A paranormal investigator's demon admirer

Chapter 2

Lucy Williams' munificent offer seemed a hoax to them.

Leah raised an eyebrow, “You are willing to pay us millions in exchange for our help?”

“Yes,” said Lucy Williams, “Money is not an issue for us because I and my husband have a billion-dollar business. I can write you a check right now of a hundred thousand dollars if that helps,” she frantically searched her bag and pulled out a checkbook.

“You don’t have to do that right now, Mrs. Williams. We are not even sure if we want to take this case yet,” said Leah.

“One million is not an unalterable amount,” said Lucy Williams, “I can give you a lot more than that if you succeed.”

Hannah prodded Leah's back and asked her to come to the kitchen in a low voice.

“Would you excuse us for a moment?” Leah said to the woman, “We’ll be in the kitchen. Do you want something to drink?”

“Water will be fine,” she answered.

In the kitchen, Hannah grabbed Leah's arms and shook her in excitement, “We have to take this case. I have never seen a million dollars in my life. It is a golden opportunity for us! Screw Europe! We can go there after we’re all rich.”

“Hannah!” began Leah as she freed herself from her grip, “The woman looks desperate, we don’t know how grave her problem is. Also. You're the one who planned this vacation and exhorted me to take a break from ghost hunting for a few more months."

“I am sorry,” Hannah cast her eyes down in shame, “I fully support you in that. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I was tempted by the money because I and the Miller cousins don't come from a rich family.”

Leah was disinclined to work on another case so soon, but she didn't want to be egocentric and deprive her friends of a rare opportunity to earn a lot of money. Leah sighed, “Let's go outside and hear the details of her problem. Maybe we shouldn't turn down such a good offer after all. Also, the woman seems distraught, hopefully, we can put them out of their misery.”

Out in the living room, Hannah handed Lucy Williams a glass of water, “So can we hear more about what you’re going through?”

Sadness clouded Lucy William's features, “My husband is not himself anymore,” her voice constantly trembled as she spoke, “A year ago my husband had major surgery, we’re usually traveling a lot for business purposes, but we decided to stay at our ancestral estate until he fully recovered. That time was supposed to bring us all closer as a family, but instead...

It all began when my husband started waking up with a giant bloody claw mark on his back every day. There was no rational explanation for it, and the attacks got worse. He has been choked, pushed down the stairs, and assaulted with knives. Everyone in the house, including the servants, had complained about seeing these jet-black creatures with ghastly faces. We moved out of the estate a long time ago, but they keep following us wherever we go and terrorize anyone who dares to step in that estate,” she began to sob uncontrollably as she finished.

Leah tried to comfort her by placing a hand on her shoulder, “We’ll help you out, don’t worry about anything. And is there anything else we need to know?”

Lucy Williams pulled out her phone and handed it to them, “Just play the video on the screen. Watch how they like to torment my husband. The man who had come to help us last week recorded this.”

Leah pressed the play button, and Hannah moved closer to her for a better look at the phone screen. In the video, they saw a shirtless man tied up to a chair with deep claw marks all over his torso. There was another man near him reciting verses from the bible. Mr. Williams was repeatedly saying one thing at the top of his lungs, “Stop, they are here! They are burning me alive. Stop, or they shall burn you too.”

Lucy Williams' eyes were still welled up with tears, “Did you see the pain he was in? That man was not able to help us at all.”

“We’ll take your case,” said Leah, and Hannah gave her a look of astoundment.

A smile of joy and hope lit up Lucy Williams' face, “Thank you, "she said wiping tears off her face, “You must go and visit our estate. The demons have made it their dwelling and are always present there. Nobody lives there, however, our housekeeper, Mr. Donald, goes there once a week to check on the property. I’ll send him to receive you at the estate, perhaps tomorrow?”

“How about the day after that?” asked Hannah, “We have some personal business in town to take care of before we can go leave.”

“Works for me, but don’t delay it any further than that,” said Lucy and made haste to write something on her checkbook, after which she handed them over a check.

They took a glance at the check, and their jaws dropped open. The amount written on it was two hundred thousand dollars, “We can’t take this much money beforehand because we can’t give you a guarantee for anything.”

“It’s okay, your job is dangerous, so take it as an advance for attempting,” said Lucy Williams, “I have given others before you full payment in desperation, and many even refused to return a dime after they had failed.”

“Don't worry, we would never rip you off like that,” said Leah.

The next day Leah and Hannah had been waiting on their friends since morning. They had accepted Mrs. Williams' offer but still needed to inform their friends. In the afternoon, her friends, the Miller cousins had finally arrived at her house. Cousins Noah and Benjamin were paranormal enthusiasts and, like Hannah, were Leah’s friends since middle school. They had assisted their friend Leah in every case. Their job was to mainly install and monitor the cameras placed in an area to investigate. They also had a lot of expertise in using ghost hunting equipment and were obsessed with experimenting with every new tool that came into the market.

Benjamin Miller, the younger cousin, was of the same age as Hannah. He was an average-looking guy, slightly out of shape. Noah, on the other hand, was a couple of years older than them. Unlike his cousin, he was very tall, skinny, and a better-looking guy than him.

“We have a surprise for you outside your door,” said Benjamin, “Don’t ask any questions, just go outside and take a look. Even though Leah already knew about the surprise she tried her best to appear excited and darted out of the room.

She flung the door open and, to her pleasure, saw Duke Richards standing before her. And as soon as their eyes met, a bright dimpled smile lit up his entire face as he lightly brushed his dark hair with his fingers. For a few moments, she simply stared at his handsome face with a blank expression, noticing how better he looked than the last time she saw him many months ago and how his gunmetal grey eyes twinkled in the bright sunshine outside.

“Well, you look like you have seen a ghost!” said Duke snapping his fingers close to Leah’s face.

Leah put an end to the staring game and burst into laughter, “I wasn’t expecting you today, but I am really glad to see you,” she said as she pulled him in for a friendly hug that made him sigh.

Duke broke apart from the hug, “Come on in for the real surprise,” he grabbed her hand and took her inside.

In the living room, Leah and Hannah felt abashed before their friends' exhilarated faces when they were about to disclose their vacation plan to them.

“We all know how troublesome the past few months have been for all of us, especially you Leah, “Duke began wearing a huge grin on his face, “So, together we have planned to go on a trip to Europe. I have already booked our plane tickets, and we need to leave tomorrow.”

Leah forced a smile, “Whoa, thanks.”

“I am sorry!" Hannah blurted out, “I know I am the one who suggested this vacation, but we have a case on our hands now.”

Duke glowered at Hannah, “What! I thought you were supposed to keep Leah away from all that, not encourage her to take another one, Hannah!”

“Why would you do that after planning this for weeks?” asked Noah.

“Because the family that needs our help are miserable, and they are also offering us millions of dollars in exchange for our services, said Hannah, and they all fell into silence in shock and perplexity.

“It’s true,” Leah came to her aid, “She also gave us a check of two hundred thousand dollars in advance,” she handed the check over to Noah.

“I understand that the offer is too generous,” said Duke, “But we shouldn’t burden with all this Leah so soon. I don’t think it’s a good idea to go now.”

“I am fine, Duke, and I am willing to go,” said Leah.

“I am on board as well,” said Benjamin, and Noah said the same.

“We know that you don’t need the money at all, but for us, it’s an opportunity we can’t let go of,” said Hannah to Duke.

Duke looked uncertain and paused for a minute before he spoke again, "I am coming too. Maybe, I could prove myself to be of some help. When do we need to leave?”

“Early in the morning tomorrow,” answered Leah, “I’ll text you the exact time and further details about the case later.”

The cousins and Hannah left for their respective homes in the evening to take care of unfinished business before leaving for the Williams' estate.

Sleep didn’t come easily to Leah that night as she felt dubious about her ability to handle the Williams' case without her spirit guides by her side. Perhaps she needed more help, she thought to herself. She scrolled through the contacts in her work phone, looking for a demon expert she had met during her career as a paranormal investigator. She stopped at one contact that brought mixed previous memories to her mind. After hesitating for some time, she decided to give that person a call even though she knew her friends would kill her for doing that!