Ghostly Asylum Page 10

  “It means that I haven’t ruled out the prospect that Michael and Lucy set this up to get Harper into the basement,” Jared replied, not missing a beat. “They had their heads bent together at lunch and they could’ve easily plotted this. I’m assuming you didn’t find Lucy when you looked.”

  “No, we didn’t.” John softened his stance a bit. “I can’t just let you take the boat. It was rented with production company money. Only an employee is allowed to drive it per the contract.”

  Harper risked a glance at Jared, cringing when she saw the nerve working in his jaw. “What if John goes back with Eric?” she suggested. “That way Eric won’t be alone and the company will be represented.”

  “I didn’t agree to that,” Michael argued.

  “No one asked you,” Harper snapped, taking the producer by surprise with her vehemence. “Did you and Lucy work this out so you could get me into the basement? I want to know.”

  “Of course not.”

  Harper wasn’t convinced. Michael had one toe in the Hollywood waters. Sure, it was a small pool that was more Hollywood-adjacent than anything else, but she was convinced he knew how to lie. “Did you look in the basement?”

  “Well … .” Michael wrinkled his nose.

  “He refused to go down there without you,” Steve supplied. “He said the professional ghost hunter should be in charge of that particular hunt. We did go up to the second floor.”

  “And?”

  “And as far as I can tell, she didn’t head that way,” Steve replied. “There’s a layer of dust – and what looks to be mold because part of the ceiling has caved in and it’s rained up there – but it doesn’t look to me as if anyone has walked in that area. We called around and did a quick search, but we didn’t have any luck.”

  “And why didn’t you go to the basement yourself?” Jared challenged.

  “Because Michael told me not to and he’s still technically my boss.”

  The answer didn’t make Jared happy in the least. “Oh, well, that’s brave.” Jared blew out a frustrated sigh as he ran a hand over the back of his head. “Okay, John, you should go with Eric.”

  “Why don’t I take Steve with me?” John suggested.

  “Because I might need Steve here,” Jared replied. “As far as I can tell, Steve and I are the only ones with any training. I think Shawn will be some help, too, but I want as many strong bodies as possible and with you and Eric leaving, that means I only have three.”

  “Hey!” Zander was offended.

  “I mean four.” Jared held up his hands in a placating manner. “I wasn’t suggesting you’re not buff and strong.”

  “Just brave, right?”

  Jared pretended he didn’t hear the question. “I need at least one member of the security detail here. In fact, if one of the camera crew members would prefer going to Whisper Cove, that would be even better.” Jared slid his expectant gaze to Trey and Finn, but Michael answered before they could.

  “Absolutely not,” Michael snapped. “I need them to film the search for Lucy. This could be the most exciting thing that’s ever happened on our show.”

  “And that right there is why Jared is suspicious of you,” Harper noted, shaking her head. “Lucy is missing. You don’t seem worried in the least.”

  “Of course I’m worried,” Michael countered. “It’s just … I’m sure she’s fine. She probably simply got turned around.”

  “Why don’t I think that’s how you’re going to play it for television?” Jared muttered, absently rubbing his hand up and down Harper’s back. “If one of your people has to go, it will be John and he’ll go with Eric.”

  Michael opened his mouth to respond, something snarky clearly on his lips. Instead he regrouped and offered up a curt nod. “Fine. John and Eric can go back to Whisper Cove and get backup. Then, when the backup arrives, we can all feel foolish together because we’ll have already found Lucy.”

  “That would be great.” Jared shifted so he faced Eric. “Go straight to Mel. Tell him what’s going on. He’ll know what to do.”

  Eric nodded, somber. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay? You could send Molly back with John.”

  Jared spared a glance over his shoulder before drawing Eric away from the group so they could talk without anyone overhearing. “I’m not comfortable sending her off with a guy I don’t know.” Jared’s voice was barely a whisper. “John seems like a nice enough guy. He’s not one of the snarky ones but … .” He left it hanging.

  “But she would be trapped on a boat with a guy who could be a pervert or something,” Eric finished, his eyes briefly locking with Molly’s before he forced his attention back to Jared. “It’s going to storm tonight. You felt it outside. What if I can’t get back here tonight?”

  “Then get back here first thing in the morning,” Jared replied. “I can hold it together for one night. At least I hope I can.”

  “Do you really believe something happened to Lucy?”

  “I honestly don’t know,” Jared replied. “I wouldn’t put it past Michael and Lucy to set something like this up, but Harper feels that there are numerous ghosts in this place. Just because the first one she met was nice and pleasant, that doesn’t mean the remainder of them are.”

  “Right. Okay.” Eric rolled his neck until it cracked. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I won’t let you down.”

  “I know you won’t. Even though you don’t like me, you love Harper and Zander. I think you’re even fond of Molly, although you don’t want to admit that and you’re acting really odd where she’s concerned. Just for the record … I know what’s going on.”

  Eric’s kept his face blank. “Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

  “Something you don’t want to admit to, but you will eventually,” Jared replied, not missing a beat. “Go before it gets too late. I’ll take care of things on this end.”

  Eric opened his mouth to add something, but Jared stopped him.

  “Yes, that includes taking care of Molly,” Jared said. “Go. I don’t like any of this right now and I want more people I trust on this island.”

  “THIS WAY.”

  Harper knew Jared wasn’t keen on going to the basement – he wanted to force Michael’s hand and make the overzealous producer admit that this was all a setup – but she realized that venturing into a more dangerous part of the building was practically a necessity at this point.

  “We’d better not be going to the basement,” Jared grumbled, doing his best to ignore Finn as the cameraman trailed them. They agreed to leave everyone else together in the foyer, for protection, and handle the next leg themselves. Jared still wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

  “We’re not going to the basement,” Harper said. “There’s one more room on this floor we haven’t looked at. It’s on the other side of the common room.”

  Jared knit his eyebrows. “What room? I don’t remember seeing it on the plans.”

  “That’s because it was essentially an open space on the indoor plans,” Harper explained.

  “You’re saying it wasn’t on the plans.”

  “Basically.”

  “So how do you know it’s there?”

  “Because, when we walked outside, I noticed the wall was built out in one spot and it didn’t make a lot of sense to me,” Harper replied. “That’s the spot that’s empty on the plans. I remembered it after we took a second loop around the island looking for Lucy.”

  “So you think whatever Bennett built there is something that he didn’t want anyone to see,” Finn mused. “That’s cool.”

  “I was going to say something else but … whatever.” Jared reached forward and looped his finger through one of Harper’s back belt loops. “Don’t even think of walking through whatever door we find without me.”

  Harper snorted, enjoying the levity given the heavy situation. “I’ll do my best.”

  “You will do more than that,” Jared said. “I’m going through the door first. Me.”

 
“What if the door slams shut and we’re separated again, just with you on the other side this time?” Finn asked.

  “I … yeah, we’re going in together.” Jared eyed the large door he missed on their first pass through the main floor. “Huh. I guess I must’ve assumed this was a janitor’s closet.”

  “Oh, it is.” Harper’s eyes sparked with excitement. “I think the back of the closet it what leads to the other room.”

  “I’m still not sure I’m buying there’s a secret room here,” Jared offered. “I looked at the same plans you did and didn’t notice a thing.”

  “That’s because you weren’t looking for the same thing I was.”

  “Which is?”

  “Secrets,” Harper replied, reaching for the door handle. “This whole place was built on secrets and lies. The hospital administrators managed to ruin entire lives because they kept secrets.”

  “Heart, what happened to Anna was tragic, but it was also fairly normal for the time in question,” Jared pointed out, bracing himself when the door swung open. If she moved to step forward he was prepared to drape himself over her as a shield if it became necessary. “Women were treated as property back then.”

  “Ah, the good old days,” Finn teased, grinning when Harper glared at him. “What? Bad joke?”

  “Don’t push her too far,” Jared warned, keeping a firm hold on Harper as she stepped into the tiny room. “See. It’s a closet.”

  “It is,” Harper agreed, swinging her flashlight to the back wall and grinning when she saw a second door. “It’s a closet with two exits. How often do you see that?”

  Jared’s stomach twisted when he realized she was right. “How could you possibly have guessed that?”

  “I told you. I looked at the building plans.”

  “I guess that will be good if you two ever want to buy a house together,” Finn teased.

  “Shut up,” Jared grumbled, keeping close as Harper walked through the second door.

  The room they found themselves in was much bigger, and unlike the foyer with its missing windows and ravaged wooden floors, this room was largely untouched. Jared kept one hand on Harper to make sure he didn’t lose her in the dark and flicked on his flashlight. Harper followed suit and Finn increased the illumination on his camera. Then all three of them gasped in tandem.

  “Holy … what is this?” Jared asked, dumbfounded.

  “It’s a treatment room,” Harper said around the lump in her throat. “Some of the patients were … um … treated in here.”

  “I think you mean tortured,” Finn corrected, zooming the camera toward the tiled floor. “What is that?”

  “What?” Jared jerked his head in the direction Finn filmed.

  “It looks like blood,” Finn murmured.

  Jared squeezed Harper’s hip before taking a step in that direction, kneeling next to the discoloration and pressing himself closer to the ground so he could study it. Unlike the rest of the asylum, this room was pristine. It reminded Harper of a museum exhibit rather than an abandoned torture chamber.

  “I’m pretty sure it is blood,” Jared said after a beat.

  “Lucy?” Finn sounded frightened.

  “No, it’s not fresh.” Jared ran his finger over the tile. “It’s very, very old.”

  “So what is this room?” Finn asked, swinging the camera toward the back wall. “Look. There are tools hanging over there.”

  Harper saw them before Finn and was already moving in that direction. She stopped next to a wooden bench – one that looked as if it belonged in a garage rather than a medical room – and studied the assortment of metal devices hanging from hooks on the back of the bench.

  “What is that?” Jared almost jolted Harper out of her skin when he appeared at her back. “Sorry, Heart.” He sensed her momentary distress and kissed the back of her neck. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I thought you heard me come up behind you.”

  “It’s okay.” Harper forced a bit of bravado into her voice. “I know what this is.” Harper pulled down an odd-looking device. It had a blunt head on one end and a wicked point on the other. She grabbed something that looked like a small hammer and held the two items together. “I know what this room was used for.”

  “I’m almost afraid to ask,” Jared muttered, shaking his head. “What are those?”

  “They’re used for lobotomies,” Finn answered, making a clucking sound in the back of his throat. “I did a lot of research on asylums before this trip. I’m guessing this was some sort of behavior modification room.”

  “What kind of modification?” Jared asked, horrified.

  “It could’ve been anything,” Harper replied, struggling to find her emotional footing. “Seduction and disappointment was only one ridiculous thing people were accused of back in the day. There were others.”

  “Like?”

  “Like masturbation, menstrual derangement, religious enthusiasm, desertion of husband, and even jealousy. There were tons of them.”

  “Huh.” Jared wasn’t sure what to make of the list. It sounded made up, but he was positive it wasn’t. In a way, he found it funny. Of course, he was standing in a place where it was treated as anything but funny and people suffered because of it. Jared wisely opted not to laugh, but he couldn’t stop himself from making a lame joke. “I guess it’s good your menstrual derangement period is still a few weeks off, isn’t it?”

  Harper rolled her eyes but managed a slight giggle, which was all Jared really wanted. “I guess it’s good for you that you’re over that whole Jason thing, too, right?” Jason Thurman was a former boyfriend who recently returned to Whisper Cove and opened a restaurant. Jared still found himself getting jealous when Jason looked at Harper in a certain way, even though he fancied himself ridiculously secure in their relationship.

  “Menstrual derangement is worse.”

  “It is not.”

  “It is so.”

  “It is not.”

  “It is so.”

  “It kind of is,” Finn hedged, chuckling when Harper swiveled to face off with him. The laughter died on his lips when he saw her face go ashen. “What the … ?”

  Harper fell backward – away from Jared – and hit the tiled floor with an audible “oomph.”

  “Heart?” Jared was only mildly concerned, figuring she must’ve gotten her feet tangled together or something. He immediately changed his mind when Harper’s eyes rolled back in her head and she began twitching. “Harper!”

  Jared dropped to his knees, unsure what to do. “Is she having a seizure?”

  “How am I supposed to know?” Finn asked, his voice squeaky. “I’m not a doctor.”

  “I don’t know what to do.” Jared was near tears. “Heart, please open your eyes.” He gingerly ran his fingers over the back of her head looking for an injury of some sort.

  Instead of answering, Harper rolled her head from side to side, small gasps escaping. Jared was relieved to see movement, but the feeling only lasted a few moments because then she started to scream.

  And she didn’t stop when her body began thrashing about. The terrifying sounds only got worse. Much, much worse.

  11

  Eleven

  “Harper!”

  Jared was anguished as he held tight, terror overwhelming him as he debated what to do. As far as he knew, Michael didn’t have anyone with medical training in his group. Thankfully for him, Harper wasn’t out of it for long. When she returned to the land of the living, though – and Jared was convinced something truly horrible happened to her while she was out of it – she was confused.

  “Jared?”

  “Harper.” Jared let loose with a strangled gasp. “It’s okay.” He stroked her hair as he rearranged himself on the floor, tugging her onto his lap as he pressed her tight against his chest. He ignored the fact that he was sitting two feet away from what he believed to be dried blood and instead focused all of his energy on his blonde. “You’re okay.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead.


  “What should I do?” Finn’s face was white as he knelt. “Should I get help?”

  “No,” Harper answered immediately. “I’m fine. Besides, we can’t split up. Jared said so.”

  Jared wasn’t keen on having his words thrown back in his face – especially given the fact that Harper’s body was just now ceasing to shake – but he didn’t argue with her. “Stay with us. Although, if you film her, I will break that camera.”

  Finn glanced at the expensive piece of equipment he held in his hand and shrugged. “I don’t own it.” He held up a hand when Jared opened his mouth to say something snide. “I’m not going to film her. I’m just as freaked out as you are by what just happened.”

  Jared doubted very much that was the case, but he had no intention of wasting time arguing. “Heart, what happened to you?”

  “I’m not sure.” Harper ran her hand over her cheek as she searched her memory. “It’s weird. What did you see?”

  “I didn’t see much,” Jared replied. “One second you were fine and the next you were on the floor.”

  “That’s not completely true,” Finn hedged. “I happened to be looking at her when it happened and she went rigid. Her eyes went wide before they rolled back in her head. I swear it looked as if she saw something.”

  “Did you see something?” Jared focused on Harper.

  “I don’t know.” Harper struggled to find the right words to express herself. “Something was there. I think … I think it was a man, but I didn’t get a chance to focus on him before I started seeing … um … other things.”

  “What other things?” Finn was genuinely curious. “Did you see other patients?”

  “It wasn’t like that,” Harper hedged. “It was different. Usually I see spirits in this world. They know they’ve been left behind – or they at least expect it – and their reactions are appropriate to the time. That’s not what I just saw.”

  “Heart, if you don’t tell me what you saw I’m going to have an aneurysm or something,” Jared admitted. “I thought Zander was the king of the meltdowns. I was wrong. I’m about to take the crown.”