The Cassidy Chronicles

Ryan lay back in bed and closed his eyes. He didn't fall asleep because his mind was racing with thoughts. He decided to keep his light on along with the television and instead try to work out his problems. It didn't work. Each time he tried to think of something, his thoughts went back to Cassidy. He tried to think of the other cases he was working on now, but that didn't work either. He sat up and flipped through the channels trying to find something interesting.

The next few days went by very slowly for Cassidy. She was too stubborn to call Ryan and Ryan hadn't called her. Obviously, he had been overreacting about Stewart coming to get her although the news had said that they had a person of interest in custody. She had decided that she was going to stop worrying about Stewart and Ryan. If Stewart was going to come after her, she was just going to tell him that it wasn't her that blabbed to the police.

It was the middle of November, but there had been two snowfalls just in the last week. Cassidy hated snow and desperately wanted to move somewhere warmer. The lake effect snow was driving her crazy and she had spent at least two hours shoveling her laneway only for it to snow two days later.

Cassidy was cranky. She was anxious to visit the haunted house on Friday, but at the same time was wondering if that was a good idea. She hadn't had any dreams, visions, or premonitions since she had stormed out on Ryan last week. It was almost like having him away from her had calmed her powers. She wasn't complaining at all. It had been a long time since she had gone so long without her powers being so strong. She could start enjoying this. On the other hand, she was excited to visit the haunted house and help Molly and Jeremy with the investigation. She had read the emails and documents and websites that Molly had sent her and she knew enough about the situation to help them out.

Cassidy was also nervous because this was the first investigation she had been a part of since her mental breakdown two months ago. Even after she had returned from England and quit her job, she had continued participating in the assignments, but after truly going from somewhat depressed to very depressed, she was going to get back into the groove of things. Cassidy had also finished reading the fourth book in the series that she had been reading since September. It was tragic that it was the last book and the author had clearly stated that no other books would be written about those characters. Cassidy had wanted to reread the novels, but thought that such a childish thing to do. She wondered if the students she used to teach had read the books. The girls in her class were great readers and she wondered if they would be as obsessed with the books as she was.

Cassidy went into her home office and logged on to her computer. Her desk overlooked her front yard and she could see that it was starting to snow again. She scowled. Maybe if she didn't shovel, it would eventually melt. She had one new email and was excited to see whom it was from. Cassidy's grin went to a frown when she saw it was from Ryan. She opened it up and read it.

Dear Cassidy, Your friend Molly gave me your email address and since you've been ignoring my phone messages, I figured instead of coming over to your place and scaring you again, I would email you. I want to take you out to dinner on Friday. I miss you. Yeah it's cheesy. I know. Give me a call please. Ryan

Cassidy read the email over a few times. He hadn't called her. He was lying. Why would he do that? She couldn't go on a date with him anyway. She was going to the Kennedy residence on Friday. At least she didn't have to make up an excuse. She quickly hit the reply button.

Ryan - I didn't get your messages, but whatever. I can't go out on Friday. I'm doing something with Molly and Jeremy - Cassidy

Cassidy closed her laptop and looked outside. Her tree had no more leaves on it and it looked bare and lonely on her front lawn. The snow had completely covered the grass and there was a light dusting of snow on her car. She had gone out this morning to get some groceries and it was easier to park the car in the laneway than put it in the garage and struggle with carrying the groceries in that way. Her car barely fit in her garage so she had to move the garbage can and recycling boxes out of the way just to get in and out.

Just then, her phone rang. Cassidy looked at it and saw that it was her mother.

"Hi Mom."

Delilah eagerly sat at her kitchen table, ready for a long drawn out conversation with her daughter.

"Hello dear. I haven't spoken to you in ages. How are things?"

Cassidy rolled her eyes and got comfortable in her chair. This was going to be a long conversation and she really didn't have an excuse not to talk to her mother and she was always an entertaining person to chat with.

"Fine Mom. I'm going out to a haunted house with Molly and Jeremy on Friday. I haven't heard from Ryan all week and the creepy guy from the banquet hall was arrested."

"Oh yes that was such a horrible thing to happen. I mean Sonya is so upset. Her husband is trying to console her. I was talking to Nancy at the Bingo last night and she said that Sonya doesn't want to organize any more charity events. She's traumatized. What a poor thing. Her husband has offered her a trip to Europe once he deals with the insurance. He owned the building you know. He's getting a good settlement though."

"What did you say?" Cassidy had only been half listening the moment the conversation turned to Sonya, but now she was listening carefully.

"The building was owned by Sonya's husband. Well actually, she owned it as well. When the purchase was finalized, it was all over the news because even though it looks like they are doing so well financially, they weren't and needed approval from two banks before the sale was final."

"How much do they get from the insurance?"

"I don't know that Cassidy. I don't pry into other people's business. In any case, I hope they rebuild it soon. It was such an important landmark in our little town. So why haven't you heard from Ryan? Did the two of you get into a fight?"

"Mother! We aren't dating. I met him last week for goodness sake. Why do both of you think that the moment you meet someone you are supposed to fall in love?" Cassidy knew she would get annoyed from talking to her mother, but she couldn't help it. Her mother knew exactly what to say to drive her crazy.

"It's possible. It happened with your father and I. It was love at first sight. You know the story remember?"

Cassidy grinned. Once her mother began talking about her first date with her Dad, there was no stopping her.

"I was playing the piano for the school musical. For some reason, there were a group of football players who had all earned parts. Thomas looked so cute trying to remember his lines and sing well. It was a horrible musical, so much so that the music director retired at the end of the year. We flirted and dated and you know the rest."

"Yes Mother. No need to go into the details. Just because you and Dad fell in love early doesn't mean that I will."

"Cassidy you are so stubborn. You know that when you open your mind to me I can read it. You love him. He already told you he loves you. Why are you so mulish?"

"Mom I am not having this conversation. Change the subject or I'm hanging up." Cassidy had always been a brat and now that she was an adult, she could speak this way to her mother without being grounded.

"Fine. So tell me about the haunted house you're investigating."

Cassidy smiled. This was an intriguing case.

"It's a house on Lakeshore Boulevard. A new family bought the place a few months ago and weird things have been happening. They asked around and found out that the family who used to live there had a tragic and horrifying thing happen to them. The father fell in love with someone else and kept it a secret from his wife and children. He never met the woman, but always wanted to. According to his wife, the woman finally stopped talking to him and he killed himself in the house. The wife was too upset to live there so moved away with her kids."

"So the man is haunting the house because he's unhappy."

"I'm assuming as much. I mean he electrocuted himself in the bathtub after finding out that the woman no longer wanted to talk to him. His wife is still very upset and Molly had to calm her down when she asked for some of the details of the event."

"How are they going to get him out?"

"We're going to track the house for a few hours to make sure that it really is the ghost of Jeff Kennedy. I mean it might not be, but I'm hoping I will feel his presence if indeed he is stuck as a ghost in his own home."

"Why don't you call Ryan and invite him? I'm sure he would enjoy seeing you work and this way he will know what he's getting himself into."

Cassidy rolled her eyes again. "I don't like him. He's annoying."

Delilah grinned. She was always amused at how stubborn her daughter could be. She knew what would happen in the end so she decided not to argue.

"Whatever you say dear. I must go now. Your Aunt Lin and I are going shopping. Call me on the weekend and let me know how the haunting went."

"Bye Mom."

Cassidy hung up the phone and stood up. She walked around to stretch her legs. She couldn't help but think about Ryan. She was being stubborn. She knew that. She just couldn't fathom how someone could be so sure of loving someone so quickly, especially after being told that that someone was going to be the cause of their death.

***

"Alright gals. Therefore, the family is staying at a hotel for the evening. They haven't moved anything nor have they done anything special to the house for our visit. I'll set up the cameras in the front hallway and in the bathroom. Molly, can you start taking pictures of everything, just in case things start moving around? Cassidy wander around and tell me if you get any feelings." Jeremy was very businesslike as the three individuals entered the home on Lakeshore and began their work. They had been doing this for many years and it meant different things for each person. For Jeremy, it was a passion. He would never make enough money to earn a living being a ghost hunter, but this was something he enjoyed more than teaching. He was lucky that his teaching assignment at the university was to do with psychology. He could easily tie in this work with his current research.

Jeremy worked at Brock University and was granted status as a full time professor just a year ago. He wanted to research how humans deal with fear, with the hopes of tying it in with the idea of why people are afraid of ghosts.

Molly loved doing this work because she enjoyed the technical side of it. She loved analyzing photos and videos along with transcribing any notes that Jeremy might have. She got a thrill out of knowing that there were ghosts and that she would possibly see or talk to one of them. Cassidy was the most reluctant of the three. She knew that in terms of a haunted house, she didn't actually have to touch anything personal. It was hard to explain, but it was like the whole house was personal and just the fact that she was inside it meant she could gather the thoughts and emotions of the ghost. She just needed to breathe in the air. Ghosts usually link themselves with a location, normally the place where they died or felt the most connected to. In the case of Charlotte Lewis, although she had died in Jamaica, she was haunting her home in London. She had a much stronger connection to her home than a resort she had stayed at for only a few weeks. In the case of Jeff Kennedy, he had killed himself in the bathroom, which was why Jeremy was setting up a camera in that location.

Cassidy wandered through the home, looking at the pictures on the walls along with the other decorations. The family that lived here was a loving family with a ten-month-old son. On the way to the home, Molly had shared with her the heart wrenching phone call that the mother had made to the company.

"Is this Matthews and Associates?" Molly smiled as the tentative voice on the other end tried to be brave enough to explain her.

"Yes it is and yes our ad in the yellow pages is correct. We are ghost hunters. We try to help ghosts leave a certain place. It is not a joke."

"My son just started communicating and he keeps pointing to things in his room and when we give him a bath. I did some research and I know why we got such a good deal on the house." Molly grabbed a pen and began taking notes. She always felt that the first conversation was always the best at gathering information and determining what exactly the client was looking for. She listened as the woman on the other end of the line continued.

"The man who used to live here killed himself. In the house. In the bathroom. We've only lived here for two months. We can't move, but my son isn't sleeping in his room any more. We have to keep him in bed with us and even then he wakes up."

"I understand your concern. If you let me explain our services you can think about it and let us know if you want to pursue this."

"I want you to. Anything. Please."

"For a fee we will go in for an evening or whenever the haunting is most prevalent. With what you have told me it sounds like evening is the best time. We will stay there for a night and gather information about whether there is a ghost and if so what his or her reasons are for haunting your home. If necessary, we will come back and try to make contact and persuade the ghost to leave."

Cassidy replayed that scene in her head again and entered the bathroom. She felt a chill run through her body and the moment her hand touched the bathroom wall, she saw him. He was standing there in the shower. His face showed his sadness and regret. Cassidy stared at him and she tried to figure out why a man would do that. Why would someone kill themselves when they couldn't get what they wanted? What drives someone to do something so risky, so dramatic, and so final?

She stepped out of the bathroom and motioned Jeremy to come. He was standing at the end of the hallway making sure the camera was working. He rushed into the bathroom, but unfortunately, by that time the ghost was gone.

"Was he here?" Jeremy was looking around.

"Yeah. I didn't say anything though."

Molly had come running and soon the couple were taking pictures and discussing things. Cassidy stepped back and slowly walked through the home. She was noticing every little detail and understood why they wanted the ghost gone.

It was a happy family. A mother and father with a small child. There were wedding pictures, baby pictures, and toys littering the living room. Cassidy closed her eyes and imagined how the family enjoyed their evenings. She could see the young boy playing on the floor while his parents watched and clapped as he pulled himself up and demonstrated other milestones. The kitchen was cluttered. Cassidy knew that they had been told not to rearrange anything. The dishes in the sink showed that both parents were busy and that they put their child first. Dishes could wait. A child's first word was a priority.

Cassidy could sense the fear and anger in the house and knew it was coming from Jeff. She knew that he resented his situation and wanted to be free. She went and sat on the couch in the living room and waited until Molly and Jeremy came back.

"So is it really a ghost Cassidy?"

"He's angry with himself. He enjoys seeing the family. He doesn't mean to scare them." "What does he need to do to leave?" Molly was recording their conversation on one of those old tape recorders. There were better ways to record voice, but she liked what worked and wasn't going to change her ways any time soon.

Cassidy didn't answer. Molly and Jeremy watched as she closed her eyes. They were both in awe at the powers that Cassidy had. She truly had a gift and both wished she wouldn't take the gift for granted so much. They were both psychologists and although they knew the best way to videotape ghosts, they couldn't see them or speak to them. They waited, watching to see if there was any evidence of the ghost in the room with them.

Cassidy had closed her eyes because she was imagining herself in this type of situation. It scared the hell out of her. It was like a light bulb going off in her head. She understood why she was acting the way she was. Just as she was about to open her eyes, she felt a cold movement over her and knew that the ghost was there. She opened her eyes.

"You are scaring the family. Go somewhere else. They will forgive you eventually." Cassidy had no idea where these words were coming from, but it didn't matter. The temperature in the room suddenly went from cold back to its normal temperature and when she glanced over at Molly and Jeremy, they were staring wide-eyed.

No matter how many times they saw Cassidy talking to a ghost, it still scared them. They were huddled together, but had remembered at least to continue taping.

"You are good. I hope we picked up his voice on the recorder."

"He didn't say anything. I need to go."

Cassidy got up and left the house. She couldn't deal with this any more and waited until Molly and Jeremy packed up their things. They would put together the information they had and meet with the family on Monday. They weren't going to push Cassidy.

***

Ryan had been miserable since the last time he had seen Cassidy. His life wasn't the same and he was trying to balance being assertive without looking neurotic. He had called every second day, leaving a nice message. When he had finally called Molly, he was exasperated and tired of worrying about her. Would she ever talk to him again? He had messed up and had been calling the police station every day making sure that Stewart was still in prison. He was, of course. He looked to be guilty in the arson investigation and either way he was no longer a member of the police force and thus could be prosecuted like a regular person. Ryan knew that the longer he stayed in prison, the more reasons they found out why he should remain there. So far they had found out he had stolen cars in the past, was still dealing illegal drugs on the street, and just today had linked him with a robbery at a gas station.

Ryan had sent the email to Cassidy and was not surprised at her response. At least she was making the effort to make an excuse for why they couldn't go out. It was frustrating. He had tried to immerse himself into his work, but there was no use. He thankfully didn't have a large workload now, which helped him because he spent most of his time thinking of Cassidy. His friends had continued to comment on his behavior, but since they were all married, they knew the feeling of being head over heels in love.

Ryan didn't know what else to do to get Cassidy to talk to him. He could go over and wait for her at her house. Eventually, she would need to either leave her house or if she wasn't home when he got there, go back in. Ryan was sitting at his desk looking out at the setting sun when his decision became clear. His phone rang and he answered it.

"Ryan Gates speaking."

Ryan listened and continued to pay attention to what was being said as he grabbed his coat, hat and gloves. He struggled to get dressed as he left his office and waited for the elevator. The moment the conversation was done, he put the phone away and zipped up his jacket. The elevator arrived quickly and he entered it, tapping his foot as if it would speed up the elevator. By the time the elevator opened on the fifth floor of the parking garage, he had his hat on his head. His car keys were in his hand so he could rush out.

The weather was horrible. It hadn't snowed in a day, but the temperature had dropped. The ground was slippery and he was happy to get into his car, even though the seat and steering wheel was cold. His car started effortlessly, but as he tried to put the car in gear, he noticed that the windows had fogged up from his breath. He waited impatiently, hoping he wouldn't be too late.