Jarvis Street Chapter 20
James didn’t exactly feel well rested when he got into work a couple mornings later, but he had gotten a full eight hours of sleep two nights in a row. As he scrolled through his email, he sipped his coffee and considered what had to be done today. Then he paused as he reached a message from Branch Relations.
Jim –
Below are the codes for the captain’s training modules. You’ll find them downloaded to your account and ready to be completed.
Please tell Bradley that one message will suffice next time.
Below were a string of nonsense numbers and letters. Hoping against hope, James closed his email and logged into his Foundation account. Sure enough, as soon as he opened it, a message popped up.
WELCOME TO THE CAPTAINCY OF THE SOUTH COAST BRANCH OF THE FOUNDATION FOR PARANORMAL RESEARCH, LOCATED IN BEAUTIFUL NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.
He wasn’t going to win all of them, but at least now he could do his job.
***
An hour later, James had completed two of the required twenty modules, and he was feeling a little more secure. He wanted to do more, but there were plenty of other things that required his attention today. But first, he needed to talk to Amelia.
“Hey, can you come outside with me?”
Amelia looked up from her computer. “Yeah, of course.”
She didn’t look uneasy this time, not like she had when he’d called her to come out with him after the meeting last week. Instead, she looked at him curiously as they went out and sat on the back steps.
“Do you know if there’s something in this building that would keep detectors from sensing ghosts?” he asked.
Amelia blinked at him. “Are you thinking the headquarters is haunted?” she asked.
James sighed. “This is fucked up,” he said. “But I’ve been seeing Robin.”
He almost regretted saying it as Amelia’s face went a little pale. But then she shook her head. “No, I don’t think there’s anything that would keep EMF detectors or anything like that from sensing irregularities. When are you seeing him?”
“I’ve seen him a couple times,” James admitted. “It’s always been when things get rough and he’s always taunting me.”
“Do you think it’s actually him?” Amelia asked. “I mean, not to start a thing, but you’ve been under a ton of pressure lately.”
“I’m not positive,” James said. “But no, I don’t think it is.”
“I mean, Madelyn sweeps the house every single shift,” Amelia said. “And she’s never gotten any indications.”
James hadn’t known that. Had that been something she’d been assigned at one point? Or was this something she’d taken the initiative to start? He’d have to ask.
There was so much to learn about everybody’s roles here. He’d barely begun to scratch the surface.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “I know there’s protections above the doors, but what about-”
“I’m sorry, are you asking if I doubt Madelyn’s ghost hunting abilities?”
“No,” James said quickly. “No, fuck, don’t tell her that. No, I’m not.”
“There are protections up all over the building and yard and we search it constantly,” Amelia said. “Either Robin has come back in some form the Foundation hasn’t ever dealt with, or you’re having a stress reaction. On the slim chance it really is him, sever your mental connection to him. It’s a simple process, I can help you with it. And we’ll keep up the usual protections with a little extra reinforcement. If it’s him, that should keep him away. And if it isn’t him, all it will do is give you a little extra protection in general.”
James nodded. Normally he’d be humiliated, but all he could feel was relief. For once, there was a simple solution. Whether it was paranormal or not, this one could actually be solved.
“I’m going to clear out the office,” James said before he realized he was thinking about it.
Amelia didn’t seem all that surprised. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. It’s time.”
“Do you want to go start that now?”
If he didn’t, he might put it off again, so they got up and started walking back into the house. The door to Robin’s office was still shut. No one except for James had so much as touched it since Robin died, and even he’d just cracked the door open and then slammed it shut again. James’s heart was pounding as he turned the knob and pushed the door open.
The room was hot and smelled stale. Robin’s familiar desk was in the middle, stacked with paperwork he never finished. There was so much stuff in here, it was going to take forever to figure out what was useful and what was trash.
But Robin was gone, and he was never coming back. So maybe James could let go of his fear and start the process. At the very least, it would give them a little more space to work with.
“God, it reeks in here,” Amelia muttered. “What do you want to do?”
“I need his desk gone,” James said quickly. “I’ll buy a new one, I don’t care. And I’ll break it down myself if that’s what it takes to get it out of here. The desk goes, then we go through all the papers and see what should stay.”
“None of it.”
He was tempted to agree. The process was sure to stir up bad memories, and the wounds were still fresh. But it was fine, he’d get through it. He was captain after all.
James walked into what was now his office and considered what needed to happen next.
END
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CONTINUE TO FAIRVIEW HILLS CEMETERY (NORTH COUNTY PARANORMAL UNIT #3)