did the same. He turned to Gabriella, who was practically bouncing on her heels.
“Wait, team researcher?” she said.
James shrugged. “You’re team. You’re researching. Congratulations.”
She flushed, but then sat down next to him and slid a piece of paper between them. “Look,” she said, “This is from the Foundation’s records. Check out the address.”
“706 Jarvis Street,” James read from the faded print. “That’s the school.”
“And the year?”
“1978. Wait-”
“The Foundation was there before!” Gabriella exclaimed. “I’m waiting to get the report, but they were there investigating the exact same thing we are.”
“So if they were already there…” James started, fiddling with the sheet.
“Then they must have some information on what’s there,” Gabriella finished. “They did an entire case there when it was a school, so what changed between now and then?”
James nodded slowly. “Do you think maybe something happened on their case?” he asked Gabriella.
She looked thrown off for a second. “I don’t know,” she said. “Like, did something go wrong?”
“Yeah,” James replied, half thinking out loud. “Yeah, what if something went wrong on their case? I’m not saying they covered it up, I’m just thinking maybe something is lingering. And that would explain the sudden violence. Was there any indication that it might do something like that before you started the ritual?”
“Not at all,” Gabriella said. “Unless I might have missed something. But Bradley and Amelia didn’t seem concerned.”
James nodded, his mind already turning over possibilities. “I’m going to talk to Amelia,” he said. “Can you get in touch with the records department again and see if they have any more details on the case? There must be a report or something.”
“No problem,” Gabriella said, standing up. “Also, I’m going to go get lunch in a little while. Want to join?”
He did, but the pile of undone work beckoned him. “I wish I could,” he said, hoping it sounded sincere.
Gabriella didn’t seem too upset. “I’ll bring you something,” she said instead. “Text me what you want.”
***
The information from the Foundation arrived two hours later. James could tell by the way that Gabriella ran into the room.
“There’s something!” she exclaimed as James nearly spilled his water glass over the keyboard.
“What is it?” he asked.
She sat down next to him again and handed him another printout. “April 6, 1978. The Foundation sent a team of researchers in to investigate claims of the paranormal in the school. The team investigated and found evidence of an ongoing phenomenon. They sealed the property according to protocol.”
“Sealed it?” James repeated, heart suddenly going.
She handed the paper to him and he looked it over for himself. Yeah, there it was. Frederick Jenkins, lead investigator reports that the school was sealed, and all energy was contained safely.
“Fuck,” James muttered.
“What is it?”
“It’s been sealed for…shit, we might have a problem. Team meeting, go grab the others.”
