Starlight Web (Moonshadow Bay #1) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,30
alive from then. There were, I believe, a couple nurses and maybe a doctor from Moonshadow Bay who worked there.”
Tad handed me a bundle of intake papers for me to fill out. I began to sort through the forms, still thinking about the case. While ghosts could—and sometimes did—kill, generally they weren’t usually so violent. However, given dark magicians had owned the asylum, there was no telling what sort of mayhem they’d been up to. They could have empowered his ghost, or perhaps they stirred up something that had already been tied to the land.
Turning back to Caitlin, I asked, “Is there anything special about the history of the land? Anything physical, like was there any sort of nuclear power plant there, which I doubt, but you know what I’m talking about. Or anything on a paranormal level—was it by chance—”
“An old Indian burial ground?” She laughed. “I know what you’re talking about. Let me look into that too.”
Tad smiled. “I told you she’d be right for the job, guys. She’s already thinking like an investigator.”
“I don’t watch The Dead Files for nothing,” I said, grinning. As I went back to filling out the paperwork that would officially net me a paycheck, my thoughts were picking over the pieces of what we knew, and I found myself dwelling on the family who had lost their lives to the disturbed yearnings of Psy Schooner.
Chapter Seven
An hour later, Caitlin had a list of three names for me—a doctor and two nurses who had worked at the asylum during its heyday. She also had the name of someone I could talk to about the history of the land. There had been several buildings there before the Stellarview Institution bought the place.
“I made an appointment for you at three p.m. with Charles Crichton, who can give you a more detailed history of the area. He’s a member of the Moonshadow Bay Historical Society, and you’ll find his office in the Garrison Library.” She emailed me the information as well as printing it out for me. “You’ll find all their addresses and phone numbers there. I’ll leave it to you to call them, because I wasn’t sure who you wanted to visit first.”
I accepted the list, scanning it quickly. “I’ll call after lunch. I don’t want to just drop in on them.”
I glanced at the clock. It was 11:45. My desk was organized, Hank had assigned me a laptop and got me signed into the system, and I had finished the intake paperwork. My stomach rumbled. I was hungry.
“What do you guys do about lunch?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t brought anything.
Hank motioned to the door. “There’s a sub shop and a pizza place a few shops down the strip mall. There’s also a fish and chips stand across the parking lot. One of us usually just makes a lunch run for everybody. We trade off. In fact, it’s my turn today, so give me your order, I’ll phone it in, and pick everybody’s orders up in about twenty minutes.”
“Oh, what about fish and chips?” Caitlin said, clapping her hands. “It’s cold out there and I could use some chowder.”
“Fine by me. What about you, Tad? January?” Hank asked.
Tad and I both nodded. We placed our orders with Hank and he went to phone them in. I glanced over the paperwork one last time to make sure everything was accurate. The job offered insurance, which I didn’t expect, so it was a nice bonus. Tad offered a 401K plan, so I signed up for that. Finally, I handed Tad back the packet.
“Have a seat,” he said, motioning to the chair by the side of his desk. “So, do you think you’ll like the job?”
I nodded. “I think so. It’s interesting, and I’ll be able to stretch my writing muscles.”
“I looked into your old magazine,” he said. “Your byline’s all over it. How did your ex ever manage to push you out?”
I shook my head. “I trusted him too much. He lied to me, and I fell for a scam. I ended up signing everything over to him in a trumped-up prenup, long after we got married. I didn’t read what I signed—I thought it was something about the corporation, and that was my mistake. So, with my signature on the documents, and the fact that his lawyer had pre-dated them, I was stone-cold out of luck. That was shortly before he told me he wanted a divorce.”