Applyn straightened up her desk as she prepared to leave. Saving all of her files was her first priority next to placing all of her handwritten notes back in their folders. Once she had all of her things arranged in her backpack, she shut off her desk light. She took this time to look about the office. She was the last living soul out as usual. While all the desk lamps were off, a few overhead lights were on, giving the large office space a creepy vibe. 

Making her way towards the elevator, Applyn didn't rush, but didn't dawdle either. She kept her head on a swivel for things that could hinder her from leaving the building. It's been calm the last few weeks, she thought with a deep breath. I just hope it stays calm. Reaching the elevator without incident, Applyn began thinking she'd get out scott free. It was a short wait for the elevator. To her dismay, a man dressed in a gray suit was already there. She nodded to him in a way of greeting before entering. Standing beside him, she pressed the ground floor button.

As the elevator began to descend, Applyn couldn't help but look at the gentleman. He resembled a portrait that her office floor kept of the son of the founder of the building. Despite looking grainy around the edges, the man had the same black hair, fair complexion, and grim look as the picture. Clearing her throat, Applyn asks, "Are you James Deg?"

"Oh, uh, yes, I am," the businessman answered. "I'm surprised someone recognized me."

"What brings you by?" Applyn asked. "Unfinished business with your father?"

"You could say that," James answered. "I can never seem to catch him though."

"Would you like me to give him your message for you?" Applyn offered. "I do have a meeting with him in the morning."

"That would be great, thank you," James said in obvious relief. "Could you tell him that he needs to stop his plans until the land gets cleaned?"

"The land for the megamall in Kinklefritz?" Applyn asked.

Before James answered, the elevator doors opened on the main floor and he was gone.

Applyn muttered a complaint about always never being able to finish conversations with anyone before exiting the elevator and making her way home. With a pitstop by her favorite Chinese restaurant, she came home to an empty apartment.

Setting things on her already cluttered kitchen table, she grabbed a fork, her food, and her computer and sat on the couch. In between shoveling food into her mouth, she looked up the town of Kinklefritz. With only a population of fifty at the moment, Kinklefritz wasn't much to take notice of.

"There's nothing here I didn't already know," she sighed to herself. "I've scoured the entirety of the internet for every morsel in my spare time, but haven't come up with anything new recently. Yet I keep looking anyway."

She pulled up a document she was keeping with all the information on Kinklefritz and found the small amount of information deflating. The document began with a brief history of the town. Very brief. As in it was founded by individuals who escaped the gold rush times for a quieter existence and once had a population in the hundreds before some strange occurrence whipped out a good portion. From there, the population only seemed to decline and hold steady at fifty.

Setting aside her food, she asked as she typed, "Why does the land need to get cleaned before the megamall is built? What does that mean anyway? Could James have meant cleansed? If so, what does it need to get cleansed from? A cleansing means getting rid of whatever is bad. What could be bad? The soil? Evil spirits can be cleansed from a place, right? Why would there be evil spirits in Kinklefritz? What happened in Kinklefritz history? I haven't found anything about why there was a sudden decline in population. You'd think something like that would get reported. What am I not finding?"

Her last question bugged her. She picked up her food again and began eating as she contemplated it. When the boss asked me to become an expert in the area, I didn't think it would be so hard. I might have to take a trip and ask the locals for help. I guess I can put in the request tomorrow. She saved her document before she closed the laptop.

***

Applyn made her way to her desk, saying hello to several coworkers. After reaching her desk, she unpacked her bag and made herself at home. It didn't take her long to dive into her work. She had opened up her Kinklefritz document and read again the questions she asked last night. In her search engine, she typed in "Why would land need to be cleaned?"

Her search results were what she suspected. Cleansing a land or house meant there was energy or spirits connected to it. The most common was negative energy. Demonic in nature.

"Got some negative energy attached to you Applyn?"

Applyn jumped. "Don't sneak up on a person like that Markus!" She chastised.

"Sorry," Markus chuckled. "I didn't think you were the scardy cat type."

"Normally I'm not. What do you want?"

"Boss is ready for your meeting."

Applyn looked at the time on her computer and noticed that two hours had passed. What have I been doing these last two hours? Shaking off the time-lapse, Applyn took to saving her work and gathering her things. Once she was ready, she followed Markus. As they walked, she couldn't shake off the weird feeling about the missing time. It's happened a time or two before, but I haven't been able to pinpoint the exact cause of it yet. It is troubling. I'll have to mark that as my next research point.

Before long, Applyn was led into the bosses office and found him sitting at his computer contemplating something. "Sorry for my tardiness Mr. Deg," she spoke quickly. "I promise not to make a habit of it."

"That's quite alright. Have a seat. Thanks Markus, that'll be all."

"Yes sir," Markus said, then quietly to Applyn, "Good luck."

Once Markus was gone, Applyn had a seat and placed her folders on her lap. "How is the construction going Mr. Deg?"

"Honestly, not too well," he sighed. "In fact, it's going horribly. We've had four deaths and a whole crew call it quits."

"What happened?" Applyn asked, shocked.

"I don't know. Every death has been a freak accident and no one can tell me how any of it happened. It has me concerned that we might not get this megamall built at all. News is flying quickly to other construction companies."

"That's horrible," she said. Very carefully, she added, "I heard from someone that the land where we have the megamall should be cleansed."

"Cleansed?" Mr. Deg asked. "As in evil spirits, witchcraft, and all that?"

"I wouldn't say it's witchcraft," Applyn answered. "But it is used to get rid of evil spirits and demonic presence."

"Have you found research and evidence to back up this claim of evil spirits and demonic presences?"

"Unfortunately, not much is known about the town. I would have a better time finding out if I actually go there and talk to the locals."

"Where did you come across this cleansing tip?"

"Does it really matter?" Applyn asked. "Besides you know I don't disclose my sources without their permission."

"Then get their permission."

"I can't."

"Why not?"'

"First agree to let me go to Kinklefritz," Applyn countered. She produced the papers to approve work-related travel and set them in front of her boss.

Mr. Deg looked at her carefully and considered his employee. She had been with the company for five years and she always had a spot on record for information and never got in trouble. She was valuable and he could see the determination in his eyes. "All right," he said. "I'll approve the trip. Only because I know you will get the information you want." He signed the papers and handed them back to her.

Once Applyn had them securely in her folders, she rose. "Thank you, sir," she said. As she left, she said, "I got the tip from your son."

Off guard, he asked, "How could you get a tip from my dead son?"

Applyn didn't reply nor did she want to. She hated to let people know she could communicate with the dead.