Eve and Ezra sat in a booth by the window at WaffleHenge. Donna, the only waitress the diner seemed to have, lurked near their table with her coffee pot and unconcealed curiosity. And while Eve was happy to have a steady supply of coffee—Ezra mentioned something about Eve having coffee for blood—she didn’t particularly want a gossipy waitress listening in on her conversation with a ghost hunter. Especially after Donna had suggested that Eve’s apartment was haunted. It was, of course, but she didn’t want Donna to know that.

Ezra nervously sipped his cup of water and rotated between staring out the window at the parking lot across the street, glancing at Eve, and watching as Donna not-so-subtly watched them.

“Why is she staring at us?” he whispered, leaning across the table. His bitten fingernails tapped against the worn laminate.

Eve sighed and crossed her arms. “She’s nosy as hell, that’s why.” She turned to look directly at Donna, who averted her eyes and pretended to wipe down a table that was already clean. One of the other customers, sitting at a table in the middle of the diner straightened and got Donna’s attention, and finally she left Eve and Ezra alone.

Checking her phone, Eve sat back against the squeaky vinyl. As she did, the door opened with a chime, and a man walked in. He was tall, maybe mid to late twenties, with pale stubble on his defined jawline, and looked like he was packing some serious muscle under his black leather jacket. He looked around the diner and perked up when he saw Eve looking at him. He adjusted the duffle bag on his shoulder as he approached, smiling widely at her and Ezra. He had a dimple in one cheek.

“Hi, I’m Jon,” he said. “Are you Eve?” She nodded and gestured for Ezra to scoot over so he could sit down.

“This is Ezra,” she said. “Thanks for coming out to talk to us.”

Ezra swallowed and scooted over to the window. “Hi,” he said faintly. Jon beamed at him and sat down, sticking his hand out to shake. After Ezra tentatively shook it, he turned to Eve and shook her hand. The three of them sat for a moment, looking at each other, and Jon smiled like it was his default expression.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, just as enthusiastic as he’d been on the phone. “I’m looking forward to working with you. And I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.” He slid the duffle bag strap off his shoulder and set it on the floor near his feet. “I brought in my equipment, in case you want to see what I typically use.”

Donna came up to the table then, order pad out and ready. “Can I get you anything to eat?” she asked, eyes lingering on Jon in all of his edgy-aesthetic glory. When she left them again, disappearing into the kitchen, Eve leaned forward.

“You said I’m your first client,” she said. “Have you done any ghost investigating before?”

Jon nodded enthusiastically. “You’d be my first solo client, but I’ve worked with ghost-hunting groups before. Mostly exploring known haunted locations and trying to get decisive proof of the ghosts there.” He paused and took a long drink of the water Donna had brought him. “But I’m not as interested in proving they’re there. I want to help people and spirits that need it, not just revisit the same haunted spots everyone knows about.”

“So you started your own business,” Eve said.

“That’s brave,” Ezra said. He briefly glanced at Jon and then away, as if he’d be blinded if he looked too long. “I’d be too scared I wouldn’t make any money.”

“Ah,” Jon said, scratching at the short hair at his temple. “I have not technically made any money. Yet. But I’m confident business will pick up soon.”

Jon, even though he looked like he could and would kill someone, spoke with a perpetual exclamation point.

“And how do you go about ghost-consulting?” Eve asked. She gulped down more of her now-cold coffee and crossed her arms. This guy could be a literal golden retriever of wholesome confidence, but that didn’t mean he was any good at his job.

He straightened up and looked seriously at Eve. “I’ll start by checking out the haunted location and getting witness testimonies. I assume that would be you two?”

Eve nodded, and Ezra did too, reluctantly.

“Sometimes what we think is a ghost is really something more mundane, something explainable, like uneven settling of a house, or some kind of problem with the wiring. It could even be something like a carbon monoxide leak. So I like to rule those things out first, and make sure the phenomena you’re witnessing is truly from a ghost.” He smiled apologetically.

“Good,” Eve said. “Makes me think you’re not completely crazy.”

“Eve!” Ezra said. Jon blinked, but his mouth twisted up at the corners like he was trying not to smile.

“What? I want someone who doesn’t just blame ghosts for every little creak. I want science. I want evidence. I am not interested in mystical shit, I am interested in results.” Eve glared at Ezra and he glared right back at her.

“That doesn’t mean you should be rude to the person who drove three hours to help us,” he said.

“Okay, Dad,” Eve said. She turned to Jon, who was openly smiling again. “I’m glad to hear you’re not as crazy as the rest of them,” she said with a saccharine smile at him and Ezra.

“No worries,” Jon said, laughing. “I know the impression a lot of people have of this business. And I imagine that if someone like you is looking for help, you must really need it.” Ezra, slightly mollified, crossed his arms. “If the phenomena is truly ghostly, I’ll set up my equipment in the haunted location and do an all-night observation. You wouldn’t have to be present, but it could be helpful if you were.”

“I mean, it’s my apartment,” Eve said.

“Great, you should definitely be there. The three of us can keep each other awake all night.” Jon hesitated as Donna approached the table with their food. When she’d set it down and retreated to what she must have considered an unobtrusive distance, he continued. “I can show you my equipment, too, and let you know how it all works. After spending a night gathering readings, ideally we’ll know a lot more about the ghost; how it’s manifesting, what it wants, who it used to be. That can give us more to work with when we move on to actually removing the ghost.”

“And how do you normally do that?” Eve asked.

“It depends on a few things,” he replied. “Let’s deal with that when we get to it.” Eve narrowed her eyes but nodded.

They ate, then, with less negotiating and ghost-talk. Ezra relaxed as he ate his salad and slowly shifted to sit normally, not pressed against the glass like Jon might bite him. Jon, for his part, was nice in a way that actually felt genuine.

As she finished up her pancakes, Eve brought the conversation back to business. “The big question,” she said. “What do you charge?”

Jon chewed a fry and swallowed, looking off to the side. “I’ll do it for the cost of food while I’m in town,” he said after a second.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Eve and Ezra stared at him. “Seriously?” she asked. “You just said you’ve never made any money from this. We can’t pay you in food.”

“And a testimonial, if you’re happy with my services,” he added, as if he was trying to sweeten the deal for them. Donna approached again with the bill, and as she set it down on the table, she looked over the three of them with clear interest.

“Thanks,” Eve said, when she’d lingered a little too long. Donna nodded and reluctantly retreated once again.

Ezra glanced at Eve, and she looked back at him. “For now, we can at least agree to cover your food,” she said.

Jon pumped his fist and whooped quietly. “You won’t regret working with me, I promise!” he said.

***

Harvey gave Jon a thorough sniffing at the door before he stepped aside, his fluffy tail swishing gently.

“Hi kitty,” Jon said as he crouched to hold out his hand.

“That’s Harvey,” Eve and Ezra said at the same time. Ezra glanced away and cleared his throat as Eve narrowed her eyes at him.

Jon looked curiously between them. “Do you live here, too?” he asked Ezra. There was a note of appraisal in his voice.

“Oh.” Ezra fumbled with the neck of his sweater vest before he dropped his hands and clasped them together. “No, no, I don’t.”

Jon nodded and smiled. “Have you had the same experiences with the ghost? Actually, if you two wouldn’t mind giving me your accounts, now would be a good time to do it.”

Eve kicked off her shoes and walked further into the apartment. “Sure. You want some water?”

“Please,” Jon said. He set his duffle bag down on the floor near the door and opened it, rifling through for a moment. While Eve grabbed a glass for him, he stepped over to the kitchen table, situated between the island counter and the living room, and set a voice recorder down on it. “Do you mind if I record our interview? I can cut things out if you decide you don’t want them saved, but in general I like to keep detailed accounts of my investigations.”

“Go for it,” Eve said. She passed him the water and sat down. Ezra inched his way closer to the table and sat in one of the other chairs. He looked around the apartment as he chewed his lip, his long limbs tense with nervous energy.

Even Jon seemed to notice, though he didn’t say anything to Ezra. “Eve,” he said, sitting opposite her and leaning forward as he turned on the recorder, “tell me a bit about when you first started to notice the haunting.”

“The day after I moved in,” she said. “Which was, like, a week ago. Harvey appeared in my apartment first—“ she paused and scooped him up from the floor. He squeaked but let her hold him like a baby. “And then the ghost started up with the nagging.”

“Nagging?” Jon asked.

“Yeah.” Eve sighed and leaned back. “She keeps nagging me about chores and stuff. Not,” she added, “with words. Oh no, she won’t talk to us.”

“What do you mean, she won’t talk to you?”

“Ezra and I tried to talk to her, and she wouldn’t talk,” Eve said. A strong, cold wind blew Eve’s hair forward and knocked her open notebook off her desk. “Thanks, babe,” she said. “Other than the nagging, it’s been the usual bullshit: flickering lights, taps turning on by themselves, cold patches, cabinets opening and closing. And she exploded all my lightbulbs when I told her I would help her pass on, or whatever.”

Jon took a second to take that all in, blinking and staring at Eve. “And what makes you think the ghost is a she?”

Eve looked over at Ezra, who licked his lips nervously. “There’s some important background info you should know,” she said to Jon. He nodded. “This apartment used to be rented by a woman named Chelsea Horton who went missing, like, two months ago? Harvey was her cat, and after she was found, dead, it seemed obvious the ghost was Chelsea. Who else is going to tell me to play with the cat more often?” Eve shrugged.

Jon sat back and crossed his arms over his broad chest. He was still wearing the leather jacket—Eve would give him props for maintaining an aesthetic—even though her apartment did not have central air. “I have to say, this isn’t something I’ve seen before. For a ghost to manifest in such clear ways and be identified, but be unwilling to speak when given the chance…” he trailed off. “Have there been any other significant events?” he asked Eve.

“Well,” she said, grimacing, “I did find Chelsea’s body on the North Henge beach.”

The overhead lights in the kitchen flickered and Jon tilted his head back to look up at them intently. “Hmm,” he said. Then he turned to Ezra. “Ezra, can you give me your account next?”

“Ah, sure,” Ezra said. He wiped his palms on his thighs and then clasped his hands together on the table in front of him. “Eve told me her apartment was haunted before she found the body,” he started. “And then, after the memorial service, we decided to work together to help Chelsea move on. The first time Eve invited me here, the kitchen tap was on when we walked in, which Eve blamed on Chelsea. Eve asked her to make the lights flicker, which she did, and then I saw a cat toy float out of the bedroom.” Jon nodded encouragingly, and Ezra continued. “We decided to try communicating with her, via spirit board and seance, neither of which worked.”

“That’s a very detailed account, thanks,” Jon said.

Ezra cleared his throat and glanced at him, and then away. “Sure. I’m a journalist, so I try to recount events as accurately as possible.”

“A journalist?” Jon said, leaning forward onto his elbows. “That’s so cool, what kind of stuff do you write about?” He’d turned to fully face Ezra now, and Ezra sat in his chair, clasping his fidgeting fingers together and looking completely unsure of what to do with Jon’s full attention.

Eve coughed to get their attention, and while Ezra looked sheepish, Jon smiled at Eve like she was the person he’d been flirting with.

“What is your connection to all of this, Ezra?” Jon asked. “How did you get involved?” Ezra swallowed and leaned ever so slightly backward.

“I, ah, knew Chelsea,” he said. His eyes darted around the room. “And I want to help her.” He gave them both a weak smile.

“So are you two friends, then? Is that why you decided to work together?” Jon asked, glancing between Ezra and Eve. Ezra blinked and looked to Eve.

“Sure,” Eve said, ignoring the earnest little smile that lit up Ezra’s face at her answer.

“Hmm, okay,” Jon said, rubbing at his cheek. “Is there anything else about the ghost I should know?”

Eve pursed her lips and shook her head.

“I don’t think so,” Ezra said, pulling out his notepad and flipping through it briefly. After a second, he closed it and shook his head, too.

“In that case, I would love to take some measurements of the space and work on getting my equipment set up,” Jon said, glancing at Eve. “If that’s alright with you?”

Eve waved a hand. “Do what you need to do.”

Jon nodded once and stood, shutting off the recorder as he did. From his duffle bag, he pulled a tape measure, a level, and a thing that looked like a grocery store scanner.

“What kind of equipment do you have in there?” Ezra asked.

Jon looked up from where he was crouched. “Oh, a bunch of stuff. I have some more standard tools, for testing wiring and floor tilts and things like that. But I also have my recorder, an infrared thermometer—” he waved the scanner-thing— “a camera with night vision, EMF meter, that kind of thing.” He stood and walked to the middle of the living room, placing the level on the floor and making a note on his phone. He moved to the kitchen and did the same there.

“Sounds expensive,” Ezra said. He watched intently as Jon moved throughout the apartment, making notes and measuring things that seemed completely random, like the distance between the island and the counters.

Jon looked over his shoulder at Ezra. “It was. But ghosts, paranormal stuff, that’s been my hobby for years. I’ve been collecting my equipment since I was a teenager.”

“Huh,” Eve said.

“Oh, I forgot to ask earlier,” he said as he opened the cabinet below the sink and stuck his head under. “Who referred you to me?”

“Father Thomas, the priest at St. Jude’s.” Eve twisted in her chair and released Harvey.

Jon tried to straighten, bumped his head on the pipes, and then pulled it out to look at her. “Reed Thomas?” he asked. Eve shrugged, but Ezra nodded. Jon sat back on his heels. “I’ll have to stop by and say hi. I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“You two went to priest school together?” Eve asked.

“Seminary,” said both Ezra and Jon at the same time. Eve pretended they hadn’t. Jon continued, “He was a couple of years ahead of me, but yeah. Before I…quit, he was one of the people I admired most. Really looking to help people and all that.” After a second, he brightened again, like the sun coming back out from behind a cloud. He ducked his head back under the sink for a moment, and then emerged again.

He stood and came back over to the table. “Well, it’s not carbon monoxide or uneven floors. I think you are, in fact, haunted,” he said. The cabinets rattled. Eve rolled her eyes at the air.

“So what now?” she said. Jon was looking at the cabinets curiously, and now he turned to Eve and Ezra.

“I’ll set up my equipment, and we’ll see what happens tonight. In other cases, it can take a few nights of observation to get enough information. But since your ghost is so…active, I think we’ll be able to gather what we need in one.”

“That’s good,” Ezra said. “I normally have work pretty early in the mornings.”

“Are you working on any stories right now?” Jon asked, leaning in toward him again.

Ezra laughed a little, all nerves, and nodded. “I always have something. I wrote a story about Eve for tomorrow’s paper, actually.”

Jon turned his focus to Eve and leaned toward her, a charming little smirk on his mouth. “Really? About Eve? Interesting.” She raised one eyebrow and stared back at him just coldly enough to squash the flirting before it started. He grinned at her and sat back in his seat, taking her point quickly. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s get set up for ghost watch!”