1 Chapter 1

Darwin Watson turned off the engine and got out of the car. He glanced around at some of the houses that lined both sides of the street in the suburban area of Los Angeles, California. There was nothing out of the ordinary at all. Most of them were two stories high, but some had obviously added an attic at the top. He turned toward his fellow private investigator, Kellan Houghton, before cocking his head toward the house on their right.

He observed the house for a moment longer before making his way toward the front door. He didn’t have to check to see if Kellan was following him. They had been partners for almost three years, starting from Kellan’s first day on the job back when the man was twenty-four years old. Darwin was two years older than Kellan. He had started the private agency on his own for two main reasons: one, he had always been fascinated by the supernatural stuff; and two, and probably the more important reason, a private agency that dealt with the supernatural incidents didn’t have as many competitors. It was more or less a niche market.

Kellan caught up with him a few seconds later. “Are we sure that’s the house?”

Darwin nodded. “Yeah.”

Darwin could still recall how rough the business was at the beginning. He had no clients for the first few months. It was sheer coincidence, and maybe a stroke of good luck, when he had landed his first case by accident. One of his neighbors, Tommy, had purchased an antique painting. Almost immediately, there had been rumors of weird crying sounds coming from Tommy’s apartment late at night. All the neighbors on his floor had been concerned. After all, Tommy and his wife had also recently brought home their firstborn child, a baby girl, from the hospital. The other neighbors were worried something terrible had been happening to the baby every night.

After one week of the strange sobbing noise, the management team for the apartment building was forced to confront Tommy and his wife. The team knocked on the door, but there was no answer. They had to open the door with the spare key for the apartment. The management team was shocked to discover Tommy and his wife, along with their newborn daughter, huddling in fear in one corner of the kitchen. When the team had succeeded in calming the couple down, Tommy informed the management about this pale-faced man stepping out from the antique painting in the living room and howling every night. Tommy had gotten rid of the painting twice, but it would always reappear back on the wall on its own.

When Darwin had caught wind of this supernatural incident, he was quick to volunteer his services to Tommy. Up to that fateful evening, he had never been aware of his ability to drive away evil spirits. He had expected to do things the old-fashioned way. He had called for the assistance of a well-known psychic, who had been introduced to him by a friend. The psychic was supposed to deal with the spirit. However, it had taken him by surprise when the pale-faced spirit had cowered away from him before disappearing. The spirit had never returned. Darwin had also burned the painting just to make sure there were no loose ends.

He had no idea how he got the spirit to go away, but that case had landed him several other supernatural cases. Tommy and his wife had spread word about him to their friends, and their friends had in turn done the same thing by informing their other friends. Since then, he had been overwhelmed by the number of supernatural cases he was offered for the next few months. Most were fake, but there were a few real ones. He was aware he couldn’t handle everything on his own. That was how he had eventually ended up with Kellan as his partner. They worked well together. He trusted Kellan. He had no doubt Kellan would always have his back.

He shook himself out of his trip down memory lane and inhaled deeply when he reached the door of the house. Kellan was standing next to him mere seconds later. After that, neither of them uttered another word. Darwin stepped closer to the door before pressing on the bell to its right. He and Kellan didn’t have to wait a long time. He heard someone coming toward the door, and there were a few brief, soft noises from within right before a middle-aged woman opened the door with a slight hesitation. He smiled at the woman before displaying his credentials. Then he introduced himself and his partner.

“I’m Darwin Watson, a private investigator of the paranormal,” he said before pointing at Kellan. “This here is my fellow investigator, Kellan Houghton. May I know if I’m speaking to Mrs. Lucinda Taylor?”

“Miss,” the middle-aged woman corrected before scooting to one side and allowing the two detectives to make their way into the house. “Come in, please.”

“My apologies, Miss Taylor. Thank you. We just have a few questions for you.”

Lucinda gestured toward the couch in the living room and invited Darwin and Kellan to take a seat. “May I get you something to drink?”

Kellan shook his head. “We appreciate it, but that won’t be necessary. We will try to make this as quick as possible.”

“Suit yourself, gentlemen,” Lucinda responded before occupying the single couch herself. “I’ve told you both everything over the phone, but I suppose you want me to recount the whole event again?”

Darwin beamed at Lucinda. “Please. That will be helpful. We need to make sure we haven’t missed anything.”

Lucinda breathed in deeply as she clasped her hands on her lap. “It happened almost one week ago. It was late in the evening, and it was raining cats and dogs outside. I had just finished eating my dinner right here in this living room. I’ve always enjoyed watching a romantic comedy on the television while eating. Anyway, I digress. As I said, I was done with my meal, so I picked up the dishes and brought them toward the kitchen to wash them. I’ve never left the dirty dishes in the sink. That’s a very unsanitary habit, and I absolutely abhor it. People need to learn to clean up after themselves immediately. It’s called discipline. Now, where was I?”

“It was a dark and stormy night, and you were washing the dishes,” Kellan reminded while barely concealing the sarcasm in his tone of voice.